Chairs of Excellence are endowed chairs (funded by gifts to the University Foundation) dedicated to the support of a particular discipline. The chair holders may be full-time faculty members or may be individuals from the appropriate business or professional field who have been recruited to MTSU for their national reputations in their respective areas of specialization.

Currently, there are three Chairs of Excellence in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences:

• Robert E. and Georgianna West Russell Chair in Manufacturing Excellence:
  Dr. Charles Perry, Chairholder
  
  
• Mary E. Miller Chair in Equine Health:  
  Dr. Holly Spooner, Director
  
  

• John C. Miller Chair in Equine Reproductive Physiology:
  Dr. John Haffner,  Director