Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Midterm post-mortem

What did we learn from all those political advertisements in the runup to last week’s election? “Well, the high point was the office pool based on how fast (Harold) Ford and (Bob) Corker would respond to each other’s ads,” Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says. “Then there were the endless polls. We learned how the young compared to the Presbyterians, the old compared with workers, how students compared to taxi drivers, and how farmers compared with redheads. And through it all, both candidates denied the polls were valid, while with every tick in the percentages we saw changes in campaign strategy. You know, I bet we could save a lot of trouble if we just picked a random day and said that whoever is ahead in the polls is the winner.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

No more Mr./Ms. Nice Guy?

A Massachusetts-based consulting firm called Nice Guy Strategies is making a living out of showing companies how to create an environment that is more worker-friendly and warmer without sacrificing accountability and success. According to a recent Christian Science Monitor article, some believe the workplace is getting nicer. Others believe it’s the same old phony, backbiting place with a veneer of political correctness. Dr. Jackie Gilbert, management and marketing, says she thinks the commitment to respecting human dignity must be part of a company’s overall corporate philosophy. “Southwest Airlines, for example, has a corporate value system which it calls ‘Luv,” Gilbert says. “Components include patience, affirming statements, courteousness, compassionate behavior, grace and forgiveness.”

Contact Gilbert at 615-898-5418.
jgilbert@mtsu.edu

Masters, spread yourselves.

The MTSU Opera Workshop will present two performances of Benjamin Britten’s opera “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at 7:30 p.m. FRIDAY and SATURDAY in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. The plot of the opera is an ethereal story of three pairs of star-crossed Athenian lovers involving magical potions, spells and fairies. Primarily, it focuses on the subject of the madness of love and follows William Shakespeare’s play with several alterations. The performance will feature music and preparations by Caleb Harris, assistant professor of music, and Dr. Raphael Bundage, director of choral activities. General admission tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased at the door. MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as high school students, will be admitted free.

Contact Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493.
tmusselm@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SECURING THE FUTURE--Environmental awareness is the theme of “Securing the Future: Global Warming, Oil Dependence, and You” through TODAY. Students are being asked to walk, bike or carpool to school on the days of the event. Three faculty experts—Drs. Warren Anderson and Cliff Ricketts from agribusiness and agriscience and Dr. Ngee Chong from chemistry--will conduct a panel discussion on “Securing the Future” at 7 p.m. TODAY in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. This event is sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy.Contact Angie Feeney, AID president, at amf3g@mtsu.edu

LESSONS FROM KATRINA--“Resiliency and Change in the Wake of Disaster” is the theme for the 15th annual Tennessee Undergraduate Social Science Symposium, a free and open event to take place TODAY and TOMORROW in the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room. Students will present research papers on social problems, crime and deviance, environmental issues and other topics. The event will include a panel discussion with first responders to disaster relief and crisis situtations. Dr. Pamela Jenkins, a professor of sociology and director from the women’s studies program at the University of New Orleans, will deliver the keynote address, “Loss and Resiliency: Lessons from Katrina,” at 7 p.m. TODAY. For more information, contact the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at 615-898-2508 or visit http://www.mtsu.edu/~soc/socscisymp/symposium.html.

SCIENTIFIC DIVERSITY--Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Charles Manning will be one of the keynote speakers at the 4th annual Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Undergraduate Research Conference FRIDAY at the Holiday Inn on Old Fort Parkway in Murfreesboro. The conference theme is “Increasing Diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” Students and faculty from Tennessee State, Vanderbilt, LeMoyne-Owen, the University of Tennessee, the University of Memphis and MTSU are scheduled to attend. Dr. Calvin Mackie of Tulane University also will make a keynote speech. Mackie recently participated in director Spike Lee’s HBO documentary on Hurricane Katrina titled “When the Levees Broke.” Media welcomed. Contact Dr. Barbara Knox at 615-898-5311 or Dr. Tom Cheatham at 615-898-2613.

A WHOLE NEW WORLD--Your children can be transported to Japan, China and Indonesia without flight reservations. A new exhibit at the Discovery Center enables youngsters to play dress-up with sarongs and kimonos, view animated superhero Astro Boy or learn about Japanese folklore on a 20-inch DVD player, construct their own colorful kites, make origami figures, work challenging tangram puzzles, stage their own hand puppet theatre and hold Japanese tea parties. The interactive exhibit is made possible by generous donations from Toshiba, Nissan, the Foreign Ministry of Japan and the Japan-U.S. Program of MTSU. The Discovery Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for anyone age 2 and up. Contact Steve Hoskins at the Discovery Center, 502 SE Broad Street, Murfreesboro, at 615-890-2300.

CHICKS AND DUCKS AND GEESE BETTER SCURRY!--Curley, the handsome cowboy, and Jud, the hired farmhand, compete for the affection of the beautiful but hard-to-get Laurey. The plot is familiar to all fans of the American musical theatre. It’s “Oklahoma!,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic creation, as performed by MTSU students as part of the CenterStage Series. “It’s energetic entertainment perfect for the family, but most of all it is important that our students are introduced to a show that has greatly impacted the theater industry,” Dale E. McGilliard, professor of speech and theatre, says. “Oklahoma!” will run at Tucker Theatre at 7:30 each night TONIGHT through SATURDAY NIGHT. Tickets range from $4 to $8 and may be purchased at the door on the evening of the desired performance. For more information, call 615-494-8810, or visit the Department of Speech and Theatre’s Web site at http://www.mtsu.edu/~theatre.