Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Gone with the winds

The MTSU Wind Ensemble will open its spring semester concert series with the annual Wind Band Conference Concert, which will feature the Tennessee premiere of a composition by David Dillingham, at 8 p.m. FRIDAY in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building. Dillingham’s Concerto for Marimba and Wind Ensemble is a three-movement work that explores the entire five-octave range of the Grand Concert Marimba and will feature guest soloist and world-class marimba artist She-e Wu. Additionally, Dillingham, who will be present for the concert, will guest conduct another new piece he penned titled Aerodynamics, a composition that was inspired by the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight. The concert is free and open to the public.

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

Upgrading the way the graders are graded

The Pedagogy Task Force has been at work since the fall of 2003 on ways to reformulate the questionnaire students use to assess their professors’ performance at the end of each semester. An instrument developed at the University of California at Berkeley has met with favorable response from 100 percent of faculty volunteers, 100 percent of deans and chairs and 76 percent of students surveyed. The panel recommends that the Learning, Teaching and Innovative Technologies Center develop workshops to show faculty how to improve their performance in their weaker categories. The task force remains committed to ascertaining feedback from all across the campus community and plans to discuss its recommendations with the chairs’ council, the Faculty Senate and representatives of individual colleges.

Contact Wendy Koenig at 615-898-2014
wkoenig@mtsu.edu
or Michael Fleming at 615-898-2029
mfleming@mtsu.edu

The mastery of MIMIC

The grand opening for the new MTSU Interdisciplinary Microanalysis and Imaging Center will be held from 2 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. FRIDAY in the Forrest Hall Annex behind Keathley University Center. MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee will preside at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which is slated for 2:30 p.m. in the west wing. The center’s showpiece equipment includes a state-of-the-art Hitachi-made transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope with an X-ray analyzer. Dr. Andrienne Friedli, chemistry, says both electron microscopes are all-digital and have remote access capability.

Contact Friedli at 615-898-2071.
afriedli@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

CAUGHT IN THE ACT—Sandra Hawkins, instructor, MTSU ACT Preparation Course, will conduct an enrichment program for high school juniors and seniors titled “Don’t Take the ACT Without Preparation!” through the auspices of the Satellite and Webcasting Center at 9 a.m. CST TODAY. This program will provide strategies for the English/Reading sections, skills needed, Web sites and hard copy practice tests suggestions. For more information, call 615-898-2737 or send an e-mail to itsc@mtsu.edu

THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF PEACE--Internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker Lilly Rivlin will visit TOMORROW to show her 2006 film “Can You Hear Me? Israeli and Palestinian Women Fight for Peace.” The viewing, which is free and open to the public, will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. Rivlin will present the film and will be available afterward to answer questions. Directed, written, and produced by Rivlin and narrated by actress Debra Winger, “Can You Hear Me?” focuses on how dialogue, even among those who have profound disagrements, can bring about positive and significant change. Contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director, Middle East Center, at 615-494-8809 or ahibbard@mtsu.edu or Dr. Sonja Hedgepeth at 615-898-2280 or shedgepe@mtsu.edu.

SOUTH OF THE BORDER--“Landscapes of Mexico,” a photography exhibit featuring the works of Hector Montes de Oca, is on display through February 28 at Baldwin Photographic Gallery in the Learning Resources Center. The exhibit is made up of 40 silver gelatine black-and-white prints. He is considered to be one of the most prominent Mexican photographers of his generation. He is especially distinguished for his black-and-white landscapes, which reveal his native country in a most striking and intimate manner. The exhibit will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Mr. de Oca will present a slide show/lecture on his work at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. Exhibitions and lectures are free and open to the public. Contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu

WE’D BE HONORED!--The McNair Scholars Program and University Honors College will hold a joint recruiting reception for current students from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. TOMORROW in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. “(They) will talk about their experiences, and the deans or directors of the programs will offer a welcome and talk about general information about their programs,” Michelle Arnold, Honors College program coordinator and adviser, says. “It’s very informal. People in the audience will ask questions. It was a great success last year. Food will be provided. The event is open to students with a 3.0 grade point average or higher and who meet respective McNair and Honors College qualifications. Contact Arnold or Honors College Dean Dr. Phil Mathis at 615-898-2152. Contact McNair Scholars Program Director Dr. Diane Miller or Coordinator Steve Saunders at 615-904-8462.