Friday, February 23, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Gold, silver, and bronze

About 400 middle and high school students will be competing in the annual Regional Science Olympiad TOMORROW at various campus sites. Dr. Pat Patterson, event director, said teams from 14 middle schools and 13 high schools will participate. Four high school teams and two middle school teams will advance to the state competition Saturday, March 31, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The National Science Olympiad will take place May 18-19 in Wichita, Kansas. Patterson says two of the high schools in the competition, Nashville's Hume-Fogg and Martin Luther King, are in the top 50 in the country. "We want all kids exposed to Science Olympiad," Patterson says. "We need to show it's for all kids."

Contact Patterson at 615-898-5085.
ppatters@mtsu.edu

Hit the high notes

The first-ever MTSU Women's Choir Invitational featuring select high school choirs and the MTSU Women's Chorale will be held beginning with 8:30 a.m. registration TOMORROW in Wright Music Building and ending with a final concert performance at 4:30 p.m. in the building's Hinton Music Hall. "The MTSU Women's Choir Invitational has been designed to recognize some of the state's top female high school choirs," Dr. Jamila McWhirter, assistant professor of choral music education, says. "This is a wonderful opportunity for these young women to sing together in a supportive environment." The 4:30 p.m. concert is free and open to the public.

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

Spin or substance?

MTSU's College of Mass Communication will host a national summit Feb. 27-March 2 to address the top issues regarding media ethics in the United States. On Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m., there will be a screening of filmmaker and Harvard University professor Robb Moss's latest work, "Secrecy," a collaboration with Peter Galison exploring the world of government secrecy, in Room 221 of the Learning Resource Center, to be followed by a public question-and-answer period. The public also is invited to a lecture by Adam Clayton Powell III, former vice president of technology and programs at The Freedom Forum, a veteran newsman and a visiting professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, at 7:30 p.m. March 1, also in LRC 221.

Contact Cooper at 615-904-8281.
twcooper@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THE WORKING WORLD--A highly skilled workforce is critical in order to compete in today's global economy. What should our community do to build a competitive workforce? These matters and others will be discussed in a community forum titled "Building the Next Workforce: Making Choices for Our Community" from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. TOMORROW at Through the Grapevine Restaurant, 630 Broadmor St. in Murfreesboro. This event is sponsored by MTSU and the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce through the auspices of the Southern Growth Policies Board. Among the topics to be discussed are educational achievement, serving industry, and workforce traits. Contact Rosemary Owens at 615-898-2180 or owens@mtsu.edu.

THE ROAD TO (AND FROM) MOROCCO--Dr. Ron Messier, professor emeritus of MTSU and senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University , will give a lecture titled “Allah and Dr. Buzzard: Muslim Slaves in America ” at 4:30 p.m. on MONDAY in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. The event is free and open to the public. A well-known and highly respected figure in Middle East Studies, Dr. Messier recently has headed extensive archeological investigations of the medieval city of Sijilmasa and an Aghmat site in Morocco . Messier taught courses in Middle East history for thirty years at MTSU and has been an instrumental, moving force behind the creation of MTSU’s new Middle East Center.Contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director, Middle East Center, at 615-898-2665 or
ahibbard@mtsu.edu.

BEAUTIFUL BIWA--The Japan-U.S. Program of MTSU will present the Junko Tahara Biwa Ensemble at this year’s Music from Japan concert at 7 p.m. MONDAY in Hinton Hall in the Wright Music Building. Tahara has performed extensively in Japan and at major venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in the United States. Her instrument, the biwa, is a fretted lute frequently used in the performance of traditional Japanese music. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. To obtain tickets by mail, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Japan-U.S. Program, Box 167, MTSU, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132. For more information, contact Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito at 615-898-2229 or japan@mtsu.edu.

WE’RE NOT PUTIN YOU ON.--Dr. Vladimir Mukomel, lead researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, will speak at 6 p.m. MONDAY in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. Mukomel will discuss the ethnic aspects of migration in Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s policies in the area of civil liberties. The holder of doctorates in sociology and economics, Mukomel has published more than 120 academic works, including 13 books. He regularly comments on Russian politics for the Russian and international media. This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the American Democracy Project, GLOBAL (Get Lost Outside Boundaries and Limitations), and Americans for Informed Democracy (AID).Contact Dr. Andrei Korobkov at 615-898-2945 or korobkov@mtsu.edu or GLOBAL President Candi Nunley at global@mtsu.edu or AID President Angie Feeney at amf3g@mtsu.edu.

GIVE ME JUST A LITTLE MORE TIME--Officials at MTSU have extended the deadline to March 1 for prospective students wanting to apply for the EdScholar scholarships and approximately 70 MTSU Foundation scholarships offered by the Office of Financial Aid, Bonnie McCarty, assistant director of scholarships, says. The deadline was to be Feb. 15. A transition to a new computer software system from an old one is the reason for the extension. In addition to applying for the scholarships (EdScholar can be done online), students must apply for admission to the university. For information, call Admissions at 615-898-2111 or Financial Aid at 615-898-2830, or visit their Web sites at http://www.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.

“THE EMPIRES OF THE FUTURE ARE THE EMPIRES OF THE MIND.”—WINSTON CHURCHILL--The cigar-chomping bulldog of Britain during World War II, Winston Churchill’s wartime leadership is legendary. But what about the other Churchills—prisoner of war, disgraced politician, painter, and Nobel Prize-winning author? MTSU is offering a July 2007 study-abroad history course which will take students to the Cabinet War Rooms underneath London, as well as Parliament, Churchill’s birthplace, his country estate, and other sites related to the life of this great statesman. The instructor will be Dr. Jim Williams, a Churchill Fellow of Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., site of Churchill’s famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946. Contact Williams at 615-898-2633 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu or Jennifer Campbell, MTSU Study Abroad Office, at 615-898-5179 or jjcampbe@mtsu.edu.

DROP AND GIVE ME 20!--A groundbreaking ceremony for the Campus Recreation Center expansion and new Health and Wellness Center will be held at 2 p.m. TODAY in the dance aerobics room at the Rec Center. The expansion program will include an enlarged weight room, sport club/dance room, outdoor recreation equipment room, cardiovascular room, group meeting room, office suite, new entrance lobby, health assessment room, and family changing room. Another part of the expansion program already well underway is the multi-sport field complex on East Main Street. The project will include a field house, three fields, a jogging track, and parking area. This project is slated for completion this August. Recreation Center/Health and Wellness staff and Campus Planning officials will be on hand at the groundbreaking to answer questions. Media welcomed. Contact Arthur Reed, manager, campus planning, at 615-494-8867 or adreed@mtsu.edu.

CUMBERLAND MOUNTAIN HIGH--Dr. Jack Justin Turner, professor emeritus of political science, will discuss his novel, The Sheriffs’ Murder Cases (Chestnut Hill, 2006), at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, Mar. 1, in Room 103 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. This event is free and open to the public. Turner will read selected portions of his book, which is the story of Jake Herald, High Sheriff or Chief Deputy or Chinoe County from 1920-1945. “I think of Jake Herald as a kind of mixture, and it’s a strange mixture, of Hamlet, maybe, and Dirty Harry,” Turner says, referring to William Shakespeare’s tragic prince and Clint Eastwood’s vigilante movie detective. “He likes to think about things and work them out, but once he gets started, he’s capable of taking extreme action, if necessary.” Contact Connie Huddleston, events coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts, at 615-494-7628 or chudd@mtsu.edu.

BRICK BY BRICK--Each and every brick to be laid in the MTSU Veterans Memorial will represent the support of an entire community for the enlightenment and inspiration of future generations. The bricks may be reserved by all those who wish to honor a veteran or active-duty service member or merely acknowledge their support for the construction of a permanent on-campus memorial to MTSU faculty, students, staff and administrators who perished while serving their country. The bricks will be integrated into the overall memorial design. All proceeds will help to pay for the memorial, which will be an outdoor classroom that includes a wall with the names of the military personnel. To purhcase a brick with a memorial message, send a tax-deductible check of $150 payable to “MTSU Foundation—Veterans Memorial,” to P.O. Box 109, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. Credit cards also are accepted. Address any questions about brick purchases or donations to Robyn Kilpatrick at 615-898-5223 or rkilpatr@mtsu.edu.