Monday, February 26, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

University Day

Memphis native Aureal Alexander will represent MTSU in accompanying university officials as they call on our state lawmakers during the Tennessee Board of Regents' "University Day at the Legislature" TOMORROW at Legislative Plaza in Nashville. Each of the six TBR universities will participate with booths and displays showcasing a signature program. MTSU will focus on its experiential learning programs, which provide students opportunities for hands-on learning experiences in their fields of study. Alexander, along with other institutions' students, was featured in TBR's recent publication Educating Tennessee: Tennessee Board of Regents Institutions and Providing Access to Higher Education.

Contact Mary Morgan at the Tennessee Board of Regents at 615-366-4414.

A Gay day

Hohenwald native William Gay will deliver a free public reading at 4:30 p.m. THURSDAY in the Hazlewood Dining Hall of the James Union Building. Gay is the author of three novels--The Long Home, Provinces of Night, and Twilight--and one collection of short stories titled I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down. Randal Mackin, assistant professor of English, says of Gay, "His stories have been widely anthologized, including several selections chosen for New Stories from the South, and he has published in the Georgia Review and Missouri Review, among other notable literary magazines." A past winner of the William Peden Award and the James Michener Memorial Prize, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Gay will be available for a book signing immediately following his reading.

Contact Mackin at 615-904-8155.
rtmackin@mtsu.edu

A day without violence?

A draft report from the Federal Communications Commission suggests the commissioners think Congress can crack down on violence without violating the First Amendment. Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, says, "It's really simplistic and unrealistic--which is probably why the FCC and Congress plan to pursue it--to try to isolate TV, video games, films, or any single factor as the sole cause for behavioral violence in the general culture and children specifically. It is, however, a political winner and a presidential election IS on the horizon. Plus, when we're focused on the so-called 'culture wars' we're not talking about health care and Social Security. Who do you suppose gains when we don't think about the high cost of health care or issues of global warming? But that's another story."

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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. TODAY 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. TONIGHT 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. TONIGHT 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 WEDNESDAY 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 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.

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, 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.

SPIN OR SUBSTANCE?--MTSU's College of Mass Communication will host a national summit tomorrow through March 2 to address the top issues regarding media ethics in the United States. TOMORROW NIGHT 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. THURSDAY NIGHT, also in LRC 221. Contact Cooper at 615-904-8281 or twcooper@mtsu.edu.