Monday, August 20, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

From Russia with music

MTSU’s budding relationships with Russian institutions of higher learning will come into full flower Aug. 21 with the arrival of five graduate students from State University of Management in Moscow. The Russian students will enhance their pursuit of master’s degrees in music management under the auspices of the Department of Recording Industry. Next summer, several MTSU students will reciprocate by going to Moscow and St. Petersburg to study. “We hope it is just the beginning of large-scale cooperation with Russian schools,” says Dr. Andrei Korobkov, associate professor of political science and a member of the MTSU delegation that visited Russia last summer. Some 12 agreements have been signed with institutions in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

Contact Korobkov at 615-898-2945.
korobkov@mtsu.edu

Stairway to the stars

Second-phase construction on MTSU’s Uranidrome will be completed around December 2007, but could extend until summer or fall 2008, says Dr. Eric Klumpe, physics and astronomy. The astronomical observatory is 90 feet in diameter with 12 columns, each precisely aligned with the Earth and the heavens. The columns are inscribed with information about the sun, the moon, Earth and other planets, as well as Pluto. The observatory also features a color-coded system for finding the North Star, while columns to the east and west are aligned with the spring and autumn equinox. Earlier this year, the Uranidrome earned an Honor Award for Engineering Excellence for Hart Freeland Roberts Inc., a Nashville-based engineering firm.

Contact Klumpe at 615-898-2483.
eklumpe@mtsu.edu

Playing it by the book

With students preparing to return to MTSU for the fall semester, they’re lining up to buy their textbooks now. For years, textbook authors have been pinned with a considerable share of the blame for ever-increasing textbook prices, observes Dr. Janet Belsky, professor of psychology and textbook author. But she says, “You can’t make money from writing textbooks. Hour by hour, (writing a text pays the author) less than minimum wage, even for a potentially blockbuster, huge-market book.” Specifically, she adds, for her latest title, Experiencing the Lifespan (Bedford, Freeman & Worth), which garnered a five-star reviewer rating on Amazon.com, writing a text is a labor of love, not one undertaken for money.

Contact Belsky at 615-898-5935.
jbelsky@mtsu.edu


TR EXTRA

AUDIO AUGMENTATION--Give your kids a wholesome, fun extracurricular activity this school year. Enroll your child in the Youth Culture and Arts Center’s (YCAC) next recording workshop at MTSU. The current enrollment period is in effect through Sept. 7 for the upcoming Sept. 13-Oct. 12 workshop in MTSU’s John Bragg Mass Communication Building. The workshop is for youngsters ages 12-17, and the fee is $125 per student. Classes are taught by Ryan York, a 21-year-old MTSU student and teacher of guitar, bass, and drums lessons at Chambers Guitars and Musical Instruments in Murfreesboro. Ryan will provide instruction in cassette four-track instruction, digital eight-track, computer recording and electronic music. All proceeds will benefit YCAC, a program of Youth Empowerment Through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit organization. Call 615-631-9479 or contact York at bororecording@gmail.com.