Friday, September 21, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“Do, do, do, do, da, da, da, da/Is all I want to say to you”—The Police

At about the age of 18 months, kids undergo a “vocabulary explosion.” Bob McMurray of the University of Iowa says kids are always going to have this word spurt as long as they are learning more than one word at a time and they are learning a greater number of difficult or moderately difficult words than easy words. Dr. Kathleen Burriss, elementary and special education, says, “Repetition of songs, children’s poems, and rhyming games provide a foundation for children’s language. In further support of infant/toddler vocabulary development and fluency, adults, using eye-to-eye contact, warmth and expression daily read aloud to their children. And, yes, when adults help, even infants and toddlers can interact with the story, the characters and the action.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2323.
kburriss@mtsu.edu

Stride for stride

The inaugural Murfreesboro Half Marathon is scheduled for tomorrow, Sept. 22, at 7 a.m. with a wheelchair start at 6:55 a.m. Because the 13.1-mile course runs by the geographic center of Tennessee and begins and ends at MTSU, it has been tagged “The Middle Half.” The course goes past Greek Row and down scenic tree-lined Main Street. Runners will circle the Rutherford County Courthouse on the square; run to Oaklands Historic House Museum, where they will be cheered by onlookers in period costumes; and finish in grand style by running the “Lightning Bolt” on the MTSU track. The runners will cross the finish line at the MTSU Track and Soccer Field.

For more information, go to http://www.themiddlehalf.com.

The power of piano

MTSU faculty pianist Lynn Rice-See will give a public recital at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. Rice-See will perform Chopin’s Nocturne in B major and Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Alexander Scriabin’s Sonata No. 7, and Schubert’s Sonata in A major. Additionally, a special feature will be the premiere of In the Tower of Sleep, a new work by Paul Osterfield, associate professor of music composition and theory at MTSU. Rice-See debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1982. Her new CD, Evocacion, will be available from Americus CD in fall 2007.

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

TR EXTRA

BONJOUR!--Any student whose summer was no more exciting than spending endless hours lying by the pool frying to a crisp can prepare now for an unforgettable summer 2008. There’s no time like the present to register for the annual general education study abroad program in Cherbourg, France, which will run from June 2 to June 27. At this beautiful port town in the Normandy region of northwest France, students will experience the history, art and culture of the area. “With the general education program, a student can spend four weeks in Cherbourg and in Normandy, and they can begin studying French while they’re there if they choose to, but they don’t have to already know any French,” Dr. Anne Sloan, Assistant to the Provost for International Education, says. Contact Sloan at 615-898-5091 or asloan@mtsu.edu or Jennifer Campbell, Director of International Education and Exchange, at 615-898-5179 or jjcampbe@mtsu.edu.

THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY--“Colleagues: A Community College Art Faculty Exhibition” is the title of the upcoming diversity-rich art exhibit that is being presented through Oct. 4 in the Todd Gallery on the MTSU campus. “This exhibition recognizes the talented faculty who serve students enrolled in community colleges across the state that are often far removed from major population centers,” says Lon Nuell, professor of art and gallery curator. Nuell says each of the participating artists work and teach in traditional studio areas such as painting, photography, printmaking, drawing, ceramics and sculpture, and graphic design and visual communication. The Todd Gallery, located on the first floor of the Todd Building, is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays. Admission is always free, and the exhibit is open to the public. For more information, please contact Eric Snyder, gallery assistant, at 615-898-5653.

DON’T GET MAD, GET RAD!--The Rape Aggression Defense system is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, while progressing to the basics of hands-on defense training. Classes will begin Tuesday, Sept. 25, and will run through Tuesday, Oct. 30. Classes will be held from 6-8 p.m. for six consecutive sessions. The class is offered free of charge to all MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public. A workbook/training manual is provided to each student. Classes will be held at the MTSU Public Safety Training Room located at 1412 East Main Street. For information or to enroll, call RAD instructor David Smith at 615-494-8855.

VISITORS WELCOME--Limited space remains available for prospective students to register for the Saturday, Sept. 22, Fall Visit Day. MTSU can accommodate up to 400 prospective students and their families, but only 59 spots remained open as of Sept. 13. Attendees on Sept. 22 can arrive as early as 9 a.m. CDT at the Cope Administration Building to register. The second Fall Visit Day will be held starting at 9 a.m. CDT Saturday, Nov. 3, and plenty of openings remain for that date. Daily tours are Monday through Friday throughout the fall, usually at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. No tours will be held Oct. 12/Oct. 15-16 (fall break), Nov. 14-16 (admissions staff at a conference), and Nov. 21-23 (Thanksgiving holiday). Prospective students and their parents or guardians can register online at http://www.mtsu.edu/admissn by clicking on “prospective students” and then “campus tours” or by calling 615-898-5670.

GONE WITH THE WINDS--The MTSU Wind Ensemble will open its 2007-2008 season with a combination of standard wind repertoire and new works in a free and open concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Sept. 21, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. The concert will begin with David Dzubay’s Ra!, followed by Suite Francais by Milhaud, the world premiere of Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble by Robert Bradshaw, and Samuel Hazo’s Ride. The MTSU Wind Ensemble is the premier performing ensemble for wind, brass, and percussion students at the university. Members are selected through audition each semester and comprise the best musicians at MTSU. For more information, call 615-898-2493 or visit http://www.mtsumusic.com.

A SOUND DECISION--Check out MTSU Audio Clips on the Web at http://www.mtsunews.com. Click on “MTSU Audio Clips” on the right side of the page to read radio-ready stories, and click on the mp3 files to listen to the accompanying sound. Topic One is the upcoming Presidential Prism Gala Concert slated for Oct. 4 to benefit hurricane-ravaged Southern University at New Orleans. Topic Two is the rediscovery of a bit of hidden history by MTSU graduate student Sarah Elizabeth Hickman, who is writing her master’s thesis about Harness Racing Hall-of-Famer and Tennessee native Edward Franklin “Pop” Geers. Audio Clips are fashioned for radio professionals to use in their newscasts by simply cutting and pasting. For more information, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.