Friday, September 28, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

New Faces, New Sounds

The Stones River Chamber Players, artists-in-residence at MTSU, will present New Faces, New Sounds, the group’s first concert of the 2007-2008 season, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1, in the T. Earl Hinton Hall of Wright Music Building. Event organizers say one highlight of the free and open concert will be its finale, The Creation of the World, by Darius Milhaud, a ballet score for chamber orchestra that will be conducted by Reed Thomas, MTSU director of bands. The work, which is considered innovative for its fusion of jazz and classical styles, will be accompanied by abstract paintings projected on a screen. The artworks were painted by art students at the new Discovery School, a magnet school for high-achieving elementary students in Murfreesboro.

For more information, call 615-898-2493 or visit http://www.mtsumusic.com/.

Burning down the house

Japan’s finance minister says the Group of Seven finance ministers and central bankers will talk about how to limit the effects of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis next month at a meeting in Washington. Dr. Doug Timmons, economics and finance, says, “The problems began in 2004 as the Fed started raising interest rates as the economy started to recover. Most of the subprime loans were adjustable rate loans, and, as rates rose, the rate of the loans were reset at a higher rate, which meant a higher monthly mortgage payment. By mid-2005, the housing bubble had burst, and, in some areas of the country, home prices were even falling. With higher monthly prices, loan defaults increased, but, unlike the 2001-2005 period, home prices were no longer going up.”

Contact Timmons at 615-898-5750.
jtimmons@mtsu.edu

The era of good feeling?

The percentage of local consumers who said that business conditions in middle Tennessee are “good” increased to 63 from 58 in May. The percentage of consumers who said that business conditions in the region will be “better” six months from now increased to 33 from 27. These are some of the results from the latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index, a poll of 400 randomly selected adult residents of Davidson, Rutherford and Williamson counties conducted on Sept. 18 and 19. Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the Office of Consumer Research, attributes the good feelings to lower interest rates and higher stock market yields. “When the market rises, consumers with investments in the stock market for retirement and long-term savings feel like they have more money,” Graeff says.

Contact Graeff at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@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.

THERE’S STILL A CHANCE--Openings remain for girls in grades 5-8 to register online to attend the 11th annual Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science through the registration deadline of Oct. 1. EYH will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at sites across the MTSU campus. About 100 openings remain for the girls in grades 5-8. There is a $12 registration fee, but scholarships are available. For the first time, high-school girls will participate with a separate EYH event. As of Sept. 24, about 20 openings remained. Their registration fee is $15. EYH is a hands-on science and math conference. Participants will learn more about science and math careers from MTSU faculty and off-campus professionals. To register, visit mtsu.edu/~eyh. For more information about the girls in grades 5-8, call Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross at 615-904-8253 or Dr. Rebecca Zijlstra at 615-898-5776. For more information about the high-school girls, call Karen Claud at 615-504-8587.

MONEY MATTERS--Dennis P. Lockhart, 14th president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will be the keynote speaker at the 15th annual Economic Outlook Conference at MTSU today, Sept. 28. Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, says the conference is targeted especially to bankers, business owners and managers, community officials and leaders, as well as business and economics faculty and students. Continuing its tradition of providing substantive information, the conference also will feature Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, who will provide a midstate/regional economic update. Visit http://business.web.mtsu.edu/ for more information.

COURAGE--MTSU Theatre will present its first outdoor theatrical experience with the classic drama “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Bertolt Brecht. The production will play at 7:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night and Oct. 3, 5 and 6 on the south lawn of the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building’s Tucker Theatre. The play’s storyline takes place amid a 30-year war in which Mother Courage, a canteen woman, continues to profit from the war. Her business is the war, and the wagon she pulls is her only possession. Her three children—Eilif, Swiss Cheese and Kattrin—have no father and no home. There is no charge for admission, and spaces are on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 7 p.m. prior to each performance. Donations are appreciated. For more information, please visit MTSU Theatre online at http://www.mtsu.edu/~theatre.