Monday, September 17, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Trio trills

The Verdehr Trio, a violin-clarinet-piano trio in residence at Michigan State Univrsity, will open MTSU’s 2007-2008 Presidential Concert Series at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall in the Wright Music Building. According to one Washington Post story, “The Verdehr Trio is a first-rate chamber group with a difference—the three have been winning celebrity over 30 years for creating a new niche in world music, commissioning 170-plus works by an international bevy of composers … impeccably matched phrasing and contrasting tonal colors as clearly etched as Mozart’s operatic characters.” All events in the Presidential Concert Series are free and open to the public.

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

Fuel for thought

The July issue of Popular Science magazine considers the potential of making biofuels from green algae. “One study reports that 15,000 acres flooded in the west could grow enough green algae to replace the foreign oil used for diesel fuel,” says Dr. Cliff Ricketts, agribusiness and agriscience. “The rest of the story is that it is still in research, and it is far from being complete. Several companies throughout the world are working on the process, but if they reach their objectives it would free fertile farmland for food and the deserts for food production.”

Contact Ricketts at 615-898-2430.
srickett@mtsu.edu

R U Aware?

MTSU students, faculty and staff now will be able to receive safety-alert text messages on their cell phones when they register and become part of MTSU’s Emergency Text Messaging Service. The university recently contracted with RAVE Wireless to administer the service. “In our efforts to keep our campus as safe as possible, especially in today’s uncertain world, we must be able to notify students, faculty and staff in a timely and responsible manner,” President Sidney A. McPhee says. “To become part of this vital communication network, however, a person must opt into the program.” Campus safety alerts may include a security breach, fire, or class cancellation due to impending severe weather, among other situations.

Contact Buddy Peaster, Director of Public Safety, at 615-898-2424.
cpeaster@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.

WOMEN IN DEPTH--From prisoners to poetry and from Hitler to Hillary, the 2007-2008 Women’s Studies Research Series at MTSU will offer presentations on a diversity of provocative and thought-provoking topics this academic year. Each of the seven lectures is slated to take place at 3 p.m. one Thursday a month in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building. All lectures are free and open to the public. “The MTSU women’s Studies Research Series has something for everyone interested in women’s experience,” says Dr. Jane Marcellus, professor of mass communication. “By bringing together scholars from across campus, we touch on a wide variety of feminist viewpoints in an informal monthly gathering.” The first presentation will be “Daughters in the Fatherland: Behavioral Socialization of German Girls in Nazi Germany,” by Dr. Nancy Rupprecht, professor of history, Sept. 20. Contact Marcellus at 615-898-5282 or jmarcell@mtsu.edu.

WE THE PEOPLE--Exercise your rights—speak your mind! Today, September 17, is Constitution Day at MTSU. An open mike will be available on the Keathley University Center knoll from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students who speak their minds will receive an American Democracy Project t-shirt. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the KUC area, students will distribute pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution to passersby. Five thousand copies will be on hand as needed. The ADP will plant signs across the campus with the text of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Five other sets of five signs will be placed in sequence so that passersby will be able to read the full text of the First Amendment. Contact Dr. Jim Williams, ADP Coordinator, at 615-898-2633 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu.

THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY--“Colleagues: A Community College Art Faculty Exhibition” is the title of the upcoming diversity-rich art exhibit that will be presented today 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.