Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

You gotta have faith

Dr. Waleed El-Ansary, professor of religious studies at the University of South Carolina, will speak on “Bridging the Gaps of Global Religions and Spirituality” at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 31, in MTSU’s James Union Building. The public and the media are welcome to attend. His research focuses on the relationship among religion, science and economics. “As an expert in interfaith dialogue, he is a consultant to the Royal Court of Jordan and the Grant Mufti of Egypt,” Dr. Allen Hibbard, director of MTSU’s Middle East Center and professor of English, says. El-Ansary’s address is co-sponsored by the Middle East Center in conjunction with the Third Biennial International Conference on Cultural Diversity.

For more information, contact Hibbard at 615-494-8809.
ahibbard@mtsu.edu

All that jazz

An MTSU faculty jazz concert featuring Don Aliquo (tenor sax) and Jamey Simmons (trumpet) will be held at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Oct. 30, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. Jazz Ensemble I the premier jazz ensemble at MTSU, will assist during the performances of Thelonious Monk’s Bright Mississippi and an original work by Simmons titled Damascus. The big-band tunes will feature jazz alumnus Oscar Utterstrom (trombone) and Vinne Ciesielski (trumpet), a professional musician based in Nashville. Additionally, many of the other selections will be original works by Aliquo. This concert is free and open to the public.

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

Express yourself!

Dr. Crosby Hunt, associate professor of speech and theatre, will conduct workshops on playwriting at the inaugural Express Yourself Arts Conference to be held from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 31, at Patterson Park Community Center in Murfreesboro. Workshops on poetry composition, songwriting and visual art also are slated. “We are seeing that students need these types of opportunities to explore artistic endeavors, learn how to work with other artists on professional projects or to enjoy a hobby more,” says Sandra Pineault, program director for the conference sponsor, Read to Succeed of Rutherford County. Co-partners include the Youth Culture and Arts Center (YCAC), Youth Empowerment through the Arts and Humanities (YEAH), the Business Education Partnership (BEP), the Artsy Mommas, Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation, Barnes and Noble, the General Mills Foundation and Rutherford County Schools.

Contact Pineault at 615-631-3688.
spineault@comcast.net

TR EXTRA

“THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.”--DOROTHY IN “THE WIZARD OF OZ”--MTSU students will sponsor a Habitat for Humanity home with 300 student volunteers beginning construction this week on a new house that will be completed within two weeks and dedicated at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1. The construction site is located at 446 State St. in Murfreesboro, where teams working in two shifts will labor to build a Habitat home for the Bautista family. The five-member Bautista clan has lived with family, in a basement and in public housing over the years, but never truly had a place to call home. Jacqueline I. Victory, director of MTSU’s Office of Leadership & Service, says the MTSU Student Government Association has spent two years working to raise the $50,000 needed to build the Habitat home for the Bautistas. Contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

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.

PINK AND PURPLE POWER--The June Anderson Women’s Center at MTSU is distributing purple ribbons suitable for wearing in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. “The numbers are alarming and the violence continues to spread across the United States,” says Terri Johnson, director of the Women’s Center. Since October also is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the center is making available pink ribbons to promote the need for early detection and more research. “Being a woman is the major risk factor for breast cancer,” Johnson says. “It is crucial to have early detection and screening to lower your risks.” For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

SCALE THE TOWER AND FEEL THE POWER OF PAINTBALL--Two physically and mentally challenging competitions open to the public as well as the MTSU community are slated for early next month to raise money for the MTSU Veterans Memorial. The Alpine Tower Challenge is scheduled for 1-5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, and Friday, Nov. 2 behind the Campus Recreation Center. The National Guard Paintball Tournament is set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at Middle Tennessee Paintball in Spring Hill. There is no entrance fee for either event, but donations are encouraged. In the tower challenge, teams of two persons each will attempt to scale a 55-foot-high wooden structure by using climbing holds, four dangling poles, a wooden “corporate ladder” with several feet of space between the rungs and a cargo net ladder. To learn more about the Alpine Tower Challenge, contact Josh Stone at the recreation center at 615-898-2104 or jrstone@mtsu.edu. To learn more about the National Guard Paintball Tournament, call Staff Sgt. Julius Santini, Tennessee National Guard representative at MTSU, at 615-494-7682 or julius.santini@us.army.mil.

THEIR BODY OF WORK--The Todd Gallery at MTSU will present “Of the Body,” an exhibition of contemporary figurative ceramic works from five artists of national recognition through Friday, Nov. 2. Dr. Lon Nuell, MTSU art professor and gallery curator, says, “The works to be seen in ‘Of the Body’ represent five unique perspectives that derive from the artists’ personal experiences and interpretations of the human presence in the contemporary world. Within these interpretations five manifestations occur.” The artists whose work will be showcased will include John Donovan, foundations instructor at MTSU. Admission is free and open to the public. Contact Eric Snyder, gallery assistant, at 615-898-5653.

Y’ALL COME TO SEE US WHEN YOU CAN--Officials in the MTSU Office of Admissions say that the Fall Visit Day, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 3, is full. Nearly 500 prospective students and their family members have registered. Admissions representatives request that prospective students and their families take one of the daily tours offered through Wednesday, Dec. 5. Please note that no tours will be offered Nov. 14-16 (Admission staff will be attending a conference that day.) and Nov. 21-23 (Thanksgiving holiday). The Nov. 3 Fall Visit Day will start at 10 a.m. CDT in the Cope Administration Building. Contact the Office of Admissions at 615-898-2111.

PICK A PAINTED PUMPKIN--The student chapter of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) at MTSU is offering painted pumpkins just in time for Halloween. Students will paint one of eight predetermined images, including the MT Logo, a black cat, a ghost, and a witch, on a pumpkin for $8.00 each. Images will vary slightly according to the form of the pumpkin. If you want something different, like a sports team logo or additional Halloween scenes, that will cost you $12.50 each. Pumpkins will be delivered. Cash or checks only. Make checks payable to MTSU NAEA Student Chapter. Please indicate the pumpkin design and quantity you would like to purchase. Include your phone number and the location where you want the pumpkin to be delivered. Call 931-215-2273 for more information, and send a picture or detailed description of the image you want to Becca Rodgers at rrr2g@mtsu.edu.

UP, UP AND AWAY--The 2007 Study Abroad Fair at MTSU will take place Thursday, Nov. 1, on the second floor of the Keathley University Center. There will be foreign foods to sample, international music, and numerous people representing various venues of the study abroad experience. They will be happy to tell all about transportation, financing, locales, and how particular study abroad trips fit into students’ degree tracks. The joy of learning about other lands and cultures in person is not merely a dream—it can become a reality. Open your eyes to the great opportunities to learn and earn credit overseas. Contact Jennifer Campbell or Rachael King in the Office of International Education and Exchange, temporarily located in Room 129 of the Todd Building, at 615-898-5179 or jjcampbe@mtsu.edu or rak2m@mtsu.edu.

WHASSUP?--Author, academic, minister and commentator Michael Eric Dyson, known as the “hip-hop intellectual” among critics and fans, will speak at MTSU at 7 p.m., tomorrow, Oct. 31, in the Alumni Memorial Gym. His address, including a question-and-answer period, is free and open to the public. Dyson, who has been named one of the 100 most influential black Americans by Ebony magazine, is a professor at Georgetown University teaching English, theology and African-American studies. He is the author of 15 books, including Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster; Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind?; and his latest, Know What I Mean?, an examination of hip-hop music with an introduction by Jay-Z. Contact Luther Buie, interim director of the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, at 615-898-2987 or lbuie@mtsu.edu.