EDITORS: “TODAY’S RESPONSE” WILL TAKE THE DAY OFF THURSDAY, DEC. 6, AND FRIDAY, DEC. 7. “TODAY’S RESPONSE” WILL RESUME ON MONDAY, DEC. 10.

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Euphonium euphoria

“Twas the Brass Before Christmas,” a holiday concert featuring various brass groups formed by MTSU students, will take place at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 6, in the T. Earl Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. David Loucky, professor of trombone and euphonium at MTSU, says the program will feature traditional, festive brass works and one medley of Christmas carols. The concert also will include the participation of several brass quintets, horn quintets and a horn choir, as well as a low-brass ensemble composed of trombones and euphoniums. This concert is free and open to the public.

Contact Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493 or visit http://www.mtsumusic.com.

Let us show you around the place.

Starting today, Dec. 5, MTSU’s tours office will be located in the information desk on the first floor of the Cope Administration Building. After moving from her second-floor office area, tours coordinator Betty Pedigo will be relocated since the campus tours begin in the first-floor lobby area. Pedigo will continue to take tour reservations and provide visitors with campus information from the information desk from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. After the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and winter break between semesters, the student-led tours will resume Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008. “We provide catalogs, visitor parking passes, maps, self-guided tours and all campus materials,” Pedigo says.

Contact Randy Weiler in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
jweiler@mtsu.edu

We would be honored.

A first-ever meeting of the University Honors College Board of Visitors on Friday, Dec. 7, at the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building will bring together a distinguished group whose mission "is to provide leadership in promoting sustained program quality and positive change in the University Honors College." The meeting agenda will include PowerPoint presentations on the history and role of the honors college by Dean Phil Mathis, panel presentations/discussion with students, tours of the Martin Honors Buildingand Monahan Hall, MTSU development and marketing plan by Vice President Joe Bales and business meeting led by board chairman Jeff Whorley, former executive VP/debt management with the Sallie Mae Corp. (student loans).

For more information, call the Honors College at 615-898-2152 or MTSU News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

TR EXTRA

TUNE IN NEXT TIME--The December edition of the television program “Middle Tennessee Record” will present MTSU homecoming highlights; the groundbreaking at the site where a veterans memorial will be erected on campus; the dedication of a new home built by MTSU students volunteering for Habitat for Humanity; the annual Expanding Your Horizons conference to encourage girls who are interested in math and science; a new television program from the Department of Recording Industry that offers professional advise on songwriting; and other features that highlight MTSU faculty, students and events. To find out when “Middle Tennessee Record” airs in your area, go to http://www.mtsunews.com and click on “Middle Tennessee Record” on the right side of the page. For more information, contact John Lynch, Director of Marketing Technologies, at 615-898-5591 or jlynch@mtsu.edu.

A FIRST AT THE FRIST--The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 919 Broadway in Nashville, will feature “Mid-State Art Majors,” an aptly titled exhibit that will include works by eight MTSU art students through Monday, Dec. 31. “I’ve been here four years and there’s never been a show put together like this,” says Erin Anfinson, assistant professor of art and liaison for the exhibit. “They came to us with the opportunity, and we were thrilled.” Art professors nominated MTSU students to be featured in the exhibit. Then a panel of faculty chose students to represent each of the concentrations of the art department—printmaking, ceramics, paintings, sculpture and graphic design. For more information about the exhibit, including driving directions, please visit the center’s online site at http://www.fristcenter.org.

I’LL GRANT YOU THAT--The President’s Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) at MTSU is accepting applications from faculty for its 2008 Curriculum Integration Grants. The 2007 grants, which have been awarded to three professors in allocations of $1,800 each, are being used to infuse courses at MTSU with an appreciation for the experiences and perspectives of women. Dr. Jane Marcellus, journalism, will teach a course in the spring semester titled “Women in Journalism History.” Dr. Karen Petersen, political science, used her grant to create a version of her “Foundations of Government” general education class that would be applicable in a study-abroad context in Cherbourg, France. And Jeremy Rich, history, fashioned a course on “Women in Africa.” For more information on how to apply for this year’s grants, contact Dr. Tina Johnson, PCSW chair and associate professor of English at 615-898-2705 or ntjohnso@mtsu.edu.

GET THE PICTURE?--“One Perspective/Two Countries: Mexico/Italy” is the photography exhibit on display through tomorrow, Dec. 6 at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery at MTSU. Harvey Stein teaches at the International Center of Photography and has been on the faculty of the New School University, the Rochester Institute of Technology, Drew University, Bridgeport University and Jersey City State College. His photographs have been published in numerous magazines, including Time, Life, Esquire, The New Yorker, Forbes, People, and Smithsonian. For gallery hours, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu.

POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE--More than 1,400 degree candidates are expected to graduate during MTSU’s 96th fall commencement ceremonies, according to Dr. Sherian Huddleston, associate vice provost for enrollment services. On Saturday, Dec. 15, MTSU again will feature dual ceremonies and dual speakers starting at 9 a.m and 1 p.m. in Murphy Center. Gregg F. Morton, president of AT&T Tennessee, will be the guest speaker for the 9 a.m. ceremony. Dr. Viola Miller, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, will be the featured speaker for the 1 p.m. ceremony. On Dec. 15, the doors to Murphy Center will open at 8 a.m. for the morning ceremony. For the afternoon ceremony, the doors will open at noon. Contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

TOP OF THE POPS--The MTSU Commercial Music Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Dec. 5, in the T. Earl Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. A few of the works to be performed include In the Midnight Hour, Josie, Rock with You, and My Cherie Amour, among many others. The MTSU Commercial Music Ensemble is a high-energy pop band that performs a wide array of music from both yesterday and today. “The program features five vocalists backed by a rockin’ rhythm section of two guitars, keyboards, bass and drums as well as a four-piece horn section,” says Rich Adams, director of the ensemble. Members of the ensemble are made up of students from both the MTSU music school and the Department of Recording Industry. This concert is free and open to the public. Contact Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493 for more information or go to http://www.mtsumusic.edu.