Thursday, February 7, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

From the classroom to the street

“Africa and the Diaspora: African, African-American, and Caribbean Student Dialogue” is slated for 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. today, Feb. 7, in the Faculty Senate Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. Caroline Blackwell, Director of Multicultural Affairs at University School of Nashville and a trained facilitator with the Scarritt-Bennett Center’s Diversity in Dialogue program, will moderate the discussion. Tonight at 5:00 p.m., “Street Fight,” a film about racial politics in Newark, N.J., will be shown in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. Both events are free and open to the public and are in observance of Black History Month.

To find out more about Black History Month events at MTSU, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/~aahm.

Law and Order: Artificial Intelligence Unit

The Forensic Institute for Research and Education at MTSU will present an eight-hour course titled “Seizing and Securing Digital Evidence” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 8, in Room 178 of the Voorhies Industrial Studies Building. This course is designed to teach proper methods and protocols for seizing and securing digital evidence, computer components, and related equipment in computer-related investigations. The course will be instructed by Stan Mitchell, Forensic Lab Manager at LogicForce Consulting, LLC, a Nashville-based legal technology consulting firm where he conducts computer forensic examination in civil litigation. He has conducted more than 200 forensic analyses ranging from intellectual property theft to homicide investigations.

For more information, contact John Burchfield at 615-898-5804.
burchfie@mtsu.edu

Paper plants

View the works of students in the Spring 2008 Visiting Artist’s Seminar at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 8, in Room 354 of the Todd Building at MTSU. This year’s seminar, which was taught by Washington Post illustrator Patterson Clark, was titled “Sustainable Papermaking with Alien Weeds.” The MTSU students learned how to harvest invasive plants, make paper and other art materials from the plants and create works of art from the paper. The work on display was made from invasive paper mulberry harvested at the Stones River National Battlefield. There also will be a reception honoring Clark and the students. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Claudia Barnett at 615-898-2887.
cbarnett@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

WHAT ITEMS ARE ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?--Dr. Janet Belsky, professor of psychology, will be a guest on “In Your Prime,” a discussion program on NewsChannel5+ (Comcast Channel 50), with host Meryll Rose. Belsky, an expert on issues regarding aging, will discuss setting goals toward the end of one’s life as did the main characters in the recent movie “The Bucket List.” This program will air again at at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15; at noon, Saturday, Feb. 16; at 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17; and at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20. For more information, contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

SPANNING THE GLOBE--MTSU students who want to broaden their educational lives by experiencing other cultures in other countries have a new source of funding to help them pay for their study-abroad trips. However, time is of the essence because students wishing to take advantage of these opportunities have tight deadlines to meet. The MT Abroad Office is offering a Study Abroad Scholarship to undergraduate and graduate students who established MTSU student enrollment during the previous semester and maintain at least a 2.75 grade point average. The deadline is tomorrow, Feb. 8, for all Kentucky Institute for International Studies (KIIS) applications. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 15, for all other applications. Download the forms and find more information at http://www.mtabroad.com. Call the MT Abroad Office at 615-898-5179.

IRAQ AROUND THE CLOCK--Dr. Juan R.I. Cole, the Richard P. Mitchell Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan, will speak on “The Millennium in Pursuit: Shi’ite Opposition to the U.S. in Iraq” at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. Cole, a recent past president of the Middle East Studies Association, is a leading expert on Egypt, Iran, Iraq and South Asia, particularly 19th century history and studies of Shi’ite Islam and the Baha’i faith. Frequently, Cole appears as a guest on “The News Hour with Jim Lehrer” on PBS and contributes op-ed columns for The Nation, Salon.com, Tikkun, The Guardian, The Daily Star (Beirut) and other media outlets. This lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director of MTSU’s Middle East Center at 615-494-7906 or 615-494-8809, or send an e-mail to ahibbard@mtsu.edu.

SAX APPEAL--Two-time Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and composer Jeff Coffin will perform in the MTSU Jazz Artist Series at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 7, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall in MTSU’s Wright Music Building. Coffin has traveled the world with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones since 1997. He has shared the stage with such diverse artists as The Dave Matthews Band, Van Morrison, Phish, The Dixie Chicks, Brooks and Dunn and McCoy Tyner. “Coffin is an outstanding saxophonist and a charismatic performer,” says Don Aliquo, associate professor of saxophone and jazz studies at MTSU. “His music covers a wide range of the jazz spectrum, and he plays with amazing energy.” Individual tickets are $15 at the door. MTSU students, faculty and staff will be admitted free with a valid university ID. For more information, call Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493 or go to http:///www.mtsumusic.com.