Friday, May 2, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The money mess

The economic indicators for the Nashville metropolitan area for the month of March show modest nonfarm employment growth, even though housing construction is falling and the unemployment rate is going up. Total nonfarm employment increased 1.8% between December 2007 and March 2008 and 1.5% between March 2007 and March 2008. Meanwhile, the number of single-family housing units authorized went down 57% from March to March, and the total number of housing units authorized tanked 47.7%. Residential real estate closings fell 27.3% from March to March, while residential real estate inventory went up 16.8%. The jobless rate increased 1.3% from March 2007 to March 2008.

Contact Dr. David Penn, director of the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center, at 615-898-2610.
dpenn@mtsu.edu

Consumption conundrum

Consumers’ views of the economy did not get any rosier between February and April of this year. The number of participants in the Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index who agreed with the statement “Business conditions in Middle Tennessee are good” declined 15%. The number of respondents who believed that “Business conditions in the U.S. are good” and that “Jobs in Middle Tennessee are easy to find” went down 7%. And the number of people who believed “Six months from now there will be more job openings in Middle Tennessee,” “Twelve months from now I will be better off financially than I am today,” “Now is a good time to make large purchases,” and “Now is a good time to buy a home” all fell 4%/. The current poll of 452 randomly selected adult residents of Davidson, Rutherford and Williamson counties was conducted on the evenings of Monday, April 14, and Thursday, April 17.

Contact Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the MTSU Office of Consumer Research, at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

Make it count!

The 17th annual Accounting Alumni Appreciation Day at MTSU is in progress today, May 2, through 4:45 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. The event is targeted to those interested in accounting, auditing, taxation and computer training. Net proceeds from the event will be earmarked for accounting scholarships. Participants will earn eight hours of CPE credit and have the opportunity to visit with alumni and former professors. Bruce Androphy, executive director with the Tennessee Ethics Commission, will provide the conference with a session on Tennessee ethics laws.

For more information, contact the Department of Accounting at 615-898-5306.

TR EXTRA

THE PAPER CHASE—The James E. Walker Library and the MTSU Department of Art are joining forces again this year to raise student awareness of paper usage through an imaginative project that will be on display in the waning days of the spring semester. The “Paper Rewind” project will remain in place through Wednesday, May 7. While students are studying for final exams and preparing research papers, they will be surrounded by paper animals, trees and people created by Professor Thomas Sturgill’s 3D design classes. In fact, students might find themselves sitting next to a paper person or look up to see a paper person sailing a paper airplane off the fourth floor balcony. “Students are printing 6,500,000 copies a year from computer printers, and this art project is intended to raise awareness on the part of the students to conserve natural resources and think before they print,” says Bill Black, library professor in charge of administrative services. Contact Black at 615-898-8378 or wblack@mtsu.edu; contact Sturgill at 615-898-2460 or sturgill@mtsu.edu. For more information, go to http://www.paperrewind.com.

WOOF!—The See Spot Run 5K Run/Walk, a fun event for people and their dogs to support the MTSU Habitat Blitz Build and Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity will take place at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, at MTSU. Registration will begin at 6:30 a.m. at Peck Hall. Today is the last day to take advantage of the $20 entry fee. It will be $25 after today. The first 200 participants will get T-shirts, and the top age group finishers will get awards. To register, go to http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1489959. For more information, contact the Office of Leadership and Service at 615-898-5812, or send an e-mail to Meagan Flippin at camporgs@mtsu.edu.

MERCURY RISING—The final First Friday Star Party of the year will take place tonight, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Building and outdoors. Dr. Charles Higgins, professor of physics and astronomy, will deliver a lecture titled “Messenger at Mercury” to be followed by outdoor telescope observation, weather permitting. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Higgins at 615-898-5946 or Dr. Eric Klumpe at 615-898-2483.