Friday, May 23, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

NOTE: MTSU will be closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26. There will be no Today’s Response on that day.

Excellence personified

Gretchen Jenkins, a May 2008 graduate of MTSU, has received a Phi Kappa Phi Award of Excellence to be used for graduate study. She was one of only 40 students from throughout the nation to be honored with the $2,000 stipend. Jenkins, the daughter of Baxter and Sandra Jenkins of Lebanon, Tenn., plans to attend classes at New York Law School in Manhattan starting August 18. She successfully defended her honors thesis on the First Amendment rights of students on April 11 at MTSU. “The U.S. Supreme Court has never heard a case about college students’ First Amendment rights,” Jenkins said in a recent telephone interview. For her thesis, Jenkins used several appellate court decisions for creating criteria by which the high court could decide a First Amendment case involving college students.

For more information, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

To their health

Dr. Andrew Owusu, assistant professor of health and human performance at MTSU, recently released the initial findings from a 2007 study that was the first of its kind to be conducted nationwide in Ghana on the health habits and health-risk behaviors of adolescents. By documenting the behaviors and factors that contribute to the leading cause of mortality and morbidity, the researcher says his goal is to help create a comprehensive system for monitoring the health-risk behaviors among youth. A native of Ghana, Owusu’s study found that 13.7 percent of the students (ages 12-16) surveyed had not cleaned/brushed their teeth in the past 30 days and 9.1 percent had “never or rarely” washed their hands in the past 30 days.

For more information, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-8857.
lrollins@mtsu.edu

Looks like a homicide, Horatio.

Is your child itching to learn how forensic investigators examine crime scenes and ferret out the clues that solve real world mysteries? This summer’s “CSI: MTSU”, which will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on June 11-13, is a three-day program designed for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. The students will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. They will be trained in the processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood splatter and shoe prints. Young people will explore the career possibilities in forensic science, understand a “real life” reason to tackle higher level math and science courses, and develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentations. The program is co-sponsored by the Forensic Institute for Research and Education (FIRE) and MTSU’s College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning.

For more information, contact Eve Shockley at 615-898-5530.
eshockle@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

BRINGING IT UP TO PAR--The National Advisory Board for the Scholars Academy at MTSU presents the first annual Diversity and Multicultural Golf Outing on Wednesday, May 28, at Gaylord Springs Golf Course in Nashville. Founded in 2005, the Scholars Academy was developed to support bright and talented college students who may be underachieving. The Academy generally serves minority and other underserved students who benefit from a culturally rich learning environment. Throughout their collegiate careers, students are mentored and their development enhanced in the following areas: academics, psychological, social, bio-physical, and careers. All students remain in the program until college graduation. For sponsorship, golfer packages, or more information, contact Jerry M. Whitmore, Jr., in the Office of Institutional Diversity at 615-898-5975 or whitmore@mtsu.edu.

“LANGUAGE IS THE DRESS OF THOUGHT.”—SAMUEL JOHNSON--MTSU’s annual Summer Language Institute will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 16-20, June 23-27 and July 28-August 1 at the University School of Nashville. Languages to be taught will include Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Scottish Gaelic, Arabic and Spanish Levels 1 and 2. The innovative teaching methods used at the institute, are designed to teach students a second language the same way they learned their first—by relating vocabulary to movement and learning grammar through storytelling. Students are completely immersed in the language from the first day of instruction in a fun environment. “I can now tell people who regret never having studied a language or who had a bad experience that it is not too late,” says Dr. Shelley Thomas, MTSU associate professor and institute founder. Contact Thomas at 615-898-5757 or
shthomas@mtsu.edu.

“ENGLAND SWINGS LIKE A PENDULUM DO.”—ROGER MILLER--The Fab Four, miniskirts and go-go boots, the “mods” versus the “rockers”—If you’re looking for a fun and informative course to take this summer, MTSU is offering British Popular Culture from 10:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday July 7-August 7. This English course, taught by Dr. Jill Hague, will look at the development of popular culture in the United Kingdom after World War II, focusing on innovations in music, film and drama. Students will examine the cultural, historical and political contexts of the 1950s, the phenomenon of “Swinging London” and the Beatles in the 1960s and the rise of punk culture in the 1970s. Contact Hague at 615-904-8123 or ahague@mtsu.edu.

LINKIN’ LOGS--The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area will present the second lecture in their series of public programs at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at the center. MTSU’s Michael T. Gavin, a preservation specialist, will discuss the history and architecture of log buildings in a lecture titled “Log Houses of Rutherford County.” Gavin says, “Log buildings are familiar symbols of our pioneer past, and a dwindling number still remain on the landscape.” Dr. Stacey Graham of MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation says those who cannot attend the May 29 lecture are encouraged to bring a sack lunch to a June 4 encore presentation beginning at noon. Both events are free and open to the public. Contact the Heritage Center at 615-217-8013 or send an e-mail to Graham at sgraham@mtsu.edu.

NOW YOU’RE TALKING MY LANGUAGE!--In a recent guest editorial in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, William Scott wrote, “Arabic language programming should be readily available to us in the United States. Reading books or computer screens does nothing to improve aural comprehension, especially since written Modern Standard Arabic differs so much from the various dialects spoken throughout the Arab world.” This summer, MTSU will offer courses in Modern Standard Arabic from 10:10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday in two separate sessions—June 2-July 3 and July 7-August 8. Students will learn the Arabic script/alphabet, common useful vocabulary and basic grammatical structures. At the end of the sequence, students will be equipped with basic survival skills such as ordering food, booking hotel rooms, describing their daily lives, understanding and giving directions, etc. For more information, Kari Sue Neely, assistant professor of foreign languages, at ksneely@mtsu.edu.

THE BEST OF THE BEST--NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS AND REPORTERS: To obtain a list of those students from your county who graduated during MTSU’s 2008 May 3 spring commencement or made the Dean’s List during the spring semester, please access this information on the News and Public Affairs Web site at http://www.mtsunews.com and click on the “MTSU Graduation Lists” link or the “MTSU Dean’s List” link. Both are located on the upper left-hand side of the page. Next, click on the spring link for 2008, which will contain an alphabetical, county-by-county listing of the students. Please note that these Web pages also contain directions on how to download and save your county’s lists for editorial use in your publications or on your airwaves. For more information, contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT--You can spend part of your summer examining the fascinating Native American history and prehistory of the Southwest and get geography or history credit for it at MTSU! The class is titled “Geography of Native Americans” and will be conducted for the 15th consecutive year by Dr. Doug Heffington, professor of historical geography and director of the Global Studies Program. “The class focuses on the examination of the human/land relationships between the native peoples of New Mexico and their natural environment,” Heffington says. “Most of our base camp is in the small colonial village of Truchas, which dates to the mid-1700s with its blend of Genizaro, Mestizo and Hispano cultures. The trip/course starts July 21st and takes about nine days to complete.” The cost is approximately $400 per student and includes transportation, two meals a day, lodging and entry fees. Contact Heffington at 615-898-5978 or jheffing@mtsu.edu.