Monday, May 12, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Sex on the brain

Hormones have a great deal to do with brain development. The factors that determine so-called “male behavior” and “female behavior” are quite complex. “The classical view is the brain is masculinized and defeminized by the effects of testosterone (male hormone) during fetal development and infancy,” says Dr. Amy Jetton, biology. “Prior to birth, however, many of the targets in the brain are affected by estrogen (female hormone) that is produced locally from the circulating testosterone.” Jetton says some changes in the brain are termed organizational. That means that they literally cause the neurons in the brain to live or die through triggering or preventing programmed cell death. And the changes keep coming throughout the person’s growth. “Certain things are ‘rewired’ during fetal development; others are reorganized during early infancy, and the brain is rewired for different aspects of sex behavior again at puberty.”

Contact Jetton at 615-898-5952.
ajetton@mtsu.edu

The Wright stuff

MTSU alumna Pam Wright (B.S. ’73) has established an endowed professorship in entrepreneurship in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. The $1.25 million pledge, paid over a period of five years, will provide funding for the endowed chair and will allow university officials to launch a search for the position and to begin chair activities. Wright is president and CEO of Wright Travel, which she established in 1981. The largest agency of its kind in Tennessee, Wright Travel now employs 70 people and operates offices in eight states. “I wanted not only to be just an alumna but a business connection to this community,” Wright says. “The university has been fabulous in allowing me the opportunity to participate and contribute through board and committee involvement.”

Contact the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at 615-898-2764.

It’s all in your head.

School psychologists, speech-language pathologists, reading teachers, classroom teachers and school administrators at all levels will be among those enrolling in MTSU’s new Ph.D. in Literacy Studies degree. The interdisciplinary doctorate is based on the idea that narrow expertise in a single area does not equip graduates to understand the many factors that support successful literacy. “We looked at a curriculum, stemming from both research and practice, that typical preparation programs do not provide,” says Dr. Diane Sawyer, holder of the Katherine Davis Murfree Chair of Excellence in Dyslexic Studies. “We’re bringing together neurobiology and neuropsychology to help people understand that the learning of reading really does involve the brain.”

Contact Dr. Diane Sawyer at 615-898-5642 or Dr. Stuart Bernstein at 615-494-8882.

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. Tuition includes instruction and course materials and must be paid in full by Thursday, May 15. 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.