Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

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.
jheffing@mtsu.edu

Bible park banter

Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, cites last week’s decision about the proposed Bible theme park in Rutherford County as proof that free speech is alive and well in Middle Tennessee. “You know that part of the First Amendment that talks about petitioning the government?,” Burriss asks rhetorically. “Well, there it was. Residents got a petition going that forced a two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority. And, again, everyone had a chance to have their say. And those who were in favor of the park apparently didn’t have enough support to stop the petition drive. Finally, there was the commission meeting itself. Dozens of citizens and other interested parties got to address the commissioners. While everyone who wanted to say something may not have gotten a chance to speak his or her peace, at least every side was represented.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

Hand in hand

MTSU’s Lisa L. Rollins recently was awarded one of four Grand Award prizes in the 2008 communications contest sponsored by District III of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education at its annual conference held in Atlanta, Ga. Rollins is director of special media projects for News and Public Affairs and an adjunct professor. The Grand Award is the highest honor bestowed by District III, which is an eight-state area, and Rollins’ entry, “Promoting Student learning in Print,” earned the contest’s Creative Partnership honor. Rollins received the award for a partnership she initiated on behalf of students enrolled in her writing courses with editors at The Daily News Journal. During the course of the project, about 19 of Rollins’ journalism students had more than 30 stories published by the DNJ, garnering the junior- and senior-level student journalists real-world, hands-on learning.

Contact Rollins at 615-898-2919.
lrollins@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.

“THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART.”—TOM PETTY--With antiwar sentiment stronger than ever in this presidential election year, MTSU’s independent filmmakers await word from some 40 film festivals on how critics (and viewers of YouTube) will receive their latest effort. In fact, the movie is titled “Wait…,” an emotionally powerful examination of an American’s reaction to the news that his son has died in Iraq. Dr. Bob Pondillo, professor of electronic media communication, wrote the screenplay and directed the 9:25 short subject in November 2007 in Murfreesboro with a crew of students and alumni. Pondillo says he suspects the anti-war sentiment expressed in the film might have had a role in its rejection by at least one film festival, The Cinema Society of San Diego, a city with an economy heavily dependent upon seven military bases in the area. To view the film and for more information on “Wait…,” go to http://www.waitfilm.com. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 or pondillo@mtsu.edu.

THEY WERE JUST SO PROUD TO BE THERE.--In the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s, barn dance radio spread country-and-western music nationwide. Its comforting, authentic sounds soothed the soul of a nation first down on its luck and later fighting overseas. The origins of the country music industry can be traced to the barn dance radio shows on WLS (Chicago), WSM (Nashville) and other stations, and women played a major role in both the style and substance of those programs. Dr. Kris McCusker, associate professor of history at MTSU, tells the stories of some of these women, including the legendary Minnie Pearl, in her book Lonesome Cowgirls and Honky Tonk Angels: The Women of Barn Dance Radio. In addition to Minnie Pearl, McCusker profiles Linda Parker, Lily May Ledford, Rose Lee Maphis, and Milly and Dolly Good (The Girls of the Golden West). Contact McCusker at 615-898-2544 or mccusker@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.

FIT AS A FIDDLE--The Summer 2008 MTSU Faculty-Staff Health and Wellness Program is underway. It runs through July 25th. The 10-week program will include fitness testing (pre- and post-), an aerobic class punch-pass, nutritional consultation with a registered dietician, and each MTSU faculty or staff member enrolled will be assigned a personal coach for weekly meetings. The nutritional consultation will be scheduled during registration. This is not a rehabilitation program. It will help enrollees develop action plans to replace unhealthy habits with positive, healthy routines and to provide ways to maintain program participation. Contact Lisa Eddy or Jerry Langham at 615-898-2104 or leddy@mtsu.edu or jlangham@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.