Thursday, June 26, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Was it something they said?

Last month, a federal appeals court reinstated three former Mississippi jailers’ claims that they were dismissed because they reported the beating of an inmate by another guard. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says this case could have nationwide ramifications. In a 2006 case, Garcetti v. Ceballos, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution does not protect public employees from employer discipline when they make statements pursuant to their official duties. Hudson says the appellate court’s action “shows that lower courts take seriously Justice (Anthony) Kennedy’s admonition that ‘official job duties’ are not exclusively determined by job descriptions or policies. Second, it requires courts to focus on the practical realities of the workplace and employee duties, as opposed to employers’ recitations of Garcetti.”

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1600.
dhudson@fac.org

There’s no business like slow business.

The Summer 2008 edition of “Tennessee’s Business,” a publication of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, includes articles from major Tennessee politicians on the state of the economy. Senator Bob Corker sounds off on what he thinks Congress should do. Senator Lamar Alexander makes the case for a “Manhattan Project” for energy independence. Congressman Jim Cooper advocates the creation of a “bipartisan commission with teeth” modeled after the Iraq Study group and the military base closing commission to force leaders to take action. In addition, the full text of Governor Phil Bredesen’s May 12 address to the General Assembly is included, along with academic perspectives on the regional Southeast economy and the return of “stagflation.”

Due to budget cuts, “Tennessee’s Business” is available only online at http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc. Contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

Attack the tax!

The MTSU College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning and the Tennessee Department of Revenue will offer a Tennessee Business Tax Seminar from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro. Continuing Education and Distance Learning Director David Foster says, “This seminar is extremely valuable and pertinent to anyone who prepares or pays taxes. In this economic environment when we all have to tighten our belts, we want to make sure we’re paying our legal obligations but no more. One idea from here could save thousands of dollars.” Online registration is $155, a savings of $10 per registrant over other methods. Registration includes all materials, breakfast, lunch and refreshments.

For more information or to register, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/learn.
Contact Foster at 615-898-5033.
dfoster@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

“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 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.

ROLL OVER, JUNIOR!--Everything a human being is concerned with is based on learning and theory. That’s what makes the Learning Theories class being taught by Dr. Donald Kendrick through Thursday, July 3, at MTSU so fascinating. Kendrick, a psychology professor, says, “For example, students will gain insights and learn specific techniques to train their pets to do fun and funny things. These training techniques also generalize to raising children, the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of punishment, accepted practices on permitting young children to sleep with Mom (and Dad), the nature of the mother-infant bond, breaking bad habits and acquiring new ones, and how to get your roommate to have more respect for your things!” Contact Kendrick at 615-898-2706 or psyskip@mtsu.edu.

DAD, TAKE THE LAMPSHADE OFF YOUR HEAD WHILE THE CAMERA’S ROLLING!--Working with perhaps the most technology-savvy generation of young adults ever, Dr. Lorne McWatters, history, will teach a class titled “Genealogy and Documentary Film: Doing Your Own Family History in Film” to undergraduates for the first time at MTSU this fall. “The fall class will have 15 students, and each student will make a film about 10 minutes long on either some aspect of his/her family (genealogy) or some aspect of the history of MTSU,” McWatters says. “In speaking to students about the class, I found the undergraduates to be very enthusiastic, much more so than the graduate students, in general.” Contact McWatters at 615-898-5805 or dmcwatte@mtsu.edu.

PRESERVING THE PAST--Dr. Michael Tomlan, historic preservationist and a pioneering scholar on planbook architects of the 19th century, will present “Why Historians and Preservationists Avoid Religion,” a free and open lecture, at 6 p.m. tonight, June 26, in Parish Hall at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 315 E. Main St. An associate professor of history and director of the graduate program in historic preservation planning program at Cornell University, On June 1, Tomlan began a monthlong visit to the MTSU campus, where he’s teaching a summer seminar. He is an historic preservation expert in building conservation technology, documentation methods for preservation and the history of the preservation movement. Just prior to his June 26 talk, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU will sponsor a public reception for Tomlan at 4:30 p.m. at The Heritage Center, 225. W. College St. Contact the MTSU Department of History at 615-898-2536.

SCOTT AND ZELDA SAY IT’S THE CAT’S MEOW!--The Jazz Age, that era when flappers danced the Charleston and speakeasys were all the rage, will find new life via art in downtown Murfreesboro through the creativity of Erin Anfinson, assistant professor of art at MTSU. Beginning July 1 and continuing through mid-August, Anfinson—along with MTSU students Emily May-Ragland and Sarah Sullivan—will work each afternoon to create a Jazz Age-inspired mural more than six feet tall and nearly 20 feet long at The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. “Art deco design, patterns and color palettes have always struck me as exceptionally lively and fun subject matter, which made conducting research for this project a pleasure,” says Anfinson. Contact Melissa Zimmerman, heritage programming specialist for the Center for Historic Preservation, at 615-217-8013. For an interview with Anfinson, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

THE ROCKETS’ RED GLARE--Rutherford County’s “Celebration Under the Stars” once again will be held on the campus of MTSU starting at 5 p.m. Friday, July 4, on the university’s intramural field. As usual, admission to the annual Independence Day festival is free. There will be games and activities for the kids and patriotic music from the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra. Fireworks are slated to start at 9 p.m. To hear more about the festivities, join host Tom Tozer and his guests Jim Fanguy of the MTSU Department of Public Safety, Marlane Sewell and Tom Sage of Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation, and Birdie Donnell, president of the board of the Murfreesboro Symphony Orchestra for “MTSU On the Record,” a 30-minute public affairs program, at 7 a.m. this Sunday, June 29, on WMOT-FM (89.5) and www.wmot.org. For more information, contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.