Thursday, July 31, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

On his way out

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced yesterday that he will resign in September. Olmert has been plagued by allegations of political corruption. His decision leaves Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz to vie for the nomination of Olmert’s party, the Kadima Party. Livni, who was in Washington when Olmert made the announcement in Israel, then canceled a scheduled news conference. Dr. Karen Petersen, political science, says, “Olmert’s decision to step down was widely anticipated, as evidenced by Livni’s jockeying for position. I would not, however, characterize the situation as unstable. Politics in Israel, largely due to the electoral system, often appears chaotic to outsiders accustomed to a two-party democracy. The primary concern, expressed by Dr. [Condoleezza] Rice (U.S. Secretary of State), is the collapse of ‘peace’ talks in the region.”

Contact Petersen at 615-494-8662.
kpeterse@mtsu.edu

The truth is out there.

This past weekend, the latest “X-Files” movie placed fourth in box office receipts. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says he was struck in reading the reviews by references to the “cult following” for all things “X-Files.” It prompted him to wonder about the criteria for defining a media “cult.” “Well, it isn’t about sales figures or quality or star power,” Burriss says. “Films ranging from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ to Walt Disney’s ‘Fantasia’ are sometimes accorded cult status. The thing all films that have a cult following seem to have in common is a huge fan base that knows everything there is to know about the film: dialogue, small details from every scene, every aspect of the cast and crew.”

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

Turf wars

Building permits for single family housing units dropped from 999 to 487 from June 2007 to June 2008 in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro area, according to statistics posted by MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center. Permits for multifamily housing units rose from 16 to 34, but those are paltry numbers compared to the June 2006 figure of 193. In June 2008, there were 1,995 residential closings, a decline from the June 2007 total of 2,853. The residential median price last month was $183,615. In June 2007, it was $196,000.

Contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

TR EXTRA

TOWER OF EMPOWERMENT--An educational video produced for a program administered through MTSU’s Center for Environmental Education has won a coveted Silver Telly Award. “The Empower Hour” was made for WaterWorks!, a program designed to educate the public about how to protect water quality. The 13-minute video featured students from Brentwood High School and the Nashville School for the Arts. It was distributed to high schools, public access channels, and other outlets to enlighten viewers about the environmental impact of automotive fluids and the proper ways to recycle or dispose of them. The video was chosen from among approximately 13,500 entries and judged by more than 40 video, advertising and TV industry professionals. Broadcast Media Group of Starkville, Miss., produced it in conjunction with Nashville-based Bill Hudson & Associates. For more information about WaterWorks!, call 615-898-2660 or visit http://www.tennesseewaterworks.com/.

HOMETOWN HEROES--“Revisiting and Re-visioning the Hometown” is a unique opportunity for MTSU Honors students to learn more about the history, people, traditions, and future of their respective hometowns. The class, which is scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays in the Fall 2008 semester, will require students to write journal entries and finished essays. They will make contacts in their communities, forming partnerships with schools, senior centers and other socially important groups or entities. Under the guidance of Dr. Ron Kates, English, each student will synthesize what he or she has learned in other classes to create a suitable and effective approach to the topic. Participants will create and refine the history-making and re-visioning processes as they learn while teaching others. Contact Kates at 615-898-2595 or rkates@mtsu.edu.

“A POLITICIAN IS A STATESMAN WHO APPROACHES EVERY QUESTION WITH AN OPEN MOUTH.”—ADLAI STEVENSON--Has a particular turn of phrase in a politician’s speech caught your ear and made you wonder why he or she chose those particular words? What is the speaker really saying? How do the candidates get their messages across to the voters? To figure all this out in this presidential election year, students can sign up for “Political Communication,” a class to be taught this fall at MTSU by Dr. Russell Church, speech and theatre professor. Participants will take on questions of whether race and gender are still issues, who votes and why, whether candidates are now more important than parties, whether the media now call all the shots, the power of interest groups, and how parties can increase turnout. The class will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:20 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Contact Church at 615-494-7958 or rchurch@mtsu.edu.

TO THE “NTH” DEGREE—A projected 832 degree candidates will graduate during the 96th annual summer commencement ceremony at MTSU. The single-ceremony graduation will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, in Murphy Center with Dr. Kevin E. Smith, professor for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the current MTSU representative of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Faculty Subcouncil, delivering the commencement address. At 8:30 a.m., Aug. 9, Murphy Center doors will open for the commencement ceremony. Candidates are expected to be in their assigned areas, dressed in their caps and gowns, no later than 9 a.m. Officials report that students who are not in their assigned places at the proper times will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony. Because commencement rehearsals are no longer conducted, timely attendance is mandatory for students to receive important instructions. Contact the Records Office at 615-898-2600 or go to http://www.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm.

THE SOUNDS OF SYRIA AND SAUDI ARABIA (AND MORE) --You can be transported to fascinating locales this fall without ever leaving home. Explore the fascinating, diverse “Music of the Middle East” in a new course at MTSU. Dr. David B. Pruett will take you on a “trip” through various Middle Eastern cultural soundscapes, including the relationship between folk, classical and popular musical traditions. Students also will examine music’s role in religious expression in the region. The class will take place from 6-9 p.m. on Mondays in Room 205 of the Saunders Fine Arts Building. Contact Pruett at 615-904-8354 or dpruett@mtsu.edu.

BALI HAI MAY CALL YOU--Dr. Derek Frisby, who is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, will accompany students on an exploration of the Central Pacific World War II battlefields of Guam, Iwo Jima and Pelelieu in the spring 2009 semester. This MTSU study abroad course not only will give students a chance to earn college credit. While in the Pacific region, students will film portions of a documentary honoring MTSU veterans. Additionally, Frisby and his group will honor those Tennesseans who fought in the three engagements under study, including the three known MTSU fatalities. Frisby will talk in detail about this extraordinary opportunity on “MTSU On the Record,” a 30-minute public affairs program hosted by Gina Logue, at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 3, on WMOT-FM (89.5 or wmot.org). Contact Frisby at 615-494-8620 or dfrisby@mtsu.edu. For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

MICKEY MOUSE MEANS BUSINESS!--MTSU and the Jennings A. Jones College of Business are pleased to present Disney Institute’s professional development program, the “Disney Keys to Excellence,” to the greater Nashville community. The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Sheraton Downtown Nashville, 623 Union Street. “Participants will discover Disney success stories and learn about management philosophies and behind-the-scenes operations that have made the Disney Parks and resorts a benchmark for businesses around the world,” says George Aguel, senior vice president for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “MTSU is preparing young men and women to become ethical, entrepreneurial successes in the business world, and the Disney Keys program is clearly in sync with our educational philosophy,” says Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jones College of Business. For more information and to register for the program, go to http://www.keysnashville.com/. Contact Burton at 615-898-2764 or eburton@mtsu.edu. For press credentials and interview arrangements, contact Tom Tozer in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu.

“POVERTY IS LIKE PUNISHMENT FOR A CRIME YOU DIDN’T COMMIT”—ELI KHAMAROV--MTSU student Steve Sibley will realize the educational experience of a lifetime this fall when he interns for 10 weeks in Bangladesh with the Grameen Bank, the financial institution founded by Nobel Peace Prize-winner and former MTSU professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus. Sibley is the first recipient of the Kawahito Scholarship for Experiential World Poverty Studies. Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, for whom the scholarship is named, says he created it to give students a chance to live in some of the most debilitating conditions on the planet, examine why these areas are impoverished and witness conscientious efforts to fight the poverty. “You have to jump into the midst of poverty and really observe and feel how poor people live and struggle,” says the professor emeritus of economics and finance and former director of the U.S.-Japan Program. For interviews or photos, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.