Friday, August 29, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

TODAY’S RESPONSE WILL TAKE THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY OFF AND WILL RESUME ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008.

McCain’s disdain is easy to maintain?

The Democrats put the wraps on their quadrennial nominating party last night in Denver with a gala acceptance speech by their nominee, Barack Obama. All week long, prospective running mates for Obama’s presumptive Republican opponent, John McCain, have been vying to raise their profiles. McCain is slated to announce his choice today at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, and it will be interesting to see how he responds to an address that has received overwhelming praise for being inspirational, specific on policy issues, tough enough to show evidence of a fighter, and responsive to the concerns of blue-collar white “Reagan Democrats.” Dr. Robb McDaniel, political science, observes, “To this point, the McCain campaign has had one central theme—Barack Obama is an America-hating celebrity who wants to surrender in Iraq. The GOP attacks have been relentless, and, breaking with custom, have continued even during the Democratic convention.”

Contact McDaniel at 615-904-8245.
rmcdanie@mtsu.edu

Haven’t these people ever seen “The Incredibles?”

Nine-year-old pitcher Jericho Scott has been told he can’t play Youth League Baseball in New Haven, Conn., because he’s too talented. Curiously, league officials didn’t tell the child he had to go until the playoffs began. He had stymied batters with his 40-mile-per-hour fastball all season long. Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, says, “This is an issue that should have been handled earlier in the season. When it became apparent to parents and coaches that this youngster … was too talented for his peers …, his parents should have been notified ‘back then’ that he needs to find a more competitive league. But at the time it was determined that he was ‘too talented’—at the playoffs—was profoundly unfair to the youngster.”

Contact Anshel at 615-898-2812.
manshel@mtsu.edu

The coveted crown

MTSU student Duanisha Mathews of Nashville will compete in the 2008 Miss Black Tennessee Scholarship Pageant this Sunday, Aug. 31, at the Sheraton Music City Hotel, 777 McGavock Pike in Nashville. Bearing the theme “Remembering Our Legacy, the event is slated to start at 5 p.m. Contestants will compete in five categories—personal interview, health and fitness, talent, evening gown and question-and-answer. The winner will advance to the Miss Black USA national competition in June 2009.

For more information, go to http://www.missblacktennessee.com/.

TR EXTRA

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

A RAD-ICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every Thursday beginning Sept. 4 through Oct. 9 in the MTSU Public Safety training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD is the largest women’s self-defense system in the United States. Enrollment is limited. Contact Officer David Smith at 615-898-2424.

“I’LL BE THE ROUNDABOUT/THE WORDS WILL MAKE YOU OUT AND OUT”—JON ANDERSON AND STEVE HOWE--A new traffic roundabout at the intersection of MTSU Boulevard and Blue Raider Drive allows motorists from each direction to loop around to continue on their desired route after yielding to any vehicles already in the loop. The change is part of the four-phase $80 million traffic master-plan construction project designed to improve traffic flow, safety and access around campus. MTSU’s roundabout is the first of its kind at a Tennessee public university, and it is accentuated by pieces of limestone columns that originated at the old Tennessee State Capitol. Contact Ron Malone, assistant vice president for events and transportation services, at 615-898-5002 or rrmalone@mtsu.edu.

TARNISHED MEDALS?--The United States track and field team collected 23 medals, including seven golds, at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, the high-profile failures, including the dropping of the batons by the men’s and women’s 4-by-100 meter relay squads, prompted television commentators to call the track and field team’s performance a “failure of leadership.” Dr. Andrew Owusu, assistant professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympic athlete, says, while it’s not unusual to hear that, “There’s only so much the coaches or the technical stuff can do because once the athletes get out there, everything rests on how they perform. … At some point, the athletes have to bear some responsibility for their performance, but I am sure there will be some changes at the top.” Owusu will discuss the Olympics at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 31, on “MTSU on the Record” hosted by Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

LISTENING IN--MTSU Audio Clips is a service for radio stations to supplement their news and information programs with sound and radio-ready stories that broadcasters can access on the Internet and download at their convenience. The latest collection of audio stories includes perspectives on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing from Dr. Andrew Owusu, associate professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympian; two MTSU students who helped found a new chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the political activist group best known for its opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s; and a commentary by Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, on the expansion of governmental secrecy. You can access MTSU Audio Clips by going to http://www.mtsunews.com/, your online location for MTSU information, and clicking on “MTSU Audio Clips” on the right side of the page. Contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu with questions or comments.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

What better place for an uplifting experience than Mile High?

The Democratic National Convention in Denver switches venues tonight from the Pepsi Center to INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s acceptance of his party’s presidential nomination. What tone should he strike? Dr. Robb McDaniel, political science, says, “Obama needs to ignore all the nervous Nellies in the commentariat who want him to fundamentally alter his style in one way or another—more populist, more technocratic, etc. Compared to where Bill Clinton was at this point in 1992 or where Ronald Reagan was in 1980, Obama’s doing well. And he needs to stick with what got him where he is—the Obama uplift. Barack Obama is the most brilliant orator of his generation, and his rousing, optimistic style is perfectly fit for a convention speech, as he showed in 2004.”

Contact McDaniel at 615-904-8245.
rmcdanie@mtsu.edu

A year later

Preliminary figures show the number of manufacturing jobs in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro area was down more than six-and-a-half percent in July 2008 over the previous July. The overall unemployment rate in July was 3.8 percent. Last month, it was 5.8 percent. Total nonfarm employment went up only .63 percent from July to July. Air travel at Nashville International Airport was down to 883,566 passengers in July 2008 compared to 928,059 a year earlier.

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

Listening in

MTSU Audio Clips is a service for radio stations to supplement their news and information programs with sound and radio-ready stories that broadcasters can access on the Internet and download at their convenience. The latest collection of audio stories includes perspectives on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing from Dr. Andrew Owusu, associate professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympian; two MTSU students who helped found a new chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the political activist group best known for its opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s; and a commentary by Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, on the expansion of governmental secrecy.

You can access MTSU Audio Clips by going to www.mtsunews.com, your online location for MTSU information, and clicking on “MTSU Audio Clips” on the right side of the page. Contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu with questions or comments.

TR EXTRA

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

A RAD-ICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every Thursday beginning Sept. 4 through Oct. 9 in the MTSU Public Safety training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD is the largest women’s self-defense system in the United States. Enrollment is limited. Contact Officer David Smith at 615-898-2424.

“I’LL BE THE ROUNDABOUT/THE WORDS WILL MAKE YOU OUT AND OUT”—JON ANDERSON AND STEVE HOWE--A new traffic roundabout at the intersection of MTSU Boulevard and Blue Raider Drive allows motorists from each direction to loop around to continue on their desired route after yielding to any vehicles already in the loop. The change is part of the four-phase $80 million traffic master-plan construction project designed to improve traffic flow, safety and access around campus. MTSU’s roundabout is the first of its kind at a Tennessee public university, and it is accentuated by pieces of limestone columns that originated at the old Tennessee State Capitol. Contact Ron Malone, assistant vice president for events and transportation services, at 615-898-5002 or rrmalone@mtsu.edu.

TARNISHED MEDALS?--The United States track and field team collected 23 medals, including seven golds, at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, the high-profile failures, including the dropping of the batons by the men’s and women’s 4-by-100 meter relay squads, prompted television commentators to call the track and field team’s performance a “failure of leadership.” Dr. Andrew Owusu, assistant professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympic athlete, says, while it’s not unusual to hear that, “There’s only so much the coaches or the technical stuff can do because once the athletes get out there, everything rests on how they perform. … At some point, the athletes have to bear some responsibility for their performance, but I am sure there will be some changes at the top.” Owusu will discuss the Olympics at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 31, on “MTSU on the Record” hosted by Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Biden--his time

U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware is slated to address the Democratic National Convention in Denver tonight. Dr. Robb McDaniel, political science, says Biden’s mission is to accomplish something his running mate, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, has yet to accomplish—to draw blood. “Now that Obama’s lead has narrowed, he needs to remind voters that the race is not just about him, but is a referendum on the Bush-McCain agenda,” McDaniel says. “But he must also avoid playing into McCain’s attack strategy by smearing a sympathetic veteran. The best way to avoid the dilemma is to have McCain’s old friend, Joe Biden, turn the knife while wearing a big, warm grin. This is the traditional VP role, and Biden seems well suited to play it.”

Contact McDaniel at 615-904-8245.
rmcdanie@mtsu.edu

A house is not a home.

Permits for single-family home construction actually went up a bit in the second economic quarter in Tennessee. That’s the first increase since the fourth quarter of 2006. But, as Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, writes in the quarterly “Tennessee Housing Report,” “While favorable, a small one-quarter gain does not necessarily signal the beginning of a housing recovery. One or two additional quarters of improvement are desirable to make the case. … Multifamily permits declined during the quarter … causing total permits to drop also. After a brief first-quarter reprieve, housing sales continue their march downward with no bottom yet in sight.”

Contact Penn at 615-898-2610.
dpenn@mtsu.edu

Working out your workout

The $20 million renovation of MTSU’s Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center provides more space for exercising. Jenny Crouch, marketing and accessibilities coordinator, says, “We now have two fitness/aerobic rooms, so our aerobics class offerings for fall have easily doubled. There’s more space all around so we can offer more services and be an even more fun place to hang out. The center serves an average of 2,200 visitors per day and now houses six basketball or volleyball courts, six racquetball courts, a three-lane indoor track, an expanded free-weight room, a cardio room with selectorized machines, an indoor swimming pool with water slide and diving board, equipment check-out, locker rooms, a family changing room, a rock-climbing wall, a four-foot-deep outdoor swimming pool and sundeck with sand volleyball courts, a challenge course that also includes an alpine climbing tower and intramural fields.

Contact the center at 615-898-2104.

TR EXTRA

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

FOR THE HEALTH OF IT--The staff of MTSU’s Health Services will welcome the community to its sparkling new facilities in the Campus Recreation Center with a 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting and grand opening slated for today, Aug. 27. “We’re bringing in a stage,” says Richard Chapman, Health Services Director. “We’re going to make it a real carnival/festival-type activity.” For the first time ever on campus, X-ray services will be available as well as travel medicine to support study abroad students. Another first and perhaps the main attraction will be the drive-thru pharmacy, which is slated to open around Oct. 1. Customers will drive in the recreation center’s main entrance, turn to the right and curve around the building, where they will encounter an ATM-type kiosk with a pneumatic tube system. For more information, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

A RAD-ICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every Thursday beginning Sept. 4 through Oct. 9 in the MTSU Public Safety training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD is the largest women’s self-defense system in the United States. Enrollment is limited. Contact Officer David Smith at 615-898-2424.

“I’LL BE THE ROUNDABOUT/THE WORDS WILL MAKE YOU OUT AND OUT”—JON ANDERSON AND STEVE HOWE--A new traffic roundabout at the intersection of MTSU Boulevard and Blue Raider Drive allows motorists from each direction to loop around to continue on their desired route after yielding to any vehicles already in the loop. The change is part of the four-phase $80 million traffic master-plan construction project designed to improve traffic flow, safety and access around campus. MTSU’s roundabout is the first of its kind at a Tennessee public university, and it is accentuated by pieces of limestone columns that originated at the old Tennessee State Capitol. Contact Ron Malone, assistant vice president for events and transportation services, at 615-898-5002 or rrmalone@mtsu.edu.

TARNISHED MEDALS?--The United States track and field team collected 23 medals, including seven golds, at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, the high-profile failures, including the dropping of the batons by the men’s and women’s 4-by-100 meter relay squads, prompted television commentators to call the track and field team’s performance a “failure of leadership.” Dr. Andrew Owusu, assistant professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympic athlete, says, while it’s not unusual to hear that, “There’s only so much the coaches or the technical stuff can do because once the athletes get out there, everything rests on how they perform. … At some point, the athletes have to bear some responsibility for their performance, but I am sure there will be some changes at the top.” Owusu will discuss the Olympics at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 31, on “MTSU on the Record” hosted by Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Tarnished medals?

The United States track and field team collected 23 medals, including seven golds, at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, the high-profile failures, including the dropping of the batons by the men’s and women’s 4-by-100 meter relay squads, prompted television commentators to call the track and field team’s performance a “failure of leadership.” Dr. Andrew Owusu, assistant professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympic athlete, says, while it’s not unusual to hear that, “There’s only so much the coaches or the technical stuff can do because once the athletes get out there, everything rests on how they perform. … At some point, the athletes have to bear some responsibility for their performance, but I am sure there will be some changes at the top.”

Owusu will discuss the Olympics with Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing professor and sports marketing expert, on “OpenLine” on NewsChannel5 tonight, Aug. 26, from 7 to 8 p.m., and at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 31, on “MTSU on the Record” on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).

Labor pains

The second economic quarter of 2008 was a challenging one for the Tennessee economy, notes a report from MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center. The state’s unemployment rate rose from 5.2 percent to 6.1 percent. That’s the largest quarterly increase since 1982. Dr. David Penn, director of the center, writes, “With unemployment on the rise, one would expect to observe significant job losses in important industries such as manufacturing, construction, retailing, and the services-providing sectors. Indeed, manufacturing continues to lose jobs, and employment growth in the services-providing sectors has slowed to nearly zero. But these trends have been apparent for months; one would expect much larger job losses given the sharp jump in unemployment.”

Contact Penn at 615-898-2610.
dpenn@mtsu.edu

“I’ll be the roundabout/The words will make you out and out”—Jon Anderson and Steve Howe

A new traffic roundabout at the intersection of MTSU Boulevard and Blue Raider Drive allows motorists from each direction to loop around to continue on their desired route after yielding to any vehicles already in the loop. The change is part of the four-phase $80 million traffic master-plan construction project designed to improve traffic flow, safety and access around campus. MTSU’s roundabout is the first of its kind at a Tennessee public university, and it is accentuated by pieces of limestone columns that originated at the old Tennessee State Capitol.

Contact Ron Malone, assistant vice president for events and transportation services, at 615-898-5002.
rrmalone@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

FOR THE HEALTH OF IT--The staff of MTSU’s Health Services will welcome the community to its sparkling new facilities in the Campus Recreation Center with a 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting and grand opening slated for tomorrow, Aug. 27. “We’re bringing in a stage,” says Richard Chapman, Health Services Director. “We’re going to make it a real carnival/festival-type activity.” For the first time ever on campus, X-ray services will be available as well as travel medicine to support study abroad students. Another first and perhaps the main attraction will be the drive-thru pharmacy, which is slated to open around Oct. 1. Customers will drive in the recreation center’s main entrance, turn to the right and curve around the building, where they will encounter an ATM-type kiosk with a pneumatic tube system. For more information, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

A RAD-ICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every Thursday beginning Sept. 4 through Oct. 9 in the MTSU Public Safety training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD is the largest women’s self-defense system in the United States. Enrollment is limited. Contact Officer David Smith at 615-898-2424.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

A RAD-ical idea

A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every Thursday beginning Sept. 4 through Oct. 9 in the MTSU Public Safety training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD is the largest women’s self-defense system in the United States. Enrollment is limited.

Contact Officer David Smith at 615-898-2424.

A fine year for full-bodied MERLOT

Dr. Jackie Gilbert, professor in the Department of Management and Marketing at MTSU, is one of eight people at institutions of higher learning nationwide honored recently by the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT). Gilbert and seven other educators on the organization’s Business Editorial Board share the MERLOT House Cup, an award created this year to recognize contributions made during an academic year. “One of the great things about being so closely involved with creating the management division is the opportunity to review and investigate some terrific learning objects for students,” Gilbert says. MERLOT strives to “improve the effectiveness of learning and teaching by increasing the quantity and quality of peer-reviewed online learning materials that can be easily incorporated into faculty-designed courses.”

Contact Gilbert at 615-898-5418.
jgilbert@mtsu.edu

Reach out and TEACH

MTSU’s Office of Financial Aid has implemented a federal program, the Teacher Education Assistance for College, or TEACH, grant, effective July 1. The program was created by Congress to assist future teachers. The grant is available to students who want to teach science, math, technology, foreign language, bilingual education, reading and special education. Undergraduate and graduate students can get up to $4,000 per year or $2,000 per semester. Students who want to earn and keep the TEACH grant must have and maintain a 3.25 grade point average or score above the 75th percentile on a standardized admissions test. Students who are not U.S. citizens also may be eligible for the TEACH grant if they meet requirements. After a grant recipient graduates, he or she is required to teach at a low-income school. Dr. Sherian Huddleston, associate vice provost for enrollment services, says there are more than 500 current MTSU students who are eligible.

Contact the Office of Financial Aid at 615-898-2830 or Huddleston at 615-898-2828.

TR EXTRA

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

FOR THE HEALTH OF IT--The staff of MTSU’s Health Services will welcome the community to its sparkling new facilities in the Campus Recreation Center with a 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting and grand opening slated for Wednesday, Aug. 27. “We’re bringing in a stage,” says Richard Chapman, Health Services Director. “We’re going to make it a real carnival/festival-type activity.” For the first time ever on campus, X-ray services will be available as well as travel medicine to support study abroad students. Another first and perhaps the main attraction will be the drive-thru pharmacy, which is slated to open around Oct. 1. Customers will drive in the recreation center’s main entrance, turn to the right and curve around the building, where they will encounter an ATM-type kiosk with a pneumatic tube system. For more information, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Go west, young Russian.

Seventeen years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the ramifications continue to be felt through the “brain drain” of specialists in basic sciences and the military-industrial complex. Dr. Andrei Korobkov, political science, writes, “Of those who left Russia, every third is a physicist; every fourth, a biologist; and every tenth, a mathematician. Specialists in these fields have much more intensive foreign contacts than anybody else. Overall, basic sciences account for 77 percent of those who migrated to the West. … Academic interaction remains limited to a small number of elite institutions and the major regional centers.”

Contact Korobkov at 615-898-2945.
korobkov@mtsu.edu

Risky retail redlining?

Leaders of municipalities seeking to limit the expansion of big-box retailers in their inner city areas are using several types of zoning ordinances to accomplish this goal. These include a ban on superstores that sell groceries, a conditional-use permit, and the requirement that an economic impact statement be issued. In a paper printed in “Real Estate Issues,” Patricia Wall, accounting, wrote, “If government officials appear to be treating big-box retailers differently from other businesses, they may face challenges based on the Equal Protection Clause (of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution). To prove a violation of equal protection, the litigating party must show that he or she is ‘similarly situated’ to other applicants in the same time period and is being treated differently.”

Contact Wall at 615-898-2039.
pwall@mtsu.edu

Ten-hut!

The MTSU Army ROTC department will have a brief swearing-in ceremony for its new cadets starting at 9:30 a.m. today, Aug. 22, outside Forrest Hall. This is an opportunity to interview and photograph students who plan to become future military leaders and personnel. Lt. Col. Mike Walsh, professor of military science, says he hopes eight to 12 students will contract with the U.S. Army.

Contact Walsh or Maj. Trey Brannom at 615-898-2470.

TR EXTRA

ONE STATE, TWO STATES, RED STATES, BLUE STATES--With 2008 shaping up to be one of the most fascinating presidential election years in recent history, the MTSU University Honors College will present “Politics and the Press: The Relationship Between Government and the Fourth Estate” as its fall lecture series. Topics to be discussed by faculty experts include “Politics, the Presidency and Film;” “Politics, Non-Traditional Media and Young Voters;” “Agenda-Setting Images in National Politics;” and “Between Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama: Race Management, Electoral Populism and Presidential Politics.” The one-hour, pass/fail course will be held from 3 until 3:55 p.m. every Monday except Sept. 1 due to the Labor Day holiday and Oct. 13 due to fall break. Contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.

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.

HER SONG--“Women in Music,” a brand new class to be taught at MTSU this fall, will be an exploration of the vast variety of women’s musical activities. Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, who will teach both undergraduates and graduate students, says, “The course will cover not only women composers in the western tradition, but also women performers, women patrons, and women as objects and symbols in the marketing of music.” Students will discuss cultural constructions of gender as they pertain to music, identify important women in musical history and outline their significance, talk about connections between diverse forms of feminism and their manifestations in music and much more. Women to be studied will range from Clara Schumann to Janis Joplin and from Jenny Lind to Tori Amos. Contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@mtsu.edu.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BRETT FAVRE TO BE A JET.--Three recent graduates of MTSU have been selected to participate in the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) administered by the government of Japan. They are Jim Pruitt (Spring 2008, Digital Media), Paul Richards (Spring 2008, International Relations), and Joe Yount (Summer 2007, Finance). Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, former director of the U.S.-Japan Program and professor emeritus in economics and finance, says, “They will work as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations for up to three years beginning this month. … Jim, Paul and Joe had all studied at MTSU’s exchange partner institutions in Japan for a year as undergraduate students.” Dr. Kaylene Gebert, vice president and provost, says, “We are extremely proud of these graduates. … I cannot believe that their study in Japan was not a key to their success.” Contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

BUILDING A PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP--The unveiling of MTSU’s new Commercial Construction Management concentration in the Department of Engineering Technology will take place when fall semester classes begin Monday, Aug. 25. Dr. Walter Boles, department chair, says, “Current construction management programs in Tennessee are unable to supply enough graduates for the region. The Commercial Construction Management program is designed to prepare graduates for entry-level supervisory and estimating positions with commercial construction firms, material manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.” Boles adds that the goal “is to become a leading program graduating 50 to 100 entry-level managers per year who would stay in Tennessee. However, our focus is on a quality program. The numbers are secondary.” Contact Boles at 615-898-5009 or wwboles@mtsu.edu.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

HOSPITALITY FROM THE HEART--Tim and Pam Keach will open their home from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. for the annual Pigskin Pregame on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 1440 Avellino Circle in Murfreesboro. Tickets are $30 per person if purchased by Wednesday, Aug. 20, and $35 afterward and at the door. The price includes food, beverages, entertainment and door prizes. Proceeds benefit the Rutherford County Alumni Chapter Scholarship Fund. Tim Keach (B.S. ’72) and Kent Ayer (B.B.A. ’99) are president and vice president, respectively, of Murfreesboro-based TDK Construction, which constructed and donated 10 open-air boxes in the north end zone of Floyd Stadium that were completed for the start of the 2007 season. Contact Paul Wydra with MTSU Alumni Relations at 615-898-2922 or pwydra@mtsu.edu.

ONCE UPON A CAREER--Beginning Monday, Aug. 25, the first day of the fall semester, the writing lab located in Room 325 in MTSU’s Peck Hall will be known as the Margaret H. Ordoubadian Writing Center. Dr. Margaret Ordoubadian, a scholar of children’s literature and the oral traditions surrounding fairy tales and folk tales, was awarded the rank of professor emeritus Aug. 8 during summer commencement. She taught full-time at MTSU for 34 years until her retirement in 2003. Dr. Tom Strawman, chair of the Department of English, says she had adopted a “psychoanalytical approach to the study of children’s literature and folk/fairy tales (that) became so influential with so many students at MTSU … that the department began to hire more professors to teach in this area because Professor Ordoubadian had created such a demand for it in the university as a whole.” To request an interview with Ordoubadian, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

TEA FOR TWO OR MORE—The media are invited to an availability this Sunday, Aug. 24, with Greg Mortenson, co-author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace and speaker at this year’s MTSU University Convocation. Reporters will have an opportunity to ask Mortenson questions at 11:30 a.m. in Murphy Center. At 2 p.m., Mortenson will address the convocation and talk about his “Pennies for Peace” campaign and his efforts to create educational opportunities for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His quest began in 1993, when, to honor his late sister’s memory, Mortenson climbed Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain in the Karakoram range. While recovering in a local village, he met a group of children writing with sticks in the sand and made a promise to help them build a school. Contact Tom Tozer in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5131 or 615-542-0444 by Friday of this week if you plan to meet with Mortenson at the 11:30 a.m. event.

KEYS TO THE MAGIC KINGDOM--What do Mickey and Minnie Mouse know that other entrepreneurs don’t know? Is Goofy really smarter than he looks? Is Scrooge McDuck really tight with a dollar? Bruce Jones, programming director of the Disney Institute, will tackle these questions at 7 a.m. Central time this Sunday, Aug. 24, on “MTSU on the Record,” hosted by Gina Logue, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business is a silver sponsor of the Disney Institute’s “Disney Keys to Excellence” conference, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Sheraton Downtown Nashville. “We showcase philosophies and strategies that have made us a success and that can be adapted to other organizations,” says George Aguel, senior vice president for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. For more information about “Disney Keys to Excellence,” go to http://www.keysnashville.com/. For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

FOR THE HEALTH OF IT--The staff of MTSU’s Health Services will welcome the community to its sparkling new facilities in the Campus Recreation Center with a 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting and grand opening slated for Wednesday, Aug. 27. “We’re bringing in a stage,” says Richard Chapman, Health Services Director. “We’re going to make it a real carnival/festival-type activity.” For the first time ever on campus, X-ray services will be available as well as travel medicine to support study abroad students. Another first and perhaps the main attraction will be the drive-thru pharmacy, which is slated to open around Oct. 1. Customers will drive in the recreation center’s main entrance, turn to the right and curve around the building, where they will encounter an ATM-type kiosk with a pneumatic tube system. For more information, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

TAKE A BYTE OUT OF IT--The 2-day devLink Technical Conference, today and tomorrow, Aug. 22 and 23, sponsored by MTSU’s Department of Computer Information Systems in the Jones College of Business, brings to campus several experts in the field who will address new developments in technology that will be of interest to software makers, solution architects, database administrators, project managers, technology executives and IT professionals. Attendees will get the scoop on future trends in the industry, see the latest in products and services and take home knowledge that can be applied in the workplace. Sessions will take place in the Business and Aerospace Building and the Learning Resources Center. For information on times and venues, call Dr. Stanley Gambill, CIS department chair, at 615-898-2749 or the department at 615-898-2362. Media welcomed. Visit http://www.devlink.net/ .

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Keys to the Magic Kingdom

What do Mickey and Minnie Mouse know that other entrepreneurs don’t know? Is Goofy really smarter than he looks? Is Scrooge McDuck really tight with a dollar? Bruce Jones, programming director of the Disney Institute, will tackle these questions at 7 a.m. Central time this Sunday, Aug. 24, on “MTSU on the Record,” hosted by Gina Logue, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business is a silver sponsor of the Disney Institute’s “Disney Keys to Excellence” conference, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Sheraton Downtown Nashville. “We showcase philosophies and strategies that have made us a success and that can be adapted to other organizations,” says George Aguel, senior vice president for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

For more information about “Disney Keys to Excellence,” go to www.keysnashville.com. For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

For the health of it

The staff of MTSU’s Health Services will welcome the community to its sparkling new facilities in the Campus Recreation Center with a 4 p.m. ribbon-cutting and grand opening slated for Wednesday, Aug. 27. “We’re bringing in a stage,” says Richard Chapman, Health Services Director. “We’re going to make it a real carnival/festival-type activity.” For the first time ever on campus, X-ray services will be available as well as travel medicine to support study abroad students. Another first and perhaps the main attraction will be the drive-thru pharmacy, which is slated to open around Oct. 1. Customers will drive in the recreation center’s main entrance, turn to the right and curve around the building, where they will encounter an ATM-type kiosk with a pneumatic tube system.

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


Working for a living

What kind of income do immigrants who live and work in Tennessee earn? According to a study by Dr. Murat Arik, associate director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, nearly 74 percent of immigrants are earning less than $35,000 compared to 62 percent of natives in Tennessee. Arik writes, “Tennessee has a relatively small immigrant population, two-fifths of whom entered the U.S. in the past five years. The sudden burst of relatively young, low-wage earning immigrants may pose a challenge. However, booming activity in commercial and residential construction, as well as the retail sector in the past five years, has increased the demand for workforce considerably, attracting many immigrants to the area.”

Contact Arik at 615-898-5424.
marik@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

ONE STATE, TWO STATES, RED STATES, BLUE STATES--With 2008 shaping up to be one of the most fascinating presidential election years in recent history, the MTSU University Honors College will present “Politics and the Press: The Relationship Between Government and the Fourth Estate” as its fall lecture series. Topics to be discussed by faculty experts include “Politics, the Presidency and Film;” “Politics, Non-Traditional Media and Young Voters;” “Agenda-Setting Images in National Politics;” and “Between Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama: Race Management, Electoral Populism and Presidential Politics.” The one-hour, pass/fail course will be held from 3 until 3:55 p.m. every Monday except Sept. 1 due to the Labor Day holiday and Oct. 13 due to fall break. Contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.

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.

HER SONG--“Women in Music,” a brand new class to be taught at MTSU this fall, will be an exploration of the vast variety of women’s musical activities. Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, who will teach both undergraduates and graduate students, says, “The course will cover not only women composers in the western tradition, but also women performers, women patrons, and women as objects and symbols in the marketing of music.” Students will discuss cultural constructions of gender as they pertain to music, identify important women in musical history and outline their significance, talk about connections between diverse forms of feminism and their manifestations in music and much more. Women to be studied will range from Clara Schumann to Janis Joplin and from Jenny Lind to Tori Amos. Contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@mtsu.edu.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BRETT FAVRE TO BE A JET.--Three recent graduates of MTSU have been selected to participate in the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) administered by the government of Japan. They are Jim Pruitt (Spring 2008, Digital Media), Paul Richards (Spring 2008, International Relations), and Joe Yount (Summer 2007, Finance). Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, former director of the U.S.-Japan Program and professor emeritus in economics and finance, says, “They will work as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations for up to three years beginning this month. … Jim, Paul and Joe had all studied at MTSU’s exchange partner institutions in Japan for a year as undergraduate students.” Dr. Kaylene Gebert, vice president and provost, says, “We are extremely proud of these graduates. … I cannot believe that their study in Japan was not a key to their success.” Contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

BUILDING A PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP--The unveiling of MTSU’s new Commercial Construction Management concentration in the Department of Engineering Technology will take place when fall semester classes begin Monday, Aug. 25. Dr. Walter Boles, department chair, says, “Current construction management programs in Tennessee are unable to supply enough graduates for the region. The Commercial Construction Management program is designed to prepare graduates for entry-level supervisory and estimating positions with commercial construction firms, material manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.” Boles adds that the goal “is to become a leading program graduating 50 to 100 entry-level managers per year who would stay in Tennessee. However, our focus is on a quality program. The numbers are secondary.” Contact Boles at 615-898-5009 or wwboles@mtsu.edu.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

HOSPITALITY FROM THE HEART--Tim and Pam Keach will open their home from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. for the annual Pigskin Pregame on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 1440 Avellino Circle in Murfreesboro. Tickets are $30 per person if purchased by Wednesday, Aug. 20, and $35 afterward and at the door. The price includes food, beverages, entertainment and door prizes. Proceeds benefit the Rutherford County Alumni Chapter Scholarship Fund. Tim Keach (B.S. ’72) and Kent Ayer (B.B.A. ’99) are president and vice president, respectively, of Murfreesboro-based TDK Construction, which constructed and donated 10 open-air boxes in the north end zone of Floyd Stadium that were completed for the start of the 2007 season. Contact Paul Wydra with MTSU Alumni Relations at 615-898-2922 or pwydra@mtsu.edu.

ONCE UPON A CAREER--Beginning Monday, Aug. 25, the first day of the fall semester, the writing lab located in Room 325 in MTSU’s Peck Hall will be known as the Margaret H. Ordoubadian Writing Center. Dr. Margaret Ordoubadian, a scholar of children’s literature and the oral traditions surrounding fairy tales and folk tales, was awarded the rank of professor emeritus Aug. 8 during summer commencement. She taught full-time at MTSU for 34 years until her retirement in 2003. Dr. Tom Strawman, chair of the Department of English, says she had adopted a “psychoanalytical approach to the study of children’s literature and folk/fairy tales (that) became so influential with so many students at MTSU … that the department began to hire more professors to teach in this area because Professor Ordoubadian had created such a demand for it in the university as a whole.” To request an interview with Ordoubadian, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

TEA FOR TWO OR MORE—The media are invited to an availability this Sunday, Aug. 24, with Greg Mortenson, co-author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace and speaker at this year’s MTSU University Convocation. Reporters will have an opportunity to ask Mortenson questions at 11:30 a.m. in Murphy Center. At 2 p.m., Mortenson will address the convocation and talk about his “Pennies for Peace” campaign and his efforts to create educational opportunities for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His quest began in 1993, when, to honor his late sister’s memory, Mortenson climbed Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain in the Karakoram range. While recovering in a local village, he met a group of children writing with sticks in the sand and made a promise to help them build a school. Contact Tom Tozer in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5131 or 615-542-0444 by Friday of this week if you plan to meet with Mortenson at the 11:30 a.m. event.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Once upon a career

Beginning Monday, Aug. 25, the first day of the fall semester, the writing lab located in Room 325 in MTSU’s Peck Hall will be known as the Margaret H. Ordoubadian Writing Center. Dr. Margaret Ordoubadian, a scholar of children’s literature and the oral traditions surrounding fairy tales and folk tales, was awarded the rank of professor emeritus Aug. 8 during summer commencement. She taught full-time at MTSU for 34 years until her retirement in 2003. Dr. Tom Strawman, chair of the Department of English, says she had adopted a “psychoanalytical approach to the study of children’s literature and folk/fairy tales (that) became so influential with so many students at MTSU … that the department began to hire more professors to teach in this area because Professor Ordoubadian had created such a demand for it in the university as a whole.”

To request an interview with Ordoubadian, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
lrollins@mtsu.edu

Tea for two or more

The media are invited to an availability this Sunday, Aug. 24, with Greg Mortenson, co-author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace and speaker at this year’s MTSU University Convocation. Reporters will have an opportunity to ask Mortenson questions at 11:30 a.m. in Murphy Center. At 2 p.m., Mortenson will address the convocation and talk about his “Pennies for Peace” campaign and his efforts to create educational opportunities for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His quest began in 1993, when, to honor his late sister’s memory, Mortenson climbed Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain in the Karakoram range. While recovering in a local village, he met a group of children writing with sticks in the sand and made a promise to help them build a school.

Contact Tom Tozer in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5131 or 615-542-0444 by Friday of this week if you plan to meet with Mortenson at the 11:30 a.m. event.
ttozer@mtsu.edu

Welcome to Tennessee

A study by Dr. Murat Arik, associate director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, finds that the number of foreign-born individuals in the state is approximately 233,386 persons, or 3.86 percent of the population, as of 2006. Furthermore, the entrance of foreign-born persons into Tennessee is a relatively recent development compared with other states. The study shows that nearly two-fifths of Tennessee’s foreign-born population came to the Volunteer State between 2000 and 2006. How well-educated are they? Arik writes, “In Tennessee, 14 percent of the native-born and 29 percent of the foreign-born population have less than a high school education. However, at the other end of the spectrum, 31 percent of the native-born and 45 percent of the foreign-born population have at least a bachelor’s degree.”

Contact Arik at 615-898-5424.
marik@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

ONE STATE, TWO STATES, RED STATES, BLUE STATES--With 2008 shaping up to be one of the most fascinating presidential election years in recent history, the MTSU University Honors College will present “Politics and the Press: The Relationship Between Government and the Fourth Estate” as its fall lecture series. Topics to be discussed by faculty experts include “Politics, the Presidency and Film;” “Politics, Non-Traditional Media and Young Voters;” “Agenda-Setting Images in National Politics;” and “Between Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama: Race Management, Electoral Populism and Presidential Politics.” The one-hour, pass/fail course will be held from 3 until 3:55 p.m. every Monday except Sept. 1 due to the Labor Day holiday and Oct. 13 due to fall break. Contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.

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.

HER SONG--“Women in Music,” a brand new class to be taught at MTSU this fall, will be an exploration of the vast variety of women’s musical activities. Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, who will teach both undergraduates and graduate students, says, “The course will cover not only women composers in the western tradition, but also women performers, women patrons, and women as objects and symbols in the marketing of music.” Students will discuss cultural constructions of gender as they pertain to music, identify important women in musical history and outline their significance, talk about connections between diverse forms of feminism and their manifestations in music and much more. Women to be studied will range from Clara Schumann to Janis Joplin and from Jenny Lind to Tori Amos. Contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@mtsu.edu.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BRETT FAVRE TO BE A JET.--Three recent graduates of MTSU have been selected to participate in the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) administered by the government of Japan. They are Jim Pruitt (Spring 2008, Digital Media), Paul Richards (Spring 2008, International Relations), and Joe Yount (Summer 2007, Finance). Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, former director of the U.S.-Japan Program and professor emeritus in economics and finance, says, “They will work as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations for up to three years beginning this month. … Jim, Paul and Joe had all studied at MTSU’s exchange partner institutions in Japan for a year as undergraduate students.” Dr. Kaylene Gebert, vice president and provost, says, “We are extremely proud of these graduates. … I cannot believe that their study in Japan was not a key to their success.”
Contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

BUILDING A PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP--The unveiling of MTSU’s new Commercial Construction Management concentration in the Department of Engineering Technology will take place when fall semester classes begin Monday, Aug. 25. Dr. Walter Boles, department chair, says, “Current construction management programs in Tennessee are unable to supply enough graduates for the region. The Commercial Construction Management program is designed to prepare graduates for entry-level supervisory and estimating positions with commercial construction firms, material manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.” Boles adds that the goal “is to become a leading program graduating 50 to 100 entry-level managers per year who would stay in Tennessee. However, our focus is on a quality program. The numbers are secondary.” Contact Boles at 615-898-5009 or wwboles@mtsu.edu.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

HOSPITALITY FROM THE HEART--Tim and Pam Keach will open their home from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. for the annual Pigskin Pregame on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 1440 Avellino Circle in Murfreesboro. Tickets are $30 per person if purchased by Wednesday, Aug. 20, and $35 afterward and at the door. The price includes food, beverages, entertainment and door prizes. Proceeds benefit the Rutherford County Alumni Chapter Scholarship Fund. Tim Keach (B.S. ’72) and Kent Ayer (B.B.A. ’99) are president and vice president, respectively, of Murfreesboro-based TDK Construction, which constructed and donated 10 open-air boxes in the north end zone of Floyd Stadium that were completed for the start of the 2007 season. Contact Paul Wydra with MTSU Alumni Relations at 615-898-2922 or pwydra@mtsu.edu.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Maybe it’s just a former UGA linebacker.

If you believe in the Loch Ness Monster, flying saucers, and Rosemary Woods’ explanation of the 18-and-a-half minute gap in the Watergate tapes, you probably believe in Bigfoot. Well, the media were lured last week to a news conference at which two law enforcement professionals claimed they found the remains of Bigfoot in north Georgia (the U.S. state, not the country under siege). Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “Well, once again, the pictures are too grainy and indistinct to really tell anything. The body in the freezer looks an awful lot like a gorilla suit you can buy at the costume shop downtown. If the two folks really have the body, it seems to me the best thing they could have done would have been to cart it off to the nearest university biology, forensics or medical department and let the experts have a look … while making multiple high-quality videos along every step of the way.”

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

A new Olympic record

Even though cell phones have become necessities for millions of people, not every cell phone owner uses text messaging. However, Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing might prove to be a tipping point in the popularity of mobile devices for media consumption. “NBC reports that just under 500,000 people per day attempted to access Olympics content via their cell phones on Aug. 17 and Aug. 18,” Roy says. “While that number is very unimpressive compared to the massive television audience the Games draw, the number of people who are using cell phones to access content is noteworthy. NBC says that 50 percent of the people requesting content over a mobile device are first-timers" (including Roy himself).

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

Dixie tricks

A federal judge in Knoxville declared a mistrial last week when a jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict in the case of a high school student who claimed his First Amendment rights had been violated. Tommy DeFoe filed suit after a school in Anderson County suspended him in 2006 for wearing clothing bearing the Confederate flag. However, the jury split 7-1 in DeFoe’s favor. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment scholar, says, “One of the most divisive symbols in public life and public schools is the Confederate flag. Its proponents extol it as a symbol of a proud heritage; opponents counter that it represents hate and racial supremacy. Public school officials across the country have found themselves embroiled in legal controversies when they punish students who wear Confederate flag clothing.”

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

TR EXTRA

ONE STATE, TWO STATES, RED STATES, BLUE STATES--With 2008 shaping up to be one of the most fascinating presidential election years in recent history, the MTSU University Honors College will present “Politics and the Press: The Relationship Between Government and the Fourth Estate” as its fall lecture series. Topics to be discussed by faculty experts include “Politics, the Presidency and Film;” “Politics, Non-Traditional Media and Young Voters;” “Agenda-Setting Images in National Politics;” and “Between Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama: Race Management, Electoral Populism and Presidential Politics.” The one-hour, pass/fail course will be held from 3 until 3:55 p.m. every Monday except Sept. 1 due to the Labor Day holiday and Oct. 13 due to fall break. Contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.

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.

HER SONG--“Women in Music,” a brand new class to be taught at MTSU this fall, will be an exploration of the vast variety of women’s musical activities. Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, who will teach both undergraduates and graduate students, says, “The course will cover not only women composers in the western tradition, but also women performers, women patrons, and women as objects and symbols in the marketing of music.” Students will discuss cultural constructions of gender as they pertain to music, identify important women in musical history and outline their significance, talk about connections between diverse forms of feminism and their manifestations in music and much more. Women to be studied will range from Clara Schumann to Janis Joplin and from Jenny Lind to Tori Amos. Contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@mtsu.edu.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BRETT FAVRE TO BE A JET.--Three recent graduates of MTSU have been selected to participate in the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) administered by the government of Japan. They are Jim Pruitt (Spring 2008, Digital Media), Paul Richards (Spring 2008, International Relations), and Joe Yount (Summer 2007, Finance). Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, former director of the U.S.-Japan Program and professor emeritus in economics and finance, says, “They will work as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations for up to three years beginning this month. … Jim, Paul and Joe had all studied at MTSU’s exchange partner institutions in Japan for a year as undergraduate students.” Dr. Kaylene Gebert, vice president and provost, says, “We are extremely proud of these graduates. … I cannot believe that their study in Japan was not a key to their success.” Contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

HOSPITALITY FROM THE HEART--Tim and Pam Keach will open their home from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. for the annual Pigskin Pregame on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 1440 Avellino Circle in Murfreesboro. Tickets are $30 per person if purchased by Wednesday, Aug. 20, and $35 afterward and at the door. The price includes food, beverages, entertainment and door prizes. Proceeds benefit the Rutherford County Alumni Chapter Scholarship Fund. Tim Keach (B.S. ’72) and Kent Ayer (B.B.A. ’99) are president and vice president, respectively, of Murfreesboro-based TDK Construction, which constructed and donated 10 open-air boxes in the north end zone of Floyd Stadium that were completed for the start of the 2007 season. Contact Paul Wydra with MTSU Alumni Relations at 615-898-2922 or pwydra@mtsu.edu.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Hospitality from the heart

Tim and Pam Keach will open their home from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. for the annual Pigskin Pregame on Saturday, Aug. 23, at 1440 Avellino Circle in Murfreesboro. Tickets are $30 per person if purchased by Wednesday, Aug. 20, and $35 afterward and at the door. The price includes food, beverages, entertainment and door prizes. Proceeds benefit the Rutherford County Alumni Chapter Scholarship Fund. Tim Keach (B.S. ’72) and Kent Ayer (B.B.A. ’99) are president and vice president, respectively, of Murfreesboro-based TDK Construction, which constructed and donated 10 open-air boxes in the north end zone of Floyd Stadium that were completed for the start of the 2007 season.

Contact Paul Wydra with MTSU Alumni Relations at 615-898-2922.
pwydra@mtsu.edu

Clap for the Wolfeman

The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.”

Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 on or after Tuesday, Aug. 19 (tomorrow).
pwells@mtsu.edu

Black and white and dreaded all over

Perhaps one of the most unheralded pioneers in American television history was a man named Stockton Helffrich, the nation’s first network television censor. Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, maintains that Helffrich’s diligent monitoring of early programming for racist content at NBC was highly progressive for its time, even though it was prompted by economic and public relations concerns as much as altruism. Pondillo notes, “All hackneyed notions that depicted African-Americans as tambourine-shaking minstrels, derelict sociopaths wielding concealed weapons, simpleminded loafers, excessive drinkers, drugged-out zombies, addicted gamblers, infrequent bathers, and easily freighted stooges … were cut. Hellfrich admonished his editors to ‘anticipate [these] kind[s] of [racial slurs] from writers and agencies …” suggesting that ‘[such] sloppy and lazy clichés are out of date, are not fair, and are anything but a pretty face of America to the rest of the world.’”

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

ONE STATE, TWO STATES, RED STATES, BLUE STATES--With 2008 shaping up to be one of the most fascinating presidential election years in recent history, the MTSU University Honors College will present “Politics and the Press: The Relationship Between Government and the Fourth Estate” as its fall lecture series. Topics to be discussed by faculty experts include “Politics, the Presidency and Film;” “Politics, Non-Traditional Media and Young Voters;” “Agenda-Setting Images in National Politics;” and “Between Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama: Race Management, Electoral Populism and Presidential Politics.” The one-hour, pass/fail course will be held from 3 until 3:55 p.m. every Monday except Sept. 1 due to the Labor Day holiday and Oct. 13 due to fall break. Contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.

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.

HER SONG--“Women in Music,” a brand new class to be taught at MTSU this fall, will be an exploration of the vast variety of women’s musical activities. Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, who will teach both undergraduates and graduate students, says, “The course will cover not only women composers in the western tradition, but also women performers, women patrons, and women as objects and symbols in the marketing of music.” Students will discuss cultural constructions of gender as they pertain to music, identify important women in musical history and outline their significance, talk about connections between diverse forms of feminism and their manifestations in music and much more. Women to be studied will range from Clara Schumann to Janis Joplin and from Jenny Lind to Tori Amos. Contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@mtsu.edu.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BRETT FAVRE TO BE A JET.--Three recent graduates of MTSU have been selected to participate in the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) administered by the government of Japan. They are Jim Pruitt (Spring 2008, Digital Media), Paul Richards (Spring 2008, International Relations), and Joe Yount (Summer 2007, Finance). Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, former director of the U.S.-Japan Program and professor emeritus in economics and finance, says, “They will work as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations for up to three years beginning this month. … Jim, Paul and Joe had all studied at MTSU’s exchange partner institutions in Japan for a year as undergraduate students.” Dr. Kaylene Gebert, vice president and provost, says, “We are extremely proud of these graduates. … I cannot believe that their study in Japan was not a key to their success.” Contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

BUILDING A PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP--The unveiling of MTSU’s new Commercial Construction Management concentration in the Department of Engineering Technology will take place when fall semester classes begin Monday, Aug. 25. Dr. Walter Boles, department chair, says, “Current construction management programs in Tennessee are unable to supply enough graduates for the region. The Commercial Construction Management program is designed to prepare graduates for entry-level supervisory and estimating positions with commercial construction firms, material manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.” Boles adds that the goal “is to become a leading program graduating 50 to 100 entry-level managers per year who would stay in Tennessee. However, our focus is on a quality program. The numbers are secondary.” Contact Boles at 615-898-5009 or wwboles@mtsu.edu.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

One state, two states, red states, blue states

With 2008 shaping up to be one of the most fascinating presidential election years in recent history, the MTSU University Honors College will present “Politics and the Press: The Relationship Between Government and the Fourth Estate” as its fall lecture series. Topics to be discussed by faculty experts include “Politics, the Presidency and Film;” “Politics, Non-Traditional Media and Young Voters;” “Agenda-Setting Images in National Politics;” and “Between Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama: Race Management, Electoral Populism and Presidential Politics.” The one-hour, pass/fail course will be held from 3 until 3:55 p.m. every Monday except Sept. 1 due to the Labor Day holiday and Oct. 13 due to fall break.

Contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.

“There is no occasion for women to consider themselves subordinate or inferior to men.”—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Dr. Newtona (Tina) Johnson, professor of English and chair of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women at MTSU, is the new director of the university’s Women’s Studies Program. Johnson took over the job Aug. 1. She succeeds Dr. Elyce Helford, also an English professor, who served as director for the past eight years. In her vision statement, Johnson wrote, “I will use my collegial relations with faculty and administrators across MTSU’s campus and my experience in recruiting faculty from diverse disciplines to create more disciplinary diversity in our curriculum, to solicit more faculty involvement in the program, and to promote the program to faculty, students, and administrators as a community of scholars that prides itself on its inclusiveness as it fosters a global feminist perspective.”

Contact Johnson at 615-898-2705.
ntjohnso@mtsu.edu

Maury matters

An assessment by MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) shows that Maury County is undergoing significant economic and demographic changes. The report, authored by Dr. David Penn, BERC Director, indicates that population is growing faster than the Nashville metro area and surrounding rural counties and that Maury’s retirement-age and near retirement-age population is proportionally larger than the Nashville area, but smaller than those in neighboring counties. Even though Saturn/GM dominates jobs and income, future employment and income stability call for diversification away from the economic sector, the assessment concludes. The report forecasts slower growth in population, jobs and income for Maury County for the next 10 years with little change in per capita income.

Contact Penn at 615-898-2610.
dpenn@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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.

A REALLY BIG SHEW--The August edition of “Middle Tennessee Record” is packed with fascinating stories and compelling video of MTSU sights and sounds. Watch the Plant and Soil Science Club’s members as they grow and sell farm-fresh produce to raise funds. Check out the art deco-style Jazz Age mural painted by professor Erin Anfinsson at the Heritage Center in downtown Murfreesboro. Return with MTSU alumni to those thrilling days of yesteryear at the inaugural Alumni Summer College. And celebrate the success of the Center for Environmental Education, whose latest video to promote clean water in Tennessee won a Silver Telly Award. “Middle Tennessee Record” airs on NewsChannel5+ at 1:30 p.m. on Sundays. For a complete listing of other cable outlets that run the program, go to www.mtsunews.com. Contact John Lynch at 615-898-2919 or jlynch@mtsu.edu.

WELCOME, NEIGHBOR!--As state Rep. John Hood leaves the Tennessee General Assembly following six terms serving the 48th District, he embarks on a new mission for MTSU’s Office of Community Engagement and Support. Hood began assisting Dr. Gloria Bonner, the director of the office, on Aug. 1. “During my 12 years in the legislature, I have worked in support of MTSU, and this will give me another opportunity to represent the university with the community and local governments,” Hood says. Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU president, adds, “Any endeavor that John is involved in will be enhanced and enriched by his knowledge and skills, and we are extremely fortunate that he will continue to be a valuable resource for a university that he loves and has served for so many years.”Contact Tom Tozer in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu for more information.

HER SONG--“Women in Music,” a brand new class to be taught at MTSU this fall, will be an exploration of the vast variety of women’s musical activities. Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, who will teach both undergraduates and graduate students, says, “The course will cover not only women composers in the western tradition, but also women performers, women patrons, and women as objects and symbols in the marketing of music.” Students will discuss cultural constructions of gender as they pertain to music, identify important women in musical history and outline their significance, talk about connections between diverse forms of feminism and their manifestations in music and much more. Women to be studied will range from Clara Schumann to Janis Joplin and from Jenny Lind to Tori Amos. Contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@mtsu.edu.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE BRETT FAVRE TO BE A JET.--Three recent graduates of MTSU have been selected to participate in the prestigious Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) administered by the government of Japan. They are Jim Pruitt (Spring 2008, Digital Media), Paul Richards (Spring 2008, International Relations), and Joe Yount (Summer 2007, Finance). Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, former director of the U.S.-Japan Program and professor emeritus in economics and finance, says, “They will work as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations for up to three years beginning this month. … Jim, Paul and Joe had all studied at MTSU’s exchange partner institutions in Japan for a year as undergraduate students.” Dr. Kaylene Gebert, vice president and provost, says, “We are extremely proud of these graduates. … I cannot believe that their study in Japan was not a key to their success.” Contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.

BEYOND THE PLANTATION--“Beyond the Plantation: Slavery, Emancipation and Oaklands,” an exhibit at Oaklands Historic House Museum, focuses on the African-American experience in Murfreesboro. MTSU graduate students in public history under the instruction of Dr. Brenden Martin researched and created the project. The project focuses on four distinct themes: Plantation Culture, Civil War, Emancipation, and Legacies. Families who have ties to the community and who have items that might enhance the exhibit are encouraged to contribute. Martin and one of his students, Dollie Boyd, will discuss the exhibit at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 17, on “MTSU on the Record” on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). For more information about the Oaklands exhibit, call 615-893-0022. For more about “MTSU on the Record,” call Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

BUILDING A PROGRAM FROM THE GROUND UP--The unveiling of MTSU’s new Commercial Construction Management concentration in the Department of Engineering Technology will take place when fall semester classes begin Monday, Aug. 25. Dr. Walter Boles, department chair, says, “Current construction management programs in Tennessee are unable to supply enough graduates for the region. The Commercial Construction Management program is designed to prepare graduates for entry-level supervisory and estimating positions with commercial construction firms, material manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.” Boles adds that the goal “is to become a leading program graduating 50 to 100 entry-level managers per year who would stay in Tennessee. However, our focus is on a quality program. The numbers are secondary.” Contact Boles at 615-898-5009 or wwboles@mtsu.edu.