Monday, August 4, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Jailhouse rock

Last month, a federal appeals court in Pennsylvania ruled in Young v. Beard that the state corrections system did not violate the First Amendment by prohibiting inmates from forming their own bands behind bars. Prison officials claimed that allowing the inmates to play music constituted a possible security risk. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says, “The net result of the shutdown and the ruling may be an angrier prisoner population—inmates with less chance to express themselves in a positive fashion. … Most believe that inmates forfeited their constitutional rights when they committed their crimes. But that is not—or at least should not be—the case. Prisoners still possess some level of constitutional rights.”

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

Overseas sales

The old “good news/bad news” cliché applies to last quarter’s export figures for Tennessee. In the first quarter of 2008, Tennessee exports rose to more than $5.6 billion. That’s a 7.66 percent increase from the same period a year ago. However, Tennessee continued to lag behind the national gain of 17.16 percent. Dr. Steven Livingston, political science, says the transportation sector was the main reason, with car exports falling nearly $73 million and auto body parts sales down $62 million. “This more than erased gains made in other automotive sectors, such as SUV sales and the export of other auto parts,” Livingston says. “A large drop in turbojet sales to Singapore added to the woes in the transportation sector, which in total fell by nearly nine percent for the quarter.”

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

Do you think these genes make me look fat?

Can evolutionary theory be used to explain how we behave? That’s the intriguing question behind an honors course to be taught jointly this fall by Dr. Tom Brinthaupt, psychology, and Dr. Andrew Brower, biology, at MTSU. Students will examine theories of, and research in, human behavior, genetics and evolution from the perspectives of biology and psychology. A main focus will be popular treatments of nature/nurture and genes/behavior issues. Topics to be covered include evolutionary perspectives on personality and the self, emotional expression, memory and cognition, morality and religion, altruism, sexual behavior, mate selection and jealousy, and aggression and violence.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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