Monday, September 8, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Happy birthday, QWERTY!

This Friday, Sept. 12, former secretaries and reporters everywhere will celebrate the 135th anniversary of the manufacture of the first practical typewriter. Why should we acknowledge this date when computers now rule the world? Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, says it was one major step in a long line of changes that took the transmission of messages out of the hands of the elites and put it into the hands of the general populace. “The development of the typewriter then put the power to create those messages in the hands of almost everyone,” Burriss says. “The development of the typewriter meant almost everyone could produce a newspaper, magazine or political pamphlet.” Then, Burriss says, computers made it possible for almost anyone to distribute the ideas contained in those documents.

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

“Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery.”—Jack Paar

The tremendous role that immigrants play in the national economy often goes ignored in the debate about how to deal with the issue of illegal immigration. Dr. William Ford, holder of the Weatherford Chair of Finance at MTSU, will discuss the economic ramifications of immigration and their role in the presidential campaign in his lecture, “Immigrationomics,” at 3 p.m. today, Sept. 8, in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. In a paper published in the Economic Education Bulletin, Ford, a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, wrote, “With the two most populous nations on earth, China and India, both currently growing their real GDP (gross domestic product) about three times as fast as ours, the United States can ill afford to allow an economically irrational anti-immigrant political mystique to undermine the labor and demographic needs of our economy.” This event is free and open to the public.

Contact Dr. Scott Carnicom, associate dean of the University Honors College, at 615-898-2152.
carnicom@mtsu.edu

“It wasn’t God who made honky tonk angels.”—Kitty Wells

Photographer Henry Horenstein will lecture tonight, Sept. 8, on his new exhibit, “Honky Tonk,” at 7:30 p.m. in Room 103 of the Bragg Mass Communication Building. The exhibit, which is on display through Oct. 16 at MTSU’s Baldwin Photographic Gallery, chronicles the end of the honky-tonk era, a period when country music artists—even the most popular and famous—often performed for fans at small venues. The black-and-white images examine the intimacy and lack of boundaries that existed between performers and audience prior to the age of huge stadium performances. This event is free and open to the public, as is the photo exhibit.

Contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085.
tjimison@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.

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. tomorrow, 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. Members of the media are welcomed to attend at no cost by presenting press credentials. Photography of any slides or presentation-specific material will be prohibited; otherwise, photography will be permitted. Organizers will help arrange on-site interviews with session presenters/facilitators, if requested. Contact Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919 (ttozer@mtsu.edu) in advance to register attendance.

LOSING … AND LOVING IT--Faculty and staff at MTSU will embark on a 12-week Wellness Program again this semester at the Campus Recreation Center. However, there’s a twist this time. Participants will have an opportunity to opt into a “Biggest Loser” competition, which will include weekly weight and body fat percentage calculations for each team. The team’s cumulative results will be posted in the Rec Center, but individual statistics will remain confidential. There will be weekly personal challenges for that week’s pounds lost to count in the final week. The team that loses the most body weight percentage by the end of the program will receive a prize to be announced during the semester. The winning individual also will receive a prize. The registration deadline has been extended to Friday, Sept. 12. Contact Jerry Langham at 615-898-2104 or jlangham@mtsu.edu.

WALL-TO-WALL JAZZ--The public grand opening event for “Entering the Modern Era: Murfreesboro’s Jazz Age,” an expanded exhibit, will be from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11 at the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County. “New transportation routes, along with the emergence of educational and medical facilities and industries,” says Melissa Zimmerman, heritage programming specialist for the center, “helped shape the quality of life during this modern era of social change and urbanization.” Supported by the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, the newly expanded exhibit will be anchored by a six-foot-tall, 20-foot-long mural that recently was completed by nationally recognized artist Erin Anfinson, an assistant professor of art at MTSU, and two students, Emily May-Ragland and Sarah Sullivan. Call 615-217-8013 or send an e-mail to Jennifer Butt at jbutt@mtsu.edu.