Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

ATTENTION: Today’s Response will go on hiatus from Wednesday, November 26 through Sunday, November 30. Today's Response will return on Monday, December 1. We wish all of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. This is the GKL e-mail network.

Gina Logue
News and Public Affairs

A work of art

The works of MTSU art professors John Donovan and Erin Anfinson are on display at the Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery in Nashville through Friday, Dec. 12. Anfinson’s encaustic paintings and Donovan’s ceramic sculpture have been on display since Nov. 6. Both artists view this exhibition as an opportunity to connect what they teach in the classroom with their own creative studio practices. Their students will have the opportunity to view and enjoy the work and to better understand the effort that goes into an active and successful creative career. The gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information, call Julie Roberts at 615-532-9798.
julie.roberts@state.tn.us

A pizza the action

Here’s a sales come-on that a college student can appreciate. Papa John’s Pizza is giving any Facebook user who signs up to become a “Friend of Papa John’s” a coupon good for a free medium cheese pizza with the purchase of another medium pizza. The offer expires Dec. 1. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says the motive might be competition because “… Pizza Hut has unveiled a Facebook application that enables users to order from Pizza Hut online without ever leaving Facebook. Online sales are a rapidly growing channel for both Pizza Hut and Papa John’s. The Papa John’s offer focuses on the online channel as the coupon is good only for online ordering.”

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

EXLENCE! (No, we didn’t misspell it.)

The MTSU Experiential Learning Program not only gives students opportunities to learn by doing. The value of their work is an asset to the entire area. According to “EXL Happenings,” the program’s newsletter, “… students spent 136,904 hours on community activities (in 2007-2008), and 2,094 projects that directly influenced the community were completed.” Using an estimated hourly wage of $8, “… students working on projects that directly affected the community provided a value of $1.095 million to the middle Tennessee area. A small portion of the internships were paid to students, but more than 98 percent was volunteer work, so the EXL program had a $1 million impact on our area.”

Contact Dr. Jill Austin at 615-898-2992.
jaustin@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THE BEST WET YET--Water is often called the most essential nutrient. Why is it so important? How much do we really need? Is bottled water really safer than tap? Why are chemicals like fluoride and ginseng added to some waters? Exactly how much water do athletes need? Find out answers to these questions and more in “Water, Water Everywhere … But Which Type is Best to Drink?”, an interactive program for students in grades 7-12 offered through MTSU’s Satellite and Webcasting Center on Tuesday, Dec. 2, from 9-10 a.m. CST (10-11 a.m. EST). The discussion leaders will be Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences, Daniel Vaden and Mark Crowell. For more information, call 615-898-2737 or send an e-mail to vmoxley@mtsu.edu.

GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66.--Noted photographer Tom Mallonee’s exhibit, “Evidence of Passing: Vanishing Points along an American Road,” will be displayed until Dec. 4 in the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in MTSU’s McWherter Learning Resources Center. Tom Jimison, electronic media communication professor and gallery director, says Mallonee “has pursued large-format black-and-white work since 1979 and often has chosen subjects which stray from conventional notions of western landscape, yet still embrace decisive composition and meticulous printing techniques such as this 14-year project of bypassed sections of Route 66.” Exhibitions are free and open to the public. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. on Sundays. The gallery will be closed Nov. 27-29. For information, call 615-898-2085.

SIGN, SIGN, EVERYWHERE A SIGN--Don’t put those political yard signs in the trash! Donate them to the Albert Gore Research Center at MTSU. The center collects political signs for exhibits and educational purposes. If you have regular-sized signs (two-feet square) for a candidate or election issue from this or previous elections and would like to make contributions, please drop them off at the Gore Center in Room 128 of the Todd Building on the MTSU campus. Signs should be in good condition. The center does not need the support posts. Unfortunately, the center does not have the staff to retrieve signs from your home or office. The center also collects bumper stickers, buttons, fans and other political memorabilia. Samples are on display in the hall outside the center. For more information, contact Dr. Jim Williams, director of the Gore Center, at 615-898-2633 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu.

PASS THE PEPPER, PLEASE--The MTSU Police Department will offer a free pepper spray class for women. The class is part of the Rape Aggression Defense system and will teach basic self-defense techniques to supplement women’s ability to survive dangerous confrontations. The class will be available to MTSU students, faculty and staff as well as the general public and will take place Thursday, Dec. 4 from 6-8 p.m. in the MTSU Police Department training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. Topics to be covered include product selection, psychological and physical effects of the “fight or flight” syndrome, legal issues and retention and deployment techniques. For more information or to enroll, contact Officer David Smith at 615-692-2424 or 615-494-8855.

DON’T LET YOUR SCHOLARSHIP SAIL AWAY--Prospective and returning students seeking merit scholarships and awards for the 2009-10 academic year must submit all their information by the priority deadline of Monday, Dec. 1. Each student should submit an admission application, official ACT or SAT test scores and an official transcript to the admissions office. Information mailed with a Dec. 1 postmark will meet the deadline. Students who apply between Dec. 2, 2008, and Feb. 15, 2009, may be considered if funding is available. Merit scholarships and awards include National Merit and National Achievement Finalist, Valedictorians and Salutatorians, and Chancellor, Presidential, Buchanan Fellowship, Academic Service, Provost and Raider scholarships. Transfer applicants must submit official college transcripts. The scholarship deadline for transfer applicants is Feb. 1. For more information, contact David Hutton at 615-898-2422 or dhutton@mtsu.edu.