Friday, December 5, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The economy—jobs

The third quarter figures for the Nashville economy are dismal. The unemployment rate for the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) was 5.8 percent. For the midstate as a whole, it was 6.2 percent. The latest edition of Midstate Economic Indicators from MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) states, “Job losses are spreading from manufacturing to the services-providing sectors with the unemployment rate reaching an 18-year high and taxable sales tumbling off the table.” If there is a bright spot to be found, it is in a slower rate of increase. “For September, Nashville’s over-the-year unemployment rate increase of 1.7 percent ranks 19th highest among the 52 largest MSAs. Charlotte, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Memphis experienced much larger increases in unemployment rates, but Columbus, Birmingham, and Indianapolis witnessed smaller increases,” notes the BERC study.

Contact Dr. David Penn, BERC Director, at 615-898-2610.
dpenn@mtsu.edu

The economy—cars

As the CEOs of the Big Three automakers plead their case before Congress, the auto industry slump has ripple effects in Tennessee. According to the latest edition of Midstate Economic Indicators from MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center (BERC), “The auto sector is a very important source of jobs and income for the state. Auto assembly and parts manufacturing, for example, generated 2 percent of Tennessee’s gross state product in 2006, compared with the 50-state average of 0.7 percent. In terms of share of GSP (gross state product), Tennessee ranked fifth highest behind Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, followed by Alabama. And, due to the economic multiplier effect, at least one other job in Tennessee depends on retaining each job in auto assembly and auto-parts manufacturing.”

Contact Dr. David Penn, BERC Director, at 615-898-2610.
dpenn@mtsu.edu

The economy—sales taxes

Consumers are cutting back on their spending, and that means sales taxes are dropping. According to the latest edition of Midstate Economic Indicators from MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, “Sales for the Nashville MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) dipped 2.5 percent from the second quarter, while the midstate counties experienced a 2.4 percent decline. We have not experienced a decline of this magnitude since the 2001 recession. Once the bottom is reached for taxable sales, we will most likely experience a very choppy path to recovery, with one or two quarters of gains followed by at least one negative quarter. Judging from the experience of the 2001 recession, the recovery will require from four to six quarters, perhaps more, starting from the bottom.”

Contact Dr. David Penn, BERC Director, at 615-898-2610.
dpenn@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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 or julie.roberts@state.tn.us.

ART FOR STUDENTS’ SAKE--“Verve,” the concluding Studio BFA Candidates’ Exhibition for the fall 2008 semester, remains on display through today, Dec. 5, in the Art Gallery at Todd Hall on the MTSU campus. The exhibit features the work of art students Hannah Green, Antonio Marble and Tara Wilson. Green’s work includes sculpture, painting and fibers as she creates organic other-worldly forms. Wilson, with more three-dimensional work, creates with ceramics and sculpture. Her work in figurative casting deals with the surface of the body. Marble works in both painting and graphic design. His mixed media creations center on social and socioeconomic issues. The exhibition is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call Eric Snyder, gallery curator, at 615-898-5653.

WE ARE AMUSED—AND ENCHANTED.--The MTSU Women’s Chorale will present its first Victorian Holiday Feast tonight, Dec. 5, in the Tennessee Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. Attendees will be able to travel back in time and usher in the holidays with the beautiful singing and caroling of the MTSU Women’s Chorale and MTSU Bel Canto, as well as piano, string and brass music throughout the evening. The feast will feature chicken cordon bleu with spiced hollandaise sauce accompanied by Caesar salad, green beans almandine, au gratin potatoes, dinner rolls with butter, and a choice of water, tea or coffee, topped off with chocolate cake for dessert. The event begins at 6 p.m. with entrance into the dining area at 6:30 p.m. sharp. Admission is $30 per person for the meal and entertainment; MTSU student admission is $17. For more information, call 615-898-5922.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU--As comforting as a cup of hot cider while sitting by the fireplace, Lucinda Cockrell’s new book, A Victorian Christmas, recaptures the charm of the era from the mid-1830s to the turn of the century. A colorful visual feast, this assemblage of vintage greeting postcards from Cockrell’s personal collection embodies the spirit of the season with warmth and humor. A CD of traditional Christmas carols performed by mandolinist Butch Baldassari accompanies the book to further accentuate the mood. Cockrell, the coordinator of research collections at MTSU’s Center for Popular Music, will sign copies of A Victorian Christmas at Barnes & Noble in Murfreesboro from 1-3 p.m. and at Oaklands Historic House Museum in Murfreesboro from 5-7 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 6, and at Four Gables Tea Room in Lebanon from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7. To contact Cockrell, call Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or send an e-mail to lcockrel@mtsu.edu.

AUTISM SPEAKS--Ed Evans, founder of the MTSU student organization Students for Autism Awareness, will talk about the need for more research into the neurological disorder and relief for parents of autistic children on “MTSU on the Record” at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Dec. 7, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Evans is a military veteran, a nontraditional MTSU student and the father of two autistic children. He says, “With one in every 150 children being diagnosed with autism now, you cannot walk this campus without knowing someone that knows someone with autism.” To listen to last week’s program, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2008.html and click on “November 30, 2008” at the top of the page. For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.