Friday, February 20, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

May I buy a vowel?

Will the economic recovery, whenever it comes, be V-shaped, U-shaped, or L-shaped? Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, explains. A V-shaped recovery is a very sharp decline followed by a very sharp recovery in which consumer confidence falls rapidly, hits bottom, then quickly bounces up. Penn says this can occur if financial institutions have not suffered structural damage. A U-shaped recovery is a more gradual decline followed by a gradual increase in output. During this time, job growth is so modest that it can feel like a “jobless recovery.” An L-shaped recovery is a long period of stagnant growth followed by a recovery similar to the situation that oppressed Japan for about a decade. Even zero interest rates in Japan were not enough to turn the tide. Penn says this type of recovery should be avoided at all costs.

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

On the air

MTTV, the student-run television station at MTSU, was selected the best college station in Tennessee and third overall in the Southeast last week at the Southeastern Journalism Conference’s annual gathering in Nashville. Southeastern Louisiana won the overall award for best college television station. The University of Troy came in second. The judging was based on two newscasts that aired between Nov. 15, 2007, and Nov. 14, 2008. During this period, Tiffany Sawyer, a recent graduate, and Kipp Lawton, a sophomore, served as station news directors. MTTV News airs Monday through Thursday at 6:30 p.m. MTTV also airs student-produced entertainment programs, MTSU athletics, and is the home of “The Rick Insell Show.”

For more information, contact MTTV General manager Richard Lowe Jr. at 678-362-1595.

Order outside the court

The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that the comment that got Solomon C. Osborne removed from his position as a county judge was not protected speech under the First Amendment. In 2006, Osborne, an African-American, told a predominantly African-American political group, “White folks don’t praise you unless you’re a damn fool, unless they think they can use you. If you have your own mind and know what you’re doing, they don’t want you around.” David Hudson, political science, says the state high court applied a test established in a 1968 case to determine that Osborne’s remark was not protected speech. “The two-prong … test requires that a public employee first show that his speech touches on a matter of public concern rather than merely expresses a personal grievance,” Hudson says. “If it does, then the second step for a reviewing court would be to balance the employee’s free-speech rights against the employer’s efficiency interests in a disruptive-free workplace.”

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

TR EXTRA

PULLING AN ALL-NIGHTER—For the 10th year, Up ‘Til Dawn invites students to stay up from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m. tonight, Feb. 20, at the Murphy Center to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Participants will enjoy the spirit dance, a St. Jude patient speech, the band Gino, blow-up games, karaoke, a special guest star and much more. The cost is $5 for MTSU Blue ID carriers and $10 for community guests. Children under age 3 are free. For more information, call 615-904-8270.

FORM-FITTING--College Goal Sunday is a free event held nationwide to assist families of new college students in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. At MTSU, the event will take place from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in the Business and Aerospace Building. “We encourage any incoming student to come, and we will assist them in filling out and filing their FAFSA form,” says Bonnie McCarty, assistant director of scholarships in the MTSU Office of Financial Aid. For more information, contact McCarty at 615-904-8414 or bmccarty@mtsu.edu.

SING PRAISES TO HIS NAME--Albert Richardson, a gospel singer who has lived for 14 years with Lou Gehrig’s disease, will be the honoree at the ninth annual Gospel Music Extravaganza at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in MTSU’s Murphy Center. The 52-year-old Richardson walks with the support of fitted bracelets on both legs, a remarkable achievement. All proceeds from the concert will benefit Richardson. The lineup of entertainers slated to pay tribute to him includes choirs, soloists, dancers and models. For more information, contact Mary Glass at 615-898-5145.

ASHES TO ASHES--MTSU geology students will spend this spring and summer investigating the potential environmental and health dangers posed by the giant coal ash spill from TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant in December 2008. They’ll also check out the levels of coal ash in soil and water near five other TVA coal plants. This important study, which is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, will be led by Dr. Warner Cribb, MTSU geology professor. Cribb and one of his students, Jennifer Pickering, will discuss the research and the future of so-called “clean coal technology” at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Feb. 22, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). To hear last week’s program, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2009.html anytime and click on “February 15, 2009” at the top of the page. For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.


THE LAB AIN’T DRAB--Dr. Judy Willis, a California-based neurologist and authority in the field of learning-centered brain research and classroom strategies derived from the research, will speak at the MTSU Math and Science Education Research Conference today, Feb. 20, at the DoubleTree Hotel, 1850 Old Fort Parkway in Murfreesboro. Willis is slated to speak at 12:25 p.m. Researchers from UT-Martin, UT-Knoxville, Western Kentucky University, Austin Peay State University, Tennessee Tech and MTSU will present research. For more information, contact Dr. Dovie Kimmins at 615-848-8929.

JUSTIFIED AND ANCIENT--A panel of community experts in various fields will take questions from the public in a forum to be held at noon, today, Feb. 20, at the St. Clair Senior Center in Murfreesboro. “Let’s Talk … Senior Issues,” an open forum, will be presented by the Rutherford County Council on Aging. John Hood, former state representative and MTSU community liaison, will serve as the moderator. “Addressing the needs of senior adults in our community is essential during this economic struggle,” says Dr. Judy Campbell, council president and MTSU nursing professor. Contact Campbell at 615-848-5729 or Tim Spears at tspears@rutherfordcounty.org.

RAD STREET CRED--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge every Thursday through Mar. 26 from 6-8 p.m. in the MTSU police training room located at 1412 East Main Street. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff as well as to the general public. For more information or to enroll, call RAD instructor David Smith at 615-692-2424.

Y’ALL COME BACK NOW, YOU HEAR?--The MTSU Department of Art’s Gallery at Todd Hall presents “Revisited,” an exhibit featuring the collective works of four of its retired faculty members, through today, Feb. 20. The artists whose work is being showcased are Ollie Fancher, who taught graphic design and drawing; Jim Gibson, sculpture; Klaus Kallenberger, jewelry; and David LeDoux, painting. Eric Snyder, gallery curator, says these individuals “contributed a great deal to the Department of Art’s program and curriculum and have been asked to return to MTSU in honor of their hard work.” The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and is closed on all state holidays. Admission is always free and exhibits are open to the public. For more information, contact Snyder at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.