Thursday, February 5, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Pictures at an exhibition

Baldwin Photographic Gallery is displaying an exhibit fearing photographs by Jim Stone, whose work has been exhibited and published internationally and is represented in the permanent collections of major museums. Stone has written or co-authored several books that are used as textbooks, and he currently teaches in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of New Mexico. Stone will deliver a lecture at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9, in Room 221 of MTSU’s Learning Resources Center with a reception to follow in the gallery. Hours for gallery viewing are Mon.-Fri. 8-4:30 p.m., Saturday from 12-4 p.m., and Sunday from 6-9:45 p.m. Exhibitions are free and open to the public.

For more information, call 615-898-2085.

Mississippi musings

Author and poet Beth Ann Fennelly and MTSU students will be featured in a poetry reading that will be open to the public at 4 p.m. tomorrow, Feb. 6, in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. A book signing with Fennelly and a reception, which are open to the public, will follow the poetry reading. Fennelly has published three books of poetry—Unmentionables (Norton, 2008), Tender Hooks (Norton, 2004) and Open House (Zoo Press, 2002)—and a book of letters, Great with Child (Norton, 2007). Her poems have appeared in Best American Poetry 2005 and Best American Poetry 2006. Fennelly lives in Oxford, Miss., and is an assistant professor of English at the University of Mississippi.

For more information, contact Dr. Claudia Barnett at 615-898-2887.
cbarnett@mtsu.edu

Housing horrors

The median price of a home in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro area in December 2008 was $163,750. That’s way below the median price of $187,900 in December 2007. The number of closings dropped from 1,620 to 1,152, and inventory declined from 13,406 to 12,889. Also, the number of housing units authorized by building permits reflects the current housing crisis. The number of single family units fell from 456 to 207 in a year’s time, while the number of multifamily units (apartment complexes, for one example) rose from 162 to 570.

For more information and analysis, contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

TR EXTRA

CONFLICT REVELATION--The Muslim Student Association will present the award-winning documentary “Occupation 101: Voices of the Silenced Majority” at 6 p.m. today, Feb. 5, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. This event is free and open to the public. A question-and-answer session will follow the movie, which examines the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It details the role of the U.S. in the conflict and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace. Leading Middle East scholars, peace activists, journalists, religious leaders and humanitarian workers express their views in the film. Contact Dr. Saleh Sbenaty, faculty adviser to the Muslim Student Association, at 615-898-2966 or ssbenaty@mtsu.edu.

SEEING RED--Support the fight against heart disease in women by wearing red on National Wear Red Day, tomorrow, Feb. 6. The June Anderson Women’s Center will distribute red ribbons and educational information in the lobby of the Keathley University Center from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information, call the Women’s Center at 615-898-2913.

DECA DAY--The Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship (BCEN) will host a competition for high school students who belong to DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) at 3:30 p.m. today, Feb. 5, in Murphy Center. BCEN faculty will serve as judges. For more information, contact Wayne Rollins at 615-898-5185 or wrollins@mtsu.edu.

STIMULUS PACKAGE--Students will have a chance to network with corporate, governmental and nonprofit employers recruiting summer and fall interns at an internships fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Feb. 5, in the Tennessee Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. Then, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, MTSU will partner with 15 area universities to host the College to Career Fair and Teacher Recruitment Fair. More than 120 employers will be recruiting for various full-time, degreed positions. A free ticket is required and a limited number are available at the Career Development Center in Room 328 of the Keathley University Center. Contact the Career Development Center at 615-898-2500 or career@mtsu.edu.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.--To help students dealing with high prices and tight budgets, the MTSU Off-Campus Housing Web site will waive its $25 fee for posting notices of apartments to be sublet effective immediately. The Web site (www.mtsuoffcampus.com) was created in November 2007 by the Office of Off-Campus Student Services in cooperation with Off-Campus Partners, a Virginia-based company providing services to nearly 30 universities. Property managers pay fees to post information such as location, price and type about apartments, condominiums and houses for rent and for sale. To make it easier for students to cut transportation costs, the Web site also features Carpool Central, a message board for people seeking rides to and from school; Ride Board, for rides wherever they want to go out of town; and a Roommate Matching message board. For more information, contact the Office of Off-Campus Student Services at 615-898-5989 or ocss@mtsu.edu.