Friday, March 20, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Been down so long it looks like up to me

The median price of a home in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area fell from $179,000 in January 2008 to $165,000 in January 2009. Inventory dropped from 14,008 to 13,551. Closings plummeted from 1,364 to 821. Permits issued for multifamily units were down from 533 to 276, and single-family unit permits declined from 610 to 434. If you’re looking for a cheaper hotel room, the average room rate is down to $87.73 from $93.04 a year earlier. However, the occupancy rate is down, too. It sank from 51.1 percent in January 2008 to 47.2 percent in January 2009.

Contact the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2616.

“Arrogance, Incompetence and Greed”—U.S. Rep. Paul Hoder (D-N.H.)

As AIG chief executive Edward Liddy tries to retrieve at least some of the millions of dollars in bonuses paid out to the company’s executives, President Obama is considering pursuing legal means to retrieve the money. Dr. Walker Todd, research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, blames several entities for lack of oversight. In a speech at his alma mater, MTSU, on Monday, Todd said, “We got into the mess, essentially, over the last decade through a failure of watchdogs on all fronts, especially in Congress. Where were the hearings on derivatives as they were running off the rails over the last 10 years, credit default swaps in particular? They didn’t happen.” You can hear Todd’s words and read radio-ready stories about his address by going to www.mtsunews.com and clicking on “Audio Clips.”

For more information about MTSU Audio Clips, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

Diplomatic relations

In the waning days of Condoleezza Rice’s tenure as Secretary of State, MTSU student Hannah Brooks spent her fall 2008 semester at the agency’s Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs in Washington, D.C., a logical assignment for someone who had studied in Denmark one year earlier. “I was in charge of communicating with the embassies and the consulates in our different countries and knowing our foreign policy in accordance with those countries,” says Brooks, an international relations major from Nashville with minors in history and global studies. This 13-week assignment was made possible through The Washington Center, a nonprofit organization.

For an interview with Hannah Brooks, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

NO HAVEN FOR THE HAITIANS--Two documentarians discuss their film “Poto Mitan,” which was screened at MTSU last month, on the next edition of “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 7 a.m. this Sunday, March 22, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Renee Bergan and Mark Schuller turned their cameras on the soul-crushing poverty of Haiti by following the lives of five women. Solange, Frisline, Therese, Marie-Jeanne and Helene belong to The Committee to Defend Working Women’s Rights to combat discrimination, sexual harassment and oppressive working conditions in the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. The film shows how these women endure and stand up for justice in a country where the minimum wage is the equivalent of $1.80 per day. For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

LIBERTY BELL—The author of numerous critically acclaimed and influential books on the politics of race, gender, class and culture, bell hooks (lower case is correct) will speak at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, at MTSU’s Keathley University Center Theater. This event is free and open to the public. “Feminism Forever: Continuing the Struggle” is the title of hooks’ talk. A reception and booksigning will follow. For more information about this National Women’s History Month event, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

“MY SEXUALITY HAS NEVER BEEN A PROBLEM TO ME, BUT I THINK IT HAS BEEN FOR OTHER PEOPLE.”—DUSTY SPRINGFIELD--“Sexuality” is the theme of the 2009 Interdisciplinary Conference in Women’s Studies at MTSU, which is slated for Thursday and Friday, March 26-27, in Cantrell Hall in MTSU’s Tom H. Jackson Building. Learned scholars from across the country, as well as the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, will present research on topics representing the vast panoply of perspectives on sexuality, including biology, culture, and sexuality; sex trafficking; feminism and sexuality; and gender construction and sexuality. “At MTSU, we have an inclusive definition of diversity,” says Dr. Kaylene Gebert, Executive Vice President and Provost. “The Women’s Studies Program and this conference give the campus and the community and opportunity to hear national speakers and scholars who focus on contemporary issues.” For more information, go to www.mtsu.edu/womenstu, or contact the Women’s Studies Program at 615-898-5910 or womenstu@mtsu.edu.

GOING INTO OVERTIME--The deadline for applying for the Ruth Houston Memorial Scholarship has been extended to today, March 20. The Murfreesboro Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) will award a $1,000 scholarship each semester—Fall 2009 and Spring 2010—to the MTSU undergraduate student who best demonstrates academic promise and financial need. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must have successfully completed their freshman year at MTSU. Returning adult students, in particular, are encouraged to apply. The scholarship is renewable each semester as long as full-time status and a 2.5 GPA are maintained. AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education and research. Send completed applications to Dr. Tanya M. Peres, chair of the Ruth Houston Scholarship Committee, at MTSU, Box 10, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. Address your questions about scholarship criteria to Dr. Samantha Cantrell at 615-494-8751 or scantrel@mtsu.edu.