Monday, March 16, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Going into overtime

The deadline for applying for the Ruth Houston Memorial Scholarship has been extended to Friday, 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.

Wise on the prize

The deadline for applying for OWLs 2009-2010 scholarships is today, March 16. OWLs, the student organization for nontraditional students, distributes 13 scholarships for each academic year. These are scholarships for first undergraduate degree-seeking students who are U.S. citizens and have a GPA higher than 3.0. There are two OWLs Challenge Enrichment Scholarships that are for students working on bringing up a lower GPA from earlier college work. The GPA requirement for those two scholarships is between 2.5 and 2.99. If you are not currently an OWLs member, you will need to submit the application for membership, which can be found at http://www.mtsu.edu/~owls/owlsform.htm, and a $20 fee. The link to the scholarship information and application is http://www.mtsu.edu/~owls/scholar.htm.

For more information, contact Dr. Carol Ann Baily at 615-898-5989.
cabaily@mtsu.edu

Mock around the clock

For the 19th time in 20 years, MTSU’s mock trial teams have qualified for national competition. MTSU earned another bid at regional competition Feb. 27-28 at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., to complement the bid captured earlier this year at a tournament in Louisville, Ky. MTSU will send one team to one Opening Round Mock Trial National Tournament in Memphis and another team to the other Opening Round event in Greenville, S.C., on March 27-29. The final tournament to determine the national collegiate champion is slated for April 17-19 in Des Moines, Ia. The “mockers” are coached by Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College; Dr. Amanda DiPaolo, assistant professor of political science; and Brandi Snow, a local attorney and MTSU alumna.

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596. Contact DiPaolo at 615-898-2708. Contact Snow at 615-907-6330.

TR EXTRA

BANKING AND BAILOUTS--Dr. Walker Todd, research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), will speak on “Are Federal Bailouts the Answer?: AIG, the Banks, and the Automakers” from 1:30-2:30 p.m. today, March 16, in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Honors Building at MTSU. This event is free and open to the public. An attorney and economic consultant in private practice in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Todd grew up in Murfreesboro. This event is presented by the Weatherford Chair of Finance and the University Honors College. For more information, contact Dr. Bill Ford at 615-898-2889 or wfford@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.

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.

THE KING OF POP--Best-selling author Chuck Klosterman, who is widely regarded as the nation’s premier pop journalist, will speak at 1 p.m. tomorrow, March 17, in Room 221 of MTSU’s Learning Resources Center. He will deliver the lecture “Life Through the Prism of Pop Culture.” The event, which is sponsored by the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies and the College of Mass Communication, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Beverly Keel at 615-898-5150 or bkeel@mtsu.edu.

GETTING “HITCHED”--David Coleman, the inspiration for Will Smith’s character in the movie “Hitch,” will speak at 7 p.m. tonight, March 16, in the Tennessee Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. Will Smith’s character in the film was a professional “date doctor” who helped men who were not necessarily making good first impressions on the women of their dreams. Coleman’s appearance is being sponsored by MTSU’s Panhellenic Council. Admission is $2 per person with a portion of the proceeds going to the family of Chase McNelly, an MTSU student and brother of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, who lost his battle with cancer in February. For more information, contact Jessica Turri at jet3v@mtsu.edu or Annie Herring at annie.herring@gmail.com.