Thursday, April 30, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Highway 231 Revisited

MTSU and Motlow State Community College have entered into an important new partnership with the opening of the Middle Tennessee Education Center in Shelbyville. MTEC will house classrooms as well as administrative and advising offices for both institutions. “The centralized location of Bedford County and its proximity to Motlow make this facility an ideal hub to extend our educational service and programs to the residents of the counties of southern Middle Tennessee,” says Dr. Dianna Rust, associate dean of continuing education. Molly Culbreath, the MTSU coordinator for MTEC, says, “The overall goal of the facility is to make it easier for those who live in this part of the state to … pursue higher education.”

For more information, contact David Foster at 615-898-5033.
dfoster@mtsu.edu

The college of athletic knowledge

MTSU men’s basketball enjoyed the biggest gain among all collegiate teams in the latest MTSU Sports Affinity Survey. Its 2009 score of 50 was 14 points higher than last year. Dr. Don Roy, sports business studies coordinator, says, “This finding is somewhat surprising given that the team did not experience typical drivers of fan interest such as winning a conference championship or a postseason tournament appearance.” The University of Tennessee’s football, women’s basketball and men’s basketball teams all had lower scores than in 2008. Vanderbilt football rose seven points. Roy says, “This jump is likely due to the success the team enjoyed in 2008, which included winning the Music City Bowl.”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

Do you buy that?

Are economic indicators changing enough to make you feel more comfortable about spending money? The latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index finds that 16 percent of consumers expect to increase their overall level of spending this year, an increase of 11 percent who felt that way in February. Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the MTSU Office of Consumer Research, says, “The percent of consumers who expect to decrease their level of spending from last year remained unchanged at 44 percent. Although this is not a dramatic shift in consumer expectations, it can be taken as good news for local retailers. Even though increases in consumer confidence might not lead to immediate gains in consumer spending, steady increases in confidence, coupled with positive signs in the future job market, will lead consumers to feel better about spending.”

Contact Graeff at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

IT FELL OUT OF THE SKY--The MTSU Department of Physics and Astronomy will present its final First Friday Star Party of the semester from 6:30-8:30 p.m. tomorrow, May 1, in Room 102 of Wiser-Patten Science Building. Dr. JanaRuth Ford will present “Meteorites: Special Deliveries from Space,” a 30-45 minute public lecture followed by outdoor telescope observation, weather permitting. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Charles Higgins at 615-898-5946 or Dr. Eric Klumpe at 615-898-2483.

MAKING ALL THE DIFFERENCE--MTSU’s Positive Behavior Support Initiative will welcome Dr. Mel Levine to its third annual conference from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today, April 30, in Tucker Theatre. The conference is free and open to teachers, parents, MTSU students—anyone who is involved in teaching children. Levine’s presentation is titled “The Difference that Differences Make: What we are learning about learning processes and the differences they bring out in students.” Dr. Levine takes an alternative view when he talks about learners and learning differences,” notes Dr. Zaf Khan, assistant professor of elementary and special education and director of PBSI. “He’ll ask us pivotal questions such as, ‘Can we teach without labels?’” Khan says Levine will focus on the “misunderstood child” and approaches to dealing with individual learning differences. For more information, go to www.mtsu.edu/pbsi or contact Khan at zkhan@mtsu.edu.

PICTURE PERFECT--MTSU’s Public History Program will present Visions of the Past: Through the Lens of Shacklett’s Photography, a free exhibit featuring the historic collection of Shacklett’s photographs, beginning today, April 30, from 4-7 p.m. at The Heritage Center, 225 West College Street in Murfreesboro. “The exhibit looks at four aspects of local culture: religion, education, sports and the changing landscape,” says exhibit director Layton Carr. Bill Shacklett adds, “The Heritage Reclamation Project is setting a standard through such exhibits for preserving historically significant photographs.” The exhibit will be on display through July 31. The Heritage Center is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS--“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.” Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050 or poliver@mtsu.edu.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

ART FOR OUR SAKE--The Department of Art at MTSU will serve as host for the third of three spring 2009 art exhibits by seniors who are candidates for the department’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree through tomorrow, May 1. “Port Folio” is the title of the final spring ’09 show, and it will be on display in the Art Gallery at Todd Hall. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will showcase student projects that utilize their skills in print, Web, motion, book arts and more. For more information, contact Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Swine flu, take two

Public health officials have the responsibility of informing the public about the swine flu outbreak, but they walk a tightrope in determining how to do so without alarming people unduly. Dr. Stephen Wright, biology, says, “At this point, there have been no travel prohibitions although caution is advised. No cases have been reported from Tennessee. The good news is that the swine flu virus is treatable with oseltamivir. Certainly common sense precautions are in order—wash hands frequently to help prevent transmission and if sick with respiratory symptoms of influenza, stay home. Excellent information is available from the CDC at cdc.gov as well as the WHO at who.int.”

Contact Wright at 615-898-2056.
smwright@mtsu.edu

Touchdown, Titans!

The Tennessee Titans are still the most popular professional sports team in Middle Tennessee, according to the MTSU Sports Affinity Index. The Titans increased five points to a score of 80 in the team ratings, followed distantly by the Nashville Predators with a score of 46. The Preds fell two points from their score last year and 12 points below their peak in 2007. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing professor and sports business studies coordinator, says, “This decline is inconsistent with the Predators’ solid showing in ticket sales during the 2008-2009 season. It is unclear if the drop signals a trend of less local interest in the team.” The Nashville Sounds remained in third place with a score of 41, a six-point gain over 2008.

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

Making all the difference

MTSU’s Positive Behavior Support Initiative will welcome Dr. Mel Levine to its third annual conference from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, April 30, in Tucker theatre. The conference is free and open to teachers, parents, MTSU students—anyone who is involved in teaching children. Levine’s presentation is titled “The Difference that Differences Make: What we are learning about learning processes and the differences they bring out in students.” Dr. Levine takes an alternative view when he talks about learners and learning differences,” notes Dr. Zaf Khan, assistant professor of elementary and special education and director of PBSI. “He’ll ask us pivotal questions such as, ‘Can we teach without labels?’” Khan says Levine will focus on the “misunderstood child” and approaches to dealing with individual learning differences.

For more information, go to www.mtsu.edu/pbsi or contact Khan at zkhan@mtsu.edu.

TR EXTRA

PICTURE PERFECT--MTSU’s Public History Program will present Visions of the Past: Through the Lens of Shacklett’s Photography, a free exhibit featuring the historic collection of Shacklett’s photographs, beginning tomorrow, April 30, from 4-7 p.m. at The Heritage Center, 225 West College Street in Murfreesboro. “The exhibit looks at four aspects of local culture: religion, education, sports and the changing landscape,” says exhibit director Layton Carr. Bill Shacklett adds, “The Heritage Reclamation Project is setting a standard through such exhibits for preserving historically significant photographs.” The exhibit will be on display through July 31. The Heritage Center is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS--“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.” Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050 or poliver@mtsu.edu.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

ART FOR OUR SAKE--The Department of Art at MTSU will serve as host for the third of three spring 2009 art exhibits by seniors who are candidates for the department’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree beginning through May 1. “Port Folio” is the title of the final spring ’09 show, and it will be on display in the Art Gallery at Todd Hall. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will showcase student projects that utilize their skills in print, Web, motion, book arts and more. For more information, contact Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

When pigs fly (swine flu)

Obama administration officials say they are prepared to deal with the worldwide swine flu outbreak, which has been linked to some 150 deaths in Mexico. The confirmed number of cases in the U.S. was 50 at last report. Dr. Stephen Wright, biology, says, “This swine flu virus is different from the usual human influenza viruses currently circulating and the vaccine won’t provide protection. The World Health Organization has raised the alert level for swine flu, reflecting that this virus exhibits sustained human to human transmission. The outbreak is still in the ‘pre-pandemic’ stage although health officials are monitoring the situation closely. While a number of individuals in Mexico have died, most of the reports in the US reflect the more typical influenza experience of fever, aches, and sore throat/coughing.”

Contact Wright at 615-898-2056.
smwright@mtsu.edu

Picture perfect

MTSU’s Public History Program will present Visions of the Past: Through the Lens of Shacklett’s Photography, a free exhibit featuring the historic collection of Shacklett’s photographs, beginning Thursday, April 30, from 4-7 p.m. at The Heritage Center, 225 West College Street in Murfreesboro. “The exhibit looks at four aspects of local culture: religion, education, sports and the changing landscape,” says exhibit director Layton Carr. Bill Shacklett adds, “The Heritage Reclamation Project is setting a standard through such exhibits for preserving historically significant photographs.” The exhibit will be on display through July 31. The Heritage Center is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
ttozer@mtsu.edu

Looking up

Consumer confidence in Middle Tennessee is on an upswing. The overall Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index from the MTSU Office of Consumer Research rose from -66 in February to 105 this month. The poll was conducted among 470 randomly selected adult residents of Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford counties. Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the office, says reasons for positive views of the future of the American economy include the cyclical nature of the economy, ability to recover from tough times in the past, recent gains in the stock market, and continuing opportunities for growth and new business success.

Contact Graeff at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

STILL WORKING ON IT--When the federal Equal Pay Act was signed into law in 1963, a woman in the United States earned only 59 cents for each dollar a man earned. Today, according to 2007 statistics from the National Committee on Pay Equity, a U.S. woman earns only 78 cents for each dollar a man earns. To draw attention to this imbalance, several groups are co-sponsoring Pay Equity Day activities today, April 28, at MTSU. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers will disseminate information on the Keathley University Center knoll. At 2 p.m., Dr. Jackie Gilbert, management and marketing professor, will present “Equal pay, the Individual and the Institution” in Room 100 of the James Union Building. Supporters are encouraged to wear red to dramatize women’s ongoing struggle of being “in the red.” For more information, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2913 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS--“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.” Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050 or poliver@mtsu.edu.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

ART FOR OUR SAKE--The Department of Art at MTSU will serve as host for the third of three spring 2009 art exhibits by seniors who are candidates for the department’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree beginning through May 1. “Port Folio” is the title of the final spring ’09 show, and it will be on display in the Art Gallery at Todd Hall. The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will showcase student projects that utilize their skills in print, Web, motion, book arts and more. For more information, contact Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Still working on it

When the federal Equal Pay Act was signed into law in 1963, a woman in the United States earned only 59 cents for each dollar a man earned. Today, according to 2007 statistics from the National Committee on Pay Equity, a U.S. woman earns only 78 cents for each dollar a man earns. To draw attention to this imbalance, several groups are co-sponsoring Pay Equity Day activities tomorrow, April 28, at MTSU. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., volunteers will disseminate information on the Keathley University Center knoll. At 2 p.m., Dr. Jackie Gilbert, management and marketing professor, will present “Equal pay, the Individual and the Institution” in Room 100 of the James Union Building. Supporters are encouraged to wear red to dramatize women’s ongoing struggle of being “in the red.”

For more information, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2913.
jawc@mtsu.edu

Running out of gas?

The NFL still outpaces all professional leagues in the latest Middle Tennessee Sports Affinity Survey from the MTSU Office of Consumer Research. The NFL scored 72 points, up three points from 2008. Major League Baseball was a distant second with 49. The PGA, NBA, and LPGA all gained points, but the Indy Racing League and NASCAR declined for the second and third years in a row, respectively. Dr. Don Roy, sports business studies coordinator, says, “The drop in Indy Racing’s affinity score could be due to the loss of the IRL race that had been held at Nashville Superspeedway from 2000 to 2008. NASCAR’s decline locally could be due to a lack of Sprint Cup Series races in this market. Also, NASCAR’s affinity score trend mirrors national trends to a certain extent as TV ratings have stagnated and ticket sales at some tracks have decreased.”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

“A scientist can discover a new star, but he cannot make one. He would have to ask an engineer to do that.”—Gordon L. Glegg

Congratulations to Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, associate dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, who was honored last week during the Society of Automotive Engineers’ 2008 World Congress in Detroit. The global organization of engineers and other experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries selected Foroudastan as one of 10 recipients of its Faculty Advisor Award. The honor acknowledges faculty members who put forth outstanding commitment as advisors of SAE collegiate branches and Collegiate Design Series teams. Foroudastan is known at MTSU for his guidance of the university’s entries in such national competitions as the Solarbike Rayce, the Great Moonbuggy Race, the SAE Formula Collegiate Competition, Mini Baja and Solar Boat.

Contact Randy Weiler in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
jweiler@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS--“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.” Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050 or poliver@mtsu.edu.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

ART FOR OUR SAKE--The Department of Art at MTSU will serve as host for the third of three spring 2009 art exhibits by seniors who are candidates for the department’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree beginning today, April 27. “Port Folio” is the title of the final spring ’09 show, and it will be on display in the Art Gallery at Todd Hall through May 1. The exhibit will showcase student projects that utilize their skills in print, Web, motion, book arts and more. A reception is slated for 6:30-8:30 p.m. tonight in Room 224 of the Todd Building. The show and reception are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“Let it grow, let it grow/Let it blossom, let it flow”— Eric Clapton

The Department of Agribusiness and Agriscience continues its annual plant sale from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. today, April 24, and all next week Monday through Friday while supplies last, at the Horticulture Building on Blue Raider Drive on the MTSU campus. All plants were raised by MTSU students taking the ABAS 3600 class “Horticulture in Our Lives.” Geraniums in 6” pots are $3 each. All hanging baskets and flats are $10 each. Other available plants include tomatoes, peppers, okra, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, celosia, coleus, double impatiens, marigolds, million bells, million golds, petunias, salvia, ferns, vinca (periwinkle), wandering ju, wave petunias, was leaf begonias, and zinnias.

For more information or to arrange special pickup times, contact Janet Kelly at 615-898-2523.

Biobucks

Officials from Tennessee State University and Middle Tennessee State University are celebrating the announcement of a $2.7 million National Science Foundation TRIAD GK-12 partnership grant to improve biology education. GK-12 is an NSF program that places graduate students in K-12 classrooms. MTSU and TSU grad students will work with students from Rutherford County and Metro Nashville public schools. TSU and MTSU will use the grant to support nine STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) graduate fellows each year for the next five years. “We believe this approach will be very effective and sustainable,” says Dr. Tony Farone, an MTSU biology professor and the project’s principal investigator. “Our team is looking forward to working together to train future STEM scientists who will find communicating science to the general public and K-12 outreach a natural part of their career.”

Contact Randy Weiler in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
jweiler@mtsu.edu

The carbon conundrum

Why would combating the “greenhouse effect” be difficult even with a reduction in carbon emissions? Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says, “We still have the experimental problems of accurately measuring global temperatures, as well as concentrations of CO2, both in the atmosphere and dissolved in the oceans. None of these are cheap or easy. Cost overruns in NASA’s ambitious, but scientifically essential plans to replace the aging fleet of Earth-observing satellites are threatening its political support.” However, MacDougall says scientists at the University of Southern California are pioneering research projects “that seek to recycle excess CO2 in the atmosphere by recombining it with water and the copious amounts of energy that surround us in the form of light and heat, to synthesize methanol and other valuable fuels out of thinly carbonated air!”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

HOW TO HELP THE HELPERS--The 15th annual “Dynamics of Elderly Caregiving” conference is slated for today, April 24, at the St. Clair Street Senior Center in Murfreesboro. The focus will be on providing contacts, resources and support to individuals who give necessary assistance to elderly patients and family members. The conference is sponsored by the MTSU School of Nursing and multiple community agencies. For more information, contact Linda League at 615-898-5950.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS--“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.” Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050 or poliver@mtsu.edu.

PEDAL PUSHERS--The 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, is slated for tomorrow, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

That’s enough about me. Now what do you think about me?

Online networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have been criticized as indicators of a growing narcissism in society. While cautioning that a controlled study would be needed to answer the question credibly, Dr. Tom Brinthaupt, psychology, says, “I think we always use existing technologies to meet our personal and social needs (consider the telephone, when it first became more popular). So people who are narcissistic will find ways to confirm their self-beliefs by using whatever tools are available. Whether the use of these things will make a non-narcissistic person more narcissistic is an open question.”

Contact Brinthaupt at 615-898-2317.
tbrintha@mtsu.edu

The pursuit of happiness

“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.”

Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050.
poliver@mtsu.edu

“If it’s peace you find in dying, well, then let the time be near.”—Laura Nyro (1947-1997)

“Listening to the Dying: Spiritual Growth at the End of Life” is the theme of the next Science and Spirituality Forum, a brown bag luncheon and discussion slated for 11:30 a.m. today, April 24, in the fourth floor conference room of MTSU’s James E. Walker Library (Room 475). This event is free and open to the public. Three officials from Guardian Hospice in Murfreesboro—Chaplain and Spiritual Director Scott Owings, Director of Clinical Services Rhonda Price, and Bereavement Coordinator Shawn Wright—are scheduled to participate. The purpose of Science and Spirituality Forums, which began in spring 2008, are to help us appreciate how both areas of thought can enrich the human experience without regarding them as mutually exclusive of one another.

Contact Bill Black at 615-898-2772.
wblack@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

BIOBUCKS--Media are invited to the announcement of a $2.7 million grant to fund the National Science Foundation TRIAD GK-12 partnership to improve biology education at 10 a.m. today, April 23, in Cantrell Hall in MTSU’s Tom H. Jackson Building. GK-12 is an NSF program that places graduate students in K-12 classrooms. Tennessee State University and MTSU grad students will work with students from Rutherford County schools and Metro Nashville public schools. Nonuniversity partners include Franklin-based BioTN, the Business Education Partnership Committee of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and Pope John Paul II High School. For more information, contact Randy Weiler at 615-898-2919 or jweiler@mtsu.edu.

DIDN’T OLE HANK SING ABOUT A LOST HIGHWAY?--Megan Akerstrom, an MTSU master’s candidate in public history, will present the final springtime Community Heritage Lecture sponsored by the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area at 7 p.m. tonight, April 23, at the Heritage Center, 225 West College St. Akerstrom will talk about the history of the Dixie Highway system, its impact on Rutherford County and the highway remnants that still can be seen today. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the center at 615-217-8013 or send an e-mail to jbutt@mtsu.edu.

PEDAL PUSHERS--The 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.

Athletic conferences affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) commit significantly more major recruiting violations than non-BCS conferences. That’s one finding of an article in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Sport Administration & Supervision (JSAS), released this month by MTSU’s Sport Management Program. The journal also features articles on social problems in Major League Baseball, the effectiveness of product endorsements by athletes, and much more. Dr. Colby Jubenville, co-founder and publisher of JSAS, says, “This issue will be a landmark event in turning the attention of the sport management academy toward serving the practitioner population of the sport industry, and we believe that its revolutionary approach to scholarship will continue to attract cutting-edge research that can make a difference in sport institutions everywhere.”

Read the articles and/or their whitepaper summaries online at www.jsasonline.org. Contact Jubenville at 615-898-2909.
jubenvil@mtsu.edu

Collegians who care about cancer

Junior Samantha Nichols has started “Colleges Against Cancer” at MTSU, an organization affiliated with the American Cancer Society. Nichols, an organizational communication major from Jackson, is recruiting students, faculty and staff to help educate the campus community about cancer-related issues. “I really wanted to start this organization because everybody in some way has been affected by cancer,” Nichols says. “I have had an uncle and a grandmother pass away from cancer, and two cousins have fought it and beat it.” According to 2007 figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 percent of adults in Tennessee smoke cigarettes compared to the national average of 19 percent. Forty-one percent of Tennessee students in public high schools smoke cigarettes.

Contact Nichols at 731-499-1505.
sln2t@mtsu.edu

I’ll take “I know that answer!” for $1000, Alex!

The three-member Omicron Delta Kappa honor society team, titled the “Leaders Circle,” bested 10 other four-person teams from across the MTSU campus to capture the Scotty Tucker Memorial Quiz Bowl recently. Omicron team members Rachel Simes, Merranda Holmes and Gina Logue, received $175 for their first-place finish. The team from the student newspaper Sidelines, comprised of Michael Stone, Chris Martin, Tiffany Gibson and Alicia Wilson, finished second and earned $100. Third-place honors went to the Honors College I team of Shannon Murphy, Jarett McCall, Mattie Ragland and Rebekah Horton. Omega Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma fraternity and Phi Kappa Phi honor society co-sponsored the Quiz Bowl.

Contact Randy Weiler of MTSU News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
jweiler@mtsu.edu

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GREEN IS UNIVERSAL.--Water testing, computer demonstrations, and rock and fossil identifications are all part of MTSU’s celebration of Earth Day, today, April 22, with events in the Kirksey Old Main building. From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., students in Dr. Warner Cribb’s Geology 4000 class will conduct 100 free geochemical analyses of metals in drinking water in the MTSU inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry lab. Dr. Clay Harris will identify fossils and rocks from 4-6 p.m. in Room 300. Also from 4-6 p.m., faculty members will explain the use of computers to identify environmental problems in the Global Information Science Lab (Room 308). The Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” will be shown at 6 p.m. in Room 452. After the film, Drs. Jim Henry and Melissa Lobegeier will facilitate a question-and-answer session. All events are free and open. Media welcomed. For more information, contact Dr. Mark Abolins at 615-494-4210 or mabolins@mtsu.edu.

DIDN’T OLE HANK SING ABOUT A LOST HIGHWAY?--Megan Akerstrom, an MTSU master’s candidate in public history, will present the final springtime Community Heritage Lecture sponsored by the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County and the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area at 7 p.m. tomorrow, April 23, at the Heritage Center, 225 West College St. Akerstrom will talk about the history of the Dixie Highway system, its impact on Rutherford County and the highway remnants that still can be seen today. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the center at 615-217-8013 or send an e-mail to jbutt@mtsu.edu.

TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE--The late feminist author Audre Lorde said about sexual assault, “Your silence will not protect you.” That’s why MTSU students, faculty and staff will speak out through today, April 22, during the June Anderson Women’s Center’s annual Clothesline Project activities. The Clothesline Project uses T-shirts with messages that protest violence against women. These shirts will be displayed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through today on the Keathley University Center knoll. For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2913.

PEDAL PUSHERS--The 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

DESIGN FOR LIVING--Sixth-grade students from Reeves-Rogers Discovery School will visit the MTSU Interior Design Program on a walking field trip today, April 22. They will see how math in design professions, such as interior design, architecture, and engineering is applied in the real world. The youngsters are slated to arrive at 9:15 a.m. between the Ellington Human Sciences Building and the Ellington Human Sciences Annex. For more information, contact Dr. Janis Brickey at 615-898-5724 or jbrickey@mtsu.edu.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Green is universal.

Water testing, computer demonstrations, and rock and fossil identifications are all part of MTSU’s celebration of Earth Day, tomorrow, April 22, with events in the Kirksey Old Main building. From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., students in Dr. Warner Cribb’s Geology 4000 class will conduct 100 free geochemical analyses of metals in drinking water in the MTSU inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry lab. Dr. Clay Harris will identify fossils and rocks from 4-6 p.m. in Room 300. Also from 4-6 p.m., faculty members will explain the use of computers to identify environmental problems in the Global Information Science Lab (Room 308). The Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” will be shown at 6 p.m. in Room 452. After the film, Drs. Jim Henry and Melissa Lobegeier will facilitate a question-and-answer session. All events are free and open. Media welcomed.

For more information, contact Dr. Mark Abolins at 615-494-4210.
mabolins@mtsu.edu

No wonder the cheese was so stringy.

What would you do as a pizza company president if two employees of one of your stores posted video on YouTube showing one of them sticking shredded cheese up his nose and then putting it into a sandwich? Domino’s Pizza President Patrick Doyle responded with a video of his own and a tweet on Twitter. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “Some people have criticized Doyle’s response as scripted and calculated. While Doyle came across as a bit uncomfortable in the two-minute clip, Domino’s social media response should be commended. The very medium that put the brand in a bad light was used to set the record straight. The response was swift, and the use of tools like YouTube and Twitter allows Domino’s to listen to what consumers are saying about its brand.”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

You’ll never walk a loan.

MTSU will participate in the Federal Direct Loan Program for Stafford and PLUS loans beginning in the fall 2009 semester. MTSU will no longer process Stafford and PLUS loans through lenders in the Federal Family Education Loan Program. “Our main reason for the change is to help guarantee the availability of loan funds and to help simplify the loan process for our students,” says Financial Aid Director David Hutton. “This year, several lenders have stopped processing loans, they have been late in delivering funds, or they changed guarantors without notifying their borrowers, which required students to sign additional promissory notes. With MTSU having over 12,000 student borrowing in excess of 90 million dollars each year, we do not want these problems to occur again next fall, so we examined the process and decided that now is the time to switch to Direct Lending.”

Contact Hutton at 615-898-2422 or David Chambers at 615-898-2246.
dhutton@mtsu.edu
dchambers@mtsu.edu

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TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE--The late feminist author Audre Lorde said about sexual assault, “Your silence will not protect you.” That’s why MTSU students, faculty and staff will speak out through Wednesday, April 22, during the June Anderson Women’s Center’s annual Clothesline Project and Take Back the Night activities. The Clothesline Project uses T-shirts with messages that protest violence against women. These shirts will be displayed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through April 22 on the Keathley University Center knoll. Take Back the Night is a multifaceted activity that will include a candlelight vigil, an open microphone and a march around campus. It will start on the KUC knoll tonight, April 21, and is slated to last from 6-9 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2913.

PEDAL PUSHERS--The 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

With a little help from my friends

MTSU’s Off-Campus Student Services has negotiated free online tutoring for students who need a little end-of-the-semester help with their classes. This tutoring is available through http://www.smarthinking.com/ in the following subjects: Mathematics (basic skills through Calculus II); General Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Physics; Biology; Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology; Accounting; Economics; Introductory Finance; Spanish; and Statistics. To take advantage of this offer, fill out the form to request an account at www.mtsu.edu/smarthinking. Carol Langley, assistant coordinator in MTSU’s Distance Learning Student Services, will set up the account. Once the account is activated, Langley will send a confirmation e-mail with instructions on how to log in and a few tips on how to use this online tutoring service.

For more information, contact Off-Campus Student Services at 615-898-5989.

Piracy on the high CDs

A bill that would mandate that police ask people who have bootleg CDs to surrender the illegal copies voluntarily has been introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly. Ken Sanney, an adjunct recording industry professor and licensed attorney, says, “The law fails, however, to provide local law enforcement with the resources necessary to meet a mandate such as that found in the Tennessee bill and does not add any protection to legitimate vendors. It simply protects pirates. If your local police force does not have the proper resources, this bill will simply tip the balance in favor of the pirates. That possible unintended consequence should be seriously considered before such a bill is made law.”

Contact Sanney at 615-456-6502.
ksanney@mtsu.edu

It doesn’t stand for National Bigotry Company.

Forty-one years ago this month, NBC aired a special by singer Petula Clark in which she performed an anti-war duet with Harry Belafonte. During the taping, Clark touched Belafonte’s arm. A sponsor insisted that the network delete the scene for fear that the contact between a white woman and a black man would offend Southern viewers. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, says, “NBC, to its credit, destroyed all alternate takes of the scene, and Clark, who owned the show, told NBC it would run intact or she would not allow it (the program) to be aired. … Over the years, any number of media events has offended this or that group. Sometimes the offense is warranted; other times it is the result of being narrow-minded. Regardless, media personalities of all descriptions have, for good or ill, had an influence far beyond what they might have imagined.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

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TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE--The late feminist author Audre Lorde said about sexual assault, “Your silence will not protect you.” That’s why MTSU students, faculty and staff will speak out today, April 20, through Wednesday, April 22, during the June Anderson Women’s Center’s annual Clothesline Project and Take Back the Night activities. The Clothesline Project uses T-shirts with messages that protest violence against women. These shirts will be displayed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 20-22 on the Keathley University Center knoll. At 4 p.m. today, April 20, the JAWC will show “I Never Thought It Was Rape” in the KUC Theater. And instructors from Progressive Martial Arts will offer free self-defense training from 5-7 p.m. today, April 20, in Dining Room C of MTSU’s James Union Building. For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2913.

THE DISABILITY DEBATE--Courtney Jenkins-Atnip, public policy specialist for the Tennessee Disability Coalition, will speak on “Disability Rights, Advocacy and Lobbying in Tennessee” from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. today, April 20, in Room 211 of MTSU’s Peck Hall. For more information, contact Dr. Sekou Franklin at 615-904-8232 or franklin@mtsu.edu.

PEDAL PUSHERS--The 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Misery by the metrics

Preliminary figures posted by MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center show that the manufacturing sector and construction and mining sector took double-digit hits in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro Metropolitan Statistical Area in February 2009. Construction and mining employment dropped 11.47 percent, and manufacturing employment fell 10.92 percent. Total nonfarm employment dropped 3.41 percent. In February of last year, 748,865 people were employed. That number sank to 723,023 in February 2009. The overall unemployment rate in February 2008 was 4.7 percent. In February 2009, it was 8.4 percent.

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

Trade in transition

“The current world economic crisis is shrinking world trade at an astounding pace,” says Dr. Steven Livingston, editor of Global Commerce. “As we look ahead to Tennessee’s trade in 2009, the global decline in exports to many of its significant export markets is nothing less than startling. January 2009 imports into almost all emerging market nations are down from a year ago, often 40 percent or more. Though this collapse of trade is not as severe as in the developed world, these numbers suggest a very difficult year is in store for state exporters.” Livingston says Tennessee managed a $3 million gain in exports to the United Kingdom last quarter, but exports to the entire European Union fell by just over $100 million.

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

“Language is the means of getting an idea from my brain into yours without surgery.”--Mark Amidon

For the seventh consecutive year, Dr. Shelley Thomas of the MTSU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will coordinate the Summer Language Institute for adults. Thomas will talk about this innovative teaching and learning experience at 7 a.m. this Sunday, April 12, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). The institute, hosted by the University School of Nashville and the O’More School of Design in Franklin, uses the Total Physical Response (TPS) method. TPS involves a variety of activities, including storytelling. To learn more, including specific information about dates and fees, go to www.acceleratedacquisition.com.

For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

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GO WITH THE AFROFLOW.--MTSU will host the groundbreaking national tour known as Afroflow, a mesmerizing intercultural stage performance combined with a powerful message, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, on the University Honors College lawn. Afroflow emphasizes the overall wellness of the mind and body that can be embodied by and achieved through self-expression. The Detroit-based tour partners with the American Cancer Society, clothier Pelle Pelle and Fuze beverages. Slated to perform are Ethiopian-American artist, spoken word poet and actor Michael “MIKE-E” Ellison, Djembe drummer Sowande Keita, R&B vocalist Kenny Watson, and internationally known mixer DJ Invisible. This event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Dr. Ramona DeSalvo at 615-898-5304 or rdesalvo@mtsu.edu.

PEDAL PUSHERS--Tomorrow, April 11, is the deadline for registering online for the 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services. The event is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Participants may register online at www.mtsu.edu/~tdb for $25 through April 11; onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

TO THE SUN--The work of Boston photographer Stella Johnson is on display through April 16 at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in MTSU’s Learning Resources Center. The exhibit, titled “Al Sol,” is comprised of 30 black-and-white prints, each 24” by 36”. Johnson teaches at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and at Boston University. She was a Fulbright Scholar to Mexico in 2003-2004 and a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Mexico in 2006 for photographing and teaching, respectively. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 6:00-9:45 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 at tjimison@mtsu.edu.

THE ART OF THE DANCE--For the first time ever, the Black College Dance Exchange will be held at a university that is not an historically black college when the annual festival gets underway through Sunday, April 12, at MTSU. This year’s “Crossroads: Dancing with Legends” event will feature master classes for students, as well as a number of dance performances that will be open to the community. In addition, the prestigious Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Alvin Ailey II, a dance company universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. For more information, contact Angela Armstrong at 615-898-5847 or aarmstro@mtsu.edu. Tickets are available for purchase now. Contact Tucker Theatre at 615-494-8810.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Please, son, I can do it myself.

If you offer your elderly parents the opportunity to live with you, taking care of all their financial and medical needs, why might they choose to live by themselves? Dr. Brandon Wallace, sociology, says, “Individualism is strong in American culture. We believe in individual rights, individual freedom, individual self-determination, and individual responsibility. Our economic system (capitalism, where individuals work hard and compete with one another to try to get ahead) and our governmental system (democracy, where each individual gets a vote) are rooted in individualism. We expect individuals to be autonomous, self-sufficient and self-reliant. It is not surprising then that given the financial resources, elderly individuals choose to live on their own.”

Contact Wallace at 615-898-5976.
jbwallae@mtsu.edu

Tennessee trading towns

Memphis, which touts itself as America’s Distribution Center, led all Tennessee metropolitan statistical areas in trade in 2007 with $8.1 billion. Nashville followed with $5.1 billion. Kingsport was third with $2.4 billion, and Knoxville was fourth with nearly $2.1 billion. Dr. Steven Livingston, editor of Global Commerce, says, “Two of the less export-intensive regions, Cleveland and Chattanooga, are likely to see significant increases in coming years due to recently announced large German investments. Clarksville and Johnson City are the least focused on international sales. In the case of Clarksville, this is presumably because of the economic importance of Fort Campbell, which obviously does not export.”

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

Go with the Afroflow.

MTSU will host the groundbreaking national tour known as Afroflow, a mesmerizing intercultural stage performance combined with a powerful message, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, on the University Honors College lawn. Afroflow emphasizes the overall wellness of the mind and body that can be embodied by and achieved through self-expression. The Detroit-based tour partners with the American Cancer Society, clothier Pelle Pelle and Fuze beverages. Slated to perform are Ethiopian-American artist, spoken word poet and actor Michael “MIKE-E” Ellison, Djembe drummer Sowande Keita, R&B vocalist Kenny Watson, and internationally known mixer DJ Invisible. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Ramona DeSalvo at 615-898-5304.
rdesalvo@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

PEDAL PUSHERS--Saturday, April 11, is the deadline for registering online for the 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services. The event is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Participants may register online at www.mtsu.edu/~tdb for $25 through April 11; onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

TO THE SUN--The work of Boston photographer Stella Johnson is on display through April 16 at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in MTSU’s Learning Resources Center. The exhibit, titled “Al Sol,” is comprised of 30 black-and-white prints, each 24” by 36”. Johnson teaches at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and at Boston University. She was a Fulbright Scholar to Mexico in 2003-2004 and a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Mexico in 2006 for photographing and teaching, respectively. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 6:00-9:45 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 at tjimison@mtsu.edu.

THE ART OF THE DANCE--For the first time ever, the Black College Dance Exchange will be held at a university that is not an historically black college when the annual festival gets underway through Sunday, April 9-12, at MTSU. This year’s “Crossroads: Dancing with Legends” event will feature master classes for students, as well as a number of dance performances that will be open to the community. In addition, the prestigious Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Alvin Ailey II, a dance company universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. For more information, contact Angela Armstrong at 615-898-5847 or aarmstro@mtsu.edu. Tickets are available for purchase now. Contact Tucker Theatre at 615-494-8810.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Good night, Grandma. Good night, John-Boy.

A couple of economists (one at the University of Michigan and one now at Dartmouth) studied why the proportion of elderly widows who lived with an adult child plummeted to 20 percent by 1990 from nearly 70 percent in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They concluded that the big downturn started in 1940 with the first Social Security payments. Dr. Brandon Wallace, sociology, says, “It is true that Social Security and the general prosperity that followed WWII made it easier for the elderly to maintain households separate from their children. However, I would argue the emphasis here is misplaced. In traditional agricultural societies, it was children who lived with their parents in adulthood, not the other way around. Children stayed and worked on their parents’ farms expecting to inherit that farm when the parents died.”

Contact Wallace at 615-898-5976.
jbwallae@mtsu.edu

The silver lining

There were two bright spots in the Tennessee export picture in the previous economic quarter. Dr. Steven Livingston, editor of Global Commerce, writes, “The medical industry continued to forge gains, picking up an additional $59 million in exports for the quarter. However, this occurred in October and November; it, too, suffered losses in December. The agricultural sector grew by 48 percent to $230 million as the state sold significant amounts of soybeans overseas (along with the usual cotton) for the first time in years.” Also, Mexico came through as a trading partner. Livingston says Tennessee exports to Mexico grew from $611 million to $659 million. Mexico is Tennessee’s second largest market for exports.

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

The cost of doing business

Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, finds wisdom in a warning from Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics. Tapscott believes that some colleges could become as vulnerable as newspapers are now if they fail to integrate technology and innovative teaching methods. “As someone who teaches at a large public university, Tapscott’s prediction is both unsettling and energizing,” says Roy. “The parallel between what has happened to newspapers and trends impacting higher education has a great deal of validity. Businesses in any industry should take note of what has happened to financial services (quest for profits hurt financial positions), auto manufacturers (inability to make quick changes to customers’ needs), and airlines (unwieldy cost structures) and learn from their mistakes.”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

PEDAL PUSHERS--Saturday, April 11, is the deadline for registering online for the 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services. The event is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Participants may register online at www.mtsu.edu/~tdb for $25 through April 11; onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

THE TOUGHEST JOB YOU’LL EVER LOVE—MTSU this year entered the Peace Corps’ Top 10 list of Tennessee colleges and universities producing Peace Corps volunteers. Since the organization’s inception in 1961, MTSU has produced 66 volunteers. Nine alumni currently serve in the Peace Corps, working in Samoa, the Kyrgyz Republic, Ukraine, Gambia and St. Lucia. Representatives from the Peace Corps will be on the MTSU campus today, April 8. Today at 5 p.m., recruiter Toby Rowell, who served recently in Zambia, will present an information session in Room 313 of the Keathley University Center. This session will include the Peace Corps application process, what it’s like to live and work overseas, and the long-term career advantages of services. This event is free and open to the public. For more information about the Peace Corps, contact David Leavitt in the organization’s Atlanta office at 404-562-3472.

“A GOOD DECISION IS BASED ON KNOWLEDGE AND NOT ON NUMBERS.”—PLATO—Dr. John Lachs, professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University, will present “Education in a Time of Crisis” at 4 p.m. today, April 8, in Dining Room C of MTSU’s James Union Building. This timely lecture will address issues such as what it means to become an educated person, the function of the University, and the role philosophy and the humanities play in the institution. This event is free and open to the public as part of the MTSU Department of Philosophy’s annual Applied Philosophy Lyceum. The purpose of the Lyceum is to provoke philosophical reflection by bringing distinguished scholars to the MTSU campus to address crucial contemporary issues. A discussion period and an informal reception will follow. For more information, contact the MTSU Department of Philosophy at 615-898-2907.

T.J. STANDS FOR “TOUGH JOB”--Terrell “T.J.” Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the Wake Up Youth Foundation, will be the keynote speaker at MTSU’s 18th annual Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Awards Banquet at 6 p.m. tonight, April 8, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. Johnson, a former gang member and drug dealer, is the first former felon to be hired by the Memphis Police Department. After being appointed by Mayor Willie Herenton as Prevention and Intervention Coordinator for the city’s Juvenile Justice Abatement Project, Johnson launched an anti-violence initiative in the city school system. Tickets are $11 for students and $20 for adults. For more information, contact Valerie Avent at 615-898-2718 or vavent@mtsu.edu.

A LAFFER MATTER--Arthur Laffer, supply-side economist who served on President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board and is best known for the “Laffer Curve,” will be guest speaker at this year’s MTSU Executives-in-Residence program, today, April 8. Laffer will speak from 10:20 to 11:15 a.m. in Tucker Theater on “A Supply-Side View of the First 75 Days of the Obama Administration.” This executive briefing will be open to classes and to the public. There is no charge, but interested parties should reserve seating by calling 615-898-2764. The “Laffer Curve” theory asserts that in certain situations a decrease in tax rates can result in an increase in tax revenues. For more information, contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu.

TO THE SUN--The work of Boston photographer Stella Johnson is on display through April 16 at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in MTSU’s Learning Resources Center. The exhibit, titled “Al Sol,” is comprised of 30 black-and-white prints, each 24” by 36”. Johnson teaches at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and at Boston University. She was a Fulbright Scholar to Mexico in 2003-2004 and a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Mexico in 2006 for photographing and teaching, respectively. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 6:00-9:45 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 at tjimison@mtsu.edu.

THE ART OF THE DANCE--For the first time ever, the Black College Dance Exchange will be held at a university that is not an historically black college when the annual festival gets underway tomorrow through Sunday, April 9-12, at MTSU. This year’s “Crossroads: Dancing with Legends” event will feature master classes for students, as well as a number of dance performances that will be open to the community. In addition, the prestigious Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Alvin Ailey II, a dance company universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. For more information, contact Angela Armstrong at 615-898-5847 or aarmstro@mtsu.edu. Tickets are available for purchase now. Contact Tucker Theatre at 615-494-8810.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The lines are getting longer.

Clarksville’s unemployment rate hit double digits in the month of February. MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center reports that Clarksville’s jobless rate soared to 10 percent. That’s up from 9.6 percent in January and 6.1 percent in February of last year. Among Tennessee’s major metropolitan statistical areas, Clarksville was followed by Memphis with 8.9 percent, Chattanooga with 8.7 percent, Nashville with 8.4 percent, and Knoxville with 7.9 percent. Tennessee’s overall unemployment rate crept up to 9.5 percent in February from 9.2 percent the previous month. The U.S. Department of Labor announced Friday that the national economy lost 663,000 jobs in March as the overall jobless rate rose to 8.5 percent.

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

Torture chamber of commerce

The global economic credit crunch is hurting Tennessee exporters. In the latest edition of Global Commerce, MTSU’s Dr. Steven Livingston writes, “After a solid October, the state’s foreign sales fell moderately in November but far more steeply in December. As a result, at $5,587,000,000, quarterly exports were down 4.79 percent from a year ago—the first quarterly drop in exports since the second quarter of 2007. The biggest percentage losses were in the electronics industry and various raw material and intermediate goods industries such as chemicals and primary metal manufacturing. The worst-performing industry in the state was the once robust waste and scrap metal sector.”

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

Get a clue!

MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints.

For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.

TR EXTRA

THE TOUGHEST JOB YOU’LL EVER LOVE—MTSU this year entered the Peace Corps’ Top 10 list of Tennessee colleges and universities producing Peace Corps volunteers. Since the organization’s inception in 1961, MTSU has produced 66 volunteers. Nine alumni currently serve in the Peace Corps, working in Samoa, the Kyrgyz Republic, Ukraine, Gambia and St. Lucia. Representatives from the Peace Corps will be on the MTSU campus tomorrow, April 7, and Wednesday, April 8. On Wednesday at 5 p.m., recruiter Toby Rowell, who served recently in Zambia, will present an information session in Room 313 of the Keathley University Center. This session will include the Peace Corps application process, what it’s like to live and work overseas, and the long-term career advantages of services. This event is free and open to the public. For more information about the Peace Corps, contact David Leavitt in the organization’s Atlanta office at 404-562-3472.

BENEATH THE VEIL--Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, whose novel Persepolis recently was made into a movie bearing the same title, is slated to speak at 7 p.m. tonight, April 6, in the State Farm Lecutre Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. One of the best-known Iranian woman artists in the West, Satrapi uses visual and narrative elements to tell stories that illuminate children’s perspectives, women’s rights, political oppression, and daily life in Iran in the 1970s and 1980s. The wearing of the veil, coming of age, political oppression, conflicts between East and West, and emigration are among the many issues Satrapi addresses in her work. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director of the Middle East Center, at 615-494-8809 or ahibbard@mtsu.edu.

“A GOOD DECISION IS BASED ON KNOWLEDGE AND NOT ON NUMBERS.”—PLATO—Dr. John Lachs, professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University, will present “Education in a Time of Crisis” at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, in Dining Room C of MTSU’s James Union Building. This timely lecture will address issues such as what it means to become an educated person, the function of the University, and the role philosophy and the humanities play in the institution. This event is free and open to the public as part of the MTSU Department of Philosophy’s annual Applied Philosophy Lyceum. The purpose of the Lyceum is to provoke philosophical reflection by bringing distinguished scholars to the MTSU campus to address crucial contemporary issues. A discussion period and an informal reception will follow. For more information, contact the MTSU Department of Philosophy at 615-898-2907.

T.J. STANDS FOR “TOUGH JOB”--Terrell “T.J.” Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the Wake Up Youth Foundation, will be the keynote speaker at MTSU’s 18th annual Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Awards Banquet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. Johnson, a former gang member and drug dealer, is the first former felon to be hired by the Memphis Police Department. After being appointed by Mayor Willie Herenton as Prevention and Intervention Coordinator for the city’s Juvenile Justice Abatement Project, Johnson launched an anti-violence initiative in the city school system. Tickets are $11 for students and $20 for adults. For more information, contact Valerie Avent at 615-898-2718 or vavent@mtsu.edu.

“ARE YOU REALLY JUST A SHADOW OF THE MAN THAT I ONCE KNEW?”—FROM “DOCTOR WU” BY STEELY DAN--How do you teach students the art of filmmaking? By letting them make a film. But how do you pay for it? With a national economic recession and the threat of budget cuts hitting close to home, Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, is going viral and asking for donations to pay for it online. Pondillo is the writer and director of “The New, True Charlie Wu,” a movie made with an all-MTSU student crew. The film is now in post-production. It’s “the story of a young man caught in a job he hates,” says Pondillo. He compensates for his malaise through conspicuous consumption, thinking that things can “fill the hole in his heart,” as Pondillo puts it. To contribute, go to www.youandcharliewu.com. For each dollar contributed, the donor gets a point. The more points the donor gets, the more prestigious the mention in the credits. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 and pondillo@mtsu.edu.

THE NITTY GRITTY--The Girls Raised in Tennessee Science (GRITS) Collaborative, a statewide initiative to encourage girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is inviting you to register your program in the National Girls Collaborative Project Program Directory. Teachers, community groups and other organizations committed to collaborating with, informing and motivating girls are encouraged to register. The online program directory lists programs and resources that encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM. The purpose of the directory is to help organizations and individuals network, share resources, and work together on STEM-related projects for girls. With the online program directory, you can enter a program for inclusion in the directory, sign up for the e-newsletter listserv and search for programs using various criteria. For more information, contact Cacy DeSheles, assistant director of GRITS, at 615-494-7763 or cdd3b@mtsu.edu.

A LAFFER MATTER--Arthur Laffer, supply-side economist who served on President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board and is best known for the “Laffer Curve,” will be guest speaker at this year’s MTSU Executives-in-Residence program, on Wednesday, April 8. Laffer will speak from 10:20 to 11:15 a.m. in Tucker Theater on “A Supply-Side View of the First 75 Days of the Obama Administration.” This executive briefing will be open to classes and to the public. There is no charge, but interested parties should reserve seating by calling 615-898-2764. The “Laffer Curve” theory asserts that in certain situations a decrease in tax rates can result in an increase in tax revenues. For more information, contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

That really hits the spot!

A new study by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, indicates that the Great Red Spot, one of the planet Jupiter’s most recognizable features, is shrinking. The spot is a storm that measures about three Earths across, but the researchers say it lost 15 percent of its diameter between 1996 and 2006. Tonight, April 3, beginning at 6:30 p.m., the MTSU Department of Physics and Astronomy will present its latest First Friday Star Party, “Saturn: The Ringed Wonder” by Dr. Eric Klumpe, professor of astronomy. Following the lecture, participants will be able to take guided tours of the Uranidrome, view the heavens with new 16-inch telescopes and see demonstrations of a radio telescope, weather permitting. This event is free and open to the public.

Contact Klumpe at 615-898-2483 or Dr. Charles Higgins at 615-898-5946.

Water cooler chatter

Can you lose your job for posting a message on a blog? David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says, “Private employees do not receive the protections of the First Amendment because there is no trigger of state action. The provisions in the bill of Rights, including the First Amendment, apply as limitations only against government actors such as public employers. Private employees would need to rely on contractual-based remedies or a state statute that might provide protection.” When it comes to public employees, the courts take a somewhat different approach. “If an employee’s speech touches on a matter of public concern—issues such as racial discrimination or governmental corruption—then the courts apply a balancing test,” Hudson says. “The employee’s interest in free expression is weighed against the employer’s efficiency interests.”

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

“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.”—Plato

Dr. John Lachs, professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University, will present “Education in a Time of Crisis” at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, in Dining Room C of MTSU’s James Union Building. This timely lecture will address issues such as what it means to become an educated person, the function of the University, and the role philosophy and the humanities play in the institution. This event is free and open to the public as part of the MTSU Department of Philosophy’s annual Applied Philosophy Lyceum. The purpose of the Lyceum is to provoke philosophical reflection by bringing distinguished scholars to the MTSU campus to address crucial contemporary issues. A discussion period and an informal reception will follow.

For more information, contact the MTSU Department of Philosophy at 615-898-2907.

TR EXTRA

T.J. STANDS FOR “TOUGH JOB”--Terrell “T.J.” Johnson, president and chief executive officer of the Wake Up Youth Foundation, will be the keynote speaker at MTSU’s 18th annual Intercultural and Diversity Affairs Awards Banquet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. Johnson, a former gang member and drug dealer, is the first former felon to be hired by the Memphis Police Department. After being appointed by Mayor Willie Herenton as Prevention and Intervention Coordinator for the city’s Juvenile Justice Abatement Project, Johnson launched an anti-violence initiative in the city school system. Tickets are $11 for students and $20 for adults. For more information, contact Valerie Avent at 615-898-2718 or vavent@mtsu.edu.

A STONE’S THROW AWAY FROM THE FIELDS--Dr. Warren Gill, chair of the MTSU Department of Agribusiness and Agriscience, and Dr. Justin Gardner, an assistant professor in that department, will discuss the future of farming on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 7 a.m. this Sunday, April 5, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Gill and Gardner talk about federal subsidies for agriculture, farm acreage, government regulation, food safety inspection, agriculture education and other issues affecting today’s farmers. To listen to last week’s program about recording music on Edison cylinders, go to www.mtsunews.com and click on “On the Record” on the right side of the page. For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

A REALLY BIG SHEW—The MTSU Student Government Association will sponsor “The Big Event” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow, April 4 (postponed from Saturday, March 28 due to severe weather). MTSU students will show their appreciation to the surrounding community by completing service projects such as yard work, window washing, and painting for community members. Registration starts at 9 a.m. in the Murphy Center parking lot. For more information, contact the Student Government Association office at 615-898-2464 or sgaphil@mtsu.edu.

FOUR-FOOTED PHILANTHROPY—The See Spot Run 5K Run/Walk for dogs and their humans will take place starting at 8 a.m. this Sunday, April 5, in front of MTSU’s Peck Hall. The event is one in a series of campus fundraisers designed to generate the $50,000 necessary to sponsor a Habitat for Humanity “blitz build” on campus during Homecoming. The blitz build home will become a way that students can give back to the Murfreesboro community. Race day registration will be held outside of Peck Hall from 6:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. for a $25 fee. All proceeds, including entry fees, admissions and sponsorships, will go toward the MTSU Habitat for Humanity Building Fund. For more information, contact Quintina Burton at 615-898-5002.

SHOWING OFF SCHOLARSHIP--Scholars Week 2009, which continues through today, April 3, has become an anticipated campus event each spring as MTSU scholars eagerly share their research findings as well as their enthusiasm for doing research. Dr. Kris McCusker, associate professor of history and organizing committee member, says that selected MTSU students are inviting others to visit the universitywide poster and multimedia event at 12:40 p.m. today, April 3, in the Murphy Center track area and will act as hosts during the event. Presentation titles range from “Hurricane Ike vs. an Atomic Bomb;” “How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Sanitation Issues in the Food Industry;” and “Knock It Off!: Consumers’ Perceptions Toward Purchasing Counterfeit Products.” A schedule and a link to poster abstracts are at www.mtsu.edu/~research. For more information, contact McCusker at 615-898-2544 or Dr. Andrienne Friedli at 615-898-2071.

“ARE YOU REALLY JUST A SHADOW OF THE MAN THAT I ONCE KNEW?”—FROM “DOCTOR WU” BY STEELY DAN--How do you teach students the art of filmmaking? By letting them make a film. But how do you pay for it? With a national economic recession and the threat of budget cuts hitting close to home, Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, is going viral and asking for donations to pay for it online. Pondillo is the writer and director of “The New, True Charlie Wu,” a movie made with an all-MTSU student crew. The film is now in post-production. It’s “the story of a young man caught in a job he hates,” says Pondillo. He compensates for his malaise through conspicuous consumption, thinking that things can “fill the hole in his heart,” as Pondillo puts it. To contribute, go to www.youandcharliewu.com. For each dollar contributed, the donor gets a point. The more points the donor gets, the more prestigious the mention in the credits. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 and pondillo@mtsu.edu.

THE NITTY GRITTY--The Girls Raised in Tennessee Science (GRITS) Collaborative, a statewide initiative to encourage girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is inviting you to register your program in the National Girls Collaborative Project Program Directory. Teachers, community groups and other organizations committed to collaborating with, informing and motivating girls are encouraged to register. The online program directory lists programs and resources that encourage girls to pursue careers in STEM. The purpose of the directory is to help organizations and individuals network, share resources, and work together on STEM-related projects for girls. With the online program directory, you can enter a program for inclusion in the directory, sign up for the e-newsletter listserv and search for programs using various criteria. For more information, contact Cacy DeSheles, assistant director of GRITS, at 615-494-7763 or cdd3b@mtsu.edu.

PLEASE DON’T SQUEEZE THE CHARMIN.--MTSU Theatre will present “Urinetown the Musical” at 7:30 p.m. tonight through tomorrow, April 4, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 5, in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building’s Tucker Theatre. The three-time Tony Award-winning musical provides a satirical and comedic look at a future in which water supplies have dried up and the public must use pay-to-pee toilets regulated by the Urine Good Company. When Bobby, a custodian at the filthiest toilet in town, decides enough is enough, he leads a rebellion to free the citizens. Deborah Anderson, a member of MTSU’s speech and theatre faculty and the play’s director, says, “We’re all going to experience this (environmental) ruin that is rocketing toward us at such a speed that we will probably not be able to turn it away no matter how much recycling we do. But at least we should try, and this show provides a humorous look at what could happen.” Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for MTSU staff and K-12 students. MTSU students are admitted free of charge with a valid ID. For more information, call 615-494-8810.

A LAFFER MATTER--Arthur Laffer, supply-side economist who served on President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board and is best known for the “Laffer Curve,” will be guest speaker at this year’s MTSU Executives-in-Residence program, on Wednesday, April 8. Laffer will speak from 10:20 to 11:15 a.m. in Tucker Theater on “A Supply-Side View of the First 75 Days of the Obama Administration.” This executive briefing will be open to classes and to the public. There is no charge, but interested parties should reserve seating by calling 615-898-2764. The “Laffer Curve” theory asserts that in certain situations a decrease in tax rates can result in an increase in tax revenues. For more information, contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu.