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.