Friday, May 8, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Gimme shelter

Inventory increased and closings decreased in the residential housing market in the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area in March 2009. Inventory crept up from 23,730 in March 2008 to 23,886. Closings declined from 2,227 to 1,521. The total number of housing units authorized by building permits sank from 674 to 449. The number of single family dwellings authorized by permits fell from 536 to 345, and the number of multifamily units slipped from 138 to 104. However, if you’re looking for a break on hotel rates, they’re lower, too. The average room rate in March 2009 was $91.59 compared to $95.54 a year ago. The occupancy rate is lower, as well—down from 64 percent to 55.7 percent.

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

A little military, a little medicine

Before tomorrow’s largest-ever MTSU commencement ceremonies, two College of Basic and Applied Sciences’ departments will have special events to recognize their graduating seniors. The Department of Military science will have a commissioning ceremony for six cadets. It will be held at 10 a.m. in the Keathley University Center Theater. Departing professor of military science Lt. Col. Mike Walsh will oversee his final act as program director. Col. Jeffrey Davidson, an MTSU alumnus, will address the audience. At 4 p.m. in Tucker Theatre, as many as 90 graduates of the School of Nursing will attend a pinning ceremony. Dr. Maria Revell, professor of nursing, is the event organizer.

Contact Maj. Chuck Giles or Lt. Col. Walsh at 615-898-2470. Contact Dr. Lynn Parsons, director of the School of Nursing, at 615-898-2437.

The sounds of silence

A Pennsylvania inmate’s complaint that the shutdown of the prison music system constituted a violation of his rights has fallen on deaf ears at the U.S. Supreme Court. Richard Glenn Young sued in 2004 to have the program reinstated. He claimed his right to free expression was being abridged. Lower courts sided with the prison system, and the Supreme Court refused to take up the case at all. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says, “The issue is important not just because of a former prison music program in Pennsylvania, but also because it impacts other areas of First Amendment law. For example, in adult-entertainment litigation, lower courts are divided on whether city officials must present evidence of actual harmful, secondary effects caused by adult businesses or whether city officials can offer secondary effects as a post-hoc justification arising from studies from other jurisdictions.”

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

TR EXTRA

MUSLIM MATTERS--Dr. Sean Foley, assistant professor of history, discusses how Islamic ideas sparked major social reform at three critical turning points in history at 7 a.m. this Sunday, May 10, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 AND wmot.org). In January, Foley lectured at American University in Beirut about how Reformation leaders saw Islam as an omen of God’s displeasure with the Catholic Church; how the rise of European nationalism in the 16th and 17th centuries was linked to how nations defined themselves vis-à-vis the Muslim world; and how Thomas Jefferson and John Locke found evidence of the universality of human rights by reading the Koran. For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

SHEEPSKINS ON PARADE--More than 2,200 degree candidates (approximately 1,866 undergraduates and 375 graduate students) are expected to graduate during MTSU’s 97th spring commencement during the university’s upcoming graduation ceremonies tomorrow, May 9. The dual ceremonies will start at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, in Murphy Center. G. Edmond Clark, president and CEO of FedEx Trade Networks Inc., a subsidiary of the Memphis-based FedEx Corporation, will serve as the guest speaker for the 9 a.m. ceremony. Brig. Gen. Terry M. “Max” Haston, who was appointed as assistant adjutant general for the U.S. Army on May 6, 2008, will be the featured speaker for the 1 p.m. ceremony. For complete graduation information, go to www.mtsunews.com and click on the mortarboard and diploma.

HAVING WONDERFUL TIME IN INDIA. VISHNU WERE HERE.--This summer, Dr. Karen Petersen, political science, will teach “India on the Eve of Independence,” a fascinating course that will help you hone your negotiation and public presentation skills as you explore the impact of religion on politics from multiple perspectives. The course will run from May 11-26. Petersen says, “In this course, you will read works from the great Hindu and Muslim thinkers who guided the movement for Indian independence from British colonial rule. Then you will see if you can do it better! Through an intensive experiential learning simulation, you will play the part of one of the primary characters at the Simla conference and negotiate the end of British rule of India.”For more information, contact Petersen at 615-494-8662 or kpeterse@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.