Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

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 on Saturday, 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.

Flu by the numbers (and letters)

Why are the media referring to what was once called “swine flu” as the “H1N1 virus?” Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says, “All influenza viruses contain RNA molecules that encode their identity the way that our DNA identifies us. Just like some of our genes encode for the chemical composition of the protein molecules that determine hair color, certain influenza genes encode for recognizable chemical features on the external surface of a virus. Two of these types of large molecules are hemagglutinin (a protein/carbohydrate blend) and neuraminidase (a bond-cleaving protein enzyme), and these are what the H’s and the N’s of the flu type refer to. And just as there are different hair colors and eye colors, mutations of the virus lead to variations in the chemical compositions of these surface molecules. The numbers refer to common mutations of each molecule.”

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

We can work it out.

Attorneys, human resources managers, federal commissioners, union leaders and community mediators are among the guest presenters slated to speak to Dr. William Canak’s “Conflict, Negotiation & Mediation” class this summer. The sociology class, which will include real life exercises and a workshop format, will run from May 11-29. Students will evaluate the personal and structural sources of conflict; learn mediation skills that can be used at work, with the family and in the community; and practice negotiation techniques, including hardball strategies and when to use them, as well as win-win interest-based approaches.

Contact Canak at 615-898-5361.
wcanak@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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.