Monday, June 8, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Staking a claim

In the week ending May 23, the seasonally adjusted weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance in Tennessee totaled 12,848. That’s down from 13,313 the previous week, and it represents the third weekly decline in a row. Seasonally adjusted initial claims have averaged 13,743 per week. Seasonally adjusted continued claims for unemployment insurance (insured unemployment) declined to 113,878 from 114,936 (revised) in the previous week. Insured unemployment has averaged 108,821 since January 1. MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center says the trend for initial and continued claims appears to be flattening, but the level remains extremely high.

Contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.
berc@mtsu.edu

GM: Government Motors

General Motors’ new television commercial doesn’t quite convince Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, that GM will be any different in the future than it is now. The “reinvention” commercial states, “There was a time when eight different brands made sense.” “Oh, really?,” Roy asks rhetorically. “A significant problem GM had for years was too many brands. It has not been a problem only recently; the glut of brands led to resource wars within the company. The result was that all brands suffered. GM’s problems are hardly new. It should not have taken being forced into filing bankruptcy protection to bring about radical changes at GM.”

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

Climbing the family tree

The James E. Walker Library will host a training session on Heritage Quest, the Tennessee Electronic Library’s ancestry database, from 3:15-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, in Room 272 of the library. Heritage Quest includes the U.S. Federal Census images from 1790-1930, more than 24,000 family and local history books, the PERSI index of more than 2.1 million genealogy and local history articles, Revolutionary War-era pension and bounty-land warrant application files, Freedman’s Bank (1865-1874) records, and memorials, petitions and private relief actions of the U.S. Congress in the LexisNexis U.S. Serial Set. Linda Cubias of Proquest will conduct the training session, which is free and open to the public.

Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376.
kkeene@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SUPER SOUND--New MTSU Audio Clips and radio-ready stories are available at www.mtsunews.com. Click on “Audio Clips” on the right side of the page. In this edition, Dr. Laura Blackwell Clark, an assistant professor of educational leadership, advocates equal opportunity for access to higher education for undocumented immigrants and explains her position. Also, Martin Fisher, director of Recorded Music Collections at MTSU’s Center for Popular Music, loves to record sounds on wax cylinders not unlike those Thomas Edison used at the advent of the phonograph. Fisher likes to demonstrate and talk about his craft, too. Listen to one of his 21st century recordings on early 20th century equipment and compare it to a 1906 recording on an Edison device! For more information about MTSU Audio Clips, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

GOING THROUGH CUSTOMS--Running through late July, incoming MTSU students and their families will start familiarizing themselves with their new academic home through the CUSTOMS orientation process. “So many parents and students comment on how friendly folks are and how comfortable they feel about their choice of coming to MTSU,” says Gina Poff, director of New Student and Family Programs. “Although CUSTOMS is a lot of work for the staff and the new students, it really pays off in the end. It is a great way to start off the new journey into MTSU, and the freshmen really get a sense of what it is like to be part of the MTSU community.” Poff says officials expect 50 to 75 more students at each session this summer than in previous years. Contact Poff at 615-898-2454 or gpoff@mtsu.edu.

THE TOUR DU JOUR--MTSU’s Office of Admissions will offer student-led campus tours at 10 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding holidays) through July 31. The tours are by reservation only. Plenty of openings remain for all of June and July. No tours will be given July 3 because the university will be closed for that holiday. To make a reservation, call 615-898-5670 or visit mtsu.edu/admissn/tour_admissn.shtml and click on “Schedule Campus Tours.” For more information, contact Michelle Arnold at 615-898-5280 or maarnold@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