Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The Rev’s recordings

Martin Fisher, Manager of Recorded Music Collections at MTSU’s Center for Popular Music, will be among those making presentations on the legacy of Rev. Lonzie Odie Taylor at reception for invited guests from 5-8 p.m. today, June 9, at the Center for Southern Folklore, 119 S. Main at Peabody Place Trolley Stop, in Memphis. The reception is a prelude to the launch of the new online exhibit “TAYLOR MADE: The Life and Work of the Rev. L.O. Taylor.” The minister was a Renaissance man whose talents as a photographer, filmmaker, writer, recording artist and producer—all from his home “studio”—made him an invaluable chronicler of life in the African-American community of Memphis. Fisher’s role in the preservation of artifacts in the exhibit was to transfer 90 audio lacquer disc recordings produced by Taylor to a digital format.

The exhibit will be made available to the general public beginning tomorrow, June 10, at www.southernfolklore.com. Contact Fisher then at 615-898-5509 or wmfisher@mtsu.edu.

Undergraduate overachievers

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Committee awarded $65,900 in April to students who applied to pursue research or creative activity in their field of interest. This amount was awarded in stipends, supplies and travel to 25 students who applied to be either an assistant or a scholar. The three students funded at the assistant level will contribute to a faculty member’s project, and the 22 students funded at the scholar level will take more ownership of their projects while collaborating with one or more faculty members.

For more information about MTSU’s Undergraduate Research Center, call 615-494-7666.

The best policy

About 25 guidance counselors from Rutherford, Davidson and other counties across Tennessee are attending the third Insurance Education Institute Workshop through tomorrow, June 10, at MTSU. The workshop’s purpose is to familiarize counselors with insurance career opportunities they can share with students at their schools. Dr. Ken Hollman, holder of the Martin Chair of Insurance, invites reporters to attend any of the following sessions: 9 until 11 a.m. tomorrow in Room 316S of the Business and Aerospace Building; 1:30-2 p.m. tomorrow in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors College Building; or the graduation dinner at Parthenon Steak House, 1935 S. Church St., at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Contact Hollman at 615-898-2673.
khollman@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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

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 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.