Thursday, July 30, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

It’s in the bag.

Are you ready for a paper bag you can throw onto the ground without being accused of littering? Frito-Lay will debut a new totally biodegradable bag for its SunChips brand by Earth Day 2010. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “Frito-Lay’s choice of SunChips as the brand to debut an environmentally friendly package is appropriate. SunChips is positioned as a healthier alternative to potato chips. Using ‘healther’ packaging for SunChips is a great fit. … Kudos to Frito-Lay for taking the initiative to develop packaging that has less of a negative impact on our environment. It is the right thing to do, and environmentally responsible packaging can be leveraged as a point of difference to set you apart from competitors.”

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

Autism speaks—and learns

When it comes to training professionals who work with children with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, the MTSU College of Education and Behavioral Science is looking to the future. Dr. Lesley Craig-Unkefer, associate professor, has developed new coursework that focuses on working with children with ASD. The autism-related classes were first offered in the spring 2009 semester, and the introductory class will be offered again this fall. “The state of Tennessee does not currently have a licensure or certificate for ASD at this point,” says Craig-Unkefer, “and I don’t know when that will occur, but in preparation for that, I would like to get more of our ASD courses up and running.” She also says, “Because there is an interest, we’ve discussed developing one-hour online courses that have specific (ASD) content that would reach out to individuals in more rural areas or who would just prefer to get that information online.”

Contact the Department of Elementary and Special Education at 615-898-2680.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Three-time Emmy Award-winner and MTSU alumnus Wayne White will talk about a new book compiling the creative efforts of his three-decade career at 7 a.m. on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 7 a.m. this Sunday, August 2, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).The book, titled Maybe Now I’ll Get the Respect I So Richly Deserve (Ammo Books), displays his work as an illustrator, cartoonist, animator, puppeteer and production designer. White won his Emmys for art direction for “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.” He also is the recipient of an MTV Award for Smashing Pumpkins’ video “Tonight, Tonight” and a Billboard Award for Peter Gabriel’s video “Big Time.”

Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

TR EXTRA

NO ENRGY CRISIS HERE!--The MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will sponsor Camp ENRGY, a five-day camp designed for youth with physical disabilities, Aug. 3-7. Camp ENRGY (Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth), which is free for its youth participants, will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on and off the MTSU campus with many activities taking place in the university’s recreation center, says Dr. Don Morgan, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” says Morgan. Media are welcomed to cover this inaugural event.
For more information about Camp ENRGY, contact Sandy Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu
or Jenny Hutchens at jgs2a@mtsu.edu. Call Morgan at 615-898-5549.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for today, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Reaching for teaching

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and other officials will welcome five educators from Ghana at approximately 10:15 a.m. today, July 29, in the Sam Ingram Building on Middle Tennessee Boulevard in Murfreesboro. The Tennessee Board of Regents and MTSU are working to develop a sustainable model of teaching quality for the Republic of Ghana. The African nation’s Ministry of Education is composed of 38 non-university teacher-education institutions. At 10:45 a.m. in the Ingram Building’s conference room, UCC officials will learn about MTSU’s Teaching Quality Initiative. At 1:30 p.m., following lunch, MTSU education faculty will discuss MTSU’s TQI pilot program, in which eight students served a yearlong student-teaching residency. This session will take place in the President’s Conference Room in the Cope Administration Building. Media welcomed.

Contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

Staying cool in the pool

Greenpeace and other environmental activist groups are calling for “a comprehensive phase-out of chlorine and chlorine-based chemicals.” But Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says those of us who have practically lived in the swimming pool this summer need not panic. “Without question, there are environmental problems associated with irresponsible industrial use and disposal of chlorinated compounds, such as PCBs, where C is for chlorinated,” MacDougall admits. “On the other hand, there have also been public health tragedies when chlorine was not used, such as the lethal outbreak of E. coli poisoning in the water supply of Walkerton, Ontario, in May 2000. And most importantly, for those who are fortunate enough to have it, drinking water that has been sanitized with chlorine or chlorinated products has been the single biggest advance in world health.”

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

Just what do you want from me, anyway?

Here’s a model of how students’ impressions of their teachers can have an impact on future enrollment in classes. Dr. Thomas Brinthaupt, psychology, has devised what he calls a Realistic Course Preview (RCP) based on previous students’ opinions to give future students an idea of what they can expect in his class. “Providing an RCP is a simple way to begin to establish rapport between students and instructor,” Brinthaupt says. “Realistic previews may help to prevent unpleasant surprises for one’s students, particularly in courses that require substantial independent work or hands-on applications. RCPs might also reduce disappointment about grades.”

Contact Brinthaupt at 615-898-2317.
tbrintha@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

NO ENRGY CRISIS HERE!--The MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will sponsor Camp ENRGY, a five-day camp designed for youth with physical disabilities, Aug. 3-7. Camp ENRGY (Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth), which is free for its youth participants, will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on and off the MTSU campus with many activities taking place in the university’s recreation center, says Dr. Don Morgan, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” says Morgan. Media are welcomed to cover this inaugural event.
For more information about Camp ENRGY, contact Sandy Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu
or Jenny Hutchens at jgs2a@mtsu.edu. Call Morgan at 615-898-5549.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for tomorrow, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon tomorrow, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

You’re not the boss of me!

In his new book, Packing the Court, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James MacGregor Burns asserts that the President of the United States should refuse to submit to the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court if the justices strike down his legislation as unconstitutional. Dr. John Vile, Constitutional law scholar and dean of the University Honors College, says Burns’ position is “misguided.” Vile says, “Over the last 200-plus years, the U.S. has worked out a finely balanced system of separation of powers. Burns’ suggestion would upset this balance. In the 1930s, the U.S. Senate wisely rejected a plan by New Deal liberals to ‘pack’ the Supreme Court so as to overturn its judgments. In the 1950s and 1960s, ‘conservatives’ urged the people to defy Supreme Court judgments on racial desegregation, and the people again wisely rejected the suggestion.”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

“The next voice you hear will be your own.”—Jackson Browne

Lines and images of assertion, anger, ennui, yearning, reverie—these are the contents of “Voices We Haven’t Heard,” a new collection of student art and literature compiled by the June Anderson Women’s Center at MTSU. The inaugural edition is the first of many annual editions to come if Terri Johnson, the center’s director, has anything to say about it. “I think it’s a wonderful way for students to express themselves in a creative, artistic forum,” says Johnson. The works between the beige covers serve as the students’ rebuttal to the racism, sexism, harassment and homophobia they see in the world around them, both on-campus and off-campus. Johnson says she already has had tremendous feedback from parents and prospective students at CUSTOMS and elsewhere. She adds she had heard remarkable interest from those who wish to contribute to the next edition.

Contact Johnson at 615-898-2193.
trjohnso@mtsu.edu

Ups and downs

In the week ending July 11, seasonally adjusted weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance in Tennessee were 12,213, up from a revised 9,972 in the previous week. Seasonally adjusted initial weekly claims have averaged 13,144 since January 1, 2009. The four-week moving average continues to decline gradually, however. Actual claims, before seasonal adjustment, climbed sharply to 15,993 during the week. Continued claims for unemployment insurance (insured unemployment) increased to 110,194 from a revised 108,985 in the previous week. The four-week moving average continues to drop gradually. Continued claims have averaged 109,147 since January 1.

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

TR EXTRA

NO ENRGY CRISIS HERE!--The MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will sponsor Camp ENRGY, a five-day camp designed for youth with physical disabilities, Aug. 3-7. Camp ENRGY (Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth), which is free for its youth participants, will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on and off the MTSU campus with many activities taking place in the university’s recreation center, says Dr. Don Morgan, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” says Morgan. Media are welcomed to cover this inaugural event.
For more information about Camp ENRGY, contact Sandy Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu
or Jenny Hutchens at jgs2a@mtsu.edu. Call Morgan at 615-898-5549.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for Thursday, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for tomorrow, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“Inspiration and genius—one and the same.”—Victor Hugo

In a recent article in The Tennessean, publisher Shelton Smith asserted that only the 1872 King James Bible is inspired. Dr. Phil Oliver, philosophy, takes issue with this opinion. “So, inspiration happened once in all of recorded human history?” Oliver asks rhetorically. “It simply falls to you and me to salute and genuflect and defer and shut up? Socrates and Emerson (and Twain and Nietzsche) had a lot to say about that benighted suggestion. Why are you and I here at all if not to enjoy ‘an original relation to the universe’? But Smith says simply: ‘There’s what I think, and then there is what the Bible says. I’d rather go with what the Bible says.’ I’d rather think about it myself, thanks all the same.”

Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050.
poliver@mtsu.edu

“They can make me do anything, Ben, can’t they? Anything.”—Laurence Harvey in “The Manchurian Candidate”

We all know that computers can be hacked into, but can someone actually hack into your brain? Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “In 2007 and 2008, hackers broke into epilepsy support Web sites and uploaded flashing pictures that triggered seizures in some photo-sensitive patients. And the dangers don’t necessarily come from the outside. Some neural devices are already wireless, and scientists fear some patients who have deep brain stimulators may try to alter the programming to elevate mood or other neural centers. Such a scenario was envisioned as far back as 1972 by Michael Crichton in his prophetic book The Terminal Man. Of course, we know that any electronic device not only receives signals—it also acts as a transmitter. So it may also be possible for a receiver to pick up your neural signals, leading to all sorts of privacy concerns.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

Cyberspace and classroom space

The MTSU College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning is bringing the popular Adult Degree Completion Program (ADCP) to the new Middle Tennessee Education Center in Shelbyville, making the attainment of a college degree even more convenient. Beginning with the fall 2009 semester, MTSU will offer a new hybrid course (PRST 3010) for those interested in earning undergraduate college credit for prior learning. “Hybrid courses offer the best of both worlds,” says Lance Ikard, an instructor for the course. “It combines the convenience of online education and the comfort of a few face-to-face class meetings.”

For more information, contact Molly Culbreath at 931-685-4444.
mculbrea@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

NO ENRGY CRISIS HERE!--The MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will sponsor Camp ENRGY, a five-day camp designed for youth with physical disabilities, Aug. 3-7. Camp ENRGY (Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth), which is free for its youth participants, will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on and off the MTSU campus with many activities taking place in the university’s recreation center, says Dr. Don Morgan, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” says Morgan. Media are welcomed to cover this inaugural event.
For more information about Camp ENRGY, contact Sandy Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu
or Jenny Hutchens at jgs2a@mtsu.edu. Call Morgan at 615-898-5549.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for Thursday, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to http://www.yeahintheboro.org/, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“When we don’t know who to hate, we hate ourselves.”—Chuck Palahniuk

Why can’t law enforcement agencies be more proactive in preventing hate crimes like the June 10 shooting that claimed the life of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.? Carter F. Smith, criminal justice administration, says, “Many an inquiry has been quashed by a careful (some might say paranoid) supervisor who knew their limitations and was unwilling to venture out. Those who are most cautious recall (or read about) the backlash from the McCarthy Era, where people were hired and fired or blacklisted from working in certain industries for belonging (or being suspected of belonging) to the Communist Party. Most in government since then have (I think) gone too far in their assurance that we will not return to those practices.”

Contact Smith at 615-424-8375.
carterfsmith@gmail.com

No more oiligarchy?

An article in the July 7 edition of the Khaleej Times reports, “Non-oil exports from companies in Dubai that are based outside the emirate’s free zones increased by two percent in the first half of 2009 compared to the same period last year, in spite of the worldwide economic slowdown, a top government official said on Monday.” Dr. Sean Foley, history, wrote an introduction to a couple of conflicting viewpoints on non-oil industries in the Persian Gulf for the June 2009 edition of Viewpoints, a publication of The Middle East Institute. “Over the last decade, every Arab Gulf state replicated Dubai’s model—even as oil prices reached record highs in 2008 and it became clear that the Emirate’s model of development had tangible social, economic and environmental drawbacks,” writes Foley.

Contact Foley at 615-904-8294.
sfoley@mtsu.edu

No ENRGY crisis here!

The MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will sponsor Camp ENRGY, a five-day camp designed for youth with physical disabilities, Aug. 3-7. Camp ENRGY (Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth), which is free for its youth participants, will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on and off the MTSU campus with many activities taking place in the university’s recreation center, says Dr. Don Morgan, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” says Morgan. Media are welcomed to cover this inaugural event.

For more information about Camp ENRGY, contact Sandy Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu
or Jenny Hutchens at jgs2a@mtsu.edu.
Call Morgan at 615-898-5549.

TR EXTRA

TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS A FOUR-YEAR DEGREE--Michelle Blackwell, director of Transfer Student Services, will talk about the new agreement between MTSU and Nashville State Community College at 7 a.m. on “MTSU On the Record” with host Gina Logue this Sunday, July 26, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). The dual-admission pact, which is slated to be signed on Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU, is designed to make it easier for transfer students from NSCC to obtain admission to a four-year institution. After meeting certain requirements, NSCC students will be guaranteed acceptance to MTSU, and at the outset, they will be able to map out their college career paths. Students will save money by being able to enroll in a community college their first two years at lower tuition and fees. For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for Thursday, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.--Scores of girls ages 10 to 17 will convene July 27 through July 31 at MTSU for the seventh annual Murfreesboro edition of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long gathering that nurtures musical talent and self-esteem in a positive, supportive atmosphere. The day camp, which will operate from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. each day, will feature instruction in drums, vocals, keyboards, guitar and bass, as well as workshops in recording, screenprinting, songwriting, music herstory, photography, zine-making and do-it-yourself arts and crafts. On Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m., the girls will display the skills they honed in bands throughout the week by performing in a showcase concert in Tucker Theater. Admission is $8 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. Contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or Nicole Tekulve, SGRRC Director, at 615-849-8140.

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Two plus two equals a four-year degree.

Michelle Blackwell, director of Transfer Student Services, will talk about the new agreement between MTSU and Nashville State Community College at 7 a.m. this Sunday, July 26, on “MTSU On the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). The dual-admission pact, which is slated to be signed on Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU, is designed to make it easier for transfer students from NSCC to obtain admission to a four-year institution. After meeting certain requirements, NSCC students will be guaranteed acceptance to MTSU, and at the outset, they will be able to map out their college career paths. Students will save money by being able to enroll in a community college their first two years at lower tuition and fees.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

The naked truth

If you’re in the adult entertainment business, you can’t challenge the assertion that your enterprise causes adverse effects in the neighborhood after a new zoning law is passed—even if your business was in the neighborhood before the law’s passage. That was the ruling of a panel of the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Independence News v. City of Charlotte. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says, “According to the Fourth Circuit, all city officials must do with respect to secondary effects is show that they reasonably believed secondary effects to be a problem when they passed the ordinance.” The businesses had claimed that their First Amendment rights were violated because they were not allowed to introduce evidence proving their presence in the neighborhood had no adverse impact.

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1342.
dhudson@fac.org

Booze you can lose

You know exports are in trouble when even whiskey sales are down to a trickle. Dr. Steven Livingston, editor of Global Commerce, writes, “Even Tennessee whiskey, normally impervious to slowdowns, saw its exports reduced by 11 percent” in the first quarter. Livingston also writes, “April exports were down another 16 percent indicating that we are still far from seeing the bottom of this crash in exports. It is unreasonable to expect to see better numbers while the recession continues. Given the cyclical nature of several of the state’s largest industries (transportation and electronics), we can only hope that the turnaround will be quick and decisive when it finally arrives. Until then, expect to see continued difficulties for Tennessee’s exporters.”

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for Thursday, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.--Scores of girls ages 10 to 17 will convene July 27 through July 31 at MTSU for the seventh annual Murfreesboro edition of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long gathering that nurtures musical talent and self-esteem in a positive, supportive atmosphere. The day camp, which will operate from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. each day, will feature instruction in drums, vocals, keyboards, guitar and bass, as well as workshops in recording, screenprinting, songwriting, music herstory, photography, zine-making and do-it-yourself arts and crafts. On Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m., the girls will display the skills they honed in bands throughout the week by performing in a showcase concert in Tucker Theater. Admission is $8 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. Contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or Nicole Tekulve, SGRRC Director, at 615-849-8140.

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

MySpace isn’t necessarily your space.

The new conventional wisdom is that social media networking Web sites are the hottest ways to promote a product or service. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, does not agree. He says social networks are for socializing, not advertising. “A study of 13-54 year-old social media users conducted by Knowledge Networks indicates less than five percent of those persons surveyed rely on the medium for guidance on making purchase decisions,” Roy says. “Furthermore, only 16 percent indicated an intent to buy products from brands that advertise on social networking sites.” Roy says this is not a cue to marketers to stop using social networks altogether, but he warns, “Every communication medium is not conducive to making a sale.”

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

Happy trails to you.

Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for Thursday, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester.

For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

Maybe Tom Watson can get an endorsement deal with the maker of his artificial hip.

Even when the trade picture looks bleak for Tennessee, the state manages to do well in one particular area—medical equipment. Dr. Steven Livingston, editor of Global Commerce, says, “Medical instrument sales actually rose by 12 percent for the quarter (to $362 million). This vaulted the industry into the top spot among the state’s export sectors. Orthopedic exports were up by 25 percent and artificial joints another 62 percent. Medical needle and catheter exports gained a dramatic 364 percent. Medicaments grew by 57 percent, and surgical catgut a robust 200 percent—a remarkable achievement under current conditions!”

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.--Scores of girls ages 10 to 17 will convene July 27 through July 31 at MTSU for the seventh annual Murfreesboro edition of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long gathering that nurtures musical talent and self-esteem in a positive, supportive atmosphere. The day camp, which will operate from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. each day, will feature instruction in drums, vocals, keyboards, guitar and bass, as well as workshops in recording, screenprinting, songwriting, music herstory, photography, zine-making and do-it-yourself arts and crafts. On Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m., the girls will display the skills they honed in bands throughout the week by performing in a showcase concert in Tucker Theater. Admission is $8 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. Contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or Nicole Tekulve, SGRRC Director, at 615-849-8140.

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Intelligence on display

The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.”

Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

Working at finding work

In the week ending July 4, seasonally adjusted weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance in Tennessee was 12,122, down from a revised 12,444 in the previous week and the lowest amount this year. Actual claims, before seasonal adjustment, fell to 8.990 during the week. Seasonally adjusted initial weekly claims have averaged 13,312 since January 1, 2009. Continued claims for unemployment insurance (insured unemployment) declined to 112,661 from a revised 113,687 in the previous week. Continued claims have averaged 109,184 since January 1.

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

Fission and fusion—fact or fiction?

Dr. Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, has come to believe that nuclear energy is one of the most environmentally responsible ways among currently available technologies to meet Earth’s energy needs. Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says, “The reactions of many activists, but thankfully not all, to topics such as nuclear energy tend to be more superstitious than rational. Once an opinion is formed about ‘nukes,’ that’s it. It can never change. It’s a bogeyman. Rational responses require updated and correct knowledge. That applies to everybody--those who are for a particular technology and those who are opposed to it. … Research is the only way to separate fact from fiction, and the Internet is an excellent technology for the efficient diffusion of knowledge.”

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

TR EXTRA

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.--Scores of girls ages 10 to 17 will convene July 27 through July 31 at MTSU for the seventh annual Murfreesboro edition of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long gathering that nurtures musical talent and self-esteem in a positive, supportive atmosphere. The day camp, which will operate from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. each day, will feature instruction in drums, vocals, keyboards, guitar and bass, as well as workshops in recording, screenprinting, songwriting, music herstory, photography, zine-making and do-it-yourself arts and crafts. On Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m., the girls will display the skills they honed in bands throughout the week by performing in a showcase concert in Tucker Theater. Admission is $8 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. Contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or Nicole Tekulve, SGRRC Director, at 615-849-8140.

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

“OH, SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG; SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH!—PSALMS 96:1--Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music, based in Nashville, will provide instruction in the performance of Southern Gospel music through July 24 on the MTSU campus. Subjects for daily classes include theory, harmony, songwriting, sight singing and ear training. Private lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar and bass guitar. Electives include classes on how to lead congregational singing and how to build a successful career in gospel music. “The Stamps-Baxter Publishing Co. was, in its day, the premier publisher of Southern Gospel music,” says Dr. Stephen Shearon, MTSU professor of music. The Gaither Vocal Band, Allison Durham Speer, Greater Vision, Ivan Parker, Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs and The Florida Boys are among the artists who have performed free concerts at the school in the past. For more information, go to http://stampsbaxterschool.com or contact Shearon at 615-898-5984 or sshearon@mtsu.edu.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@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 July. 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.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The trade grade

Tennessee exports were down more than $600 million in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. Dr. Steven Livingston, editor of Global Commerce, writes, “Only one of the state’s large markets, Japan, actually grew over the quarter. This was because of substantial increases in medical sales: medical instruments, pharmaceuticals, and orthopedic goods. Medical instrument sales also account for the spectacular, if fluky, increase in exports to Luxembourg, the state’s single best-performing market for the quarter. Tennessee increased its exports to exactly 11 out of the state’s top 50 markets. Two other strong markets, Iraq and Afghanistan, owed their success to the American war efforts in those two countries.”

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

Dying young

The World Health Organization is calling on all countries to offer universal health care due to huge disparities in health and life expectancy around the globe. Of particular concern is Africa, where HIV/AIDS is rampant. Dr. Brandon Wallace, sociology, says, “The impact of diseases and droughts in this area is exacerbated by civil war and political turmoil in the region. It is not simply that these regions are underdeveloped. Rather, centuries of colonialism and exploitation have led to political instability and stunted economic growth. The logic goes something like: colonialism and exploitation -> political turmoil and economic underdevelopment -> poor health care, poor education, inadequate housing and nutrition, limited financial resources -> increased disease and lower life expectancy.”

Contact Wallace at 615-898-5976.
jbwallae@mtsu.edu

R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.

Scores of girls ages 10 to 17 will convene July 27 through July 31 at MTSU for the seventh annual Murfreesboro edition of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long gathering that nurtures musical talent and self-esteem in a positive, supportive atmosphere. The day camp, which will operate from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. each day, will feature instruction in drums, vocals, keyboards, guitar and bass, as well as workshops in recording, screenprinting, songwriting, music herstory, photography, zine-making and do-it-yourself arts and crafts. On Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m., the girls will display the skills they honed in bands throughout the week by performing in a showcase concert in Tucker Theater. Admission is $8 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or Nicole Tekulve, SGRRC Director, at 615-849-8140.

TR EXTRA

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to http://www.yeahintheboro.org/, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

“OH, SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG; SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH!—PSALMS 96:1--Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music, based in Nashville, will provide instruction in the performance of Southern Gospel music through July 24 on the MTSU campus. Subjects for daily classes include theory, harmony, songwriting, sight singing and ear training. Private lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar and bass guitar. Electives include classes on how to lead congregational singing and how to build a successful career in gospel music. “The Stamps-Baxter Publishing Co. was, in its day, the premier publisher of Southern Gospel music,” says Dr. Stephen Shearon, MTSU professor of music. The Gaither Vocal Band, Allison Durham Speer, Greater Vision, Ivan Parker, Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs and The Florida Boys are among the artists who have performed free concerts at the school in the past. For more information, go to http://stampsbaxterschool.com/ or contact Shearon at 615-898-5984 or sshearon@mtsu.edu.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@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 July. 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.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The I-24 connection

The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU.

Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

Reasonable expectation of privacy?

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that New Mexico school officials were wrong to strip-search a 13-year-old girl they suspected of bringing ibuprofen to class in violation of school rules. Dr. John Vile, University Honors College Dean at MTSU and Constitutional law scholar, says, “In contrast to a number of recent cases that have reduced students’ rights, in Safford Unified School District v. Redding the Court decided that school officials did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct a search. Although the Court divided on the issue, a majority of justices, led by outgoing David Souter, decided that precedents were ambiguous enough that school officials should have qualified immunity against being sued individually. Significantly, however, only Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the search was itself justified. This is consistent with other decisions in which he has taken a very restrictive view of students’ rights.”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Girls just want to have a future.

Girl University will come to the MTSU campus on Saturday, July 18, for a one-day series of workshops designed to help young women and their parents get a head start for planning for life after high school. Open to girls in grades 9-12, GU is a program sponsored by Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee designed to provide young women and their parents with access to information and professionals who can assist in making important decisions. “The event is designed to give girls a jump-start in preparing for college,” explains Lynn Palmer, MTSU’s admissions director. “Girls and parents will attend classes led by college experts and business professionals. They will get information to make informed decisions and plan for life after high school.”

Contact Megan Davis, program supervisor for Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, at 615-460-0216.

TR EXTRA

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK--Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to http://www.yeahintheboro.org/, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

“OH, SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG; SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH!—PSALMS 96:1--Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music, based in Nashville, will provide instruction in the performance of Southern Gospel music through July 24 on the MTSU campus. Subjects for daily classes include theory, harmony, songwriting, sight singing and ear training. Private lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar and bass guitar. Electives include classes on how to lead congregational singing and how to build a successful career in gospel music. “The Stamps-Baxter Publishing Co. was, in its day, the premier publisher of Southern Gospel music,” says Dr. Stephen Shearon, MTSU professor of music. The Gaither Vocal Band, Allison Durham Speer, Greater Vision, Ivan Parker, Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs and The Florida Boys are among the artists who have performed free concerts at the school in the past. For more information, go to http://stampsbaxterschool.com/ or contact Shearon at 615-898-5984 or sshearon@mtsu.edu.

SEA HUNT (MINUS LLOYD BRIDGES)--MTSU sophomore Terrance Adams and his fellow representatives of the Diving with a Purpose program will travel to Washington, D.C., today and tomorrow, July 16-17, to accept the “Take Pride in America” award in the Public-Private Partnership category from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Diving with a Purpose (DWP) is a program that trains young African-American divers. “I went to a party one time, and everybody knew how to swim except me,” says Adams, a journalism major from Madison. “I’ve been told by my peers that black people don’t scuba dive or swim. But how can you let a color determine who you are?” Divers in DWP have helped the National Park Service, a division of the Interior Department, to identify and research a number of sunken shipwrecks and develop professional site plans for historical and archaeological sites in Biscayne National Park in Florida. For more information and/or a photo of Terrance Adams, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@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 July. 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.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Sotomayor in the spotlight

The Senate Judiciary Committee begins hearings today on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to fill the slot on the U.S. Supreme Court being vacated by Justice David Souter. The American Bar Association gives Sotomayor a rating of “well qualified,” its highest possible ranking. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says lawyers who have argued cases before her give her high marks. He says Robert J. Anello, president-elect of the Federal Bar Council, told him Sotomayor was “well-informed and active during oral arguments” in the case he argued. Kent A Yalowitz, who lost a case before Sotomayor, told Hudson that Sotomayor is “very smart and generally practical. I think she will make an excellent addition to the Court should she be confirmed.”

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1342.
dhudson@fac.org

Solid as a Rock Blok

Registration opens Wednesday, July 15, for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total).

For more information, go to www.YEAHintheBoro.org, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

STEM cells

MTSU has been awarded a $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation for teacher preparation and leadership in science and math. The latest award includes support for a Master Teaching Fellows Program ($1.5 million) and for the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program ($900,000), both of which will assist in beefing up K-12 education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The MTSU Master Teaching Fellows Program, a five-year project and one of only six such programs across the nation, will place 14 exceptional math and science teachers at high-needs high schools in Rutherford and Davidson counties, with support from STEM industry partners through Mind2Marketplace and the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.

Contact Randy Weiler in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
jweiler@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

LEADING THE WAY--The MTSU Leadership Studies Program has been named as the 2009 Outstanding Leadership Program by the Association of Leadership Educators Inc. Known as ALE, the organization’s representatives will present the award to Dr. Deana Meadows Raffo on Wednesday, July 15, at its annual conference in Providence, R.I., where the MTSU program, a 17-credit, interdisciplinary minor offered to students, will be recognized formally for excellence. An assistant professor of speech and theatre, Raffo said the MTSU Leadership Studies Program “is completing its fifth year, so I feel that the award is an indication that we have a firm foundation in place and are ready for the second phase of development with additional course offerings beyond the core courses.” As of May, the campus-based program has graduated 50 students. To request interviews with Raffo or other members of the leadership program’s committee, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

“OH, SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG; SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH!—PSALMS 96:1--Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music, based in Nashville, will provide instruction in the performance of Southern Gospel music through July 24 on the MTSU campus. Subjects for daily classes include theory, harmony, songwriting, sight singing and ear training. Private lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar and bass guitar. Electives include classes on how to lead congregational singing and how to build a successful career in gospel music. “The Stamps-Baxter Publishing Co. was, in its day, the premier publisher of Southern Gospel music,” says Dr. Stephen Shearon, MTSU professor of music. The Gaither Vocal Band, Allison Durham Speer, Greater Vision, Ivan Parker, Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs and The Florida Boys are among the artists who have performed free concerts at the school in the past. For more information, go to http://stampsbaxterschool.com or contact Shearon at 615-898-5984 or sshearon@mtsu.edu.

SEA HUNT (MINUS LLOYD BRIDGES)--MTSU sophomore Terrance Adams and his fellow representatives of the Diving with a Purpose program will travel to Washington, D.C., July 16-17 to accept the “Take Pride in America” award in the Public-Private Partnership category from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Diving with a Purpose (DWP) is a program that trains young African-American divers. “I went to a party one time, and everybody knew how to swim except me,” says Adams, a journalism major from Madison. “I’ve been told by my peers that black people don’t scuba dive or swim. But how can you let a color determine who you are?” Divers in DWP have helped the National Park Service, a division of the Interior Department, to identify and research a number of sunken shipwrecks and develop professional site plans for historical and archaeological sites in Biscayne National Park in Florida. For more information and/or a photo of Terrance Adams, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@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 July. 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.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Learning and earning

Dr. Murat Arik, associate director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, studied a 14-county area of Tennessee located between Nashville and Huntsville and found a need for a better-educated workforce to meet the demands of a 21st century economy. Arik writes in Tennessee’s Business, “The workforce in the southern middle Tennessee counties has a deficit in educational attainment compared to the U.S. In order for these counties, already experiencing significant economic decline, to emerge as a globally competitive manufacturing region, they should develop policies to upgrade skill and education levels of the existing workforce. In doing so, these counties are likely to increase employment opportunities as well as income level for the unemployed and underemployed labor force.”

Contact Arik at 615-898-5424.
marik@mtsu.edu

Metro misery

Knoxville is the only major municipal area in Tennessee with an unemployment rate below nine percent, according to preliminary figures showing the jobless rate as a percent of the labor force. Knoxville posted an 8.8 percent jobless rate in May. Chattanooga and Nashville each had a 9.3 percent rate. In Memphis, 9.7 percent of the work force was unemployed. Clarksville’s unemployment rate was identical to the statewide jobless rate at 10.3 percent. That’s higher than the national rate of 9.7 percent.

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

Misdiagnosed malady

One of the reasons the rate of autism in this country is difficult to determine is that it frequently is diagnosed as some other condition. Ed Evans, head of MTSU’s student organization Students for Autism Awareness, says, “Many physicians and treatment programs will be tried. If you’re lucky, you will find one that will work. Once again, this is rare. In most instances, misdiagnosis is the common occurrence as psychiatrists are the one who make the diagnosis. Bipolar (disorder), schizophrenia and clinical depression are more commonly the diagnosis. However, in today’s world, autism is being labeled on every child who exhibits any of the classic signs and may do more harm than good. Mood-altering and behavior medication is handed out like candy, and the root problem goes untreated.” (Evans is the father of two autistic children.)

Contact Evans at 615-493-7379.
edevans43@comcast.net

TR EXTRA

LEADING THE WAY--The MTSU Leadership Studies Program has been named as the 2009 Outstanding Leadership Program by the Association of Leadership Educators Inc. Known as ALE, the organization’s representatives will present the award to Dr. Deana Meadows Raffo on Wednesday, July 15, at its annual conference in Providence, R.I., where the MTSU program, a 17-credit, interdisciplinary minor offered to students, will be recognized formally for excellence. An assistant professor of speech and theatre, Raffo said the MTSU Leadership Studies Program “is completing its fifth year, so I feel that the award is an indication that we have a firm foundation in place and are ready for the second phase of development with additional course offerings beyond the core courses.” As of May, the campus-based program has graduated 50 students. To request interviews with Raffo or other members of the leadership program’s committee, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

“OH, SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG; SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH!—PSALMS 96:1--Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music, based in Nashville, will provide instruction in the performance of Southern Gospel music July 12-24 on the MTSU campus. Subjects for daily classes include theory, harmony, songwriting, sight singing and ear training. Private lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar and bass guitar. Electives include classes on how to lead congregational singing and how to build a successful career in gospel music. “The Stamps-Baxter Publishing Co. was, in its day, the premier publisher of Southern Gospel music,” says Dr. Stephen Shearon, MTSU professor of music. The Gaither Vocal Band, Allison Durham Speer, Greater Vision, Ivan Parker, Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs and The Florida Boys are among the artists who have performed free concerts at the school in the past. For more information, go to http://stampsbaxterschool.com or contact Shearon at 615-898-5984 or sshearon@mtsu.edu.

SEA HUNT (MINUS LLOYD BRIDGES)--MTSU sophomore Terrance Adams and his fellow representatives of the Diving with a Purpose program will travel to Washington, D.C., July 16-17 to accept the “Take Pride in America” award in the Public-Private Partnership category from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Diving with a Purpose (DWP) is a program that trains young African-American divers. “I went to a party one time, and everybody knew how to swim except me,” says Adams, a journalism major from Madison. “I’ve been told by my peers that black people don’t scuba dive or swim. But how can you let a color determine who you are?” Divers in DWP have helped the National Park Service, a division of the Interior Department, to identify and research a number of sunken shipwrecks and develop professional site plans for historical and archaeological sites in Biscayne National Park in Florida. For more information and/or a photo of Terrance Adams, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@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 July. 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.