Friday, August 7, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The grad and the dad share the same pad.

With the unemployment rate in Tennessee in double digits, will we see the return of the extended family living under one roof in order to save money? Dr. Brandon Wallace, sociology, says, “It is not uncommon for adult children to move back in with their parents in times of crisis or financial hardship. I suspect if we see an increase of extended households, it will be because struggling adult children move back in with their parents whose houses are paid for, whose jobs are more stable or Social Security is guaranteed, and, in many cases, who have far more savings and investments to fall back on in times of crisis than their children do, even with the decline in the stock market.”

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

Going south

A 14-county area in southern middle Tennessee was once a beehive of traditional manufacturing activity. However, this region, recently studied by Dr. Murat Arik, associate director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, has “suffered major economic setbacks: first, through the flight of manufacturing companies overseas and, second, due to the recent prolonged economic crisis,” he writes in Tennessee’s Business. “The manufacturing sector is still the major source of employment, accounting for more than one-third of jobs in Bedford, Giles, Lincoln, Marshall, Perry, and Warren counties as of the third quarter of 2008. In the rest of the counties, employment makes up about 20 percent of the manufacturing sector. Compared to the third quarter of 2005, the manufacturing sector shed nearly 9,000 jobs (a 24 percent decline) in the 14-county region.”

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

ASD, you see

An MTSU professor has developed a new curriculum for professionals who work with children who have autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Lesley Craig-Unkefer created the master’s level classes titled Introduction to ASD and Methods of Introduction for Students. There is discussion that MTSU is positioned to create an ASD teaching certification if Tennessee allows such a certification or licensure in the future. The intro class debuted in spring 2009 and will be offered again this fall. Beyond the current ASD offerings Craig-Unkefer teaches, there are plans for an ASD practicum, she notes, and “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.

TR EXTRA

THE PLACE FOR POLITICS--Dr. Stephen Morris, new chair of the MTSU Department of Political Science, will be Gina Logue’s guest at 7 a.m. this Sunday, August 9, on “MTSU On the Record” on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Morris comes to MTSU from the University of South Alabama, where he was director of the International Studies Program and a political science professor. His research and teaching interests include the politics of Mexico, Latin America, and political corruption and political economy. This fall, Morris will teach a special topics course in political corruption on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “It’s very difficult to define corruption,” Morris says. “It’s even more difficult to measure it, but, in a sense, that gets us into the cultural side of the equation. It’s a topic that bridges culture, institutions, political systems and economic systems.” For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

WALKING THE WALK--Dr. Alfred Lutz, professor for the Department of English and the current MTSU representative of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Faculty Subcouncil, will be the main speaker at the MTSU summer commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Aug. 8, at Murphy Center. The university will present degrees to 681 undergraduates and 255 graduate students. The proceedings will be available via Webcast for those who are unable to attend in person and who have access to the Internet. Go to www.mtsu.edu; under the A to Z index along the top, click on “Graduation;” click on “Streaming Video of Commencement.” You will need Window Media Player, or read the directions provided to access the Webcast. Please note that the link will not be active until approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony. For more information, contact the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

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.