Thursday, August 6, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

No bones about it

There’s more to learning than ingesting information and regurgitating it on a test. Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says the ability to solve problems logically using abstract concepts is a must, especially in chemistry and mathematics. “In other words, memorizing every diagram in Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body does not a physician make,” says MacDougall. “Medical schools, much like engineering schools, are annually infused with those students who have excelled at learning and are eager to develop their skills in solving complex problems. We have a healthy population and still lead in most advanced technologies largely because our nation’s professional schools are the envy of the world. … If you are not a student or a teacher, you might be wondering how this affects you. The answer, in case you haven’t figured it out already, is that the education bone is connected to the economy bone.”

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

WIRED and inspired

Forty-five MTSU students from eight counties in southern Tennessee have received scholarships worth $4,000 each for the 2009-2010 academic year to pursue study in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM). The counties include Franklin, Giles, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall and Maury. The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Scholarships were awarded from the U.S. Department of Labor to students in 23 total counties in Tennessee and Alabama. Recipients attend both two-year and four-year institutions. MTSU recipients will be required to visit the campus in mid-August to complete all the necessary paperwork. The funds support students pursuing associate, bachelor’s and graduate degrees in STEM fields.

For more information about the WIRED scholarship, contact the MTSU Office of Financial Aid at 615-898-2242.

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.

TR EXTRA

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. this Saturday, 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 http://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 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.