Friday, November 13, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

And when I die

“MTSU on the Record,” the 30-minute public affairs program that connects MTSU with the community at large, is moving to 8 a.m. each Sunday morning from its previous time of 7 a.m. on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). This Sunday, Nov. 15, Dr. Kris McCusker, associate professor of history, will talk with host Gina Logue about her research into the impact of public health policy from 1918-1945 on attitudes toward death and dying in the South. “In the South, whether one was black or white, death was a common and important part of the region’s self-conception, its ‘mind,’ in writer W.J. Cash’s words, since the death of young and old alike was ever present,” McCusker writes. “What happened, then, when public health policy, which assumed that dying was bad except in old age or on a battlefield, infiltrated the South?”

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

Go global

A passport to a world of new and exciting possibilities awaits MTSU students at the annual Study Abroad Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, on the second floor of the Keathley University Center. Rhonda Waller, director of Education Abroad and Student Exchange, says this year’s fair will be the biggest ever in terms of opportunities to travel to countries all over the world for the learning experience of a lifetime. Exchange programs offered by MTSU can send students to Brazil, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Japan, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom. In addition, relationships with a number of consortia provide students with numerous other options.

Contact Waller at 615-898-5179.
mtabroad@mtsu.edu

The trade grade

Tennessee has endured its worst second quarter international trade performance in five years, says Dr. Steven Livingston, editor of Global Commerce. “At $4,725,150, 346, Tennessee’s foreign sales were more than a billion dollars (19.5 percent) lower than in the second quarter of last year,” Livingston says. “The good news, if you wish to call it that, is that the state’s losses were more modest than that experienced by the U.S. as a whole (down 27 percent), let alone by many other nations that saw their exports off by 30 percent or more. Losses were nearly worldwide. … All in all, not the best of times. The question now is when and how fast will be the recovery? July exports were roughly flat from a year ago, which at least provided some evidence that the fall has stopped. We now wait for the turnaround.”

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

TR EXTRA

PLAY LAUGH, GROW--The MTSU-based Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will present Dr. Thomas Rowland speaking on “The Biological Basis of Physical Activity in Youth” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. Rowland is Director of Pediatric Cardiology at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., and Professor of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine. He has written more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and presented nearly 80 keynote talks to national and international audiences on a wide range of topics, including developmental exercise physiology, the effects of lifestyle on cardiovascular function in children, iron deficiency in adolescent athletes and determinants of exercise performance in youth. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Don Morgan at 615-898-5549 or dmorgan@mtsu.edu.

BURRITOS FOR BABIES--Up ‘til Dawn will host a percentage night from 6-9 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16, at Blue Coast Burrito, 1122 Memorial Blvd. in Murfreesboro. A percentage of your purchase will go to the Up ‘til Dawn program at MTSU if you let the staff know you are there on behalf of the program. Up ‘til Dawn is a nationwide, student-led, student-run program to raise funds for and awareness of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Though called Up ‘til Dawn, the program usually takes place throughout the academic year and provides opportunities in leadership for college students, allowing them to gain valuable work experience by organizing and participating in fundraising activities. For more information, contact Edgard Izaguirre at 270-987-2448 or eizag001@gmail.com.

“A KALEIDOSCOPIC PHANTASMAGORIA”—NBC EXECUTIVE PAT WEAVER DESCRIBING MONITOR RADIO--The November 2009 edition of “Middle Tennessee Record” is a kaleidoscopic phantasmagoria indeed. This month, the program features perspectives from Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, Georgia State University Professor Emeritus Donald Ratajczak, and MTSU students on the state of the economy; the poignant expressions of Holocaust liberators and survivors at MTSU’s ninth biennial International Holocaust Studies Conference; and an exhibit displaying the dazzling lineup of stars who have appeared at Murphy Center over the years—everyone from Garth Brooks to Elton John. To see the cable TV schedule or view the video online, go to mtsunews.com and click on “Middle Tennessee Record.” For more information, contact John Lynch at 615-898-5591 or jlynch@mtsu.edu.

IN MEMORIAM--As part of MTSU’s 28th annual Salute to Armed Forces/Veterans Day activities, the MTSU Veterans Memorial Committee will celebrate the completion of the wall and the implantation of commemorative brick pavers at the memorial site with a formal ceremony at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, Nov. 14, in front of the Tom H. Jackson Building on the campus. A multibranch color guard, remarks by special guests and the playing of “Taps” are among the tributes on the ceremonial agenda. A time capsule containing publicity, fundraising memorabilia, photos and blueprints, among other items, will be embedded in the ground near the memorial after the ceremony. The names of 63 members of the MTSU community who perished in the service of their country are engraved on the north side of the wall, a bisected light gray polished granite structure. For more information, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/military/memorial/index.shtml.

I’LL GRANT YOU THAT.--The MTSU President’s Commission on the Status of Women is offering three grants of $1,800 each to faculty members who want to integrate the experiences and perspectives of women into the curriculum. The grants are intended for use in the summer of 2010. The 2009 winners include Dr. Gretchen Webber, sociology, for her new undergraduate course “Gender, Work and Family in the 21st Century; Dr. Meredith Huey Dye, sociology, for her special topics course “Women in Prison;” and Dr. Tricia Farwell, journalism, for her “Advertising and Social Media” course. The deadline for faculty to submit applications for the 2010 grants is Jan. 19. For more information, contact Dr. Samantha Cantrell at 615-494-8751 or scantrel@mtsu.edu.

PICTURES OF YOU, PICTURES OF ME--A different take on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is on display in Stan Strembicki’s exhibit “Memory Loss/Lost Library” in the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in the Learning Resources Center at MTSU. Strembicki has been photographing the streets, people and events of New Orleans since 1984. Returning after Katrina, he was drawn to photograph not the ubiquitous crushed homes or overturned cars, but the subtler tragedy of washed-away personal ephemera in the debris of the Lower Ninth Ward. “Memory Loss/Lost Library” will be on display until Dec. 9. Exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu.

MICKEY MAKES A SCHEDULE CHANGE--The date of the Disney Keys to Excellence Conference hosted by MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business at the Sheraton Downtown Nashville has been changed to Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is a rare opportunity to take an exclusive look at the "business behind the magic" from Walt Disney World© insiders, who will share the successful business practices and unique philosophies that have made the Disney name synonymous with creativity, quality, and innovation the world over. To learn more and to register, go to www.keysnashville.com or call 877-544-2384.