Monday, November 16, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Tech trek

“Celebrate Your World with GIS” is the theme of this year’s annual GIS Day, an open-house event that will get underway from 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the Tom H. Jackson Building’s Cantrell Hall on the MTSU Campus. Held each year on the Wednesday of the National Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week (Nov. 16-20 in 2009), GIS Day is a global event initiated to help raise awareness about geographic information system technology and its many contributions to the field of science, technology, information and the humanities. “The power supply directed to homes, the patrol cars and fire trucks that keep neighborhoods safe and the delivery trucks on the road all function more efficiently because of GIS,” says Dr. Tom Nolan, director of MTSU’s Laboratory for Spatial Technology.

Contact Nolan at 615-898-5561.
tnolan@mtsu.edu

Entrepreneur for sure

MTSU celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week this week with events designed to help people turn their ideas into income. At 9:45 a.m. today, Nov. 16, Steve Moore, President of the Country Music Association, will speak on “Risk Evaluation and Risk Mitigation” in Room 101 of the Bragg Mass Communication Building. At 12:40 p.m., Matthew T. Blomeley, Principal Planner for the Murfreesboro Planning and Engineering Department will discuss “Zoning and Planning Issues: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know” in Room S338 of the Business and Aerospace Building. All events are open to the public, and media are welcomed. For a complete listing of the week’s events, go to www.mtsu.edu/~entre.

For more information, call 615-898-2902.

The port report

The MTSU Business and Economic Research Center (BERC) was retained by the Northwest Tennessee Regional Port Authority to assess how a proposed investment in the Port of Cates Landing would affect the economy of Lake, Dyer and Obion counties and surrounding areas. The analysts concluded that the proposed infrastructural investment of $35 million would result in between 406 and 2,184 new jobs in the short run and between 1,703 and 2,355 new permanent jobs. The study also found that the proposed investment would boost the local payroll by $45.2 million, increase local government revenues by $8.5 million and increase per capita income by 3.9 percent.

For more information, contact Dr. Murat Arik or Dr. David Penn at the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

TR EXTRA

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. tomorrow, 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 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.

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. tomorrow, 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. tonight, 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.

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.