Thursday, November 19, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

For the health of it

With the caveat that anecdotal evidence doesn’t necessarily lend itself to generalizations, Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, has a perspective on health care reform that is informed by his personal experience. In a column in the latest edition of Tennessee’s Business, Burton expresses gratitude for the care he received when he suffered a heart problem, a bleeding ulcer and a knee replacement at different times in his life. “I believe the plans currently under consideration by Congress are ill-advised,” Burton writes. “Every bit of historical evidence I can find indicates that more government involvement in the process will make it less efficient, less effective, less professional, and more costly—in a word, worse.”

Contact Burton at 615-898-2764.
eburton@mtsu.edu

The gang’s all here!

A federal judge has ruled that a New York student who was punished for allegedly running afoul of his school’s anti-gang policy can pursue his claim that his Constitutional rights were violated. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, said the judge agreed that the school’s policy was flawed and cited several cases on point, including “Stephenson v. Davenport Community School District (8th Cir. 1997) and Chalifoux v. New Caney Independent School District (S.D. Tex. 1997), in which school officials invalidated bans against gang-related symbols or attire.” In Stephenson, the court “struck down a school policy barring ‘gang-related activities’ in the context of a student’s allegedly wearing a tattoo with a gang symbol. In Chalifoux, a federal judge threw out a school policy against gang-related attire that was applied to a student who wore rosary beads to school.”

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

Giving ‘em the business

Joe Kustelski, project manager for the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, will discuss “The Middle Tennessee Business Climate and the Role of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center” at 11:20 a.m. today, Nov. 19, in Room S343 of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. Kustelski’s address is part of Global Entrepreneurship Week activities at MTSU. All Global Entrepreneurship Week 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.

TR EXTRA

BEST BIZ--Ed Friz, instructor in MTSU’s Department of Management and Marketing, assigned his two classes the task of coming up with promotional campaigns to increase customer traffic in four target markets by one percent at Best Buy in Murfreesboro. The classes are divided into six teams of four to five students each. Today, Nov. 19, executives from the local Best Buy and one executive from the company’s national headquarters will judge the presentations in two sessions—one at 1 p.m. and one at 2:40 p.m.—in Room S276 of the Business and Aerospace Building. Judges will consider campaign content, organization, presentation, and creativity, as well as team appearance and professional demeanor. Members of the winning two teams will be interviewed for a chance to earn two paid internships at Best Buy. Media welcomed, but please come at around 12:30 so the presentations will not be disrupted. Contact Friz at 615-494-8864 or efriz@mtsu.edu.

HAIL THE HEROES!--MTSU’s Black History Month Committee is accepting nominations for unsung heroes to be honored at the annual Unity Luncheon, which is slated for Feb. 3, 2010. Nominees must be individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their community, are age 60 or older and have lived in the Middle Tennessee area for 25 years or more. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, Dec. 11. To nominate a person worthy of this great traditional honor, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/aahm/nominations/shtml and fill in the online questionnaire. For more information, contact Valerie Avent, assistant director of the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs at 615-898-2718 or vavent@mtsu.edu.

“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.