Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.”--Confucius

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee will host a ceremonial signing of the Confucius Institute agreement with representatives from its Chinese partner institution, Hangzhou Normal University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, today, Dec. 1, at 10 a.m. in Room 106 of MTSU’s Peck Hall. Founded in 2004, the Confucius Institute is a nonprofit organization established to strengthen educational cooperation between China and other countries. The programs supported by the institute are designed to enhance the understanding of Chinese language and culture, deepen friendly relations between China and other nations and promote the development of multiculturalism and global harmony. MTSU is making plans to host the grand opening of its institute in spring 2010.

Contact Dr. Guanping Zheng, associate professor in the Department of Electronic Media Communication, at 615-904-8365.
gzheng@mtsu.edu

Peace be with you

Representatives of the Peace Corps will visit MTSU from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, Dec. 1, and tomorrow, Dec. 2, in the lobby of Keathley University Center (KUC) to encourage graduating seniors to participate actively in national service by working overseas as volunteers. Additionally, a GlobeTalk Information Session is slated for 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3, in Room 318 of the KUC. “Currently, we expect over 15,000 applications for 3,800 assignments in 74 countries,” says David Leavitt, public affairs specialist. “We encourage students to visit with us to gain a better understanding how to competitively apply for these limited positions.” Currently, seven MTSU alumni are serving overseas in Samoa, Kyrgyz Republic, Gambia, Tanzania, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Honduras. Sixty-six MTSU alumni have served since the Peace Corps’ inception in 1961.

Contact Leavitt or Toby Rowell at 404-562-3472.
dleavitt@peacecorps.gov
trowell@peacecorps.gov

Home sales, sweet home sales

Tennessee Housing Market, a publication of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center (BERC), reports that housing sales in Tennessee are looking up. According to the latest edition, third-quarter single-family home construction and sales of homes for the Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville areas rose compared to the second quarter. “Both sales and construction of single-family homes increased during the quarter, benefitting from low mortgage rates, the first-time buyers’ income tax credit and high HFA qualifying thresholds,” writes Dr. David Penn, director of the BERC. “Aggregate measures of economic activity continued to weaken, however, as job losses continued across a variety of sectors. Achieving sustained improvement in the housing market will be difficult without job and income increases.”

Contact the BERC at 615-898-2610.

TR EXTRA

CHEMICAL CAPERS--Dr. Richard N. “Dick” Zare, Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Natural Science and department chair at Stanford University, will present a community lecture, “How to be Successful,” at 7 p.m. tonight, Dec. 1, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. Zare also will present a student lecture, “The Joys of Chemical Discovery,” at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 2, in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building Amphitheater, Room 106. These events are sponsored by the Distinguished Lecture Series.

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS--The first annual Department of Accounting CPE (Continuing Professional Education) Day at MTSU will be held Thursday, Dec. 10, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. Seminars during the conference include presentations on Ponzi schemes and fraud, international financial reporting standards, accounting and financial reporting, auditing and taxation. Participants can earn up to eight hours of CPE credit. The cost is $150, which includes all seminars, materials and lunch. Due to limited seating, participants should register early. Visit http://www.mtsu.edu/accounting or call the MTSU Department of Accounting at 615-898-5306.

SAY IT TO THE SECRETARY—“Student Voices on Education: A National Town Hall Meeting with Arne Duncan” has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, live on the Education Resource Channel@Middle Tennessee. Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, will serve as moderator for the broadcast, which will air live in Murfreesboro on Comcast Channel 9. The program is part of the monthly “Education News Parents Can Use” series that airs evenings on ERC@MT during the K-12 school year. Gail Fedak, director for Instructional Media Resources at MTSU, says the program’s town hall-focused format will allow for call-in and e-mail questions. In turn, schools in Rutherford County that normally receive the university’s K-12 programming on ERC@MT, as well as interested community members, may tune in to participate in the live discussion. Contact Fedak at 615-898-2740 or gfedak@mtsu.edu.

BOOK IT!--The University Writing Center at MTSU is joining forces with Project Help and Murfreesboro City Schools Outreach during the holiday season to encourage children’s literacy. In its team effort to promote the cause, UWC staff will accept new and gently used children’s books now through Wednesday, Dec. 9, as well as money donations, which will go toward the purchase of youth titles. Meagan McManus, a peer mentor and UWC writing assistant, says members of the UWC staff will attend Project Help’s fall semester celebration on Thursday, Dec. 17, to share some of the donated books with the lab’s children. Donations are accepted in Room 325 of Peck Hall from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, contact the UWC at 615-904-8237 or e-mail McManus at mcm2r@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.

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 Tuesday, 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 Wednesday, Dec. 9. Exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu.