Friday, May 14, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

I feel you.

Some marketers don’t want to engage in “touchy-feely” promotion techniques. They think that facts and figures are all the public wants to hear when deciding whether to put their faith in a product or service. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, takes issue with that approach. In the midst of the recent flooding, one of Roy’s Facebook friends posted “I Love You Nashville” on his Facebook page. The comment “led me to ask myself how many students would say the same thing about my organization, Middle Tennessee State University,” says Roy. “Customers can develop feelings of attachment, commitment, and yes, love for your brands and company. They purchase your products loyally, eagerly tell others about you, and stick with you during tough times. What are you doing to build loving relationships with your customers?”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

Tastes like chicken?

Food processing companies don’t always level with consumers. Some five to seven percent of the U.S. food supply is tainted by “food fraud,” according to a Michigan State University study. Examples include honey promoted as 100 percent pure when, in fact, it is diluted with sugar beets or corn syrup, and catfish filets sold as red snapper or grouper. Where are the federal regulators? Dr. Tony Johnston, agriculture and agriscience, says, “The beauty of our food system is that federal law puts the responsibility for producing safe and accurately labeled food products on the shoulders of the producers rather than the government. These laws have, in effect, made every food company a ‘police officer’ in the fight against food fraud. The federal government’s role is to provide guidance and enforce policy rather than screen our food and ensure its safety.”

Contact Johnston at 615-898-2421.
johnston@mtsu.edu

Going through CUSTOMS

CUSTOMS orientation at MTSU will get underway Wednesday, May 26, and run through late July. Two-day sessions will acquaint students with what will be their academic and social home for the next four years. Admissions, Financial Aid, Housing and Residential Life, advising and other departments will be involved with the orientation process that will integrate new students into the intellectual, cultural and social climate of the university. Gina Poff, director of New Student and Family Programs, says organizers “are adding orientation leaders to work specifically with parents” this year. The general assembly portion of CUSTOMS will move to Murphy Center since Tucker Theatre is under renovation. CUSTOMS participants will be taken onto the field at Floyd Stadium at the beginning of the morning for a video message from head football coach Rick Stockstill.

For more information, visit www.mtsu.edu/customs
or call 615-898-2454.

TR EXTRA

IF I COULD TALK TO THE ANIMALS--Dr. Angela Mertig, professor of sociology, will discuss her “Animals and Society” course at 8 a.m. this Sunday, May 16, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Students will examine the role that animals play in society, how animals have been viewed and treated by humans over time, and what it means to say that humans are animals. Mertig also will take a look at the purposes of the animal welfare movement and the animal rights movement and what sociology can tell us about the relationships among animals, people and society. The class is scheduled for May 17-June 5 Monday-Friday from 12:30-3:30 p.m. in Room 218 of Peck Hall on the MTSU campus. Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

ADOPT A VET--The Albert Gore Research Center is an official partner in the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. The center participates as part of its public service mission. Currently, the Gore Center has about 50 veterans of World War II and Korea on its list of those willing to be interviewed for the Veterans History Project at MTSU, but these vets are in their 80s and 90s. It is urgent that the Gore Center have funds in hand to record their stories in 2010. With each tax-deductible contribution of only $50, the Gore Center can fund one interview with a WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War or Iraq/Afghanistan veteran, or a civilian who supported the war effort by working in war industries or volunteering for the USO, Red Cross or other support organizations. Your donation will pay for tapes and other supplies, transcription, permanent archiving and posting of the materials on a website. For more information, go to http://gorecenter.mtsu.edu/adoptvet.hem.

WORKING WOMEN--The June S. Anderson Foundation will present the foundation scholarships for the 2010-2011 academic year to Katherine Anderson of Manchester and Rhonda Davidson of Martin, at a luncheon at 12 p.m. today, May 14, at the MTSU Foundation House, 324 W. Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro. The foundation awards full tuition stipends annually to full-time MTSU undergraduate women who are 23 years of age or older and who are preparing for careers in nontraditional fields for women. Anderson (no relation to June Anderson) is pursuing an undergraduate degree in accounting and is on course to graduate in May 2011. From there, she plans to enter graduate school at MTSU and earn a master’s degree in business administration. Davidson, a 43-year-old single woman majoring in construction management, says she believes she will be able to find employment with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when she completes her degree in 2012. For more information, go to the foundation website at http://frank.mtsu.edu/~jsa/.

APRENDA CON ME--The University School of Nashville is hosting MTSU’s 2010 Summer Language Institute, where you can learn Spanish in a fun, low-stress environment. The methods employed are Total Physical Response (TPR) and Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). These methods mimic the way you learned your first language. Movement, games, songs and storytelling are all part of the instruction. Brian Roberts will teach Spanish I for ages 16 and up from July 19-23 at the University School and from Aug. 2-6 at the O’More School of Design in Franklin. Jason Fritze will teach Spanish II for ages 16 and up from July 19-23 at the University School. The cost for all language classes is $350 with a $20 materials fee due on the first day of class. Contact Dr. Shelley Thomas at 615-898-5757 or shthomas@mtsu.edu.