Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Textbook ‘em, Danno!

The Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governor’s Association’s Center for Best Practices might have launched a pre-emptive strike against the Texas school board’s March vote to give the K-12 curriculum in that state a conservative slant. Dr. Willis Means, elementary and special education, says the CCSSO and the CBP that same week “unveiled a draft set of common curriculum standards for English/language arts and mathematics. Might the Lone Star’s covert influence over K-12 education, wielded through its textbook adoption practices, have been dimmed by the overt action of (the two groups) to, (as they put it in a joint statement), ‘define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs?’”

Contact Means at 615-494-8871.
hmeans@mtsu.edu

Burning the midnight oil

MTSU’s James E. Walker Library will continue to observe later hours this week to serve students studying for final exams. Tonight, May 5, the library will remain open until 3 a.m. Tomorrow, May 6, the hours are 7 a.m.-10 p.m. On Friday, May 7, the hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. On Saturday, May 8, the library will be closed for commencement. In addition, the Starbucks café inside the library will observe longer hours, closing one hour before the library’s closing time this week. The schedule adjustment was made in response to a Student Government Association resolution which called for the library to be open 24 hours a day during the end-of-the-semester studying period. However, library officials say, in the absence of sufficient personnel to provide around-the-clock service, they believe the extended schedule will be helpful.

Contact the library at 615-898-2772.

I like your style.

America’s relationship with the Middle East defies conventional clichés and stereotypes. Dr. Allen Hibbard, director of MTSU’s Middle East Center, has traveled extensively in the region. He says, “Almost anywhere you go in the Middle East, you meet people with relatives or friends in the U.S. When you meet and (they) find you are an American, they will tell you about their cousin in Indiana or Florida or their friend in Los Angeles or Chicago, expending that you night know him (or her). Arab attitudes and feelings toward the U.S. are complicated and at times contradictory. It might come as a surprise to many of us that there has been a good deal of goodwill and respect for the U.S. among many in the Middle East. There is, in general, admiration for our system of government, the development of our economic strength over the past couple of centuries, and our educational system.”

Contact Hibbard at 615-494-8809.
ahibbard@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

DR. MCD.--A memorial service will be held Friday, May 7, at 2 p.m. at Woodfin Memorial Chapel in Murfreesboro for Dr. John N. McDaniel, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Visitation will be from 12-2 p.m. that same day. McDaniel, one of the most beloved members of the MTSU community, died Monday at Middle Tennessee Medical Center. A member of the faculty since 1970, McDaniel joined the English department as an assistant professor before ultimately becoming chairman in 1978. He was named Liberal Arts dean in 1987. “John McDaniel was the face and the heart of the College of Liberal Arts for the quarter-century he served as its dean,” says Dr. Mark Byrnes, associate dean. “His devotion to the college and the university was complete. Generations of faculty members, department chairs and students benefited from his steady leadership.” In lieu of flowers, donations in McDaniel’s honor may be made to the John N. McDaniel Teaching Excellence Award in care of Robyn Kilpatrick, MTSU, Box 109, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132.

A FOREIGN AFFAIR--MTSU junior Aaron Shew will depart for Turkey around May 14 for study experiences that will enhance not only his education but his prestige and his portfolio. Shew, a double major in plant and soil science and international relations from Murfreesboro, will join students from other institutions in a conflict resolution course in Cyprus and Turkey at his own expense. Through June 9, Shew will question government diplomats on best practices for negotiating solutions to thorny issues between countries. From there, Shew will head back to Lucknow, India, where he studied in the summer of 2009 under a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) from the U.S. Department of State, for extensive instruction in the Urdu language. His summer studies will be funded with another CLS. The 2010-2011 academic year is covered under a fully endowed fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies. For an interview with Shew, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.