Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Better fantasy, better ads, Papa John’s!

Fantasy football leagues aren’t just marketing tools for the usual suspects such as the NFL and ESPN. To mark the start of the new season, Papa John’s Pizza is inviting fans to register to win a fantasy football draft party with food delivered by former NFL star Cris Carter. Another Papa John’s contest in which fantasy league commissioners will register their leagues to be judged and rated offers a grand prize of a trip to the real 2011 NFL Draft. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “Marketing opportunities can be relatively easy to spot in a sense; after all, it is not a stretch to see the connection between eating pizza and watching football. The challenge is developing creative tactics that allow a brand to take advantage of the connection. In this case, if Papa John’s only bought advertising on a fantasy football game site, it would be missing an opportunity to make more meaningful connections with fantasy football players.”

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

We can be heroes just for one day.

How much mileage can Presidents of the United States get out of recognizing ordinary citizens as heroes in speeches? Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College and Constitutional law scholar, says it depends on the skillfulness of the particular chief executive. “It is not surprising that a president like (Ronald) Reagan, who was generally good at communicating, used the mechanism much more effectively than a president, like George H.W. Bush, who generally was not,” says Vile. “The effectiveness of the practice is influenced by many factors, including, but not limited to the appropriateness of the honoree or honorees in the context of the time, the perceived sincerity and skill of the president utilizing the practice, and the reaction of the individuals being recognized.”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Giving them the business

Dr. Jim Burton, dean of MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business, has attained the status of “Certified Director” from the John E. Anderson School of Management at the University of California at Los Angeles. The designation represents a higher level of endorsement that entitles him to sit on corporate boards of directors and participate in the corporate governance of major companies throughout the nation. “There are a number of schools of business in the country that offer training programs for directors,” Burton says, “but this is the only one that I’m aware of that has any sort of certification process at the end of it.”

Contact Tom Tozer in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

TR EXTRA

THE WRITE STUFF--The Margaret H. Ordoubadian University Writing Center will hold an Open House from 2-5 p.m. tomorrow, Sept. 1, at its new location in Room 362 of MTSU’s James E. Walker Library. A cross-curriculum tutoring service, the UWC offers writing help to any student on any writing project. Our staff of graduate and undergraduate peer tutors works with students individually and in groups to recognize patterns of weaknesses and determine long-term strategies for writing improvement. For more information, call the UWC at 615-904-8237 or visit the website at www.mtsu.edu/uwc.

IF YOU YEARN TO LEARN—“Adventures in Learning,” the annual mini-school for adults age 50 and above, will take place from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 13, Sept. 20, Sept. 27 and Oct. 4 at First United Methodist Church, 265 W. Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro. The purpose of the event, which is planned by an interfaith coalition, is to provide a program by and for older adults in which they can shore knowledge, talents and skills for lifelong learning and personal growth. As usual, retired and active MTSU faculty will play prominent roles in the event. A highlight will be “Mount and Mountain,” a dialogue between Dr. Rami Shapiro, adjunct professor of religious studies and an ordained rabbi, and Dr. Michael A. Smith, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro. This class will be based on online conversations Shapiro and Smith conducted about the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. To register, or for more information, contact Mary Belle Ginanni at 615-895-6072.

THE LUNATIC IS ON THE GRASS.--“Us and Them,” a Pink Floyd tribute band, will perform Pink Floyd’s most commercially successful and best-selling album, “Dark Side of the Moon,” at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 4, at The Blue Rooster on the public square in Murfreesboro. The performance is part of a benefit for Autism Speaks, a nonprofit organization. MTSU Department of Recording Industry professors Dale Brown, Bill Crabtree and Cosette Collier and Computer Information Systems professor Amy Hennington are members of the band. Recording Industry professor John Merchant will be the sound engineer. There will be no cover charge for the benefit event, but donations for Autism Speaks will be appreciated. Contact Brown at 615-898-2454 or djbrown@mtsu.edu or Steve Holeman at 615-995-6013 or steve@steveholeman.com.

A BREAK IN THE ACTION--MTSU will be closed Monday, Sept. 6, for the Labor Day holiday. No classes will be held and all offices will be closed. Classes will resume at their regularly scheduled times Tuesday, Sept. 8. All offices will be open from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.