Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

You’ve gotta be a football hero.

The 2010 college football season is underway and Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says there are lessons that businesses can learn from the sport. For example, one of college football’s most durable selling points is tradition. Roy says, “The most successful college football programs in terms of attendance, licensed merchandise sales and overall fan interest have a history of greatness when it comes to appealing to fans. Alabama, Texas, Ohio State and Notre Dame are examples of programs with winning traditions and legendary players and coaches that span generations. The lore of these programs adds to their appeal today. How can tradition be cultivated in your organization, externally with customers and internally with employees? Do you have a legendary product? Ad campaign? Logo? Other marketing asset that can be leveraged to build a bridge to the past?”

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

Leaning on learning

Dr. Michelle Arnold, associate director of admissions, conducted a comparative study of college honors students versus traditional students as it relates to social and academic integration. “The purpose was to provide further evidence on potential determinants of college student involvement and academic success, particularly on honors students,” writes Arnold. Aspects of the student experience examined in the study included academic exchange, interactions with faculty, active and collaborative learning, supportive campus environment and enriching educational experiences. “Some significant differences were found, but overall the two groups were similar in many ways,” writes Arnold. “Their academic credentials may be on different levels, but results from this study showed both groups averaged very close to the same opinion about their experiences at the institution.”

Contact Arnold at 615-898-5280.
marnold@mtsu.edu

The Blue Pencil Doctrine

Depending on the state in which a noncompete agreement is created, there might be a judicial standard for determining whether to invalidate the whole deal or only a few offending words. This is called the blue pencil doctrine. Drs. Patrick Geho and Stephen Lewis write, “Courts in states that recognize the blue pencil doctrine may attempt to reform the noncompete agreement to create an enforceable agreement from what otherwise would violate the law in that state. … States are less inclined to apply the blue pencil doctrine approach in modifying a noncompete agreement when it appears that employers are over-reaching in the ‘terms and conditions language’ of the noncompete agreement and when employers use the agreement’s broad language as a firewall and a deterrent to employees competing.”

Contact Geho at 615-898-2745 or pgeho@mtsu.edu.
Contact Lewis at 615-898-2902 or slewis@mtsu.edu.

TR EXTRA

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.