Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Good morning, Sunshine!

The flap between Rutherford County Election Administrator Hooper Penuel and members of the county Election Commission raises some Constitutional issues. The commissioners allegedly held phone conversations about firing Penuel before they met in public to fire Penuel, which would be a violation of the state Sunshine Law. They met again this week and decided to put Penuel on paid leave pending another meeting. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “Believe it or not, all of these political machinations are a victory for the citizens of Tennessee. Once again, politicians have learned they can’t conduct the public’s business in secret. Beyond that, the public has seen them waste the public’s money by having to schedule another meeting. By the end of the day, the results may be the same. But at least this time the public will know what in the world is going on.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

Somewhere under the work force

If employers are looking for talent, they can find workers in jobs that don’t allow them to express their full range of skills in Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore and Warren counties. A study conducted last summer by MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center found that about 18,055 are underemployed and willing to change jobs for a better one, 18,523 were underemployed and looking for a job, and 10,675 are discouraged or other marginally attached workers and willing to work. In addition, the study states, “Although they are not included in this study’s available labor force estimates, some workers are willing to change jobs for a new one even if the new job pays equal to or less than their current wage rate. These workers may be counted as available labor force. However, since these workers are not currently looking for a job, we did not count them as available labor force.”

Contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

Life is just a bowl of questions.

With the start of the fall semester, Dr. Phil Oliver, philosophy, has begun his new class, “The Future of Life.” Oliver says, “’Future’ and ‘life’ both sprawl in an almost untameable way, of course, so we’ll have plenty of parsing to do as we go along. That means even more basic, orienting questions: Is the future all about me, or about us, at all? Or is it about successors to whom our relation is murky? Should we consider our main obligation to be ourselves as individuals, to our (contingent) historical epoch, to our wider communities, our DNA, the species, the planet, the carboniferous form of life, or, as the late Carl Sagan said, to the very cosmos, ‘ancient and vast’ and ongoing, itself?”

Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050.
poliver@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THE WRITE STUFF--The Margaret H. Ordoubadian University Writing Center will hold an Open House from 2-5 p.m. today, 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.