Monday, November 22, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Preparing students to serve society

The educational disciplines that focus on service to society are now under one umbrella at MTSU. The College of Behavioral and Health Sciences is taking its first steps toward the future. “We really see ourselves as a research-powerful operation for getting grants and other opportunities because of cross-collaboration between disciplines,” says Dr. Harold Whiteside, dean of the college. It includes the departments of Criminal Justice; Health and Human Performance; Human Sciences; Psychology; and Social Work, as well as the School of Nursing. Joining the academic departments are the Centers for Health and Human Services; Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness; and Physical Activity for Health and Youth, as well as the Tennessee Center for Child Welfare; the Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic; and the Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services.

Contact Whiteside or Dr. Rick Short, associate dean, at 615-898-2900.

The better cheddar

The MTSU Dairy Science Club is now accepting orders for cheese gift boxes. This quality Wisconsin cheese is delivered within two days of placing an order. Although MTSU has a dairy herd that produces the milk served in campus cafeterias, the university does not make its own cheese. The funds raised from cheese sales support Dairy Science Club activities such as the Beginning and Master Beekeeping classes at MTSU, clinics and team travel. The deadline for placing orders is Tuesday, Nov. 30. Orders will be available to pick up from the MTSU Milk Processing Plant in the Stark Agriculture Building the first week of December. Cheese offerings are online at http://www.mtsu.edu/abas/cheesesale.pdf.

Contact Kym Stricklin at 615-898-2523.
kstrick@mtsu.edu

Underwater and over a barrel

The picture is mixed when it comes to mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in the third quarter. According to Tennessee Housing Market, a publication of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, “Mortgages past due have increased, but foreclosures started during the quarter are lower for Tennessee. Past due mortgages rose somewhat to 10.88 percent of all mortgages compared with 10.82 percent for the previous quarter. The continuing high level of past due mortgages is an outcome of high unemployment and slow labor market gains as more households experience financial stress. New foreclosures dipped to 0.86 percent of all mortgages in Tennessee from 0.98 percent for the previous quarter, returning to about the same level as in the fourth quarter of 2009.”

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

TR EXTRA

EXPLORE THE WAR--After two excursions to the South Pacific to expose students to some of the critical sites of World War II, an MTSU historian prepares to embark on a tour of some of the pivotal sites of the European Theater of Operations for his “Warfare and Public Memory in Western Europe” class (HIST 3070). Dr. Derek Frisby, associate professor of history, will escort students across the continent May 19-June 3, 2011, in tracing the war’s “Great Crusade.” The 16-day tour will include an examination of Normandy; Bastogne; Dachau; Operation Market Garden, a campaign fought in Germany and the Netherlands; and the “Eagle’s Nest,” Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s retreat in the mountains above Berchtesgarden. Students also will follow the route of the 101st Airborne Division’s “Band of Brothers.” Tours of Omaha and Utah beaches, Arnhem and the “Battle of the Bulge” site are on the itinerary, as well as the Bayeaux Tapestry, Paris, Verdun and Waterloo. For more information, contact Frisby at 615-904-8097 or dfrisby@mtsu.edu. Financial aid is available. Apply as soon as possible. Contact the Office of Education Abroad and Student Exchange (MT Abroad) at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.

DON’T LET YOUR FELLOWSHIP SAIL WITHOUT YOU.--Qualified high-school seniors interested in applying for the Buchanan Fellowships at MTSU must meet a Wednesday, Dec. 1, deadline in order to be considered. The fellowship pays full tuition (up to 16 hours a semester) and most fees for four years of eligibility as well as an annual book allowance of $1,000 and other perks such as early registration and study-abroad opportunities. Students interested in securing applications for Buchanan Fellowships should go online to mtsu.edu/honors/scholarships.html. The fellowships are limited to 20 students per year. The fellowship is named in honor of Dr. James M. Buchanan (Class of 1940), a Nobel Prize-winning alumnus. Contact Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College, at 615-898-2596 or
jvile@mtsu.edu.

A RADICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6-8 p.m. each Thursday through Dec. 2 at MTSU police headquarters, 1412 East Main St. in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. Enrollment is limited. For more information or to enroll, contact MTSU RAD instructor Sgt. David Smith at 615-692-2424 or 615-494-7858.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS--It’s time again for “Operation Christmas Care,” the project that sends holiday cheer to wounded warriors. The service, which was started in 2006 by Lee Ann Newton, executive aide for the Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center, has sent more than 20,000 Christmas cards to hospitalized military personnel. “Unfortunately, our soldiers’ individual support systems often dwindle after the life-threatening danger has passed,” says Norton, “and yet their painful daily regiment toward recovery continues. E-mails are nice, and they’re appreciated, but a colorful card or letter with a heartfelt message of support and encouragement can beam from the walls of their hospital rooms until they leave.” Contact Newton at 615-904-8573 or lnewton@mtsu.edu.