Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Taking a turn for the nurse

A survey by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses shows that 65 percent of graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs got job offers at the time of graduation last year or shortly thereafter. The national average is only 24.4 percent. Four to six months after graduation, the percentage of grads getting job offers goes up to 89 percent. Dr. Lynn Parsons, professor and director of the MTSU School of Nursing, says, “Our MTSU placements are much higher. Geographic location may play into this. In a down economy, RNs (registered nurses) that are not working in the field come back into practice because they need to be the breadwinners for spouses that have been downsized out of a job. Hospitals will hire an experienced RN over a new graduate.”

Contact Parsons at 615-898-2437.
lparsons@mtsu.edu

My dinner with Andrei (and Dimitry)

To get even 10 minutes worth of access to a major head of state is a gift which would make thousands of lobbyists giddy with anticipation. Dr. Andrei Korobkov, professor of political science at MTSU, spoke with Russian President Dimitry Medvedev for two hours at a state reception and dinner at the Kremlin on Nov. 4. Korobkov encountered Medvedev at the fourth annual Assembly of the Russian World foundation, which took place Nov. 2-4 in Moscow. “The organization is actively supported by President Medvedev, who is very interested in pushing it and considers it a way to reestablish links with the Russian diaspora abroad,” says Korobkov. “Increasingly, he is getting interested in bringing back Russian intellectuals who left.”

Contact Korobkov at 615-898-2945.
korobkov@mtsu.edu

“Go where you wanna go/Do what you wanna do.”—The Mamas and the Papas

Why work at a job you hate just to get more money and have more expensive status symbols to show off to the neighbors? Dr. Rami Shapiro, adjunct professor of religious studies and an ordained rabbi, says, “I gave up the American Dream the day I decided not to enter my family’s business and to pursue, instead, a life as a rabbi, educator and writer. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to have a summer home up north and a winter home down south and buy a new car every two or three years. My hope now is to inherit one of those home, sell it, and use the money to buy a more recent used car than the 2005 Mazda Protégé I currently drive. But am I bitter? No.”

Read Shapiro’s blog at http://rabbirami.blogspot.com/.

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.

SOMETHING IN THE AIR--MTSU’s Department of Aerospace will serve as host for the first National Conference on General Aviation Trends in China, set for Dec. 1-2, in the Donald McDonald Hangar inside the university’s Flight Operations Center at Murfreesboro Airport. “We’re extremely excited about this conference, as it is one of the first in the United States that will have members of one of the largest universities in China here to learn about U.S. general aviation,” says Dr. Wayne Dornan, chair of the department. “We have a distinguished list of U.S. speakers that will lend their expertise to the Chinese officials. … I am unaware of any such gathering that has taken place in the United States were high-ranking officials from both countries interact on aviation.” The conference is closed to the general public, but media are welcomed. Contact Randy Weiler in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu.

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 today, 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 or kstrick@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 deadline of tomorrow, Dec. 1, 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.

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.