Wednesday, December 1

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

It’s all New Madrid’s fault!

Emergency management officials met in Nashville yesterday to determine how to allocate resources in the event of an earthquake. The New Madrid Seismic Zone, named for the New Madrid Fault, crosses five state lines. The New Madrid Fault poses the highest earthquake risk in the United States outside the West Coast, according to the U.S. Geological Society. Dr. Mark Abolins, geosciences, says, “The threat of earthquakes in the Mississippi River Valley and adjoining areas is very real. Something like the 1989 Loma Prieta, Cal. quake or the 1994 Northridge, Cal. quake (or even a far worse earthquake) could happen to Memphis and surrounding areas at any time. That part of the state has just been lucky—so far.” However, Abolins adds, “The threat of widespread devastation and mass casualties in Nashville and Murfreesboro is almost non-existent.”

Contact Abolins at 615-594-4210.
mabolins@mtsu.edu

An incumbent office-holder reduction plan

The deficit reduction commission led by former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson and former Clinton Administration Chief-of-Staff Erskine Bowles released its final report today, Dec. 1. The full panel is slated to vote Friday, Dec. 3, on whether to approve it. The recommendations include raising the retirement age, cutting farm subsidies, capping discretionary spending and reducing tax rates. Dr. Martin Kennedy, economics and finance, says, “You can see why a commission was appointed. This is the stuff that costs elected officials votes. Better from their perspective to have to make an up-or-down vote and later argue to angry constituencies that they, too opposed cutting this or that, but had not opportunity to amend what the commission put forth.”

Contact Kennedy at 615-494-8679.
mdkenned@mtsu.edu

The one test you can’t afford to fail

Today, Dec. 1, is World AIDS Day as designated by the World Health Organization in 1988. A report released last week by UNAIDS indicates that HIV infections are going down in many of the most affected countries. Dr. Jo Edwards, holder of the Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services at MTSU, says, “In the U.S., an estimated 1.1 million people are living with HIV and as many as one in five don’t know they are infected. About 55 percent of adults aged 18-64 have never been tested for HIV. Even among people at higher risk for HIV infection, 28 percent have never been tested. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Protection) recommends routine HIV testing in health care settings.”

Contact Edwards at 615-898-2905.
mjedward@mtsu.edu

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.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE FACULTY--The Pink Floyd tribute band “Us & Them” returns to The Blue Rooster on Murfreesboro’s Public Square Friday, Dec. 3, to perform the best-selling album “Dark Side of the Moon” and other Pink Floyd classics. “Us & Them” includes MTSU recording-industry professors Bill Crabtree, Cosette Collier and Dale Brown and computer information systems professor Amy Hennington as part of a 10-piece band. The event, which costs $9 per person, begins at 9:15 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will benefit scholarships for MTSU’s recording industry program. For more information, contact Steve Holeman at 615-995-6013 or steve@steveholeman.com.

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 today, Dec. 1, and tomorrow, Dec. 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.

CANDY CANES AND LICORICE STICKS--The MTSU Clarinet Choir is slated to conduct a free, fun-filled Christmas concert at 6 p.m. tonight, Dec. 1, in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. The tunes will include “Dance of the Shepherds,” “Eine Kleine Nachmusik,” “Deck the Halls,” “Up on the Rooftop,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Still, Still, Still,” “Trepak” from “The Nutcracker,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “A Christmas Festival.” For more information, call 615-898-2493 or visit the “Concert Calendar” link at www.mtsumusic.com.

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 today, 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.