January 26, 2011

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The State of Obama’s Union—Year Two

The post-Tucson shooting atmosphere of last night’s State of the Union Address resulted in fewer catcalls and less open partisanship. Will it last? Dr. John Vile, dean of the MTSU University Honors College and former chair of the Department of Political Science, says the speech “reminded me (not that I remember personally) of Thomas Jefferson’s inaugural address, in which he intoned that ‘We are all Republicans; we are all Federalists.’ The bipartisan atmosphere was, of course, heightened by the ‘date-night’ seating arrangement. Moreover, the President offered a number of proposals (reduction of the corporate tax, spending freezes, welcoming ROTC to campuses, and the like) that would appeal across the now-dissolved aisle.”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Are you Felix or Oscar?

Does your workspace provide clues to your living space and vice versa? Dr. Jackie Gilbert, management and marketing, writes, “Some individuals experience a disconnect between how they maintain their home and their office, despite the fact that perceptions are quickly created. It is at home when people ‘let their hair down’ and when you may see snippets of their true selves on display. A slovenly approach to personal décor works at cross-purposes in crating the image you wish to project. I once heard of an executive who asked prospective recruits to drive him to lunch under the ruse that his car was in the shop. He uses this excursion to inspect the potential recruit’s car’s general condition, its cleanliness and its appearance. A dirty, unkempt vehicle may speak volumes about a host of seemingly unrelated things.”

Read Gilbert’s blog at http://organizedforefficiency.com.

What are they checking out—“Lolita”?

David Yarde, a state representative in Indiana, has introduced legislation to ban sex offenders from public libraries in that state. Yarde’s measure would create the crime of “sex offender felony trespass.” Is it constitutional to bar someone from merely walking through the door of a public library? David Hudson, adjunct professor of political science and First Amendment Center scholar, says, “In Doe v. Albuquerque, a federal district judge in New Mexico ruled in May 2010 that (New Mexico’s similar) ban infringed on … First Amendment right(s) to receive information and ideas from public libraries … However, in a case involving public parks, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the city of Lafayette, Ind., did not violate the First Amendment when it excluded a known sex offender from city parks.

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1342.
dhudson@fac.org

TR EXTRA

LEARNING ABOUT COLLEGE -- “How to Win at the Game of College,” a three-part seminar series to equip students with the tools and strategies to ensure college success, will begin at 6 p.m. tonight, Jan. 26, in the State Farm Lecture Hall (Room S102) of the Business and Aerospace Building at MTSU. A dynamic, interactive and audio-visual presentation by Dr. Ryan Otter, assistant professor of biology, and based on his book How to Win at the Game of College: Practical Advice from a College Professor, the opening installment of the series is titled “The Benefits of the ‘Be Weird’ Strategy.” It will focus on how college is different from high school and how being “weird” will lead to success. For more information, contact Otter at 615-898-2063 or rrotter@mtsu.edu or Gina Logue of the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

YES, THEY CAN! -- The Center for Health and Human Services at MTSU will administer the “Yes I Can! Diabetes Self-Management Program” from February through June in Rutherford County. It will consist of six weeks’ worth of two-and-a-half-hour sessions that will be completely free to participants. The community-based protocol is derived from a model created by Stanford University and used nationwide for the past 20 years. Diabetics, their supporters and people who might have indications of a pre-diabetic condition are encouraged to participate. There will be a cap of 20 people per class, so sign up now. Doctor’s referrals are not required. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Children will not be allowed to attend. For specific times and locations or to register online, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/achcs/YesICan.shtml.

“NOTHING HAPPENS UNLESS FIRST A DREAM.”—CARL SANDBURG--Dr. Jhon (spelling is correct) C. Akers will interpret the works of poet Carl Sandburg on classical guitar in “Carl Sandburg and the Spanish Guitar,” a lecture slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. Akers was twice the featured lecturer for the Sandburg Days Festival in Galesburg, Ill. He is an associate professor of modern languages at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. Sandburg, a poet, historian and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, also collected folk songs and wrote children’s literature and had a lifelong love for the Spanish guitar. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. William Yelverton at 615-898-2004 or 615-898-5623.

MAKE IT A HAPPY HUNDREDTH!--Join MTSU in celebrating its 100th birthday! Go to http://www.mtsu.edu/centennial/ and check out a full array of photos of Blue Raider athletics, scenes around campus, military pictures, aerial photos of the campus over the years and snapshots from the 1920 handbook. Learn more about the MTSU Centennial Scholars Program, which was created to help attract even more elite high-school students to the university. Reserve a table for the Blue Tie Centennial Gala, slated for Sept. 9, 2011 at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel and Conference Center. Select from a wide variety of Centennial merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, caps, lapel pins, shot glasses and much more. For more information, contact the Centennial Committee at centennial@mtsu.edu.

THE NOT-SO-DISMAL SCIENCE--John Siegfried, professor of economics at Vanderbilt University and Secretary-Treasurer of the American Economic Association, will present “Better Living through Economics” in a seminar from 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28, in Room S128 of the MTSU Business and Aerospace Building. The lecture will be based on the book of the same name, a collection of 12 case studies demonstrating how economic research has improved social and economic conditions over the past half-century by influencing public policy decisions. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the MTSU Department of Economics and Finance at 615-898-2520.

January 25, 2011

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

After freedom, then what?

Following the 150th anniversary of the end of the conflict that nearly tore the United States apart, the MTSU Black History Month Committee will present “African Americans and the Civil War: The Struggle Continues,” a slate of artistic and educational events in February. Black History Month originated in 1926 with the first celebration of Negro History Week, which was created by historian Dr. Carter G. Woodson. Only the second African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University, Woodson’s brainstorm raised awareness of blacks’ contributions to the American experience. MTSU’s chapter of Omega Psi Phi will sponsor a display in Woodson’s honor.

For specific information on events and dates, contact Vincent Windrow, director of the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs and chairman of the MTSU Black History Month Committee at 615-898-2238 or go to http://www.mtsu.edu/idac/.

Feels like the first time

Intrigued by a documentary in which a young woman was ostracized by her parents for two years because she realized her dream of attending college, Tara Perrin set out to find out how other first-generation college students handle the challenges of their unique educational lives. Perrin, a 36-year-old MTSU sociology major originally from Tallahassee, Fla., is writing her master’s thesis on first-generation students’ perceptions of changing family relationships due to the acquisition of higher education and how they feel these changes impact their college careers. “For some people, it’s a really smooth transition, and, for others, it’s a very, very difficult transition to go to school and stay in school because your family can be quite antagonistic toward you,” says Perrin, a first-generation student who says she had her parents’ total support.

To talk to Perrin about her research, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Media Relations at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

The MTSU difference

The benefits of MTSU’s impact in Rutherford County are both quantifiable and impressive. In a Jan. 13 address to United Campus Workers, Dr. Murat Arik, associate director of the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center, stated that each additional year of schooling in Rutherford County accounts for a nearly 30 percent increase in wage and salary income. College education means 64 percent more earnings than high school education in the county. More than 40 percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or above in Rutherford County are MTSU alumni. In the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area, it’s 14 percent. When it come to employment, 20,000 college students are part-time workers in the county, and 63 percent of the county’s self-employed have some college exposure.

Contact Arik at 615-898-5424.
marik@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

LEARNING ABOUT COLLEGE -- “How to Win at the Game of College,” a three-part seminar series to equip students with the tools and strategies to ensure college success, will begin at 6 p.m. tomorrrow night, Jan. 26, in the State Farm Lecture Hall (Room S102) of the Business and Aerospace Building at MTSU. A dynamic, interactive and audio-visual presentation by Dr. Ryan Otter, assistant professor of biology, and based on his book How to Win at the Game of College: Practical Advice from a College Professor, the opening installment of the series is titled “The Benefits of the ‘Be Weird’ Strategy.” It will focus on how college is different from high school and how being “weird” will lead to success. For more information, contact Otter at 615-898-2063 or rrotter@mtsu.edu or Gina Logue of the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

YES, THEY CAN! -- The Center for Health and Human Services at MTSU will administer the “Yes I Can! Diabetes Self-Management Program” from February through June in Rutherford County. It will consist of six weeks’ worth of two-and-a-half-hour sessions that will be completely free to participants. The community-based protocol is derived from a model created by Stanford University and used nationwide for the past 20 years. Diabetics, their supporters and people who might have indications of a pre-diabetic condition are encouraged to participate. There will be a cap of 20 people per class, so sign up now. Doctor’s referrals are not required. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Children will not be allowed to attend. For specific times and locations or to register online, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/achcs/YesICan.shtml.

“NOTHING HAPPENS UNLESS FIRST A DREAM.”—CARL SANDBURG--Dr. Jhon (spelling is correct) C. Akers will interpret the works of poet Carl Sandburg on classical guitar in “Carl Sandburg and the Spanish Guitar,” a lecture slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. Akers was twice the featured lecturer for the Sandburg Days Festival in Galesburg, Ill. He is an associate professor of modern languages at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. Sandburg, a poet, historian and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, also collected folk songs and wrote children’s literature and had a lifelong love for the Spanish guitar. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. William Yelverton at 615-898-2004 or 615-898-5623.

NANU, NANU!—NO, NO! NANO, NANO!--The MTSU Chemistry Society, the Department of Chemistry and the Nashville section of the American Chemical Society invite you to attend the 15th annual Golden Goggles Invitational Lecture at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, Jan. 26, in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Building. The speaker will be Professor James M. Tour of the Smalley Institute for Science and Technology at Rice University in Houston. Tour will speak on “Nanomaterials, Nanoelectronics, Nanomedicine and Nanocars.” In addition, a buffet including barbeque, beverages and cake is slated for 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Room 106 of the Davis Science Building. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Andrienne Friedli at 615-898-2071 or afriedli@mtsu.edu.

MAKE IT A HAPPY HUNDREDTH!--Join MTSU in celebrating its 100th birthday! Go to http://www.mtsu.edu/centennial/ and check out a full array of photos of Blue Raider athletics, scenes around campus, military pictures, aerial photos of the campus over the years and snapshots from the 1920 handbook. Learn more about the MTSU Centennial Scholars Program, which was created to help attract even more elite high-school students to the university. Reserve a table for the Blue Tie Centennial Gala, slated for Sept. 9, 2011 at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel and Conference Center. Select from a wide variety of Centennial merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, caps, lapel pins, shot glasses and much more. For more information, contact the Centennial Committee at centennial@mtsu.edu.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“This is ourselves/Under pressure”—David Bowie and Queen

A new documentary titled “Race to Nowhere” posits that parents who prep their children for college from the moment they enter kindergarten by pushing them to do more and more extracurricular activities on top of the usual schoolwork are doing their kids a disservice. Are kids under too much stress to succeed in school so they will have the kind of credentials they need to get into college? Dr. Kathy Burriss, elementary and special education, says, “Children today, even young children, feel stressed. But today’s schools emphasize high achievement as measured by test scores, which translate into long hours of tedious drill, leading to still more stress. And, in order to guarantee more seat time, administrators reduce or eliminate recess and other play activities children need.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2323.
kburriss@mtsu.edu

A round-trip ticket to educational success

Dr. Sean Foley is putting his third Fulbright Fellowship to use in a relatively little-explored but highly relevant area of scholarship as he continues to investigate religious connections between the Arab Gulf States and Southeast Asia under the auspices of International Islamic University Malaysia. Foley, an assistant professor of history at MTSU, is working and studying mostly in Malaysia with a stipend from the Fulbright Program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. However, his experiences in other countries in the region are yielding future benefits not only for academia in general, but for MTSU specifically. “Sean’s travel and research presentations … will highlight the name ‘Middle Tennessee State University’ throughout the region,” says Dr. Amy Sayward, chair of the MTSU Department of History. “We hope that Sean’s contacts today will lead to a more international graduate-student body in our department and on our campus in the years to come.

Contact Sayward at 615-898-2569.
asayward@mtsu.edu

Make it a Happy Hundredth!

Join MTSU in celebrating its 100th birthday! Go to http://www.mtsu.edu/centennial/ and check out a full array of photos of Blue Raider athletics, scenes around campus, military pictures, aerial photos of the campus over the years and snapshots from the 1920 handbook. Learn more about the MTSU Centennial Scholars Program, which was created to help attract even more elite high-school students to the university. Reserve a table for the Blue Tie Centennial Gala, slated for Sept. 9, 2011 at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel and Conference Center. Select from a wide variety of Centennial merchandise, including T-shirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts, caps, lapel pins, shot glasses and much more.

For more information, contact the Centennial Committee at centennial@mtsu.edu.

TR EXTRA

LEARNING ABOUT COLLEGE -- “How to Win at the Game of College,” a three-part seminar series to equip students with the tools and strategies to ensure college success, will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the State Farm Lecture Hall (Room S102) of the Business and Aerospace Building at MTSU. A dynamic, interactive and audio-visual presentation by Dr. Ryan Otter, assistant professor of biology, and based on his book How to Win at the Game of College: Practical Advice from a College Professor, the opening installment of the series is titled “The Benefits of the ‘Be Weird’ Strategy.” It will focus on how college is different from high school and how being “weird” will lead to success. For more information, contact Otter at 615-898-2063 or rrotter@mtsu.edu or Gina Logue of the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

YES, THEY CAN! -- The Center for Health and Human Services at MTSU will administer the “Yes I Can! Diabetes Self-Management Program” from February through June in Rutherford County. It will consist of six weeks’ worth of two-and-a-half-hour sessions that will be completely free to participants. The community-based protocol is derived from a model created by Stanford University and used nationwide for the past 20 years. Diabetics, their supporters and people who might have indications of a pre-diabetic condition are encouraged to participate. There will be a cap of 20 people per class, so sign up now. Doctor’s referrals are not required. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Children will not be allowed to attend. For specific times and locations or to register online, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/achcs/YesICan.shtml.

“NOTHING HAPPENS UNLESS FIRST A DREAM.”—CARL SANDBURG--Dr. Jhon (spelling is correct) C. Akers will interpret the works of poet Carl Sandburg on classical guitar in “Carl Sandburg and the Spanish Guitar,” a lecture slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. Akers was twice the featured lecturer for the Sandburg Days Festival in Galesburg, Ill. He is an associate professor of modern languages at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. Sandburg, a poet, historian and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, also collected folk songs and wrote children’s literature and had a lifelong love for the Spanish guitar. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. William Yelverton at 615-898-2004 or 615-898-5623.

NANU, NANU!—NO, NO! NANO, NANO!--The MTSU Chemistry Society, the Department of Chemistry and the Nashville section of the American Chemical Society invite you to attend the 15th annual Golden Goggles Invitational Lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Building. The speaker will be Professor James M. Tour of the Smalley Institute for Science and Technology at Rice University in Houston. Tour will speak on “Nanomaterials, Nanoelectronics, Nanomedicine and Nanocars.” In addition, a buffet including barbeque, beverages and cake is slated for 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Room 106 of the Davis Science Building. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Andrienne Friedli at 615-898-2071 or afriedli@mtsu.edu.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

When repealing becomes unappealing

U.S. Rep. Bob Bishop (R-Utah) has introduced a bill for a new Constitutional amendment that would enable legislatures in two-thirds of the states to repeal any law Congress passes. Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College and Constitutional law expert, wrote in the National Law Journal that the reasons for rejecting such legislation are “compelling.” Vile asserts, “The size of the U.S. deficit suggests that legislators already find it more advantageous to mandate benefits and lower taxes than to cut programs and raise taxes. Article I, Section VIII vests Congress with certain powers and responsibilities. What if state vetoes made it impossible for Congress to carry out such powers or fulfill such duties? What would happen if state legislators began vetoing tax bills without vetoing corresponding appropriations? Who should voters hold responsible?”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Still overcoming

“The State of Blacks in Middle Tennessee,” a recent comprehensive report by scholars and other experts, finds that life for African-Americans in the region is still separate and unequal. The report was published by the Urban League of Middle Tennessee in partnership with the Urban EpiCenter and the Center for Community Change. Dr. Sekou Franklin, associate professor of political science at MTSU, edited the report and contributed articles about African taxi drivers and voting in Nashville’s 2007 mayoral election. “The taxonomy of contemporary racism (overt racism, institutional racism, racial disparity, racial polarization, racial steering, the black-white achievement gap) is as pervasive in the 21st century as it was in the 1960s,” writes Franklin in the preface. Franklin’s colleague, Dr. Moses Tesi, political science, also contributed an article on Africans in Middle Tennessee.

Contact Franklin at 615-904-8232.
franklin@mtsu.edu

Is the green movement losing its chlorophyll?

By comparison with a 2009 Harris Poll fewer respondents in a recent survey said they switched to bottled from tap water, donated or recycled electronics or bought locally grown produce. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says it’s not yet time to mark the end of the green consumer. “It is possible that some consumers are reverting back to previous attitudes and behaviors as their personal situations improve,” says Roy. “We can look at reactions to gasoline prices and observe similar patterns. When gas prices rose to their highest levels, more consumers cut back on driving, more interest existed for fuel-efficient vehicles and electric and hybrid vehicles were in vogue.”

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

TR EXTRA

LEARNING ABOUT COLLEGE -- “How to Win at the Game of College,” a three-part seminar series to equip students with the tools and strategies to ensure college success, will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the State Farm Lecture Hall (Room S102) of the Business and Aerospace Building at MTSU. A dynamic, interactive and audio-visual presentation by Dr. Ryan Otter, assistant professor of biology, and based on his book How to Win at the Game of College: Practical Advice from a College Professor, the opening installment of the series is titled “The Benefits of the ‘Be Weird’ Strategy.” It will focus on how college is different from high school and how being “weird” will lead to success. For more information, contact Otter at 615-898-2063 or rrotter@mtsu.edu or Gina Logue of the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

SCIENCE SAYS … -- Middle Tennessee Education Center in Shelbyville is offering an Experimental Physical Science course beginning today, Jan. 19. Dr. Pat Patterson, associate professor of chemistry at MTSU, will teach this four-hour graduate course. It involves basic concepts, laws and principles of astronomy, chemistry, geology and physics with an emphasis on the utilization of equipment available in actual school situations. The class will meet each Wednesday from 4-10 p.m. at MTEC and is recommended for teachers who wish to begin or continue their “Plus 30” hours of graduate work. MTEC is located at 200 Dover St. in Shelbyville. To find out more, contact Molly Culbreath at 931-685-4444 or mculbrea@mtsu.edu.
YES, THEY CAN! -- The Center for Health and Human Services at MTSU will administer the “Yes I Can! Diabetes Self-Management Program” from February through June in Rutherford County. It will consist of six weeks’ worth of two-and-a-half-hour sessions that will be completely free to participants. The community-based protocol is derived from a model created by Stanford University and used nationwide for the past 20 years. Diabetics, their supporters and people who might have indications of a pre-diabetic condition are encouraged to participate. There will be a cap of 20 people per class, so sign up now. Doctor’s referrals are not required. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Children will not be allowed to attend. For specific times and locations or to register online, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/achcs/YesICan.shtml.

“NOTHING HAPPENS UNLESS FIRST A DREAM.”—CARL SANDBURG--Dr. Jhon (spelling is correct) C. Akers will interpret the works of poet Carl Sandburg on classical guitar in “Carl Sandburg and the Spanish Guitar,” a lecture slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. Akers was twice the featured lecturer for the Sandburg Days Festival in Galesburg, Ill. He is an associate professor of modern languages at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. Sandburg, a poet, historian and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, also collected folk songs and wrote children’s literature and had a lifelong love for the Spanish guitar. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. William Yelverton at 615-898-2004 or 615-898-5623.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

It’s enough to make your blood boil.

Dr. Rami Shapiro, adjunct professor of religious studies and ordained rabbi, has a definite take on Sarah Palin’s use of the term “blood libel” in her defense of her usage of gun language and gun imagery in her political communications. The term “blood libel” comes from a medieval fiction that Jews used the blood of Christian babies in preparing matzoh for religious rituals. Shapiro writes, “This is serious stuff. The blood libel is not to be taken lightly. The fact that Jews are forbidden from eating blood in any form (Leviticus 7:26-27) is irrelevant to hate-filled perpetrators of this slander. And though it is true that Sarah Palin is not a Jew, and therefore is permitted to consume blood, it is no less slanderous to claim that the blood she consumes is that of little children.”

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

Thinking about what you think

Mark Twain wrote, “It is not best that we should all think alike; it is a difference of opinion that makes horse races.” Have you ever wondered how you can voice your opinions with authority and promote them in an effective way? Dr. Jane Marcellus, journalism, is teaching “Opinion Writing and New Media” this semester. In this specialized reporting (Journalism 3520) class, students will learn about the origins of journalistic opinion writing and columns, discuss how opinion writing is changing, write both traditional columns and blog posts and learn in a supportive environment. The class meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:40-2:05 p.m.

Contact Marcellus at 615-898-5282.
jmarcell@mtsu.edu

Female fugues and funk

After a very successful fall 2010 semester debut, “Women in Music” returns for the spring semester to continue its exploration of the vast variety of women’s musical activities. The professor, Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, says, “The course will cover not only women composers in the Western tradition, but also women performers, women patrons and women as objects and symbols in the marketing of music.” Students will discuss cultural constructions of gender as they pertain to music, identify important women in musical history and outline their significance, talk about connections, between diverse forms of feminism and their manifestations in music and much more. Women to be studied will range from Clara Schumann to Janis Joplin and from Jenny Lind to Tori Amos.

Contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043.
miyakawa@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

LEARNING ABOUT COLLEGE -- “How to Win at the Game of College,” a three-part seminar series to equip students with the tools and strategies to ensure college success, will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 26, in the State Farm Lecture Hall (Room S102) of the Business and Aerospace Building at MTSU. A dynamic, interactive and audio-visual presentation by Dr. Ryan Otter, assistant professor of biology, and based on his book How to Win at the Game of College: Practical Advice from a College Professor, the opening installment of the series is titled “The Benefits of the ‘Be Weird’ Strategy.” It will focus on how college is different from high school and how being “weird” will lead to success. For more information, contact Otter at 615-898-2063 or rrotter@mtsu.edu or Gina Logue of the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

SCIENCE SAYS … -- Middle Tennessee Education Center in Shelbyville is offering an Experimental Physical Science course beginning tomorrow, Jan. 19. Dr. Pat Patterson, associate professor of chemistry at MTSU, will teach this four-hour graduate course. It involves basic concepts, laws and principles of astronomy, chemistry, geology and physics with an emphasis on the utilization of equipment available in actual school situations. The class will meet each Wednesday from 4-10 p.m. at MTEC and is recommended for teachers who wish to begin or continue their “Plus 30” hours of graduate work. MTEC is located at 200 Dover St. in Shelbyville. To find out more, contact Molly Culbreath at 931-685-4444 or mculbrea@mtsu.edu.
YES, THEY CAN! -- The Center for Health and Human Services at MTSU will administer the “Yes I Can! Diabetes Self-Management Program” from February through June in Rutherford County. It will consist of six weeks’ worth of two-and-a-half-hour sessions that will be completely free to participants. The community-based protocol is derived from a model created by Stanford University and used nationwide for the past 20 years. Diabetics, their supporters and people who might have indications of a pre-diabetic condition are encouraged to participate. There will be a cap of 20 people per class, so sign up now. Doctor’s referrals are not required. Participants must be 18 years of age or older. Children will not be allowed to attend. For specific times and locations or to register online, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/achcs/YesICan.shtml.

“NOTHING HAPPENS UNLESS FIRST A DREAM.”—CARL SANDBURG--Dr. Jhon (spelling is correct) C. Akers will interpret the works of poet Carl Sandburg on classical guitar in “Carl Sandburg and the Spanish Guitar,” a lecture slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. Akers was twice the featured lecturer for the Sandburg Days Festival in Galesburg, Ill. He is an associate professor of modern languages at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. Sandburg, a poet, historian and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes, also collected folk songs and wrote children’s literature and had a lifelong love for the Spanish guitar. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. William Yelverton at 615-898-2004 or 615-898-5623.