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.