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Five National Merit Finalists,
one National Achievement Finalist enter MTSU this fall
by Doug Williams
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National Merit Finalists
Casey Brown
Lebanon High School
Bryan Cook
Siegel High School
Anthony Harrell
Riverdale High School,
Grant Martin
Martin Luther King Magnet School, Nashville,
Brent Newberry
Brookwood High School,
Lilburn, Ga.,
National Achievement
Finalist
Alexandria Freeman
Martin Luther King Magnet
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MTSU will take another step forward on its Academic
Master Plan as five National Merit Finalists and one National Achievement
Finalist plan to enroll in the 2004-05 academic year.
Two years ago, when the university Academic Master Plan was revised, President
Sidney A. McPhee placed a new emphasis on recruiting students of high
academic ability. These new enrollees are the fruits of the labor of several
people at the university and in the admissions and enrollment management
offices.
“From day one, this was one of the president’s areas of emphasis,”
said Sherian Huddleston, assistant vice provost for enrollment management.
“The university is committed to attracting and retaining a student
population that is diverse and of high academic promise. These six students
are good representatives of the quality student MTSU is attracting.”
Each year, about 1.3 million high school juniors take the Preliminary
SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT). Of that number,
only 15,000 entrants become national finalists, according to National
Merit Scholarship Corporation statistics.
Lynn Palmer, director of admissions, said recruitment efforts for these
students is “intense,” and she and associate director Linda
Puckett spent many hours planning strategies that included letters, phone
calls and visits to 2,000 of these students in Tennessee and surrounding
states. Like star quarterbacks, these students get piles of recruiting
literature and numerous scholarship offers.
Casey Brown and Grant Martin fit the mold of many students who have attended
MTSU over the years. Both grew up in the shadow of MTSU and had parents
attend the school. Despite being highly recruited, like the new wave of
entering freshmen, MTSU was solidly their first choice.
“My parents both attended MTSU,” Brown said. “I was born
when my father was a graduate assistant, and we lived in the Womack Lane
apartments. I love the campus and Murfreesboro and never seriously considered
going elsewhere.”
Martin will also be the second generation in his family to attend MTSU
and was recruited by Washington (St. Louis) and Vanderbilt. He is a graduate
of Martin Luther King Magnet School in Nashville and wants to study political
science or law. Brown, a graduate of Lebanon High, was voted most likely
to succeed and sees himself in a broadcasting or journalism career. He
had scholarship offers to Oklahoma, Southern Cal and Tulane.
Like Brown, Anthony Harrell and Brent Newberry are considering careers
in broadcasting or journalism. Both at one time imagined themselves going
to schools in large metropolitan areas but were drawn to MTSU because
of the national reputation of the College of Mass Communication. Newberry
wants to be in the music business, and Harrell wants to be a major league
sport announcer.
Harrell is a graduate of Riverdale High School and was familiar with MTSU
but initially was interested in American University, University of Southern
California and Vanderbilt.
“MTSU has a great academic program and is a great value,” Harrell
said. “I thought why go all the way across the country when one of
the best broadcast programs is in my own backyard.
While at Riverdale, Harrell founded a radio “project” and will
serve as announcer when the school airs its football and basketball games
over the Internet next year. He was one of eight valedictorians at Riverdale
and will work as a producer/ engineer at WGNS-AM radio this summer.
Newberry was in the initial recruitment pool and said the recruiting efforts
may have raised his interest in MTSU, but he really became interested
after hearing an alumnus talk about the recording industry program at
a school assembly.
“I always wanted to do something in music,” Newberry said. “I
play guitar and have played in the jazz band and the concert band at school.
Our school (Brookwood High School 20 miles outside of Atlanta) did a program
on music technology, and a graduate of MTSU did a really cool presentation.
“(MTSU’s) president invited me and my parents to a reception
in February and Dean (John Paul) Montgomery took us for a tour of the
new Honors College Building. I was hooked after that.”
Newberry was one of two students in Georgia and only 38 nationwide to
score a perfect 36 on the American College Test (ACT) in December 2003.
He considered New York University and The University of Georgia before
deciding on MTSU.
All of the deans apparently played an active role in the recruitment process,
said Huddleston. But it was the special attention of Dr. Tom Cheatham,
dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, that played a big role
in influencing Bryan Cook’s decision to attend MTSU.
A Murfreesboro native, Cook was torn between going away to school or staying
close to home. “I had attended Governor’s School at UT-Martin
and really like the school and the people, and Belmont has a nice campus.
But on my visit to MTSU, Dean Cheatham spent over an hour talking to me
about the strengths of the math and science departments. He even arranged
for me to visit a class on pretty short notice.
“The personal attention I got certainly made the difference for me,”
said Cook, a senior at Siegel High School, who is interested in teaching
math in high school.
For the past decade, MTSU has worked to enhance its academic standing
by increasing the funds for its merit scholarships. The goal was to dramatically
increase the number of students who performed well in high school and
made exceptional scores on their ACT exams.
Last academic year, MTSU had more than 900 students on merit scholarships.
These scholarships included more than 400 MTSU Presidential scholars,
who must make a 29 or higher on the ACT and a 3.75 grade point average.
This spring, MTSU began awarding the first new Chancellor’s Scholarship
and National Merit and National Achievement Finalist scholarships.
Fall enrollment will likely increase 2 to 3 percent, with the entering
freshman class averaging a 22.5 ACT, which is above both state and national
averages, Huddleston said.
Thomas receives national CPA award
MTSU accounting chair first woman to get
honor
by Tom Tozer
There’s only one award of its kind presented every
year in the nation—and a woman has never received it—until now.
Dr. Paula Thomas, accounting chair, not only was singled
out as the pick in the nation, but her accomplishment changed history.
Thomas received the prestigious American Institute of CPA’s Distinguished
Achievement in Accounting Education award during the May 23-25 AICPA council
meeting in Phoenix. She became the first woman ever to be so honored.
“I'm both honored and humbled to be the recipient,” Thomas said.
“Dr. Thomas is an extremely astute and able academician who, through
this achievement, has raised the profile of the Jennings A. Jones College
of Business and Middle Tennessee State University,” said Dr. Jim
Burton, business dean. “I know I speak for the entire college faculty
and staff when I say how proud we are of her. Paula sets a high standard
for all of us, and she is an excellent role model for students.”
The award provides the recipient with profession-wide recognition and
also promotes role models in academia and in the accounting profession.
It acknowledges a full-time college accounting educator who exemplifies
excellence in teaching and casts a national profile in the field. Nominees
are submitted to the AICPA Executive Committee by state CPA societies
and individuals other than the nominees themselves.
SPECIAL PROJECTS AWARDS GIVEN TO HALLADAY, OGDEN
Recipients of the annual Special Projects awards were announced at the
spring board meeting of the MTSU Foundation. They were Dr. Jette Halladay
(speech and theatre) and Dr. Albert Ogden (geosciences), said Joe Bales,
vice president, Office of Development and University Relations.
Halladay received $5,000 for “American Tall Tales,” and Ogden
received $5,000 for “A Proposal to Establish a Geology (Mineral,
Gem & Fossil) Museum at Middle Tennessee State University,” Bales
said.
MINI-U SET FOR YOUNGSTERS ON MTSU CAMPUS THIS SUMMER
Elementary and middle school-age students will learn on a college campus
this summer at Mini-University.
Mini-U is a one-week summer program at MTSU for students who have completed
the fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-grades, said Molly Culbreath,
coordinator, Division of Continuing Studies and Public Service. Mini-U
will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 12-16.
Classes will be taught by experts in their fields, Culbreath said. Courses
will be “Junior Investing,” “Creative Dramatics,”
“Sign Language,” “Cool Science,” “Technology”
and “Conversational Spanish.”
Enrollment will be limited. The price to attend Mini-U is $199 and will
include lunch, she said. To register and for information about Mini-U,
call continuing studies at 615-898-2462.
Office professionals’ role expands at MTSU
As the dependence on technology continues to expand across MTSU, the role
of the office professional is evolving greatly.
Office automation, budgetary cuts and organizational restructuring have
led clerical employees, secretaries and administrative assistants on campus
to assume a wider range of university responsibilities and a level of
professionalism that were once reserved for managerial staff.
The Association of Secretarial and Clerical Employees (ASCE) is a universitywide
networking organization of secretarial and clerical office professionals
that provides opportunities for members to achieve and enhance their professional
and personal growth. This networking is accomplished through the exchange
of information and knowledge, conducting dialogues related to professional
responsibilities, hosting guest speakers, visiting and learning about
campus programs, as well as fostering a spirit of fellowship among MTSU
office professionals.
Each year, ASCE awards a scholarship to an office management major who
is enrolled at MTSU as a full-time student. The recipient must have a
3.0 grade point average or better. The number of scholarships, along with
the amount, will be determined by the ASCE Scholarship Committee. Funds
for the scholarship are raised through special fund-raising projects and
individual contributions. In addition, ASCE also awards the Bonnie McHenry
Scholarship paid for through recycling on campus. This scholarship is
awarded to a MTSU secretarial and clerical office professional or their
dependent.
During June and July, ASCE will have an active membership drive. ASCE
membership dues are a mere $3 per person. ASCE membership is open to any
person holding a secretarial or clerical position at MTSU. Please check
out our Web site for membership information: www.mtsu.edu/~asce. Also
included on this site are many helpful links for university employees
(i.e., list of ASCE building representatives, scholarship information,
meetings, MTSU notaries and many other assistive links).
ASCE officers for the upcoming 2004-2005 year are: Carol R. White, CPS,
president, cwhite@mtsu.edu, 898-5642; Linda Lawrence, vice president,
lawrence@mtsu.edu, 898-5950; Pat Thomas, treasurer, pthomas@mtsu.edu,
898-5941; and Jean Faulk, secretary, jfaulk@mtsu.edu, 898-2285.
If you never have been a member of ASCE, please accept this as my personal
invitation to join us as we meet together monthly to inform, encourage
and provide opportunities for growth. If you were a member in the past,
we hope you will consider becoming active again. Be sure to get your membership
forms in as our first scheduled meeting is our Fall Kick-Off Reception
scheduled at the new Wood-Stegall Center. Janet Estes, CPS, will be our
hostess. I heard a rumor that there will be door prizes for all paid members.
If you have any questions or suggestions for ASCE, contact any officer
or building manager. We will be glad to assist you or answer any questions.
This column was written by Carol R. White, CPS, president, Association
of Secretarial and Clerical Employees.
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TALENTED STUDENTS PERFORM—Conductor Brendan
Townsend rehearses with high school students at Tennessee Governor's
School for the Arts in 2003. This year’s Governor’s School
began at MTSU on June 13.
photo by J. Intintoli |
Governor’s School for the Arts begins
by Lesley Seaver
The Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts began June 13 at MTSU and
will last through July 10.
Administered by the Tennessee Department of Education, it was founded
by former Gov. Lamar Alexander. It’s for Tennessee high school students
who are interested in art, dance, music and theater. Students are chosen
through auditions held in January or February, and all applicants must
be Tennessee residents who attend public or private high schools. This
year, there are 207 students participating. The program is free for the
students, except for a $50 activity fee.
“This is the 20th year since its beginning,” Dale McGilliard,
director of the school, said. “Its purpose is to give talented students
the opportunity for intense study of their art. This is the only governor’s
school that holds auditions to select the students. All the others use
essays and grade point averages.”
The curriculum is designed for students to focus on their major area of
concentration, art, music, dance or theater. They spend about four hours
a day, six days a week working in individual and group instruction taught
by professionals. They also study other fields.
“It’s amazing,” McGilliard said. “Kids come from rural
communities and they are surrounded by others who enjoy doing what they
do. The experience really changes a lot of kids. Many decide to make the
arts their profession or to be advocates.”
The students will be featured at MTSU’s Celebration Under the Stars
on July 4 and attend a concert by the Nashville Symphony. Much of the
time, they will prepare for a finale event in their area. Music students’
final performance will be held at 7 p.m. July 9 in Wright Music Hall.
Dance students focus primarily on ballet but also learn jazz and modern
dance. They will perform at 10 a.m. on July 10 at Tucker Theatre along
with the visual arts students. Students focusing on theater participate
in acting, stage movement, mime and voice improvement classes. They also
learn about designing, costuming, construction and lighting. Their production
takes place at 7 p.m. on July 8.
All finale events are open to the public.
Cookeville event benefits MTSU radio station
by Laura Dunn
The second annual Jazz In Cookeville June 19 will feature some of the
biggest national and local names in jazz.
The event is sponsored by Regional Radiology, AmSouth Bank of Cookeville,
Regions Bank, WMOT-JAZZ89, WCTE-TV 22 and the Department of Music and
Art at Tennessee Tech. The public event will be free. Donations for WMOT
will be accepted. It will benefit WMOT and “Mentoring Scientific
Minds,” a program for young people interested in the sciences.
The event will be from noon to 6 p.m. at the Dogwood Park Amphitheater
in Cookeville. The headliner will be Julia Rich, the “girl singer”
for the Glenn Miller Orchestra for more than 15 years. Rich is a songwriter/artist
with four jazz CDs to her credit. Rich will perform at 5 p.m. The Nashville
native is a MTSU graduate.
During Rich’s tenure with the GMO, the band has performed with such
notables as The Mills Brothers, Helen O'Connell, Rosemary Clooney, Mel
Torme’, Kay Starr, Jerry Vale, The Four Aces, Kathie Lee Gifford
and former GMO leader Buddy de Franco. Rich has recorded two albums for
Cardinal Records: “I'll Take Romance” and “The Way You
Make Me Feel.” For more Rich information, go to www.juliarichmusic.com.
Starting the event at noon will be the Chad Anderson Trio with guest vocalist
Kelley Hurt. At 1:30 p.m. will be the Jim Ferguson Quartet. Ferguson has
two jazz CD releases on the Dutch label Challenge/A-Records. Ferguson
also is a Nashville recording session singer and bassist and teaches jazz
bass and voice at MTSU. Ferguson’s jazz credits include performances
with such artists as Mose Allison and Benny Goodman. The Pearson/Ferguson/White
Trio performs at 3 p.m., featuring Jack Pearson on guitar, Ferguson on
upright bass and White on drums. Pearson, a native of Nashville, is a
former member of The Allman Brothers Band.
Greg Lee, WMOT program director, will emcee the event and conduct giveaways.
CDs of all of the artists will be for sale at the WMOT booth. WMOT is
the nonprofit, public broadcasting radio station of MTSU.
Rain location will be TTU’s Wattenbarger Auditorium. No alcohol or
pets will be allowed. Bring lawn chairs and blankets. For information,
call 615-898-2800.
Young people descend on MTSU campus for 2004 National
Youth Sports Program
by Lisa L. Rollins
Some 150 young people, ages 10-16, have descended upon the MTSU campus
to participate in the 2004 National Youth Sports Program (NYSP)—and
there's still room for about 150 more, organizers said.
The grant-funded, monthlong endeavor, which combines sports instruction
and recreation with educational programs, got under way June 1, but there's
still room for quite a few more participants, said Dr. Cheryl Slaughter
Ellis, NYSP liaison and professor in the Department of Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Safety (HPERS).
The program, which is being held 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through July 2,
is being offered at no cost to those Murfreesboro City and Rutherford
County schools students whose parents/guardians have met the Department
of Health and Human Services guidelines.
Local students taking part in the camp are engaged “in a program
that is designed to promote exposure to the college environment, encourage
healthful lifestyles and provide rich educational experiences,” said
Dr. Gloria Bonner, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Science
and administrator of the NYSP program at MTSU.
Parents are encouraged to sign up their eligible children for NYSP and
may do so 8-8:30 a.m. weekdays at the Homer Pittard Campus School, 923
E. Lytle St.
Established nationally in 1968, this year's NYSP theme is “Walk Tall,
Stand Tall.” Last year, more than 78,000 youth participated in NYSP
on 200 college campuses nationwide, including MTSU, where it is now overseen
by MTSU's HPERS department.
Aside from their participation in activities such as self-defense, soccer,
swimming, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf, racquetball, weight training
and social and aerobic dance, program attendees also will take part in
educational classes presented by MTSU educators and community leaders.
Additionally, participants receive two USDA-approved meals daily (breakfast
and lunch), as well as a snack; transportation to campus, if necessary;
interactions with college students and staff; accident/medical insurance
coverage; and a free NYSP T-shirt.
Ellis, whose own daughter has participated in NYSP, said that this year's
Family Day event, where families are encouraged to participate in program
activities with their children, will be held June 26.
“This year's program is proving to be our best yet,” Ellis adds.
“The children not only have the opportunity to participate in fun
sports-related and recreational activities, but they're also getting great
classes and enrichment opportunities … and we've got lots of fun
for everyone involved.”
For more information call 615-898-2811 or 615-898-2886.
Summer Language Institute scheduled
June 14-18
Those wanting a crash course in Spanish, French or German are invited
to take part in this year's Summer Language Institute on June 14-18 at
MTSU.
Created by Dr. Shelley Thomas, associate professor, foreign languages
and literatures, the language institute offers participants five days
of intensive language training, five hours per day, using the Total Physical
Response Storytelling (TPRS) method. Classes will be conducted in the
Stark Agribusiness and Agriscience Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily,
with a one-hour break for lunch beginning at noon. Registration for the
institute is $350 per person (excluding any needed textbook or readers),
and enrollment is limited. Participants should be prepared to take a mandatory
pre-test at 8 a.m. on June 14 and a 2 p.m. post-test on June 18.
For more information, including registration, course books or possible
college credit, go to the Web site at www.mtsu.edu/~shthomas/ or call
Thomas at 615-898-5757.
Antique dealers appreciate CHP
$1,000 donated
by Lisa L. Rollins
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CENTER AT MTSU HONORED—R. L. Pinson,
founder and current president of the Murfreesboro Antique Dealers
Association, right, presents Dr. Carroll Van West, director, Center
for Historic Preservation, with a donation.
submitted photo |
The Murfreesboro Antique Dealers Association recently made a $1,000 donation
to the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP) at MTSU for its work in
preserving historic homes and farms across the mid-state.
R. L. Pinson, founder and current president of the association, presented
Dr. Carroll Van West, CHP director, with the check May 19.
In thanking Pinson and the association for their generous donation, West
said that the organization’s “commitment to preserving the past
will be furthered by this donation to the center's many different preservation
initiatives in Tennessee.”
Created in 1984, the CHP is a research and public service institution
committed to the preservation, protection, enhancement and sensitive promotion
of our historic environment.
CHP has provided services in every county of Tennessee and reaches across
state, regional and international boundaries for innovative ideas and
partnerships.
Now in its second decade of service, the center provides leadership in
public policy formation and preservation-related concerns.
For more information about the CHP, its initiatives, programs or services,
visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres/ or call 615-898-2947.
500th FAN GETS T-SHIRT—Laura Brown gets stamped to receive the last
of 500 MTSU baseball T-shirts given to the first 500 fans through the
gate at a spring baseball game recently with Vanderbilt University.
photo by J. Intintoli
STUDENTS LEARN ART OF TEA–Students watch a recent Japanese Tea Ceremony
demonstration. Guests are served tea as prepared by a host and served
by an assistant to the guests sitting on the floor. English major Tim
Poland of Nashville learns the art of tea served by assistant Terumi Tanaka,
who is wearing traditional Japanese attire.
photo by Ken Robinson
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DOUG KANITZ WORKED ON FIRST SOLAR CAR—Beverly
Kanitz sits with student Richie Calton on Solar Raider 1 after a decal
was placed in memory of Doug Kanitz.
photo by J. Intintoli |
Decal on Solar Raider 1 placed In memory of Doug
Kanitz
Widow honors late husband and helps students
by Randy Weiler
Her emotions held in check on a warm and sunny spring day, a smiling Beverly
Kanitz finished peeling off the disposable part of a decal that would
permanently be affixed to the Solar Raider 1 vehicle in the engineering
technology and industrial studies department.
The decal read, “In Memory of Doug Kanitz.”
“This is great,” she shared with a small group of ETIS students
and faculty and Dr. Tom Cheatham, dean, College of Basic and Applied Sciences.
“He would be pleased. He believed in solar.”
The late Doug Kanitz, who died in 2000 from cancer, worked as an ETIS
adjunct faculty member from about 1987 until 1999. Many of those years,
he worked alongside Ken Sergeant, associate professor, Beverly Kanitz
said.
“Doug worked with Ken on the first solar car,” she said.
MTSU—behind the efforts of Cheatham and Jim Van Wicklin, development
officer, College of Basic and Applied Sciences—held the ceremony
behind Voorhies Industrial Studies complex.
It was a way for the college to thank Beverly Kanitz, who, along with
her husband, endowed $40,000 in scholarships in recent years and who said
she hopes to endow more.
“Ms. Kanitz is a terrific lady who obviously loved her late husband
Doug very much,” Cheatham said. “She also enjoys helping students
and faculty in ETIS through her scholarship contributions.
“She is making a difference and honoring Doug through the scholarship
in his name,” the dean said. “The students working on the solar
bikes this year enjoyed meeting her.”
Solar Raiders compete in BikeRayce
Results of Topeka, Kan., event announced
by Randy Weiler
Solar Raider 2 earned the first-place awards for Artistic and Innovative
Design and sprint race to highlight MTSU’s three team efforts in
the Solar BikeRayce USA at Topeka, Kan., May 20-22.
Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, associate professor, engineering technology and
industrial studies, said the Solar Raider 2 also finished second in the
100 kilometer race.
“SR2 generated so much interest in the practice yard that it experienced
excessive wear and tear and had to race the 100-kilometer course with
a failed power controller,” Foroudastan said. “First-place standing
in the sprint gave it this year’s fastest speed time, and the second-place
ranking has served to fuel the team’s determination to return next
year to further dominate the competition.”
Foroudastan said his 13 student competitors “not only established
a solid victory, but they also cooperated well as a team, working diligently
day and night to fix problems and producer innovative new ideas.”
Solar Raider 1 finished second in the sprint race and third in the 100-kilometer
race.
Solar Raider 1 captured first place in the S-Class category for both the
200-meter sprint and 100-kilometer race at the 2003 Solar BikeRayce.
The third ETIS team, under the guidance of Ken Sergeant, associate professor,
finished fourth in the 100-kilometer race, Foroudastan said.
The team consisted of Michael Mooneyham, Ian Campbell, David Cantrell
and Jonathan Wheeler.
A lack of practice time forced the students working with the Formula One
collegiate car to withdraw the entry from the national competition in
Pontiac, Mich., Foroudastan said, adding that they plan to have the car
ready in 2005.
Service held for alumnus 1st Lt. Ken Ballard killed
during war in Iraq
by Randy Weiler
Ballard |
Officials in the MTSU Department of Military Science
recently were notified of the death of a second alumnus during the war
in Iraq.
1st Lt. Ken Ballard, 26, whose last known hometown was Muldraugh near
Fort Knox in Kentucky, died May 30. He was killed by small arms fire in
Najaf, Iraq, Lt. Col. Diane Battaglia, a U.S. Army spokeswoman, said.
Last year, Capt. Pierre Piche (B.S. ’00) died from injuries received
in a helicopter crash in Iraq.
Originally, Ballard, who was sent to Iraq May 12, 2003, was scheduled
to come home in April. However, the 1st Armored Division out of Friedburg,
Germany, that he was serving in had its stay extended 120 days, Karen
Meredith, Ballard’s mother who lives in Mountain View, Calif., said.
She added that a welcome home party had been planned for May 22.
Ballard was commissioned as a second lieutenant on May 10, 2002, and graduated
with a B.S. degree the next day. His major was international relations
in the Department of Political Science. He earned minors in history and
military science.
The Mountain View, Calif., native was with the Army’s 2nd Battalion,
37th Armored Regiment. Ballard was a special forces tank commander and
platoon leader, being responsible for three or four tanks, Battaglia said.
While at MTSU, Ballard was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity,
which held a candlelight vigil service in his memory on June 7. Members
of the military science department and fellow alumni participated in the
service, Maj. Chuck Giles, professor, military science, said.
Before coming to MTSU, Ballard enlisted in the Army and served in Bosnia,
Macedonia and Germany. He received a Green to Gold Army scholarship that
is awarded to enlisted men who would become commissioned officers when
they graduate.
Memorial services were to be held for Ballard June 7-12 with full military
honors, his mother said. Meredith said she had not seen Ballard, who was
her only child, since December 2002.
MTSU’s flag was lowered to half- staff in Ballard’s memory on
June 7 following a request by Lisa L. Rollins, NPA assistant director.
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BAYONET OWNER SOUGHT—Jim
Haskins of Columbia displays a bayonet he recovered as a U.S. Marine
after the Battle of Okinawa in 1945. He hopes to return it to the
soldier's descendants as a goodwill gesture. The efforts of Dr. Kiyoshi
Kawahito, professor, economics and finance, and the Japan Center at
MTSU have acted as a liaison between Haskins and Japanese officials.
photo by Ken Robinson |
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SERVING AS U.S. MARINE—Jim Haskins serves
as a U.S. Marine at Camp Lejeune, N.C., about 1943-44.
submitted photo
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MTSU helps get photos to WWII
soldier’s family
by Gina Logue
Nearly 60 years after the World War II battle of Okinawa, a Japanese soldier’s
long-lost album of family photographs has been returned to the family
with the help of two members of the MTSU community.
The story begins with Jim Haskins, a U.S. Marine assigned to the 1st Marine
Division of the III Amphibious Corps in 1945. The former quarterback for
Lewisburg High School had never left home before volunteering for service
and being sent to stateside training at Parris Island and Camp Lejeune.
Serving as a stretcher bearer in Okinawa, Haskins saw firsthand the carnage
of the bloodiest battle of the Pacific war. American casualties totaled
more than 12,000 killed and 36,000 wounded. But he came home with something
special.
“I saw this book, and I looked at it, and I got a rifle and a bayonet
out of this place,” Haskins remembers. “I put it in a sea bag
and brought it back.”
The “book” was actually a navy blue, polka-dotted scrapbook
featuring photos of a Japanese soldier and others with inscriptions in
the Japanese language. Haskins said he surmised that the soldier had kept
it in his helmet as a memento of home.
“Whoever had made it had really taken a lot of time with it, and
it had a lot of family pictures in it,” said Haskins’ daughter,
Trinace Campbell of Murfreesboro.
Though the rifle to which the bayonet was attached was stolen out of Haskins’
sea bag years ago, the Haskins family preserved the photo album and the
bayonet over the decades. Trinace said these items were important to him,
but not as symbols of the Allied triumph.
“I felt like the family needed to know where the album was,”
Haskins said.
He wanted to return them to a living descendant of the Japanese soldier.
Enter the Rev. Bill Campbell, Trinace’s husband and head of the Wesley
Foundation, an on-campus ministry of the United Methodist Church. Campbell
approached Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, economics and finance professor and director
of the Japan-U.S. Program of MTSU.
“We did some research here, out of many names, trying to figure out
who might be the owner,” Kawahito said. “He obviously lived
at a few different places. That made it difficult. We kind of started
this nationwide research using search engines and other things.
“My student assistant and I did some research, called the Consul
General’s office and had some Japanese organizations which assist
these kinds of inquiries from abroad.”
The Consulate General of Japan at New Orleans, which serves a five-state
area that includes Tennessee, is accustomed to receiving this type of
request, said Consul Hitoshi Kawahara.
“There are so many Americans who are very old and would like to return
these items—flags, rifles,” Kawahara said.
Two years of painstaking investigation later, Kawahito, Kawahara and Kawahito’s
other contacts helped make the connection. The soldier was Higa Taro,
a soldier who died on Okinawa. He is listed in official records as having
died in battle in July 1944. The photo album was returned to Taro’s
nephew, Masaru Kinjo.
“It was really quite amazing that after all these years … someone
from the family could be identified from a photo album with no real identifying
address,” Bill said.
Haskins was gratified to hear the news, but the retired restaurant owner
and DuPont worker, who now lives in Columbia, remains largely taciturn
about the war years.
“I don’t think it’s a good subject to talk about, people
getting killed. That’s not a good thing,” Haskins said.
His son-in-law concurs and sees a parallel relevant to today’s battles.
“We’re at war right now, and we don’t often look back and
have some sense of what impact a war has on a family,” Bill said.
“I think this has a real statement to make about somebody who served
his country and wanted to have that sense of being reconciled with a former
enemy in a very unique way.”
Prof Herring influenced young writers
by Lisa L. Rollins
HERRING REMEMBERED—This picture of Dr.
Robert Herring, by son Geoffrey Herring, is on the jacket of “Hub.” |
Those who have perused the jackets of novels by the
late Dr. Robert “Bob” Herring know he served as a door-to-door
mattress salesman in Mississippi, a desk clerk and construction worker
in Arkansas and a tour guide in the Black Mountains of North Carolina.
But most locals who knew Herring, 66, remember him as a professor of English
at MTSU from 1966 to 1999, a competent colleague and trusted friend, a
humanitarian, sculptor, musician, mountain climber and captivating storyteller.
A native of Charleston, Miss., and the son of a Baptist minister, Herring
passed away May 26 after a long illness. Visitation was June 5 at Jennings
and Ayers Chapel.
“Bob was genuinely unique—an impeccably dressed Southern gentleman
with a wry sense of humor, a raconteur of exceptional talent who amused
and fascinated thousands of students over his long career,” said
Dr. John McDaniel, dean, College of Liberal Arts.
Herring's many students will likely recall “the lasting image of
Herring in a stylish turtleneck sweater and sports coat, legs propped
up casually on the front desk, spinning tales, yarns, anecdotes, personal
recollections of famous friends such as Tom T. Hall, Alex Haley, Archie
Campbell and Johnny Cash,” Daniel said.
A resident of Murfreesboro for nearly 40 years, Herring was not only the
first member of the MTSU community to have his work reviewed by the New
York Times Book Review, but also “the most important novelist ever
to come out of MTSU,” said Dr. Charles Wolfe, English professor.
“For years, Bob taught the creative writing class and was very influential
on a number of young writers,” Wolfe said. “He was very blunt
and honest in his evaluation of their work—he didn't automatically
heap praise just because a student finished a poem or story—but he
was able to draw on his own considerable writing skills and really taught
the serious students something about writing fiction and poetry.”
During his 33-year tenure as an English professor at MTSU, Herring—a
graduate of Mississippi College—taught courses in southern literature,
American literature and fiction writing. After his 1999 retirement, he
served four more years with the English faculty as part of the university's
post-tenure retirement program.
As an author, Herring's most well-known literary works—1981's “Hub,”
a high-adventure novel that won the Juvenile Fiction Award in 1985, and
1986's “McCampbell's War,” the haunting story of an old man's
fierce struggle to preserve all he holds dear—were praised nationally
by many, including the New York Times Book Review. He also was featured
in both the Mississippi and Tennessee Anthologies of Writers, among other
publications.
“Bob Herring represented a fascinating chapter in the history of
MTSU: at the beginning of his career he was a brash young Turk, morphing
in his later years, however, into a key figure in the slowly diminishing
departmental Old Guard,” McDaniel said.
“Although Bob's passing represents the loss of a vital link with
MTSU's past, his memory will live on through his works and his words through
the stories that he told and, in a sense, lived,” McDaniel said.
“He will be with us, in the most important ways, for a very long
time.”
Survivors include his mother, Maurine Davidson Herring of Jackson, Miss.;
his wife, Joan Burns Herring of Murfreesboro; son Geoffrey Robert Burns
Herring of Murfreesboro; daughter Lisa Herring Mayo of Woodbury; three
grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorials for Herring may be made to the American
Diabetes Association, 4205 Hillsboro Road, Suite 200, Nashville, Tenn.,
37215.
 |
WHITEFIELD COACHES SOCCER—MTSU’s Joe
Whitefield coaches girls on the Murfreesboro Strikers under-11 soccer
team.
submitted photo
|
Whitefield also successful outside
MTSU
Facilities services assistant director coaches
champion soccer team
by Randy Weiler
As assistant director of facilities services, Joe Whitefield’s primary
duty is to “oversee energy projects on campus” while working
closely with David Gray, director.
Away from the job each fall and spring, Whitefield’s task is to help
energize the abilities of 14 young girls on the Murfreesboro Strikers
under-11 soccer team he coaches along with Leanna Wright.
It was peak energy this spring as the Strikers needed to work overtime
to capture three tournament championships. This included the Tennessee
State Soccer Association Division 3 State Championship at White House
on May 2.
“We had a lot of close games,” Whitefield said. “Every
play mattered. We had the desire and chemistry to do it. Winning was the
icing on the cake.”
The Strikers used a penalty kick and a regular goal to defeat Harpeth
Bayern Munich 3-1 in overtime to finish with a 3-0-1 record in the state
tournament. This was the first year the Strikers were eligible to play
in the state tournament.
En route to the state title, the Strikers defeated the Brentwood Breakers
3-2 on overtime penalty kicks April 18 for the TSSA Region 2 crown in
Chattanooga for another 3-0-1 tourney run.
On March 28, they finished a 4-0 tournament run by earning a 3-2 overtime
victory against the Middle Valley Magic, a Division 2 team, at the “Bash
in the Boro” in Murfreesboro.
“Everyone plays defense,” Whitefield said of the team’s
motto. “When you play defense all over the field, you create scoring
opportunities.”
Goal keeper Maili Minneker recorded six shutouts, allowed only one goal
against in eight games and two goals against in four other games.
The defenders included Sarah Parker, Morgan “GiGi” Thomason,
Hannah Papa and Emma Whitefield.
Midfielders Alyssa Rampy, Morgan “Mo” Thompson, Olivia Nolan,
Haley Wright and Shelby Manning created a lot of scoring chances with
their passing and assists, Whitefield said.
Most of the scoring punch was supplied by forwards and strikers Katherine
Wright, McKenzie Gibson, Katie Smith and Samantha Stolze, he said.
Whitefield, a Nashville native who has worked at MTSU since February 1999,
said he works closely with Gray “with budget and work orders”
for all aspects of campus energy projects and utilities.
Along with the Strikers, he also has coached basketball, T-ball and recreation
soccer.
Whitefield and his wife, Ann Lee, and their children, Emma, 11, and Ryan,
7, attend Belle Aire Baptist Church.
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