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Celebrate hope, heritage during African-American History Month
from Staff Reports
The Gospel Music Extravaganza, one of the premier events of MTSU's African-American
History Month, will help to kick off the annual celebration on Saturday,
Feb. 4.
The program, which begins at 6 p.m. in Tucker Theatre, will benefit new
Murfreesboro neighbors Sarah Coulter and her seven children, who were
displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Admission will be $5 per person.
Headlining the Gospel Extravaganza will be the MTSU Gospel Choir, under
the direction of MTSU alumnus Jimmy Wilson. Hal Newman, assistant professor
in the university's Department of Recording Industry, also will perform.
Other MTSU graduates on the program include William Richardson, pianist,
and Quincy McKnight and the "Candle Lights."
Rounding out the evening will be the Rev. Jimmy Tyson, pastor of the Rockvale
Independent Church of God, and the Rutherford Praise Choir. Brenda McKnight,
local playwright and actress, and Darren Rankins, author and poet, will
add their talents to the mix. Chaplain Ernest and Mrs. Newsom will share
their display of African attire. Other creative offerings will include
a spiritual mime and spiritual dance.
Coulter and her family lived in New Orleans and moved temporarily to Murfreesboro
after their home was destroyed. Mary Glass, who works in MTSU's business
office and is coordinating the event, discovered the family through a
friend. Coulter's children range in age from 5 to 22 years.
For more information about the Gospel Music Extravaganza, contact Glass
at 615-898-5145.
Other AAHM scheduled events include:
• Wednesday, Feb. 1-Race and the Death Penalty panel discussions,
9:10-10:05 a.m. and 10:20-11:15 a.m., KUC Theater; no admission charge.
• Feb. 1-"Portraits: The First Black American Divas of Song
and Opera," 8 p.m., Hinton Music Hall; no admission charge.
• Saturday, Feb. 4-Black Family Technology Awareness Day Conference,
8 a.m. registration, Bragg Mass Communication Building (front entrance);
no admission charge.
• Tuesday, Feb. 7-Unity Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., JUB Tennessee
Room; keynote speaker MTSU alumna and Belmont University vice president
Dr. Susan West; admission $18 per person.
• Thursday, Feb. 9-"The Nation of Islam: Service Through Nationalism,"
4:15-5:30 p.m., BAS 118S; no admission charge.
• Tuesday, Feb. 21-Black Business Student Association Business Networking
Reception, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., JUB Hazlewood Dining Room; contact Meichelle
Gibson at mgibson@mtsu.edu.
• Feb. 21-"Hip Hop's Political Movement," lecture by Bakari
Kitwana, 4-5:30 p.m., BAS S260; no admission charge.
• Thursday, March 2-"Night of Smooth Jazz," featuring several
student groups and international jazz recording artist Ben Tankard, 6:30
p.m., JUB Tennessee Room; admission $10 per person.
• Thursday, March 16-"The South as Others, The South as Strangers,"
7 p.m., BAS State Farm Lecture Hall; no admission charge.
• Friday, March 24-Black Alumni Achievement Awards and Al Wilkerson
Scholarship Banquet, keynote address by Darrell Freeman and book signing
by Mike McDonald, 6 p.m., James Union Building; admission $15 per person.
For more information about any of these events, contact the MTSU Office
of Multicultural Affairs at 615-898-2987 or e-mail rmetcalf@mtsu.edu.
Annual Unity Luncheon to honor 7 'unsung heroes'
A traditional kickoff event for MTSU's African-American History Month
celebration every winter is the Unity Luncheon, which recognizes and honors
select "unsung heroes" in the community who have spent a large
part of their lives serving others through their time and energy.
The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in
the James Union Building's Tennessee Room. Tickets are $18 per person
or $8 each for students. The luncheon speaker will be Dr. Susan West,
Belmont University vice president and MTSU alumna (B.S. '81).
This year's honorees are Pearlie Mae Wade Martin, Martha Rankins Smith,
Bobby Bartlett, Etta Collier, Rev. F.B. Carpenter Jr., Amanda Evelyn Gordon
and Mary Lou Anderson.
Pearlie Mae Martin taught in the Rutherford County Schools for 34 years.
She earned her bachelor's degree from A & I State University (now
TSU) and her M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees at MTSU. She remains active in her
church and community.
Martha Rankins Smith was employed at MTSU for 32 years. She is a member
of First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro and has been a member of the usher
board for 48 years. She continues to serve her church and community.
Bobby Bartlett recently retired as a K-8 physical education teacher in
Celina, Tenn., after 30 years. But he wore many hats on the job, serving
as bus driver, scoreboard operator and coach. Friends consider him the
"strong backbone" of the Free Hill community. He also ministers
twice a month to the congregation of the Kingdom Hill Church of Christ
in Tompkinsville, Ky.
Etta Collier has served as a caregiver to many people and still works
in that capacity for individual families. She is active in the Bethel
Missionary Baptist Church and has represented her church at several state
and national conventions. Collier also has taught Sunday school, played
piano for various choruses, directed vacation Bible school and served
as an officer in the Nurse's Guild.
Rev. F.B. Carpenter Jr., a native of Davidson County, is pastor of the
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. When a tornado destroyed the building,
Carpenter rallied the people together and rebuilt the church. Friends
say this servant of mankind delivers inspirational messages and acts as
a mentor to pastors new to the area.
Amanda Evelyn Gordon, a native of Owensboro, Ky., graduated from MTSU
with a B.S. degree in elementary education. She taught in the Rutherford
County school system for 22 years then decided to give full service to
First Baptist Church, where her husband, Richard Gordon, served as pastor
for 43 years. She is active in numerous organizations and boards and is
a recipient of the NAACP-sponsored Jerry Anderson Humanitarian Award.
Mary Lou Anderson attended A & I State University, the University
of Dayton (Ohio) and Wright State University and worked in the credit
union at State Farm Insurance for 27 years. She volunteered time in both
the Murfreesboro City and Rutherford County school systems. Active in
the Highway 231 Church of Christ, Anderson also serves on various local
boards and committees.
The year's MTSU AAHM theme is "Celebrating 100 Years of Community,
Social and Civic Service." There will be a variety of events-music,
lectures and social gatherings-throughout the months of February and March.
To register or for more information about this year's programs, contact
Sherrie Murray or Ralph Metcalf, MTSU Office of Multicultural Affairs,
at 615-898-2987.Looking to the sky
AIMING FOR THE STARS-A waning gibbous moon in the western morning sky
is "captured" in the ice-tipped pointer atop MTSU's Naked Eye
Observatory column depicting the planet Pluto. When it opens this semester,
the observatory, located alongside the Cope Administration Building, will
play a role in the First Friday Star Parties. Those events resume on Friday,
Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.mtsu.edu/~physics/observatory.htm.
photo by News & Public Affairs
Building for the future at MTSU
from Staff Reports
On a growing campus like MTSU, orange fences, dirt mounds and earth-moving
machinery are an ongoing presence. But when construction projects and
improvements are completed, we all benefit from new campus amenities and
upgraded facilities.
Davis Science Building is being re-roofed by Porter Roofing of McMinnville
and, weather permitting, should be completed this month.
The re-roofing of the Cason Kennedy Nursing Building by American Roofing
of Nashville is in progress and also should be finished this month. The
nursing addition is well under way, and completion is scheduled for September
of 2006. Hardaway is doing the work-the same company that has done renovation
work on the DSB.
The refurnishing of the Smith Hall Quad, including new lighting and bathroom
improvements, is 45 percent complete. The project should be done this
April. After Smith is completed, the renovation of Monohan and Lyon will
begin.
The facade of the Parking/Transportation Building on East Main Street
went out for bids at the end of November. The project will include a new
front parking area.
The engraving has been approved for the granite in the Naked Eye Observatory
adjacent to Cope. The targets are installed on the monuments, and the
project is set for completion in early 2006.
New seating is installed in Murphy Center, and the project to make restrooms
compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act is out for bids.
Excavation work for the new airplane hangar is finished, and workers are
addressing some stormwater issues related to the project.
Shankle-Lind is the contractor for the new Alumni Relations house and
office. Renovation began in late November and will take approximately
eight months to complete.
CBM Enterprises of La Vergne is doing the Phase I work on the new parking
lot on the east side of Rutherford Boulevard. Phase II will come later
and involve traffic reconfigurations on campus.
The dugouts are dug to grade on the women's softball field, and footings
are completed. Walls have been erected in the visitors' dugout, and the
main press box has been laid out. The project will be completed by spring.
New lighting has been installed in the baseball field. The fence posts
are set, and the bracing and steel are going up for the new stands.
The Student Health Wellness/ Recreation Facility project is currently
on hold because all bids exceeded the budgeted amount.
Other projects in various stages of design include the widening of Middle
Tennessee Boulevard; work on the Middle Tennessee Building (formerly Middle
Tennessee Baptist Church), which will house the Graduate Studies, Payroll,
Human Resource Services and Grants and Research offices; and the underground
electrical updating.
The design of ADA adaptations are in progress, consisting of a new exterior
elevator for Peck Hall, new doors for the Business/Aerospace Building,
a lift for Alumni Memorial Gym and ADA-compliant restrooms for Peck Hall,
DSB and Kirksey Old Main. Slated for new roofs in the future are Boutwell
Dramatic Arts, Todd Building and KOM.
Phase I of the improvements to the track facilities are in final design
in partnership with the City of Murfreesboro. The work will include lights
and bleachers. The city and MTSU will host Spring Fling May 23-27, necessitating
the improvements. Phase II will include concessions, restrooms, a ticket
office, a field house and an entry plaza.
Other projects in the design/ development stage include Peck Hall HVAC,
New Student Union/KUC renovation, Master Plan Update and the Sewer System
and Steam Manhole Updates.
As always, construction progress and completion deadlines are subject
to weather conditions.In Brief
Groundhog Day Luncheon
to kick off baseball season
The annual Groundhog Day luncheon has been set for Thursday, Feb. 2, at
11:30 a.m., in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. The event,
sponsored by the Blue Raider baseball team and the Blue Raider Athletic
Association, is a kickoff for the 2006 season. The meal includes ham hocks,
white beans, tomato salad, green onions, corn bread, chocolate cake and
ice cream. All tickets bought in advance are $15, and all tickets purchased
the day of the event are $20. Reservations may be made for the Groundhog
Day Luncheon by calling the BRAA office at 615-898-2210 or the Middle
Tennessee Ticket Office at 615-898-2103 or 1-888-YES-MTSU. Reservations
must be made by Friday, Jan. 27.
Nominate great students
for 2006 Recognition Awards
Nominations are being accepted for the 2006 Student Recognition Awards,
which will honor four undergraduate students for exemplary character and
achievements in scholarship, leadership and service. Award descriptions,
including applications and selection criteria, can be found at www.mtsu.edu/~mtleader/scholar.htm.
The application deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 8; you may nominate a student
by e-mailing the student's name and award to draffo@mtsu.edu. The recipients
will be honored at the President's Celebration of Excellence in March.
Be safe in the water
with Campus Rec courses
Campus Recreation has two training opportunities for swimming and water
safety. A Lifeguard Instructor Training Class will be held Feb. 3-12 to
earn certification as an American Red Cross Lifeguard Training Instructor;
registration deadline is Thursday, Feb. 2. Participants must be at least
17 years old and successfully pass a pre-course test. A Water Safety Instructor
Class is set Feb. 17-26 with a registration deadline of Wednesday, Feb.
15. Participants must be at least 16 and successfully pass a pre-course
test to earn FIT and WSI certifications. Cost for each class is $130 per
student; faculty/staff rates are $145 per person and guest cost is $150.
To sign up, come by the Campus Rec office Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5
p.m. For more information, call 615-898-2104 or visit www.mtsu.edu/~camprec.FOR
THE RECORD: Center for Popular Music celebrates 20th anniversary
by Paul E. Wells
On Nov. 18, 1985, I reported for my first day of work at MTSU as the director
of a brand new operation that was called at the time "Center of Excellence
in Music Archives and Research." My principal charge was to build
a popular music library and archive that would rival the size and quality
of older, established repositories and would have an identity of its own.
As was the case with all units established under the Centers of Excellence
initiative, the mission of this new music center was to support advanced
research and scholarship, and to function as something distinct from the
university's teaching program.
The magnitude of the challenges that lay before me was readily apparent
on that first day when I stepped into a completely empty office. There
was no chair, no desk, no telephone, no bookshelves, no staff and certainly
no library or archival collection. Nothing.
Twenty years later, the Center for Popular Music-as we soon renamed it-has
come a long way toward fulfilling the initial vision. MTSU can now boast
of having one of the largest, most comprehensive popular music research
libraries in the country, one that has been a valuable resource not only
for our own students and faculty, but for researchers around the world.
Citations to the Center and its staff routinely appear in books, recordings,
articles, dissertations, media productions and exhibits that have in some
way been supported by the Center's resources.
Over the past 20 years, the Center has produced a wide range of public
programs that follow from our research mission including lectures, performances,
conferences and symposia. These outreach efforts provide a way of sharing
the Center's work with members of the general public and contribute to
the cultural and intellectual life of the university community.
Such programs do not, however, provide people with much insight into the
nature of the Center's library and archival holdings. We frequently encounter
people on campus who are not even aware that MTSU houses such a collection.
To address this issue, we are using the opportunity of the celebration
of our 20th anniversary to share some of our holdings with the public
through a series of exhibits and related programs.
We have entered into a partnership with the National Park Service and
the Stones River National Battlefield to mount a series of four exhibits
of Civil War-era music. The initial offering, "Civil War Music: The
Local Connection," is currently on display at the visitors' center
of the Stones River National Battlefield and will remain through March.
Subsequent exhibits will carry the series into 2007.
"From Studios to Stages: Images of American Music Makers," an
exhibit of photographs from the Center's archives opened in the Baldwin
Photographic Gallery in the McWherter Learning Resources Center Jan. 22.
A lecture by the curators of the exhibit will take place Monday, Feb.
6, at 7:30 p.m. in Mass Comm 101.
Center staff is currently developing an exhibit of sheet music by African-American
songwriters that will go up in the Special Collections exhibit area of
Walker Library in late February. A concert of performances of some of
the works on display is also planned. The exhibit and concert will serve
also as the Center's contribution to the celebration of African-American
History Month.
Dr. Sidney McPhee has often said that he wants MTSU to be recognized as
a great university. One criterion by which a university's greatness is
measured is the strength of its library and archival holdings. We hope
that the exhibits and programs we present to the public to mark our anniversary
will increase recognition and appreciation of the Center's collections
as a major component of MTSU's intellectual and cultural resources.Paul
F. Wells is director of MTSU's Center for Popular Music. For more information
about the Center, visit its Web site at http://popmusic.mtsu.edu.Musicians
featured in new exhibit
from Staff Reports
"From Studios to Stages: Images of American Music Makers" is
the first exhibit of 2006 in the Baldwin Photographic Gallery at Middle
Tennessee State University.
On display through Friday, Feb. 24, the 55-piece exhibit consists of photographs
drawn from the collections of the Center for Popular Music at MTSU and
is presented as part of the celebration of the Center's 20th anniversary.
The show features a wide range of historic and contemporary images that
depict both professional and amateur musicians, playing a variety of musical
genres.
The curators will give a public talk about the exhibit on Monday, Feb.
6, at 7:30 p.m., in Room 101 of the Bragg Mass Communication Building
at MTSU. A reception in the Baldwin gallery will follow the talk. The
exhibit and the talk are both free and open to the public.
"This is the first time we've mounted an exhibit of photos from our
archives, and we're very excited about it," said Paul F. Wells, director
of the Center. "We've tried to put together a show that conveys the
broad importance of music as an aspect of American life.
"There are pictures of professional entertainers onstage, of families
making music in their parlors and front yards, and of people posing proudly
with their instruments as they sit or stand motionless in photographers'
studios."
Music in dance halls, at religious gatherings, at community musical productions,
in parades, at weddings, at festivals and at funerals all are represented
in the exhibit. Most of the images have not been seen in public.
The exhibit includes examples of numerous historic photographic formats
including ambrotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, cartes-de-visite, post
cards, snapshots and conventional prints. Some examples of digital retouching
of faded and damaged prints are also included.
Curators of the exhibit are Center staffers Wells, Lucinda Cockrell, David
Jellema and Lacey Stockhem, with research assistance from Betsy Snowden.
The Baldwin gallery is located in the McWherter Learning Resources Center
on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro. The gallery is open Monday through
Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. and Sunday
6-10 p.m.
For more information, contact Tom Jimison, curator of the Baldwin gallery,
at 615-898-2085, or Wells or Cockrell at the Center for Popular Music
at 615-898-2449.1st day of spring semester brings 20,448
by Randy Weiler
MTSU spring 2006 semester classes resumed Jan. 17 with 20,448 students-a
near-1 percent increase of 181 students-enrolled, a university enrollment
services official said.
Dr. Sherian Huddleston, associate vice provost, enrollment services, said
the Jan. 17 total is a 0.89 percent increase over the 20,267 graduate
and undergraduate students who were enrolled on Jan. 18, 2005.
"Basically, our transfers are up by 99," Huddleston said. "We
have an increase in returning students at both the graduate and undergraduate
levels. We're showing a slight decrease in new graduate students, new
freshmen and new enrollees."
The Tennessee Board of Regents requires its universities and community
colleges to submit 14-day census totals. The 14-day period will end Feb.
1, and Huddleston will submit MTSU's totals that week, she said.
David Hutton, director, financial aid, said his personnel "have fed
over $43 million into students' accounts." He said a steady stream
of students was keeping his staff busy.
On Jan. 8 alone, $33 million in scholarships, grants and loans was funneled
into their accounts, Hutton said. This included $7.6 million for the Tennessee
Education Lottery Scholarships, $5.5 million in Pell grants, $22 million
in student loans and $963,000 in Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation
grants, he said.
Spring break is scheduled March 6-11. April 26 will be the last day of
classes, with April 27 a student study day. Final exams will be April
28-May 4, with commencement ceremonies scheduled on Saturday, May 6.Student
researchers present posters at Capitol
by Randy Weiler
The first Posters-at-the-State-Capitol will be held Wednesday, Feb. 1,
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee announced.
Select undergraduate students from MTSU and the other Tennessee Board
of Regents schools, except the University of Memphis, will display their
research projects, according to McPhee and Dr. Tom Cheatham, dean, College
of Basic and Applied Sciences, who is coordinating the event.
The display will be on the second floor of the State Capitol building
outside the House and Senate chambers, McPhee said.
"It is my hope that this display will afford you the opportunity
to better understand what is happening in undergraduate education across
the state and to see firsthand the impressive research our young Tennesseans
are doing on our campuses," McPhee wrote in a letter sent to state
House and Senate members Jan. 10.
The MTSU president said all TBR universities have been invited to participate,
and "we have made an effort to include students from various (House
and Senate) districts and various academic disciplines."
From 10:30 until 11:30 a.m., student presenters will visit the offices
of their respective legislators, inviting the legislators' participation,
McPhee added.
After lunch, students will discuss their posters and research with passersby
from 12:30 until 3 p.m.Students receive real-world training in online
design
by Lindsay Wright
With their fun-loving and laid-back personalities, teachers Jennifer Woodard
and Ray Wong know how to make a challenging class to which students look
forward.
For an MTSU student interested in Web page development, Wong, associate
professor of journalism, and Woodard, assistant professor of electronic
media communication, give learners a "real-world" experience
in the classroom and lab in creating a Web page.
With a smile on her face, Woodard said being a part of this GRAF 4180
class is like being in a marriage-different students with different skills
and ideas have to learn to come together and compromise with one another.
"My students are responsible for the electronic contributions of
the Web page," Woodard said, "and Ray's students are responsible
for the graphics. We all have to bring our skills in concert in order
to achieve a successful Web page, but we have great chemistry and work
together great."
The objective of this experiential learning, or "hands-on" class,
is to prepare students for today's work world by giving them the opportunity
to experience the same demands and limitations of the work environment,
said Wong, who has taught at MTSU for 10 years.
Students with skills in graphics, as well as students with skills in electronic
media have combined their talents to construct the student-created Web
site known as Blue Wire News. The site features a series of news stories,
feature stories, pictorial stories and first-person stories written by
the students on a variety of current and local news topics.
Leaning back in his chair and propping his feet on the edge of his desk,
it is apparent that Wong loves what he does and has both pride and confidence
in his students.
"My students have the choice to use whatever software program they
want," Wong said. "The students completely make up the outcome
of the Web site. I leave it up to them to decide what they feel comfortable
with."
By giving the students "real job" responsibilities, they learn
how to prioritize their time to meet expectations and deadlines, Wong
remarked. In addition, the students are faced with the sometimes frustrating
task of having to give and take with others on issues such as how the
Web page will look-a scenario that they likely will face in the working
world.
MTSU student Nathan Akers, a senior majoring in electronic media communication,
said that it can be a challenge working in such a large group on one project.
However, it is apparent that he thoroughly enjoys and appreciates the
class experience.
"This class is a great learning experience for any student interested
in electronic communication," Akers said. "We learn how to work
together with individuals and their different ideas and opinions. Half
the people in the class do the designing and the other half do the graphics;
we have to be patient and learn how to negotiate with one another."
Woodard, who has taught at MTSU for nine years, said she considers both
herself and Wong as not only teachers but also student coaches.
"We are here to guide the students in the right direction,"
she said. "However, it is ultimately up to the students to work jointly
and meet the deadlines. We don't tell the students what to do; we guide
them along and are here if they need help."
"Granting the students the freedom and responsibility to explore
their creativity makes this class unique," added Akers. "The
students find that every thing they have ever learned throughout college
is needed and applied in this one class. It's not just words on paper;
it's all different kinds of techniques by individual students working
collectively to create a professional and self- fulfilling Web page."
For more information on Blue Wire News, please visit the site at www.bluewirenews.com.
Lindsay Wright is a junior majoring in mass communication.INTO THE BLUE-Professors
Ray Wong, front, and Jennifer Bailey Woodard, back, help students Sonali
Fernando and Regina Stephens with an online magazine project.
photo by Ken Robinson
Accounting chair tapped for new post; Thomas will serve on CPA board's
audit panel
by Tom Tozer
Dr. Paula Thomas, MTSU accounting chair in the Jones College of Business,
who is starting her second year on the board of the American Institute
of CPAs, has been appointed to serve on the board's audit committee.
The AICPA is the national professional organization for all certified
public accountants.
Thomas is the sole academician on the 23-member AICPA board, which makes
her inclusion on the smaller, highly select committee both rare and an
honor, she noted.
"It's unusual for an educator to be named to the audit committee,"
Thomas said, adding that the committee historically is composed of people
in public accounting. "I am really pleased to be a member."
"Dr. Thomas continues to represent MTSU, the Jones College and the
accounting profession with aplomb and a wealth of knowledge," Dr.
Jim Burton, business dean, commented.
"Her experience with the AICPA and now the audit committee not only
enhances her professional standing but also benefits her colleagues and,
most importantly, her students."
Meetings of the whole board are held five times a year in New York City,
and the audit committee meets the day before each two-day board session.
The Institute serves as an advocacy group before government and other
regulatory agencies, sets certification and licensing standards, promotes
public awareness, helps develop academic programs and recruit qualified
candidates and establishes and monitors professional standards.
The AICPA audit committee, the heart of the organization's internal control
structure, works to ensure the financial integrity of the organization
while addressing the concerns of multiple stakeholders, including management,
regulators, investors and the public interest.
"The audit committee is responsible for the fairness and reliability
of the financial statements, something that you have to be particularly
careful of," Thomas said. "There's a lot of legal responsibility
being on the audit committee. If you get sued, the focus is on our committee.
The audit committee oversight is more intense when you have a group of
accounting people."
The entire board is involved in exploring a different set of accounting
standards for small businesses as opposed to big businesses, she explained.
"There's always been one set of accounting standards that everybody
followed, whether General Motors or the corner grocery store. The board
is going forward to investigate a different set of standards for smaller
companies. Since Sarbanes-Oxley, that has created huge differences for
large and small companies. So it seemed the right time to explore another
set of standards. That's been the most interesting to me personally, because
that's the nuts and bolts of my teaching area."
The board also approved moving the AICPA headquarters from New Jersey
to North Carolina, which, Thomas said, created excitement among her students
because of the job opportunities it will create in the region as they
seek careers in the field.
AICPA board members serve a three-year term, and committee assignments
are for one year, Thomas said.Todd Gallery is site of national juried
exhibit; display under way through Feb. 10
by Lisa L. Rollins
A national juried art exhibit, 12" x 12," is on display through
Friday, Feb. 10, in the Todd Gallery at MTSU.
Mark Scala, curator of exhibitions at Nashville's Frist Center for the
Visual Arts, served as juror for 12" x 12", which features art
pieces that are no larger than 12" x 12" in any direction.
Dr. Lon Nuell, curator for the Todd Gallery, said 64 works by 47 artists
are featured in 12" x 12," which attracted entries from some
135 artists in 35 states. The exhibit features both two- and three-dimensional
works in both traditional and experimental media, he said, with subject
matter that runs the gamut from representational to abstraction and the
non-objective.
"There were no media restrictions placed on artists ... and works
(that will be) shown include prints, paintings, photography, 3-D constructions,
works in fine metals, mixed and unique/experimental media," Nuell
said.
The national art show offered six awards. Tempe, Ariz., native Becky Chader
received the top prize, the President's Award, for "Terro Server,"
which Nuell described as "a beautifully crafted silver piece that
presents those who would remove ants from their homes with an object of
beauty to lead them to their demise. It is a clever and poignant statement
of these times."
Kristin Burton and Jaime Raybin, both Nashville-area natives, received
first- and second-place prizes, respectively.
Burton's work, "Untitled #3," was made with enamel paint and
nail polish, and Raybin's piece, titled "Eggletting," is a small
etching.
"The best ally of small art, its preciousness, is also its biggest
problem," observed art juror Scala.
"The word implies delicacy, rarity, delight in rich materials and
astonishing craftsmanship. But it also suggests a lack of seriousness,
cuteness even .... The small art that is precious, yet has a sharp bite,
is the art that won the prizes in this exhibition."
The exhibit, which opened Jan. 17, is free and open to the public. The
gallery, located in MTSU's Todd Building, is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays.
For more information, please contact Nuell at 615-898-2505.ON EXHIBIT-Arizona
artist Becky Chader's "Terro Server," shown at left, took top
honors in the 12" x 12" national juried exhibit currently on
display in the Todd Gallery at MTSU. Nashville artist Carol Mode's "Rush,"
above, an acrylic on wood panel, also is included in the exhibit, which
runs through Feb. 10.
photos by J. IntintoliHannah enourages colleagues to help; faculty can
fund student conference experience
by Tom Tozer
Dr. Watson Hannah says she's been extremely fortunate to be able to attend
many conferences on research and innovation in higher education, and she
thinks more faculty members should try to make those kinds of off-campus
opportunities available to their students.
A director in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost,
Hannah personally funded the Education Specialist Student Conference Travel
Scholarship for students pursuing the Ed.S. degree with a specialization
in higher education, preferably those who intend to obtain a doctorate.
"We talk a lot in class about scholarly work, and at the Ed.S. level,
they really need to know how to write and understand research and the
literature that comes from research," she said.
Hannah provided the means for two students-Michael West and Hattie Traylor-to
attend the recent Association for the Study of Higher Education conference
in Pittsburgh.
"Many of the authors whose theories we read in class are there at
the conference," Hannah added, "so our students have a chance
to interact with them and ask questions, which is really good.
"Also, a lot of graduate students are there looking for a dissertation
topic or tips on improving their writing and presentation skills."
To develop seed money for her scholarship, Hannah organized a "NoName"
conference last spring and welcomed more than 100 presenters. Hannah calls
it a "renegade conference," an extension of the Society for
College and University Planning.
"'NoName' is very experimental," she said. "Something that
might not get accepted at SCUP might be presented at the "NoName"
conference. Or someone might want to 'test run' a presentation before
submitting it to SCUP."
With some of the profits from the "NoName" event, Hannah launched
the scholarship, and she contributes funds to it every month.
Both West and Traylor said they were grateful for the scholarship that
enabled them to attend the ASHE conference.
"It was a great experience, just to mingle with others in higher
education," Traylor, who is an academic adviser in the College of
Mass Communication, said. "I met a lot of people who were willing
to help us."
Traylor said she hopes to stay in the field of advising. "I'm interested
in anything in administration that still allows me to have student contact."
West, a teacher at Daniel McKee Alternative School and small-business
owner, said he is on the fence about what he wants to do.
"I love learning, and given the right circumstances, I will go on,"
he commented. "The conference didn't push me one way or the other,
but I enjoyed the experience. Dr. Hannah wanted me to go to help me decide
if I wanted to continue pursuing higher education administration after
I get my specialist degree."
West said in three years, he would like to be in a doctoral program and
perhaps teach at the college level.
Hannah said she would like to see other faculty provide students with
opportunities to attend conferences.
"If faculty perceive that something is important for students, it
would be nice if we provided funds for that," she said. "It's
a sacrifice when you give money to your university. I've had a lot of
good experiences, so I want to pass that on. If you have first-generation
college students, then it's really important to provide that kind of exposure."Videoconferences
begin for K-12 students, teachers
by Randy Weiler
The spring 2006 MTSU Satellite Videoconferencing Center program schedule
is under way with another interesting lineup of programs for students
and teachers, said Dr. Connie Schmidt, director of the Instructional Technology
Support Center.
The Enrichment Programs for Students, airing from 9 until 10 a.m. each
Tuesday (except March 7, March 21 and March 28), will range from "Fishing
for Career Success: The Right Bait Equals a Great Catch" Jan. 31
to "Nineteenth Century Wet Plate Collodion Photography" April
18.
Programs include "Alaska: More than Ice and Snow," Feb. 7; "Hands-on
History at Stones River National Battlefield," Feb. 14; "The
Genius of Geometry," Feb. 21; "African Art, African Voices:
Long Steps Never Broke a Back," Feb. 28; "Healthy Habits to
Increase Your Energy and Performance," March 14; "Connect-ing
Writing and Reading in the Middle Grades," April 4; and "American
Indian Powwow," April 11.
Various MTSU faculty and staff will be involved with the live, interactive
students' enrichment programs, including Lucy Billings-Jones, Meichelle
Gibson, Georgia Dennis, Jacqueline Heigle and Drs. Larry and Kathy Burriss,
Mark Anshel and Bobbie Solley.
The Professional Development Programs for Teachers will air from 3:30
until 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays except for March 9, 23 and 30.
The teachers' programs will range from "Holiday Math Lessons"
Feb. 2 to "A Balancing Act" April 20.
Programs will include "At Home During the Civil War," Feb. 9;
"Elementary and Secondary Education Act-No Child Left Behind,"
Feb. 16; "If at First You Don't Succeed: Common Mistakes Young Adults
Make With Money and How to Avoid Them," Feb. 23; "Teaching Innovations
at the Adventure Science Center," March 2; "Celebrating Earth
Day in the Classroom," March 16; "Accommodations for Students
with Dyslexia: Choosing & Using," April 6; and "A 'Sensational'
Learning Experience," April 13.
The Feb. 9, Feb. 16, Feb. 23 and March 16 programs will be pre-recorded,
so field trips or call-in questions won't be available.
The programs will air at schools in Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Davidson,
Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Rutherford (MTSU Channel 9),
Warren and Williamson counties in Tennessee.Summer jobs, internships featured
Feb. 8 at JUB fair
from Staff Reports
Jobs, jobs and more jobs will be available to MTSU students at the annual
Summer Jobs and Internship Fair on campus from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday,
Feb. 8, in the James Union Building.
Though it's still the middle of winter, now is a prime time for students
to seek summer employment and internships that may lead to full-time careers,
according to Karen Austin, assistant director of the MTSU Career and Employment
Center.
"We expect over 50 employers to be on campus at the fair recruiting
students from all majors," Austin said. "Some of the top companies
in the Nashville area will be here including the Frist Center for the
Visual Arts, Target, Youth Villages and the YMCA.
"We feel this opportunity, plus a little advance planning on the
part of the students, can pay big dividends in the future."
The Career and Employment Center offers a variety of services to assist
students in planning their careers, including:
• eRecruiting, a Web-based referral system;
• a variety of special events and career days;
• resume writing and interview preparation workshops; and
• a career resource library.
Students are encouraged to stop by the Career Center, located in Room
328 of the Keathley University Center, to visit with one of the staff
members and to pick up a copy of the latest career guides.
The Career Center also has career coordinators and satellite offices for
the College of Basic and Applied Science (Jones Hall 158), Business (BAS
S-123), and the Colleges of Education, Liberal Arts and Mass Communication
(all temporarily in KUC 328).
For more information on the fair or other career planning opportunities,
students may call 615-898-5732 or visit the Career Center Web site at
www.mtsu.edu/~career.
Japanese music to warm winter air Feb. 15
by Gina K. Logue
The Japan-U.S. Center of MTSU and the Robert W. McLean School of Music
will present the Music from Japan Festival 2006 at 7 p.m., Wednesday,
Feb. 15, in Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building.
The world's top shakuhachi player, Akikazu Nakamura, and one of the world's
finest koto players, Michiyo Yagi, will perform traditional and contemporary
Japanese music. Award-winning songwriter Masao Endo was commissioned to
compose works especially for this tour.
Nakamura is a graduate of the NHK School of Traditional Music and a summa
cum laude graduate of the Berklee College of Music, where he studied composition
and jazz theory. He is the leader of Kokoo, a band that features shakuhachi
and koto in the performance of pop, rock and jazz tunes.
His instrument, the shakuhachi, is a long vertically held flute made from
the very lowest section of a bamboo tree. Changes in sound quality are
made by changes in the placement of the fingers on the holes and alterations
in breathing techniques.
Yagi, also a graduate of the NHK School of Traditional Music and a member
of Kokoo, was a visiting professor of music at Wesleyan University from
1989 to 1990. She counts American composers John Cage and John Zorn among
her influences.
Her instrument, the koto, is a string instrument most closely resembling
a zither. The strings are stretched across moveable bridges. Adjusting
the bridges before playing allows the artist to change pitch.
Endo, a Tokyo native, earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. Like Naka-mura, he is
a prior winner of the Japan Music Competition. In 2002, Endo's violin
concerto, "Gyre of Fertility," was performed in observance of
100 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Romania.
New York-based Music from Japan has presented nearly 400 works, including
51 world premieres and 39 commissions. According to MFJ's Web site, "for
more than 30 years, Music from Japan has championed wider knowledge about
and appreciation of Japanese music and composers, which the West has generally
had little opportunity to enjoy."
The concert is free, thanks to generous contributions from Bridgestone/Firestone
and Toshiba. Although the event is open to the public, reservations are
required. To make reservations, e-mail your request to Japan@mtsu.edu
or to Tim Musselman in the McLean School of Music at tmusselm@mtsu.edu.
BEAUTIFUL MUSIC-Koto player Michiyo Yagi, above left, and shakuhachi master
Akikazu Nakamura, above right, will share traditional and contemporary
compositions during the Music from Japan Festival 2006, scheduled Wednesday,
Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. in Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building.
photos submittedPEOPLE AROUND CAMPUS: Semester abroad fills students'
agendas
by Gina K. Logue
Tim Rice's lyrics from the theatrical production "Chess" claim
that "one night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster." But
that musical uses the game of chess as a metaphor for the Cold War between
the United States and the Soviet Union.
There is no Cold War between Thailand and MTSU-only a budding reciprocal
relationship.
Brittany Greene and Joey Wade, both organizational communication majors
and MTSU, left America Jan. 4 for a semester at Bangkok University. Their
overseas experience of a lifetime is made possible by a pact signed Oct.
3 by officials of both institutions.
Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, director of the U.S.-Japan Program, facilitated
the arrangement. Kawahito, who travels to Asia each year, says the relationship
is a good fit compared to situations in some other nations.
"The people are very, very nice," Kawahito says of Thailand.
"Buddhism is practiced, not just discussed. Foods are pretty much
compatible with Japanese food. Hotels are very inexpensive."
Greene, a 21-year-old Chattanooga native who lives in La Vergne, is especially
familiar with all that has to offer. She traveled there in the summer
of 2004 on a mission for a college ministry. She is not totally fluent
in Thai, but she benefits from her attendance at a Baptist church with
a heavy Laotian contingent.
"Before I went over there, I already knew a lot," Greene says.
"I gradually picked up a little bit more while I was there. I'm learning
more now through friends. It's hard to learn through a CD. It's a lot
easier to learn through people who actually are saying it in a conversation."
Wade, a 21-year-old from Murfreesboro, has been to London and Paris, but
he chose an Asian nation this time for a change of pace. He is looking
forward to visiting the ruins of Angkor Wat, touted by Cambodia as "the
largest religious monument in the world," and making another side
trip to Phuket, Thailand, a resort city that has rebuilt following the
Christmas 2004 tsunami.
Greene says she wants to visit places where she was involved in missions,
including Changmai in northern Thailand and Mahasarakham, as well as Vientiane,
the capital of Laos, where she has friends.
Of course, the sightseeing will have to come somewhere after studying
on Greene and Wade's "to-do" lists. Bangkok University is the
first and one of the largest private universities in Thailand. It offers
courses in both English and Thai leading toward degrees in business administration,
accounting, economics, communication arts, humanities, laws, computer
science, fine and applied arts and engineering.
While Greene will work on communication courses and international marketing,
Wade will not necessarily follow suit. He says he has completed most of
the classes that would count toward a degree in his major and is enjoying
the cultural experiences of his trip, writing about them on his Weblog,
www. joeywade.com.
In addition to Bangkok University, other Asian institutions with which
MTSU has student exchange agreements include Nagoya Gakuin University,
Fukushima University, Kansai Gaidai University and Saitama University
in Japan and Yonsei University in South Korea. MTSU also enjoys an academic
exchange with Fukushima University.
MULTILEVEL MARKET-The labyrinthian Bangkok mall MBK makes for some interesting
people-watching and shopping opportunities, according to MTSU organizational
communications major Joey Wade, who is an exchange student at Bangkok
University.
photo by Joey Wade
The Record, January 30, 2006, V14.14
Campus Calendar
>>Top of Page
Jan. 30-Feb. 12
Monday, Jan. 30
Honors Lecture Series
Dr. Matthew Elrod-Erickson, "The DNA Revolution"
3-3:55 p.m., HONR 106
For information, contact:
615-898-2152.
Tuesday, Jan. 31
President's Commission on
the Status of Women
Summer 2006 grant deadline
For information, visit
http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11766/grants.htm or contact:
615-898-2705.
Wednesday, Feb. 1
African-American History Month Event:
"Race and the Death Penalty" panel discussions
9:10-10:05 a.m., 10:20-11:15 a.m., KUC Theater
No admission charge
For information, contact:
615-898-2987.
African-American History Month Event:
"Portraits: The First Black American Divas of Song and Opera"
8 p.m., Hinton Music Hall
No admission charge
For information, contact:
615-898-2493.
Thursday, Feb. 2
Groundhog Day Luncheon, Blue Raider Baseball
11:30 a.m., JUB Tennessee Room
Admission: $15; day of event, $20
For information, contact:
615-898-2210.
MTSU Women's Basketball
vs. Florida International
7 p.m., Murphy Center
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.Feb. 3-4
MTSU Track: Indiana Invitational
Bloomington, Ind.
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
Friday, Feb. 3
First Friday Star Party
"The Best of Hubble"
6:30 p.m., Wiser-Patten 102
No admission charge
For information, contact:
615-898-2130.
MTSU Wind Ensemble
7:30 p.m., Hinton Music Hall
No admission charge
For information, contact:
615-898-2493.
Saturday, Feb. 4
African-American History Month Event:
Black Family Technology Awareness Day Conference
8 a.m. registration, Bragg Mass Communication Building
No admission charge
For information, contact:
615-898-2987.
MTSU Men's Tennis
at Virginia Tech
1 p.m., Blacksburg, Va.
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
MTSU Women's Tennis
vs. East Tennessee
5 p.m., Murfreesboro Racquet Club
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
MTSU Men's Basketball
at Florida International
6 p.m., Miami, Fla.
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
African-American History Month Event:
Gospel Music Extravaganza
Sarah Coulter Family benefit
6 p.m., Tucker Theatre
Admission: $5 per person,
children 8 and under free
For information, contact:
615-898-5145.
Sunday, Feb. 5
MTSU Women's Tennis
vs. Wichita State
10 a.m., Murfreesboro Racquet Club
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
Monday, Feb. 6
Honors Lecture Series
Dr. Robb McDaniel, "Did America Discover Democracy?"
3-3:55 p.m., HONR 106
For information, contact:
615-898-2152.
African-American Music Composers Concert
8 p.m., Hinton Music Hall
No admission charge
For information, contact:
615-898-2493.
Tuesday, Feb. 7
African-American History Month Event:
Unity Luncheon
Keynote speaker: Dr. Susan West
11:30 a.m., JUB Tennessee Room
Admission: $18; students, $8
For information, contact:
615-898-2718.
Wednesday, Feb. 8
MTSU Career Center
Summer Jobs/Internships Fair
11 a.m.-3 p.m., JUB Tennessee Room
For information, contact:
615-898-2862.
MTSU Women's Basketball
at North Texas
Time TBA, Denton, Texas
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
MTSU Women's Tennis
vs. Chattanooga
6 p.m., Murfreesboro Racquet Club
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
Thursday, Feb. 9
African-American History Month Event:
"The Nation of Islam: Service Through Nationalism"
4:15-5:30 p.m., BAS 118S
No admission charge
For information, contact:
615-898-2987.
MTSU Men's Basketball
at North Texas
7 p.m., Denton, Texas
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
Jazz Artist Series-Sacred Music of Duke Ellington
7:30 p.m., Hinton Music Hall
Admission: $12 per person
For information, contact:
615-898-2493.
Feb. 10-15
MTSU Guitar Festival
Master classes daily,
8 p.m. concert each night, Hinton Music Hall
No admission charge
For information, visit
www.mtsu.edu/~yelverto/guitfest.html
or contact: 615-898-2493.
Saturday, Feb. 11
MTSU Men's Tennis
vs. Indiana
Noon, Murfreesboro Racquet Club
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
Blue Raider Basketball Doubleheader vs. Denver
Women: 4:15 p.m., Murphy Center
Men: 7:30 p.m.
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
Sunday, Feb. 12
MTSU Men's Tennis
at Georgia Tech
1 p.m., Atlanta
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.
MTSU Track: Valentine Invitational
Murphy Center
For information, contact:
615-898-2103.Calendar Items Welcomed
Submit your campus event calendar items (at least three weeks in advance
of the event, please) to gfann@mtsu.edu or via fax to 615-898-5714.
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