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Service Learning impact grows
by Laura Beth Jackson
Students and faculty from MTSU recently worked with the Business Education Partnership of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce to host a reading program for 12 fifth-grade students and their parents at Smyrna Primary School.
"The goal of the program was based on research that children who see their parents read are more likely to become lifelong readers themselves," said Lee Rennick, BEP director. "And if they are reading the same book, they have something to talk about."
The program was part of MTSU's Service Learning Curriculum goals outlined in the university's 2002-2012 Academic Master Plan, which includes making use of community opportunities for all of its students to learn, gain experience and make connections while they are still in college.
"We know from research that students learn better in this type of program because it's interactive learning," said Faye Johnson with MTSU's Service Learning Initiative. "Students also retain what they know longer because they are actively learning."
"The Service Learning project recognizes that young people need opportunities in the classroom and in the field to develop habits of good citizenship," added Dr. Gloria Bonner, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Science.
"In the classroom, students can identify and define their skills and interests and target problems they wish to investigate and explore. In the field, however, they put the theory to work through trial and error."
Service Learning projects at MTSU have ranged from students assisting with diabetes awareness in Rutherford and Davidson county hospitals to conducting literacy programs for K-12 students in Murfreesboro and Rutherford County schools.
English professor Dr. Ron Kates facilitated the Smyrna Primary Service Learning Project by working with Dr. Gale Vogel, principal of Smyrna Primary. Kates then approached Kirsten Boyce, president of Sigma Tau Delta, MTSU's English Honors society, to lead the book discussion.
"Dr. Kates suggested that Sigma Tau Delta pick up the Service Learning Project, so I picked it up and ran with it," said Boyce, "but I could not have done it without the BEP, Dr. Kates, and the other students' help."
The BEP endorsed the program and Destination Rutherford provided funds for books, meals and craft supplies. Students and their parents met one night a week in February to have dinner and participate in a book discussion with Boyce and three other English majors. They also created scrapbook pages and played games that correlated with the book they were discussing.
"The whole idea of Service Learning is to take what you've learned in the classroom and apply it outside the classroom," said Kates. "A lot of secondary education minors aren't used to fifth-graders and working with a wide variety of parents. For them, it's a good lesson in developing their own classroom management."
"This program has taught me so many different things," said senior English major Sarah Doss. "I have learned that the love of reading can be infectious, and that the most important component of any classroom is the sense of community."
Currently only two courses, UNIV 2001 and UNIV 3001, offer credit for Service Learning Projects. But starting in fall 2006, the university will offer Experiential Learning, or EXL, certification courses in all majors to give students the opportunity to be involved in an array of community projects, study abroad, cooperative education/internships, applied learning, service-learning, creative activity, teacher education and laboratory experiences while receiving credit.
Students desiring certification will take 16 to 18 hours of their required classes as EXL applied learning courses. Students are responsible for volunteering in both university and community enhancing projects, as well as creating a Web site or e-portfolio to show the student's volunteer experience as well as a self-reflective statement of what the student has gleaned from the experiences.
One goal of EXL certification is meeting community needs through students' work. A subcommittee of the EXL board currently serves as a community liaison group, seeking opportunities within Murfreesboro and Rutherford County for ways for students to become involved.
"It's fun. It's giving back to people. It's certainly educational, but it [also] gets students out of their routine," said Kates. "Our students can do some amazing things if we let them."
For more information on the EXL program and Service Learning project, visit the Web site at www.mtsu.edu/experience, or e-mail Kates at rkates@mtsu.edu.
Laura Beth Jackson is a December 2005 MTSU graduate and works as Business Education Partnership communications coordinator for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER-MTSU English majors Kirsten Boyce, Hayley West, Sarah Doss and Travisty Terry joke during a break at the Smyrna Service Learning Project.
photo submitted
MTSU, MTMC teaming up to inform
from Staff Reports
MTSU's Office of News and Public Affairs is partnering with Middle Tennessee Medical Center to broaden the scope and outreach of "Today's Response," the daily media "tip sheet" that offers expert commentary on issues in the news.
"Partnering with MTMC is another way of expanding the breadth and depth of expertise that MTSU's Department of News and Public Affairs can offer through its tried, tested and successful media tip sheet 'Today's Response,'" said NPA Director Tom Tozer.
"We want to be media's primary source of expertise in Middle Tennessee, and if we are able to provide experts in highly specialized areas of medicine, this will only add to the deep pool of expertise from which we already draw through our excellent School of Nursing. "
Through MTMC's Communications Department, physicians will be available to respond to reporters' queries related to the doctors' specific areas of expertise. TR has begun including medical issues in its daily roundup and utilizing MTMC physicians as expert sources. In addition, media may call the NPA office when they need expert commentary on a medical story, and they'll be linked with an appropriate physician.
"Today's Response is a stellar example of how to engage news reporters with timely, accurate information," said Lindrell Moates, public relations manager at MTMC.
"Middle Tennessee Medical Center is excited to work with a key community partner to demonstrate what highly skilled experts we have in this community."
Added TR Editor Gina Logue: "I look forward to perusing the headlines for cutting-edge medical issues on which the MTMC personnel can comment. Their expertise will be a boon to health reporters seeking to provide the public with the information they need to make intelligent decisions about their health."
Middle Tennessee Medical Center is a 286-bed, full-service health care facility in Murfreesboro and a member of Saint Thomas Health Services, which is a member of Ascension Health, the largest U.S. not-for-profit health system. Visit www.mtmc.org for more information.
Treadmill tryout
LEARNING TO FLOAT-Seven-year-old Jaylin Fuller, center, demonstrates therapy to improve mobility in the underwater treadmill in the Human Performance Lab as his grandmother, Wilma Marable, front left, a library assistant at Walker Library, proudly looks on. Taking note of Jaylin's response to his new environment are, clockwise from upper left, graduate assistants Liz Ackley and Sandy Stevens and intern Meghan Bates. Dr. Don Morgan of the Department of Health and Human Performance initiated the underwater treadmill study to help children with cerebral palsy gain greater strength, lessen their level of fatigue and raise their level of mobility.
photo by J. Intintoli
In Brief
Students: Prepare for tricky job interview meals April 11
It's job interview season again, and those interviews increasingly include meals where proper etiquette is the deciding hiring factor. MTSU's Career and Employment Center is teaming up with Alumni Relations to offer students the "Interactive Etiquette Dinner" on Tuesday, April 11, from 6 until 8 p.m. in the JUB's Hazlewood Dining Room. The dinner is open to all majors and includes a full four-course meal for $10. Advance registration and professional dress is required; please call 615-898-2500 or 615-898-2923 for more information.
Show those Preds your blue at MTSU Night at the GEC
MTSU Night with the Nashville Predators is back! Special ticket prices are being offered to the MTSU community for the Predators game on Thursday, April 13, against Minnesota. The game begins at 7 p.m. at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Tickets are discounted to $24, $28, $42 and $59, depending on location. Four dollars from each ticket sold will be donated to the Sports Marketing Scholarship in the Department of Management and Marketing. For more information, call 615-770-2115.
Honor new retirees' 913 years of service at April 19 event
The annual Retired Employees Reception, this year honoring 36 new MTSU retirees with a combined 913 years of service, is set Wednesday, April 19, from 3 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. in the JUB's Tennessee Room. The program honoring the 2006 retirees is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. following an informal reception sponsored by MidSouth Bank. For more information, call 615-898-2880.
Hurry, Campus Rec's family summer special ends April 28
Faculty and staff can purchase a family membership to Campus Recreation for May, June, July and August for only $50. That's 50 percent off the regular $100 family membership rate, but only until April 28! Payroll deduction is available. For more information, call 615-898-2104, or stop by the Campus Recreation Office Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
For The Record
New safety chief: Officers face victories, losses
by Carl "Buddy" Peaster
Some folks think that the men and women in law enforcement have an easy life.
They may argue that police officers get to sit in their cars in bad weather. Officers can eat all the doughnuts and drink all the coffee they want; they'll never have to worry about getting a speeding ticket; and they get to carry a gun!
While there are certainly advantages to the profession, a police officer's life is not all fun and games.
Most people usually do not call the police because they are having a party and want the officers to come enjoy the fun. On the contrary, police officers tend to deal with people when something is wrong. And sometimes that "something wrong" is the result of having that party!
Since most of us Americans really do not enjoy being told what to do, officers must use a lot of patience and wisdom, mixed with tenacity and courage, to handle the various tasks they are faced with constantly.
Sometimes it is difficult.
When a fight breaks out in a crowd and there are 20 more people fighting than there are officers, it can be difficult.
Sometimes it is bad.
When an officer has to tell someone that her fiancŽ has just died of a heart attack, it can be bad.
But sometimes it is good.
When an offender who has been arrested returns months later to tell officers that they helped him realize that he needed to finish school and that he graduated, it is good.
Police officers who have the right mindset can manage the bad with the good because they understand that their job is all about how they interact with people for the betterment of the community. That interaction is not always easy, but it is nearly always necessary.
Folks in law enforcement ought to recognize their importance and purpose and take pride in their duties and their responsibilities. They should count their victories as well as their losses.
After all, they are people, too.
Carl "Buddy" Peaster is MTSU's new director of public safety. He joined the department April 3 after more than 13 years with the Georgia Southern University police force.
New honor society to induct 59 April 11
from Staff Reports
MTSU will induct its first group of transfer students into a new honor society, Tau Sigma, on Tuesday, April 11, at 6 p.m. in Room 204 of the Todd Building on the university campus.
The newly created chapter of the society-the first chapter in Tennessee- will honor 59 inductees during the ceremony, according to adviser Dr. Virginia Donnell, director of transfer student services at MTSU.
"Tau Sigma is designed to recognize and promote the academic excellence and involvement of transfer students," Donnell said. "It was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1999 at Auburn University and born out of Auburn's desire to improve its service to and recruiting and retention of transfer students."
The organization now has 6,500 student members in 55 colleges and universities across the United States, she added. MTSU's chapter is teaming up with Columbia State Community College and its "2+2 Program," an interdisciplinary partnership that allows students to earn a bachelor's degree in education toward K-6 certification by completing an associate's degree at Columbia State and a prescribed series of upper-division MTSU courses offered on the Columbia State campus.
Student officers for the new Tau Sigma chapter are Daniel Oakley, president; Angie Bogdonas, vice president for MTSU campus; Danielle Waldrop, vice president for Columbia State 2+2; Adam Broman, treasurer; and Stephanie Compton, secretary.
Inductees must show outstanding academic achievement with a minimum GPA of 3.5 or above during their first semester at MTSU. They also must earn a minimum of 12 credit hours during their first semester at MTSU, have completed at least 24 college credit hours before transferring and be enrolled in an undergraduate major at MTSU.
For more information about Tau Sigma, contact Donnell at 615-898-5728.
Patriotic efforts
WELL-DESERVED HONOR-MTSU Grounds Services Supervisor Dale Witty (left) and crew members Mitchell Williams, Marcus Chandler and Rabon Brandon proudly display their recent honor from the Murfreesboro Noon Exchange Club. The organization's "Proudly We Hail" award recognized the employees for their ongoing care of and proper display of the U.S. flag on campus.
photo submitted
NPR's Terry Gross to lecture April 17
by Gina K. Logue
One of the media's premier interviewers, Terry Gross, host of National Public Radio's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross," will lecture at 8 p.m. Monday, April 17, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. The talk is free and open to the public.
Gross' appearance at MTSU is co-sponsored by the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies of the College of Mass Communication, the Department of Electronic Media Communication, the National Women's History Month Committee and the Distinguished Lecture Program.
"I think it's a great opportunity to have a nationally recognized award-winning interviewer come here to talk," EMC professor Marc J. Barr said. "She has come to be one of the best interviewers, if not the best interviewer, out there in media."
On the day of the lecture, Gross also is slated to speak to journalism and EMC students at 3 p.m. in Room 103 of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building.
"Fresh Air with Terry Gross" won the Peabody Award in 1994 for what the Peabody Board called its "probing questions, revelatory interviews and unusual insight." It also captured the Ohio State Award in 1987 and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Award for "Best Live Radio Program" in 1981.
Gross embarked on her radio career in 1973 at WBFO, a public station in Buffalo, N.Y., where she hosted several programs. In 1975, she was hired at Philadelphia's WHYY-FM as producer and host of "Fresh Air." The daily interview and music program went national with a half-hour edition in 1985 and expanded to a one-hour edition in 1987. "Fresh Air" is now broadcast on 160 stations, including WPLN-FM (90.3).
In addition to the program which bears her name, Gross has guest-hosted NPR's "All Things Considered," co-anchored the PBS show "The Great Comet Crash," and guest-hosted the now-defunct "CBS Nightwatch."
According to www.npr.org, the San Francisco Chronicle characterizes Gross' interview technique as "a remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence."
"Anyone who agrees to be interviewed must decide to draw the line between what is public and what is private," Gross has said in explaining how she puts her guests at ease. "But the line can shift, depending on who is asking the questions. What puts someone on guard isn't necessarily the fear of being 'found out.' It sometimes is just the fear of being misunderstood."
A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Gross earned a bachelor's degree in English and an M.Ed. in communications from the State University of New York at Buffalo, which awarded her its Distinguished Alumni Award in 1993.
While the Monday night lecture is free, tickets are required for admission. Tickets are available now in the EMC department office, Room 250 of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. or through Barr in Room 147 of the same building.
For more information, contact Barr at 615-898-5118 or at mjbarr@mtsu.edu.
ETIS' Taylor wields Mastercam 'Wildest Part' win
by Randy Weiler
Engineering technology and industrial studies' Rick Taylor is mostly a mild-mannered, low-key kind of guy. But the department machinist and laboratory technician, recently named director of MTSU's mechanical/ electromechanical labs, can have a wild side, too.
Like when he entered and earned first-place honors in the Mastercam 2005 Wildest Part competition in the instructor's educational design contest.
Taylor, an MTSU alumnus (B.S. '82, M.S. '04) and ETIS employee since 2000, won the award for the six-cylinder rotary air engine he designed and built.
He was awarded an mp3 player from Dell Computer, a Mastercam T-shirt and a certificate from event sponsor Mastercam CNC Software Inc.
"I developed it as a way of getting my master's degree while I was an employee," said Taylor. "As an (MTSU) employee, you are able to take classes."
Taylor said his adviser, ETIS professor Dr. Ron McBride, allowed him the academic freedom to "go off and create something" in the advanced machinery course McBride teaches.
"He submitted it to Mastercam for me for the Wildest Part competition," Taylor said of his professor and colleague. "It's machining software. It takes a drawing from a computer and converts it to machine code to machine the part."
Taylor said all the components, except the fasteners and air fittings, were made on the various computerized numerical control and/or manually operated machines in the shop, using a laser and the 3-D prototype machine-the same ones students use.
"Students who accept the challenge to build one get to take the engine home with them (when the class ends)," he said. "They personalize it by painting it different colors. They actually run on an aquarium pump's output, which is rather slow, up to 2,200 rpm with an air compressor."
Taylor called his work "a development in progress. From the beginning, I changed most things out. The main thing is that students get to learn the importance of AutoCAD drawings and computer-aided manufacturing software."
WILD WORK-Rick Taylor, ETIS, takes a break to show off the six-cylinder rotary air engine he designed and built in MTSU's mechanical/electromechanical labs. The engine took home the top award from the Mastercam 2005 "Wildest Part" U.S. competition.
photo submitted
Amazing acrobats tumble into Tucker Tuesday, April 11
by Valerie Nutt
MTSU welcomes back the Golden Dragon Acrobats for the first time in two years at Tucker Theatre on Tuesday, April 11, at 7 p.m.
The Golden Dragon Acrobats put on an award-winning show with a little something for everyone, including umbrella and hat juggling, towers of chairs, the splendid contortionist Qui Yu Chen and much more.
All of the 25 masterful performers have trained in the art of Chinese acrobatics since they were young.
The performances are part of a 27-century-old tradition of Chinese acrobatics. For the past 28 years, Golden Dragon Acrobats from Cangzhou, in the Hebei province of China, have toured and performed in all 50 states and over 65 countries on five continents.
The group is led by producer and director Danny Chang and his wife, choreographer and costume designer Angela Chang.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the general public.
MTSU students who wish to attend may purchase tickets in advance for $3 with a valid student ID or $5 at the door.
For more information, please contact MTSU Fine Arts at 615-898-2551.
BALANCING ACT-Members of the Golden Dragon acrobatic troupe delicately balance spinning plates during a recent performance.
photo courtesy Loli Kantor Photography
Ex-astronaut leads agenda for annual Tennessee Summit
by Randy Weiler
Former astronaut Story Musgrave will headline the speakers scheduled for the Tennessee Summit on Mathematics & Science Education: "Educating Tomorrow's Workforce Today" April 11-12 at the Doubletree Hotel in Nashville.
"Story Musgrave has an incredible story to tell," said Dr. E. Ray Phillips, director of the Tennessee Mathematics, Science & Technology Education Center at MTSU.
Musgrave will make his presentation following the 6:30 p.m. dinner on Tuesday, April 11.
Musgrave, 70, a native of Boston who now lives in Lexington, Ky., is a veteran of six space flights. He left NASA in 1997 to pursue private interests and has written 25 scientific papers in the areas of aerospace medicine and physiology, temperature regulation, exercise physiology and clinical surgery, his NASA biographical data states.
Gov. Phil Bredesen will speak following the 11:30 a.m. lunch on Wednesday, April 12.
The summit is funded through a $27,000 NASA/National Alliance of State Science and Mathematics Coalitions/U.S. Department of Education grant. Corporate sponsors include The Very Idea, Tennessee Valley Authority, Nissan North America, State Farm, MTSU and WTVF-Channel 5.
Shadow play
CATCHING THE LIGHT-Art education major Michelle Hillhouse concentrates on her charcoal drawing in class. "Flux," an exhibition of senior art projects, is on display in the Todd Gallery through April 20. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; for more information, contact 615-898-2455.
photo by Ken Robinson
Celebration of Excellence lauds students, faculty, alumni
by Randy Weiler
The third annual MTSU President's Celebration of Excellence recognized 17 people from a cross-section of divisions and organizations March 25 at the James Union Building's Tennessee Room.
By divisions and organizations, the awards and recipients (and their departments or majors) included:
Student Government Association
¥ John T. Bragg Distinguished Service Award-Dr. Thomas Brinthaupt, professor, psychology;
¥ Bob Womack Distinguished Faculty Award-Dr. Claudia Barnett, associate professor, English.
Division of Student Affairs
¥ Judy Smith Scholarship Award-Meagan Flippin, senior, mass communication;
¥ Community Service Award-John Awan, junior, political science;
¥ Robert C. LaLance Jr. Achievement Award-James A. Hula Jr., senior, psychology;
¥ Provost's Award-Laura Whitson, senior, professional chemistry;
¥ President's Award-Matthew Bullington, senior, economics.
Blue Raider Athletics
¥ Outstanding Blue Raider Award-Andreas Siljestrom, junior, economics, and member of the men's tennis team;
¥ Outstanding Student-Athlete Award-Chrissy Givens, junior, criminal justice, and member of the three-time Sun Belt Conference champion Lady Raiders basketball team.
Alumni Association
¥ Distinguished Alumni Awards 2005-06-Don R. Ash (B.S. '77); Nancy Youree Duggin (B.S. '74, M.Ed. '76, Ed.S. '91 and '96); and John Hill (B.S. '57).
¥ Young Alumni Achievement Award 2005-06-Stephanie Bellis-Warner (B.S. '97).
MTSU Foundation
¥ Career Achievement Award-Dr. Ed Kimbrell, professor, journalism.
Tennessee Board of Regents
¥ Chancellor's Citation for Excellence in Philanthropy-Elizabeth Hay "Liz" Rhea (B.S. '55).
Office of the President
¥ Special Achievement Award-Dr. Jette Halladay, professor, speech and theatre.
¥ President's Legacy Award-Dr. Bob Womack (B.S. '48).
A FINE LEGACY-Dr. Bob Womack chuckles after receiving the President's Legacy Award at the annual President's Celebration of Excellence March 25. A master teacher, prolific author, historian and professor of educational leadership at MTSU, he also is a globally recognized expert on the Tennessee Walking Horse.
photo by Jack Ross
Gore comments on, commends environmental issues at MTSU
by Valerie Nutt
Climate crisis is now a true planetary emergency," former Vice President Al Gore told MTSU's Students for Environmental Action and a standing-room-only crowd March 20 on a subject he is truly passionate about-global warming.
Ecological consequences are coming to a head, Gore cautioned. He cited new studies that repeat old warnings but also outline new proof on the impact of global warming.
Consequences included the rising acidic content of oceans, the melting ice caps and subsequent rise in ocean levels, the rapid spread of diseases like the West Nile virus, shifts in weather patterns and an increase in violent weather phenomena.
"I saw ... with my own eyes the continuing consequences of ignored warnings," Gore said of his March 19 trip to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans. "Seven months after Katrina, there were still bodies under the rubble."
Gore said the modern problems associated with global warming have three causes: the quadrupling of the earth's population in the last 100 years, monumental technological progress and the prevalent "we don't have to worry that much about what comes after us" mindset.
Gore is widely recognized as a national leader in environmental advocacy. His first book on the subject, Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit, was published in 1992. A follow-up, An Inconvenient Truth, is set for release next month, along with a documentary of the same name on global warming.
Gore visited as part of the Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies Lecture Series at the request of SEA and the College of Liberal Arts. During his address, Gore commended SEA's work on the $8-per-semester student "Clean Energy Fee" now awaiting a Tennessee Board of Regents OK.
Register youngsters now for Summer Youth University
by Stephanie Kirsch
Middle-school students from across Middle Tennessee are gearing up for a summer filled with learning and adventure. The College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning at MTSU is offering the Summer Youth University Program, formerly known as "Mini-U," for the third time this summer.
Students who have completed the fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh grades can master new computer skills, create their own business plan and learn how to write creatively.
"All of the sessions are taught by local teachers and professors," said Maureen Young, organizer of this summer's SYU program.
The Computer Mastery Workshop is the first session offered this summer. It will run from June 5-9 and will focus on teaching participants skills in Microsoft Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Publisher and FrontPage. Students will learn how to create documents, letters, presentations and Web pages during the weeklong workshop.
The week of June 12-16, future entrepreneurs will learn about the business world in The Business Adventure session. Participants will work in teams to come up with a business plan to present to local business leaders at the end of the five-day session.
"We try to mix fun into all of the different activities, while challenging the students to learn new skills," said Young.
The Young Writer's Loft, June 19-23, will focus on creative writing skills. Each day of the workshop will be spent reading, researching, writing and revising written work with peers. The Young Writer's Loft will culminate with a public reading of the students' creative works.
Each session will run from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. daily. Participants can register for the entire SYU program or for each individual session.
Cost is $249 per student per session, or students can register to attend all three sessions for $225 per week. Lunches, a T-shirt and all supplies are included in the registration cost.
See the PDPE Summer 2006 Catalog, visit www.mtsu.edu/~pdpe or call 615-898-2462 for registration information.
SUMMER LEARNING-Summer Youth University 2005 students rehearse their essays to be presented to friends and family later that day. Making sure everything is in place are Dylan Dudley, left, Hannah Watts and Jaslyn Kinsey.
file photo by Ken Robinson
Intelligent design is topic of April 12 lecture in BAS S-118
by Lisa L. Rollins
Raiders for Rationalism, an affiliate of the Center for Inquiry on Campus and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, will serve as hosts for speaker Sarah Jordan, who will address the topic "Is Intelligent Design Falsifiable?" at 7 p.m. April 12 in Room S-118 of the Business and Aerospace Building.
Intelligent design-also called ID-"attempts to offer criteria for evaluating design that are independent of its supernatural components," said Dr. William Langston, associate professor of psychology at MTSU and the student group's faculty adviser.
During the lecture, which is free and open to the public, Jordan will argue that two ID criteria are inadequate and principally rhetorical.
Sophomore political science major Ben Neal, president of the student group, said, "We decided to bring Ms. Jordan to campus due to the loud controversy over the (ID) subject in the community. We wish to upgrade the debate to a scientific one."
A campus and community organizer for the Center for Inquiry, where she writes and lectures frequently on evolution and the intelligent design controversy, Jordan holds a biology degree from the University of Wyoming and has said she plans to pursue graduate studies in physical anthropology. For more information, please contact Langston at 615-898-5489 or visit the Center for Inquiry Web site at www.centerforinquiry.net.
Rewarding professionalism
TOP HONORS-Dianna Z. Rust, left, representing MTSU's Employee Recognition Committee, presents the latest Secretarial/Clerical Quarterly Award for Exemplary Performance to Catherine Burnette, CPS, Mathematical Sciences. To nominate administrative, secretarial/clerical, classified or technical/service staff for the award program, visit the Web site at hrs.web.mtsu.edu/er/recog.html.
photo by Ken Robinson
Housing lauded for diversity efforts
by Heather Taylor
MTSU's Housing and Residential Life has again been recognized by the Minority and Friends Network for promoting religious diversity and awareness on campus.
"We are willing to partner with many different groups to raise awareness, and we have done so with groups such as the Muslim Student Association and the Hillel student organization," said Dr. Laurie Witherow, associate director for residential education and leader of the project. "We like to use these events on campus to give faculty a chance to interact with students outside of the classroom."
Housing and Residential Life won the distinguished Minority and Friends Network Diversity Award for the second straight year at the Oshkosh Placement Exchange.
"This award is for the whole housing office, from the directors to the student leaders of residence halls," said Sarah Sudak, executive director of housing and residential life.
"In applying for the award, we were highlighting the work we do to promote religious diversity on campus and we are different from most other campuses applying for the award who are focusing specifically on race related diversity."
The Minority and Friends Network is a professional affiliation of more than 45 institutions interested in supporting minority candidates in their pursuit of positions in higher education.
The purpose of the Minority and Friends Network is to provide a resource network to assist minority candidates in their career search in higher education. They help by providing information on interviewing and resume writing, serving as mentors to candidates, publicizing position announcements and allowing candidates to publish resumes.
The Network's Web site, www.wright.edu/housing/mfn/, is hosted by Wright State University.
For more information about events on campus, contact Housing and Residential Life at 615-898-2860 or visit its Web site at www.mtsu.edu/~housing.
Spring dance concert set April 22-23
by Lisa L. Rollins
More than 30 members of MTSU Dance Theatre will perform as part of the dance program's annual Spring Concert event, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. April 20-22 in MTSU's Tucker Theatre.
Kim Neal Nofsinger, artistic director, said this year's performance promises to showcase the growth and development that the dance program has undergone in the past year.
"I am thrilled with the growth," Nofsinger said. "We have over 30 dance students participating in this semester's concert, (we have) expanded our faculty, strengthened the development of undergraduate research and creative activity and implemented a minority guest artist program."
Teena Custer, a specialist in hip-hop dance, was the program's most recent minority guest artist. During her residency, she taught master classes on the heritage and cultural context of the hip-hop movement and staged a hip-hop piece, "Hold that Thought," that will be performed during the Spring Concert by members of MTSU Dance Theatre.
"I was extremely impressed by how open-minded the dance students were to hip-hop," Custer said. "It might not be for everyone, but each student made it their own and had a lot of fun experimenting."
The concert also will feature a wide variety of pieces from contemporary ballet to abstract modern dances, including the premiere of a quartet by new faculty member Marsha Tardy that examines feminine identity and two dances by undergraduate students within the dance program.
Tickets, which range from $4 to $8 per person, for the concert may be purchased at the door or beginning April 17 in the CenterStage Ticket Office, which is located inside the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building of MTSU. Office hours are noon-4 p.m. each Monday through Friday. MTSU students with a valid university ID will be admitted free.
For reservations, please call 615-494-8810. For more information regarding the concert event or MTSU's dance program, please call 615-904-8392.
Philosophy Lyceum slated
by Boone Riddle
The MTSU Philosophy Department will serve as host for the 2006 Applied Philosophy Lyceum on April 7 and 14.
Founded in 1992, this year's series will focus on contemporary issues in feminism.
Both lectures are free and open to the public.
"The Applied Philosophy Lyceum is intended to provide the campus community with the opportunity to engage with first-rate philosophers on issues of immediate and contemporary relevance," said Dr. Michael Principe, MTSU professor of philosophy.
Dr. Noelle McAfee was scheduled to deliver "Two Feminisms," which focuses on feminism's relationship to democracy and political power, at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 7, in Room 304 of the James Union Building.
McAfee is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts.
She specializes in social and political philosophy, feminist theory, modern and contemporary continental philosophy and ethics.
Dr. Karen Hanson of Indiana University will present "Dressing Down, Dressing Up: The Philosophical Fear of Fashion" at 3:30 p.m. Friday, April 14, in JUB 304.
Hanson received her Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard University and specializes in philosophy of mind, ethics, aesthetics and American philosophy.
Dr. Mary Magada-Ward, an associate professor of philosophy at MTSU, organized this year's lecture series.
For more information, please contact the philosophy department at 615-898-2907, or visit its Web site at www.mtsu.edu/~phil/.
Boone Riddle is a senior majoring in mass communication.
MTSU raises awareness of assault
by Gina K. Logue
Students, faculty and staff will speak up for the targets of sexual predators during Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities at MTSU sponsored by the June Anderson Women's Center.
Literature about the events and about sexual assault was made available at a promotional table in front of the Grill in the Keathley University Center on March 29-30.
According to the National Violence Against Women Survey conducted in the year 2000 by the National Institute of Justice, an estimated 302,000 women and almost 93,000 men were raped in a 12-month period.
Included in the activities are "Sexual Assault Awareness: What is Happening? and What Can We Do About It?", a play that juxtaposes the perspectives of the mother of a rape victim and an actor who will illuminate the attitudes of men in back-to-back events starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, in Tucker Theatre.
In "Kristin's Story," sponsored by Delta Delta Delta and Alpha Chi Omega, Andrea Cooper will recount the life of her 20-year-old daughter, who committed suicide on New Year's Eve 1995. Only after Cooper read Kristin's journal and poetry and talked to her friends did she realize that her daughter had been the victim of an acquaintance rape. When Kristin finally was able to tell her boyfriend, he rejected her and she spiraled into a deep depression.
Following "Kristin's Story," Ben Atherton-Zeman will present "Voices of Men," a 50-minute multimedia play that he bills as "an educational comedy." Atherton-Zeman has worked in domestic violence programs and rape crisis clinics for 13 years.
All Sexual Assault Awareness Month events at MTSU are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the June Anderson Women's Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@ mtsu.edu.
Author Yarbrough schedules public reading April 18
Award-winning author Steve Yarbrough (Prisoners of War) will conduct a public reading beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, in Dining Room C of MTSU's James Union Building. The Virginia Peck Trust Fund and the Department of English are sponsoring Yarbrough's upcoming campus visit, which is open to the public. For more information, please call the English department at 615-898-2573.
People Around Campus: Professor's quest for WWI site a success
by Lisa L. Rollins
Some 160 German machine-gun casings-circa 1917, faded red and still dust-encrusted-along with a suspender buckle from a German cartridge box, a muzzle cover for a rifle and a World War I mess kit are among the once-buried historical treasures that MTSU's Tom Nolan has brought back to Tennessee.
Nolan, who serves as director of the R. O. Fullerton Laboratory for Spatial Technology at MTSU, recently traveled to France, where he successfully pinpointed the locale where Sgt. Alvin C. York earned his Medal of Honor in 1918.
York, a Pall Mall, Tenn., native, is credited with capturing an entire company of German soldiers during World War I.
Leading a crack team of interdisciplinary researchers, Nolan managed to put his geography expertise to great use when he located the now-famous battlefield site near Ch‰tel-ChŽhŽry, France, where a then-30-year-old York unwittingly became one of the most highly decorated American soldiers of WWI.
The locale discovered by Nolan and his team-complete with unearthed cartridge casings-is believed to be the site where York carried out what has been called "an astonishing feat of marksmanship" some 87 years ago that culminated in the death of 25 enemy troops and the surrender of another 132.
Although York-whose backwoods raccoon-hunting skills played a vital role in the now-historic event-was presented with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery that day, the precise location of the now-heralded event has been disputed since October 1918.
"We have used geographic information systems, GPS (global positioning systems) and historic maps and primary documents to uncover the actual location of York's engagement," said Nolan, a native of Louisville, Ky., who has long held an interest in both history and geography.
An instructor with MTSU's geosciences faculty since 1994, Nolan planned the trip more than a year and funded the research expedition on his own, as well as a preliminary trip that he made to become more familiar with the area and meet French government officials and historians.
In addition to Nolan, the expedition's lone geographer, other members of the research team included Michael Birdwell, associate professor of history at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville; MTSU history graduate David Currey, executive director of Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum and a documentary filmmaker in Nashville; Michael Kelly, a historian for Bartlett's Battlefield Journeys in Horncastle, Lincolnshire; and Frederic Castier, a French liaison officer and historian specializing in U.S. actions in France during WW1.
"I've always been interested in application of geographic information systems with historical interpretation," Nolan said regarding his interest in York. "I think it's interesting to use GIS as a way to tie the written historical records to surface archaeology, and that's what we did here."
In January, Nolan went to the National Archives to retrieve copies of the original site maps drawn by York's commanding officer, along with French and German trench maps, then superimposed them on a modern map to help discern where to begin the team's search.
Once a physical starting point was located, Nolan and the team began their search at what they felt was "the most probable area." Subsequently, Nolan said, they found "dropped ammo and a German machine-gun position marked by cartridges on the ground" as well as German grenades, all of which "sits very closely with what was reported."
As a result of the find, French officials in the area want to place a monument on the discovery site, and there is talk of creating a park there, Nolan said. Aside from the historical significance of the find, "that region is kind of depressed, with a lot of population outflow since World War I," he added, "so they're interested in economic development and stimulating tourism."
As for the on-site artifacts, including the rifle cartridges thought to be York's, "we recovered them and are going to try and match them to (York's) rifle that's now housed in the Tennessee State museum," Nolan explained.
"We didn't recover any .45-caliber pistol cartridge cases, and that's what we wanted to do ... but there's room for more research there."
Currently a doctoral candidate at Texas State University in San Marcos, where he's pursuing a Ph.D. in geography, Nolan said he and the research team plan to make a return trip to France in the next year to further their current study, but funding is an issue at this time.
"We do plan to return, but we funded this ourselves, so we are looking for additional money that will allow us to continue our work," Nolan noted.
For more information on the project, please visit the researchers' Web site at www.sergeantyorkproject.com. For a detailed account of the WWI action surrounding York, visit http://worldwar1.com/heritage/sgtayork.htm.
VERGE OF DISCOVERY-MTSU's Tom Nolan (left) and Chatel-Chéhéry Mayor Roland Destaney listen as Damien Georges, a regional forester with France's forest service, describes the battlefield area where Nolan's team was preparing to map artifacts.
photo submitted
PIECE OF HISTORY-The WWI mess kit of an American soldier, shown above, is among the artifacts that Nolan and his team brought back from France. Nolan said the mess kit, complete with the soldier's name and hometown ("E. Campbell, Salamanca, N.Y.") scratched on it, was given to him in hopes he can locate the soldier's family.
photo submitted
The Record, April 10, 2006, V14.19
Campus Calendar
>>Top of Page
Campus Calendar
April 10-23, 2006
TV Schedule
"Middle Tennessee Record"
Cable Channel 9
Monday-Sunday-5 p.m.
NewsChannel 5+
Saturdays-1:30 p.m.
Monday, April 10
Honors Lecture Series
Dr. Vic Montemayor, "The New Physics"
3-3:55 p.m., HONR 106
For information, contact: 615-898-2152.
Faculty Senate meeting
4:30 p.m., JUB 100
For information, contact: 615-898-2582.
Tuesday, April 11
MTSU Baseball vs. Austin Peay
7 p.m., Reese Smith Field
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
Wednesday, April 12
MTSU Baseball vs. Belmont
7 p.m., Reese Smith Field
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
"Bangin' in the Boro:
Rock vs. Rap Competition"
MTSU Urban Music Society
8 p.m., Sweetwater Saloon, Murfreesboro
For information, e-mail: UrbanMusicSociety@yahoo.com.
Thursday, April 13
Women's Studies Research Series
Kathryn Davis, "The Influence of Gender on Teaching Elementary Physical Education"
3:30 p.m., JUB 100
For information, contact: 615-898-5910.
MTSU Wind Ensemble
7:30 p.m., Hinton Music Hall
No admission charge
For information, contact: 615-898-2493.
April 14-16
MTSU Baseball vs. Western Kentucky
7 p.m. April 14; 4 p.m. April 15; 1 p.m. April 16
Reese Smith Field
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
Saturday, April 15
MTSU Women's Tennis vs. Marshall
9 a.m., Buck Bouldin Tennis Center
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
MTSU Men's Tennis vs. Memphis
Noon, Buck Bouldin Tennis Center
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
Sunday, April 16
"MTSU On the Record-Psychology Conference"
Guest: Dr. Scott Lilienfield
7 a.m., WMOT 89.5-FM
Podcast at www.mtsunews.com
Monday, April 17
Women's History Month Event
"An Evening with Terry Gross"
8 p.m., JUB Tennessee Room
No admission charge; tickets required due to limited seating
For information, e-mail mjbarr@mtsu.edu or contact: 615-898-5910.
Tuesday, April 18
MTSU Softball vs. Tennessee Tech
4 p.m., Observatory Park
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
Tuesday, April 18
MTSU Baseball vs. Vanderbilt
7 p.m., Reese Smith Field
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
Wednesday, April 19
Retired Employees Reception
honoring MTSU 2006 retirees
3-4:30 p.m., JUB Tenn. Room
For information, contact: 615-898-2880.
Friday, April 21
MTSU Chamber Winds
7:30 p.m., Hinton Music Hall
No admission charge
For information, contact: 615-898-2493.
April 22-23
MTSU Softball vs. Troy
Noon each day, Observatory Park
For information, contact: 615-898-2103.
Saturday, April 22
Middle Tenn. Psychological Association conference
8 a.m.-1 p.m., Business and Aerospace Building
Admission: $5 per person
For information, visit www.mtsu.edu/~wlangsto/MTPAHome.htm
or contact: 615-898-2706.
Saturday, April 22
MTSU Symphony Orchestra
8 p.m., Hinton Music Hall
For information, contact: 615-898-2493.
Sunday, April 23
"MTSU On the Record-WalkAmerica"
Guests: Kimberly Deardorff and Jason and Tanya Klepper
7 a.m., WMOT 89.5-FM
Podcast at www.mtsunews.com
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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