Whether you are a freshman leaving home for the first time, a nontraditional student returning for a second bachelor’s degree or a transfer student, the transition into college life is difficult.

Luckily, the MTSU Counseling Services Office, located in Room 329 of the Keathley University Center, is there to help students cope with this adjustment by providing personal and confidential support.

“Our goal is to promote academic, personal and social growth,” Assistant Director Michael Johnson says, adding that from freshmen to doctoral students, everyone can use a little support.

Counseling is accessible and free to anyone enrolled at MTSU, and many students take advantage of the university’s counseling services.

On average, Counseling Services sees nearly 1,500 initial appointments yearly, equating to approximately 3,900 scheduled appointments on the calendar. Many students return, averaging two to three follow-ups after their initial appointment, according to Johnson.

“Our office stays very busy,” he adds.

Different students with different issues adjust in different ways. Johnson says that homesickness, academic change and social change are three main concerns among many new students at the beginning of the school year.

Johnson says he believes that participating in the CUSTOMS orientation program is the most effective way to become accustomed and comfortable with MTSU and the atmosphere of college life.

During CUSTOMS, Counseling Services meets with parents of incoming freshmen to discuss the “empty nest” syndrome and ways that they can help their child learn to live independently. Students can participate in workshops, tours and scheduling sessions to help prepare them for their new chapter in life.

New students also are encouraged to enroll in University 1010 Seminar, which is designed to familiarize students with the university and ease the transition from high school to college.

“On the first day, I had no idea where my classes were,” freshman Jenny Grissom recalls. “I was so nervous about being late.”

During the first few weeks of class, Grissom spent most of her time finding her way around campus and soaking up all the information she could. She found that it took about three weeks to get really acquainted with her new lifestyle.

“I almost forgot about my social life at first,” she says now, “but study groups help a lot. That’s how I met some of my friends.”

New students learn quickly that studying is crucial. The office helps students develop their focus, which often can lead to better study habits. Counseling Services works closely with Academic Support Services, Student Health Services and the Career Development Center to ensure a multifaceted support system for each student.

“The big thing on campus, especially when it comes to retention, is making sure that they receive academic support,” Johnson says.

Additionally, one of the best indicators of success for any campus service is the university retention rate. According to MTSU President Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU’s retention rate is 48 percent, which is 10 percent higher than the national average. Counseling Services plays an important role in retention, Johnson says, because the goal of the office is to help students function, be productive and ultimately graduate.

When it comes to campus life, graduating seems to be the biggest concern. Finishing school amid the responsibilities of everyday life can be challenging, Johnson says. And many students are not able to focus exclusively on school.

Nearly 87 percent of MTSU students currently are employed (many in more than one job) and attending school, as reported in a survey conducted in 2007 by the Office of Student Affairs.

Other major causes of tension for students are financial stress, poor time management or a lack of coping with the pace of everyday college life.

Counseling Services helps students recognize the “culprit” or source of stress, Johnson says, and then advises them on how to reduce the stress and help themselves.

Johnson, who also specializes in stress management, claims that proper breathing is the key to staying stress-free.

“Learning how to breathe correctly can offset numerous physical stress-related symptoms, like headaches, high blood pressure or muscle pain,” he says.

Being self-aware is another vital concept in maintaining a calm, healthy lifestyle. Understanding how to be conscious of breathing, muscle activity and the thought process allows individuals to assert control over their actions and, therefore, their reactions.

“[Self-awareness] allows the individual to control the self, rather than being controlled by the environment,” Johnson says.

To visit Counseling Services, students may schedule an appointment or simply walk in during office hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 615-898-2670 or visit www.mtsu.edu/countest.

• Write down your schedule; don’t rely on memory.

• Prioritize to-do items to better accomplish them; don’t just make lists.

• Take advantage of support from campus assistance.

• Be proactive; don’t procrastinate with school work.

• Be self-aware; avoid becoming overwhelmed with external anxiety.

• Remember to breathe.

Tips courtesy of MTSU Counseling Services; for more information, call 615-898-2670 or visit www.mtsu.edu/countest.

On Friday Aug. 22, thousands of new Raiders cruised onto the Middle Tennessee State University campus. As the new kids piled out of cars and into dorms and apartments, they took their first steps toward the MTSU lifestyle.

We-Haul made some of the first contacts that day to help integrate the students into campus life. When the hauling was done, students were left with a newfound independence—and more than a small of dose of loneliness.

To help ease the awkward transition period, MTSU developed the CUSTOMS and Week of Welcome programs to guide students through the first few uneasy days to becoming involved with life on campus. For many, the required CUSTOMS session is a grueling and intense two days filled with facts—names of buildings, campus organizations and the all-important class registration—that also provides a sense of belonging in a new home. Between CUSTOMS-scheduled appointments, connections are made and friendships are developed.

“CUSTOMS introduced me to one of my best friends,” said freshman Chelsea Case. “We lost our SOA (student orientation assistant) and bonded over our time getting lost all over campus.”

For transfer students, the process is a little different. The focus is more on academic life than campus involvement, and students use transfer advising days during the summer and specialty classes during the year to become better oriented to campus.

“One of the main goals as a transfer student is to have successful advising,” Director of Transfer Student Services Michelle Blackburn said. “For that reason, we focus on setting up advising appointments during the year and transfer advising days during the summer.”

For both transfer students and new freshmen, an early summer start seems to be the way to feel more at home. Once the school year begins, MTSU strives to make life more interesting with Week of Welcome.

Participants said this year’s events, from the Indiana Jones movie in the Keathley University Center courtyard to the uproarious performance by comedian Mike Birbiglia, were exciting and seemingly endless. Not only did the Week of Welcome give newcomers a place to meet and greet, its events helped to show the spirit that MTSU throws into everything.

“I loved going to the outdoor movie and meeting all the sororities,” freshman Meghan Kelley said. “The event helped me feel comfortable on campus and influenced my decision to go Greek.”

The annual Student Organization Fair was yet another chance for freshmen and transfer students to find their comfort zone somewhere among the information tables, business associations and community service groups.

Whether you became a Raider for the first time as a freshman this year or chose MTSU as your new home as a transfer student, the campus made colossal efforts to help newcomers feel welcome in the home of the Blue Raiders.

Charity Denim, a fundraising event for Up ‘til Dawn and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, will offer designer jeans at discount prices from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Keathley University Center Knoll Thursday, Oct. 23. The event will be hosted by Sigma Alpha agricultural sorority. For more information, contact the Sigma Alpha organization at sigmaa@mtsu.edu.

Officials in the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning want to know what college courses residents in Bedford and surrounding counties would take if courses were offered at the proposed new MTSU South Higher Education Facility in Shelbyville.

Residents can reply by filling out a survey available online at www.mtsusouth.com.

Some MTSU graduate classes in education already will be offered next summer at an off-campus site in Shelbyville. With the appropriate approvals, a full-blown program could be established by the fall of next year.

The goal is to receive approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for the Medical Arts Building in Shelbyville to become an off-campus center and offer additional classes.

“Right now we need people to go to the Web site and fill out the survey,” said David Foster, MTSU continuing education director. “We need to collect as many surveys as possible so that we can include those in our needs assessment. Anyone can fill out the survey, and it will only take a couple of minutes. We received more than 700 responses by Oct. 14, but we could still use more, since we want to accurately represent the views of the citizens of this region.”

The educational partnership among MTSU, Motlow State Community College, the Tennessee Technology Center at Shelbyville, and Bedford County took root more than a year ago. In addition to the online survey, officials have been sending out letters to area businesses asking for their support.

“People are already saying ‘MTSU is coming to town,’” Foster noted.

Dr. Mike Boyle, continuing education dean, called MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and Bedford County Mayor Eugene Ray the “drivers” behind this education initiative. A supporting cast has included Motlow President Mary Lou Apple, Bedford County school officials and key legislators.

“I have never seen such a grass-roots groundswell of support,” Boyle said. “This is a program that will benefit the entire region. It is vital that residents in the area access the Web site and fill out the interest survey.”

Dr. Dianna Rust, MTSU’s director of outreach and distance learning, said organizers plan to present the formal proposal to the TBR at its January meeting. “However,” she said, “we want to complete a draft, including financial projections, as early as next month. So we hope to receive many interest surveys and letters of support within the next couple of weeks.”

“We do want people to understand that the initial course work offered in the Bedford County location will be for the Master of Education degree with additional offerings planned.” Foster said. “The online survey will help us to determine other course possibilities.”

Added Boyle: “Everyone is agreeing that this is a great partnership. MTSU and President McPhee are committed to this. The benefits of a program like this will affect the entire state of Tennessee in a positive way. If everything is approved as we hope, there will be a grand-opening celebration at the appropriate time.”

For more information, call MTSU’s College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning at 615-898-2177.

With the cold and flu season fast approaching, MTSU Student Health Services will offer flu shots to the campus community at multiple locations.

This year, flu shots will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22, in the conference room on the second floor of the Cope Administration Building and from noon to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, in Room 318 of the Keathley University Center. Only cash and checks will be accepted as payment at these locations.

From 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, Oct. 21-23, shots will be available in the atrium of the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. In the atrium, patients may pay by cash, check, Visa, MasterCard or RaiderFunds. Students also may charge shots to their MTSU accounts.

“Last year, we treated over 600 students for influenza or flu-like symptoms,” says Health Services Director Richard Chapman. “Our goal is get more students immunized.”

Chapman says more than 750 shots were administered last year, mostly to faculty and staff.

Due to renovations, injections cannot be offered this year at the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building. No appointment is required at any location. The cost is $15 for students and $20 for faculty and staff.

For more information, contact MTSU Student Health Services at 615-898-2988.

When Dr. John Vile, then chairman of the Department of Political Science, asked me to help him coordinate and organize the assignments for his latest book project, I was thrilled and said “yes” immediately. So, over the next two years, I fielded requests to write specific entries for The Encyclopedia of the First Amendment, the most comprehensive reference work to focus solely on this bedrock of American freedom.

First, Vile and his co-editors, adjunct professor David Hudson Jr., who also is a scholar at the First Amendment Center in Nashville, and Dr. David Schultz of Hamline University, collaborated on a list of possible topics, including essential legal cases, dynamic individuals and historic events that have shaped the ongoing dialogue about the First Amendment and its various interpretations. They gave all topics word limits, which they subjected to considerable revision as space and editorial content warranted. Then the editors put out a call for participating scholars via online listservs.

The response was overwhelming, as hundreds of requests poured into my inbox. My next step was to consult frequently with Vile as the scholars informed me via e-mail which entries they would prefer to write. I had to keep track of all the e-mail requests, respond to the scholars in a timely manner and make sure there were no overlapping assignments. Deadlines came and went as educators tried to integrate their encyclopedia research into their busy schedules. We also let the editors at CQ Press know where to send the contracts.

The MTSU community can be very proud that 19 of its own are contributors to this groundbreaking reference work. Vile graciously allowed me to write five entries. As a political science major and a former radio news reporter, I found the experience to be highly enlightening. The challenge was to stay within my word limits as I discovered more and more information about my subject areas. While conducting my research, I continued the administrative work in an effort to keep the project organized and on track.

The editors winnowed the hundreds of responses I received down to the more than 1,400 entries that make up the encyclopedia. The two-volume set includes the work of more than 200 contributors, including Tennessean Publisher Emeritus John Seigenthaler, who wrote the foreword. I am humbled and honored to have played a role in the publication of a work that high-school and college students will use in their studies for years to come.

The first 45 words of the United States Constitution are “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Those words, seemingly innocuous to anyone brought up to believe in democracy, have generated and continue to generate an extraordinary amount of controversy. This is reflected in the depth and breadth of the Encyclopedia.

The First Amendment matters now more than at any other point in my lifetime. We are mired in an economic crisis, invested in two major military conflicts overseas and on the verge of a presidential election that will have an enormous impact on the nation’s future, regardless of the outcome. We need the protection to express ourselves freely without the threat of government censorship.

Contributors from the MTSU community

• Brandi Snow Bozarth, mock trial coach;

• Mark E. Byrnes, political science;

• David Carleton, political science;

• Patrick W. Chinnery, alumnus;

• Paul D. Fischer, recording industry;

• Sekou Franklin, political science;

• Roger Heinrich, electronic media communication;

• David Hudson Jr., political science/co-editor;

• Geoffrey Hull, recording industry (professor emeritus);

• Gina Kerra Logue, News and Public Affairs;

• Robb McDaniel, political science;

• John Omachonu, mass communication;

• Karen Petersen, political science;

• Bob Pondillo, EMC;

• Steve Robertson, political science;

• John Seigenthaler, Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence;

• John R. Vile, dean of the University Honors College/co- editor;

• Virginia Vile, alumna; and

• Clyde E. Willis, political science.

The annual enrollment transfer period for 2008 benefits for MTSU employees is under way now through Friday, Nov. 14. During this period, employees may:

• transfer health coverage, if currently enrolled;

• add or increase optional life insurance coverage amounts;

• add optional special accident and dismemberment insurance;

• add, change or cancel dental plans; and

• enroll for flexible benefits for calendar year 2009.

“Please read all materials you receive from vendors as well as the State of Tennessee Division of Insurance Administration,” said Lisa Batey, director of employee benefits for Human Resource Services.

“During October, you will receive a member handbook and provider directory for your current health care option. The handbook will outline the benefits for 2009, and the provider directory has information concerning hospital and physician network participation. You will also receive a benefits comparison brochure from the Division of Insurance Administration, which outlines the major characteristics of each of the health and dental options for 2009.”

Batey said the HRS office will send out the 2009 fringe-benefits enrollment packets to employees as soon as the packages are received.  

“Please read the material carefully,” Batey added. “Unless you file an election not to participate, any premium you pay for state group medical insurance and dental insurance in 2009 will automatically be paid with tax-free salary through flexible benefits. In addition, employees must enroll in the medical spending and dependent day care accounts every enrollment period in order to participate in the upcoming calendar year.”

All information related to annual enrollment, including premiums and 2009 benefit changes, is available at the annual enrollment link at MTSU’s Human Resource Services Web site at http://hrs.web.mtsu.edu.

The deadline to submit completed forms is 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14. HRS is located on the second floor of the Sam Ingram Building. For more information, call 615-898-2929.

Autumn is here and change is in the air, from the upcoming federal elections to new staff members and projects around campus. The October edition of “Middle Tennessee Record,” MTSU’s monthly video magazine, collects a few of the brightest leaves for study.

In one story, the ribbon is cut on the new Health and Wellness Center addition to the university’s existing Recreation Center. In addition to providing more space for student exercise and recreation, the new annex houses a complete Student Health Services Clinic. The Rec Center is also the focus of another story: Who could have guessed that less than a year after the emergency-shelter partnership with the Red Cross was signed, the facility would be used for evacuees from Hurricane Gustav?

The Albert Gore Research Center’s new director, Dr. Jim Williams, gets an opportunity to show off the “university’s attic” in another story. Williams brings along his coordination of the American Democracy Project, which is helping MTSU students get involved in Election ’08—yet another feature included in this month’s MTR.

Dollie Boyd, a grad student in the public history program, is in the MTR spotlight after coordinating a 30th anniversary Heritage Day celebration at Tims Ford State Park in Franklin County. Formerly a high-school drama teacher, she says public history and theater have a lot in common.

And finally, “Middle Tennessee Record” takes a look at something old and something new with a story on the traffic roundabout on the east side of campus. It’s one of the newest features of the MTSU campus, but it contains architectural accents that predate the founding of the university.

To see the October edition of “Middle Tennessee Record,” watch Cable Channel 9 daily at 7 a.m. or 5 p.m., Sundays at 1:30 p.m. on News-Channel5+, or anytime via www.mtsunews.com. The show also is available on YouTube; go to www.mtsu.edu/~proffice/MTR.html and click on the YouTube icon.

In conjunction with the Oct. 3 opening of “The River Inside” exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, the MTSU Center for Environmental Education partnered with other groups to develop a 12-page, full-color tabloid newspaper by the same name to reach educators and citizens across the state.

The latest special publication, which has been included in The Tennessean for its readers this month and will be mailed to approximately 15,000 Middle Tennessee educators for classrooms that participate in the Newspaper in Education project, focuses on rivers and water quality, said Dr. Cindi Smith-Walters, co-director of the MTSU center.

“The exhibit and publication tell the story of Tennessee photographer John Guider, who paddled his 16-foot canoe on Spencer Creek in Williamson County and began an incredible journey paddling down the Harpeth, Cumberland, Tennessee and Ohio rivers, to the Mississippi (River) and finally arriving in New Orleans,” Smith-Walters said in an on-campus memo.

The memo was sent to Drs. Kaylene Gebert, executive vice president and provost; Tom Cheat-ham, dean for the College of Basic and Applied Sciences; and George Murphy, chair of the biology department.

The exhibit will be on display at the state museum through Nov. 30, said Karen Hargrove, a former center coordinator who wrote the copy for the publication.

Hargrove said the message encourages students to be aware of their environmental resources, especially water.

“Whatever their habits are affects a watershed,” she said, referring to a cartoon (“Can you find these animals?”) on page seven of the publication that “shows animals as well as people, using water in all kinds of ways.”

In addition to the Center for Environmental Education, program sponsors also included The Tennessean NIE project, Tennessee Valley Authority, Dragonfly Enterprises and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Used Oil Program.

A Web site, www.reflectionsontheriver.org, “will act as a portal to resources available from a variety of agencies and programs in Tennessee for teachers, students and community members interested in using rivers and the environment as an exciting classroom,” said site coordinator Judy Butler of Dragonfly Enterprises.

For more information, call 615-904-8575.

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WORKING WITH WATER—Above is a sample page of the full-color tabloid “The River Inside,” created for MTSU’s Center for Environmental Education and sent to approximately 15,000 Middle Tennessee educators for classrooms participating in the Newspaper in Education project. The 12-page publication tells the story of Tennessee photographer John Guider, who paddled a 16-foot canoe down the Harpeth, Cumberland, Tennessee and Ohio rivers to the Mississippi River and into New Orleans. page graphic courtesy of The Tennessean

Faculty, staff and administration: Submit your nominations for the 2009 John Pleas Faculty Award by Friday, Nov. 14.

The John Pleas Faculty Award, established in 1997 to honor now-retired psychology professor Dr. John Pleas, is presented annually to a minority faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching, research and service.

The formal presentation ceremony of the Pleas Award is a major event of Black History Month.

Nominees should have completed five or more years of service at MTSU and have a record of outstanding service. Candidates must have three letters of support.

An electronic copy of the candidate’s curriculum vitae/resume’ and the justification for nomination should be submitted to Marva S. Lucas at mlucas@mtsu.edu.

Questions may be directed to Lucas via e-mail or by calling 615-898-2927.

The MTSU Department of Art will sponsor its first Scholarship Seasonal Sale, an art extravaganza of work collected from the department’s faculty, staff, students, alumni and community friends, in October.

The one-day sale, which organizers said they plan to make an annual event, will be held Thursday, Oct. 23, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Todd Gallery in MTSU’s Todd Building. A pre-sale reception showcasing the department’s facilities will be held Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. and will include tours of the department’s facilities.

“The sale is designed so that the donor decides which scholarship should benefit,” said Dr. Jean Nagy, art department chairwoman. “For example, if a student group sells artwork, half of the sale price goes to the student organization and the other half goes to the scholarship fund designated by the student group.”

Nagy said the department hopes this year’s sale will be a success and increase in size next year.

“Proceeds from the sale of items donated to this event will go to the Department of Art and to the respective donor’s choice of one or more of our scholarships among the list,” Eric V. Snyder, gallery curator, said. “The scholarships were begun with the creation of a scholarship in honor of Hester Rogers Ray, who was the department’s first art education faculty member, with the others following since Rogers Ray.”

The current scholarships, along with who will benefit from each, include:

• Hester Rogers Ray Scholarship for art-education students;

• Charles Massey Scholarship for second-semester studio-art majors;

• Dr. Charles Brandon Scholarship for studio-art majors;

• John and Elva Griffin Scholarship for incoming freshmen art majors;

• Jill Montgomery Scholarship for art-history majors;

• David Ledoux Scholarship for studio-art majors;

• Ollie Fancher Scholarship for graphic-design majors;

• Lon Nuell Scholarship for incoming freshmen art majors; and

• Department of Art Scholarships for art majors.

The Todd Gallery’s regular hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, call Snyder at 615-898-5653.

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ART FOR SMARTS’ SAKE—Works by artists including, clockwise from top left, Michelle Fizer, Dana Shotwell and Marisa Recchia, will be available for sale Oct. 23 in the Todd Gallery at the first Scholarship Seasonal Sale. The event, which will showcase art from MTSU faculty, staff, students, alumni and community friends, allows donors to decide which art-department scholarships should benefit from their purchases. photos submitted

As the financial crisis worsens, college students are finding it more difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel and, instead, are seeing a train rushing toward them. At MTSU’s 16th annual Economic Outlook Conference at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro on Friday, Sept. 26, speakers provided a window into the upcoming year in U.S. economics and finance.

The good news: the situation isn’t as bad as students think it is; the bad news is that the current severe financial crisis will affect student loans, tuition and finding jobs, both during college and after graduation.

Dr. Donald Ratajczak, Regent’s Professor of Economics Emeritus at Georgia State University, founder of the Economic Forecasting Center and one of the nation’s leading economic forecasters, says student-loan companies could face the same problems as troubled mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

According to Ratajczak, it is becoming harder for banks to find student-loan guarantees and, as a result, they’re backing away from student loans and making it harder for students to acquire them.

And, he warned, don’t think that just because a lending company goes down, you’d become free of any obligation to your student loans. Those loans, like home mortgage, auto and other personal notes, will be transferred to whomever takes over the lending company, so you don’t get a bail-out.

When it comes to tuition, forecasters have more bad news: costs likely will never come down, regardless of the state of the economy.

“The cost of education has been growing 3 percent faster per year than core inflation,” says Ratajczak. “If colleges and universities refuse to use cost-cutting innovations, tuition costs will continue to rise.”

Students, just like other consumers, still can take certain measures to provide themselves with some financial security. The most important task is to include savings as a part of a basic budget, along with rent and food, Ratajczak says.

“Savings is critical!” he emphasizes, advising that consumers immediately put a portion of each paycheck into a readily available account. Once you’ve set aside six months’ worth of income, Ratajczak recommends opening a ROTH Individual Retirement Account, or IRA. But before putting money into a ROTH IRA, he cautions, you must pay your taxes.

Another smart thing to do now is to invest. According to Ratajczak, investment opportunities are good now because stock prices are low.

“These cycles happen,” he explains. “It’s not as damaging and critical as students think. It happens and it will go away. Don’t sit and wait for this to end. Do what you can in this environment.”

When asked what students can do to help the economy, Ratajczak is quick to answer.

“Study hard. Increase your human capital, and then, when the economy improves, find the best way to use it. If students can do those three things (save, invest and study), then the long run of this economy is assured. That’s how we get our future.”

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker and nine of his colleagues in Congress are crossing party lines to create new energy initiatives with an “all of the above” approach.

“There is no way we can continue on the path we are on and be successful,” the Chattanooga Republican said Oct. 4 at an engineering technology meeting where alternative-energy sources and environmental concerns were discussed. Approximately 50 students attended the event at the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building on the MTSU campus, as well as State Sen. Jim Tracy.

Corker spoke about the efforts of some in the Senate to explore alternative-energy sources. He told the audience that the five Democrats and five Republicans, nicknamed the “Gang of Ten,” feel that the only way to end U.S. dependency on foreign oil is to develop all potential sources of energy to include wind, solar, nuclear, etc.

When speaking about nuclear energy, he said that there is a shortage of the talent needed to develop it.

“One of the big deficits we have in this country,” Corker told his audience, “are young people like you going into the field of nuclear because we haven’t done it in so long.”

Under the “Gang of Ten” bill to reduce nuclear waste products—the biggest concern about nuclear energy, he said—reprocessed fuel would be re-used.

Wind power is also a large focus of the bill. Corker said that he saw windmill farms in New Mexico and was impressed with their energy output.

“It’s so different than I think most people view it to be. And some of these farms, believe it or not, can produce at full capacity a pretty large percentage of what a nuclear power plant can produce,” he said.

But, the senator warned, wind energy is not consistently available. It is called incremental load energy because it supplements the base load—the minimum power requirement for an electrical supply—when the wind is blowing.

During a question-and-answer session, Corker was asked whether he believes global warming is caused by cyclical temperature patterns or is manmade. Noting that he believes both are causes and that history has shown the cycle of temperatures, the senator added that man can’t pour tons of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere without having some effect. Though he said he isn’t convinced that the Kyoto Protocol should have been adopted, Corker said that America lost a chance to address the problem of greenhouse gases by discontinuing discussions with other countries after the United States chose not to support the international measure.

After his speech, Corker and the group examined a display of alternative fuel and solar vehicles powered by various energy sources.

The centerpiece of the display was an SUV that has been almost completely modified by MTSU to run on propane, ethanol and compressed gas. For the first 20 to 25 miles, it runs off batteries, which can be plugged in and recharged. The goal is to be able to use hydrogen fuel cells and to convert the batteries to AC power, which will allow the vehicle to travel 100 miles on one charge. If another gear is added to the transmission, officials project that the vehicle can reach speeds of up to 130 mph.

A biodiesel Corvette displayed at the event has been used in races and reaches about 150 mph. It runs off vegetable oil and gets the same mileage as gasoline, but the biodiesel costs only 70 cents per gallon.

Also on display were two vehicles built by students under the direction of Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, associate dean and professor in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences. They presented a solar car and a solar boat, which they have taken to competitions against universities around the world, including MIT, placing first, second or third.

Foroudastan said most universities have outside companies build the parts for their cars, but his students use the campus’s machine shop and build everything themselves. The solar car they built can run up to four hours in an endurance race without a charge and can reach speeds of up to 40 mph in a sprint. It’s also won the best-design award at various competitions.

The solar boat can go 300 meters in 60 seconds and will last two hours during endurance races. The crew recently made innovations that allowed them to triple the boat’s endurance distance. One of the students involved in the design, Bryan Bodkin, credits power improvements as the reason for the increase.

“You can put a lot of innovation into hull design, but I believe most of the innovation is [in] how you use the power,” Bodkin said.

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee expressed pride in MTSU’s efforts toward developing alternative-energy sources, noting the university’s efforts toward environmental concerns.

“We were one of the first to go green and had a referendum initiated by the students to have a green fee to help us provide leadership in that area,” McPhee noted.

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CONSIDER THE ALTERNATIVES—Agribusiness professor Dr. Cliff Ricketts, center right, explains the workings of an SUV modified to run on alternative-energy sources to U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, center left, and state Sen. Jim Tracy, center, as MTSU students and staff look on. photo by J. Intintoli

“4 Women 4 Views with Text,” the current exhibit in the James E. Walker Library, features the creativity of three MTSU professors and an MTSU graduate in combining visual and verbal elements, treating visitors to an experience that is at once visceral and intellectual.

The works of Assistant Professors Noel Lorson and Kim Dummons, Professor Janet Higgins and alumna Nance Cooley will remain on display through Thursday, Nov. 13, in the Special Collections area on the fourth floor of the library. Viewing is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Susan Hanson, a specialist with the library, says the artists got together from time to time from the summer of 2007 through this past summer to play with ideas and the materials they brought to the table. The works on display are individual entities that emerged from the creative spark of the collaborative experience.

“It starts with a word, and it begins to take on a life of its own,” Hanson says.

Old calendars form the basis of “Seasons,” “In December” and “Dancing among the Fireflies”—three of Higgins’ accordion-fold books. For “Fireflies,” she used a calendar depicting Japanese gardens. The accompanying text refers to being in nature and remembering the “path to the garden.”

“The calendar image is folded in half and in half again so the viewer doesn’t see the entire photo image but has the impression of the lushness of a garden environment,” Higgins says. “The paper carrier of the text is vellum, a translucent paper that blends with the garden images while still allowing the text to be read.”

A standout in Cooley’s work, which she describes as a “hodgepodge,” is “The Storytellers’ Tale,” a group book passed around to the seven women in her family. In turn, Cooley, her sister, their daughters and a daughter-in-law added their unique touches to the piece, which traveled some 70,000 miles in the creative process. The book is hand-bound in Venetian marble paper.

Cooley used the library’s showpiece, its 18th-century Franklin-era replica press, in “Florida’s Creatures,” the book display in the entryway to the Special Collections area. It includes individual block prints of a manatee, a turtle and a sand hill crane, the blocks themselves, loose handmade papers and a completed mockup of a book.

“What she’s trying to do in this case is to give you a sense of how the book goes together, to give you some idea of the process of art rather than just the finished product,” Hanson says.

“I printed in June and July of this summer for eight days,” Cooley adds. “The book was produced for a show in Tallahassee, Fla.”

Lorson’s creations include ”Octopus Bonnet,” an off-white ball with tentacles swirling out from it, and “Panel Discussion,” which positions words one might hear in a television commercial with several TV screens and a female image. Harmon says her works are made with the plant-based paper abaca.

Dummons’ multicolored print collages, “House Home 1” and “House Home 2,” create an optical illusion akin to being invited into an alcove. Her “Block Box” and “Pandora’s Box” bring children’s lettered building blocks to life. In “Pandora’s Box,” the blocks actually form a box with a drawer that opens and closes. Dummons also fashioned the signature piece “4 Women 4 Views with Text,” a three-dimensional mixed media work that includes spools, a key and a playing card.

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WORDS OF ART—MTSU alumna Nance Cooley’s artwork, “Florida’s Creatures,” fills the display at the entrance to the James E. Walker Library’s Special Collections area. Work from Cooley and three MTSU professors are featured in the “4 Women 4 Views with Text” book arts exhibit on the library’s fourth floor through Thursday, Nov. 13. photo submitted

Local gospel choirs who want to reach a wider audience are invited to try out for a new independent movie, “The New, True Charlie Wu,” written and directed by Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication professor.

Auditions are slated for Monday, Oct. 20, Wednesday, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 24 from 6 to 10 p.m. in Studio C on the first floor of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building.

Pondillo is the creative force behind three independent award-winning short films—“Would You Cry If I Died?,” “My Name is Wallace,” and “Wait ….” “Wallace” and “Wait …,” were accepted at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for your group to get more exposure,” says Pondillo. “We’re looking for exciting, uptempo, soulful singers who can project a lot of positive energy.”

Each choir will have about 15 minutes to perform, and choirs may choose their own audition material.

To make an appointment for an audition, or for more information, contact Veronica Privett at 615-752-7024.

MTSU students who want to participate in early voting in the 2008 election can get free transportation to the Rutherford County Election Commission Office on Murfreesboro’s Public Square via Raider Express this month.

Early voting in Tennessee began Oct. 15 and continues through Friday, Oct. 30.

The schedule for the rides, provided by the American Democracy Project, is:

• Tuesday, Oct. 21—5 p.m. pick-up in front of James Union Building; pick-up at the square at 6:15 p.m. to return to campus;

• Wednesday, Oct. 22—8:30 a.m. pick-up in front of the JUB; pick-up at the square at 9:45 a.m. to return to campus;

• Monday, Oct. 27—10 a.m. pick-up in front of the JUB; pick-up at the square at 11:15 a.m. to return to campus;

• Thursday, Oct. 30—3 p.m. pick-up in front of the JUB; pick-up at the square at 4:15 p.m. to return to campus.

For more information, contact ADP coordinator Dr. Jim Williams at 615-898-2632 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu. The ADP Web site is www.mtsu.edu/~amerdem.

Dr. Carol Anderson, an author and human-rights scholar, will deliver the 2008 Strickland Visiting Scholar Lecture in History at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building.

The topic of Anderson’s talk will be “Rac(e)ing Human Rights: the Role of Jim Crow in Shaping the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.”

“Dr. Anderson’s scholarship on the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights is part of an important and growing body of literature that places the American Civil Rights movement in the context of international politics at that time,” said Dr. Pippa Holloway, MTSU associate professor of history.

“Defenders of racism in the United States resisted efforts to strengthen the U.N. Declaration,” Holloway added, “while the NAACP pushed the United Nations investigate segregation and lynchings in the U.S.”

An associate professor of history at the University of Missouri, Anderson’s first book, Eyes Off the Prize: The United Nations and the African-American Struggle for Human Rights, 1944-1955 (Cambridge University Press, 2003), explores how the Cold War, anti-communism, the development of the United Nations and international human rights influenced the struggle for black equality in the United States.

In Anderson’s upcoming book, Bourgeois Radicals: The NAACP and the Struggle for Colonial Liberation, 1941-1960, she reportedly will uncover the long-hidden role of the national most powerful civil rights organization in fighting for the liberation of people of color in Africa and Asia.”

Aside from her free public Strickland lecture at MTSU, Anderson also will meet for formal and informal classes and workshops with undergraduates, graduates and faculty.

The Strickland Visiting Scholar program allows students to meet with scholars whose expertise spans a variety of historical issues. It was established through the support of the Strickland family in memory of Dr. Roscoe Lee Strickland Jr., a longtime professor of European history at MTSU. Strickland was the first president of the MTSU Faculty Senate.

For more information regarding Anderson’s Oct. 23 talk, which is free and open to the public, please contact Holloway at 615-898-2536 or via e-mail at phollowa@mtsu.edu.

In early September, MTSU was activated to serve as an American Red Cross emergency shelter for the first time to serve Hurricane Gustav evacuees. The Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center was converted into an emergency shelter to house the 450 evacuees, and the entire MTSU community pitched in to help.

Ray Wiley, associate director for campus recreation and a 21-year volunteer with the American Red Cross, says he’s pleased with the way things turned out, especially since there was no time to perform a disaster simulation before the shelter was used.

During the evacuees’ stay at MTSU, they received three meals a day; medical attention; basic amenities such as toothbrushes and clothes; access to bathroom facilities; Internet access; cots, blankets and pillows; laundry facilities; entertainment; and as much information that was known to the Red Cross and the shelter volunteers.

“We couldn’t have done it without the help and support from local businesses, churches, medical personnel, MTSU and all of the volunteers,” Wiley says.

The overwhelming response from the surrounding community made it possible for children to play games, watch movies and enjoy bedtime stories, he says. People received medication, basic medical treatment and transportation to and from medical facilities.

Hospitals even donated beds to the shelter for those who needed them. Volunteers from First Baptist Church and AdamsPlace took care of evacuees’ laundry with donated washers and dryers, while Aramark provided enough food to serve 1,500 meals daily to the evacuees.

After six days at MTSU, Wiley says, evacuees enjoyed a hot breakfast at 2 a.m. Sept. 6 and received boxed lunches. At 4 a.m., they boarded nine buses and headed home. By Sept. 7, the Recreation Center was cleaned and back in full swing.

More than 10 different agencies and around 100 spontaneous volunteers were able to pull together and coordinate their services to make the first-time shelter a success.

According to Wiley, it will be a long time before MTSU will be used as a shelter again, enabling other communities to take their turn during disasters and giving the university time to evaluate its performance and make necessary changes to the emergency shelter plan. Volunteers also need time to be trained and even become certified by the American Red Cross.

Wiley says he’d like to offer “a tremendous thanks” to:

• First Baptist Church and AdamsPlace;

• the American Red Cross and its Tennessee chapter;

• Rutherford County and Tennessee Emergency Management teams and Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services;

• local hospitals and personnel;

• state and local police officers;

• Aramark Custodial and Food Services;

• Best Buy, Walgreen’s, Wal-Mart and Target; and

• the MTSU community and all the volunteers.

The Red Cross Heart of Tennessee Chapter needs to replenish resources, he adds, and no donation is too small.

Donating blood, writing a check or getting certified as a disaster-relief volunteer are significant ways to help friends and neighbors in need.

If you would like to become a volunteer, contact Ray Wiley at 615-898-2104 or rwiley@mtsu.edu. You also may contact the local Red Cross chapter at 615-893-4272.

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GOOD NEIGHBOR—Associate Recreation Director Ray Wiley displays a map used to plan for the use of MTSU’s Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center as an American Red Cross Shelter for evacuees of Hurricane Gustav. The community rallied to aid the temporary guests. photo by Andy Heidt

While there will be many of the “old classics” like “Glitter Girls,” “Egg Drop,” “My Genes, Your Genes” and others, plenty of new workshops will welcome middle-school girls attending the 12th annual Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science.

EYH and Girls Raised in Tennessee Science, or GRITS, EYH will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, across the MTSU campus, event organizers said.

Murfreesboro physician Christine M. Hoffman will present a “Bones” workshop. “She will have girls pick out plastic bones (provided by the MTSU biology department) and put a plastic human skeleton together like a jigsaw puzzle,” said Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, chemistry professor and EYH director.

Biology graduate student Lacy Danikas will provide a real, hands-on effect to her “Snakes” workshop for the GRITS high-school group.

She said she plans to bring baby Northern Water snakes, a bright orange corn snake named Mango and possibly a friend’s ball python.

“I will talk about the different types of characteristics of snakes,” said Danikas, who did her undergraduate studies at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., and was recommended by Dr. Padgett Kelly of the Center for Environmental Education.

“I will go into identification, do a slideshow, go into my research, do a loco-motor (track) performance and (later) go into the different career fields available — research, teaching and medical,” Danikas added.

Dr. Melinda Korzaan, assistant professor in computer information systems, will lead the new “Girls are IT” workshop for middle-school girls. Iriarte-Gross said this finally pulls information technology into the EYH fold.

Karen Habucky, president of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists and has been an active volunteer in the association for more than 15 years, will be the guest speaker.

In addition to her involvement with various committees, Habucky mentors junior scientists and graduate students, is actively involved in the Visiting Scientist Program and visited three pharmacy schools this summer. She earned her bachelor’s in pharmacy and doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences with an emphasis in pharmacokinetics from the University of Pittsburgh.

EYH expects to have a full capacity—300 middle-school girls and 60 high-school girls—for the day, Iriarte-Gross said. The group includes middle- and high-school girls involved in the MTSU Educational Talent Search program, which is led by Coordinator Debbie Frisby.

“The girls love it,” Frisby said, adding that students will be coming from Warren, Coffee and Grundy counties. “The high-school girls fight to get applications to attend.”