Scholars Week 2009, scheduled March 30 through April 3, has become an anticipated campus event each spring as MTSU scholars eagerly share their research findings as well as their enthusiasm for doing research.

Dr. Kaylene Gebert, executive vice president and provost, said Scholars Week “continues to be our annual forum to recognize the excellent research that our faculty and students do.

“The number and variety of research projects presented is always quite impressive. Many of the students who participate locally also report on their scholarship at regional and national meetings within their area of study. We invite everyone to visit the events occurring throughout Scholars Week to share in the excitement,” Gebert said.

Scholars Week organizers are making a special effort to solicit participation not only from the MTSU community but also area high-school students and teachers, legislators and others to learn firsthand about research at MTSU.

Dr. Kristine M. McCusker, associate professor of history and organizing committee member in charge of publicity, said that selected MTSU students are inviting others to visit the universitywide poster and multimedia event on Friday, April 3, and will act as hosts during the event.

“Student researchers make great representatives for MTSU because they can testify to the beneficial role that research plays in their college careers,” McCusker said.

A preliminary Scholars Week schedule is posted at www.mtsu.edu/~research.

One casualty of the university budget cuts is the traditional Scholars Week kick-off event, which has served as an appreciation luncheon for faculty mentors and presenters. This year, the College of Business poster session, set from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 30, in the Business and Aerospace Building’s south lobby, will mark the beginning of Scholars Week. Other college showcases will follow through the week.

The climax of Scholars Week is the Universitywide Poster and Multimedia Exposition at 12:40 p.m. Friday, April 3, at the Murphy Center track area. A link to poster abstracts is at www.mtsu.edu/~research; the online abstracts list will serve as a searchable written record of participation this year. Additional information, including poster preparation guidelines and ideas on how faculty can incorporate Scholars Week events into course activities, are also posted online.

Examples of the wide range of presentation titles follow. Come to Scholars Week to find out the authors!

• “The Effect of a 12-Week Fitness Program on Measures of Health-Related Physical Fitness in Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Students”;

• “Raman Analysis of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid in Contaminated Pet Food and Milk Products”;

• “Alternative mRNA Splicing is Prevalent in Genes and Regions of the Brain Implicated in Bipolar Disorder”;

• “Knock It Off!: Consumers’ Perceptions Toward Purchasing Counterfeit Products”;

• “The Production, Quantification and Fluorescent Detection of Anthrax-Simulating Endospores”;

• “Art Music Canon: Finding African-American Composers in the Western Music Tradition”;

• “Transfer of Skills from Microsoft Flight Simulator X to an Aircraft”;

• “Hurricane Ike vs. an Atomic Bomb”; and

• “How To Build A Better Mouse Trap: Sanitation Issues In The Food Industry.”

The Scholars Week schedule of events is:

• Monday, March 30—College of Business Poster Session, 12:30–2:30 p.m., BAS south lobby. Contact Dr. Charlie Baum at 615-898-2527.

• Tuesday, March 31—College of Basic and Applied Sciences Hands-on Learning Showcase, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., Keathley University Center Quad (rain locations are KUC first- and second-floor lobbies). For more information, contact Megan Hall at 615-898-8643.

College of Education and Behavioral Science event, time, location and speaker TBA. Contact Tara Prairie at 615-494-8918.

• Wednesday, April 1—College of Liberal Arts talks, panels and performances, 1–5 p.m., Room 117 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. Contact Dr. Mark Byrnes at 615-898-2351.

• Thursday, April 2—College of Mass Communication Open Mic, time and location TBA. Contact Dr. Daniel Pfeifer at 615-898-5944.

• Friday, April 3—Universitywide Poster and Multimedia Exposition, 12:40–3:30 p.m., Murphy Center track. Awards will be presented at 3 p.m. Contact Dr. Wasimuddin Qureshi at 615-898-5090.

Dr. Andrienne Friedli is a chemistry professor and director of the Center for Advancement of Research and Scholarship. Randy Weiler of the Office of News and Public Affairs contributed to this report.

A group of undergraduate students will travel to Cane, Honduras, this April under the guidance of speech and theatre professor Dr. Jette Halladay.

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Committee awarded Halladay and seven hand-picked students full funding for their project “Exploring English Through Theatre: Honduras.”

Halladay has made several trips to Honduras with MTSU students and established working communications with people and organizations in the country. Their current research is based on a theatrical production written and performed by the students.

“Through performance, we are trying to introduce English as a second language to children,” said Buddy Jones, a junior speech and theatre major.

The show will present lessons and morals to the kids along with rhythmic and vocal melodies. The production’s lessons focus on health, hygiene and English. Sally Geib recently joined as music producer to help the team bring the show together through rhythm.

“In theater we enforce language with visual, but here we will enforce visual with language,” said junior speech and theatre major Matthew Frazier-Smith. “The visual is the focus and physical actions are the dialogue of the story.”

The students used improvisational sessions to develop the logistics of the script and learned more about the language by consulting MTSU’s language lab. Their final production will include English and Spanish phrases, which will be performed for elementary schools and orphanages in Honduras.

“A lot of people get caught up in the art. For me, art has no value unless it changes lives for the better,” Halladay said.

In preparation for the trip, the undergraduates will gather items to take to the children in Honduras. Local dentists have already donated toothbrushes, and students hope to find other small items to enhance the children’s lives.

“Many of us are going there as packed as we can, and plan to leave with the clothes on our back,” Jones said. “Everything else is to give to the kids.”

The students say they look forward to immersing themselves in the routines and culture of Honduras, where life is marked by poverty, famine and disease.

Along with making an impact on children’s lives, Jones and Frazier-Smith say they look forward to being affected by the weeklong trip.

“My hope is that the students come back and become lifelong humanitarians,” Halladay said. “I hope they continue to do their art, but that in the back of their mind they’re thinking, ‘What can I do to make someone’s life better?’”

The “Exploring English Through Theatre: Honduras” group will present their project at Scholars Week and will accept donations to benefit the children.

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SE HABLA THEATRE?—The "Exploring English Through Theatre: Honduras" undergrad research group rehearses for their upcoming trip. From left are Tonya Pewitt, senior speech and theatre major; Elizabeth Hunt, senior English major; Matthew Frazier-Smith, junior speech and theatre major; Allison “Alli” Scott, senior music and theatre major; Buddy Jones, junior speech and theatre major; Leah Fincher, senior speech and theatre major; and Brendan Johnson, junior theatre major. photo by J. Intintoli

As Scholars Week approaches and students prepare to unveil their projects, Veronica Privett, a senior broadcast journalism major, is working on the post-production of the film that has become a part of her undergraduate research project, “The New, True Charlie Wu.”

The 30-minute-long musical fantasy was filmed over spring break at DR&A Studio in Nashville and tells the story of a young accountant who has a dream that changes his life.

“He’s been an accountant for nine years. He’s late 20s, almost 30, and he absolutely cannot stand his job. He doesn’t really realize it but it’s making him sick, actually physically ill, to be working there,” said Privett, an associate producer of the short film. “He goes to sleep, and we go inside his head and he has this crazy dream … and all these things happens that make him realize what he wants to do with his life.”

Privett is doing her undergraduate research with the help of MTSU’s Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Projects initiative and said she has found the experience both beneficial and rewarding—but also a lot of hard work.

“I wasn’t aware of how much work it would be … but I’m really glad I’m doing the undergraduate research, because it’s helping me so much for my career. It’s a singular opportunity,” Privett said. “I’m learning a lot about the industry. I’m learning a lot about things like programming, broadcasting in general, and the field. That’s a huge part of it.”

The film was written over the summer of 2008 by Dr. Bob Pondillo, an electronic media communication professor at MTSU, and was inspired by a dream he had.

As Privett’s adviser, Pondillo helped Privett get involved with the film and with undergraduate research.

“Undergraduate research is helpful because when you do a research project, you are literally going into the guts of it,” Pondillo said. “You learn how things work; how things fit together. You learn the creative process.”

There is no release date set for the film yet, but Privett said that it might premiere on campus.

“We’re not even sure how long it’s going to take to do post-production. We may not even be thinking about promoting the film until next fall,” she said.

Overall, Privett said, her undergraduate research experience has been a great opportunity.

“This is the first time I have been involved in a film project, and really, I was just thrown into the deep end of the pool,” she said. “It was sink or swim, and I’m hoping that I managed to learn how to swim, but we’ll see.”

If you are interested in learning more about undergraduate research or current undergraduate research projects, attend Scholars Week, March 30 through April 3. More information can be found on the MTSU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Web site at www.mtsu.edu/~research/scholarsweek.html. For information on “The New, True Charlie Wu,” please visit www.youandcharliewu.com.

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WU TO YOU—Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication professor, offers behind-the-scenes info about a movie currently in production in a YouTube featurette for “The New, True Charlie Wu” at the Web site www.youandcharliewu.com.

For 13 years, the Instructional Technology Conference has provided thousands of higher education professionals from across the United States with an opportunity to share experiences and expertise in educational technology.

The 14th annual conference should be no different. MTSU again will serve as host to the conference, which will be held March 29-31 at several campus venues as well as the DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro.

This year’s theme will be “Developing a Participatory Learning Culture.”

Featured speakers will be Dr. Michael Wesch, assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University; Sarah “Intellagirl” Robbins, a doctoral candidate at Ball State University in Indiana and director of emerging technologies with Kelley Executive Partners at Indiana University; and Dr. Belle S. Wheelan, president of the Commission on Colleges with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

“We’ve always had wonderful speakers,” said Lucinda Lea, vice president for information technology and chief information officer for MTSU. “This year is no exception. Our speakers are on the forefront of what’s happening today in higher education.”

Wesch will discuss “From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-able: Harnessing New Media for New Media Literacy” at 8:15 a.m. Monday, March 30, in the Keathley University Center Theater.

“He’s really about exploring,” Lea said of Wesch. “He’ll explore the impact of new media—emerging technologies like Second Life, Twitter and Flickr—on human interaction.”

Robbins’ presentation is “Navigating the Throng: Using Social Media for Non-Institutional Learning Ecologies” and will be presented at the banquet Monday at the hotel.

“Sarah Robbins will talk about how technology enables collaboration and how universities can use technologies to compete for student attention in the learning environment,” Lea said.

Wheelan’s presentation, “Accountability in Higher Education,” will focus on activities that began with the Spellings’ Commission and continued with the Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and the various public responses along the way. It’s scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, in the KUC Theater. Wheelan is the first African-American and first woman to serve in her capacity.

MTSU faculty making presentations will include Brenda Parker, Drs. Roland Unch and Cen Li of computer science; Dr. Wendy Beckman, aerospace; Dr. Stacey Graham of the Center for Historic Preservation; Dr. Beverly Boulware, elementary and special education; Brenda Kerr and Barbara Draude, Barry Cantrell and Eric Niemiller of the Information Technology Division; Karen Ward, nursing; Dr. K. Virginia Hemby, business communication and entrepreneurship; and Dr. Virginia Donnell, speech and theatre.

For more information, visit www.mtsu.edu/itconf or call 615-904-8111.

Throughout the spring and summer, parking areas behind the James Union Building and Rutledge, Lyon and Monohan Halls will be blocked to protect vehicles from damage during underground electrical work. Those who park in those spaces will have their vehicles towed and will be responsible for any fines incurred. Call Construction Administration at 615-898-2967 for more information.

The “four consonants and a vowel” of news lacks the ring of “the five Ws” taught in journalism school, but the new set of letters may be the key to moving news into its multiple media incarnations.

That’s according to speakers at the American Press Institute’s New Newsroom Workshop, held March 13 in the Bragg Mass Communication Building. The event, hosted by MTSU’s School of Journalism in the College of Mass Communication, was a regional opportunity for newspaper editors, journalism educators and students to learn how newsrooms are changing to deliver news and information across multiple platforms to multiple audiences.

“We must take ourselves off auto-pilot and recognize that people have multiple sources of information,” explained Mike Schwartz of Business Power, a longtime journalist turned business-communications trainer.

“We have to provide something they want to read, look for a fresh approach and constantly push the story forward. … If you’re not delivering something different than the old angle everyone else has, nobody’s going to want to read it.”

To write for print in an online world, Schwartz said, journalists can make their stories more readable and relevant to readers by answering:

• How did the event happen, and what played a role in it?

• Why did the event happen, and who wins or loses as a result?

• What happens next?

• Why is this event to me?

• Why is this event unique?

Mary Glick, associate director of API and another workshop discussion leader, noted that journalists can survive by understanding that consumers now decide what’s news.

“The idea of keeping an eye on the community and providing information is not limited to newspapers,” she said. “It will be done, and by somebody fast enough with their eyes on the future to make it a success. And that should be news companies.”

The daylong API discussion reinforced the school’s ongoing emphasis on multimedia storytelling, which cross-trains journalists in print and electronic media to write and deliver news content in multiple formats.

The Knoxville News Sentinel has already turned its traditional newsroom into a Web-first news agency with more emphasis on breaking news. The 123-year-old paper has moved people around and focused on training to become more widely read at www.knoxnews.com.

“We create Web-first content and then recycle, update and improve it for the print product,” said Jack Lail, KNS news director for innovation. “Our consultant told us that the newsroom was focused on getting out a daily paper and then dumping that news online. Now it’s focusing on news first, regardless of platform.”

The workshop was one of only a handful across the country this spring. Dr. Zeny Panol, interim director of the School of Journalism, said API chose MTSU after the university applied to serve as host for the event.

“The J-School is committed to a learning environment that is creative and innovative. As we continue with our efforts to make our curriculum more conducive to a multi-platform, continuous news cycle, we thought that it would be most beneficial to bring one of API’s workshops to MTSU,” Panol said.

“With the help of (journalism) Professor Leon Alligood, we sent our application for the new newsroom workshop last October. I was so thrilled to get a call in December from Carol Ann Riordan, API’s vice president of programming, informing us that we were selected for one of the regional workshops.”

API, based in Reston, Va., provides skills training and leadership development in the news industry.

The 2009 Rutherford County Health Watch is now available online! To view the newsletter, go to www.mtsu.edu/~achcs and click on “publications.”

While you’re there, take a look at the newly designed Web site. The site provides details on the Adams Chair of Excellence in Health Care Services, the Center for Health and Human Services, community projects and publications, and affiliated academic programs and health career information.

Arthur Laffer, the renowned supply-side economist who served as a member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board and is best known for the “Laffer Curve,” will be guest speaker at this year’s MTSU Executives-in-Residence Program on Wednesday, April 8.

Laffer will speak from 10:20 to 11:15 a.m. in Tucker Theater on “A Supply-Side View of the First 75 Days of the Obama Administration.” This “executive briefing” will be open to classes and to the public. There is no charge, but seats should be reserved by calling 615-898-2764.

The “Laffer Curve” asserts that, in certain situations, a decrease in tax rates can result in an increase in tax revenues. When Laffer illustrated his theory on a napkin for members of the administration, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was present coined the term.

Founder and chair of Laffer Associates, a consulting firm, and also of Laffer Investments, Laffer has been called “the father of supply-side economics.” In addition to advising Reagan from 1981 to 1989, he also advised British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on fiscal policy during that time.

Laffer taught economics at Pepperdine University, the University of Southern California and the University of Chicago. He was the first to hold the title of chief economist at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

“We are extremely pleased to have someone with such impressive credentials and experience on the MTSU campus,” said Dr. Jim Burton, business dean. “Business students and faculty of all disciplines, as well as the members of the business community, should take advantage of this opportunity to hear a man who has advised world leaders on economic issues.”

The Executives-in-Residence Program will include an invitation-only luncheon at noon in the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room. At that time, officials will present singer Charlie Daniels with the Joe M. Rodgers Spirit of America Award—an honor presented to a businessperson who has demonstrated the best of the spirit of America through significant contributions to government, education and/or civic and charitable organizations.

After graduating from high school in 1955, Daniels—influenced by Elvis Presley—formed a rock ‘n’ roll band and took his guitar and fiddle skills on the road. In the late ‘60s, he moved to middle Tennessee to work as a session guitarist in Nashville and broke through as a recording artist with his 1973 album “Honey in the Rock” and hit single “Uneasy Rider.”

By 1981, the Charlie Daniels Band had twice been voted the Academy of Country Music’s Touring Band of the Year. Daniels’ resume includes recording sessions with and songs recorded by many of the greats. In 1998, Daniels received the Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music, and in January 2008 he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.

“Charlie is a successful businessman with more than 50 years in the music business and a working ranch,” Burton said. “He has dedicated considerable time and talent to entertaining and building the morale of American servicemen and women, and he never fails to honor their service and dedication. He is a most worthy recipient of the Joe M. Rodgers Spirit of America Award.”

Rodgers, a Nashville entrepreneur and former U.S. ambassador to France who died Feb. 2 at age 75, preceded attorney Aubrey Harwell as holder of MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones Chair of Excellence in Free Enterprise. The award that carries his name has been presented annually during this event.

The Executives-in-Residence Program is sponsored by MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business, the Jones Chair of Excellence and the MTSU Distinguished Lecture Committee.

The MTSU Student Chapter of the American Interior Design Association/International Interior Design Association will serve as host for its 2009 Lecture Series on Wednesday, April 1, at 6:30 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.

The event’s featured speaker will be David Oakey, who leads global efforts in sustainable design, or “smart design,” by learning from nature. His philosophies have been featured in publications such as Business Week, Interior Design, New York Times Science, Green Futures and Smithsonian.

“He is passionate following his steps to sustainability through process, product and people,” said Deborah Belcher, an associate professor in MTSU’s interior design program. ”He challenges industrial designers, architects, teachers and students to take action and impact change today.”

Because sustainable design must be innovative and must efficiently utilize materials, especially “smart” products that aid in eliminating waste, it is important to recognize the ways in which design affects the world during and after its life cycle, Belcher added.

Before the free April 1 presentation, members of the student chapter will serve as hosts for a 4 to 6 p.m. reception sponsored by Murfreesboro Main Street Inc. and The Heritage Center. The reception will be held at The Heritage Center, located at 225 W. College St. in downtown Murfreesboro.

For more information, please contact Belcher at dbelcher@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2884.

The Hon. Martha C. Daughtrey will present a lecture, “Judicial Independence in Jeopardy: The First Amendment and Culture Wars,” at MTSU on Thursday, March 26, at 1 p.m. in the Business and Aerospace Building’s State Farm Room (BAS S102).

The lecture is presented as part of the University Honors College Martin Lectureship.

“The judicial branch of government is sometimes the least understood and the most ignored, but it remains vital to the functioning of a democratic republic, and Judge Daughtrey’s extensive experience gives her unique insights into this institution,” said Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College.

Daughtrey serves as a senior circuit judge on the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, to which then-President Bill Clinton appointed her in 1993. She was the first woman from Tennessee selected to serve on the Sixth Circuit bench.

Daughtrey graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1964 and Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1968. After working in private practice in Nashville, she joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office as an assistant U.S. attorney in 1968. From 1969 to 1972, Daughtrey worked as an assistant district attorney in Davidson County.

As the first woman chosen for the faculty of Vanderbilt’s law school, Daughtrey spent almost 20 years serving as a professor, lecturer and adjunct professor form 1971 to 1990. She also was the first woman to serve on both the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Daughtrey has been recognized by many national organizations for her achievements. She was named one of Ladies Home Journal’s 30 Women to Watch and Woman of the Year by Women Professionals International in 1976.

“Her talk will make a nice balance to last year’s Martin Lecture by Governor Bredesen from the executive branch of government,” Vile said.

The Paul W. Martin Sr. Lectureship, funded by Dr. H. Lee Martin, son of Paul W. Martin Sr., was established in 2004 to enhance the stature of the University Honors College at MTSU and to enrich the relationship between MTSU and the community.

Robert “Roy” Hazelwood, a former FBI profiler of sex crimes generally regarded as the pioneer of profiling sexual predators, will present a free lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in the State Farm Lecture Hall in MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.

Sponsored by the MTSU Distinguished Lecture Committee and the university’s Forensic Institute for Research and Education, or FIRE, Hazelwood’s talk will focus on Dennis Rader of Kansas, who is known as the “BTK” serial murderer. The self-appointed moniker by Rader stands for “bind, torture, kill.”

Guest speaker Hazelwood is a native of Pocatello, Idaho, who was reared in Spring Branch, Texas. He completed a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1968 before pursuing a forensic-medicine fellowship with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and a stint with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division as an instructor. In 1971, Hazelwood joined the FBI, and in ’81 he developed the distinction between “organized” and “disorganized” murderers, a concept that continues to be utilized by law enforcement to help apprehend criminals.

The co-author of two books, The Evil That Men Do and Dark Dreams, Hazelwood also has defined four categories of rapists: power-reassurance, power-assertive, anger-retaliatory and anger-excitation. The latter category is considered the most dangerous and the most difficult to capture.

As a result of his research and many studies related to sexual predators, Hazelwood has offered the theory that there is no cure for pedophiles or sexual sadists. His studies have involved sex crimes, including cases of autoerotic asphyxiation as well as the willing victims of sexual sadists and how sexual sadists appear in everyday life.

Retired from the FBI since the mid-1990s, Hazelwood is an active member of the Academy Group, an organization of former FBI agents and law-enforcement officers, and continues to serve as a consultant for the FBI and other governmental agencies to help identify and capture sexually oriented murderers.

For more information on the lecture, which is open to the public but limited to those 18 and older because of the subject matter, please contact MTSU’s FIRE at 615-494-7713.

AfroFlow, four men who mix a lifesaving, life-giving musical message from an innovative mélange of hip-hop, R&B and tribal rhythms, will make MTSU a stop on their national tour on Tuesday, April 14.

MTSU, Omega Delta Psi Recording Industry Fraternity and the Association of Recording Management Students/Grammy U Network will host the Detroit-based group on the University Honors College Lawn beginning at 5 p.m.

Student dancers—including Ethiopian dancers—as well as poets, rappers and singers wishing to perform are invited to the show. The “mini-festival” also will feature MTSU’s Word Up, dancers, step teams, art displays and information about MTSU’s international community.

The university’s electronic media communication and recording industry departments will take part by producing the concert and filming a music video and footage for a documentary on AfroFlow, hip-hop and culture, specifically Ethiopian culture.

The event is sponsored by the MTSU Center for Popular Music, Distinguished Lecture Series, and the Departments of International Programs and Services and Intercultural and Diversity Affairs.

Students and the community are invited to experience the music and mesmerizing intercultural stage performance of AfroFlow, which features Ethiopian-American artist, spoken word poet, actor and philanthropist Michael “MIKE-E” Ellison; velvety-smooth R&B vocalist Kenny Watson; powerful Djembe drummer Sowandé Keita; and internationally known mixer DJ Invisible, who weaves intricate cuts, scratches and musical tapestries into the live stage show.

AfroFlow emphasizes the positive message and the overall wellness of the mind and body that can be embodied and achieved through music, which can only be identified as self-expression, rather than a specific genre. The group is partnering with the American Cancer Society, urban clothier Pelle Pelle and Fuze Beverages to reach out to college students about smoking cessation and maintaining a healthy mind, body and soul.

MIKE-E achieved worldwide recognition with his hit “Ethiopia (Everything Will Be Alright)” and his support of orphan outreach and health care programs.

MIKE-E and band members also plant to visit recording-industry classes April 13 to share the AfroFlow story.

“It’s a good opportunity to hear the message and experience another country’s culture through music,” said Cassia Davidson, a senior recording-industry major and associate public-relations and marketing chair of the Omega Delta Psi group.

“This is the first time I’ve participated in something of this scope … with a national presence, and it will be interesting to work with someone well-known.”

In case of rain, the April 14 performance will move to the James Union Building’s Tennessee Room.

For more information, please visit www.afroflow.com or contact Assistant Professor Ramona P. DeSalvo at rdesalvo@mtsu.edu or 615-898-5304.

Northern Accord, a chamber- music trio featuring mezzo-soprano Kirsten Gunlogson, clarinetist Elizabeth Gunlogson and pianist Eileen Cornett, will give a free concert at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the Hinton Music Hall of MTSU’s Wright Music Building.

“We are delighted to have this ensemble on campus to introduce such unique chamber music,” said Todd Waldecker, professor of clarinet at MTSU. The event is open to the public.

The trio will perform Mozart’s “Parto, parto, ma tu, ben mio,” “The Edge of Great Quiet: Songs from Alaska” by Sally Reid, “Tyneside” by Phyllis Tate, “From the Great Land: Women’s Songs” by Judith Zaimont, “Clerihew Songs” by Paul Harris and “Four Newfoundland Songs” by D.F. Cook.

The trio performs both well-loved classics and little-known contemporary pieces composed for their distinctive instrumentation. The trio’s self-proclaimed mission is to offer high-caliber music that is both accessible and enjoyable.

In conjunction with their visit, Elizabeth Gunlogson plans to present a clarinet master class at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 25, in Saunders Fine Arts Room 101. The master class also will be open to the public.

Cornett is director of the master’s program in ensemble arts with a concentration in vocal accompanying at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Md., and is currently in her 14th year as a principal faculty coach with Peabody’s Opera Department. She performs as a collaborative artist, opera coach, solo and orchestral pianist, music director and conductor.

Kirsten Gunlogson is assistant professor of voice at the University of Utah. She has performed with Michigan Opera Theatre and the city opera companies of Indianapolis, Palm Beach, Tulsa, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Nashville and Sarasota as well as the Kentucky Opera, Fresno Grand Opera, Pine Mountain Music Festival and the AshLawn-Highland Summer Festival.

Elizabeth Gunlogson is assistant professor of clarinet at the University of New Hampshire. She has appeared with a variety of ensembles throughout the United States, including Keith Brion and His New Sousa Band, the Tallahassee Symphony, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Opera Vivente and Annapolis Opera. She also is the New Hampshire state chairwoman of the International Clarinet Society and has served on the faculties of Morgan State University, the Baltimore School for the Arts, Luther College and Florida State University.

For more information, please contact Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493 or visit www.mtsumusic.com.

Beginning Monday, March 30, the Department of Art at MTSU will serve as host for the first of three spring art exhibits by seniors who are candidates for the department’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

“Mesh” is the title of the first show, which will be on display in the Todd Gallery at MTSU through Friday, April 3. Participating artists will include Jason Barnett, Owen Cooper, Michelle Dutton, Miranda Lewis and Brad Shelton.

“The exhibition will showcase the variety among the artists’ styles,” said Eric Snyder, gallery curator.

The “Mesh” exhibit by Barnett incorporates illustrative and painterly techniques with written text into his pieces, while artist Cooper demonstrates the traditional handling of paint in rendering the figure in his works. Dutton explores a more abstract approach with poured paint and imagery derived from simple shapes, Snyder said.

Artist Lewis “creates her other-worldly imagery with drips and stains in both two- and three-dimensional media,” Snyder added, while “Shelton explores alternative forms of two-dimensional art with his prints.”

A reception for the artists will be held Monday, March 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the gallery.

Following the students’ May graduation, Snyder said, Cooper, Lewis, Shelton and Barnett plan to continue to express their life experiences through the creation of their art, while Dutton plans to enter the professional world by working in galleries and museums and as a freelance artist.

The first show and reception are free and open to the public. A second exhibit featuring studio BFA majors is planned April 13-17, and a showing of work by graphic-design BFA majors is scheduled April 27-May 1.

The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, closing only on university-recognized state holidays.

For more information, contact Snyder at 615-898-5653.

MTSU aerospace and agribusiness/agriscience students are being encouraged to attend both departments’ upcoming career fairs.

The first School of Agribusiness and Agriscience Career Fair will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, on the first floor of the Stark Ag Building.

The annual Aerospace Career Fair, one of the nation’s premier collegiate aviation career fairs, will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, in the aerospace lobby in the Business and Aerospace Building.

Both career fairs are only for MTSU students, and professional attire is strongly encouraged, said Nicole Green, career coordinator for the College of Basic and Applied Sciences.

The Student Agriculture Council, agribusiness and agriscience faculty and staff and Career Development Center are serving as hosts of the ABAS Career Fair.

“Employers will be recruiting from all majors and concentrations for full-time, internship positions and graduate-school opportunities,” Green said, adding that employers and universities will be discussing graduate-degree programs as well as jobs.

Students should bring updated copies of their resume “and be ready to impress our visitors,” Green said.

Morning refreshments will be served, and pizza will be available for lunch.

The MTSU ag program has nearly 400 students in three majors: animal science, including horse science; plant science; and agribusiness.

Employers from the aviation and aerospace industries will meet and greet students from MTSU’s five aerospace concentrations—professional pilot, maintenance management, technology, administration and flight dispatch, and scheduling.

“Our aerospace students eagerly anticipate this event and are rewarded by visits from air-taxi operators; aviation maintenance providers; commercial-service and general aviation airports; mainline and regional airlines; corporate flight departments; manufacturers; fixed-base operators; local, state and federal agencies; and more,” Green said.

MTSU’s Department of Aerospace has more than 800 students enrolled in its five concentrations.

MTSU Future Airport Executives, a student chapter of the American Association of Airport Executives, is sponsoring the event with the aerospace department.

All aerospace students are encouraged to attend and learn more about positions in the industry, Green said. For more information, visit http://career.web.mtsu.edu.

The Baldwin Photographic Gallery has scheduled an exhibit by Boston photographer Stella Johnson, “Al Sol” (or “To the Sun”), which will be on display through Thursday, April 16.

Johnson, who teaches at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and at Boston University, was a Fulbright Scholar to Mexico in 2003-04 and a Fulbright Senior Specialist to Mexico in 2006.

The exhibit, sponsored by National Women’s History Month, comprises 30 24” x 36” black-and-white prints.

Johnson will lecture on Monday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 221 of the Learning Resources Center, followed by a reception and book-signing in the gallery.

The Baldwin Gallery is located in the LRC. Its hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and 6-9:45 p.m. Sunday.

Prospective MTSU students and their families and friends now have a way to take a tour of campus on weekends and other times when offices and departments are closed.

The Admission Tour Podcast has been uploaded to the MTSU iTunes store, said Admissions Counselor Travis Tipton.

“It’s all audio files and a map of the tour podcast,” said Tipton, who first shared the campus-tour podcast idea with Admissions Director Lynn Palmer. “It takes a student around campus. It highlights buildings in a certain order. There are 13 tracks, so students can pause as they go to their next building.

“The goal of the podcast is if a prospective student visits campus when we’re not open or other offices are closed, they can print the accompanying map off and hear the audio files on iTunes.”

Tipton said his concept was part of Palmer’s request of “asking everybody (in admissions) to pitch in and think outside the box for ideas” in an effort to save money and serve prospective students.

“It was one of those ways of being very cost-efficient. It didn’t cost us anything,” Tipton said.

The podcast became available online in early March.

He added that the podcast idea “goes hand in hand with the True Blue TV idea” that his fellow counselor, Steven Mizell, conceived and shared with News and Public Affairs’ John Lynch for the 30-minute monthly “Middle Tennessee Record” broadcasts. (The two-minute “True Blue TV” segments began airing this month.)

Tipton, an MTSU recording-industry alumnus, said the audio for the podcast was taped at his home recording studio. He, Mizell and Admissions Counselor Matt Hannah recorded the podcast along with students Mary Catherine Culbreath, Jameel Braddock and Mallory Phillips, who serve as tour guides.

“It was the perfect environment for the podcast,” Tipton said.

By April 1, admissions will have a procedure in place for prospective students to check out MP3 players from Tour Coordinator Betty Pedigo at the information booth in the main lobby of the Cope Administration Building.

To find the podcast, visit www.mtsu.edu/itunes/index.shtml and click on the “Take me to Public iTunes U” link.

MTSU students and faculty recently brought home several awards from the Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Students presented original works during the Feb. 3-8 festival, including “Fathers,” written by Brandon Gwinn, a May 2008 MTSU graduate who won the Region IV Short Play Award at last year’s festival.  

“As a winning play, we were asked to mount the show as a full production for presentation at this year’s festival,” said Professor Jeff Gibson, speech and theatre. “The play was directed by Professor Crosby Hunt and featured several MTSU students. (It) was well-received by the festival audience and received positive response from the national respondents who provided feedback to the cast and crew afterward.”

MTSU sophomore Jesse Cannady was recognized at this year’s festival for “Distinguished Achievement in Directing” through his involvement in the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers’ Student Directing Fellowship program.

“We had amazing success in student playwriting awards—again!” exclaimed Gibson, who serves as KCACTF Region IV chairman. “We have a long history of bringing home awards in playwriting from the regional and national festivals … (and) thanks to the incredible teaching and mentorship of Professor Deborah Anderson, we have done it yet again, but this time in almost sweeping fashion.”

Additional MTSU student winners are:

• David L. Shelton Full-Length Student Playwriting Award, presented to junior Josh Ginsburg for “Ladybug”;

• Region IV Short Play Awards, presented to Ginsburg for “Shards of Glass” and junior David Bennett for “Portrait of a Mother and Son”; and

• Region IV 10-Minute Play Award, presented to Cannady for “Swinging on Stars.”

Gibson said the Shelton Full-Length and the Regional Short Play winners have their work presented as full productions at the following year’s festival, meaning MTSU will have three productions before the festival audiences in 2010.

The regional winners in both the Short Play and 10-Minute Play categories will automatically become national finalists and are eligible for the national playwriting awards, he added, The awards will be announced at the KCACTF National Festival in Washington, D.C., in April.

The French statesman Talleyrand said, “A diplomat who says ‘yes’ means ‘maybe,’ a diplomat who says ‘maybe’ means ‘no,’ and a diplomat who says ‘no’ is no diplomat.” When MTSU student Hannah Brooks received an opportunity for an internship with the U.S. State Department, she immediately said “yes”—no “maybe” about it.

In the waning days of Condoleezza Rice’s tenure as U.S. Secretary of State, Brooks spent her fall 2008 semester at the agency’s Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs in Washington, D.C., a logical assignment for someone who had studied in Denmark one year earlier.

“I was in charge of communicating with the embassies and the consulates in our different countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and knowing our foreign policy in accordance with those countries,” Brooks says. “When we had visitors, I would escort the visitors. I would sit in meetings and take notes, and I would have to write up those notes and send them off to higher-up people in the State Department.”

Applying her personal knowledge of Scandinavia to her internship was intriguing for Brooks, even though the region is hardly a diplomatic trouble spot for the United States. Why not request placement with, for example, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which includes Israel, Iran and Iraq?

“It was really interesting to see how a successful relationship works, how countries that are friends with one another and do successfully work together actually accomplish goals,” Brooks says. “I suppose that if I were at the Russia desk during the Russia-Georgia crisis, I would have had to stay Saturday and Sunday and work many long hours.”

Besides, Brooks, an international-relations major from Nashville with minors in history and global studies, says she learned so much just by being in the international arena, her education was hardly limited by her geographical assignment.

“By being able to sit in on meetings, I was able to hear a lot about what was going on in the Middle East, what was going on in Africa, what was going on all across the world,” Brooks says. “As an intern, you can sometimes be forgotten, which is a good thing, almost, because you can just sit there and you can just soak in what is going on.”

The 13-week assignment was made possible through The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, a nonprofit organization that provides selected students with “challenging opportunities to work and learn in Washington, D.C., for academic credit,” according to its Web site, www.twc.edu.

Gaining entry to this unique environment was both easier and harder than one might think. Brooks says participants are required to be in college, be an American citizen, have a GPA above 3.0 and write a couple of essays. Meeting those criteria was relatively simple; the challenge, she says, was passing the exhaustive post-9/11 vetting process, even for someone with her pristine record.

“You have many questions to answer,” Brooks says. “For example, I am a dual citizen with Brazil. They had to make sure that I didn’t own property in Brazil and I didn’t pay taxes in Brazil. It took many months to get my security clearance.”

That dual citizenship, a result of her father’s Brazilian birth, will come in handy after Brooks’ graduation in May. This summer, she is scheduled to work at a small U.S. consulate in the South American nation. From there, it’s on to Ulsan, South Korea, where she will teach English for a year to help pay off her loans. After that, Brooks says she’ll head for graduate school. It’s her only uncertain destination for the foreseeable future. She hasn’t selected a college yet.

Photos p8

WASHINGTON WORK—Dr. Condoleezza Rice, above right, then-U.S. Secretary of State, shakes hands with MTSU student Hannah Brooks at the Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs in Washington, D.C., where Brooks interned last fall. In the photo at left, Brooks and a friend pose in front of the Washington Monument. photos submitted

Appointments

Professor Charlie Dahan (recording industry) has been appointed to the National Advisory Board for the Starr Gennett Foundation. He will serve alongside such jazz and music historians as Dan Morgenstern of Rutgers University, photographer Duncan Schiedt, Dr. David Evans of the University of Memphis and Dr. John Edward Hasse of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Awards

Dr. Helen Binkley (health and human performance) is a recipient of the 2009 Athletic Trainer Service Award from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. The award will be formally presented at the NATA annual meeting in June.

Dr. Saeed Foroudastan (Basic and Applied Sciences) is one of 10 university faculty members nationwide to receive the Society for Automotive Engineering’s International Faculty Adviser Award for playing an important role in developing students into engineers. The honorees will be recognized during the SAE 2009 World Congress in Detroit April 20-23.

Joe Hawkins (aerospace) was inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame Nov. 15 for his consistent personal and professional achievements as well as public service throughout his career. In 2006, Hawkins became the first Tennessean to earn the National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year award.

Dr. Dave Whitaker (horse science) has received the 2008 Youth Ambassador of the Year Award from the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association for his more than 20 years of excellent service to the youth of Tennessee through judging contests, horse shows and other events.

Conferences

Dr. Hugh Berryman (sociology and anthropology), along with graduates Alicja Kutyla and Jennifer Ledford and current students Jaimie Ide, Ali Jordan and Elizabeth Collier, attended the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Meeting Feb. 17-21 in Denver. At the meeting, Berryman presented a paper, “Forensic Anthropologists Employed Full-Time in Medical Examiner’s/Coroner’s Offices—a History,” and co-presented two programs with students, “A New Approach to Aging the Human Skeleton: The Sacral Auricular Surface” and “Cervical Vertebrae Entrapment in the Noose as Evidence of Cause of Death by Hanging in Skeletal Cases: Three Remarkable Finds.” Berryman also presented a paper, “Murders to Mummies: Selected Days in the Life of a Forensic Anthropologist,” Feb. 18 at the Community College of Aurora (Col.).

Courses

Dr. Phil Oliver (philosophy) taught an adult-education evening class, “Pop Goes Philosophy,” Feb. 17 at the University School of Nashville.

Elections

Dr. Gore Ervin (biology) assumed the presidency of the Tennessee Academy of Science Jan. 1. He replaces Dr. Cindi Smith-Walters (Center for Environmental Education), whose term ended Dec. 31.

Keynotes

Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross (chemistry) served as keynote speaker Feb. 16 for the Association of Women in Science Networking and Workshop at the Hyatt Regency Chicago on the River Walk, speaking on “With the Right Shoes, You Can Do Anything!” She also was selected as a 2009 AWIS Fellow and honored at the organization’s annual reception Feb. 15.

Panels

Dr. Phil Oliver (philosophy) participated in a panel discussion, “Jimmy Buffett Meets Philosophy,” March 12 at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy in College Station, Texas. The discussion was on the forthcoming volume of the same name, to which Oliver has contributed an essay.

Presentations

Dr. Warren Anderson (agribusiness and agriscience) spoke to 35 Rutherford County residents about composting in the Garden Basics lecture series at the Lane Extension Center. On Jan. 31, he assisted other master-gardener presenters at the basic gardening classes held at the Rutherford County Extension Center. He also met with officials from Oaklands Historic House Museum, Murfreesboro Health Department and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville/Tennessee State University Extension Center. The health department is organizing another “GO Party Project” at Oaklands.

Dr. Hugh Berryman (sociology and anthropology) is scheduled to present a paper, “Location, Recovery of Skeletal Remains from Surface, Burials and Fire Scenes,” March 23 for the National College of District Attorneys Meeting in Tampa, Fla.

Drs. Jennifer Dooley (mathematical sciences) and Vivian Alley, Professor Fred Belton and Dr. Lawanna Fisher (academic enrichment) presented “Active Learning Projects for First-Year Mathematics” at the 33rd annual conference for the National Association for Developmental Education held Feb. 25-27 in Greensboro, N.C. Dr. Nancy McCormick (mathematical sciences) presented “The Art of Problem Solving: Critical Thinking in Mathematics” at the same conference.

Dr. Jinjia Li (mathematical sciences) presented “Some Observations on Rigidity of Frobenius Endomorphism” at the GSU-USC Commutative Algebra Meeting Feb. 27-March 1 in Atlanta.

Dr. Bob Petersen (English) and undergrads Shane McCoy (English) and Jessica McKee (University of South Florida at Tampa) presented a panel discussion, “Writing About Gender in Early Modernist British Fiction,” Feb. 20 as part of the 37th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900 at the University of Louisville.

Dr. Michael Sanger (chemistry) presented “Tips for Converting Laboratory Experiments into Journal of Chemical Education Classroom Activities” during the March 22-26 American Chemical Society national meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Dr. Debra Rose Wilson (nursing) has been accepted, through peer review, to present two papers at the Western Social Science Association’s 51st Annual International Conference in Albuquerque, N.M., in April. She will present a paper on recent research, completed with sponsorship from an MTSU Public Service Grant, on “Efficacy of Stress Management for Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse.” Wilson also will present a recently published theoretical paper, “Cytokines: Depression and Immune Function.”

Publications

Dr. Mary Magada-Ward (philosophy) has published “Transformative Criticism, Virtual Meaning, and Community: Peirce on Signs and Experience” in The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008. She will present a paper, “In Praise of the Museum,” at the American Philosophies Forum Conference, “Pragmatism about Democracy and the Media,” to be held at Emory University April 2-4.

A paper by Dr. Suk Jai Seo (computer science), “Colored and Proper-Colored-Domination,” was published in the January issue of Bulletin of the Institute of Combinatorics and Its Applications.

Dr. Bob Spires (electronic media communication) and Dr. Hugh O’Donnell (Glasgow Caledonian University) have published an article, “America at Play/America at War: The Super Bowl as Discursive Formation,” in Comunicação Pública (Public Communication), the Journal of Escola Superior de la Comunicação Social Instituto Politechnico de la Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.

Research

Dr. Bill Robertson (physics) was issued a patent in fall 2008 for an “Optical sensor based on surface electromagnetic wave resonance in photonic band gap materials and method for using the same.”

Professor Scott Handy’s (chemistry) manuscript, “Double Couplings of Dibromothiophenes Using Boronic Acides and Boronates,” appeared in the January issue of Synthesis. It was co-authored by undergraduate student Samantha Varello.

E-mail your faculty/staff accomplishments to gfann@mtsu.edu. Deadline for publication in the March 23 Record is 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 11; deadline for publication in the April 6 Record is 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 25. Please don’t forget to include the specifics—who, what, where, when and why—with your news!