“The Holocaust and World War II” is the theme of the ninth biennial International MTSU Holocaust Studies Conference that will be held on campus Oct. 22-24.

Throughout the weekend event, which will get under way at 8 a.m. daily in MTSU’s James Union Building, the conference will feature back-to-back presentations commemorating the Holocaust experience from cultural, educational and historical perspectives. Educators, authors and historians from the United States, Ukraine, Israel, Slovenia, Germany, Italy and Poland, among other locales, will participate.

Sponsored by MTSU’s Holocaust Studies Committee, the conference’s guest speakers will include American liberators of concentration camps and camp survivors, providing the participants with a unique opportunity to meet those who experienced the reality of the brutality of German Nazi policies.

Those who wish to attend all of the event’s sessions may register to do so. Several of the presentations are free and open to the public, including a Saturday, Oct. 24, presentation by school principal Linda Hooper on “The Paper Clip Project,” a monument made from millions of paper clips by middle-schoolers in rural Whitwell, Tenn., to commemorate Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

The project, which originated in an eighth-grade class but expanded to involve the entire student body, has drawn international attention and was inspired by a historical lesson involving Europeans who wore paper clips on their lapels as a statement of protest against the Nazis.

Author and Holocaust historian Dr. Gerhard L. Weinberg, who will receive the 2009 Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing in October, will be a keynote speaker for the upcoming event.

In 1958, Weinberg discovered an unpublished book by Adolf Hitler when the historian was combing through massive stacks of documents that the United States had captured from Nazi Germany. Hitler dictated the secret book, which includes his plans for global domination and an American invasion, in 1928. Since its discovery, the book has been authenticated and the documents are considered legitimate, as outlined in the History Channel documentary “Hitler’s Plan.”

Weinberg will deliver two free talks during his local visit, including a public pre-conference presentation, “Pope Pius XII in World War II,” at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at Murfreesboro’s St. Clair Senior Center, as well as a 7:15-8:15 p.m. talk Thursday, Oct. 22, in the JUB on “Roosevelt, Truman and the Holocaust.”

The conference also will offer two open sessions Friday, Oct. 23. The first, a two-hour “Survivors and Liberators” panel, will begin at 10:20 a.m. in the JUB and feature Holocaust survivors Frances Cutler of Nashville; Judy Cohen of Toronto, Ontario; and Eva and Eric Rosenberg of Nashville. Liberator panelists will be Jimmie Gentry of Franklin, Tenn., and James Dorris of Chattanooga.

The second free presentation on Oct. 23, “Racial Hatred: Black African Victims of Nazism,” will begin at 1:50 p.m. in the JUB with guest speaker Raffael Scheck of Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Then, on Oct. 24, the conference—in addition to “The Paper Clip Project”—will provide a free “Second Generation” panel beginning at 11:25 a.m. This hourlong session will focus on what teachers can do in the classroom related to Holocaust education when survivors are no longer around to help tell the story.

For more information, go to www.mtsu.edu/~holoed/ or contact Dr. Nancy Rupprecht, history professor, at 615-898-2645.

The first stop for any member of the MTSU community traveling outside the United States must be the Travel Clinic in the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. By offering advice and immunizations, doctors at the Travel Clinic can prevent what a fun and fruitful vacation, study-abroad mission or research excursion from turning into a disaster.

“Taking care of your health before international travel is just as important, in my opinion, as checking with the U.S. State Department for travel warnings for your safety,” says Dr. Brian Hinote, associate professor of sociology and a well-traveled medical sociologist who has availed himself of the clinic’s services and recommends them highly.

Hinote says it’s important to take preventive measures before departing not only for one’s own health but to diminish the risk of bringing illnesses back into the country upon returning. Even the modes of transportation can be incubators for diseases.

“Airplanes are pretty much germ and bacteria tubes in the air,” Hinote says. “You’re exposed to a large number of people in very close quarters.”

The Travel Clinic offers a pre-travel consultation that includes an analysis of the client’s itinerary, a review of his/her immunization record, prescriptions and/or immunizations and a vaccination certificate. Initial consultations are free for students, faculty and staff. A one-time $25 fee is assessed for family members.

“We love to have people come as soon as they know they’re going to be traveling, because some series of immunizations actually take up to six months before they’re complete,” says Dr. Julianne Womack of Student Health Services. “Oftentimes you’ll get some protection after the first or second shot. So, generally, if we can get people at least six weeks before they travel, they can get good protection against the diseases.”

However, since different destinations require the physicians to take different circumstances into account, they stay abreast of the latest messages from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. For example, some diseases change distribution, like the emergence of tick-borne encephalitis in Western Europe this past year.

“Sometimes even the same disease will require different treatments at different times,” Womack says.

Not all sections of the same part of the world present the same issues. Health Services’ Dr. Eric Clark says fewer immunizations frequently are required for travel to big cities in Africa, for instance, than in outlying areas. Also, necessary precautions will differ from region to region within a country.

“We went to Belize one time, and the recommendation for coastal treatment is different from inland,” Dr. Pat Spangler, Student Health Services medical director, says of a family vacation. “If you go inland, the malaria precautions are much worse.”

Womack says travelers who were born abroad but have lived in the United States for many years often overlook a very important consideration. “In areas where malaria, yellow fever or Japanese encephalitis exists, sometimes those folks have some idea that they have some immunity because they were born there,” she says, “but they’ve been gone so long, they actually don’t.”

The expense of being ill abroad, both in terms of time and money, is a price no traveler wants to pay, Hinote warns. Even in countries that have government-sponsored health care services, foreign visitors likely will pay because they are not citizens.

“The cost of being hospitalized internationally is huge,” he says. “Blue Cross or whatever you have is likely not going to pay that unless you have specific travel insurance.”

For more information about the Travel Clinic, or to make an appointment, call 615-904-8330 or go to www.mtsu.edu/healthservices.

MTSU recording-industry students are revealing “Rock Prophecies”—and a young musician said to be fulfilling them—on Wednesday, Sept. 30, in a free film screening and concert in the Wright Music Building.

The event also is an opportunity for students that attend the concert to win a Fender Stratocaster guitar, a new Samsung Gravity 2 cell phone and Bluetooth.

Dick Williams’ MTSU Record Label course (RIM 4810) guides students into the music business by giving them hands-on experience in recording, songwriting, music publishing, artist management, business affairs, A&R, Internet marketing, record promotion and music history.

This semester, students are helping to promote the MTSU appearance of 18-year-old Texas guitar virtuoso Tyler Bryant, discovered by veteran rock photographer Robert M. Knight and featured in the award-winning documentary on Knight’s career, “Rock Prophecies.”

The Tyler Bryant Band, which cut several demos in MTSU’s Studio B in August, will perform in Hinton Music Hall directly after the 7 p.m. film screening.

“Whatever happened in class the previous day dictates where we go the next day,” explained Williams, a 35-year entertainment veteran who makes use of his industry ties to nab special classroom speakers and opportunities for his students.

“I teach some things that can’t be found in a textbook, and the results are almost Pavlovian: the students come into class saying, ‘Do you know about this? Can we try this in the studio?’ It’s exciting for me to be able to impart some practical knowledge to them as the music business continues to evolve.”

The course also relies on the expertise of faculty and staff in other university departments, including the School of Music and the Department of Electronic Media Communication, as well as the existing talents and interests of students in the course. Tim Hall, a graduate student and musician who served as president of Williams’ spring 2009 class, has produced several MTSU Records artists’ cuts as well as Bryant’s demos.

“What’s great about my involvement in this is that people ask me to record great musicians, and I get the opportunity to sit with ‘em in the studio and make ‘em sound awesome while having a blast at the same time,” Hall said. “Who wouldn’t love that?”

“I talked to the MTSU students in Mr. Williams’ class this spring to promote ‘Rock Prophecies’ and really enjoyed it,” added Bryant, who now lives in Nashville and is on a national tour promoting the documentary. “This has been pretty crazy; I went from being in high school to living in Nashville and touring, but it’s big fun.”

Williams, whose wife and son are MTSU recording-industry graduates, said the RIM 4810 class ultimately could tour as well, taking its training on the road for record executives without a formal music-business education.

“I could clearly see several of my guest speakers and some faculty members taking this instruction to New York or L.A. over the summer and making it a class with certification,” the adjunct professor said. “I think it’s paramount for anyone in a senior executive role to have a complete knowledge of their business. … In my class, we try to convey personal experiences to illustrate how students can become highly successful through hard work and determination.”

For more information about the MTSU Records class, visit www.mtsurecords.com. To learn more about “Rock Prophecies,” visit www.rockprophecies.com. Listen to and watch the Tyler Bryant Band at www.tylerbryantmusic.com.

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READY TO ROCK—Tyler Bryant, right foreground, is shown with band mates Calvin Webster, left, and Caleb Crosby. photo courtesy Robert M. Knight

“Relics,” a free exhibit of photos of sculptural and environmental “found art” by Brad Temkin, is under way in the Baldwin Photographic Gallery through Thursday, Oct. 22. Hours for the exhibit, which is located in the McWherter Learning Resources Center, are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Saturday noon to 4 p.m. and Sunday 6-9:45 p.m. For information, call 615-898-2085.

In how many different languages can you greet someone? At MTSU this fall, you will need to know at least 45 different languages to welcome our international students to campus.

Our enrollment for international students is up about 10 percent from fall 2008. The graduate school reports fall 2009 registration includes 155 international students from 45 different countries. The top four countries represented are India with 30 students, P.R. China (mainland) with 26, Saudi Arabia with 14 students and Libya with seven. Undergraduate admissions reports 136 international students from 36 different countries. The top four countries represented by undergraduate students are P.R. China (mainland) with 18 students, South Korea with 17 students, Japan with 12 students and Canada with 10.

Twenty-nine of these 291 students are exchange students from 13 different partner universities. Twenty-two are undergraduate students, and seven are graduate students. We need MTSU students to participate in Education Abroad programs in order to accept international students through exchange agreements. Please remind your students that they are paying an international education fee that supports MTSU students studying abroad. Information on applying for a scholarship to study abroad can be secured from Rhonda Waller, director of the Education Abroad and Student Exchange Office (rwaller@mtsu.edu).

Several people have asked me why MTSU wants to increase its effort to internationalize the campus. The answer is multifaceted but perhaps can be summed up by saying that we want to continue to provide our students with the quality education for which MTSU is known. MTSU has a rich history of providing a high-quality education to U.S. citizens at a relatively low cost. Increasing the number of international students on campus will help position MTSU to continue this tradition by adding a dimension that will prepare our graduates for a competitive world market and global citizenship.

Recruiting international students, internationalizing our curriculum and increasing the number of partnerships we have with international universities have become a significant part of a strategic plan for positioning MTSU for the future. This increased focus on internationalizing our campus is supported by the Academic Master Plan, which says that MTSU will increase global opportunities and partnerships for students and faculty members for learning, scholarship and service. Another goal of our AMP is being student-centered in all facets of university planning. Students are the primary reason why a university should embrace internationalization. Introducing MTSU students to other cultures helps to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities brought on by globalization. Introducing our students to diversity through internationalization will contribute to making them better U.S. citizens.

While we are proud of the increase in enrollment of international students this fall and for the numbers of MTSU students studying abroad, there is need for continued growth. According to the Open Doors report from the Institute of International Education, the national average of international students for U.S. universities is 3.5 percent. MTSU currently sits at 1.2 percent. For comparison, the following percentages were reported for academic year 2007-08: the University of Memphis, 4.1 percent; UT-Knoxville, 3.8 percent; Tennessee Tech, 4.8 percent; Western Kentucky, 3.7 percent; and ETSU, 2.4 percent. Three and a half percent of 25,000 students means that MTSU needs 875 international students on campus just to meet the national average. Yes, there is need for continued growth.

What can faculty members do to help? Several of you contributed to the effort this fall by volunteering to pick up an international student at the airport for transport to MTSU. If you have professional contacts at an international university, begin talking to people about sending their best and brightest students to MTSU for a study-abroad experience or to continue their education in an undergraduate or graduate program. MTSU also has a number of partnerships with international universities that are dormant. I believe faculty members are the creative entrepreneurs who can cultivate and make an international partnership flourish. Recruit international students for the degree programs in your department. Every time you travel to an international conference, make at least one contact and have one conversation with a colleague that might lead to a student coming to MTSU.

President Sidney A. McPhee has approved a national search that will begin this semester for a vice provost for international affairs. Having a senior administrator focused on improving the services we offer international students and increasing the number of MTSU students who participate in education-abroad experiences will do much to help us internationalize MTSU’s campus. However, the rate of progress we make will depend on faculty involvement. Over the past year, I’ve studied successful international programs across the nation. I’ve learned that exemplary international programs and initiatives succeed on the dedication and capabilities of faculty members. Help MTSU students meet the challenges of a global environment by helping MTSU internationalize its campus.

Dr. L. Diane Miller is interim executive vice president and provost.

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WARM WELCOME—Dignitaries from Fukushima University in Japan, one of MTSU’s oldest international partners, pause during a five-day visit to Murfreesboro to explore expanding the universities’ existing relationship through student exchange. From left are Kazuko Takahashi of Fukushima University’s Office of Campus Planning and International Affairs; Hiroko Matsuura, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration professor and International Committee member; Shuji Shimizu, Fukushima University vice president; MTSU’s Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, adviser to the president and the provost on Asian affairs and professor emeritus of economics and finance; Mitsuo Iijima Nomura, FEBA dean; and Toshiaki Sogo, FEBA associate professor and Faculty Development Committee member. MTSU Photographic Services photo by Andy Heidt

The third group of Buchanan Fellows will be recognized Friday, Oct. 2, during the Buchanan Inauguration, University Honors College Dean John Vile said.

“Our 22 Buchanan Fellows are from five states and 14 towns and cities in Tennessee,” Vile said, adding that the 2009-10 group includes students with an overall ACT score of 31 and a combined 3.9 high-school grade-point average.

The formal program will begin at 6 p.m. in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building Amphitheatre (Room 106). Because of limited seating, it will be an invitation-only event.

Dr. Eric Klumpe, professor of physics and astronomy, will deliver the challenge to the Buchanan Class of 2009. Jeff Whorley, chairman of the Honors College Board of Visitors, will introduce him.

Sophomore Buchanan Fellows Jessica Taylor and Adam Emerson will add to the welcome by MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, who will be introduced by Vile after the Buchanan faculty are recognized.

Former Dean Phil Mathis, who now is professor emeritus, will provide the introduction of the Book of Town and Gown. Dr. Scott Carnicom, Honors College associate dean, will preside over the ceremonial signing of the book.

All of the Buchanan Fellows will participate in the recitation of the Honors Creed, which will be led by Dr. Angela Hague, an Honors faculty member and professor in the English department.

Vile said the Buchanan Fellowship is the highest award given to an entering Honors College student.

The 2009-10 freshman class of Buchanan Fellows includes Anna C. Caruso of Winchester, Tenn.; Evan Craig of Arlington, Tenn.; Lucy Estes of Franklin, Tenn.; Chelsea Fleet of Arlington; Celia Gendron of Smyrna; Alex Gibson of Cookeville; Ellen Goertzen of Slidell, La.; Courtney Hancock of Columbia, Tenn.; David L. Hull of Chattanooga; Tyler King of Murfreesboro; Emily Kubis of Morristown, Tenn.; Rayne Leonard of Hohenwald, Tenn.; Cody Malone of La Grange, Ky.; Jackson Mooneyham of Gallatin, Tenn.; Elizabeth Pellegrine and Dylan Phillips of Bell Buckle, Tenn.; Alissa Ruggle of Manhattan, Kan.; Lema Sbenaty of Murfreesboro; Chelsea N. Shrum of Mt. Juliet, Tenn.; Hilary Tyson of La Vergne, Tenn.; Leland T. Waite of Meridian, Idaho; and Kelsey Wells of Murfreesboro.

C. Dowd Ritter, chair, president and CEO of Regions Financial Corporation, will be the keynote speaker at MTSU’s 17th annual Economic Outlook Conference, on Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro.

Registration begins at 8:15 a.m., and Ritter will speak at 9 a.m. A registration fee of $60 per person will cover conference materials and lunch. MTSU students may attend free by including valid “M” numbers on their registration forms. All who wish to attend may register by going to www.mtsu.edu/econconference; the registration deadline is Monday, Sept. 21.

The head of one of the nation’s largest banks, Ritter began his banking career in 1969. He held various positions, including executive vice president of retail banking, senior executive vice president of the trust division, vice chair of the board and president and chief operating officer, before attaining his current position. He was named Business Person of the Year in 2006 by the Birmingham Business Journal and CEO of the Year in 1998 by the Birmingham News. He was honored as Humanitarian of the Year in 1999 by the Alabama chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. Ritter serves on several boards and is co-chair of the 50th Anniversary Campaign for the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Birmingham-Southern College and is a graduate of the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University, where he also teaches.

“Mr. Ritter will speak from the unique vantage point of the head of a bank that survived the economic storms of the last 18 months,” said Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at MTSU. “He will likely have interesting thoughts about what the future of the banking industry may be.”

Burton noted that the conference is targeting bankers, business owners and managers, community officials and leaders as well as business and economics faculty and students—“and anyone interested in economic growth in the region and nation.”

Continuing the tradition of providing substantive information, the program also will feature Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, who will provide a Midstate/regional economic update at 10:30. The BERC maintains significant databases of regional, national and international information and provides research resources and databases for the MTSU community.

During lunch, Burton and Aubrey B. Harwell Jr., holder of the Jones Chair of Excellence in Free Enterprise, will present the Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award to C.M. “Bill” Gatton, an investor, businessman and entrepreneur whose business interests have included auto dealerships, banks and commercial real estate.

Gatton, 76, has donated millions of dollars to schools and universities. The University of Kentucky College of Business and Economics bears his name, as does the College of Pharmacy at East Tennessee State University.

“Mr. Gatton is a student of business and economics as well as a practitioner of the art,” Burton said. “He is a most deserving recipient of this award.”

Dr. Donald Ratajczak, regents’ professor of economics emeritus at Georgia State University and nationally known economic forecaster, will address the luncheon audience. With his animated style and keen observations, Ratajczak has become a staple of the annual conference.

“Don always has a thought-provoking approach to interpreting national and international data and making it relevant to the issues and problems facing regional businesses,” Burton said.

The conference will dismiss at 1:15 p.m.

The MTSU Economic Outlook Conference is co-sponsored by the Jones College, the Jones Chair in Free Enterprise, the Business and Economic Research Center and the Jack O. Weatherford Chair of Finance.

For more information, call the Jones College at 615-898-2764. The Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center is located at 1200 Conference Center Blvd. in Murfreesboro.

MTSU’s Office of Admissions will hold the first of two Fall Preview Days on Saturday, Sept. 26, said Dr. Michelle Arnold, an associate director.

Fall Preview Day is an opportunity for prospective new and transfer students and their parents to visit the campus of MTSU. Guests will be given a campus tour that includes viewing several dormitories. Guests also will participate in an Academic Open House, where representatives and advisers from different departments will be available to answer questions and distribute information.

The preview days will start at 9:15 a.m. from the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center, Arnold said.

“We’ll have a continental breakfast provided prior to the tour so we can get to know them (students) and they can get to know us, too,” she added.

The final Fall Preview Day will be held Saturday, Oct. 31, with the same format as the Sept. 26 preview day.

Arnold said the admissions staff is asking prospective students, their parents or guardians to reserve a spot for either preview day by going to www.mtsu.edu/admissn or by calling 615-898-2111.

Daily tours are conducted at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. through Dec. 9, except during fall break and the Thanksgiving holidays.

The MTSU Department of Art and its Student Art Alliance will team to present their first joint exhibition featuring the juried work of MTSU students.

The works will be on display Tuesday, Sept. 22, through Thursday, Oct. 1, in the Todd Art Gallery. A reception for participating artists, which is free and open to the public, and an awards ceremony are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the gallery area.

The SAA is an organization of art majors and interested students. The mission of its membership is to organize events that promote the making and understanding of art’s role in the academic culture and community at large.

“This show gives MTSU students the opportunity to engage in the process of submitting and showing their work in a public space, as well as competing with other artists for awards,” John Donovan, SAA faculty adviser and assistant professor of art, said.

“This process is an essential component to the professional practice of being an artist and is a valuable experience for our students.”

Participation in the juried show is open to all Department of Art majors, SAA members and interested MTSU students.

For more information, call 615-898-5653.

Five former Middle Tennessee athletic standouts will make up the 2009 Hall of Fame class when they are inducted into the Blue Raider Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 17.

Granville “Buck” Bouldin (tennis), Sheikh Faye (track), Charles “Fuzzy” Harmening (men’s basketball), Steve McAdoo (football) and Danny Moore (baseball) will be enshrined during Hall of Fame induction ceremonies prior to Middle Tennessee’s football game against Mississippi State.

This marks the second year the Hall of Fame committee has named five inductees. Before 2008, the classes were limited to three inductees.

The Hall of Fame weekend gets under way on Friday, Oct. 16, with a celebration beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Kennon Hall of Fame. The induction is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

“This year’s class truly reflects the depth of our rich sports history, representing five different sports over seven decades at Middle Tennessee,” said Simpson. “The class of 2009 will long be remembered for their outstanding achievements as Blue Raiders.”

• Bouldin (Class of 1956) served as head coach of Blue Raider men’s tennis for eight seasons from 1964 to 1971, winning five Tennessee Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships. Bouldin, who was known as a fierce competitor and respected sportsman, earned Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1965 and 1968. A former U.S. Marine Corps captain, Bouldin continues to help the Blue Raider tennis program with his time and resources.

• Faye (Class of 1979) was a stalwart on Blue Raider track teams in the late ‘70s and a four-time All-American under Coach Dean Hayes in the long jump with indoor honors in 1976 and outdoor honors in 1976, 1977 and 1978. The 1977 and 1978 OVC long-jump champion represented his homeland of Gambia in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.

• Harmening (Class of 1950) was a starter on the Blue Raider basketball team from 1947 to 1950, where he was elected team captain as a junior and senior. Harmening became the first member of the 1,000-point club at Middle Tennessee as he ended his career with 1,006 total points. Also lettering two years in baseball, he enrolled at Middle Tennessee in fall 1946, after participating in three major World War II campaigns and earning the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three Bronze Stars and the Combat Infantry Badge.

• One of the most decorated players in school history, McAdoo (Class of 1995) was a local player from Oakland High School who is regarded as the best offensive lineman to play for the university. One of just two Blue Raiders to earn back-to-back First Team All-American honors, McAdoo helped lead Middle Tennessee to three OVC championships in four years while making four playoff appearances.


• Moore (Class of 1978), the heart and soul of Middle Tennessee’s great baseball teams in the late ’70s, is the only baseball player in school history to have his jersey retired. The lefty played with a Pete Rose-style swagger as the team’s leadoff hitter and center fielder and always set the tone on game day. Moore played for Coach John Stanford from 1976 to 1978; he was a two-time All-OVC performer and helped lead the Blue Raiders to an OVC title in 1976 and a trip to the NCAA regionals. With his unique split grip, Moore ended his career with a .351 average.

A limited number of tickets to the Friday-night celebration are available for $30 each. Contact Jim Simpson to reserve a spot at 615-898-5632. Saturday’s event is free.

College of Basic and Applied Sciences Dean Tom Cheatham recently announced the appointment of Dr. Ron Henderson as permanent chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

Henderson, who had been interim chair for one year, joined the MTSU faculty as an assistant professor in 1996.

“Dr. Henderson won a national search to become the new chair of physics and astronomy,” Cheatham said. “He is an excellent problem-solver, always doing diligent research to learn about all the issues. He will do a great job of leading the department.”

The department’s attitude toward excellence in undergraduate teaching and research was an important motivation for Henderson’s choice to come to MTSU after earning his doctorate from the University of Virginia in 1996, he said.

“MTSU strikes the perfect balance between research and teaching—something I did not find in any other university,” Henderson said.

Since joining the department, Henderson has participated in more than a dozen conferences and workshops related to improving the way in which science is taught. He also has a great interest in training high-school physics teachers, both current educators and students interested in a career in secondary education.

“There is a great need for high-school physics teachers, both in Tennessee and nationally, and MTSU is well positioned to help train a new generation of secondary educators.”

In addition to his love for teaching, the other primary reason Henderson wanted to become a part of MTSU was the strong emphasis placed on undergraduate research. His research efforts have been directed in three distinct superluminal electronic pulses.

Henderson is the author of more than two dozen articles in refereed journals and conference proceedings and has served as co-principal investigator of successful grants totaling more than $950,000. He says he is committed to sustaining the excellence in teaching and research in physics and astronomy while continuing to search for areas where the department can grow.

As interim chair, Henderson administered a 15-person department with responsibilities including scheduling and administration of the academic program, recruitment and retention of faculty, budgeting $1.1 million annually, strategic planning and assessment. He oversaw the proposal of a new concentration in physics teaching and facilitated a state Mathematics and Science Partnership grant for training high-school physics teachers.

“Ahead of the curve” is how Dr. Jim Calder describes MTSU’s position on training professionals who work with children with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD.

A professor of elementary and special education, Calder said that adding Dr. Lesley Craig-Unkefer to the MTSU faculty is not just a win for the university and the students who enroll in her classes but also for the community at large, thanks to her extensive background and research experience in working with children who have ASD.

Although Craig-Unkefer joined the faculty only last year as an associate professor of elementary and special education, she already has developed new coursework that focuses on working with children with ASD.

According to Autism Connection, ASD is “a collective term given to a group of bio-neurological developmental disabilities that impair the way that individuals interact and communicate with others.”

Consequently, because autism influences the normal development of the brain in areas such as social interaction, communication skills and cognitive function, those with autism generally have difficulty with verbal and nonverbal communication, social interactions and play activities.

With symptoms that span from mild to severe, ASD generally is diagnosed when individuals are young, said Craig-Unkefer. She specializes in training teachers and other professionals—including social workers and counselors—to recognize autism spectrum disorders in children and work with ASD learners.

Open to master’s-level students, the autism-related classes that Craig-Unkefer developed for three credit hours each are “Introduction to ASD” (SPED 6700) and “Methods of Instruction for Students with ASD” (SPED 6730).

Spring 2009 was the first time the Methods class was offered, she said. Nine students enrolled. The course Intro class will be offered again this fall.

To enroll in the new ASD classes, graduate students need only an interest in the subject, Craig-Unkefer said, adding that the Intro course had a variety of student backgrounds its first semester.

“It was interesting in that all of the students had some level of experience with students with autism, from very minimal to … a student with autism in their class to ... students with autism who they were instructors for,” she noted.

Because there is no single best treatment package for all children diagnosed with ASD, both Calder and Craig-Unkefer stressed that it is crucial that decisions on best treatments be made by the parents of the children with ASD, with assistance from trusted experts. However, parents are always a child’s first teacher and advocate and are vital to a child’s ongoing learning and support, the professors said.

“The state of Tennessee does not have currently have a licensure or certificate for ASD at this point,” Craig-Unkefer said, “and I don’t know when that will occur, but in preparation for that, I would like to get more of our ASD courses up and running.”

Beyond the current ASD offerings Craig-Unkefer teaches, there are plans for an ASD practicum. “Because there is an interest, we’ve discussed developing one-hour online courses that have specific (ASD) content that would reach out to individuals in more rural areas or who would just prefer to get that information online,” she said.

Requirements for creating an ASD certification at MTSU vary. “The state allows universities to put together a program,” Calder said, “but generally, anywhere from 12 to 15 hours is what they ask.

“We already have a course on the books, Working with Families (SPED 6720), which Dr. Craig-Unkefer would likely tie into (to create the ASD certification),” he continued. “And she plans on developing three, and so if you combine that with what she already has developed, it would be a total of 15 hours.”

Calder said those who take the new ASD courses from MTSU versus the traditional in-service autism training will have an edge when it comes to gleaning top-notch instruction in working with children with ASD in the classroom.

“(MTSU is) going at this kind of training from a broad-based perspective, a professional perspective and a university perspective, rather than ‘get as much as you can from this expert who visits or that expert,’” he said.

“We feel very, very cutting-edge in this respect, because we have an expert. We have an expert who researches, an expert who is current in her knowledge base and one who brings incredible experience and research background in working with kids with autism, and that’s Dr. Craig-Unkefer,” Calder continued. “So it’s not a matter of having someone who just read a couple books on ASD to learn about it—we have an expert we have brought here.”

For more information on MTSU’s new ASD-related courses, please contact the Department of Elementary and Special Education at 615-898-2680.

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WHAT DOES A LAMB SAY?—Project Help "Blue Room" teacher Bobbie Young, center, helps her 2-year-old students learn about colors and shapes by playing and singing with white paper lambs on sticks. Young successfully completed Dr. Lesley Craig-Unkefer's new course on teaching children with autism. From left are Blue Room aide Jennifer Plaskett and students Naijyana (facing away from camera), Houston, Maddie and (partially obscured) Brycen. Not pictured at far right is Blue Room student Zayne. MTSU Photographic Services photo by J. Intintoli

Appearances

Martin Fisher (Center for Popular Music) recorded the voices of attendees at the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival Sept. 5-6 with genuine original Edison phonograph equipment.

Awards

Dr. Robert B. Blair (business communication and entrepreneurship) received the Jennings A. Jones Outstanding Faculty Member Award 2008-09 at the annual fall faculty meeting Aug. 28.

Dr. Gaylord Brewer (English) has received a Tennessee Arts Commission 2010 Individual Artist Fellowship for poetry. Only two of these fellowships—one for poetry, one for fiction/creative nonfiction—are given annually statewide.

Appointments

Certifications

Dr. Robert B. Blair (BCE) successfully completed the requirements to become a Professional Registered Parliamentarian, or PRP, one of fewer than 350 worldwide. PRPs are hired as convention consultants, bylaws reviewers, professional presiders, parlimentary opinion writers, conference/meeting parliamentarians, etc.

Institutes

Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross (chemistry) and undergraduate student Kathy Greer attended the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities Summer Institute Aug. 4-10 in Chicago.

Media

Dr. Felicia Miyakawa (music) was part of a live broadcast, “Soundcheck: The God Album—Divine Inspiration,” Aug. 27 on WNYC, New York Public Radio (www.wnyc.org).

Passages

Presentations

Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross (chemistry) and students Cacy DeSheles, Kathy Greer and Jennifer Ilsley had poster presentations in the undergraduate research symposium at the American Chemical Society meeting Aug. 16-17 in Washington, D.C. Greer and mentors Iriarte-Gross and Dr. Martha Weller (physics) presented “Chemical Education Research in the Non-Science Major’s Classroom.” DeSheles and mentors Iriarte-Gross and Leigh Gostowski (Office of Research Services) presented “EYH (Expanding Your Horizons) After-School Science Club,” which was co-authored by student Alyse Hawk. Ilsley and Iriarte-Gross presented a poster, “Quantitative Analysis of Pre- and Post-Survey Data from Middle School Girls Attending the MTSU EYH,” co-authored by student Autumn Tanner. Iriarte-Gross also presented an invited talk, “Building a SENCER Course from Start to Almost the End,” co-authored by Weller and Greer, on Aug. 16.

Dr. Joon Soo Lim (journalism) presented a paper, “The uses and gratifications of social networking sites (SNS): Investigating the roles of gender, media uses, and religiosity in predicting different motivations,” at the annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication held Aug. 5-10 in Boston. Lim and graduate student Hyun Jung Chae (psychology) presented a paper, “Voters’ attribution of responsibility for a political sex scandal and opinions about the impeachment: Logistic mediation analysis,” at the same conference.

Dr. Sherry J. Roberts (BCE) made the following presentations this summer:
• “Middle Level Computer Applications,” a June 9 preconference workshop for the Nebraska Career/ Technical Education Conference, and three sessions on June 10 (“Using Multiple Intelligences Activities in Introduction to Keyboarding Class-room,” “Teens and Money: Teaching Personal Finance” and “Project-Based Activities to Teach Personal Finance”);
• “Where ‘O Where Did All My Money Go? Teens and Personal Finance” July 28 at the 2009 Ohio Association of Career/Technical Education;
• “Personal Finance for the Next Generation” July 28 at the 2009 Ohio Association of Teachers of Family and Consumer Science Summer Conference; and
• “Where ‘O Where Did All My Money Go? Teens and Personal Finance” and “Teaching Personal Finance to the ‘Plastic’ Generation” Aug. 4 at the 2009 Virginia CTE Summer Professional Development Institute.

Publications

Dr. Carolyn D. Hix (nursing) collaborated on “A Standardized Curriculum to Introduce Novice Health Professional Students to Practice-Based Learning and Improvement: A Multi-Institutional Pilot Study” in Quality Management in Health Care (2009).

Dr. Joon Soo Lim (journalism) has co-authored an article, “The effects of blog-mediated public relations on relational trust,” in the Journal of Public Relations Research, Vol. 21, No. 3. Lim also has a chapter, “Global Integration or Local Responsiveness? Multinational Corp-orations’ Public Relations Strategies and Cases,” in International Media: Communication in a Global Age (NY: Routledge), edited by Guy J. Golan, Thomas Johnson and Wayne Wanta.

Drs. Debra Wilson and Lynn Parsons (nursing) collaborated on a book review of As Time Goes By (2009) by Washington Post columnist Abigail Trafford in the journal Activities, Adaptation & Aging.

Workshops

Brenda Parker (computer science) held a one-day Alice workshop July 27 at MTSU. Alice is free software offered by Carnegie Mellon University that allows students to create games and 3-D animations. Several middle- and high-school teachers and 4-H leaders attended.

Dr. Cindi Smith-Walters (biology/Center for Environmental Education) and Cheryl Hitchcock (early childhood education) conducted two Project Learning Tree workshops with representatives from the Tennessee Division of Forestry. A July workshop was held at the Wilson County Fairgrounds in Lebanon and hosted by the Middle Tennessee Stormwater Coalition, where more than 50 classroom teachers, youth leaders and natural-resource professionals received training. The August workshop at the Jasper Elementary School provided nearly 60 prekindergarten through fourth-grade teachers with PLT curriculum guides and learning how to make better use of their campus to teach state mandates in science, mathematics, social studies and language arts.

Get noticed in The Record!

Submit your Faculty/Staff Update items (including promotions and new hires) and other news tips to gfann@mtsu.edu by 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, for the Oct. 5 edition of The Record or by 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, for the Oct. 19 Record. Don’t forget to include specifics—who, what, where, when and why—with your contributions! Make sure you’re reaching your audience in plenty of time by checking The Record's 2009 deadline schedule at http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/rec_deadlines.htm.