Tuesday, September 28, 2010

[120] MTSU Welcomes Criminal Profiler Hinman for Oct. 7 Lecture

FOR RELEASE: Sept. 28, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Dr. Hugh Berryman, 615-494-7713; Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385

MTSU WELCOMES CRIMINAL PROFILER HINMAN FOR OCT. 7 LECTURE
Expert Says Crime-Solving Task ‘Far from a Magical Event’

(MURFREESBORO)—Criminal profiler Dayle Hinman, whose investigative skills aided in the prosecutions of serial killers Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos, is bringing her expertise to MTSU on Thursday, Oct. 7, for the Fall 2010 William Bass Legends in Forensic Science Lectureship.

Hinman will speak beginning at 7 p.m. in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. Her free lecture, “The Devil is in the Details,” is open to the public.

“Criminal profiling has been the subject of countless movies, television programs and novels,” Hinman notes. “The profilers are frequently portrayed as individuals with special psychic abilities.

“Far from a magical event, profiling is an investigative technique that was developed and refined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is a process of systematically reviewing and analyzing crime-scene information.”

MTSU’s Forensic Institute for Research and Education, which is co-sponsoring the lecture, established the series to bring internationally known experts in forensic science to MTSU each fall and spring, said Dr. Hugh Berryman, FIRE director.

Hinman, who is one of only a handful of women in her field, began her 26-year career in law enforcement as a police officer at Florida State University. She worked for the Leon County, Fla., Sheriff’s Department and wound up at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, successfully investigating hundreds of crimes perpetrated by murderers, rapists and sexual offenders. She was trained in criminal profiling at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico, Va., and is a court-certified expert in crime-scene assessment.

Hinman now lectures nationally and internationally on criminal profiling, crime-scene analysis, threat assessment and serial offenders. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the host of TruTV’s “Body of Evidence: From the Case Files of Dayle Hinman.”

During her lecture, Hinman says she’ll use specific case examples to help attendees understand how complicated cases were resolved. “Participants will gain a greater understanding of criminal profiling and better appreciate the collaborative working relationships between the various professional disciplines involved in criminal investigation,” she says.

In addition to FIRE, Hinman’s campus visit is being made possible by sponsorship from the College of Liberal Arts and College of Basic and Applied Sciences and MTSU’s sociology and anthropology, political science, psychology, biology, chemistry and criminal justice departments.

For more information on the Oct. 7 lecture, please call 615-494-7713 or visit www.mtsu.edu/fire.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

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IN BRIEF: Criminal profiler Dayle Hinman, whose investigative skills aided in the prosecutions of serial killers Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos, is bringing her expertise to MTSU on Thursday, Oct. 7, for the Fall 2010 William Bass Legends in Forensic Science Lectureship. Hinman is set to speak beginning at 7 p.m. in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. Her free lecture, “The Devil is in the Details,” is open to the public. For more information, please call 615-494-7713 or visit MTSU’s Forensic Institute for Research and Education website at www.mtsu.edu/fire.


For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color JPEG of Hinman, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385. Thanks!

[119] MTSU Theatre and Dance Season Kicks Off with P-L-E-N-T-Y of F-U-N

FOR RELEASE: Sept. 27, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Professor Jeff Gibson, 615-898-2640

MTSU THEATRE AND DANCE SEASON KICKS OFF WITH P-L-E-N-T-Y OF F-U-N
‘25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee’ is 1st Offering, Plus Tucker Theatre Grand Reopening

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU brings the funny beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6, when it launches the 2010-11 Theatre and Dance Season with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” in Tucker Theatre in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Auditorium on campus.

The award-winning one-act musical focuses on a middle-school spelling bee, where the perfectionists are on both sides of the microphone and the s-u-s-p-e-n-s-e can sometimes be cut with n-i-v-e … uh, k-n-i-v-e-s.

Performances are set Oct. 6-9 and Oct. 13-15 at 7:30 p.m.

“‘Bee’ rehearsals are well under way, and I think the MTSU and local community will really enjoy this quirky musical,” said Professor Jeff Gibson, interim chair of the Department of Speech and Theatre. “The characters and the situations are hilarious!”

The Oct. 6 “Bee” show will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a “grand reopening” ceremony on the front steps of Tucker Theatre, which has just completed a $1.4 million, six-month renovation project.

“Bee” audiences, be warned: You can participate in the show, but using spelling apps on your phone is a no-no. Also, there’s some adult content, so it’s for M-A-T-U-R-E audiences only.

The season continues Nov. 17-20 with a new version of “A Flea in Her Ear,” the classic Georges Feydeau farce updated by David Ives. The Belle Époque tale focuses on a jealous wife’s attempts to nab her husband with a letter from an imaginary admirer suggesting a hotel tryst; chaos and hilarity ensue.

The Fall Dance Concert, showcasing the artistic works of MTSU’s Dance Theatre, is next on the itinerary. Performances are set Dec. 2-4.

The season resumes on a tragic note in February with performances of Euripides’ “Medea,” a seminal drama of love, betrayal and revenge. The powerful tragedy is scheduled for performances Feb. 23-26.

More Broadway comes to Champion Way March 30 through April 2 and April 6-9 with MTSU’s performances of the Pulitzer Prize-winning rock opera “Rent,” based loosely on Puccini’s “La Boheme.”

The show, whose signature song “Seasons of Love” has become a pop standard, follows a year with seven friends living the disappearing Bohemian lifestyle in New York’s East Village as AIDS and its physical and emotional complications begin to pervade their lives.

Concluding the 2010-11 season April 21-23 is the Spring Dance Concert, where MTSU Dance Theatre members will perform.

All performances are set for 7:30 p.m. in Tucker Theatre.

“This is a dynamic season with plenty of music, comedy and drama for everyone,” Gibson noted. “We are confident our audiences will enjoy what they see and will want to return for more.”

Tickets to all MTSU Theatre and Dance season performances are $10 for the general public and $5 for MTSU faculty, staff and students in kindergarten through 12th grades. MTSU students will be admitted free with a valid student ID.

Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Tucker Theatre Box Office in the BDA, by calling 615-494-8810 or going online at www.mtsu.edu/tuckertheatre. Tickets may also be purchased at the door an hour before each show begins.

For more information about MTSU Theatre and Dance, visit www.mtsu.edu/theatre or call 615-494-8810.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.
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IN BRIEF: MTSU brings the funny beginning Wednesday, Oct. 6, when it launches the 2010-11 Theatre and Dance Season with “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” in Tucker Theatre in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Auditorium on campus. The award-winning one-act musical focuses on a middle-school spelling bee where the perfectionists are on both sides of the microphone; performances are set Oct. 6-9 and Oct. 13-15 at 7:30 p.m. The Oct. 6 “Bee” show will be preceded at 6:30 p.m. by a “grand reopening” ceremony on the front steps of Tucker Theatre, which has just completed a $1.4 million, six-month renovation project. For ticket information or details on the complete 2010-11 season, call 615-494-8810 or visit www.mtsu.edu/tuckertheatre.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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[118] MTSU’s Todd Gallery to Exhibit ‘Best of Tenneseee Fine Craft’

FOR RELEASE: Sept. 27, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Eric Snyder, esnyder@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2455

MTSU’S TODD GALLERY TO EXHIBIT ‘BEST OF TENNESEEE FINE CRAFT’
First Lady Andrea Conte Plans Opening-Reception Speech on Oct. 4

(MURFREESBORO)— The finest work of Tennessee’s craft artists will be on display through Friday, Oct. 15, at MTSU’s Todd Gallery in a free public exhibit, “2010 TACA Biennial: The Best of Tennessee Fine Craft.”

Tennessee’s First Lady, Andrea Conte, plans to speak at the exhibit’s 6-8 p.m. opening reception on Monday, Oct. 4. She’ll discuss the use of fine craft in remodeling the Governor’s Mansion as well as in her personal collection, Todd Gallery Coordinator Eric Snyder said.

A public reception is planned for Saturday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. as well. All events are free and open to the public.

The Tennessee Association of Craft Artists is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging, developing and promoting crafts and craftspeople in Tennessee. Through its programming, TACA works to expose the residents of Tennessee to the art of fine craft while providing a forum for creative and personal expression for the artists.

“The Department of Art is pleased to host the 2010 TACA Best of Tennessee Craft Biennial exhibit,” said department chair Dr. Jean Nagy. “This exhibit provides an opportunity for our students to see work that they may not get a chance to see elsewhere.”

This special exhibit at MTSU will feature 48 original works of fine craft created by almost 35 Tennessee artists, including clay artist Sylvia Hyman, furniture maker Craig Nutt and mixed-media artist Sherri Warner Hunter.

“We are excited about the interaction our students will have with this new work,” said John Donovan, chair of the Todd Hall Art Gallery Committee. “We hope that artists associated with the TACA organization take this opportunity to visit our program and see what we are up to. This exhibit will help connect our academic program to the greater regional art community and foster a lasting dialogue between the two.”

TACA has been producing the biennial exhibition since 1966, a year after the organization was founded. The biennial event not only encourages and promotes the quality and design among the state’s fine craft artists but also provides public visibility and recognition for the quality and diversity of craft found in the state.

The Todd Gallery is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, contact TACA’s Katie Haile at 615-385-1904 or khaile@tennesseecrafts.org or MTSU’s Snyder at 615-898-2455 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.


For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you’d like to attend the Oct. 4 opening reception, or to receive color JPEGs from the exhibit, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385.
Thanks!

Monday, September 27, 2010

[117] 'Real Sportsmanship' Catalyst For Change In College Sports

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 25, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

‘REAL SPORTSMANSHIP’ CATALYST FOR CHANGE IN COLLEGE SPORTS
MTSU Professor’s Work Not Just Fun and Games for Sun Belt Conference

(MURFREESBORO) – Athletic directors and university presidents wince whenever cheap shots, melees and other bad behavior dominate media coverage of their intercollegiate sports teams. Now they have at hand a tool that can help to instill important values in their student-athletes and coaches at the conference level.
The Center for Sport Policy and Research at Middle Tennessee State University developed the Real Sportsmanship Platform to assess perceptions and behaviors of athletes and coaches regarding sportsmanship both inside and outside the games they play.
“What I really tried to do was use my own experience and education and the process I went through to try to create a system that would allow them to feel like they’re inside of a story, and the story is about them,” says Dr. Colby Jubenville, designer of the program, professor of sport management and director of the Center for Sport Policy Research at MTSU.
First, 3,476 student-athletes and 478 coaches of the Sun Belt Conference, which is committed to the program over a five-year period, took separate pre-tests to determine baseline measures of behavior. They were asked to grade the frequency with which they agreed with certain statements on a scale of one to five with one being “never” and five being “always.”
In one year of conference calls with coaches, athletic directors, athletes, league commissioners and others, Jubenville constructed the platform in conjunction with Birmingham, Ala.-based Learning through Sports. Last year’s platform took under 30 minutes to complete, but this year’s platform can be done in less than 20 minutes.
Some of the statements put to the student-athletes included “If I am hit in the face after the whistle blows, I must defend myself and my team by any means necessary;” “If I’m faced with a test I must pass to stay eligible, I will do whatever I have to do to pass;” and “I believe my sport participation experiences should be totally separate from all other university experiences that I have.”
The coaches were asked to respond to statements such as “It’s important for me to reference sportsmanship during team meetings or practices;” “If a fan yells at me, I have the right to yell back;” and “My players know that I am the only one that discusses calls with the official.”

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SPORTSMANSHIP
Add 1

Jubenville, a former NCAA Division III athlete and former NAIA coach, observes, “How many times have we seen coaches go off on officials and then turn around and get mad at their players when they go off on the official?”
The coach plays the pivotal part as a role model for athletes and other coaches, especially since the coach’s duties and responsibilities continue to increase, says Jubenville.
The report on the initial year of Real Sportsmanship in the Sun Belt Conference provides analytical results of the athletes’ answers on the basis of institution, gender, sport, education level and grade level.
One of the study’s most interesting findings is that the student-athlete’s ability to understand and implement sportsmanship principles decreases as skill levels increase. Jubenville calls this the Sportsmanship Paradox. With freshmen displaying relatively high levels of sportsmanship awareness compared to fifth- and sixth-year student-athletes, Jubenville concludes that this emphasis on fair play should be a line item in every conference’s budget.
“Just like they pay for great coaches and great equipment and great transportation, I think they need to pay for sportsmanship,” says Jubenville.


--30—

ATTENTION, MEDIA: For an interview with Dr. Colby Jubenville about the Real Sportsmanship Platform, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

[116] Petersen Brings 'Challenge' at Oct. 1 Buchanan Fellows Inauguration

Release date: Sept. 27, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Honors College contact: Dr. John Vile, 615-898-2152 or jvile@mtsu.edu

Petersen Brings ‘Challenge’ at Oct. 1
Buchanan Fellows Inauguration


(MURFREESBORO) — Dr. Karen Petersen, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, will deliver the Challenge to the Buchanan Fellows’ Class of 2010.
Petersen’s remarks will come during the fourth Buchanan Fellows’ Inauguration, which will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building.
Twenty freshmen Fellows will be recognized during the invitation-only formal ceremony, said Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College.
"This is the most formal event we hold for the incoming class of Buchanan Fellows,” Vile said. “The Buchanan is the most prestigious academic scholarship given on campus. This is the formal way to emphasize the meaning of the scholarship.”
Collectively, the students, who represent three states and 11 cities in Tennessee, have an average score of 32.8 on their ACT exam and a high-school GPA of 3.918, Vile said.
The Buchanan Fellowship is named in honor of Dr. James M. Buchanan, an MTSU alumnus and Nobel Prize recipient.
First-year Provost Dr. Brad Bartel plans to attend and offer a welcome. Honors students Kaitlin Beck and Leland Waite will share their MTSU experiences with the new Buchanan Fellows.
Dr. Scott Carnicom, Honors College associate dean, will provide the introduction of the Book of Town and Gown and then have the freshmen participate in the ceremonial signing.
Honors faculty member Dr. Angela Hague will lead the recitation of the Honors Creed.
The 2010-11 freshman class of Buchanan Fellows includes Emilie Ann Aslinger of Kingston, Tenn.; Joe Scott Ballard of Columbia, Tenn.; Patrick Daniels of Knoxville; John Michael Griner of Kingston; Ashlin Powell Harris of Morristown, Tenn.; Lorel Joy Holsinger of Summertown, Tenn.; Meredith Lynn Holt of Collinwood, Tenn.; Greta Louise Jochmann of Oak Ridge; Cory Matthew Long of Franklin, Tenn.; Tyler Brooke Loucky of Murfreesboro; Cedar Nathaniel Mittig of Franklin; Robert Daniel Murphy of Murfreesboro; Tyler Patrick Phillips of Knoxville; Courtney Anne Rodman of Jackson, Mo.; Amanda Patrice Scott of Brentwood; Lauren Janelle Smith of Waynesboro, Tenn.; Joshua Timothy Stein of Dover, Del.; Zach Bevins Stevens of Murfreesboro; Katelyn Meredith Stringer of Smyrna; and Victoria Elizabeth Worrell of Murfreesboro.

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Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

[115] Musicians' Sept. 28 'Master Class' Targets Social Media As Moneymaker

FOR RELEASE: Sept. 24, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Joseph Akins, jakins@mtsu.edu

MUSICIANS’ SEPT. 28 ‘MASTER CLASS’ TARGETS SOCIAL MEDIA AS MONEYMAKER
MTSU Event Open to Public, But Seating May Be Limited

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry is sponsoring a “Musicians' Online PR and Marketing Master Class” with Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR on Tuesday, Sept. 28, in Room 101 of the Bragg Mass Communication Building.
The 90-minute master class, which is set to begin at 6 p.m., will walk participants through combining social media—such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs—to create online conversations. Combining those conversations with traditional marketing techniques, Hyatt says, will shorten users’ paths to amassing a larger fan base and earning money on- and offline with their music.
Hyatt’s New York-based digital firm connects artists to blogs, podcasts, Internet radio stations and social-media sites. She also is the author of Music Success in Nine Weeks: A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Use Social Media & Online Tactics to Supercharge Your PR, Build Your Fan Base and Earn More Money.
The event is co-sponsored by MTSU’s Distinguished Lecture Committee. It's free and open to the public, but seating is limited and may be first-come, first-served.
For more information, contact Dr. Joseph Akins at jakins@mtsu.edu.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.
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IN BRIEF: MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry is sponsoring a “Musicians' Online PR and Marketing Master Class” with Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR on Tuesday, Sept. 28, in Room 101 of the Bragg Mass Communication Building. The 90-minute master class, which is set to begin at 6 p.m., will walk participants through combining social media—such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs—with traditional marketing techniques to create a larger fan base and make money on- and off-line with their music. It's free and open to the public, but seating is limited and may be first-come, first-served. For more information, contact Dr. Joseph Akins at jakins@mtsu.edu.


For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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Friday, September 24, 2010

[114] History Department Professor Chao Will Speak Sept. 27 During MTSU Honors Lecture

Release date: Sept. 24, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Honors College contact: Dr. Scott Carnicom, 615-898-2152 or carnicom@mtsu.edu

History Department Professor Chao Will Speak
Sept. 27 During MTSU Honors Lecture


(MURFREESBORO) — Dr. Yuan-Ling Chao, associate professor in MTSU’s history department, will present “Confucianism and the Scientific Tradition in China” Monday, Sept. 27, starting at 3 p.m. as part of the fall 2010 Honors Lecture Series at MTSU.
The nearly one-hour lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the amphitheater (Room 106) of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building.
The fall series is titled “China: The Middle Kingdom in the Modern World.”
Chao’s teaching fields include China, Japan, world history and the history of medicine, according to the history department’s staff entry, which adds that her research interests include the history of Chinese medicine and the comparative study of the history of medicine.
Chao has been an MTSU faculty member since 1995. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in 1981 from Hong Kong Baptist College, her Master of Arts in 1983 from the University of California-Santa Barbara and her Ph.D. in 1995 from the University of California-Los Angeles.
The Confucius Institute at MTSU cosponsors this fall’s Honors Lecture Series.
For more information about the lecture series or the University Honors College, call 615-898-2152 or visit mtsu.edu/honors/ online.
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Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree — the only one in Tennessee — as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.
For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

[113] MTSU ROTC Cadets Will Help 'Map' Girls' Futures at EYH Saturday

Release date: Sept. 24, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
EYH contact: Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, 615-904-8253 or jiriarte@mtsu.edu

MTSU ROTC Cadets Will Help ‘Map’ Girls’ Futures at EYH Saturday


(MURFREESBORO) — Courtney Fultz has a longstanding fondness and passion for MTSU’s Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics.
She attended with a Girl Scout group as a sixth-grader in 2000, and her association with EYH did not end there. For the past four years, she has helped girls map out their futures.
The Murfreesboro native, who is a senior recreational-therapy major and ROTC minor, will supervise a team of Blue Raider Battalion cadet colleagues in a geoscience presentation called “Finding Your Way.”
Theirs will be one of numerous EYH workshops across campus on Saturday, Sept. 25, for the fifth- through eighth-grade girls attending the middle-school EYH and the separate workshop for high-school students.
"The presentation consists of teaching young ladies how to read a topographic map and how to use a magnetic compass,” said Fultz, who will be joined by co-presenters Elizabeth Juergens of Clarksville, Kim Isham of Franklin, Jennie Fajardo of Thompsons Station, Rachael Lezon of Cleveland, Tenn., and Kelsey Kirby of Goodlettsville.
“We’ll teach these young women how to find certain sites within a grid square, how to shoot an azimuth and how to get your pace count,” Juergens said. “The girls absolutely love it, due to the fact that it’s so different than most things they have experienced or been exposed to.”
"These are life skills everyone should know, even though technology has advanced,” Fultz said.
"Also, it’s a blessing to be able to give back to the community, since I was once a participant in EYH. I remember how excited I was as a sixth-grader coming in to learn about math and science. EYH is definitely an event young ladies will never forget.”
Fultz said her presentation has so many participants because “they can assist the girls at the different stations we have set up for map reading and compass. Also, they volunteer to get experience teaching a class, which we do several times in ROTC.”
Fultz, who plans to graduate in August 2011 and be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, has devised “a list of topics for each compass and map-reading class and assigned them to the co-presenters. It’s very structured. We go through the ‘crawl, walk, run’ phases.
"First, we teach in the classroom and get some hands-on, mainly with the maps. Then we’ll go outside and go through some exercises with the girls, utilizing the compass. The hour we have never seems to be enough, but we brief the basics and what’s important for each class.”
Another outstanding array of on- and off-campus presenters will lead the workshops, said Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, an MTSU chemistry professor and the director of EYH and the Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Center.
This includes a group of women from Smyrna-based Nissan North America. Four of them—warranty manager Ashley Gatlin, a mechanical engineer; safety department member Jennifer Kaufmann, a chemical engineer; manufacturing manager Lisa Haaser, whose specialty is statistics and probabilities; and safety engineer Allison Bailey — will provide a panel discussion for the high-school girls. Nissan’s Susan Arrington and Carlene Brown-Judkins will conduct a paper-airplane workshop for the middle-school girls, and Janet Bryan and Paige Mitchell will combine for “Heels and Wheels,” showing them how to build the floor of a vehicle.
Many volunteers will make the day go smoothly, Iriarte-Gross said.
Event sponsors include the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and its nine departments, the MTSU president’s and provost’s offices, the American Association of University Women’s Murfreesboro chapter, Schneider Electric; the WISTEM Center and the Nashville Section of the American Chemical Society.
For information, call 615-904-8253, e-mail jiriarte@mtsu.edu or visit www.mtsu.edu/eyh.

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Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

[112] Montgomery County Farm Joins Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

MONTGOMERY COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

Historic Collinsville Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—Historic Collinsville, located in Montgomery County, has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms Program at the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU.
The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years.
Agritourism is a growing trend on Tennessee farms as owners transition from some traditional crops to offer farming experiences and help visitors to understand the importance of farms historically and in our daily life. Historic Collinsville Farm is known today for its tours and agriculture education programs which attract school children and adults from May through October each year. Items on display vary from a loom to a trundle bed to the Blackhawk Corn Sheller invented by Clarksville resident A. H. Patch in the early 1900s. Students of all ages can learn about many aspects of family life in the nineteenth century. Owners Glenn and Joann Brown Weakley have been honored for their work and in 2009 received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Montgomery County Arts and Heritage Council.
This family farm was founded in 1899 by Isham Sidney Harris. Harris and his wife, Eunice Scott Harris, had one daughter, Martha Belle. The family raised corn, tobacco and wheat on their 86 acres of land. In 1950, at Isham’s death, the land went to Martha Belle and her husband, Ewing Sanford Weakley. At this time, the farm totaled 416 acres. Martha and Ewing had four children: Glenn H. Margaret Ann, Rebecca and Martha Ewing. They raised tobacco, corn, wheat, tobacco, hogs and beef cattle.
Glenn H. Weakley inherited the farm in 1970 and continues to work the farm of 413 acres to raise soybeans, corn, hay, wheat, tobacco and beef cattle. He and JoAnn live on the farm with their nephew, Michael Armistead, and their great-niece, Michael’s daughter, Mattie Armistead. The farm is named for the community, which was known as Collinsville as early as 1870 when the first post office opened. The name was changed to Southside in 1880 after confusion with the Collierville Post Office near Memphis which kept getting Collinsville mail. The Weakleys make use of several historic buildings to educate and entertain those who visit Historic Collinsville Farm. More information can be found at the Historic Collinsville website, www.historiccollinsville.com.
Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program.
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its website at www.tncenturyfarms.org.The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or 615-898-2947.


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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owner or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.



Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

[111] MTSU MSPS Earns TBR Academic Excellence Award

Release date: Sept. 23, 2010

News & Public Affairs contacts: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu
MSPS contact: Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, 615-494-7618 or sforouda@mtsu.edu

MTSU MSPS Earns TBR Academic Excellence Award


(MURFREESBORO) — At the Tennessee Board of Regents quarterly fall meeting today, the TBR Academic Excellence Award was presented to MTSU for its Master of Science in Professional Science program – the only one of its kind at a public university in Tennessee.
The award was presented by Paula Short, TBR’s vice chancellor for academic affairs, in Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, MSPS program director, accepted the award along with MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and Jim Monsor, an MSPS advisory board member and senior vice president of operations at Franklin, Tenn.-based BioMimetic Therapeutics Inc.
The MSPS combines 15 hours of master’s level business courses with 21 hours of concentration in biotechnology, biostatics or health care informatics. Each student also must complete a 250-hour internship.
This program has been held up by the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C. as a model for other programs. Nearly all graduates of this program have found employment within their fields.
Short said the award was presented to MTSU’s MSPS program “for its success in interfacing between science and business and establishing interdisciplinary connections to better articulate graduate education with state and national workforce needs.
“The MTSU program demonstrates that higher education can respond energetically and directly to employers’ demands for sophisticated science professionals with high-level scientific skills as business and management skills.”
For those attending the TBR meeting, Foroudastan shared about the MSPS program through a PowerPoint presentation. He also is associate dean for the College of Basic and Applied Sciences and faculty adviser for various student projects.
For more about the Master of Science in Professional Science program, please call 615-494-7618. Program offices are located in Jones Hall Room 158.

###

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.


MTSU will receive TBR’s Academic Excellence Award, Thursday, Sept. 23, at 1:30 p.m., in Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. The award will recognize the university’s Master’s of Science in Professional Science, the only program of its kind at a public university in Tennessee. The MSPS combines 15 hours of master’s-level business courses with 21 hours of concentration in biotechnology, biostatics or health care informatics. Each student must also complete a 250-hour inter

[108] This Week At MTSU

Sept. 21, 2010
THIS WEEK AT MTSU

→NPR’s Nina Totenberg will deliver a lecture in MTSU’s Tucker Theatre tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept. 22, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Ms. Totenberg will remain until 6:30 p.m. to meet and greet.
MEDIA WELCOME.

→MTSU will receive TBR’s Academic Excellence Award, Thursday, Sept. 23, at 1:30 p.m., in Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. The award will recognize the university’s Master’s of Science in Professional Science, the only program of its kind at a public university in Tennessee. The MSPS combines 15 hours of master’s-level business courses with 21 hours of concentration in biotechnology, biostatics or health care informatics. Each student must also complete a 250-hour internship. This program has been held up by the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C. as a model for other programs. Nearly all graduates of this program have found employment within their fields.
MEDIA WELCOME. (Come at noon to set up.)

→The Economic Outlook Conference, Friday, Sept. 24, will be held at the Murfreesboro Embassy Suites, with the welcome at 8:45 a.m. Thomas Skains, COB of Piedmont Natural Gas, will speak at 9 a.m. At 10:30 a.m., MTSU’s Dr. David Penn will discuss the mid-state/regional economic condition; and at noon, Dr. Don Ratajczak, nationally known economist and forecaster, will present his views on the economy. Also at noon, Stephen Smith, COB of Haury & Smith Contractors, Inc., and MTSU supporter, will receive the Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award.
MEDIA WELCOMED.

[107] MTSU Record Fall Enrollment of 26,430 Shows Nearly 5% Increase

Release date: Sept. 22, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Enrollment Services/Student Affairs contact: Dr. Deb Sells, 615-898-2440
or dsells@mtsu.edu

MTSU Record Fall Enrollment of 26,430 Shows Nearly 5% Increase


(MURFREESBORO) — MTSU’s tremendous growth pattern continues as yet another record number of students is taking regular and online courses this fall, Enrollment Services officials said Sept. 20.
MTSU’s total fall enrollment of 26,430 students registered is 1,242 more than were registered in 2009 – a 4.93 percent increase from the 25,188 students taking classes a year ago. The fall census data recently was submitted to the Tennessee Board of Regents.
“The large increase continues to reflect the outstanding academic programs available to students attending MTSU,” said Dr. Deb Sells, vice president for Student Affairs and vice provost for Enrollment Services.
“In addition to our quality academic programs,” Sells added, “we continue to hear from students and parents that they are also attracted to MTSU because of our small class sizes and individual attention that our students get from faculty and staff throughout the university.
There are a total of 23,401 undergraduates and 3,029 graduate students enrolled. Also, there are 6,447 students – 3,684 undergrads and 2,763 grad students – taking classes part time.
New records were set in the following categories: first-time freshmen (3,777); new transfers (2,254); total new undergrads (6,057); total new students (6,785); returning freshmen (1,960), juniors (4,038) and seniors (6,203); and others.
“The big improvement is in students crossing the junior and senior thresholds in much larger numbers (6.29 percent and 8.12 percent increases, respectively), which is a signal more students are getting closer to successfully graduating,” Sells said.
There also are more returning master’s candidates (1,572), more total returning grad students (1,976) and total returnees (17,938) than ever before, the information from the Office of Enrollment Technical Systems reveals.
Sells said another trend of note is that “our percentage of minority students continues to increase, with minorities making up 23.28 percent of the total student body – that’s an increase of a full percentage point over last year. African-American students make up 17.15 percent of our total enrollment, an increase of 12.65 percent over 2009.”
Crediting the entire campus, Sells said all are to be commended for the efforts that have led to these increases.
“The whole university — enrollment management staff, faculty and other administrators and staff — have worked overtime to help each student make a smooth and efficient transition to the university, improving every part of their experience from processing of admissions applications, to answering financial aid questions, to attending the CUSTOMS orientation program, to receiving quality academic advising,” she said.



MTSU Enrollment Comparisons
(Data submitted to Tennessee Board of Regents Sept. 17)

Fall 2009 Fall 2010 Difference

Total enrollment 25,188 26,430 1,242 (4.93%)

Undergraduate students 22,229 23,401 1,172
Graduate students 2,889 3,029 140

New students

First-time freshmen 3,596 3,777 181
New transfers 2,137 2,254 117
New undergraduate special 37 26 -11
Total new undergraduates 5,770 6,057 287
Total new graduate students 816 728 -88
Total new students 6,586 6,785 199

Returning students

Total undergraduates 15,135 15,962 827
Total graduate students 1,811 1,976 165
Total returnees 16,946 17,938 992

Freshmen 1,824 1,960 136
Sophomores 3,667 3,629 -38
Juniors 3,799 4,038 239
Seniors 5,737 6,203 466
Undergraduate special* 108 132 24

* — Currently enrolled high-school or gifted students taking courses for college credit



MTSU enrollment 2001-10

2010 – 26,430
2009 – 25,188
2008 – 23,872
2007 – 23,246
2006 – 22,863
2005 – 22,554
2004 – 22,322
2003 – 21,744
2002 – 21,163
2001 – 20,073

Source: MTSU Enrollment Services/Office of Enrollment Technical Systems

###

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

[106] MTSU, ASCAP Reaffirm 'Partners In Craft' Songwriting Program

FOR RELEASE: Sept. 22, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Professor Hal Newman, MTSU, 615-898-2949;
Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385

MTSU, ASCAP REAFFIRM ‘PARTNERS IN CRAFT’ SONGWRITING PROGRAM
Working with Industry Mentors Gives Students ‘Distinct Advantage’ in Careers

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry and the Nashville office of ASCAP are turning education into careers with a successful commercial-songwriting partnership, “Partners in Craft.”
The program, which began in 2006 at MTSU and matches veteran songwriting and publishing mentors with students majoring in commercial songwriting, will celebrate with a special gathering on Friday, Sept. 24.
Representatives from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and MTSU’s recording-industry program will toast the success of the partnership with a press conference at the fall 2010 mentors’ meeting at the ASCAP building at 2 Music Square West in Nashville at 2 p.m. Sept. 24.
Partners in Craft grew out of a long relationship between ASCAP and the Department of Recording Industry, said MTSU Assistant Professor Hal Newman. Talented students, in the past, would pass through the university’s internationally recognized program and set their own career paths. Partners in Craft, which led to the commercial-songwriting concentration for recording-industry majors in spring 2009, has provided networking and training opportunities as well as specialized courses tailored to students’ career goals.
Newman’s songwriting classes also are part of MTSU’s experiential-learning program, which merges classroom knowledge with real-world work environments.
“It’s really helped my classes learn, and it gives our students a distinct advantage,” said Newman, one of the creators of Partners in Craft and the coordinator of the department’s commercial-songwriting concentration. “We’re only in our fourth full semester of this program and we already have 53 student majors! We’ve had eight successful internships, and our ninth and 10th students have their songwriting internships this semester.
“I’m excited about working with the new team at ASCAP and very happy with the interest in the partnership and the efforts to maintain and strengthen our relationship.”
Several MTSU graduates already have found songwriting success; one of the most recent is Eric Paslay, whose internship at Cal IV Entertainment helped refine his songwriting abilities and turned into a publishing contract. The 2005 grad is close to signing a record deal with a major label and is now being booked by the William Morris Agency.
Tim DuBois, ASCAP Nashville’s new vice president and managing executive, is “very excited about our program,” Newman said, adding that the company recently put its new Creative Manager, Ryan Beuschel, in charge of coordinating the ASCAP end of Partners in Craft.
ASCAP continues to provide mentors to guide Partners in Craft students through the songwriting process. This semester’s commercial-songwriting mentors include producer-writer-artist-engineer Walt Aldridge, Greg Becker of Sony/Tree, Jon Nite of EMI, singer-songwriter Mando Saenz and MTSU alumnus Rich Karg, while the advanced-songwriting course mentors are Matthew Miller of Carnival Music, Freeman Wizer of Universal Music Publishing, MTSU alum B.J. Hill of Warner-Chappell Music, Sarah Johnson of Bug Music and Jesse Frassure of Major Bob Publishing.
ASCAP also hosts a showcase each semester, “Hot on the Row,” featuring MTSU student songwriters and attended by music-industry publishers hoping to sign their next stars.
The Department of Recording Industry, part of MTSU’s internationally recognized College of Mass Communication, is one of the largest and best equipped in the country. Undergraduate recording industry students choose between three concentrations: music business, audio production and commercial songwriting. The department now also offers a unique graduate program in recording arts and technologies. For more information about the department, visit http://recordingindustry.mtsu.edu.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.


###

ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you’d like to attend Friday’s event, or to arrange for a color JPEG from the event, please contact Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs via e-mail at gfann@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-5385.

Thanks!

[096] Overton County Farm Join Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

OVERTON COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

Full Circle Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Full Circle Farm, located in Overton County, has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU.
The Century Farm Program, established by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years.
Located northeast of Livingston near the Monroe post office, the farm was established in 1885 by James Young. His 150 acres of land included the Collum house, one of the earliest residences in the county, and was adjacent to the remains of Confederate Camp Meyers Zollicoffer. James and his wife, Malissa Beaty, had 11 children, born in both Fentress and Overton counties. They raised corn, tobacco, hay, cattle, pigs, chickens, and household food items.
In 1924, the daughter of James and Malissa, Nancy Elizabeth, or “Bess”, as she was affectionately called, inherited the family farm. She co-owned the farm with her brother, Robert Hugh, until his death in 1937. Nancy then sold half interest to two of her brothers, George Washington (Wash,) and George Henry. According to the family, “Nancy Elizabeth, was remembered as a “strong willed woman” and never married or had children, so the land passed to her brother’s heirs. Wash and his wife, Nola, had four children: Clara Veo, Ida Cleo, Herman Cecil and Howard Estel. During this generation’s ownership, the road from Monroe to Alpine was built though the farm. The house in which Wash and Nola lived was moved from the east side of the road to the west side. The family recalls that two children were born at each location.
Herman Cecil Young, grandson of the founders, served in the European theater during World War II. On returning home, he and his brother, Howard Estel, purchased 63 acres from their aunt, uncle, and father in 1946. Cecil and his wife, Esther, bought several buildings located in the flood plain created by the Dale Hollow Dam and used the materials to build their home. Many residents will remember that Cecil Young drove an Overton County school bus from the 1950s through the 1970s and farmed around his bus schedule.
In 2008, the great-grandson of the founders, James H. Young, became the owner of the property along with his wife, Brenda Carole McDonald Young. James is retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority and currently works at Oak Ridge at the Y-12 Security Complex. He is actively engaged in farm work and is a master beef producer with beef quality assurance certification. His son, Joshua Luther Young, is also involved in the farm’s operations and lives there with his wife, Karie Vettraino, and son, Christian James, the most recent member in the long line of the Young family to call the historic farm home.
Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program.
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its website at www.tncenturyfarms.org. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132 or 615-898-2947.

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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owner or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.


Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

[095] Gibson County Farm Join Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

GIBSON COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

Walker-Freeman-Bell Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Walker-Freeman-Bell Farm, located in Gibson County, has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU.
The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years.
Located two miles West of Brazil, Tennessee, is the Walker-Freeman-Bell Farm. This 103 year old farm was founded by James M. Walker in 1907, the same year he took Addie Williams Walker as his wife. Addie had been married previously to James’s younger brother, Pleasant T. Walker, and had three children by this marriage. James and Addie had three more children: Mamie, Eldon, and Jodie Belle.
James earned the $2,200 for the 89 acre farm by trapping and hunting in the Forked Deere Bottoms nearby. This outdoor life may have contributed to the death of James in 1911 when he died of pneumonia, leaving Addie to care for six children alone. Shortly after his death, the family home burned down. Fortunately, Addie had insurance and, with the help of her future son-in-law, Horace Cates, was able to rebuild a comfortable home, affectionately called the “Home Place” by the family.
Times remained difficult for Addie throughout her life; she often had to borrow money to pay her property taxes. With the help of family, friends, and neighbors such as George Peay, who also served as a Pastor at Old Beulah Baptist Church, she was able to keep possession of the farm to pass it on to future generations.
After Addie’s death in 1940, the farm went to her two daughters by James and to her granddaughter, Christine Walker, daughter of Eldon, who was deceased. Mamie and her husband, Eugene, purchased the shares from her brother and her niece in 1944. According to the family, ‘the farm had never been farmed with any consistency. Addie would rent it out or try to work it herself and it was never really productive.”
Under Eugene, the farm began to be more efficient as he raised cotton, corn, cattle, chicken, and hogs. A progressive farmer, Eugene practiced crop rotation and good conservation of the land. The farm prospered and the family became almost self-sufficient during these years, living off the land. In 1990s, Eugene tore down the old log home to make more fertile cropland. The only remains of the house are two Cedar trees that were scarred by the fire that destroyed the original home.
Eugene passed away in 2001 and the farm was left to his and Mamie’s three children, Peggy Bell, Ann Hopkins, and George Freeman. Peggy and her husband Robert bought her siblings’ shares and continue to operate the farm raising cotton, corn, soybeans, and wheat.
Peggy says, “It gives me joy to think about how God has blessed our family through the good and bad times with this small farm. I pray that my children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews will continue to own and cherish this land for another one hundred years.”
Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program.
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its website at www.tncenturyfarms.org. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132 or 615-898-2947.

• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owner or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.



- 30 -

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

[105] 3 MTSU June Grads Earn Prestigious ODK Scholarships

Release date: Sept. 21, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Honors College contact: Dr. John Vile, 615-898-2152 or jvile@mtsu.edu@mtsu.edu

3 MTSU June Grads Earn Prestigious ODK Scholarships
Gray, Holmes, Murphy Are Among 20 Nationally to Gain Honor

(MURFREESBORO) — Three MTSU June graduates are among 20 students nationally who received $1,000 Foundation Scholarships from the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society for graduate study.
Two of the students, Merranda Holmes of McMinnville and Shannon Murphy of Murfreesboro, are 2010 University Honors College biology graduates who are now attending medical school at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City.
The third recipient, Jasmine “Jaz” Gray, is a 2010 journalism honors graduate from Memphis. She is attending graduate school at Syracuse University in New York.
All three students were founding members of MTSU’s ODK Chapter, said Dr. John Vile, dean of the Honors College.
Holmes and Murphy served respectively as vice president and secretary of the MTSU Circle of ODK, which gained a charter from the national headquarters in May. The organization, founded at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., in 1914, recognizes students who have excelled in scholarship and leadership.
Vile observes that it is especially heartening that ODK chose to give awards to students from a recently inaugurated chapter. He said that MTSU students are becoming increasingly competitive for national scholarships. A spokeswoman at the national ODK headquarters noted that it was highly unusual for a single university to have both three applicants and three winners for this prestigious award.
Gray wrote her honors thesis in journalism under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Woodard, assistant professor in electronic media communication. While a student at MTSU, Gray traveled to Ghana and to China, and was part of the McNair Scholars Program. She was named to USA Today’s Academic first team earlier, and was one of 20 students featured in the June 9 issue of the newspaper. Gray received MTSU’s Public Service Award in 2009 and the President’s Award in 2010 in part for her work in collecting pajamas for children in hospitals.
Gray received a two-year, $102,000 journalism fellowship from Syracuse and $2,500 for the USA Today honor.
Both Holmes and Murphy wrote honors theses under the guidance of biology Professor Stephen Wright, they made poster presentations in Nashville and Washington, D.C., and presented a paper before the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego in June.
Holmes received a $5,000 scholarship from Phi Kappa Phi, another honor society on campus, and Murphy won the 2010 Provost’s Award and received prior honorable mentions from the Goldwater Scholarship Committee and the USA Today All-Academic Team.

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Media note: A high-resolution jpeg photo of May graduates Shannon Murphy, Merranda Holmes and Jasmine Gray is available. To obtain, please contact Randy Weiler in MTSU News and Public Affairs by calling 615-898-5616 or e-mail jweiler@mtsu.edu.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree — the only one in Tennessee — as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

Monday, September 20, 2010

[104] Dyslexia Forum Set To Raise Awareness For Parents, Teachers

Sept. 17, 2010
Contact: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919
Janet Camp, 615-896-5987

Dyslexia forum set to raise awareness for parents, teachers

MURFREESBORO—A free information forum will be held on the subject of dyslexia on Thursday, Oct. 14, from 6:25 to 8 p.m. in the Linebaugh Library in Murfreesboro. The session is especially targeted to teachers, parents and others who have an interest in this reading disability that afflicts 15 percent of the population.
A panel composed of local teachers and school psychologists, as well as staff from MTSU’s psychology department and Tennessee Center for Study and Treatment of Dyslexia will provide valuable information and answer questions. Participants will also receive literature.
The event, promoting October as Dyslexia Awareness Month, is being sponsored by the Tennessee Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, Linebaugh Library, Read to Succeed, and the MTSU dyslexia center. Free parking will be available in the garage under the library at 105 W. Vine Street.
Research shows that a person with dyslexia has at least average intelligence and good language comprehension skills; however, he or she needs help in reading, spelling and putting thoughts in writing. Dyslexia is inherited and can be mild or severe. Using the 15 percent figure, approximately 7,000 of the 46,200 students in Rutherford County and the City of Murfreesboro schools have some form of the disorder.
For more information about the forum, contact Janet Camp at 615-896-5987. Visit http://dyslexia.mtsu.edu and www.tnida.org.

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[103] MTSU Faculty Trio Plan Free Sept. 27 Concert

MTSU FACULTY TRIO PLAN FREE SEPT. 27 CONCERT
Event in Hinton Hall to Feature European Folk, Dance, Blues Tunes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 20, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Tim Musselman, 615-898-2493

(MURFREESBORO)—An MTSU faculty trio featuring Andrea Dawson on violin, Todd Waldecker on clarinet and Arunesh Nadgir on piano will present a free public concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 27, in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building at MTSU.
"We're presenting a concert blend of rustic Armenian folk music, Polish dances, French blues and witty Gershwin,” said Waldecker. "We are excited to perform with our new faculty colleague (Nadgir), and we have enjoyed putting together this program of chamber and solo selections.”
Waldecker said the group will play Aram Khatchaturian's folk-influenced “Trio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano,” Witold Lutoslawski's “Dance Preludes for Clarinet and Piano,” Frédéric Chopin's “Impromptu No. 2 in F# Major” for solo piano, Maurice Ravel’s “Blues from Sonata for Violin and Piano,” Peter Schickele's “Serenade for Three” and George Gershwin's “Walking the Dog.”
The special performance is, as always, free and open to the public.
Dawson joined the MTSU music faculty as assistant professor of violin in 2007 and the faculty of the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts in 2008. She is a member of the Stones River Chamber Players and Belle Meade Baroque and has been a featured chamber musician on WPLN-Nashville Public Radio. She has also performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Mexico.
Waldecker is an associate professor in the School of Music and was a recipient of the 2006 MTSU Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award. He’s also a faculty member for the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts and has performed by invitation as a featured soloist at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest 2008 and 2010 and at the University of Oklahoma Clarinet Symposium. As a member of the Stones River Chamber Players, MTSU’s faculty-in-residence ensemble, he has performed throughout the United States and Europe and at conventions of the National Flute Association and the Guitar Federation of America.
Nadgir, the new assistant professor of piano at MTSU, has performed as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe and Asia and at many international music festivals, including the Millennium International Piano Festival, the Moulin d’Ande Festival and the Kneisel Hall Summer Music Festival. An accomplished teacher, adgir has taught at the Eastman School of Music, New England Conservatory’s Preparatory and Continuing Education Departments, The Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and the Palisades School of Music.
For more information on this and other concerts by the MTSU School of Music, please call 615-898-2493 or visit www.mtsumusic.com.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

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IN BRIEF: An MTSU faculty trio featuring Andrea Dawson on violin, Todd Waldecker on clarinet and Arunesh Nadgir on piano will present a free public concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 27, in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building at MTSU. The performance will feature a concert blend of rustic Armenian folk music, Polish dances, French blues and witty Gershwin and is, as always, free and open to the public. For more information on this concert, please call 615-898-2493 or visit www.mtsumusic.com.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color JPEG of the trio, please contact Tim Musselman via e-mail at tmusselm@mtsu.edu.

Thanks!

[102] MTSU Trombonist Plans Free Faculty Recital Sept. 26

MTSU TROMBONIST PLANS FREE FACULTY RECITAL SEPT. 26
Event in Hinton Hall to Feature 5 Selections

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 20, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Tim Musselman, 615-898-2493

(MURFREESBORO)—David Loucky, professor of trombone and euphonium at MTSU, will present a free public trombone recital at 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus.
“The program consists of five selections, mostly by American composers, and all dating from the third quarter of the 20th century,” said Loucky.
Loucky will perform “Elegy for Mippy” by Leonard Bernstein, “Colloquy” by William Goldstein, “Serenade No. 6” by Vincent Persichetti, “Images” by Gary C. White and “Concerto” by Nino Rota.
“’Elegy for Mippy’ is a short little theater piece written in memory of Bernstein’s brother’s dog,” said Loucky. “I’ve performed this piece many times and never get tired of Bernstein’s melancholy jazz feel. For an elegy, it’s a pretty humorous piece.”
Loucky describes Goldstein’s “Colloquy” as a “rollicking solo” and says the influences of Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland are easy to hear in it. Faculty pianist Sandra Arndt will join him in this solo.
“I’m particularly eager to perform (Persichetti’s) “Serenade” for trombone, viola and cello,” Loucky said of his program’s next selection. His daughter, Tyler Loucky, and MTSU faculty member Andrea Dawson will join him on “Serenade” on cello and viola, respectively.
“Tyler and I have performed this lovely piece on two other occasions, and we never grow tired of it, said Loucky. “ I’m also excited to have a chance to work with Andrea in a small chamber-music context and to appreciate her amazing musicianship on viola, her secondary instrument.”
Loucky says that a trio of trombones from the Nashville area will join him on “Images”: Barry Green, Roy Agee and Prentiss Hobbs. To finish out the program, Arndt will rejoin Loucky for Rota’s “Concerto.”
The Sept. 26 performance is free and open to the public. For more information, call 615-898-2493 or visit www.mtsumusic.com.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

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IN BRIEF: David Loucky, professor of trombone and euphonium at MTSU, will present a free public trombone recital at 7 p.m. Sept. 26, in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. “The program consists of five selections, mostly by American composers, and all dating from the third quarter of the 20th century,” said Loucky. For more information on this concert, please call 615-898-2493 or visit www.mtsumusic.com.

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.


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Friday, September 17, 2010

[101] MTSU Honors College Hosts Sept. 23 Lecture by Afacan on Civil-Military Relations in Turkey

Release date: Sept. 17, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Honors College contact: Dr. John Vile, 615-898-2152 or jvile@mtsu.edu

MTSU Honors College Hosts Sept. 23 Lecture
by Afacan on Civil-Military Relations in Turkey


(MURFREESBORO) — The University Honors College at MTSU will be hosting a lecture by Isa Afacan on “Civil-Military Relations and Democratization in Turkey” from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23, in the Honors Amphitheatre, Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building.
The lecture is free and open to students, faculty, staff and the general public.
Afacan is the director of Academic Affairs at the Istanbul Center in Atlanta, where he has been a liaison between visiting dignitaries from Turkey and state and local officials.
Afacan is a doctorial candidate in the School of International and Public Affairs at Florida International University, where he taught international affairs for three years. He is working on his dissertation on Turkish-American foreign relations in the post-Cold War era.
The speech is being co-sponsored by the Society of University Dialogue, the Istanbul Center and the Honors College.
Dr. John R. Vile, dean of the Honors College and a recent visitor to Turkey, observes that although Turkey is a leading democratic Muslim nation, the military has in the past sometimes intervened in politics to preserve the separation of church and state.
“The ongoing relationship between military and civilian authorities is thus critical to the future of the country and possibly to the region as a whole,” Vile said.
Afacan should have time to answer questions from audience members.

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Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

[100] New MTSU Minor Examines Global Communication Issues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 17, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

NEW MTSU MINOR EXAMINES GLOBAL COMMUNCIATION ISSUES
Different Cultural Takes on Different Media and Messages Provide New Insights

(MURFREESBORO) – As technological developments revolutionize communication with unprecedented speed, MTSU is offering a new International Media Studies minor beginning in the current fall semester.
This study track is designed to provide students with an understanding of how various types of media are used around the world. It will offer textual analyses of media messages and audience interpretations, including insight through audience ethnographics.
Dr. Richard Pace, professor of anthropology, helped develop the minor with Dr. Robert Spires, professor of electronic media communication. The minor includes classes from both disciplines, as well as foreign languages and sociology.
Pace, who has been conducting research in the Amazon River region of Brazil since 1981, says the small community of rubber tappers with whom he is familiar only recently became able to gain access to the Internet.
“You have some that embrace it and immediately use it within their own culture context,” says Pace. “We see that with video, for example. Many indigenous groups will take it and record their cultural heritage or certain political messages like preservation of land or lifestyles and then spread that around to other indigenous communities.”
Then again, Pace notes, some groups are resistant to new media because they don’t want its impact to interfere with their cultural values.
Another intriguing aspect of this minor is its potential for the examination of political media through various cultural lenses.
“We’re very much interested in the ideological messages of media,” says Pace. “Regardless of your political system, media will be used by the nation-state to try to basically create good citizens. It’s not always successful, and it’s not always done in a systematic way.”
Of course, since journalism is a conduit for much global communication, the ways in which different cultures report and perceive newsworthy events is of interest.
“Journalism becomes very cultural, very political, very ideological when you put it within this context,” says Pace.
In entertainment media, including movies and television, American exports are very popular overseas. However, in this country, with a few exceptions, imported movies and TV shows don’t seem to get as much traction. Pace says it’s a matter of volume. The United States simply produces more movies and TV shows.

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“The same thing will happen once they have enough of their own domestically produced products,” says Pace of the global entertainment market. “The problem is if you don’t have enough in your own language, if your industry’s not producing as much material, then you import and you dub.”
No media will go ignored in this minor. Even graffiti is fair game. In some cultures, it’s considered art. In other cultures, it’s considered vandalism.
“We look at how it is perceived, how it is produced and how it is consumed in all these different contexts, and that’s what makes it a very interesting study,” says Pace.
Some of the courses that can be taken for successful completion of the minor include Global News and World Media Cultures, Media and Emotions in Global Perspective, Anthropology of Music, Topics in French Film and Cultural Images of Gender.
Students who pursue the International Media Studies minor must complete 15 semester hours. The core course required is Cross-Cultural Media Studies. An additional 12 hours of electives are required from among courses in at least two disciplines.
For more information about the International Media Studies minor, contact Pace at 615-904-8058 or rpace@mtsu.edu.


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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.

[099] Middle Tennessee State University Recognized as Phi Kappa Phi Chapter of Excellence

Sept. 16, 2010
Contact: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919

Middle Tennessee State University Recognized as Phi Kappa Phi Chapter of Excellence

MURFREESBORO—The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi recently recognized the campus chapter at Middle Tennessee State University as a Chapter of Excellence.
MTSU received the award at the organization’s national biennial convention last month in Kansas City, Mo., for its efforts in recognizing and promoting academic excellence in all fields of higher education and engaging the community of scholars in service to others.
“Those chapters that have earned Chapter of Excellence status are led by committed officers who give generously of their time and talent to honor outstanding students,” said Perry A. Snyder, the Society’s executive director. He added, “Officers of award-winning chapters live out their personal commitment to honor and excellence through Phi Kappa Phi.”
By receiving the Chapter of Excellence distinction, Middle Tennessee State University’s chapter is being recognized as a thriving organization that meets frequently, holds annual initiations and applies frequently for Phi Kappa Phi’s select scholarships, grants, and fellowships. The Chapter of Excellence Award includes:
• a citation from the Society president
• a commendation letter sent to chapter officers and campus administration
• special recognition on Society Web site, publications and at Phi Kappa Phi’s National Convention
• specially designed logo for use in chapter communications
• $500 award

“This is really a prestigious honor for MTSU and for its Phi Kappa Phi chapter,” said MTSU Honors Dean Dr. John Vile, PKP board member and past president. “This is just one of a number of awards that MTSU organizations, students and faculty have earned over the past year. MTSU has consistently nominated students who have won scholarships from Phi Kappa Phi, and this recognition signifies that accomplishment.”
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More about Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society. Phi Kappa Phi inducts annually approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

[098] Belmont's Littlejohn to Present Sept. 20 MTSU Honors Lecture

Release date: Sept. 16, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Honors College contact: Dr. Scott Carnicom, 615-898-2152 or carnicom@mtsu.edu

Belmont’s Littlejohn to Present Sept. 20 MTSU Honors Lecture


(MURFREESBORO) — Dr. Ronnie Littlejohn, chair of the Department of Philosophy and director of Asian Studies at Nashville’s Belmont University, will present the third of nine presentations in the fall 2010 Honors Lecture Series at MTSU.
Littlejohn’s topic will be “New Confucian Political Theory.” The nearly one-hour lecture, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20, in Room 106 (amphitheatre) in the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building.
The fall series is titled “China: The Middle Kingdom in the Modern World.”
According to the Belmont philosophy department website, Littlejohn’s current work is in comparative philosophy, especially classical Confucianism and Daoism. He has many teaching awards to his credit, including the Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching presented by the International Conference on Teaching and Learning in 2003.
The Confucius Institute at MTSU cosponsors this fall’s Honors Lecture Series.
For more information about the lecture series or the University Honors College, call 615-898-2152 or visit mtsu.edu/honors/ online.

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Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree — the only one in Tennessee — as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

[094] Dickson County Farm Join Ranks of State's Century Farms Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 14, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947

DICKSON COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Piney River Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Piney River Farm, located in Dickson County, has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms Program at the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University.
In 1900, nearly 100 years after Dickson County was founded, Mont Donegan purchased a farm of 97 acres along the Piney River, an important water source in the county. In addition to serving the many domestic needs of residents, including providing a food source, rivers in Dickson County and other areas along the Highland Rim were sources of energy for the iron industry.
Mont and his wife, Nancy, were the parents of six children. Their youngest son, Clint, purchased 218 acres of his parents’ land in 1934 and continued to raise familiar crops and livestock. Clint’s family included his wife, Hallie Davidson, and two daughters, Nancy and Montie Sue. After 50 years of ownership by Clint, the farm passed to Nancy in 1986. Nancy and her husband, Oscar Glenn Petty, continued to raise corn, hay and cattle as her parents and grandparents had, although they no longer raised hogs and mules. Oscar and Nancy had three children: Michael, Timothy and Patrick.
In 2000, 100 years after the farm was established, the great-grandchildren of the founders acquired the land. Mike, Tim and Pat, with their wives Andrea, Gina and Rhea, continue to work the land. The three brothers are partners in the Petty Family Limited Partnership, established in 2000. The farm operation currently consists of beef cattle and 200 acres of hay and pasture land. Many of the farm’s original buildings, including the house, livestock barn, smokehouse, chicken house and corn crib, remain on the property.

The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned, and kept in production family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in the important work of documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150, or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production,” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years, must produce $1,000 revenue in the year of certification, must have at least 10 acres of the original farm and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,500 Century Farms across the state. “The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” says Hankins, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, are immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its website at www.tncenturyfarms.org. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132 or at 615-898-2947.

- 30 –


• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owner or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.


With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

[093] MTeach Plans Sept. 22 Open House for Campus, Public

Release date: Sept. 15, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
MTeach contact: Leigh Gostowski, 615-898-5786 or gostowsk@mtsu.edu

MTeach Plans Sept. 22 Open House for Campus, Public


(MURFREESBORO) — Leaders of the first-year MTeach program want to introduce themselves to campus and community, and plan to do so with an open house.
The MTeach open house will be held Wednesday, Sept. 22, from 3 to 4:30 p.m., in Room 123 of the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building, said Program Coordinator Leigh Gostowski.
The event is open to the entire MTSU community and general public.
“The open house is intended to introduce the university community, including students, and public to the MTeach program, let them see where we are located and meet the staff,” Gostowski said. “We will have MTeach students on hand, demonstrating science and math activities that represent best practices in inquiry education.”
Master Teacher Sally Millsap joined the MTeach staff this summer. Dr. Amy Phelps, a professor in the chemistry department, serves as co-director.
Last fall, the university received a five-year, $1.925 million grant to launch MTeach, a replicate of the nationally known UTeach program started at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997.
When the program was announced, Dr. Tom Cheatham, dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, said UTeach “fundamentally changes the way high-school math and science teachers are trained. UTeach recruits strong math and science majors with a chance to try out teaching for free through two, one-credit freshman courses that help the college student prepare and deliver an active-learning lesson for elementary and middle-school students. UTeach supports deep content knowledge and early and often engagement of future teachers in K-12 classrooms.
MTeach is a partnership between the Colleges of Education and Basic and Applied Sciences.
It’s possible that Cheatham and Lana Seivers, dean of the College of Education, and education associate dean and MTeach co-director Dr. Phil Waldrop will share remarks during the open house, Gostowski said. Waldrop played a major role in the establishment of the MTeach program at MTSU.


###

Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree — the only one in Tennessee — as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

[092] Sept. 23 Ag Field Day Touts New Dairy, Farm's Growth

Release date: Sept. 15, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
School of Agribusiness and Agriscience contact: Dr. Warren Gill, 615-898-2523 or wgill@mtsu.edu

Sept. 23 Ag Field Day Touts New Dairy, Farm’s Growth


(MURFREESBORO) — An update on the new dairy and other livestock projects will help jump-start the MTSU School of Agribusiness and Agriscience’s third annual Ag Field Day.
The event, which will be held at the university’s agricultural laboratory farm at 3001 Guy James Road, is set for Thursday, Sept. 23, from 4 to 7 p.m.
A meal will be served at 6 p.m. The MTSU community and general public are invited, but reservations are required so event planners can have a head count for the meal. Please call 615-898-2523 to register or for more information.
“It’s an exciting time in the life of the MTSU ag program,” said Dr. Warren Gill, the school’s director. “We want to share what’s happening with as many of our supporters and area farmers as we can.”
The new dairy and livestock projects update by Gill and Tim Redd, Farm Lab manager, will be followed by a report on what’s taking place with student gardens, nursery, farmer’s market and new strawberry project, Gill said.
John Hood, director of community elations and government for MTSU’s Division of Development and University Relations and a former state representative, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Commissioner Ken Givens of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture plans to attend, Gill said, adding that state for the program – nearly $70,000 to date – is expected to increase by nearly $40,000 next year.
The state department’s Tennessee Ag Enhancement Program will be featured at the event, Gill said.
Beginning at 5 p.m., tours will include:
• garden, nursery and compost, led by Drs. Nate Phillips and Warren Anderson and MTSU students;
• switchgrass, bluestem and alfalfa fields, led by Patrick Keyser of the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and UT Extension Agent Mitchell Mote, along with Redd, Danny Troup and their farm-lab students;
• the geothermal vegetable cooler, vegetable-processing and honey- processing, led by Phillips and students; and
• beehives, led by Ed Holcombe.
As of Sept. 3, event sponsors include Rutherford Farm Bureau, Farm Credit Services, CPC Commodities, Cargill/Nutrena, Boehringer Ingelheim, TriGreen Equipment (John Deere), Rutherford Farmers Co-Op, Precision Air Inc., Intervet Schering-Plough and Hooper Supply.
The ag program is one of nine College of Basic and Applied Sciences departments.

###

Media welcomed.

Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree—the only one in Tennessee—as a model program. This fall, MTSU unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.

[091] Sept. 25, Oct. 30 MTSU Fall Preview Days Showcase Campus

Release date: Sept. 14, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Admissions contact: Dr. Michelle Arnold, 615-898-5280 or marnold@mtsu.edu

Sept. 25, Oct. 30 MTSU Fall Preview Days Showcase Campus


(MURFREESBORO) — Fall Preview Days will be held at MTSU on Saturday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 30, said Dr. Michelle Arnold, associate director in the MTSU Office of Admissions.
“This event is open to prospective new and transfer students and their parents,” Arnold said.
Guests will begin arriving at the Student Health, Wellness and Recreation Center by 9 a.m. both preview days, she said, adding that the first tour will depart the building no later than 9:15. Light refreshments will be provided for guests upon arrival in the Rec Center lobby.
Special guests should come to the center to check in for their tour, which generally includes stops at Walker Library, the John Bragg Mass Communication Building, Business and Aerospace Building, Keathley University Center and one of the residence halls.
After the tour, visitors will return to the Rec Center and participate in an academic open house, where representatives from the Admissions Office, the academic colleges, Financial Aid, Housing and Residential Life, Transfer Student Services and Student Programming will be available to answer questions and provide insightful information about all that MTSU has to offer, Arnold said.
Those interested in attending a Fall Preview Day must register online at www.mtsu.edu/admissn, then click on “Special Events.”
Daily tours are conducted at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday through Dec. 8, except during fall break (Oct. 15 and Oct. 18-19) and Thanksgiving (Nov. 24-26).
The Fall Preview Days will be the first for David Cicotello, who officially joined MTSU as associate vice provost for admissions and enrollment services on Sept. 7.
For more information about tours and Fall Preview Days, please call 615-898-2111.

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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.

[090] K-12 Teachers' Fall Webcasts Feature Live Audiences

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Instructional Technology Support Center contact: Dr. Connie Schmidt, 615-898-5191 or cschmidt@mtsu.edu

K-12 Teachers’ Fall Webcasts Feature Live Audiences


(MURFREESBORO) — This fall’s Satellite and Webcasting Center at MTSU’s series of television programs for kindergarten through 12th-grade teachers has a new side benefit: MTSU students, faculty and staff are invited to attend as part of a live studio audience.
All of the one-hour programs, which air at starting at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, will be presented in McWherter Learning Resources Center Room 101T, which is located on the mezzanine level above the LRC computer lab.
Following two programming overview shows last week, the third and fourth teachers’ programs will air today and Thursday, Sept. 14. Amy Zeller, speech-language pathologist from the Vanderbilt Voice Center, will lead Thursday’s show that is titled “Vocal Care for Teachers: Strategies to Maintain Optimal Vocal Health.”
“Many faculty offer participation in these programs to their students as extra credit or enrichment opportunities,” said Dr. Connie Schmidt, director of the Instructional Technology Support Center. “All of the programs are appropriate for preservice teachers. Some are appropriate for social work and counseling faculty and students.
“We have one program on vocal care that speech students will find particularly interesting. Many of our program topics are of interest to a general audience.”
Audience participants are asked to register in advance with Jenny Marsh by calling 615-898-2737 or e-mail vmoxley@mtsu.edu. Seating is limited to 32 people.
Teachers’ shows will air on the following Thursdays this fall: Sept. 16, 23 and 30; Oct. Oct. 14, 21 and 28; and Nov. 2, Nov. 4, 11 and 18. In addition to today, other Tuesday airings will be Oct. 12 and Nov. 2 and 9.
A list of the teachers’ programs can be found online at http://itsc3.fsa.mtsu.edu/itsc/, then click on “K-12 Webcasting.”
The extremely popular programs for K-12 students resume Tuesday, Sept. 21, with “The Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay. Andrea Steele, educator for Teacher and School Programs for the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, will be the presenter.
Other live student program dates include Oct. 12, 14 and 26; Nov. 9, 16 and 18; and Dec. 16. All live shows start at 9 a.m. CT. The Oct. 19 and Nov. 2 programs, which also air at 9 a.m. CT will be prerecorded.
The Oct. 14, Nov. 18 and Dec. 16 shows are Colonial Williamsburg electronic field trips, which are live, interactive programs produced by Colonial Williamsburg.
Cable television for Murfreesboro and Rutherford County (Live on ERC/MTSU Channel 9), Nashville (Metro Nashville IQTV20) and Huntsville, Ala. (ETV Channel 9), air the programs.
The programs can be viewed at a number of satellite sites – elementary, middle and high schools – across Middle Tennessee. Sites also include schools in Church Hill, Greeneville, Madisonville, Crossville, New Johnsonville and Dyersburg.
Contact Schmidt at 615-898-2560 or e-mail cschmidt@mtsu.edu for more information about the programs or to be considered as a new satellite site.

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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree.

For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.

[089] Lincoln County Farm Joins Ranks Of State's Century Farms Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947


LINCOLN COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Templeton Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)—The Templeton Farm, located in Lincoln County, has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the Middle Tennessee State University campus.

In October 1833, James R. Pitts, who was born in South Carolina in 1784, purchased a farm of 231 acres for the sum of $1300 southwest of Fayetteville in 1809, near what is now called Molino Creek. Pitts and fellow South Carolinian Rachel Young, who were married in 1809, had 16 children. No doubt, the Pittses raised a variety of crops and livestock to sustain the large family. James and Rachel are buried in the family cemetery, which is still owned by the family today.

Their 12th child,Isaac Russell Pitts, inherited 69 acres of land after his father died in 1862. First married to Rebecca N. Ashby in 1852, he married Elvira Reese after Rebecca’s death in 1853. Isaac and Elvira were the parents of eight children. When Isaac died in 1868, Elvira carried on the farm’s operations until her death 20 years later in 1888. During this time, the land had been cleared and much of the land was suitable for crops. According to the family, the largest section of good farmland was 14 acres which also contains the family cemetery. Isaac and Elvira are buried alongside his parents. Realizing the importance of this historic burial ground, the family keeps the cemetery, with its original wrought-iron fence, in good condition.

In 1888, Elizabeth Pitts, granddaughter of the founders and daughter of Isaac and Elvira, inherited 96 acres of the farm. She and her husband, Rufus Templeton, had six children and raised hogs, milk cows, mules, turkeys, honeybees and chickens and also had an orchard. According to the family, Birdie, a daughter born to Rufus and Elizabeth in 1891, remembered “a time when the mules were being led from the field, hot and sweaty, and as they passed the beehives, the bees swarmed, stinging them, and they took off out of control.” Today, a single pear tree remains from the orchard, but the family still enjoys the fruit it bears nearly every year.

The fourth-generation owner was Walker Cowan Templeton, who acquired the land in the early 1900s. He and his wife, Minnie, raised six children. During this time, tenant farmers also worked and lived on the property. Mules were a main source of power for almost all farm operations. “Walker had four big stout boys, so he would buy unbroken mule colts and put each boy with a team of colts to break, then he would sell them and give the boys another team to break” Walker was forced to keep the boys out of school to do the work, and two of his sons, Ralph and Malcolm, dropped out of high school after two years. Conrad did not want to drop out and attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

The current owner of the farm likes to tell this story of his uncle Conrad: “Although he had never played football or any other kind of school sports, things changed for him at UT. . . He was walking across campus to his job when the football coach noticed his build and asked if he had played football in school. Conrad answered that he didn’t know anything about football. But one thing led to another, and Uncle Conrad went out for football and became not only a football star but starred also in wrestling and boxing.” Conrad served in the U.S. Army during World War II and achieved the rank of colonel. He then taught agriculture for 30 years in Springfield, Tenn., and in his spare time bought and restored to production 10 “run-down” farms.

Malcolm Templeton inherited the land in 1943 after the death of his father. He and his wife, Margaret Josephine, had three children: Betty Jane, Malcolm Don and Ray Morris. They raised beef cattle, milk cattle, hogs, corn, wheat, cotton and hay. Aside from farming, Malcolm was a member of the Farm Bureau from the 1930s until his death in 1988. He also worked for the state of Tennessee and at the local stockyard. Josephine worked as a homemaker, keeping the garden, and going to town “once or twice a month.” Betty and Ray chose to leave the farm. Don, after marrying and being stationed in New Mexico during his service in the Army, returned to the farm.

Don and his wife, Emma Gene Jennings, have four children. They and their daughter, Sherry Templeton Bartlett, and her children are the three generations living on the farm today. They own 328 acres, 69 of which are from the original farm founded by James R. Pitts. The family raises corn, cotton, hay, beef cattle, honeybees and horses.

Don writes, “Although times had changed, requiring outside jobs to make a living, my heart and soul have always been at home on the farm.” Active in many cattle and horse associations, Don was a Farm Bureau director. He also worked for Borden and Kraft making Swiss and cottage cheese, as a state honey bee inspector and as a substitute mail carrier. He also writes, “In recent years, a big portion of my time and energy has been beekeeping. I’ve always said my two years as state bee inspector was my ‘Ph D. in beekeeping.’” Gene Jennings and her mother-in-law were members of the Molino Home Demonstration Club for many years. Keeping in the family tradition, Don and Gene kept their children busy on the farm where “they’ve learned the value of hard work.” In closing, Don writes, “I’m very proud of our farming heritage and that my ancestors wanted to continue the legacy. Now that I’m getting older, I’m thankful that my children want to keep our farm in the family.”

The Century Farm Program recognizes the contributions of Tennessee residents who have continuously owned and kept in production, family land for at least 100 years. Since 1984, the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU has been a leader in documenting Tennessee’s agricultural heritage and history through the Tennessee Century Farm Program.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150, or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production,” to Century Farm families.

To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years, must produce $1,000 revenue annually, must have at least 10 acres of the original farm, and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state’s 95 counties. “The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” says Hankins, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, are immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”

For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its website at www.tncenturyfarms.org. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132 or 615-898-2947.


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