FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 25, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
SMITH COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
116-Year-Old Allen Dairy Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Allen Dairy Farm in Smith County recently was designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
While Tennessee once had many dairies, only a few remain in operation across the state now, Hankins, who observed, “The Allen Dairy Farm located near Dixon Springs continues the tradition.”
According to CHP records, the family farm was founded in 1891 when William Henry Cox purchased 40 acres. Married to Elizabeth Derrickson Cox, the couple had three sons, William Hershel, Sam Wilson, and Edgar, and raised corn, tobacco, cattle and other small livestock on the acreage. Over the years William purchased additional land from surrounding neighbors.
In addition to managing the farm, William was a salesman for 36 years for Phillips and Buttorff Manufacturing Company. In his 1919 obituary, the following was noted: “It would be hard to find a man having more and stauncher friends and fewer enemies.”
The next owners of the land were the founding couple’s sons, William Hershel and Sam Wilson Cox. Sam wed Lois Estelle Rickles, and they had two children, William Henry and Elizabeth Lois. During World War II, the farm was used for training maneuvers for United States soldiers. Ironically, William Henry Cox, a sergeant in the
U. S. Air Force, died in Germany in 1943.
In 1960, Elizabeth Lois Cox Allen, the granddaughter of William Henry Cox, acquired the farm. Elizabeth married Wyatt Wilson Allen; they had two children, Wyatt Wilson Allen Jr. and Sam Wilson Allen. During her ownership, Wyatt and his son, Sam, managed the farm and raised beef and dairy cattle, hogs, corn and tobacco. Sam was named “American Farmer” in 1960 for his FFA work. In 1962, Sam started the Allen Dairy. In the 1970s, TVA acquired 10 acres of the farm for a nuclear power plant.
In 1983, the great-grandson of the founder, Sam Allen became the owner of the property. Today, he and wife Gwen live on the farm, along with their sons, William “Bill” Wilson Allen and Sam Robert Allen and their families. The three generations include Bill, wife Teresa and their children, Amber and Andrew, and Sam Robert and his wife, Michelle, and their children, Kristen and Ryan. The children and grandchildren have raised registered cattle and sheep for 4-H projects and shows.
Sam W. and son Bill operate a Grade-A Dairy and raise hay and sheep. The farm contains a large spring that is beside Dixon Creek that runs into the Cumberland River.
“Many people have enjoyed camping, hunting and fishing on the farm,” Hankins said, “and the hospitality of the Cox and Allen families for 116 years.”
Moreover, she added, the Allen Dairy Farm is one of a select number of Tennessee dairy farms certified as a Century Farm.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or to request jpegs of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
Friday, May 25, 2007
386 CLAIBORNE COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 25, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
CLAIBORNE COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
110-Year-Old Buis Ridge Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)— The Buis Ridge Farm in Claiborne County recently was designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Just south of Tazewell on the Old Kentucky Road and adjacent to the Civil War site known as Roundtop Ridge, Buis Ridge Farm was founded in 1897 by John Lewis Buis. Married to Maude Levina Buis, the couple had three children—Anne Gibson Buis, John L. Buis II and Joseph Nathaniel Buis. On the 358 acres, the family raised tobacco, hay, corn, a wide variety of fruits, tomatoes, Irish and sweet potatoes, beef cattle, hogs, chickens and turkeys.
Additionally, John owned a hotel and store in New Tazewell, and much of what was grown on the farm was used at the hotel and sold at the store or peddled from wagons around the community and to miners in Middlesboro, Ky., the family reported.
Near a large spring, a cannery also was operated on the farm and shipments of fruits and vegetables were sent north on freight trains that stopped at the depot in front of the store. During the 1920s, the Farmers Central Warehouse opened in New Tazewell and John began growing tobacco to sell at the local warehouse.
The second generation to own the property was the founder’s son, Joseph Nathaniel Buis. During World War II, Joseph served in the army in the Europe. While on his tour of duty, the farm was rented out. When he returned from the war, he began working the farm again. In 1949, Joe married Lena Grace Overton, and they had two daughters, Lena and Joanna.
During his ownership of the land, Joe built two tobacco barns and began to restock the farm with cattle and hogs. The family also grew wheat, corn, hay, apples, timber and a variety of vegetables. While managing the farm, he also helped start the Claiborne County Farm Bureau and the Claiborne Farmer’s Co-op. Joanna and Lela were active in the 4-H clubs and won several ribbons at the county fair for canned goods, produce, sewing and other projects.
In 1991, Joe and Grace divided ownership of the farm between their two daughters but maintained a life estate and control of the land. Currently, the responsibilities of the farm are shared by the family, which includes Joe, Grace and Lela Buis, as well as Joanna and Barron Kennedy III and their children, Barron IV and Sarah Joanna.
Today, the land supports timber, beef cattle, hay and garden vegetables. A number of structures built over time, including a house. three barns, a silo, a corncrib, a smokehouse and an outdoor privy illustrate the continuing diversity of this family farm, Hankins said.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or to request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
CLAIBORNE COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
110-Year-Old Buis Ridge Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)— The Buis Ridge Farm in Claiborne County recently was designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Just south of Tazewell on the Old Kentucky Road and adjacent to the Civil War site known as Roundtop Ridge, Buis Ridge Farm was founded in 1897 by John Lewis Buis. Married to Maude Levina Buis, the couple had three children—Anne Gibson Buis, John L. Buis II and Joseph Nathaniel Buis. On the 358 acres, the family raised tobacco, hay, corn, a wide variety of fruits, tomatoes, Irish and sweet potatoes, beef cattle, hogs, chickens and turkeys.
Additionally, John owned a hotel and store in New Tazewell, and much of what was grown on the farm was used at the hotel and sold at the store or peddled from wagons around the community and to miners in Middlesboro, Ky., the family reported.
Near a large spring, a cannery also was operated on the farm and shipments of fruits and vegetables were sent north on freight trains that stopped at the depot in front of the store. During the 1920s, the Farmers Central Warehouse opened in New Tazewell and John began growing tobacco to sell at the local warehouse.
The second generation to own the property was the founder’s son, Joseph Nathaniel Buis. During World War II, Joseph served in the army in the Europe. While on his tour of duty, the farm was rented out. When he returned from the war, he began working the farm again. In 1949, Joe married Lena Grace Overton, and they had two daughters, Lena and Joanna.
During his ownership of the land, Joe built two tobacco barns and began to restock the farm with cattle and hogs. The family also grew wheat, corn, hay, apples, timber and a variety of vegetables. While managing the farm, he also helped start the Claiborne County Farm Bureau and the Claiborne Farmer’s Co-op. Joanna and Lela were active in the 4-H clubs and won several ribbons at the county fair for canned goods, produce, sewing and other projects.
In 1991, Joe and Grace divided ownership of the farm between their two daughters but maintained a life estate and control of the land. Currently, the responsibilities of the farm are shared by the family, which includes Joe, Grace and Lela Buis, as well as Joanna and Barron Kennedy III and their children, Barron IV and Sarah Joanna.
Today, the land supports timber, beef cattle, hay and garden vegetables. A number of structures built over time, including a house. three barns, a silo, a corncrib, a smokehouse and an outdoor privy illustrate the continuing diversity of this family farm, Hankins said.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or to request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
385 WASHINGTON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 25, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
WASHINGTON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
214-Year-Old Brookside Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Brookside Farm in Washington County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Hankins said Century Farms that predate Tennessee’s statehood in 1796 are rare, but William Walker of Wythe County, Va., established his family farm, now called Brookside, in 1793.
Located nine miles north of Jonesboro in the Blackley Creek community, the land was purchased from Robert Carson when the area was still a part of North Carolina. Walker and his wife, Susannah Graham, were married in 1787 and had three sons. On 100 acres, the family raised sheep and kept bees. Walker donated land to the community for the construction of Pleasant Grove Church and Cemetery.
In 1848, William “Billy” Walker, son of William and Susannah, acquired the property. He and his wife, Mary Brown, had nine children. During their ownership, the farm supported bees, sheep and corn. The couple is buried in Pleasant Gove Cemetery.
In 1888, the farm became the property of their daughter, Sarah Matilda, and her husband, Elbert Keys. Elbert, also a farmer in Washington County, fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. Sarah and Elbert built a house on the farm in 1903. Charles Keys and wife Minnie Osborne Keys became the owners of the land in 1916. Then, in 1948, Searle and Mary Martin Keys became the fifth-generation owners.
By 1978, Charles A. Keys, the current owner and great-great-great-great-grandfather, had acquired the farm. Today, Charles continues to manage and work the land that produces alfalfa, hay and Holstein steers. The 1903 house, a barn built before the Civil War and one constructed in 1917 remain part of this historic agricultural landscape.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
WASHINGTON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
214-Year-Old Brookside Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Brookside Farm in Washington County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Hankins said Century Farms that predate Tennessee’s statehood in 1796 are rare, but William Walker of Wythe County, Va., established his family farm, now called Brookside, in 1793.
Located nine miles north of Jonesboro in the Blackley Creek community, the land was purchased from Robert Carson when the area was still a part of North Carolina. Walker and his wife, Susannah Graham, were married in 1787 and had three sons. On 100 acres, the family raised sheep and kept bees. Walker donated land to the community for the construction of Pleasant Grove Church and Cemetery.
In 1848, William “Billy” Walker, son of William and Susannah, acquired the property. He and his wife, Mary Brown, had nine children. During their ownership, the farm supported bees, sheep and corn. The couple is buried in Pleasant Gove Cemetery.
In 1888, the farm became the property of their daughter, Sarah Matilda, and her husband, Elbert Keys. Elbert, also a farmer in Washington County, fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. Sarah and Elbert built a house on the farm in 1903. Charles Keys and wife Minnie Osborne Keys became the owners of the land in 1916. Then, in 1948, Searle and Mary Martin Keys became the fifth-generation owners.
By 1978, Charles A. Keys, the current owner and great-great-great-great-grandfather, had acquired the farm. Today, Charles continues to manage and work the land that produces alfalfa, hay and Holstein steers. The 1903 house, a barn built before the Civil War and one constructed in 1917 remain part of this historic agricultural landscape.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
384 KNOX COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
KNOX COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Prater Farm Sixth Property in Knox County to be Recognized for Contributions
(MURFREESBORO)—The Prater Farm in Knox County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
The Prater Farm shares a large part of its history with another Knox County property, River View Farm, which was certified as a Century Farm in 2005. Collectively, these farms are part of more than 1,000 acres purchased in 1801 by Benjamin Prater.
According to CHP records, Benjamin and his wife, Nancy Lane, had seven children and raised cattle, corn, and wheat for food, horses for farm labor and transportation and sheep for food and clothing. Their son, Samuel, was the next generation to own the farm in 1851, and his son, Alexander, the third generation of the family to farm the land.
As the Praters continued to farm the land throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, William Hugh Prater acquired the property around 1936. While the Tennessee Valley Authority flooded much of the region, the family reported that William Hugh Prater, who died at the age of 95 in 2003, loved his land and refused to sell it to TVA. Under William’s ownership, the farm produced cattle, sheep, hay, wheat, corn and watermelons, goats, tobacco and pigs. He and his wife, Lorene Lox Prater, had three daughters, Elsie, Adriance Guider and Martha Webb.
In 2002, these siblings, who are the great-great great-granddaughters of Benjamin and Nancy Lane Prater, acquired about 360 acres of the acreage. Elsie noted that they have been active members in the Farm Bureau for many years, and today, they raise cattle, milk goats, hay and horses.
Today, a 19th century log house, smokehouse and several barns remain on this farm that their ancestors founded more than two centuries ago. Hankins said the Prater Farm’s addition to the program brings the number of certified Century Farms in Knox County to six.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
KNOX COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Prater Farm Sixth Property in Knox County to be Recognized for Contributions
(MURFREESBORO)—The Prater Farm in Knox County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
The Prater Farm shares a large part of its history with another Knox County property, River View Farm, which was certified as a Century Farm in 2005. Collectively, these farms are part of more than 1,000 acres purchased in 1801 by Benjamin Prater.
According to CHP records, Benjamin and his wife, Nancy Lane, had seven children and raised cattle, corn, and wheat for food, horses for farm labor and transportation and sheep for food and clothing. Their son, Samuel, was the next generation to own the farm in 1851, and his son, Alexander, the third generation of the family to farm the land.
As the Praters continued to farm the land throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, William Hugh Prater acquired the property around 1936. While the Tennessee Valley Authority flooded much of the region, the family reported that William Hugh Prater, who died at the age of 95 in 2003, loved his land and refused to sell it to TVA. Under William’s ownership, the farm produced cattle, sheep, hay, wheat, corn and watermelons, goats, tobacco and pigs. He and his wife, Lorene Lox Prater, had three daughters, Elsie, Adriance Guider and Martha Webb.
In 2002, these siblings, who are the great-great great-granddaughters of Benjamin and Nancy Lane Prater, acquired about 360 acres of the acreage. Elsie noted that they have been active members in the Farm Bureau for many years, and today, they raise cattle, milk goats, hay and horses.
Today, a 19th century log house, smokehouse and several barns remain on this farm that their ancestors founded more than two centuries ago. Hankins said the Prater Farm’s addition to the program brings the number of certified Century Farms in Knox County to six.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
383 DEKALB COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 25, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
DEKALB COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
132-Year-Old J. M. Bailiff Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The J. M. Bailiff Farm in DeKalb County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
In the decade following the end of the Civil War, Hankins observed, many farms were established as people began to resume a normal life and rebuild their lives and make the land productive again. In this tradition, Confederate veteran and former prisoner of war James Monroe Bailiff, who served in Company A, Allison’s Battalion of Confederate Calvary, established a 52 ½-acre farm about five miles from Dowelltown in 1875. Bailiff was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, and later captured by Union troops before being released in spring1864. The family’s history records indicate that the Bailiff family owned slaves prior to the war, but they were freed in 1854 by James Monroe’s grandfather.
James and his wife, Eliza Jane Foster, had nine children. The family raised wheat, corn, cattle, horses, mules, oxen, pigs, chickens and kept bees. James also served as a deacon of the Dry Creek Missionary Baptist Church during the 1880s.
In 1925, James and Eliza’s son, Leslie Dee Bailiff, became the second generation to own the farm. Married to Amanda Tramel, the couple had four children. Their names were Charlie, Talphia, Mairene and Louelle. During his ownership, the farm produced corn, tobacco, cattle, horses, mules and chickens.
The third generation to own the property was Charlie Bailiff, who acquired the farm in 1950. During World War II, Charlie served in the 365th Field Artillery and drove an ammunition truck carrying 105 mm shells to the front line. He served in France, Belgium, Germany and in Japan during the United States’ occupation. In 1946, he was honorably discharged as a corporal from Camp Chaffee, Ark. Under Charlie’s ownership, the farm produced tobacco, corn, cattle, chickens, horses and mules. Charlie married Mary Codean Barrett and they had one daughter, Sandra Jean Bailiff.
In 2004, the great-great-grandson of James and Eliza, Kevin Bandy, acquired the farm. He and wife Brenda have two sons, Zachary and Dawson. The farmhouse built in 1923 by Leslie Dee Bailey continues to be used by the family, and today, timber is the primary product of this Reconstruction-era farm.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
DEKALB COUNTY FARM JOIN RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
132-Year-Old J. M. Bailiff Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The J. M. Bailiff Farm in DeKalb County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
In the decade following the end of the Civil War, Hankins observed, many farms were established as people began to resume a normal life and rebuild their lives and make the land productive again. In this tradition, Confederate veteran and former prisoner of war James Monroe Bailiff, who served in Company A, Allison’s Battalion of Confederate Calvary, established a 52 ½-acre farm about five miles from Dowelltown in 1875. Bailiff was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, and later captured by Union troops before being released in spring1864. The family’s history records indicate that the Bailiff family owned slaves prior to the war, but they were freed in 1854 by James Monroe’s grandfather.
James and his wife, Eliza Jane Foster, had nine children. The family raised wheat, corn, cattle, horses, mules, oxen, pigs, chickens and kept bees. James also served as a deacon of the Dry Creek Missionary Baptist Church during the 1880s.
In 1925, James and Eliza’s son, Leslie Dee Bailiff, became the second generation to own the farm. Married to Amanda Tramel, the couple had four children. Their names were Charlie, Talphia, Mairene and Louelle. During his ownership, the farm produced corn, tobacco, cattle, horses, mules and chickens.
The third generation to own the property was Charlie Bailiff, who acquired the farm in 1950. During World War II, Charlie served in the 365th Field Artillery and drove an ammunition truck carrying 105 mm shells to the front line. He served in France, Belgium, Germany and in Japan during the United States’ occupation. In 1946, he was honorably discharged as a corporal from Camp Chaffee, Ark. Under Charlie’s ownership, the farm produced tobacco, corn, cattle, chickens, horses and mules. Charlie married Mary Codean Barrett and they had one daughter, Sandra Jean Bailiff.
In 2004, the great-great-grandson of James and Eliza, Kevin Bandy, acquired the farm. He and wife Brenda have two sons, Zachary and Dawson. The farmhouse built in 1923 by Leslie Dee Bailey continues to be used by the family, and today, timber is the primary product of this Reconstruction-era farm.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
382 FAYETTE COUNTY FARM JOINS RANK OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
FAYETTE COUNTY FARM JOINS RANK OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
126-Year-Old Jones-Rogers Farm 24th in County to be Recognized by Program
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Jones-Rogers Farm in Fayette County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Located one mile north of Dancyville, the Jones-Rogers Farm was founded in 1881 by Isaac Wesley Coppedge. Married to Sarah Frances “Sally” Stanley Coppedge, the couple had five children. Prior to settling in Fayette County, the Coppedge and Stanley families lived in Virginia. According to the family’s records, the Coppedge family came from Virginia by way of the Tennessee River through Alabama, while the Stanley family came from Virginia by way of Kentucky.
The next owner of the property was the founding couple’s daughter, Mary Ann Coppedge Jones. She and husband Leonidas Alexander “Sid” Jones Sr. had seven children. During their ownership, the farm produced primarily cotton and corn, as had her parents. During a flu epidemic in 1900, three of their children, Frank, age 22; Lucy, age 7; and 6-month-old Leonidas Jr. died.
The four surviving siblings, Sarah Sallie Jones, Annie Coppedge Jones Rogers, Lizzie Kate Jones Wilkerson and William Thomas Jones, inherited the property. Eventually, William Thomas bought out the interests of two of his sisters, Annie and Lizzie.
William Thomas was married to Glenna Jones, and they lived in a house across the highway from the Methodist church in Dancyville. The three sisters moved later to Memphis, where Sarah lived with her sister, Lizzie, and her husband. Annie wed Edward Harrison Rogers Sr. and they had four children—Edward Harrison Rogers, Mary Rogers Jones, Margaret Rogers and Sara Kathryn Rogers Moore.
In 1965, the great-grandson of the founder, Edward H. Rogers, acquired the farm. During the 1960s, the original farmhouse burned, but the cedar trees in front of the house remained standing. Twenty-five acres acres remain in forestland and cotton has once again become the primary crop.
Edward Harrison Rogers III, the great-great-grandson of the founder, prepared the family farm application for his father who, now in his 91st year, continues to own the Jones-Rogers Farm.
Hankins said the Jones-Rogers Farm is the 24th certified Century Farm in Fayette County.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
FAYETTE COUNTY FARM JOINS RANK OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
126-Year-Old Jones-Rogers Farm 24th in County to be Recognized by Program
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Jones-Rogers Farm in Fayette County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reported Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Located one mile north of Dancyville, the Jones-Rogers Farm was founded in 1881 by Isaac Wesley Coppedge. Married to Sarah Frances “Sally” Stanley Coppedge, the couple had five children. Prior to settling in Fayette County, the Coppedge and Stanley families lived in Virginia. According to the family’s records, the Coppedge family came from Virginia by way of the Tennessee River through Alabama, while the Stanley family came from Virginia by way of Kentucky.
The next owner of the property was the founding couple’s daughter, Mary Ann Coppedge Jones. She and husband Leonidas Alexander “Sid” Jones Sr. had seven children. During their ownership, the farm produced primarily cotton and corn, as had her parents. During a flu epidemic in 1900, three of their children, Frank, age 22; Lucy, age 7; and 6-month-old Leonidas Jr. died.
The four surviving siblings, Sarah Sallie Jones, Annie Coppedge Jones Rogers, Lizzie Kate Jones Wilkerson and William Thomas Jones, inherited the property. Eventually, William Thomas bought out the interests of two of his sisters, Annie and Lizzie.
William Thomas was married to Glenna Jones, and they lived in a house across the highway from the Methodist church in Dancyville. The three sisters moved later to Memphis, where Sarah lived with her sister, Lizzie, and her husband. Annie wed Edward Harrison Rogers Sr. and they had four children—Edward Harrison Rogers, Mary Rogers Jones, Margaret Rogers and Sara Kathryn Rogers Moore.
In 1965, the great-grandson of the founder, Edward H. Rogers, acquired the farm. During the 1960s, the original farmhouse burned, but the cedar trees in front of the house remained standing. Twenty-five acres acres remain in forestland and cotton has once again become the primary crop.
Edward Harrison Rogers III, the great-great-grandson of the founder, prepared the family farm application for his father who, now in his 91st year, continues to own the Jones-Rogers Farm.
Hankins said the Jones-Rogers Farm is the 24th certified Century Farm in Fayette County.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
381 DYER COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 23, 2007
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
DYER COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
101-Year-Old Tom Bell Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Tom Bell Farm in Dyer 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 (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Robert Alexander “R. A” Bell Sr. founded the Tom Bell Farm, located eight miles southeast of Dyersburg, in March 1906, where he raised cotton, corn, cattle, horses and mules on 170 acres.
Married to Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walker Bell, the couple had four children—Bettye Eleanor, Robert Alexander, Kathryn Elizabeth and Malcolm Edward. In 1909, R. A. died and Lizzie was left to rear the four children by herself. According to family, it was very difficult for Lizzie to make ends meet and at one point she sold 40 acres of timberland for additional income.
While rearing her children and managing the farm, Lizzie was also an accomplished equestrian and the first woman in the county to ride astride. At the 1910 Dyer County Fair she won first place for her riding abilities and received a silver trophy for her efforts, which the family still proudly displays, Hankins said.
Bettye and Kathyrn moved to Nashville, where Bettye became a librarian at the Nashville/Davidson County library and Kathryn worked at Vanderbilt University in the architectural department. Robert and Malcolm stayed in Dyer County and continued to farm the land. By the 1940s, the first Grade-A dairy was started on the farm and milking registered Holsteins became a way of life on the farm for the next 53 years.
In 1963, the four siblings became owners of the farm, but Malcolm eventually became the sole owner of the property. Malcolm wed Louella White and they had four children. Under his ownership, the farm produced Holstein and Jersey cattle, hogs, hay, cotton, row crops and corn. Over the years, Malcolm and his family participated in the Holstein cattle shows by exhibiting cattle in regional shows such as the Dyer County Show, Obion County Show, the Calloway County, Ky., show and the Mid-South Show in Memphis.
Per the family’s records, Malcolm had a heart attack, and with the oldest son in the Navy, Louella and her 6-year-old son, Tom, were left to do the milking. For the next 50 years, Tom did the milking and maintained the dairy. Tom was born, reared and has lived his entire life on the farm.
Throughout the years, Tom was been recognized for his farming and was Dyer County’s Outstanding Young Farmer in 1963 and runner-up for the Tennessee Young Farmer of the Year in 1965. Although he has seen many changes in farming over the years, he said he recognizes that “no-till farming” is the “only way to go.” He also has attended the Milan No-Till Day nearly every year.
In 1993, Tom Bell acquired one-half of the family farm, and in 2002, he obtained the remaining half. The Bells raised Holstein cattle until 1993 and still raise Red Angus cattle. In addition, the Bells cultivate cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans and hay. In addition to raising livestock and crops, they also “farm educate” the first-graders of all schools in the Dyersburg School System, according to CHP research. Notably, their daughter, Sandy Bell Baker, is the supervisor for Dyersburg City Schools and the primary facilitator and coordinator for the outreach program.
Today, Tom and wife Helen Claire Cherry Bell, as well as their children, Sandy and Joe Baker and their two children, Ashley Claire and Bradley Todd, and Tom Bell II and wife Stacy Naifeh, along with their sons, Jacob and Ethan, continue the tradition of enjoying the family farm and contributing to the community.
“The Bell family maintains the philosophy of ‘leave the land in better shape that you found it,’” Hankins observed.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
DYER COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
101-Year-Old Tom Bell Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Tom Bell Farm in Dyer 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 (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
Robert Alexander “R. A” Bell Sr. founded the Tom Bell Farm, located eight miles southeast of Dyersburg, in March 1906, where he raised cotton, corn, cattle, horses and mules on 170 acres.
Married to Mary Elizabeth “Lizzie” Walker Bell, the couple had four children—Bettye Eleanor, Robert Alexander, Kathryn Elizabeth and Malcolm Edward. In 1909, R. A. died and Lizzie was left to rear the four children by herself. According to family, it was very difficult for Lizzie to make ends meet and at one point she sold 40 acres of timberland for additional income.
While rearing her children and managing the farm, Lizzie was also an accomplished equestrian and the first woman in the county to ride astride. At the 1910 Dyer County Fair she won first place for her riding abilities and received a silver trophy for her efforts, which the family still proudly displays, Hankins said.
Bettye and Kathyrn moved to Nashville, where Bettye became a librarian at the Nashville/Davidson County library and Kathryn worked at Vanderbilt University in the architectural department. Robert and Malcolm stayed in Dyer County and continued to farm the land. By the 1940s, the first Grade-A dairy was started on the farm and milking registered Holsteins became a way of life on the farm for the next 53 years.
In 1963, the four siblings became owners of the farm, but Malcolm eventually became the sole owner of the property. Malcolm wed Louella White and they had four children. Under his ownership, the farm produced Holstein and Jersey cattle, hogs, hay, cotton, row crops and corn. Over the years, Malcolm and his family participated in the Holstein cattle shows by exhibiting cattle in regional shows such as the Dyer County Show, Obion County Show, the Calloway County, Ky., show and the Mid-South Show in Memphis.
Per the family’s records, Malcolm had a heart attack, and with the oldest son in the Navy, Louella and her 6-year-old son, Tom, were left to do the milking. For the next 50 years, Tom did the milking and maintained the dairy. Tom was born, reared and has lived his entire life on the farm.
Throughout the years, Tom was been recognized for his farming and was Dyer County’s Outstanding Young Farmer in 1963 and runner-up for the Tennessee Young Farmer of the Year in 1965. Although he has seen many changes in farming over the years, he said he recognizes that “no-till farming” is the “only way to go.” He also has attended the Milan No-Till Day nearly every year.
In 1993, Tom Bell acquired one-half of the family farm, and in 2002, he obtained the remaining half. The Bells raised Holstein cattle until 1993 and still raise Red Angus cattle. In addition, the Bells cultivate cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans and hay. In addition to raising livestock and crops, they also “farm educate” the first-graders of all schools in the Dyersburg School System, according to CHP research. Notably, their daughter, Sandy Bell Baker, is the supervisor for Dyersburg City Schools and the primary facilitator and coordinator for the outreach program.
Today, Tom and wife Helen Claire Cherry Bell, as well as their children, Sandy and Joe Baker and their two children, Ashley Claire and Bradley Todd, and Tom Bell II and wife Stacy Naifeh, along with their sons, Jacob and Ethan, continue the tradition of enjoying the family farm and contributing to the community.
“The Bell family maintains the philosophy of ‘leave the land in better shape that you found it,’” Hankins observed.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, or obtain jpeg images of this farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
380 GRADUATING SIXTH-GRADERS ELECT TO ‘GIVE BACK’ THROUGH SERVICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 23, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-8989-2919
GRADUATING SIXTH-GRADERS ELECT TO ‘GIVE BACK’ THROUGH SERVICE
Fifty Campus School Students Dedicate Two Days to MTSU Groundskeeping
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Students in two sixth-grade classes at the Homer Pittard Campus School recently decided to give back to MTSU by helping perform needed groundskeeping on the university’s campus.
On May 21-22, the participating sixth-graders reported for duty to Grady “Larry” Sizemore, greenhouse manager for grounds services on campus. A 32-year member of MTSU’s staff, Sizemore is in charge of all university landscaping.
Dr. Tracey Ring, professor of elementary and special education, said she was contacted by Campus School teachers LeAnn Hays and Shields Templeton when they learned that their graduating sixth-grade classes wanted to perform community service for MTSU.
Ring, in turn, said she immediately thought of Sizemore as someone willing to help the 50 children with their self-initiated community project, since he previously worked closely with several teachers at school.
Regarding the children’s community service, Sizemore said, “We (had) the students doing different things on different days, and all went well.”
The first class of sixth-graders reported for duty May 21 and spent most of their school day performing tasks that needed to take place so that the second group of children could complete their planned work May 22, Ring said.
“The first helped get a lot of leaves that fell during the recent frost,” Sizemore explained. “So we (worked) on getting the nursery cleaned up in that area the best we could so the next group of kids could plant some native grasses,
some switch grasses such as North Wind and Heavy Metal, around the rain
garden.”
Hays said that although some of her previous classes also had conducted community service, this particular group of students had developed an especially close tie with the university and conceived the on-campus service idea as a way to say “thank you” for all the help MTSU had provided for them during the past several years.
“This is a part of their graduation celebration to give back to the university,” said Hays, who noted that the children performed the service during their graduation week.
For more information about the K-6 school, which is a public elementary jointly operated by MTSU and the Rutherford County School System as well as the laboratory school for students in the teacher education programs of the Department of Elementary and Special Education, please visit its Web site at http://www.hpc.rcs.k12.tn.us/index.htm.
—30—
•ATTENTION, MEDIA—To interview participating sixth-graders, teachers or MTSU’s Sizemore about this project, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2919. A jpeg of students performing the community service is available for editorial use upon request.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-8989-2919
GRADUATING SIXTH-GRADERS ELECT TO ‘GIVE BACK’ THROUGH SERVICE
Fifty Campus School Students Dedicate Two Days to MTSU Groundskeeping
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Students in two sixth-grade classes at the Homer Pittard Campus School recently decided to give back to MTSU by helping perform needed groundskeeping on the university’s campus.
On May 21-22, the participating sixth-graders reported for duty to Grady “Larry” Sizemore, greenhouse manager for grounds services on campus. A 32-year member of MTSU’s staff, Sizemore is in charge of all university landscaping.
Dr. Tracey Ring, professor of elementary and special education, said she was contacted by Campus School teachers LeAnn Hays and Shields Templeton when they learned that their graduating sixth-grade classes wanted to perform community service for MTSU.
Ring, in turn, said she immediately thought of Sizemore as someone willing to help the 50 children with their self-initiated community project, since he previously worked closely with several teachers at school.
Regarding the children’s community service, Sizemore said, “We (had) the students doing different things on different days, and all went well.”
The first class of sixth-graders reported for duty May 21 and spent most of their school day performing tasks that needed to take place so that the second group of children could complete their planned work May 22, Ring said.
“The first helped get a lot of leaves that fell during the recent frost,” Sizemore explained. “So we (worked) on getting the nursery cleaned up in that area the best we could so the next group of kids could plant some native grasses,
some switch grasses such as North Wind and Heavy Metal, around the rain
garden.”
Hays said that although some of her previous classes also had conducted community service, this particular group of students had developed an especially close tie with the university and conceived the on-campus service idea as a way to say “thank you” for all the help MTSU had provided for them during the past several years.
“This is a part of their graduation celebration to give back to the university,” said Hays, who noted that the children performed the service during their graduation week.
For more information about the K-6 school, which is a public elementary jointly operated by MTSU and the Rutherford County School System as well as the laboratory school for students in the teacher education programs of the Department of Elementary and Special Education, please visit its Web site at http://www.hpc.rcs.k12.tn.us/index.htm.
—30—
•ATTENTION, MEDIA—To interview participating sixth-graders, teachers or MTSU’s Sizemore about this project, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2919. A jpeg of students performing the community service is available for editorial use upon request.
379 MTSU WILL BE CLOSED MAY 28 FOR MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY
Release date: May 23, 2007
Editorial contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919
MTSU WILL BE CLOSED MAY 28 FOR MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY
(MURFREESBORO) — MTSU will be closed and no classes will be held Monday, May 28, for the Memorial Day holiday, university officials announced.
Summer Session I classes will resume at their regularly scheduled times on Tuesday, May 29. All business offices will be open their normal hours (8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.) May 29.
###
Editorial contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919
MTSU WILL BE CLOSED MAY 28 FOR MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY
(MURFREESBORO) — MTSU will be closed and no classes will be held Monday, May 28, for the Memorial Day holiday, university officials announced.
Summer Session I classes will resume at their regularly scheduled times on Tuesday, May 29. All business offices will be open their normal hours (8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.) May 29.
###
378 CANNON COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947
CANNON COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
117-Year-Old Vinson Farm 13th Century Farm in County, Hankins Reports
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Vinson Farm in Cannon 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 (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
In 1890, Theophilus and Parilee Vinson paid $1,450 in cash for 70 acres in the 6th Civil District. Here, the family raised corn, sugar cane, hay, hogs, cattle, mules and horses and established a tradition of diverse farming that their descendants would still practice more than 100 years later.
The founders’ children, Bertha, Mollie, Altie, Charlie, Houston, Jim Roy and Wiley, inherited the farm after the deaths of their father and mother in 1910 and 1929, respectively. In 1962, the grandson of the founder, Robert W. Vinson, son of Wiley, acquired the land. He and his wife, Marjorie, have seven children—Brenda, Pat, Glenda, Gary, Dwight, Billy and Mary.
Today, Dwight and Gary, the fourth generation to work the family farm, produce a variety of crops and livestock. The original farmhouse is still a part of this historic agricultural landscape.
Hankins said the Vinson Farm is the 13th certified Century Farm in Cannon County.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
CANNON COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
117-Year-Old Vinson Farm 13th Century Farm in County, Hankins Reports
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Vinson Farm in Cannon 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 (CHP), which is located on the MTSU campus.
In 1890, Theophilus and Parilee Vinson paid $1,450 in cash for 70 acres in the 6th Civil District. Here, the family raised corn, sugar cane, hay, hogs, cattle, mules and horses and established a tradition of diverse farming that their descendants would still practice more than 100 years later.
The founders’ children, Bertha, Mollie, Altie, Charlie, Houston, Jim Roy and Wiley, inherited the farm after the deaths of their father and mother in 1910 and 1929, respectively. In 1962, the grandson of the founder, Robert W. Vinson, son of Wiley, acquired the land. He and his wife, Marjorie, have seven children—Brenda, Pat, Glenda, Gary, Dwight, Billy and Mary.
Today, Dwight and Gary, the fourth generation to work the family farm, produce a variety of crops and livestock. The original farmhouse is still a part of this historic agricultural landscape.
Hankins said the Vinson Farm is the 13th certified Century Farm in Cannon County.
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, and continues to administer this program.
The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) 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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural, and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Hankins or the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
377 MTSU SITE OF NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT INSTITUTE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 21, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919
MTSU SITE OF NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT INSTITUTE
FOR K-COLLEGE TEACHERS FOR 3RD YEAR IN A ROW
$45K Matching Grants Secure Opportunity to Offer Writing Program;
MTSU Also Will Sponsor Three 2-Week Youth Writing Camps in June
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Thanks to generous matching grants totaling $90,000, MTSU will soon embark upon its third annual Middle Tennessee Writing Project (MTWP), an on-campus writing institute for select teachers of kindergarten through college students, on June 4-29, and three Youth Writer’s Camp sessions, which are two-week intensive writing camps held Mondays through Thursdays for students from Rutherford and other local counties.
Although MTSU has been the site of MTWP-sponsored Youth Writer’s Camps in the past, this year three separate such camps will be conducted, including an 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. June 11-21 session for grades 4-12 in MTSU’s Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building; an 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. June 4-14 camp for grades 5-9 at Castle Heights Upper Elementary in Lebanon; and a 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. June 4-14 camp for writers in grades 4-8 at Woodbury Grammar School in Cannon County.
Author Michael Shoulders, who penned “V is for Volunteer,” a book about Tennessee, will be the guest author at all three youth camps.
Regarding the teacher-focused MTWP project, Dr. Bobbie Solley, professor of elementary and special education at MTSU, said the multi-week institute targets those educators who are already doing good work when it comes to writing instruction in the classroom.
“We have 18 teacher participants from Williamson, Rutherford, Bedford, Cannon and Wilson Counties, along with several from Lebanon and Murfreesboro City Systems,” she said. “These teachers will be sharing their expertise and learning from one another the most effective strategies for teaching writing. …”
“Once the summer institute is complete, these 18 participants will join the almost 40 other teachers who have gone through the institute to become teacher consultants,” she continued. “Their job then is to conduct in-service, present at conferences or anything else that would provide professional development for other teachers in the area of writing.”
MTSU is only the second Tennessee college to offer such a writing project. The MTWP is one of 185 sites of the The National Writing Project, a federally funded program launched in 1974 by professors at the University of California at Berkeley who were interested in helping teachers become more effective teachers of writing.
According to its Web site, MTWP is a professional development program for K-college teachers and across the disciplines who wish to improve writing instruction. The project offers teachers the chance to explore new and effective approaches to teaching writing, as well as theorize their own effective methods.
According to its mission statement, the MTWP’s organizers seek to improve writing and learning in the nation's schools, specifically Middle Tennessee's schools … and promote effective writing instruction through a teachers-teaching-teachers professional development model that recognizes the importance of teacher knowledge, expertise and leadership.
“This is a very good thing for MTSU,” said Solley, who—along with Dr. Trixie Smith, assistant professor, English—penned the initial grant request that made MTWP possible.
Solley said that it’s important to note that the MTWP is not a remedial writing institute,
but instead, focuses on best practices in writing instruction.
What really excites me about me about this is teachers being put up on a pedestal,” Solley said. “These are professional people. They have the knowledge that other people don’t have, so let’s use it and spread it.”
Regarding the three student writing camps, 25 students already are registered to attend the June 11-21 camp at MTSU, which costs $200 per student. This year, the Rutherford County camp will be under the direction of Jill McHenry from Rock Springs Elementary and Laurel Taylor from Smyrna High School. The June 4-14 writing camp in Cannon County, which costs $100 per student, will be under the direction of Jeff Todd and Shannon Cornelius, both teachers at Woodbury Grammar. Meanwhile, the June 4-14 camp for the Wilson County School System and the Lebanon Special School District, which also costs $100 per student, will be led by teachers Missy Owens of the Lebanon district and Kathy Gallagher of the Wilson system.
Past MTWP teacher-participant Marcy Pflueger of Eagleville School is the coordinator for all three writing camps this year.
“In 2005, Marcy Pflueger, one of the participants from the first summer institute, attended a national conference and began hearing and learning about youth writers' camps as a way to involve kids in effective writing as well as provide professional development for teachers,” Solley said. “She came to the directors and co-directors of the MTWP with a plan. … (And) after last summer's institute, more teacher participants wanted to be involved in the youth writers' camp, so Marcy became the director, overseeing three camps for this summer.”
As for the writing ability of today’s learners, Solley has characterized the current writing skills of students from elementary grades to graduate school as unimaginative. In the lower grades, she added, teachers traditionally have been pressured to teach writing through a prompt, which eliminates the creative process of children coming up with an original subject.
“Kids come to kindergarten bursting with imagination and ideas, (but) by second grade, they are already struggling because too many teachers have only the right stuff to write about,” she said.
As for the college set, ample room for writing improvement also exists.
“I have graduate students who can’t write. Their sentence structure is simple and boring, and I think it’s for fear that they don’t know how to use commas right,” remarked Solley, who said she hopes the writing project will spark renewed interest and involve teachers and principals in reversing this situation in our schools.
• For more information about the MTWP, including the Youth Writer’s Camp, please access its Web site online at www.mtsu.edu/~mtwp. For youth camp registration information, please contact Pflueger via e-mail at pfluegerm@rcs.k12.tn.us or by calling (615) 274-6320.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For editorial needs, including interview requests with institute organizers or teacher participants from specific counties, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-2919. **Media are welcomed and encouraged to attend the writing camps and teacher institute.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919
MTSU SITE OF NATIONAL WRITING PROJECT INSTITUTE
FOR K-COLLEGE TEACHERS FOR 3RD YEAR IN A ROW
$45K Matching Grants Secure Opportunity to Offer Writing Program;
MTSU Also Will Sponsor Three 2-Week Youth Writing Camps in June
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Thanks to generous matching grants totaling $90,000, MTSU will soon embark upon its third annual Middle Tennessee Writing Project (MTWP), an on-campus writing institute for select teachers of kindergarten through college students, on June 4-29, and three Youth Writer’s Camp sessions, which are two-week intensive writing camps held Mondays through Thursdays for students from Rutherford and other local counties.
Although MTSU has been the site of MTWP-sponsored Youth Writer’s Camps in the past, this year three separate such camps will be conducted, including an 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. June 11-21 session for grades 4-12 in MTSU’s Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building; an 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. June 4-14 camp for grades 5-9 at Castle Heights Upper Elementary in Lebanon; and a 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. June 4-14 camp for writers in grades 4-8 at Woodbury Grammar School in Cannon County.
Author Michael Shoulders, who penned “V is for Volunteer,” a book about Tennessee, will be the guest author at all three youth camps.
Regarding the teacher-focused MTWP project, Dr. Bobbie Solley, professor of elementary and special education at MTSU, said the multi-week institute targets those educators who are already doing good work when it comes to writing instruction in the classroom.
“We have 18 teacher participants from Williamson, Rutherford, Bedford, Cannon and Wilson Counties, along with several from Lebanon and Murfreesboro City Systems,” she said. “These teachers will be sharing their expertise and learning from one another the most effective strategies for teaching writing. …”
“Once the summer institute is complete, these 18 participants will join the almost 40 other teachers who have gone through the institute to become teacher consultants,” she continued. “Their job then is to conduct in-service, present at conferences or anything else that would provide professional development for other teachers in the area of writing.”
MTSU is only the second Tennessee college to offer such a writing project. The MTWP is one of 185 sites of the The National Writing Project, a federally funded program launched in 1974 by professors at the University of California at Berkeley who were interested in helping teachers become more effective teachers of writing.
According to its Web site, MTWP is a professional development program for K-college teachers and across the disciplines who wish to improve writing instruction. The project offers teachers the chance to explore new and effective approaches to teaching writing, as well as theorize their own effective methods.
According to its mission statement, the MTWP’s organizers seek to improve writing and learning in the nation's schools, specifically Middle Tennessee's schools … and promote effective writing instruction through a teachers-teaching-teachers professional development model that recognizes the importance of teacher knowledge, expertise and leadership.
“This is a very good thing for MTSU,” said Solley, who—along with Dr. Trixie Smith, assistant professor, English—penned the initial grant request that made MTWP possible.
Solley said that it’s important to note that the MTWP is not a remedial writing institute,
but instead, focuses on best practices in writing instruction.
What really excites me about me about this is teachers being put up on a pedestal,” Solley said. “These are professional people. They have the knowledge that other people don’t have, so let’s use it and spread it.”
Regarding the three student writing camps, 25 students already are registered to attend the June 11-21 camp at MTSU, which costs $200 per student. This year, the Rutherford County camp will be under the direction of Jill McHenry from Rock Springs Elementary and Laurel Taylor from Smyrna High School. The June 4-14 writing camp in Cannon County, which costs $100 per student, will be under the direction of Jeff Todd and Shannon Cornelius, both teachers at Woodbury Grammar. Meanwhile, the June 4-14 camp for the Wilson County School System and the Lebanon Special School District, which also costs $100 per student, will be led by teachers Missy Owens of the Lebanon district and Kathy Gallagher of the Wilson system.
Past MTWP teacher-participant Marcy Pflueger of Eagleville School is the coordinator for all three writing camps this year.
“In 2005, Marcy Pflueger, one of the participants from the first summer institute, attended a national conference and began hearing and learning about youth writers' camps as a way to involve kids in effective writing as well as provide professional development for teachers,” Solley said. “She came to the directors and co-directors of the MTWP with a plan. … (And) after last summer's institute, more teacher participants wanted to be involved in the youth writers' camp, so Marcy became the director, overseeing three camps for this summer.”
As for the writing ability of today’s learners, Solley has characterized the current writing skills of students from elementary grades to graduate school as unimaginative. In the lower grades, she added, teachers traditionally have been pressured to teach writing through a prompt, which eliminates the creative process of children coming up with an original subject.
“Kids come to kindergarten bursting with imagination and ideas, (but) by second grade, they are already struggling because too many teachers have only the right stuff to write about,” she said.
As for the college set, ample room for writing improvement also exists.
“I have graduate students who can’t write. Their sentence structure is simple and boring, and I think it’s for fear that they don’t know how to use commas right,” remarked Solley, who said she hopes the writing project will spark renewed interest and involve teachers and principals in reversing this situation in our schools.
• For more information about the MTWP, including the Youth Writer’s Camp, please access its Web site online at www.mtsu.edu/~mtwp. For youth camp registration information, please contact Pflueger via e-mail at pfluegerm@rcs.k12.tn.us or by calling (615) 274-6320.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For editorial needs, including interview requests with institute organizers or teacher participants from specific counties, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-898-2919. **Media are welcomed and encouraged to attend the writing camps and teacher institute.
376 NO SUMMER CAMP FOR AT-RISK YOUTH IN '07
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919
NATIONAL YOUTH SPORTS PROGRAM OFFICIAL CONFIRMS MTSU
WILL NOT CONDUCT SUMMER CAMP FOR AT-RISK YOUTH IN ‘07
National Director for NYSP Says MTSU Not Alone in Lack of Funding;
Urges Community Members to Contact Senators, Congressmen for Help
(MURFREESBORO)—For the second consecutive, the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP), a monthlong summer camp for at-risk youth, will not be held at MTSU, confirmed National Program Director Gale Wiedow. In 2005, federal funding for the national program was eliminated, Wiedow said.
“These programs are unable to continue without increased institutional and local community support,” he said. Locally, MTSU’s Department of Health and Human Performance faculty members have overseen the grant-funded camp, which combines sports instruction and recreation with educational programs, for about 300 at-risk youth from qualifying low-income. However, because no federal money for NYSP was provided in the 2005 fiscal year Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill, also known as H.R. 3010, support for the NYSP program at MTSU—as well as 201 other NYSP programs nationwide—will not be available this year, confirmed NYSP organizers.
From 2002-2005, MTSU’s NYSP staff and volunteers provided nearly 1,000 Rutherford County youth with free medical and dental health screenings as well as four weeks of summer fun with educational, health-focused activities that included life lessons and skills. Free transportation to and from the weekday camp was included in the free program, as were two USDA-approved meals each day.
Dr. Dianne Bartley, chairwoman of health and human performance and past NYSP coordinator for MTSU, said prior NYSP campers participated in activities such as self-defense, soccer, swimming, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf, racquetball, weight training, and social and aerobic dance. “This program has been so very valuable for the young people who attended,” she said. “These campers also took part in educational classes instructed by MTSU educators and community leaders on topics such as alcohol/drug abuse and violence prevention, proper nutrition, personal health and disease prevention, career opportunities and job responsibilities, and higher education.”
Wiedow said MTSU is not alone in its inability to attract money to support the program, but some NYSP programs—including Tennessee State University in Nashville, which is currently the state’s lone operating program in ‘07—have been able to secure alternative funding to conduct programs on their campuses. “Fifty other programs will run this year,” he said, “(but each of them has been) funded locally by grant money as well as the institution itself helping.” Currently headquartered in Indianapolis, NYSP was created when representatives from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports piloted its concept during summer 1968 at two university athletic facilities. On March 17, 1969, the White House announced the federal government was committing $3 million to establish a sports program for economically disadvantaged youth, and NYSP was born. Today, the National Youth Sports Program Fund (NYSP Fund), which operates under the National Youth Sports Corporation (NYSC) moniker, is a nonprofit organization established to administer NYSP projects nationwide.
Both Bartley and Wiedow agree that that if MTSU is to continue sponsoring the summer camp for at-risk youth, the local community must exercise its collective voice to help restore funding for NYSP so that it can return in 2008. Wiedow suggested residents utilize the Web to contact their local state senators at www.senate.gov and their state representatives at www.house.gov. For more information on NYSP, access its home page at http://www.nyscorp.org/nysp/home.html.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919
NATIONAL YOUTH SPORTS PROGRAM OFFICIAL CONFIRMS MTSU
WILL NOT CONDUCT SUMMER CAMP FOR AT-RISK YOUTH IN ‘07
National Director for NYSP Says MTSU Not Alone in Lack of Funding;
Urges Community Members to Contact Senators, Congressmen for Help
(MURFREESBORO)—For the second consecutive, the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP), a monthlong summer camp for at-risk youth, will not be held at MTSU, confirmed National Program Director Gale Wiedow. In 2005, federal funding for the national program was eliminated, Wiedow said.
“These programs are unable to continue without increased institutional and local community support,” he said. Locally, MTSU’s Department of Health and Human Performance faculty members have overseen the grant-funded camp, which combines sports instruction and recreation with educational programs, for about 300 at-risk youth from qualifying low-income. However, because no federal money for NYSP was provided in the 2005 fiscal year Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill, also known as H.R. 3010, support for the NYSP program at MTSU—as well as 201 other NYSP programs nationwide—will not be available this year, confirmed NYSP organizers.
From 2002-2005, MTSU’s NYSP staff and volunteers provided nearly 1,000 Rutherford County youth with free medical and dental health screenings as well as four weeks of summer fun with educational, health-focused activities that included life lessons and skills. Free transportation to and from the weekday camp was included in the free program, as were two USDA-approved meals each day.
Dr. Dianne Bartley, chairwoman of health and human performance and past NYSP coordinator for MTSU, said prior NYSP campers participated in activities such as self-defense, soccer, swimming, basketball, tennis, volleyball, golf, racquetball, weight training, and social and aerobic dance. “This program has been so very valuable for the young people who attended,” she said. “These campers also took part in educational classes instructed by MTSU educators and community leaders on topics such as alcohol/drug abuse and violence prevention, proper nutrition, personal health and disease prevention, career opportunities and job responsibilities, and higher education.”
Wiedow said MTSU is not alone in its inability to attract money to support the program, but some NYSP programs—including Tennessee State University in Nashville, which is currently the state’s lone operating program in ‘07—have been able to secure alternative funding to conduct programs on their campuses. “Fifty other programs will run this year,” he said, “(but each of them has been) funded locally by grant money as well as the institution itself helping.” Currently headquartered in Indianapolis, NYSP was created when representatives from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports piloted its concept during summer 1968 at two university athletic facilities. On March 17, 1969, the White House announced the federal government was committing $3 million to establish a sports program for economically disadvantaged youth, and NYSP was born. Today, the National Youth Sports Program Fund (NYSP Fund), which operates under the National Youth Sports Corporation (NYSC) moniker, is a nonprofit organization established to administer NYSP projects nationwide.
Both Bartley and Wiedow agree that that if MTSU is to continue sponsoring the summer camp for at-risk youth, the local community must exercise its collective voice to help restore funding for NYSP so that it can return in 2008. Wiedow suggested residents utilize the Web to contact their local state senators at www.senate.gov and their state representatives at www.house.gov. For more information on NYSP, access its home page at http://www.nyscorp.org/nysp/home.html.
Friday, May 18, 2007
375 NATIONALLY KNOWN AUTHOR DISCUSSES REALISTIC CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 14, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
NATIONALLY KNOWN AUTHOR DISCUSSES REALISTIC CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AT JUNE 2 CONFERENCE FOR TEACHERS
Guest Alfie Kohn “Sometimes Controversial and Often Irreverent,” Jones Says
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Some 400 educators are expected to visit the MTSU campus June 2 when nationally known author-speaker Alfie Kohn presents a teachers-only workshop as part of the inaugural Positive Behavior Support Conference.
Dubbed as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades (and) test scores” by one TIME magazine writer, Kohn is the author of 11 titles to date, including Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, a book that addresses the nonacademic realm of school life, including the ways in which at-school discipline tends to not only backfire, but also actively interferes with helping students grow into responsible, compassionate adults.
“The Department of Elementary and Special Education is especially pleased to welcome Alfie Kohn to our campus,” said Dr. Connie A. Jones, department chairwoman.
“Kohn is a sometimes controversial and often irreverent speaker, but he always challenges us to look beyond the façade to the important issues affecting children and the quality of their education today,” she observed. “He is well known for his positions on K-12 assessment, classroom management, parental involvement and homework.”
The author-speaker’s MTSU visit will funded by a Positive Behavior Grant directed by Dr. Zafrullah Khan, assistant professor, elementary and special education, Jones said.
Titled “Beyond Bribes and Threats: Realistic Alternatives to Controlling Students’ Behavior,” Kohn’s presentation will “begin by addressing the problems with trying to manipulate students’ behavior with the use of rewards, including praise, or punishment … (often referred to) as ‘consequences,’ according to event organizers. “Then we will dig deeper, looking at how much is lost by focusing on behavior in the first place, how a demand for short-term compliance … gets in the way of our long-term goals for kids (as well as) how many problems originate with the assumption that the teacher should be in control of the classroom.”
The June 2 workshop in the Learning Resources Center’s Room 221—in addition to Kohn’s four-hour session that begins at 8 a.m.—also will include added education sessions before the event’s 3:30 p.m. conclusion.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for educators in our region to hear this nationally known speaker,” Jones noted.
• Teachers interested in learning more about the event, including registration information, may contact Linda Copciac at 615-898-2680 or via e-mail at lcopiac@mtsu.edu. Seating is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information about Kohn, please access his Web site at http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.html.
—30—
**ATTENTION, MEDIA: To secure a jpeg of Alfie Kohn for editorial use, or to request a telephone interview with Kohn or MTSU’s Connie Jones prior to his local June 2 teacher-only presentation, please contact
Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
NATIONALLY KNOWN AUTHOR DISCUSSES REALISTIC CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AT JUNE 2 CONFERENCE FOR TEACHERS
Guest Alfie Kohn “Sometimes Controversial and Often Irreverent,” Jones Says
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Some 400 educators are expected to visit the MTSU campus June 2 when nationally known author-speaker Alfie Kohn presents a teachers-only workshop as part of the inaugural Positive Behavior Support Conference.
Dubbed as “perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades (and) test scores” by one TIME magazine writer, Kohn is the author of 11 titles to date, including Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community, a book that addresses the nonacademic realm of school life, including the ways in which at-school discipline tends to not only backfire, but also actively interferes with helping students grow into responsible, compassionate adults.
“The Department of Elementary and Special Education is especially pleased to welcome Alfie Kohn to our campus,” said Dr. Connie A. Jones, department chairwoman.
“Kohn is a sometimes controversial and often irreverent speaker, but he always challenges us to look beyond the façade to the important issues affecting children and the quality of their education today,” she observed. “He is well known for his positions on K-12 assessment, classroom management, parental involvement and homework.”
The author-speaker’s MTSU visit will funded by a Positive Behavior Grant directed by Dr. Zafrullah Khan, assistant professor, elementary and special education, Jones said.
Titled “Beyond Bribes and Threats: Realistic Alternatives to Controlling Students’ Behavior,” Kohn’s presentation will “begin by addressing the problems with trying to manipulate students’ behavior with the use of rewards, including praise, or punishment … (often referred to) as ‘consequences,’ according to event organizers. “Then we will dig deeper, looking at how much is lost by focusing on behavior in the first place, how a demand for short-term compliance … gets in the way of our long-term goals for kids (as well as) how many problems originate with the assumption that the teacher should be in control of the classroom.”
The June 2 workshop in the Learning Resources Center’s Room 221—in addition to Kohn’s four-hour session that begins at 8 a.m.—also will include added education sessions before the event’s 3:30 p.m. conclusion.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for educators in our region to hear this nationally known speaker,” Jones noted.
• Teachers interested in learning more about the event, including registration information, may contact Linda Copciac at 615-898-2680 or via e-mail at lcopiac@mtsu.edu. Seating is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information about Kohn, please access his Web site at http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.html.
—30—
**ATTENTION, MEDIA: To secure a jpeg of Alfie Kohn for editorial use, or to request a telephone interview with Kohn or MTSU’s Connie Jones prior to his local June 2 teacher-only presentation, please contact
Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
374 MTSU STUDENTS HONOR INTERIOR DESIGN FACULTY FOR DEDICATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Three members of MTSU’s Department of Human Sciences faculty were recently honored by students as part of the first-ever “Celebration of Interior Design Awards” held April 26 in Peck Hall on the university’s campus.
Members of MTSU’s student chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) planned the ceremony to formally recognize Sharon Coleman, Dana L. Miller and Dr. Janis Brickey, all assistant professors of interior design, for their exceptional contributions to the students’ learning within the field of design, said Dr. Deborah Belcher, faculty adviser to MTSU’s student ASID chapter.
Dr. Kaylene Gebert, executive vice president and provost of MTSU, presented the awards on behalf of the students to honor Miller and Coleman “for their dedication, commitment and lasting contribution to excellence in the profession of interior design” and to acknowledge Brickey for “her outstanding teaching techniques and use of technology in the classroom,” Belcher said.
Amanda Alldaffer, publicity chairwoman and event coordinator for the campus ASID chapter, conceived the idea to formally acknowledge the trio, then enlisted the assistance of Belcher, also an assistant professor interior design, to help plan and involve Gebert in the event so that ASID members “could recognize them on a larger scale, rather than just in our college and program,” explained Lydia Melton, president of the university’s ASID student chapter.
Regarding their contributions, “It's hard to put into words what Ms. Coleman, Ms. Miller and Dr. Brickey have done for the interior design students,” said Melton, Murfreesboro senior. “Yes, they have taught us everything from the basics of color choices and space planning to the intricacies of fire codes and computer drafting, but their influence goes so much further.
“They are our guides into the professional world of interior design and our friends,” she continued. “I know I can go to them anytime with a problem, be it school, work-related or a personal issue, and they will use their experiences and intelligence to advise me to the best of their ability.”
Indeed, agreed Dyersburg senior Jessie Cook, “They have all pulled many strings for us to be able to have the best speakers, like Michael Payne, and many others for our monthly meetings. …”
Honoree Coleman joined MTSU in 1983 as the coordinator for the interior design program, dedicating herself to its development, pursuing accreditations, supervising internships and cooperative-education students in interior design. She also developed and lead study tours to New York and abroad, enhanced courses through interactive/experiential learning techniques and developed computer-assisted design courses and 3-D software programs to help prepare students for the technological demands and expectations of the profession, Belcher said.
“I was touched and honored that the students would take time out from the busiest part of the semester to host a reception to thank the interior design faculty,” Coleman said. “Our interior design majors are eager to embrace new technology that supports their chosen career … (and) as the faculty member who has developed, implemented and taught the computer application courses, it is rewarding to see students who are eager to explore new design tools and presentation options.”
A member of MTSU’s faculty since ’92 and a founding member of the Tennessee Interior Design Coalition, Miller said, “I was very impressed that the students cared enough to take time during the last week of classes to put this together. I know they all have large interior design projects to complete and were working themselves to death.
“I appreciate their thoughtfulness, and I was very surprised to be honored in this way,” added Miller, who has played an integral role in developing and writing the Tennessee Interior Design Consumer Protection Act that is now under review as House Bill 84 and Senate Bill 210.
Credited with adding a wealth of design experience and technology skills to MTSU’s design studio, including developing interactive exercises and projects for foundation as well as senior-level courses, Brickey has been instrumental in bringing a variety of industry speakers into MTSU’s classrooms and student ASID chapter meetings.
“As the newest member of the MTSU interior design faculty team, I was
particularly touched by the students' recognition,” she said. “I returned to academia
because I sincerely believe in college students and their potential for development for the professional field of interior design.
“From my initial contacts during my interview process, I was impressed with the MTSU students and their individual and collective propensity for future professional
success,” she added. “During my first year here I have witnessed many examples of how students have embraced new ideas and technology … and look forward to many more opportunities to witness the special combination of talent, education, technology and individual dedication in the students.”
As for the design students appreciation for their faculty, “(Each of these women) make a daily effort in helping all of their students to the best of their knowledge.” said Cook, ASID co-president-elect at MTSU. “It shows in all of these women that they love and enjoy their career, making them great professors and mentors, and for that we wanted to thank them.”
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA—To secure a jpeg of the award recipients for editorial use, please e-mail your request to Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
Cutline: From left, Dr. Kaylene Gebert, executive vice president and MTSU provost, helps honor interior design faculty members Dana Miller, Sharon Coleman and Dr. Janis Brickey for their dedication to students, along with MTSU student officers of the university’s American Society of Interior Designers Lydia Melton, president, and Amanda Alldaffer, publicity chairwoman and event coordinator.
Photo credit: Jack Ross/MTSU Photographic Services
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Three members of MTSU’s Department of Human Sciences faculty were recently honored by students as part of the first-ever “Celebration of Interior Design Awards” held April 26 in Peck Hall on the university’s campus.
Members of MTSU’s student chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) planned the ceremony to formally recognize Sharon Coleman, Dana L. Miller and Dr. Janis Brickey, all assistant professors of interior design, for their exceptional contributions to the students’ learning within the field of design, said Dr. Deborah Belcher, faculty adviser to MTSU’s student ASID chapter.
Dr. Kaylene Gebert, executive vice president and provost of MTSU, presented the awards on behalf of the students to honor Miller and Coleman “for their dedication, commitment and lasting contribution to excellence in the profession of interior design” and to acknowledge Brickey for “her outstanding teaching techniques and use of technology in the classroom,” Belcher said.
Amanda Alldaffer, publicity chairwoman and event coordinator for the campus ASID chapter, conceived the idea to formally acknowledge the trio, then enlisted the assistance of Belcher, also an assistant professor interior design, to help plan and involve Gebert in the event so that ASID members “could recognize them on a larger scale, rather than just in our college and program,” explained Lydia Melton, president of the university’s ASID student chapter.
Regarding their contributions, “It's hard to put into words what Ms. Coleman, Ms. Miller and Dr. Brickey have done for the interior design students,” said Melton, Murfreesboro senior. “Yes, they have taught us everything from the basics of color choices and space planning to the intricacies of fire codes and computer drafting, but their influence goes so much further.
“They are our guides into the professional world of interior design and our friends,” she continued. “I know I can go to them anytime with a problem, be it school, work-related or a personal issue, and they will use their experiences and intelligence to advise me to the best of their ability.”
Indeed, agreed Dyersburg senior Jessie Cook, “They have all pulled many strings for us to be able to have the best speakers, like Michael Payne, and many others for our monthly meetings. …”
Honoree Coleman joined MTSU in 1983 as the coordinator for the interior design program, dedicating herself to its development, pursuing accreditations, supervising internships and cooperative-education students in interior design. She also developed and lead study tours to New York and abroad, enhanced courses through interactive/experiential learning techniques and developed computer-assisted design courses and 3-D software programs to help prepare students for the technological demands and expectations of the profession, Belcher said.
“I was touched and honored that the students would take time out from the busiest part of the semester to host a reception to thank the interior design faculty,” Coleman said. “Our interior design majors are eager to embrace new technology that supports their chosen career … (and) as the faculty member who has developed, implemented and taught the computer application courses, it is rewarding to see students who are eager to explore new design tools and presentation options.”
A member of MTSU’s faculty since ’92 and a founding member of the Tennessee Interior Design Coalition, Miller said, “I was very impressed that the students cared enough to take time during the last week of classes to put this together. I know they all have large interior design projects to complete and were working themselves to death.
“I appreciate their thoughtfulness, and I was very surprised to be honored in this way,” added Miller, who has played an integral role in developing and writing the Tennessee Interior Design Consumer Protection Act that is now under review as House Bill 84 and Senate Bill 210.
Credited with adding a wealth of design experience and technology skills to MTSU’s design studio, including developing interactive exercises and projects for foundation as well as senior-level courses, Brickey has been instrumental in bringing a variety of industry speakers into MTSU’s classrooms and student ASID chapter meetings.
“As the newest member of the MTSU interior design faculty team, I was
particularly touched by the students' recognition,” she said. “I returned to academia
because I sincerely believe in college students and their potential for development for the professional field of interior design.
“From my initial contacts during my interview process, I was impressed with the MTSU students and their individual and collective propensity for future professional
success,” she added. “During my first year here I have witnessed many examples of how students have embraced new ideas and technology … and look forward to many more opportunities to witness the special combination of talent, education, technology and individual dedication in the students.”
As for the design students appreciation for their faculty, “(Each of these women) make a daily effort in helping all of their students to the best of their knowledge.” said Cook, ASID co-president-elect at MTSU. “It shows in all of these women that they love and enjoy their career, making them great professors and mentors, and for that we wanted to thank them.”
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA—To secure a jpeg of the award recipients for editorial use, please e-mail your request to Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
Cutline: From left, Dr. Kaylene Gebert, executive vice president and MTSU provost, helps honor interior design faculty members Dana Miller, Sharon Coleman and Dr. Janis Brickey for their dedication to students, along with MTSU student officers of the university’s American Society of Interior Designers Lydia Melton, president, and Amanda Alldaffer, publicity chairwoman and event coordinator.
Photo credit: Jack Ross/MTSU Photographic Services
373 KIDS LEARN ART OF NATURAL-LOOKING TV AND MOVIE MAKEUP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
One-Day Workshop Gives Youngsters Peek into How Hollywood “Plays Dead”
(MURFREESBORO) – Kids will be able to see for themselves how Hollywood creates the blood and gore of severed limbs and other gross stuff in a Special Effects Makeup Workshop from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 19, in Room 120 of the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building.
Lori Gann-Smith, an assistant professor of speech and theatre at MTSU, will teach youngsters ages 10-18 how to cast and mold body parts and how to decorate them to indicate bruises, abrasions and other injuries for the most realistic possible look.
“They’re going to be taking home a severed finger,” Gann-Smith says. “They’ll be making a cast of their own finger and part of the hand” with foamed gelatin. The fake finger will deteriorate after a few days, but the kids will be given photographs to preserve an image of their work.
Gann-Smith says the youngsters will be using materials that actually are used in the film and theatre industry, and they will be given a list of the materials in case they want to create their own makeup designs.
“You can order pretty much anything you need off the Internet,” Gann-Smith says.
The materials are safe and non-toxic, Gann-Smith says, because the film and theatre industry takes its cue from the medical industry’s creation of prostheses and other functional and cosmetic devices.
Gann-Smith has worked in educational and professional theatre, as well as film and video, for the past 18 years. She has designed costumes and makeup for a number of producing organizations and repertory theatre. Her designs for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream won a Tennessean Theatre Award for Best Costume Design.
“We teach a special effects makeup class, and I believe we’re the only institution in the Southeast that teaches such a class,” Gann-Smith says. In fact, she says, some of her students might be available to help with the workshop.
However, although she is teaching that class at MTSU this semester, the class is not available during the regular school year because it requires the scheduling of consecutive class dates for a period of time, she says.
The cost of the workshop is $50 with all proceeds benefiting the Youth Culture and Arts Center, which is dedicated to providing “a safe and positive atmosphere for young people to create and experience the arts. The YCAC will help build character in our youth by providing positive role models and access to the tools and technology used in various art disciplines,” states its Web site, http://www.youthculturecenter.org/. YCAC is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit organization.
To register, send an e-mail to youthculturecenter@gmail.com, or call 615-849-8140.
--30--
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
One-Day Workshop Gives Youngsters Peek into How Hollywood “Plays Dead”
(MURFREESBORO) – Kids will be able to see for themselves how Hollywood creates the blood and gore of severed limbs and other gross stuff in a Special Effects Makeup Workshop from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 19, in Room 120 of the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building.
Lori Gann-Smith, an assistant professor of speech and theatre at MTSU, will teach youngsters ages 10-18 how to cast and mold body parts and how to decorate them to indicate bruises, abrasions and other injuries for the most realistic possible look.
“They’re going to be taking home a severed finger,” Gann-Smith says. “They’ll be making a cast of their own finger and part of the hand” with foamed gelatin. The fake finger will deteriorate after a few days, but the kids will be given photographs to preserve an image of their work.
Gann-Smith says the youngsters will be using materials that actually are used in the film and theatre industry, and they will be given a list of the materials in case they want to create their own makeup designs.
“You can order pretty much anything you need off the Internet,” Gann-Smith says.
The materials are safe and non-toxic, Gann-Smith says, because the film and theatre industry takes its cue from the medical industry’s creation of prostheses and other functional and cosmetic devices.
Gann-Smith has worked in educational and professional theatre, as well as film and video, for the past 18 years. She has designed costumes and makeup for a number of producing organizations and repertory theatre. Her designs for the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream won a Tennessean Theatre Award for Best Costume Design.
“We teach a special effects makeup class, and I believe we’re the only institution in the Southeast that teaches such a class,” Gann-Smith says. In fact, she says, some of her students might be available to help with the workshop.
However, although she is teaching that class at MTSU this semester, the class is not available during the regular school year because it requires the scheduling of consecutive class dates for a period of time, she says.
The cost of the workshop is $50 with all proceeds benefiting the Youth Culture and Arts Center, which is dedicated to providing “a safe and positive atmosphere for young people to create and experience the arts. The YCAC will help build character in our youth by providing positive role models and access to the tools and technology used in various art disciplines,” states its Web site, http://www.youthculturecenter.org/. YCAC is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a 501 ( c ) 3 nonprofit organization.
To register, send an e-mail to youthculturecenter@gmail.com, or call 615-849-8140.
--30--
372 GIRLS ROCK CAMP ROLLS INTO ITS FIFTH FUN-FILLED YEAR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 11, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
Girls to Learn Empowerment and Collaboration Through Rock at Music Camp
(MURFREESBORO) – Registration will run through May 31 for the fifth annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17 slated for July 16-21 on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. The girls will learn about other aspects of the music industry through workshops in subjects such as photography, music journalism, recording, DIY arts and crafts, and songwriting, as well as panel discussions with industry insiders.
Throughout the week, campers will form their own bands, write songs, and practice two hours each day with volunteer band managers. At the end of the week, the girls will show off their talents in a Saturday night showcase in Tucker Theatre.
The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. The event was inspired by the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, which was founded in 2000 in Portland, Ore.
“The mission of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp is to support a culture of positive self-esteem and collaboration among girls while building community through music,” co-founder Kelley Anderson says. “SGRRC recognizes the potential of every young woman to be a strong, talented, creative and empowered individual while providing a safe space where all girls rock.”
Musical acts slated to perform include:
Those Darlins—a three-piece Murfreesboro-based band which plays traditional country music with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude; members include SGRRC founder Anderson on bass, camp volunteer Nikki Kvarnes on ukulele, and Jessi Wariner, who has attended all four summers of SGRCC, on guitar; influences include The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, and Hank Williams Sr.;
Six Gun Lullaby—a trio that fills its music with huge sonic landscapes and sounds reminiscent of the No Wave music scene in New York; intentionally lacking a bass guitar; inspired by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s approach to art, the band believes “there can be no way of freeing your sound from its naturalization if you do not first limit yourself to what is most capricious: the bass;” members include Claire Adams, Tiffany Minton, and Martin Schneider; My Siamese Self—a three-piece punk band from Atlanta featuring lead singer and guitarist Deb Davis, drummer Kat Riederich, and bassist and backup singer Stacey Singer; has been compared to Joy Division, Television, and The Clash; currently has an EP titled “If You Please.”
Proud sponsors of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp include Rose Companies, Luna Guitars, Chambers Guitars, Grand Palace Silkscreen, Grand Palace Records, and Makeshift Music.
Tuition is $250 per camper. Scholarships are available, but they are expected to be distributed quickly. For more information, visit http://www.sgrrc.org, call 615-849-8140, or send and e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.
--30--
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For photos of the performers slated to take part in the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp in Murfreesboro, contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
Girls to Learn Empowerment and Collaboration Through Rock at Music Camp
(MURFREESBORO) – Registration will run through May 31 for the fifth annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17 slated for July 16-21 on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. The girls will learn about other aspects of the music industry through workshops in subjects such as photography, music journalism, recording, DIY arts and crafts, and songwriting, as well as panel discussions with industry insiders.
Throughout the week, campers will form their own bands, write songs, and practice two hours each day with volunteer band managers. At the end of the week, the girls will show off their talents in a Saturday night showcase in Tucker Theatre.
The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. The event was inspired by the Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, which was founded in 2000 in Portland, Ore.
“The mission of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp is to support a culture of positive self-esteem and collaboration among girls while building community through music,” co-founder Kelley Anderson says. “SGRRC recognizes the potential of every young woman to be a strong, talented, creative and empowered individual while providing a safe space where all girls rock.”
Musical acts slated to perform include:
Those Darlins—a three-piece Murfreesboro-based band which plays traditional country music with a rock ‘n’ roll attitude; members include SGRRC founder Anderson on bass, camp volunteer Nikki Kvarnes on ukulele, and Jessi Wariner, who has attended all four summers of SGRCC, on guitar; influences include The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, and Hank Williams Sr.;
Six Gun Lullaby—a trio that fills its music with huge sonic landscapes and sounds reminiscent of the No Wave music scene in New York; intentionally lacking a bass guitar; inspired by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s approach to art, the band believes “there can be no way of freeing your sound from its naturalization if you do not first limit yourself to what is most capricious: the bass;” members include Claire Adams, Tiffany Minton, and Martin Schneider; My Siamese Self—a three-piece punk band from Atlanta featuring lead singer and guitarist Deb Davis, drummer Kat Riederich, and bassist and backup singer Stacey Singer; has been compared to Joy Division, Television, and The Clash; currently has an EP titled “If You Please.”
Proud sponsors of the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp include Rose Companies, Luna Guitars, Chambers Guitars, Grand Palace Silkscreen, Grand Palace Records, and Makeshift Music.
Tuition is $250 per camper. Scholarships are available, but they are expected to be distributed quickly. For more information, visit http://www.sgrrc.org, call 615-849-8140, or send and e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.
--30--
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For photos of the performers slated to take part in the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp in Murfreesboro, contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
371 MTSU ALUMNUS EARNS TOP VOLUNTEER AWARD IN UNITED STATES
“Lost Boy of Sudan” Finds Education Valuable in War-Torn Homeland
(MURFREESBORO) – Mabior Manyok, a 2005 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” was presented with the President’s Volunteer Service Award at an April 19 ceremony in Washington, D.C., for his work with the government of southern Sudan.
Manyok received the Gold Award, the highest possible honor. He was among 16 volunteers recognized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the donation of their professional skills toward the advancement of economic growth in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Of the 16 volunteers honored, eight were acknowledged also for their work on USAID’s Agricultural Markets and Enterprise Development (AMED) Project in Sudan with the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) Service Impact Award.
Manyok, known to his friends as “Juke,” was nine years old when the civil war pitting the Islamic regime of Omar al-Bashir against the mostly Christian and tribal black African natives began in 1983. At age 12, after seeing his fellow citizens slaughtered by the militia, he signed up for the Sudanese Liberation Army, a counterinsurgent group. However, Manyok left at age 14 after realizing that obtaining an education and putting it to use for his people was the key to the future.
After fleeing to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, Manyok applied to the United Nations for refugee status, which enabled him to come to the United States in 1994. He earned his GED and attended Nashville Tech for three years, earning an associate’s degree in computer technology there and later a degree in University Studies at MTSU.
In October 2006, Manyok began helping the Government of Southern Sudan’s Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Conservation set up a computer database with equipment donated by the U.N. in the capital city of Juba. To date, he has trained more than 20 employees and mentors a four-person information technology department.
The 33-year-old Manyok was cited in the May 2007 USAID/VEGA newsletter for “using his professional Information Technology skills to upgrade the information communications technology capabilities of the country’s Ministry of the Environment.”
Manyok, a naturalized American citizen, volunteers under the auspices of the Volunteer Technical Assistance Program of Winrock International, a Little Rock, Ark.-based nonprofit organization that applies agricultural and energy innovations in assisting the world’s poor and disadvantaged.
--30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpegs of Mabior Manyok, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
(MURFREESBORO) – Mabior Manyok, a 2005 graduate of Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” was presented with the President’s Volunteer Service Award at an April 19 ceremony in Washington, D.C., for his work with the government of southern Sudan.
Manyok received the Gold Award, the highest possible honor. He was among 16 volunteers recognized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the donation of their professional skills toward the advancement of economic growth in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Of the 16 volunteers honored, eight were acknowledged also for their work on USAID’s Agricultural Markets and Enterprise Development (AMED) Project in Sudan with the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA) Service Impact Award.
Manyok, known to his friends as “Juke,” was nine years old when the civil war pitting the Islamic regime of Omar al-Bashir against the mostly Christian and tribal black African natives began in 1983. At age 12, after seeing his fellow citizens slaughtered by the militia, he signed up for the Sudanese Liberation Army, a counterinsurgent group. However, Manyok left at age 14 after realizing that obtaining an education and putting it to use for his people was the key to the future.
After fleeing to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, Manyok applied to the United Nations for refugee status, which enabled him to come to the United States in 1994. He earned his GED and attended Nashville Tech for three years, earning an associate’s degree in computer technology there and later a degree in University Studies at MTSU.
In October 2006, Manyok began helping the Government of Southern Sudan’s Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Conservation set up a computer database with equipment donated by the U.N. in the capital city of Juba. To date, he has trained more than 20 employees and mentors a four-person information technology department.
The 33-year-old Manyok was cited in the May 2007 USAID/VEGA newsletter for “using his professional Information Technology skills to upgrade the information communications technology capabilities of the country’s Ministry of the Environment.”
Manyok, a naturalized American citizen, volunteers under the auspices of the Volunteer Technical Assistance Program of Winrock International, a Little Rock, Ark.-based nonprofit organization that applies agricultural and energy innovations in assisting the world’s poor and disadvantaged.
--30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpegs of Mabior Manyok, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
370 MTSU CUSTOMS ORIENTATIONS WILL BE HELD FROM MAY 30-JULY 31
(MURFREESBORO) — CUSTOMS, the summer orientation for new MTSU students and family members, will begin a two-month run May 30-31, officials in New Student and Family Programs said recently. CUSTOMS will continue until July 31.
CUSTOMS is a two-day session to aid the transition of new undergraduate students to the university, prepare them for educational opportunities and to initiate the integration of new students into the intellectual, cultural and social climate of MTSU.
College of Basic and Applied Sciences and College of Mass Communication majors can attend CUSTOMS May 30-31, June 8-9, June 19-20, July 10-11, July 24-25 and July 30-31.
Jennings A. Jones College of Business, College of Education and Behavioral Science and College of Liberal Arts majors can attend June 5-6, June 12-13, June 22-23, July 19-20 and July 30-31.
Undeclared majors can attend one of the 10 CUSTOMS sessions available throughout the summer (see above dates). CUSTOMS dates are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, a New Student and Family Programs representative said.
Gina Poff, director of New Student and Family Programs, said “more individualized advising” would take place this year.
“We expect that most students will get to meet with a faculty or adviser to individually talk about their major and the course requirements within that major,” Poff said. “The SOAs (summer orientation assistants) will be leading their group to all the events that are in the agenda, so there should be even more group cohesion and an opportunity for our new students to get to know other new students.”
Poff added that a pre-CUSTOMS online program that students must do before they arrive for the orientation will be helpful.
“It is more of an informational video that is entertaining and filled with important information, yet brief,” she said.
CUSTOMS registration for students is $65 and $40 per person for family members. Overnight accommodations will be available in residence halls for an additional fee.
For more information, visit mtsu.edu/~customs, e-mail customs@mtsu.edu or call 615-898-5533. For questions about admission status, call 615-898-2111.
###
369 MTSU ANNOUNCES GRADUATES FOR SPRING 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 8, 2007
CONTACT: News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2493
County-by-County Listing of Spring 2007 Graduates Available Online May 9
(MURFREESBORO)—Beginning May 9, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) will release the names and hometowns of those students who graduated during the spring 2007 commencement ceremony, which was held Saturday, May 5, in Murphy Center on the MTSU campus.
Nearly 2,000 degree candidates graduated during the 95th spring commencement. Of the 1,994 who graduated, 1,726 were undergraduates, 229 were master’s degree candidates, 32 were educational specialists (Ed.S.) candidates and seven were Ph.D. candidates.
The May commencement featured dual ceremonies and dual speakers starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Murphy Center. Candidates from the College of Graduate Studies, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and College of Education and Behavioral Science received their degrees in the morning ceremony. That afternoon, degrees were conferred on candidates in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, current speaker of the state senate and a representative for Tennessee Senate District 2, was the guest speaker for the 10 a.m. ceremony.
George S. Clinton, a Grammy-nominated musician who began his professional music career as a songwriter, arranger and session musician in Nashville while attending MTSU, was the featured speaker for the 2 p.m. ceremony.
HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR COUNTY’S STUDENT LIST: To obtain a list for editorial use of those students from your county who graduated during MTSU’s spring 2007 commencement, please access this information on the News and Public Affairs (NPA) Web site at www.mtsunews.com and click on the “MTSU Graduation Lists” link on the upper, left-hand side of the page.
Next, click on the “Spring” link, which will include an alphabetical, county-by-county listing of those MTSU students who graduated on May 6.
***Please note that this page also contains directions on how to download and save your county’s list for editorial use in your publication.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you encounter any problems downloading and saving your county’s dean’s list, please contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 for assistance.
CONTACT: News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2493
County-by-County Listing of Spring 2007 Graduates Available Online May 9
(MURFREESBORO)—Beginning May 9, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) will release the names and hometowns of those students who graduated during the spring 2007 commencement ceremony, which was held Saturday, May 5, in Murphy Center on the MTSU campus.
Nearly 2,000 degree candidates graduated during the 95th spring commencement. Of the 1,994 who graduated, 1,726 were undergraduates, 229 were master’s degree candidates, 32 were educational specialists (Ed.S.) candidates and seven were Ph.D. candidates.
The May commencement featured dual ceremonies and dual speakers starting at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in Murphy Center. Candidates from the College of Graduate Studies, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and College of Education and Behavioral Science received their degrees in the morning ceremony. That afternoon, degrees were conferred on candidates in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, current speaker of the state senate and a representative for Tennessee Senate District 2, was the guest speaker for the 10 a.m. ceremony.
George S. Clinton, a Grammy-nominated musician who began his professional music career as a songwriter, arranger and session musician in Nashville while attending MTSU, was the featured speaker for the 2 p.m. ceremony.
HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR COUNTY’S STUDENT LIST: To obtain a list for editorial use of those students from your county who graduated during MTSU’s spring 2007 commencement, please access this information on the News and Public Affairs (NPA) Web site at www.mtsunews.com and click on the “MTSU Graduation Lists” link on the upper, left-hand side of the page.
Next, click on the “Spring” link, which will include an alphabetical, county-by-county listing of those MTSU students who graduated on May 6.
***Please note that this page also contains directions on how to download and save your county’s list for editorial use in your publication.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you encounter any problems downloading and saving your county’s dean’s list, please contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 for assistance.
368 MTSU ANNOUNCES DEAN’s LIST FOR SPRING 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2007
CONTACT: News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919
By-County Listing of Latest Dean’s List Students Available Online May 18
(MURFREESBORO)—Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) will release the names and hometowns of those students who appear on the Dean’s List for the spring 2007 semester on May 18.
To qualify for this distinction, an undergraduate student must maintain a current semester grade-point average of 3.5 or above and earn at least 12 semester hours (not including developmental hours).
HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR COUNTY’S STUDENT LIST: To obtain a list for editorial use of those students from your county who are on the current Dean’s List, please access this information on the News and Public Affairs (NPA) Web site at www.mtsunews.com and click on the “MTSU Dean’s List” link on the upper, left-hand side of the page.
Next, click on the “Spring” link, which will include an alphabetical, county-by-county listing of those MTSU students who are on the 2007 spring semester Dean’s List. ***Please note that this page also contains directions on how to download and save your county’s list for editorial use in your publication.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you encounter any problems downloading and saving your county’s dean’s list, please contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 for assistance.
CONTACT: News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919
By-County Listing of Latest Dean’s List Students Available Online May 18
(MURFREESBORO)—Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) will release the names and hometowns of those students who appear on the Dean’s List for the spring 2007 semester on May 18.
To qualify for this distinction, an undergraduate student must maintain a current semester grade-point average of 3.5 or above and earn at least 12 semester hours (not including developmental hours).
HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR COUNTY’S STUDENT LIST: To obtain a list for editorial use of those students from your county who are on the current Dean’s List, please access this information on the News and Public Affairs (NPA) Web site at www.mtsunews.com and click on the “MTSU Dean’s List” link on the upper, left-hand side of the page.
Next, click on the “Spring” link, which will include an alphabetical, county-by-county listing of those MTSU students who are on the 2007 spring semester Dean’s List. ***Please note that this page also contains directions on how to download and save your county’s list for editorial use in your publication.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: If you encounter any problems downloading and saving your county’s dean’s list, please contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 for assistance.
Friday, May 04, 2007
367 MTSU PROF LEADS CAMPAIGN TO SEND BOOKS TO LIBRARY WITH NO TITLES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 4, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
Local Visits Jamaican Primary School, Returns Home to Lead Book Drive for Children
(MURFREESBORO)—Thirty boxes packed with 1,500 pounds of donated books are headed to the John Rollins Success Primary School in Montego Bay, Jamaica, as of May 7, thanks to the goodwill and efforts of one MTSU educator.
Dr. William “Bill” Whitehill, associate professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP), said he learned of the school’s dire need for books earlier this year when he visited a friend in Jamaica and accompanied him to register his nieces for classes.
“While they were doing the registration, I wandered around and came to the library,” Whitehill said. “While there, I learned they had absolutely no books in the library, and that this school has been open only for 18 months.”
Once he returned to the Tennessee, Whitehill made it his mission to collect books for the school’s library, he said, because “it was the morally right thing to do.
“They have a need and we are a land of plenty,” he added. “Therefore, upon my return I started talking to people and the outpouring of help was great. One of the first people I spoke to was (retired educational leadership professor) Dr. Jan Hayes, and within a day, she had two boxes of books for me to take to this school.”
The May 7 shipment of books, whose freight costs was funded from Whitehill’s own pocket, traveled from Murfreesboro to Ft. Lauderdale. From there, an organization known as Food For The Poor (www.foodforthepoor.com), a 25-year-old corporation whose mission is to improve the health, economic, social and spiritual conditions of impoverished people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, transported the books, free of charge, to Jamaica, and will deliver them directly to the primary school.
In addition to book donations from Whitehill and Hayes, the upcoming shipment also will included titles collected by Kathy King and Tammy Sanchez, HHP secretaries; Beverly Corlew, an assistant professor in HHP; MTSU doctoral student Michele Dell Pruitt; Jeff Whitwell, textbook manager for Phillips Bookstore; Shirley Luscinski, secretary for MTSU’s Student Athlete Enhancement Center; and Thomas Keith, a teacher at Mitchell-Neilson Elementary in Murfreesboro, among others.
Considered one of two state-of-the-art educational centers in St. James, the school—formerly known as the Success Primary School—recently was renamed the John Rollins Success Primary School in honor of the deceased philanthropist and businessman whose developments played a pivotal role in that country's tourism industry, according to a March 18 article in The Jamaican Observer newspaper.
Whitehill said about 900 students are currently enrolled in the school, which was designed to accommodate 1,050 students and constructed by the Urban Development Corporation on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
Dr. Dianne Bartley, HHP chairwoman, said that when Whitehill first returned from his trip to Jamaica and told her about the bookless library, “Being from the Caribbean, I know such situations exist, even though most of us in the U.S. can’t imagine
a library with no books.”
A native of Trinidad, Bartley said, “The entire health and human performance department, as well as the College of Education and Behavioral Science, including Dean Gloria Bonner, support (Whitehill’s) efforts and we look forward to establishing an ongoing relationship with that school.”
A member of MTSU’s faculty since 1994, Whitehill said the school’s book needs are “anything and everything,” and used as well as new book donations continue to be welcomed and encouraged, including donations from the community at large.
“Anyone can donate any book or educational materials that they have,” he explained, “including those that would be more appropriate for the teaching faculty to utilize and those that would be best for the students.”
Although the donation of a book may seem like a simple gesture, Bartley said those who find time to drop a donation by Room 111 in MTSU’s Murphy Center will make a lasting contribution.
“Giving books and other educational materials may seem like a small contribution overall,” Bartley noted, “but it’s efforts such as these that create lasting benefits when it comes to the children’s education and lifelong learning.”
Whitehill agreed, adding that while his first book donation was about 50 pounds and his May 7 shipment will be about 1,500 pounds, a school’s library and its children can never have too many books or too much learning.
“These efforts to get books and educational materials to the school will be ongoing,” he confirmed, “and I hope escalates to sending technology and other resources to this school. But the bottom line is, they need the help and we have the resources.”
• For more information about donating books or learning materials to the John Rollins Success Primary School via this MTSU-led campaign, please contact the HHP department at 615-898-2811.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To schedule an interview with Dr. Whitehill regarding his book drive efforts on behalf of the primary school, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
Local Visits Jamaican Primary School, Returns Home to Lead Book Drive for Children
(MURFREESBORO)—Thirty boxes packed with 1,500 pounds of donated books are headed to the John Rollins Success Primary School in Montego Bay, Jamaica, as of May 7, thanks to the goodwill and efforts of one MTSU educator.
Dr. William “Bill” Whitehill, associate professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP), said he learned of the school’s dire need for books earlier this year when he visited a friend in Jamaica and accompanied him to register his nieces for classes.
“While they were doing the registration, I wandered around and came to the library,” Whitehill said. “While there, I learned they had absolutely no books in the library, and that this school has been open only for 18 months.”
Once he returned to the Tennessee, Whitehill made it his mission to collect books for the school’s library, he said, because “it was the morally right thing to do.
“They have a need and we are a land of plenty,” he added. “Therefore, upon my return I started talking to people and the outpouring of help was great. One of the first people I spoke to was (retired educational leadership professor) Dr. Jan Hayes, and within a day, she had two boxes of books for me to take to this school.”
The May 7 shipment of books, whose freight costs was funded from Whitehill’s own pocket, traveled from Murfreesboro to Ft. Lauderdale. From there, an organization known as Food For The Poor (www.foodforthepoor.com), a 25-year-old corporation whose mission is to improve the health, economic, social and spiritual conditions of impoverished people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, transported the books, free of charge, to Jamaica, and will deliver them directly to the primary school.
In addition to book donations from Whitehill and Hayes, the upcoming shipment also will included titles collected by Kathy King and Tammy Sanchez, HHP secretaries; Beverly Corlew, an assistant professor in HHP; MTSU doctoral student Michele Dell Pruitt; Jeff Whitwell, textbook manager for Phillips Bookstore; Shirley Luscinski, secretary for MTSU’s Student Athlete Enhancement Center; and Thomas Keith, a teacher at Mitchell-Neilson Elementary in Murfreesboro, among others.
Considered one of two state-of-the-art educational centers in St. James, the school—formerly known as the Success Primary School—recently was renamed the John Rollins Success Primary School in honor of the deceased philanthropist and businessman whose developments played a pivotal role in that country's tourism industry, according to a March 18 article in The Jamaican Observer newspaper.
Whitehill said about 900 students are currently enrolled in the school, which was designed to accommodate 1,050 students and constructed by the Urban Development Corporation on behalf of the Ministry of Education.
Dr. Dianne Bartley, HHP chairwoman, said that when Whitehill first returned from his trip to Jamaica and told her about the bookless library, “Being from the Caribbean, I know such situations exist, even though most of us in the U.S. can’t imagine
a library with no books.”
A native of Trinidad, Bartley said, “The entire health and human performance department, as well as the College of Education and Behavioral Science, including Dean Gloria Bonner, support (Whitehill’s) efforts and we look forward to establishing an ongoing relationship with that school.”
A member of MTSU’s faculty since 1994, Whitehill said the school’s book needs are “anything and everything,” and used as well as new book donations continue to be welcomed and encouraged, including donations from the community at large.
“Anyone can donate any book or educational materials that they have,” he explained, “including those that would be more appropriate for the teaching faculty to utilize and those that would be best for the students.”
Although the donation of a book may seem like a simple gesture, Bartley said those who find time to drop a donation by Room 111 in MTSU’s Murphy Center will make a lasting contribution.
“Giving books and other educational materials may seem like a small contribution overall,” Bartley noted, “but it’s efforts such as these that create lasting benefits when it comes to the children’s education and lifelong learning.”
Whitehill agreed, adding that while his first book donation was about 50 pounds and his May 7 shipment will be about 1,500 pounds, a school’s library and its children can never have too many books or too much learning.
“These efforts to get books and educational materials to the school will be ongoing,” he confirmed, “and I hope escalates to sending technology and other resources to this school. But the bottom line is, they need the help and we have the resources.”
• For more information about donating books or learning materials to the John Rollins Success Primary School via this MTSU-led campaign, please contact the HHP department at 615-898-2811.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: To schedule an interview with Dr. Whitehill regarding his book drive efforts on behalf of the primary school, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
366 2 INDUSTRY PROS ADDED TO MTSU’S BOARD OF VISITORS
SunTrust, ASCAP leaders to advise College of Mass Communication
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2007EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385
(MURFREESBORO)—A pair of Nashville business veterans with priceless music-industry experience are the latest additions to the College of Mass Communication’s Board of Visitors at Middle Tennessee State University.
Karen Clark, senior vice president for SunTrust Bank, and Connie Bradley, senior vice president for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, will join the 27-member board when it reconvenes for its fall 2007 meeting.
“Karen and Connie are at their pinnacle of professionalism,” said Dr. Anantha Babbili, dean of the college. “They will share with our students their immense experience and accomplishments as we plan for the future. I am grateful that they have joined the board to contribute to the continuing success of our programs.”
Chaired by renowned journalist John Seigenthaler, the Board of Visitors includes professionals from the journalism, electronic media, public relations and recording industries, including MTSU alumni. Members serve two-year terms and act as advocates on behalf of the college, serve as advisors to the dean and identify private funding sources.
Clark, the manager of the Nashville Private Wealth Management Division of Sports and Entertainment Banking at SunTrust Bank's Music Row Financial Center, has been with SunTrust for 14 years.
Clark handles a wide range of financial services to the music industry and holds Series 6 and 63 investment licenses. Her organizational involvement includes membership in the Country Music Association, the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the T. J. Martell board of directors, Academy of Country Music board of directors and finance committee, director of the Gospel Music Association’s finance committee, a former board member and 1996 alumna of Leadership Music, W.O. Smith School of Music board of directors, Gospel Music Foundation Board, SOURCE, Nashville Screenwriters Conference, Entertainment and Music Business Partnership, MTSU Jones College of Business Entrepreneurial Studies Advisory Board and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau Membership Advisory Board.
Bradley, who this year celebrates 30 years with ASCAP, has been at the forefront in lobbying for the protection of intellectual property of Music Row songwriters. Under Bradley’s leadership, ASCAP has signed and supported the careers of Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Gretchen Wilson, Michael W. Smith, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, LeeAnn Rimes, Amy Grant and Wynonna, among others.
Bradley currently serves on the board of the Country Music Association, Country Music Foundation, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Film Commission. She is a native of Shelbyville and attended MTSU.
In addition to their ongoing availability as consultants to the College of Mass Communications, the Board of Visitors gathers in full at least twice a year for a daylong session of advice, observations and guidance on programs and development, as well as meetings with students and faculty.
One of the largest programs in the nation, the MTSU College of Mass Communication offers degree concentrations in 14 major areas—ranging from journalism to digital media and media management to recording industry management—and is accredited by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color JPEGs of the new board members, 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!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2007EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385
(MURFREESBORO)—A pair of Nashville business veterans with priceless music-industry experience are the latest additions to the College of Mass Communication’s Board of Visitors at Middle Tennessee State University.
Karen Clark, senior vice president for SunTrust Bank, and Connie Bradley, senior vice president for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, will join the 27-member board when it reconvenes for its fall 2007 meeting.
“Karen and Connie are at their pinnacle of professionalism,” said Dr. Anantha Babbili, dean of the college. “They will share with our students their immense experience and accomplishments as we plan for the future. I am grateful that they have joined the board to contribute to the continuing success of our programs.”
Chaired by renowned journalist John Seigenthaler, the Board of Visitors includes professionals from the journalism, electronic media, public relations and recording industries, including MTSU alumni. Members serve two-year terms and act as advocates on behalf of the college, serve as advisors to the dean and identify private funding sources.
Clark, the manager of the Nashville Private Wealth Management Division of Sports and Entertainment Banking at SunTrust Bank's Music Row Financial Center, has been with SunTrust for 14 years.
Clark handles a wide range of financial services to the music industry and holds Series 6 and 63 investment licenses. Her organizational involvement includes membership in the Country Music Association, the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the T. J. Martell board of directors, Academy of Country Music board of directors and finance committee, director of the Gospel Music Association’s finance committee, a former board member and 1996 alumna of Leadership Music, W.O. Smith School of Music board of directors, Gospel Music Foundation Board, SOURCE, Nashville Screenwriters Conference, Entertainment and Music Business Partnership, MTSU Jones College of Business Entrepreneurial Studies Advisory Board and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau Membership Advisory Board.
Bradley, who this year celebrates 30 years with ASCAP, has been at the forefront in lobbying for the protection of intellectual property of Music Row songwriters. Under Bradley’s leadership, ASCAP has signed and supported the careers of Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, Gretchen Wilson, Michael W. Smith, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, LeeAnn Rimes, Amy Grant and Wynonna, among others.
Bradley currently serves on the board of the Country Music Association, Country Music Foundation, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tennessee Film Commission. She is a native of Shelbyville and attended MTSU.
In addition to their ongoing availability as consultants to the College of Mass Communications, the Board of Visitors gathers in full at least twice a year for a daylong session of advice, observations and guidance on programs and development, as well as meetings with students and faculty.
One of the largest programs in the nation, the MTSU College of Mass Communication offers degree concentrations in 14 major areas—ranging from journalism to digital media and media management to recording industry management—and is accredited by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
—30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color JPEGs of the new board members, 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!
362 MTSU BUSINESS PROFESSOR NAMED MASTER MARKETING TEACHER
April 27, 2007
CONTACT: Dr. Don Roy at 615-904-8564
Tom Tozer, 615-898-5131
MURFREESBORO—Dr. Don Roy, associate professor of marketing at Middle Tennessee State University recently received the Master Marketing Teacher award presented by the Marketing Management Association at the organization’s spring conference in Chicago. This was the association’s fifth annual Master Teacher Competition, sponsored by Hormel Foods.
Nominated by Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jones College of Business, Roy was required to submit materials that documented his teaching effectiveness. After being selected as a finalist, he made a formal presentation of an innovative teaching activity and was selected on the quality of that presentation and the uniqueness of the teaching activity.
“This is a very distinct honor,” Burton said. “Dr. Roy’s reputation as a teacher in the Jones College is outstanding, and that reputation was put to the ultimate test in this competition. His reputation as a great teacher is well earned and now has been nationally validated.” Roy follows Dr. Tim Graeff, professor of management and marketing, who previously received the honor, Burton added.
In a note to Roy, Dr. Kaylene Gebert, provost and executive vice president, stated that “MTSU values excellent teaching, and you have certainly exemplified this criteria.”
“Through experiential learning class projects, Dr. Roy is very effective in helping students relate marketing theory to real-world applications,” commented Dr. Jill Austin, management and marketing department chair. Austin has been immersed in the development of experiential learning courses at MTSU over the past three years—all as part of the university’s response to the SACS Quality Enhancement Plan mandate.
Roy thanked his peers for their support and his students for being so accepting of his experiential learning approach and related activities.
“I am also grateful for MMA’s promotion of teaching effectiveness as well as Hormel Foods’ support of marketing education,” Roy said. “The desire to provide students with meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences motivates me to strive to improve as a teacher.”
Roy came to MTSU in the year 2000. He earned his B.B.A. from Mississippi State University, his M.B.A. from Mississippi College and his Ph.D. at the University of Memphis.
####
NOTE: For a headshot of Roy, please email Tom Tozer. Thank you
CONTACT: Dr. Don Roy at 615-904-8564
Tom Tozer, 615-898-5131
MURFREESBORO—Dr. Don Roy, associate professor of marketing at Middle Tennessee State University recently received the Master Marketing Teacher award presented by the Marketing Management Association at the organization’s spring conference in Chicago. This was the association’s fifth annual Master Teacher Competition, sponsored by Hormel Foods.
Nominated by Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jones College of Business, Roy was required to submit materials that documented his teaching effectiveness. After being selected as a finalist, he made a formal presentation of an innovative teaching activity and was selected on the quality of that presentation and the uniqueness of the teaching activity.
“This is a very distinct honor,” Burton said. “Dr. Roy’s reputation as a teacher in the Jones College is outstanding, and that reputation was put to the ultimate test in this competition. His reputation as a great teacher is well earned and now has been nationally validated.” Roy follows Dr. Tim Graeff, professor of management and marketing, who previously received the honor, Burton added.
In a note to Roy, Dr. Kaylene Gebert, provost and executive vice president, stated that “MTSU values excellent teaching, and you have certainly exemplified this criteria.”
“Through experiential learning class projects, Dr. Roy is very effective in helping students relate marketing theory to real-world applications,” commented Dr. Jill Austin, management and marketing department chair. Austin has been immersed in the development of experiential learning courses at MTSU over the past three years—all as part of the university’s response to the SACS Quality Enhancement Plan mandate.
Roy thanked his peers for their support and his students for being so accepting of his experiential learning approach and related activities.
“I am also grateful for MMA’s promotion of teaching effectiveness as well as Hormel Foods’ support of marketing education,” Roy said. “The desire to provide students with meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences motivates me to strive to improve as a teacher.”
Roy came to MTSU in the year 2000. He earned his B.B.A. from Mississippi State University, his M.B.A. from Mississippi College and his Ph.D. at the University of Memphis.
####
NOTE: For a headshot of Roy, please email Tom Tozer. Thank you
361 FOURTEEN STUDENTS ACQUIRE HEALTH AND HUMAN PERFORMANCE HONORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Department of Health and Human Performance, 615-898-2811
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)─During the recent student awards ceremony sponsored by the College of Education and Behavioral Science on March 29, 14 students from the Department of Health and Human Performance received honors.
The winning students, along with their respective hometowns, are as follows:
·Stanley Hall Scholarship
Trevor Searcy of Portland
·Bethany Kline Scholarship
Alan Killingsworth of Fairview
·Nancy Hill Robertson Scholarship
Meleah Clendenon of Spencer
·Tommy Reynolds Scholarship
Katie Gott of Kingsport
·Glen Reeder Scholarship
Michael Stout of Jackson
·Buleah Davis Scholarship
Jessica Lane Doyle El Dorado, AR
·Leona Drake Scholarship
Melanie Lynn of Germantown
·Athletic Training Outstanding Major
Josh Sloan of Mt. Juliet
─more─
Honors
Add 1
·Exercise Science Outstanding Major
Megan Todt of Murfreesboro
·Health Education Outstanding Major
Whitney Martin of Clarksville
·Recreation and Leisure Service Outstanding Major
Jessica Beecham of Peagram
·Physical Education Outstanding Major
Victoria Monasterolo Murfreesboro resident and native of Argentina
·Outstanding Doctoral Graduate Assistant
Michelle Dell-Pruett of Hampstead, MD
·Outstanding Masters Graduate Assistant
Kara Scobey of Franklin
─ 30─
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Department of Health and Human Performance, 615-898-2811
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)─During the recent student awards ceremony sponsored by the College of Education and Behavioral Science on March 29, 14 students from the Department of Health and Human Performance received honors.
The winning students, along with their respective hometowns, are as follows:
·Stanley Hall Scholarship
Trevor Searcy of Portland
·Bethany Kline Scholarship
Alan Killingsworth of Fairview
·Nancy Hill Robertson Scholarship
Meleah Clendenon of Spencer
·Tommy Reynolds Scholarship
Katie Gott of Kingsport
·Glen Reeder Scholarship
Michael Stout of Jackson
·Buleah Davis Scholarship
Jessica Lane Doyle El Dorado, AR
·Leona Drake Scholarship
Melanie Lynn of Germantown
·Athletic Training Outstanding Major
Josh Sloan of Mt. Juliet
─more─
Honors
Add 1
·Exercise Science Outstanding Major
Megan Todt of Murfreesboro
·Health Education Outstanding Major
Whitney Martin of Clarksville
·Recreation and Leisure Service Outstanding Major
Jessica Beecham of Peagram
·Physical Education Outstanding Major
Victoria Monasterolo Murfreesboro resident and native of Argentina
·Outstanding Doctoral Graduate Assistant
Michelle Dell-Pruett of Hampstead, MD
·Outstanding Masters Graduate Assistant
Kara Scobey of Franklin
─ 30─
360 MTSU GUITARIST SILVIU CIULEI TAKES TWO TOP PRIZES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 24, 2007
CONTACT: Tim Musselman, 615-898-2493
MTSU GUITARIST SILVIU CIULEI TAKES TWO TOP PRIZES IN PERFORMANCE CONTESTS
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—MTSU guitar student Silviu Ciulei recently won the $2,000 second prize in the Texas International Guitar Competition in Dallas on March 24.
"This competition is recognized as one of the top guitar competitions in North America," said Dr. William Yelverton, MTSU guitar professor.
The competition is open to guitarists of all ages and has brought competitors in from Uruguay, Brazil, Finland, Nicaragua, France, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and all parts of North America. At 21, Ciulei—a junior guitar performance major—was the youngest guitarist in the competition.
"This prize is a major honor for him and is the largest cash award ever won by an MTSU guitar student in a competition," Yelverton said.
Additionally, Ciulei won the $500 second prize at the 12th Annual Appalachian State Guitar Competition held April 15 in Boone, N.C.
"This year's competition was exceptionally competitive and included guitarists from across the U.S. representing universities and conservatories in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Hartford and Dallas," Yelverton said.
Also competing in this contest were international students representing Slovakia, Bosnia, Israel and Ecuador. (First prize was won by Cameron O'Conner, a graduate student from Cal Sate Northridge).
Yelverton said this is the fourth consecutive year that an MTSU guitar student has won a prize in this nationally recognized competition.
"The primary benefactor of the Appalachian Guitar Festival and Competition, Ralph Grosswald, was quite impressed with Ciulei and has invited him to perform a fund-raising concert in Boone next September to raise money for Ciulei to purchase a concert guitar," Yelverton said.
"This is a similar event was held last year for MTSU grad Matt Palmer that raised $6,000 for his purchase of a concert guitar," he added.
Also of note, Yelverton observed, is MTSU senior Erol Ozsever, who advanced to the semifinal round of 12 in the Appalachian State Competition. Ozsever also won second prize in the Beethoven Club Guitar Competition in Memphis last March for the consecutive time.
—30—
CONTACT: Tim Musselman, 615-898-2493
MTSU GUITARIST SILVIU CIULEI TAKES TWO TOP PRIZES IN PERFORMANCE CONTESTS
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—MTSU guitar student Silviu Ciulei recently won the $2,000 second prize in the Texas International Guitar Competition in Dallas on March 24.
"This competition is recognized as one of the top guitar competitions in North America," said Dr. William Yelverton, MTSU guitar professor.
The competition is open to guitarists of all ages and has brought competitors in from Uruguay, Brazil, Finland, Nicaragua, France, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and all parts of North America. At 21, Ciulei—a junior guitar performance major—was the youngest guitarist in the competition.
"This prize is a major honor for him and is the largest cash award ever won by an MTSU guitar student in a competition," Yelverton said.
Additionally, Ciulei won the $500 second prize at the 12th Annual Appalachian State Guitar Competition held April 15 in Boone, N.C.
"This year's competition was exceptionally competitive and included guitarists from across the U.S. representing universities and conservatories in Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Hartford and Dallas," Yelverton said.
Also competing in this contest were international students representing Slovakia, Bosnia, Israel and Ecuador. (First prize was won by Cameron O'Conner, a graduate student from Cal Sate Northridge).
Yelverton said this is the fourth consecutive year that an MTSU guitar student has won a prize in this nationally recognized competition.
"The primary benefactor of the Appalachian Guitar Festival and Competition, Ralph Grosswald, was quite impressed with Ciulei and has invited him to perform a fund-raising concert in Boone next September to raise money for Ciulei to purchase a concert guitar," Yelverton said.
"This is a similar event was held last year for MTSU grad Matt Palmer that raised $6,000 for his purchase of a concert guitar," he added.
Also of note, Yelverton observed, is MTSU senior Erol Ozsever, who advanced to the semifinal round of 12 in the Appalachian State Competition. Ozsever also won second prize in the Beethoven Club Guitar Competition in Memphis last March for the consecutive time.
—30—
359 MTSU CENTER DIRECTS STATEWIDE MATH AND SCIENCE PROJECT
Release date: April 26, 2007
MTSU contact: Dr. Ray Phillips, 615-904-8573
UT-Knoxville, Memphis, Oak Ridge Entities Join 3-Year, $2.5 Million Partnership
(MURFREESBORO) — The Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center at MTSU has received from the Tennessee Department of Education a $2.5 million grant for three years to direct a statewide Math/Science Partnership Project.
“The grant will provide high-quality professional development opportunities to high-school teachers of mathematics and science which are coherent with Gov. Phil Bredesen’s vision for mathematics and science learning,” project director Dr. Ray Phillips said.
The center, which is called TMSTEC, will develop and deliver the program in collaboration with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the University of Memphis, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education.
The most motivated teachers from across the state will compete for the opportunity to work with exceptional faculty from MTSU, UT-Knoxville, University of Memphis as well as master teachers from across the state, program officials said.
The program will help teachers develop enhanced skills, content knowledge and innovative approaches to teach upper level/AP math and science courses. The ultimate impact will be school districts in a better position to provide enhanced opportunities for students to complete rigorous mathematics and science courses, exposing students to the possibilities of careers in science and math.
Starting this summer with a four-day workshop in Oak Ridge, teachers will work with scientists, mathematicians and engineers who will introduce them to the most current discoveries and give them tools to use that knowledge to educate their students.
“Teachers will be able to integrate the latest scientific discoveries into their classrooms’ curriculum,” said Sheila Webster, who is director of the UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment’s technology research and development program. Recruiting for the program is under way. Teachers from any of Tennessee’s 95 counties may apply, said Phillips. Interested teachers may request information through jcarter@mtsu.edu for applications.
For more information, call 615-904-8573.
###
MTSU contact: Dr. Ray Phillips, 615-904-8573
UT-Knoxville, Memphis, Oak Ridge Entities Join 3-Year, $2.5 Million Partnership
(MURFREESBORO) — The Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center at MTSU has received from the Tennessee Department of Education a $2.5 million grant for three years to direct a statewide Math/Science Partnership Project.
“The grant will provide high-quality professional development opportunities to high-school teachers of mathematics and science which are coherent with Gov. Phil Bredesen’s vision for mathematics and science learning,” project director Dr. Ray Phillips said.
The center, which is called TMSTEC, will develop and deliver the program in collaboration with the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the University of Memphis, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education.
The most motivated teachers from across the state will compete for the opportunity to work with exceptional faculty from MTSU, UT-Knoxville, University of Memphis as well as master teachers from across the state, program officials said.
The program will help teachers develop enhanced skills, content knowledge and innovative approaches to teach upper level/AP math and science courses. The ultimate impact will be school districts in a better position to provide enhanced opportunities for students to complete rigorous mathematics and science courses, exposing students to the possibilities of careers in science and math.
Starting this summer with a four-day workshop in Oak Ridge, teachers will work with scientists, mathematicians and engineers who will introduce them to the most current discoveries and give them tools to use that knowledge to educate their students.
“Teachers will be able to integrate the latest scientific discoveries into their classrooms’ curriculum,” said Sheila Webster, who is director of the UT Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment’s technology research and development program. Recruiting for the program is under way. Teachers from any of Tennessee’s 95 counties may apply, said Phillips. Interested teachers may request information through jcarter@mtsu.edu for applications.
For more information, call 615-904-8573.
###
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)