[337] MTSU EVENTS CHALLENGE WOMEN TO BE “CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 27, 2008EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU EVENTS CHALLENGE WOMEN TO BE “CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE”
National Women’s History Month Celebration Takes Its Cue from Shirley Chisholm

(MURFREESBORO) – The late U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-N.Y.) said, “I am, was, and always will be a catalyst for change.” Her words form the theme for the 2009 National Women’s History Month celebration at MTSU with events scheduled throughout March and into April. Chisholm, an African-American lawyer from the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of New York City, was the first black woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1972, she became the first African-American woman ever to run for the presidential nomination of a major party. Her face graces the official MTSU National Women’s History Month button.
“The reaction from faculty, staff and students is so gratifying,” says Terri Johnson, chair of the National Women’s History Month Committee and director of the June Anderson Women’s Center. “The whole campus is engaged in National Women’s History Month. It’s not just a month. All year long, they’re learning about women’s history.”
The keynote speaker for this year’s celebration is feminist author bell hooks (lower case is correct), who will deliver a presentation titled “Feminism Forever: Continuing the Struggle” at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, in MTSU’s Keathley University Center Theater. Her appearance is sponsored by the June Anderson Women’s Center, the National Women’s History Month and Black History Month committees, the Distinguished Lecture Fund and the Virginia Peck Trust. Acclaimed as one of the nation’s leading public intellectuals by The Atlantic and one of “100 Visionaries Who Could Change Your Life” by Utne Reader, hooks’ first book, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism (South End Press, 1981) was named one of the “20 most influential women’s books of the last 20 years” by Publishers’ Weekly in 1992. Her most recent books include Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics and Homegrown: Engaged Cultural Criticism with Amalia Mesa-Bains. Dr. Peggy McIntosh, associate director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, will present “Recognizing and Lessening Systems of Privilege with Regard to Race, Class, Gender, and Sexual Orientation,” a workshop for administrators, faculty and staff, as part
of the Women’s Studies conference at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in the Tom H.

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Jackson Building. She also will guide a workshop for students and titled “Coming to See Privilege Systems: The Surprising Journey” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, in the State Farm Lecture Hall.
McIntosh’s events are co-sponsored by the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, the National Women’s History Month Committee, the Women’s Studies Program, the Distinguished Lecture Fund, the Learning, Teaching, and Innovative Technologies Center, the American Association of University Women, and the Holocaust Studies Committee.
“The excitement of having two nationally and internationally known intellectuals here invigorates the entire campus community and ignites our desire for change and activism,” says Johnson of hooks and McIntosh.
Other highlights include “Tennessee Women for the Vote: A Suffrage Rally, 1913,” dramatized by Ayne Cantrell, Elvira Casal, Ann Funkhouser, Elyce Helford and Kris Pruitt on Thursday, March 5; the International Women’s Day Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 18; the Interdisciplinary Conference in Women’s Studies on Thursday, March 26, and Friday, March 27; a lecture by The Hon. Martha C. Daughtrey, U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday, March 26; and “Daddy’s Scrapbook: Reflection of a Negro League Daughter” with Harriet Hamilton on Friday, March 27. All events are open to the public, and all are free of charge except the International Women’s Day Luncheon. For complete information, go to www.mtsu.edu/jawc or contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For jpegs of bell hooks and Dr. Peggy McIntosh, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

[336]BET JOURNALIST JEFF JOHNSON TO SPEAK “THETRUTH”AT MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 27, 2009EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Sekou Franklin, 615-904-8232

BET JOURNALIST JEFF JOHNSON TO SPEAK “THETRUTH”AT MTSU Progressive Communicator, Activist Interviewed Leaders of Liberia and Sudan

(MURFREESBORO) – Jeff Johnson, host and producer for Black Entertainment Television’s “The Truth with Jeff Johnson,” will speak on “The Quest for Black Citizenship” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, at Tucker Theatre in MTSU’s Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building. This event is free and open to the public. Johnson landed an exclusive post-inauguration interview with Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state, in 2006. He is one of only two news correspondents to be granted an interview with Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir, who has not granted interviews with American media outlets for 13 years. The National Association of Black Journalists bestowed its Salute to Excellence Award on Johnson in 2008 for his BET series “Life & Death in Darfur: Jeff Johnson Reports.”
Described by Source magazine as one of hip-hop’s political leaders, Johnson is former Vice President of the Hip-Hop Action Network and former National Director of the NAACP Youth and College Division. He is senior adviser for Media and Youth Outreach for People for the American Way. In addition to his television show, Johnson is a regular commentator on Tom Joyner’s syndicated radio program.
This event is sponsored by the MTSU Black History Month Committee, the Distinguished Lecture Fund, the African-American Student Association, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, Inc., and Women in Action. For more information, contact Dr. Sekou Franklin, chairman of the MTSU Black History Month Committee, at 615-904-8232 or franklin@mtsu.edu.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a jpeg photo of Jeff Johnson, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

[334] SCIENCE OLYMPIAD, EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE, ONE KID AT A TIME

Release date: Feb. 26, 2009


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Science Olympiad contacts: Dr. Pat Patterson, 615-898-5085, 615-869-9984 (cell)
Dr. Amy Phelps, 615-898-2077, 615-516-0377 (cell)


SCIENCE OLYMPIAD, EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE, ONE KID AT A TIME
MTSU Hosts 15th Annual Competition Feb. 28 for 17 Middle Schools, 14 High Schools

(MURFREESBORO) — MTSU will host its 15th Regional Science Olympiad Saturday, Feb. 28, continuing a tradition of “trying to expand kids’ knowledge of science,” director Dr. Pat Patterson says.
Science Olympiad was founded by Dr. Gerard Putz of Macomb County Intermediate School in Michigan in 1982 and patterned on an event that took place in Delaware. It was expanded to a national event in 1985, and this year marks its 25th national anniversary.
The event was started to create a passion for learning science in kindergarten through 12th-grade students and change the way the students perceive science.
“We are trying to put the same kind of flavor in kids’ mouths (for science) that they have for sports,” says Patterson, a chemistry professor at MTSU.
In all, the organization hosted 14,000 schools at events nationwide last year.
At this year’s MTSU Olympiad, 17 middle and 14 high schools will compete in 23 events. The all-day event begins and ends in the McWherter Learning Resources Center, with awards starting around 3:30 p.m. Events will be held across the campus.
The top six teams in each division will go to Knoxville for the state tournament. The top two teams from each division at that tournament will go to the national tournament at Augusta (Ga.) State University.
Bruce Ross of the Murfreesboro Water Department has a long history with the event. Ross participated in 1985 as a senior at Glencliff High School in Nashville. Glencliff went to the state tournament and was one of two teams to go to the national tournament in Michigan. The team took third place in the computer-programming competition.
Although he’d already decided to make science his career, Ross says the Science Olympiad tournament had an impact on his studies.
“It made learning in science a lot more fun,” says Ross, who is a volunteer for the event each year. “I just enjoy seeing the kids doing what I did 20 years ago.”


Competing high school (Division C) teams include Franklin’s Battle Ground Academy; Blackman; Cannon County (Woodbury); Dayspring Academy; Franklin; Harpeth Hall Teams A and B; Hume-Fogg Teams A and B; Martin Luther King Academic Magnet High School; Montgomery Bell Academy; Riverdale; Siegel; and Smyrna.
Competing middle school teams (Division B) include Cason Lane Academy; Columbia’s E.A. Cox Middle School Teams A and B; Harpeth Hall; Martin Luther King Academic Magnet School; Montgomery Bell Academy Teams A and B; Sigel; Smyrna Middle School Teams A and B; St. Bernard Academy Teams A and B; St. Pius X Classical Academy; St. Rose of Lima Catholic School; and Stewarts Creek Middle School Teams A and B.
For more information on the competition, contact Patterson at 615-898-5085.


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

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Media welcomed.

[333] TSSAA TOURNAMENT AT MTSU WILL ALTER TRAFFIC, PARKING PATTERNS

TSSAA TOURNAMENT AT MTSU WILL ALTER TRAFFIC, PARKING PATTERNS

Feb. 26, 2009
CONTACT: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919

MURFREESBORO—The TSSAA girls and boys basketball tournaments will be held at Middle Tennessee State University, March 11-14, and March 18-21, respectively. With the sudden increase in population at the university, the traffic and parking configuration changes somewhat on campus and has an impact on local traffic along Middle Tennessee Boulevard.
The first week of competition will take place during the university’s spring break, which will alleviate much of the congestion on and around campus.
As in the past, the team buses will be parked along the east side of Tennessee Boulevard from the president’s driveway north to Division Street. This will create single-lane traffic for a brief stretch heading north on Tennessee, and motorists and pedestrians are asked to be particularly cautious in that area.
The entrance of Faulkinberry Drive from Tennessee Boulevard will be closed March 11-14 and 18-21. Faulkinberry Drive at the corner of Normal Way also will be closed during the tournaments.
The Greenland Drive parking lots will be reserved for TSSAA ticket-holders, and there will be a charge of $5 to park in those lots. MTSU students and faculty are encouraged to find alternative parking during these times.
The following parking lots will be reserved for vehicles displaying the appropriate MTSU parking permits: Woodfin, Maintenance, Horseshow, Corral, and the S-Curve/Nursing lots. Visitors who have the appropriate permit will be permitted to park to these lots.
Other visitors who are attending the TSSAA games will be routed to the exterior lots surrounding the campus, including the Tennessee Livestock Center and Rutherford Boulevard lots. The Blue Raider Shuttles will be running on campus throughout the tournaments. However, shuttle service will be altered somewhat because it will not be running through the Greenland lots as usual.
Visitors to MTSU are reminded that parking is not permitted in yellow or red emergency zones or handicap (blue) parking spaces.
For any questions or information about TSSAA parking, please feel free to call MTSU Parking Services at 615-898-2850.
The TSSAA tournaments attract thousands of prospective students and their parents, alumni and other university supporters to MTSU and to Rutherford County.

[332] MTSU THANKS VINCE GILL WITH HONORARY PROFESSORSHIP

MTSU THANKS VINCE GILL WITH HONORARY PROFESSORSHIPCollege of Mass Communication Recognizes ‘True Teacher’ During EventFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 26, 2009EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385 (MURFREESBORO)—Multi-talented Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill can add one more title to his resume: Professor.
Gill, who’s won more Grammy Awards than any other male country artist, was recognized as an honorary professor in the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University Feb. 23 during a conversation and performance at the campus for the Tom T. Hall Writers Series.
The series, which celebrates songwriters, authors, poets and screenwriters, offers students, faculty, staff and the public a chance to learn more about the creative process as well as the business end of success. MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry offers courses in commercial songwriting, music publishing, artist management, concert promotion and touring, audio engineering and production, just to name a few.
“Vince connected naturally and immediately with our students and faculty during his talk, and they heard firsthand how the creative process of songwriting works,” said Mass Communication Dean Roy Moore of Gill’s two-and-a-half-hour visit. “He communicated eloquently and passionately to our students the hard work, dedication, persistence and imagination involved in succeeding as a songwriter and an artist.
”This honorary professorship is a recognition by our college of him as a master teacher. He’s one of the best examples of true artistry: he creates, he inspires, and he shares who he is and what he does with others.”
During the session, Gill, a Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year and host for the CMA Awards for more than a decade, advised students not to aim toward fame but to “do it ‘cause you love it.”
The Oklahoma native, who’s called Nashville home since the early 1980s, has been performing since high school and recording for 30 years, winning multiple awards with classics like “When I Call Your Name,” “Look at Us,” “I Still Believe in You” and “Go Rest High on That Mountain.” His most recent release, “These Days,” was a groundbreaking four-CD set with each disk focusing on a different musical genre: country, bluegrass, jazz and rock.
Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007 and is the 2009 Artist-in-Residence for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He just received the Grammy Awards for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Instrumental Performance, bringing his career total to 20 Grammy wins. He also is currently nominated for a pair of Dove Awards for his contributions to “How Great Thou Art: Gospel Favorites From The Grand Ole Opry” and “Country Bluegrass Homecoming Volume One.”
For more information about the Tom T. Hall Writers Series at MTSU, please call 615-898-5150.------- IN BRIEF: Multi-talented Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill can add one more title to his resume: Professor. Gill, who’s won more Grammy Awards than any other male country artist, was recognized as an honorary professor in the College of Mass Communication at MTSU Feb. 23 during a conversation and performance at the campus for the Tom T. Hall Writers Series. The series, which celebrates songwriters, authors, poets and screenwriters, offers students, faculty, staff and the public a chance to learn more about the creative process as well as the business end of success. “This honorary professorship is a recognition by our college of him as a master teacher,” Mass Communications Dean Roy Moore said of Gill. “He’s one of the best examples of true artistry: he creates, he inspires, and he shares who he is and what he does with others.”

For MTSU news and information, visit www.mtsunews.com.
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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color JPEG of Gill, 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.

[331] MTSU SETS FREE ROUNDTABLE OF LAW EXPERTS FOR STUDENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919

MTSU SETS FREE ROUNDTABLE OF LAW EXPERTS FOR STUDENTS

(MURFREESBORO)—Dr. Frank Essex, retired political science professor, will serve as host for a roundtable of former MTSU students-turned-law professionals at 1-2:25 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, in Room 106 of MTSU’s University Honors College.
Joining Essex will be MTSU alumni Judge Ben Hall McFarlin, Judge Mark Rogers, Gerald Melton (public defender), Mike Bottoms (district attorney), Lucy Honey Haynes (associate chief deputy attorney general of the State of Tennessee) and Reba Carter (attorney in private practice).
The roundtable session will be open to MTSU students who are considering or currently pursuing a career in law.
For more information, please contact Dr. Mark Byrnes, associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts and political science faculty member, at 615-898-2351 or via e-mail at mbyrnes@mtsu.edu.

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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview Dr. Byrnes about this event, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu. Media are welcomed to attend this event but asked to RSVP to Rollins.

[330] GIBSON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

GIBSON COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Carroll-Richards Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Carroll-Richards Farm in Gibson 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, which is located on the MTSU campus.
In 1886, Stephen Carroll founded a 58-acre farm near the town of Dyer. Married to Adaline Carroll, the couple had two children, J. R. and Callie. During their ownership, the farm produced cotton, corn, cattle and mules.
The next owner of the property was Stephen and Adaline’s son, J. R., who acquired the farm in 1888. He and wife Mary owned the property for more than 50 years. They were the parents of Fred, Mallie and Claude.
Mallie Carroll and her husband J. W. Richards purchased the farm in 1942. In their turn, they owned and farmed the land for 55 years. Their son, James E. Richards and his wife, Doris, acquired the family acreage in 1997.
Currently, James and Doris manage the operation, although much of the land is worked by Johnny Phillips. The farm produces corn, beans and wheat.
A four-room farmhouse that was built in the 1800s still stands and water still can be drawn from a well that was dug in the 1940s.
The Carroll-Richards Farm is the 25th Century Farm to be certified in Gibson County, Hankins said.

About the Century Farms Program

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 CHP 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 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

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10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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.



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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farm’s current owners or secure a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.

[329] SEVIER COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

SEVIER COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Fred O. McMahan Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Fred O. McMahan Farm in Sevier 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, which is located on the MTSU campus.
Born in Virginia in 1796, the year that Tennessee became a state, David Crockett McMahan received a land grant in Sevier County in 1838 that was duly signed in 1841 by then-Gov. James K. Polk. In the document, the 4,000-acre tract mentions Richardson’s Cove, which was named and remembered because of an Indian attack on the William Richardson family at that place in the late 1700s. The name of the cove has continued to be used through the generations of McMahans who have owned the farm.
According to the family’s records, founder David married Mary Large and they had 11 children. On the substantial acreage, the family raised corn, wheat, beef cattle, hogs, chickens, milk cows and sheep. Following Mary’s death, David married Sarah Mitchell and they had one daughter, Nancy.
The second generation to own the property was T. Wilson “Wilse” McMahan, the seventh son of David and Mary. Wilse married twice, but had no children. During his ownership, the farm produced corn, wheat, sugarcane, beef cattle, hogs, chickens, milk cows, sheep, horses and mules.
Thomas Dearnold Wilson “T. D. W.” McMahan, the grandson of the founder, acquired the farm in June 1883. He and wife Melinda Trotter had nine children: Bertha Eileen, Willie M., William McNulty, Olen Ernest, Nora Trotter, Walter Horace, Roy Maskell, Stella Wilson and John Alvin. Per the family,
T. D. W. constructed many of the buildings that currently stand on the farm. In addition to his farming duties, T. D. W. was instrumental in starting the first fair in Sevier County.
The fourth owner of the land was Roy, son of T. D.W. and Melinda McMahan. Ora Mae Fox was Roy’s wife, and the couple were the parents of Fred Oliver, Nora Grace and Kenneth Fox. Over the years, the family raised wheat, corn, oats, barley and hay. This generation first began to grow burley tobacco. During World War II, sweet corn and peas were grown to sell to the Stokely Cannery. The family also raised beef cattle, hogs, milk cows, sheep and chickens; eggs were sold to the Riverside Hatchery.
Electricity first came to the farm in the late 1940s or early 1950s, the family recalled. Also, the family noted, Roy donated land for the Richardson’s Cove Baptist Church.
In 1976, Fred Oliver McMahan acquired the property. He and his wife, Archie Ray Dennis, had two children, Jack Donald and Thomas “Tommy” Wilson McMahan. While managing the farm, Fred and Archie were active in the community. Fred served

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on the Agricultural Stabilization Conservation Service County Committee for 30 years. He also was on the Soil Conservation Service Committee and was trustee and treasurer of Richardson’s Cove Baptist Church for many years.
Archie taught school in Sevier County from 1945 to 1963 and also served as church clerk for 50 years and treasurer for 25 years. In addition, she served on the Sevier County Farm Bureau for 36 years and received the Distinguished Service Award at the state convention in 1991. She also worked on the Sevier County Heritage Book Committee, the Agricultural Stabilization Conservation Service and the Sevier County jury commission.
In 1998, after Fred passed away, Archie Ray and her sons became the owners of the farm. They continue to manage and work the farm, which now produces hay, garden vegetables and beef cattle. Archie Ray lives in the home built in 1915 by T. D. W. and his son Roy, which also is the home that she and Fred first moved into in 1968.
The white farmhouse is a landmark in Richardson’s Cove, and a remarkable 82-foot cantilever barn, built in 1880, is still used for cattle and hay.
“The 50th farm to be certified in Sevier County, the history of the Fred O. McMahan Farm is well documented by the family who continues to treasure its landscape, buildings and farming heritage,” Hankins said.

About the Century Farms Program

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 CHP 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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.
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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farm’s current owners or secure a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.

[328] MTSU CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER WEB SEMINAR

Release date: Feb. 25, 2009


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
MTSU Career Development Center contact: Bill Fletcher, 615-898-2500


MTSU CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER WEB SEMINAR
FEATURES ‘AMERICA’S JOB SEARCH GURU’
Asher’s Feb. 26 Presentation Reveals ‘Seven Secrets to Hidden Job Market’

(MURFREESBORO) — Donald Asher, who is known in the United States as “America’s Job Search Guru,” will present the “Seven Secrets to the Hidden Job Market,” from noon until 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, during a Web seminar in the Tom H. Jackson Building’s Cantrell Hall.
The event is free and open to the MTSU community, which includes students, alumni, faculty and staff, said Bill Fletcher, MTSU Career Development Center director.
“This presentation will give tips for going beyond job boards and creating your own opportunities,” Fletcher said.
Asher is an internationally acclaimed author and speaker, specializing in careers and higher education, Fletcher added.
Fletcher said students will learn about the size of the hidden job market, targeting jobs, networking (including social networking and finding connectors), sending letters in lieu of resumes, tweaking resumes, researching and more.
For more information, call 615-898-2500.

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

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Media welcomed.

[327] WEAKLEY COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

WEAKLEY COUNTY FARM JOINS STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
101-Year-Old Oliver Brothers Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Oliver Brothers Farm in Weakley 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, which is located on the MTSU campus.
Located just south of the Ore Springs community, the Oliver Brothers Farm was founded in 1908 by Albert “A. B.” Oliver. For the sum of $861, Oliver purchased 80 acres and moved into a log house on the property, where he managed a diverse livestock and row-crop operation that included cattle, horses, hogs, corn, hay and timber production.
A progressive farmer, A. B. owned and used an unusual tool in his Fairbanks & Morse farm scales, which were about 10’ x 20’ and were “used to weigh livestock and wagon loads of corn to help determine the optimal time to market the commodities.” The scales remained on the farm until they were sold sometime in the 1950s.
In 1939, A. B.’s nephew, Luther “L. B.,” and his wife, Isabell Watts Oliver, became the second generation to own the farm. During their ownership, L. B. and Isabell constructed a four-room house in front of the original home so they could care for A. B., who died shortly afterward in 1940. Even though the two houses were detached, they were close enough that a person could step from one porch to the other.
L. B. and Isabell had two sons and a daughter, Thomas “T. J.” Jefferson, J. Jeter and Raye. After serving in World War II, Jeter lived on the land and took over much of the daily management of the farm, especially after L. B. died in 1962. Over the years, he continued to raise hogs, cattle, horses, hay and pasture. During the 1950s, Jeter made improvements to the farm by building a large stock barn from timber cut on the farm—a structure that is still used today. He also “built a garage that included a loft, an equipment storage room and a smokehouse.”
In addition, he modernized the farmhouse with a brick exterior and indoor plumbing. Then, in 1964, Jeter married Ruby Hudgens and they moved away from the farm, though he continued to work the land. Jeter served on the Weakley County Election Commission from 1965 to 1991.
The farm was deeded by Jeter Oliver in 1994 to his four nephews. The Oliver brothers—Terry J., John R., David F. and James “Paul”--are the great-great-nephews of the founder. The farm is used primarily for livestock production today.
The Oliver family has a tradition of civic activity and political involvement. Thomas Jefferson Oliver worked for the Tennessee Department of Agriculture as a livestock inspector and was active in local politics as well as the successful campaigns of Govs. Frank Clement and Buford Ellington.

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Jeter Oliver was co-chairman of the Weakley County Campaign for the election of Gov. Ellington to both of his terms. Like their father. T. J. , and their Uncle Jeter before them, Terry, David and the late James “Paul” served on the Weakley County Farm Bureau Board of Directors.
Also, John R. Oliver was on the Weakley County Commission. Terry Oliver is the deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, a role he also held for eight years during the administration of Gov. Ned Ray McWherter. Further, he was a representative to the 1977 Limited Constitutional Convention.
Hankins said the Oliver Brothers Farm is the 23rd Century Farm to be certified in Weakley County.


About the Century Farms Program

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 CHP 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farm’s current owners or secure a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.

[326] CANNON COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

CANNON COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
102-Year-Old DKM Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The DKM Farm in Cannon 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, which is located on the MTSU campus.
The DKM Farm was founded in 1907 by R. L. and Myrtle Parker. They were the parents of Kenneth, Houston, Opal, Homer, Mamie and Hilary. On 40 acres, the family raised corn, sweet potatoes, oats, wheat, hogs, cattle, mules and chickens.
A progressive farmer, R. L. participated in the early stages of the soil conservation program and also in the Grange. The family remembers they that took part in “old fashioned farm face lifts.” The family began a Registered Polled Hereford cattle business and held their first sale in 1966. This sale continues today after 43 years.
In 1958, Kenneth and Delois Parker, the son and daughter-in-law of the founders, became the second generation to own the property. Their children are Marcus, David and Kathy. Kenneth, active in agricultural organizations, has served as President for the National Polled Hereford Cattle Association; president of the Farm Bureau and president of Soil Conservation, as well as Mid-State Producers. He also served as board chairman for the building committee for Woodland School. Also, Kenneth and Delois have increased the size of their farm from about 440 to about 1,200 acres
In 2004, the grandson of the founder, David Parker, and his wife, Paula, became the owners and operators of the farm. Currently, the farm produces a wide variety of crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, crimson clover, peppers, alfalfa and sweet corn. In addition, they raise hogs, cattle, dairy cattle, chickens, horses and sheep.
The farm’s original barn stands and is used on a daily basis. The farm also has a corncrib, silos and dairy barns, the family reported.
Four generations of the Parker family live on the farm today. In addition to Kenneth, the farm is home to David and Paula and their daughter, Krista, along with her husband Lynn Trail, and their daughters Kaitlynn and Kathryn, as well as daughter Angela, who is married to Don Moore, and their children, D.J. and Abigail.
The DKM Farm is the 15th Century Farm to be certified in Cannon County, Hankins said.

About the Century Farms Program

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 CHP 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.
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The Tennessee Department of Agriculture began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farm’s current owners, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.

[325] McMINN COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

McMINN COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Robert and Nettie Page Simpson Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Robinson Farm in Dyer 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, which is located at MTSU.
Just south of Dyer is the Robinson Farm that was founded by W. L. Holt in 1894. Married to Martha Holt, the couple had two children, W. L. Jr. and J. A. On 81 acres, the family raised cotton, strawberries, corn, cattle, grass seed and horses.
In 1905, the founder’s sons, W. L. Holt Jr. and J.A. Holt, whose wife was Fannie, became the owners of the farm. Family history records indicate that in 1926, the house that Fannie and J. A. lived in was moved to the new U.S. 45 W Highway. The house was moved by mules and “tied down to trees to keep it from running down the hill.”
Following the move, the house was remodeled and was home to the family, which included W. C., who was known as “Carl,” and Louise and Holland. The Civilian Conservation Corps “did terracing work on the farm and planted trees” during the 1930s.
The third generation owners were Louise Holt Smith Walker and Carl Holt. Louise had two children, John Holt Smith and Linda Smith. Carl and wife Sadie (McKinnon) had two children, Patty Holt Robinson and Betty Holt Redmond.
In addition to his farming duties, Carl taught in the Gibson County School system. He also served as soil conservationist with the Gibson County Soil Conservation District in 1941, as an elected magistrate from the 21st district for 18 years and was Gibson County Highway Engineer from 1965 to 1971. Sadie, also a teacher in the Gibson County School system, taught for 25 years. Both Sadie and Carl were active members in the First Baptist Church in Dyer.
In 1976, Patty Holt Robinson and husband Charles acquired the farm that they now work and manage, raising corn, wheat, soybeans, timber and hay.
In addition, the couple has a two- acre English garden on the farm that was inspired by their visit to England in 1986. The garden has many perennials including phlox, daylilies, daisies and roses. Charles, who owns and operates Trenton Industrial Laundry, has built trellises, arbors, pergolas and running streams through the garden.
Hankins said the Robinson Farm is the 26th Century Farm to be certified in Gibson County.
About the Century Farms Program

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 CHP 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.
—more—


FARM
Add 1

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farm’s current owners, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.

[324] McMINN COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

McMINN COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Robert and Nettie Page Simpson Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Saddle Cave Farm in McMinn 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, which is located on the MTSU campus.
Located 10 miles from Athens, the Saddle Cave Farm was founded by John Marion Kyker in 1899. The inspiration for the farm’s name came from a cave located on the farm that resembles a saddle.
Married to Martha Ann “Mattie” Bohannon Kyker, the couple had two children, Virgil and Roxie Mae. On about 100 acres, the family grew corn, wheat and sorghum cane and their livestock included hogs, sheep, goats and cattle, as well as poultry.
During the early 1900s, the Kyker Reunion began taking place on the farm. The family gathered for a potluck dinner and visiting near a spring at the head of what is known as Kyker Branch, which flows through the farm and eventually feeds Little Sewee Creek. The family has reported that during John’s lifetime, there was a springhouse that kept food cool during the hot summer months. Inside the spring house, about 20 or more gallon sized crocks were lined up and “filled with cider or vinegar made on the farm.”
A giant oak tree marks the spot of the reunions that are now held in Sweetwater. During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps came to the farm and planted pine trees, dug ditches and made various improvements on the farm. Family members recall that CCC workers brought large containers of soup to eat during their lunch breaks. In 1947, John passed away and his widow, Martha, moved in with her daughter, Roxie, who lived on the farm.
In 1962, John and Mattie’s daughter, Roxie Mae Kyker Humphreys, became the second generation to own the farm. Roxie married Guy Jackson Humphreys and they had two children, Anna Mae Humphreys and Marion Jackson Humphreys.
During their ownership, the farm produced tobacco, cattle, hogs and sugarcane. According to the family’s records, a molasses mill was moved from Virgil Kyker’s farm and assembled near the spring during Roxie and G. J.’ s ownership. Marion said he remembers that he was taught how to make molasses by his Uncle Virgil. The family would grind the cane and cook the juice for nearby neighbors and others who brought their cane to the mill.
On Feb. 19, 1982, Roxie deeded the land to her son, Marion, who is the current owner of the land. Today, Marion and his wife work the land with the help of their children, Linda Nichols, Ronnie Humphreys and Gail Humphreys. They have a vegetable garden and raise cattle.

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The original farmhouse and barn still stand and are in use. The logs and lumber for the barn were hand-hewn and parts were built with wooden pegs instead of nails. Under the tin roof, some single oak boards span the entire length of the barn. In addition to the barn, the family reported that there is an old turkey house and a chicken house that are now used for storage.
The farm also has a family cemetery where the founder, his wife and other Kyker relatives are buried. Officially registered with the McMinn County Cemetery Registry, the cemetery has been maintained and is sometimes referred to as the old Goddard Cemetery. According to tradition, the Goddard’s were settlers moving through the area when a deadly disease spread through the group. Several members of the Goddard party were believed to have died and were buried at this location. The family noted that a number of gravesites marked only by rocks preserve the memory of the deceased.
Hankins said the Saddle Cave Farm, now celebrating 110 years in the same family, is the 40th Century Farm to be certified in McMinn County.

About the Century Farms Program

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 CHP 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farm’s current owners, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.

[323] DEKALB COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, 615-898-2947

DEKALB COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS PROGRAM
Robert and Nettie Page Simpson Farm Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—The Robert and Nettie Page Simpson 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, which is located on the MTSU campus.
In 1824, Phares Laurence founded a 56-acre farm in what was then Smith County, but today, it is in DeKalb County. Phares was a private in the War of 1812, and from November 1814 to May 1815 he served in Col. James Roulston’s West Tennessee Militia under Capt. Edward Robinson’s Company, 3rd Regiment West Tennessee Militia Infantry
He and wife Katherine had seven children: Susan, Artimesa, James H., Elizabeth, Helen, Christina and William Carol. The family raised corn, hay, pigs and cattle. A land grant of 50 acres was awarded to Pharis and a copy of the document, signed in 1828 by then-Gov. Sam Houston, was submitted with the application.
The second generation of the family to own the farm was William Carol Laurence. William, who remained a bachelor, acquired the property in 1853 and 1854 and continued to operate the farm much as his parents had done. In 1909, Rowena Simpson, the granddaughter of the founder, obtained the farm.
In 1921, the great-grandson of the founder, Robert Simpson, and his wife, Nettie Mai Page Simpson, became the owners of the farm. Along with their two children, James E. and Gladys, the Simpsons raised corn, hay, tobacco, wheat, pigs, cattle and chickens.
James and Gladys inherited the property in 1979. James married Elizabeth Banks and they had two children, Thomas and Robert. Gladys never married. Cattle, timber and hay were the primary products
In 2008, the great-great-great-grandsons of the founder, Thomas E. Simpson and Robert B. Simpson, joined their father, James E. Simpson, and their aunt, Gladys Simpson, as current owners of the farm.
Today, a farmhouse, barn, tobacco barn and smokehouse are part of the historic farmstead, which traces its origins to a veteran of the War of 1812.
“The Robert and Nettie Page Simpson Farm is the sixth Century Farm to be certified in DeKalb County,” Hankins said.

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About the Century Farms Program

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 CHP 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“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.


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[321] MTSU STUDENTS SCORE TOP HONORS AT REGIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
CONTACT: Jeff Gibson, Department of Speech and Theatre, 615-898-5916

MTSU STUDENTS SCORE TOP HONORS AT REGIONAL THEATER FESTIVAL

(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU students and faculty recently participated in the Region IV Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, bringing home several awards.
Held Feb. 3-8, MTSU students presented original works during the festival, including “Fathers,” written by Brandon Gwinn, a recent MTSU graduate, who won the Region IV Short Play Award at last year’s festival.
“As a winning play, we were asked to mount the show as a full production for presentation at this year’s festival,” said Professor Jeff Gibson, speech and theatre. “The play was directed by Professor Crosby Hunt and featured several MTSU students. (It) was well received by the festival audience and received positive response from the national respondents who provided feedback to the cast and crew afterward.”
MTSU student Jesse Cannady was recognized at this year’s festival for “Distinguished Achievement in Directing” through his involvement in the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers’ Student Directing Fellowship program.
“We had amazing success in student playwriting awards—again!” exclaimed Gibson, who serves as the chairman for KCACTF Region IV. “We have a long history of bringing home awards in playwriting from the regional and national festivals … (and) thanks to the incredible teaching and mentorship of Professor Deborah Anderson, we have done it yet again, but this time in almost sweeping fashion.”
Additional MTSU speech and theatre student winners at the Region IV event are listed below.

• David L. Shelton Full-Length Student Playwriting Award, presented to MTSU student Josh Ginsburg for “Ladybug.”
• Region IV Short Play Awards, presented to students Josh Ginsburg for “Shards of Glass” and David Bennett for “Portrait of A Mother and Son.”• Region IV 10-Minute Play Award presented to Jesse Cannady for “Swinging on Stars.”
Gibson said the Shelton Full-Length and the Regional Short Play winners will have their work presented as full productions at next year’s festival, meaning MTSU will have three productions before the festival audiences in 2010.
The regional winners in both the Short Play and 10-Minute Play categories will automatically become national finalists and are eligible for the national playwriting awards, he added, and will be announced at the KCACTF National Festival in Washington, D.C., in April.

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[320] ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER AT MTSU DOES A WORLD OF GOOD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 25, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081; WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER AT MTSU DOES A WORLD OF GOOD
New Service for International Students Examined on “MTSU on the Record”

(MURFREESBORO) – Donna Myers, director of MTSU’s new English Language Schools (ELS) Center, and Jeff Hutcheson, ELS District Director, will be Gina Logue’s guests on “MTSU on the Record” at 7 a.m. this Sunday, March 1, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). MTSU’s ELS Center in the Fairview Building is helping students from countries around the world improve their English language proficiency. The work of ELS is not only essential to helping international students improve in their college studies. ELS also arranges social activities, housing, home-stay experiences and cultural/immigration counseling to help ease the challenge of becoming acclimated to a completely new environment. To hear last week’s program, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2009.html anytime and click on “February 22, 2009” at the top of the page. For more information about "MTSU on the Record," contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.


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[319] DRIED, CRACKED, WET, DRIPPING AND BLOOMING’ EXHIBIT COMES TO MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 24, 2009
CONTACT: Eric Snyder, gallery curator, 615-898-5653

‘DRIED, CRACKED, WET, DRIPPING AND BLOOMING’ EXHIBIT COMES TO MTSU
(MURFREESBORO)—The Todd Gallery at MTSU will present "Dried, Cracked, Wet, Dripping and Blooming: An Exhibition of Work by Charles A. Gick" beginning March 2 through March 20. Gick, an associate professor of art and design in Purdue University’s Patti and Rusty Rueff Department of Visual and Performing Arts, has exhibited his interdisciplinary installations nationally and internationally. Regarding his work, Gick has said, "My hybrid installations explore the intersections between memory, the body, our emotions and the sensory experience that we share with the natural environment, attempting to expose the fertility and futility of human communication." Per Gick, works such as "Water Witching," wherein the artist appears as a source of water over a parched table of mud and glass containers, “metaphorically represent the complexities of language and communication, involving a physical production of objects in the place of words.” The exhibition is free and open to the public. The Todd Gallery, housed within the Department of Art at MTSU in the Todd Building, is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each Monday through Friday, and closed on all university-recognized holidays. For more information, please call Eric Snyder, gallery curator, at (615) 898-5653.

[318] AMERICAN COLLEGE DANCE FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE COMES TO MTSU CAMPUS MARCH 7-10; CONCERTS OPEN TO PUBLIC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 24, 2009
CONTACT: Kim Neal Nofsinger, (615) 494-7904 or nofsinge@mtsu.edu

AMERICAN COLLEGE DANCE FESTIVAL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE COMES TO MTSU CAMPUS MARCH 7-10; CONCERTS OPEN TO PUBLIC

(MURFREESBORO)—The dance program at MTSU will serve as host for the Southeastern Conference of the American College Dance Festival Association, with its “Exploring Diversity through Dance” theme, March 7-10.
During the three-day conference, representatives from 30-plus colleges and universities from across the U.S. will visit the MTSU campus, bringing an anticipated 600 participants to the event, said Kim Neal Nofsinger, artistic director of the MTSU dance program.
“The conference is a great opportunity for students to experience master classes and gain performance skills outside of their usual academic setting,” Nofsinger said. “MTSU’s conference will have over 100 master classes, including courses in salsa, hip-hop, modern, ballet, Pilates (and) choreography, to name a few.”
According to the ACDFA Web site, the annual conference is a nationally acclaimed dance conference that encourages talent and creativity within the academic system. ACDFA has been held annually since 1973 and has become the largest dance conference on a collegiate level in the nation.
Nofsinger said highlights of this year’s conference will include two featured concerts, one on March 8 and one on March 9, both of which will begin at 8 p.m. in MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. Each concert is open to the public.
“These concerts will contain choreography and performances by 12 nationally and internationally known artists, many of whom have been guest artists in the Minority Guest Artist in Dance Program at MTSU,” he shared. Specifically, the concerts will include Travis Gatling, Erica Wilson-Perkins, Teena Custer, Elina Mooney, Sally Wallace, Ursula Payne, Chung-Fu Chang and Sara Semonis.
Also, Nofsinger added, the event will feature two award-winning dances by Stefanie Bland, the current artist-in-residence with MTSU’s dance program. A native of New York, Bland resides and works as a dancer in Paris. Among her many accomplishments, she performed for several seasons with for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, as well as for Lar Lubovitch, Kraig Patterson, Douglass Dunn, Pina Bausch,Georges Momboye, Project Linga, Pal Frénak and Angelin Preljocaj.
In addition to the featured concerts on March 8 and 9, Nofsinger said adjudication concerts and the Gala Concert also will be open to the public.
“In the adjudication concerts, schools present their choreography before a panel of three internationally known adjudicators, who offer feedback on their work,” he explained. “This year’s panel includes Mark Borchelt, a ballet instructor and former dancer with Ballet West; Ursula Payne, an internationally known choreographer and performer; and Dr. Maura Keefe, a dance historian and critic, who is the Scholar in Residence at Jacob’s Pillow.
The Gala Concert, the final performance of the three-day conference, will be held at 8 p.m. March 10. This concert will showcase dances selected by the adjudicators demonstrating the range of work happening at the collegiate level.
• TICKETS: Tickets for the adjudications are $5 per person. Admission to the Gala Concert and the featured concerts is $10 per performance. All performances will occur in Tucker Theatre in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building at MTSU.
For more information on the conference or the dance program at MTSU, please contact Nofsinger at nofsinge@mtsu.edu. A schedule of conference activities and all concert times may be accessed online at http://www.mtsu.edu/dance/specialevents.shtml.
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[314]16th ANNUAL RUTHERFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 23, 2009
CONTACT: Tim Musselman (615) 898-2493

16th ANNUAL RUTHERFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS
ELEMENTARY CHORAL FESTIVAL SET FOR MARCH 13

(MURFREESBORO)—The 16th annual Rutherford County Schools Elementary Choral Festival, or RCSECF, will be held March 13 in Hinton Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus, with a final concert at 6:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall.
Choral students from four Rutherford County elementary schools will participate in the RCSECF and will feature choirs from Campus School, directed by Karen Blooding; Lascassas Elementary, directed by Will Brecht; McFadden Elementary, directed by Susan Wilson; and Thurman Francis Elementary, directed by Michael Thiemann.
Blooding said the festival is one of seven elementary and middle school choir festivals that music teachers in the county will sponsor and participate in during the current school year.
Jennifer Vannatta-Hall will serve as the event’s guest conductor. Hall, who holds a master’s degree from MTSU and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois, is a faculty member at MTSU and the director of Music, Worship and Family Life at First Christian Church in Shelbyville. She has extensive experience working with choirs from 4th grade through adults.
McFadden director Wilson said the first festival of this kind was planned and coordinated by MTSU’s Dr. Nancy Boone Allsbrook and held at Murphy Center in 1990. Since then, Wilson added, county school music teachers have continued the tradition, coordinating festivals for 4th- through 8th-grade students.
The 6:30 p.m. concert will feature music from a variety of time periods and genres, Blooding said.
"One highlight of the program will be a piece scored for voices and Orff instruments, arranged by Brecht," she said.
The March 13 concert is free and open to the public.

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Attention, Media: For interview requests or to secure art from prior RCSECF events, please contact Musselman @ 615-898-2493 or at tmusselm@mtsu.edu.

[316] Minority Fellows at MTSU enrich academic quality

Feb. 20, 2009

Minority Fellows at MTSU enrich academic quality


MURFREESBORO—What do the following have in common? “Family Violence under a Multicultural Perspective in Colombia” … “The Role of Hydrogen Peroxide in the Cell Cycle Regulation of Endothelial Cell Proliferation” … “A Predictive Model to Identify High School Dropouts in a Rural Mississippi School District.”
These are dissertation topics of Esperanza Camargo, Ogbeyalu Onumah, and Mario Antonio Owens, respectively, recipients of Middle Tennessee State University’s Underrepresented Minority Dissertation Fellowships.
MTSU actively recruits minority graduate students across the nation who are pursuing fields of study in which minorities are typically underrepresented. Esperanza Camargo, from Colombia, most recently attended the University of Nebraska. Ogbeyalu Onumah attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville and before that Oberlin College in Ohio. Mario Antonio Owens has degrees from Grambling State University and the University of Arkansas.
The three scholars are not only working toward their Ph.D.s, but they also serve as full-time faculty at Middle Tennessee State University, receiving salaries of $30,000 each, plus medical insurance. Camargo is on the faculty in the criminal justice administration department, Onumah in the chemistry department and Owens in the business communication and entrepreneurship department.
As if research and teaching were not enough to keep them fully occupied, Camargo, Ogbeyalu and Onumah will serve on a panel and speak to McNair Program scholars on Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 4:30 to 5:50 p.m. in KOM 123. McNair Scholars, named after Ronald E. McNair, the NASA astronaut who perished in the 1986 Challenger space shuttle explosion, are undergraduate students at MTSU who are preparing for graduate study. They are either first-generation college students who need financial assistance or underrepresented minority students.
“We’re delighted to have them talk to our undergraduate students,” commented Steve Saunders, assistant director of the McNair Program. “McNair students can hear firsthand what it takes to succeed in graduate school, what the challenges are and how to deal with those challenges. Given the workload the Minority Fellows at MTSU have, they are surely experts on good time management, one of the most important skills required of graduate students.”
All three fellows/instructors began their work at MTSU in August 2008, and all three plan to defend their dissertations this coming May, Saunders noted.

[315] UNION COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 19, 2009
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947.

UNION COUNTY FARM JOINS RANKS OF STATE’S CENTURY FARMS
Graves Farm Is 7th Farm in County to be Recognized for Agricultural Contributions

(MURFREESBORO)--The Graves Farm in Union County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus,
On Feb. 28, 1882, Daniel Graves established a farm in Union County. Graves was a fourth-generation descendent of Johann Sebastian Graff, who came from Germany and lived in Pennsylvania and North Carolina before coming to Union County, Tenn., where he died in 1803.
Daniel married Betty Irwin and they were the parents of Twila Graves (Wallace), Nelle Graves (Lett) and Maynard Gipson Graves. Self-sufficient, the family raised garden vegetables, fruit trees, corn and small amounts of wheat. Chickens, swine, horses, mules and cattle were also produced on the farm. The farmhouse, located just off the road, was a stopping place for travelers to and from Knoxville. Here, they could get water for themselves and their horses, a meal, or perhaps stay overnight.
The second generation to own the farm was Maynard Gibson “M. G.” Graves. M. G., who acquired the farm in 1917, helped his father cut and sell tan bark to make payments for the farm. The family reports that the bark was used to tan leather for items such as shoes and saddles. M. G. used horses for plowing, cutting and hauling loose hay. During the mid-20th century, M. G. decided to modernize his farming operations by purchasing a tractor and other mechanical equipment. M. G. and wife Trula were the parents of Earl J., Mildred (Johnson), and Roy V. Graves Jr.
In 1987, Trula passed away and the farm was inherited by Roy V. Graves Sr. Under his ownership, Roy continued to raise cattle for marketing and produced hay for feed. In addition, vegetables and fruit were grown for the family to use. While managing the farm, Roy also served as office manager of Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation in Union County.
In 2005, Roy’s widow, Kathleen G. Graves, became the current owner of the property. Today, Roy and Kathleen’s son, Roy Vaughn Graves Jr., works the land, where both he and his mother manage the operation that produces cattle and hay. Kathleen is the author of Our Union County Heritage and co-author of a history of the Horace Maynard High School, 1923-1997.
Hankins said the Graves Farm is the seventh Century Farm to be certified in Union County.

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About the Century Farms Program

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 $1000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee. There are more than 1,000 Century Farms across the state and all 95 counties are represented.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins says, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, are immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its 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.

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ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the farm’s current owners or secure a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact Caneta Hankins at 615-898-2947.

[313] NOTHING SAYS “MERRY CHRISTMAS” LIKE A YARD FULL OF COAL ASH

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 18, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081; WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800

NOTHING SAYS “MERRY CHRISTMAS” LIKE A YARD FULL OF COAL ASH
MTSU Professor and Students to Conduct Environmental Probe of the “Ash Crash”

(MURFREESBORO) – MTSU geology students will spend this spring and summer investigating the potential environmental and health dangers posed by the giant coal ash spill from TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant in December 2008. They’ll also check out the levels of coal ash in soil and water near five other TVA coal plants. This important study, which is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, will be led by Dr. Warner Cribb, MTSU geology professor. Cribb and one of his students, Jennifer Pickering, will discuss the research and the future of so-called “clean coal technology” at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Feb. 22, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
To hear last week’s program, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2009.html anytime and click on “February 15, 2009” at the top of the page. For more information about "MTSU on the Record," contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.


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[312] PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE BLEND BEAUTIFULLY IN MUSIC FROM JAPAN MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 18, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE BLEND BEAUTIFULLY IN MUSIC FROM JAPAN MTSU Hosts Prestigious Tour with Harmonious Mix of Traditional and Electronic

(MURFREESBORO) – Music from Japan, now in its 34th season, will bring its internationally acclaimed presentation of Japanese music to Hinton Hall in MTSU’s Wright Music Building from 1:30-3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 15. Murfreesboro is one of only six stops on this year’s North American tour, which includes Washington, D.C., and New York, N.Y. An award-winning nonprofit organization, Music from Japan is chaired by Hisashi Owada, a former Japanese ambassador to the United Nations and the current chief judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands. Owada lectured at MTSU in 2002. “They bring the best of the best in the field every year,” says Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, Advisor to the President and the Provost on Asian Affairs and professor emeritus of economics and finance. “Music from Japan programs have received many prominent awards.” This year’s “Tradition/E-novation” concert will include works for shamisen, a three-stringed traditional instrument similar to a guitar but with a much longer, slimmer neck and without frets, as well as violin and electronics. Heading the lineup is shamisen player Mojibei Tokiwazu V, whose father and grandfather, both also shamisen players, were designated “Living National Treasures” by the Japanese government. Tokiwazu V has taught at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music since 1994 and at Waseda University Theatre Arts Museum since 2005. In 2004, he received special recognition from the National Theatre of Japan. Violinist Mari Kimura is hailed by The New York Times as “a virtuoso playing at the edge” and the “plugged-in Paganini for the digital age” by All Music Guide. She is noted for her revolutionary technique, “subharmonics,” and for interactive performances of her works with computer-generated music. Kimura has taught a graduate class in Computer Music Performance at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York since 1998. She holds a doctorate in performance from Juilliard and has been invited to international festivals in more than 20 countries, including the Other Minds Festival in Paris, Spring in Budapest and the International Bartok Festival. Tomomi Adachi’s recent work focuses on solo performance for voice, sensors, computer and self-made instruments, sound poetry, video installation, and workshop-style large ensemble pieces for non-professional voice and instruments. His punk-style choir, the Adachi Tomomi Royal Chorus, has recorded several of his compositions. Adachi also has performed works by composers as diverse as John Cage and Dieter Schnebel. --more--
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This year’s Music from Japan concert at MTSU is co-sponsored by the MTSU School of Music, the Office of Student Programming and the Office of the President. This event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. To obtain tickets, write to mfj@mtsu.edu, indicating the number of tickets desired and the name of each recipient. Tickets may be delivered or e-mailed in an “e-voucher.” For more information, contact Kawahito at kawahito@mtsu.edu.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpeg photos of Mojibei Tokiwazu, Mari Kimura and Tomomi Adachi, please contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

[310] MTSU PRESIDENT TO SPEAK AT BEDFORD CHAMBER AWARDS BANQUET

MTSU PRESIDENT TO SPEAK AT BEDFORD CHAMBER AWARDS BANQUET

Feb. 13, 2009

CONTACT: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919

MURFREESBORO—Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee will be the guest speaker at the Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 11:30 a.m.
The university’s chief executive will discuss the general state of higher education in Tennessee, the value of a vibrant higher education system to the entire state and the challenges and opportunities the state’s largest undergraduate university faces in the current economic climate.
The banquet, which will be held for the first time during the day at the lunch hour, will take place in the Blue Ribbon Room on the grounds of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville.
Dr. McPhee is the 10th president of Middle Tennessee State University. Prior to his appointment at MTSU in 2001, he was executive vice chancellor at the Tennessee Board of Regents in Nashville. In addition, he served as chief academic officer and interim chancellor for the Board of Regents System.
Before his appointment at TBR, McPhee served in various administrative capacities at several major universities including Oklahoma State University, the University of Louisville and the University of Memphis. In May of 2007, he was conferred the Honorary Professor title at China Agricultural University in Beijing, China, which is the highest academic award given at the university. McPhee was named the 2002 Outstanding American University President by the American Football Foundation. In 2003, he was listed by The Nashville Post Business Magazine as one of Tennessee’s 100 Most Powerful Individuals, and in 2004, he was ranked by Business Tennessee Magazine as one of the Top 50 Most Powerful African Americans in the State of Tennessee. The MTSU president was listed in 2006 by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of seven university presidents in the United States who are shaping intercollegiate athletics on a national scale.
McPhee earned his B.A. degree (Suma Cum Laude) from Prairie View A&M University; a master’s degree from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida; and a doctorate in Applied Behavioral Studies in Education from Oklahoma State University. He is also a graduate of the Harvard University Management Development Program and has completed professional-development programs at St. Mary’s University of San Antonio, Texas, and Colorado College in Colorado Springs.
For more information about the Feb. 19 awards banquet or the Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce, please call 931-684-3482.

[309] MTSU OFFERS FREE OUTDOOR PLAY SYMPOSIUM EVENT FEB. 28

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 12, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu

MTSU OFFERS FREE OUTDOOR PLAY SYMPOSIUM EVENT FEB. 28
Community Members Invited to Learn How to Utilize Nature for Children’s Learning

(MURFREESBORO)—From student teachers and homeschool educators, to public school educators and parents who simply want to enhance their child’s learning in the great outdoors, an upcoming free workshop at MTSU is designed to do just that.
Play Symposium II: Physical Activity, the Outdoor Classroom and Recess is the title of the free daylong event, which will be held 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, and meet in the lobby of MTSU’s Business Aerospace Building.
Open to the community, the rain-or-shine event is sponsored by the Center for Physical Activity & Health in Youth. Registration may be made in advance or on site. Those who want lunch provided, $9.50 per person, must pre-registration, but participants are welcomed to bring a sack lunch.
This year’s workshop will offer attendees with a choice of seven afternoon field-trip options, as well as presentations by three professional educators; namely, “The Outdoor Classroom” by Dr. Kathy Burriss; “The Importance of Physical Activity and Recess for Children’s Learning” by Dr. Don Belcher; and “The Blend of Man-Made and Natural Features in Outdoor Playscapes” by Cheri Lindlsey, state coordinator for Tennessee Early Childhood Training Alliance.
Regarding the symposium’s focus, MTSU’s Burriss, a professor of elementary and special education, said, “The outdoor classroom is severely under-utilized for a variety of reasons, but probably the greatest one is just a misunderstanding of what it is and how to connect outdoor activities with traditional indoor learning.”
Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable attire, such as tennis shoes and jeans, for the symposium’s afternoon field trip.
This year, the day’s trip options will include an exploration of the indigenous aspects of an area nature trail, creating quality outdoor play areas for preschoolers, pond-centered curriculum and activities, science and play in the outdoor laboratory, and outdoor learning via a cedar glade, among other activity options.
For more information, including advance registration, please contact Burriss at (615) 898-2323.


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• ATTENTION, MEDIA—To request interviews with symposium educators, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

[308] RACE AND GENDER, MEDIA AND POLITICS ON “MTSU ON THE RECORD”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 12, 2009EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081; WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800

RACE AND GENDER, MEDIA AND POLITICS ON “MTSU ON THE RECORD” Electronic Media Communication Profs Examine Reporters’, Pundits’ Perspectives

(MURFREESBORO) – Will the election of the nation’s first African-American president and the emergence of women policymakers alter the way the news media cover race and gender issues? Drs. Jennifer Woodard and Clare Bratten of the MTSU Department of Electronic Media Communication will discuss this topic at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Feb. 15, on “MTSU on the Record,” on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
To hear last week’s program with Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College, discussing books of his father’s proverbs and essays about James Madison, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2009.html anytime and click on “February 8, 2009” at the top of the page. For more information about "MTSU on the Record," contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

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[307] EVENING OF MULTICULTURAL FUN ON INTERNATIONAL DATE NIGHT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 11, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Shayna Taylor, sbt2g@mtsu.edu; Dr. Karen Petersen, 615- 494-8662, kpeterse@mtsu.edu

EVENING OF MULTICULTURAL FUN ON INTERNATIONAL DATE NIGHT Dinner and Dancing Event to Benefit International Students, Entrepreneurship

(MURFREESBORO) – The Society for International Affairs (SIA), an MTSU student organization, will present International Date Night from 7-10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, in the Tennessee Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. “We’re celebrating international students for their bravery in coming to the United States for their education and giving other MTSU students a chance to meet them,” says Shayna Taylor, president of SIA. Co-sponsors of the event include the MTSU chapter of ROTARACT, a club for young adults which strives to promote international understanding through friendship and service; The Interested Men of Lambda Theta Phi, Latin Fraternity, Inc.; and Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. ARAMARK and local international food vendors are donating food and beverages for the event. After dinner, the MTSU Salsa Dance Club will provide free salsa dancing lessons. All proceeds will benefit KIVA, a fund to benefit international entrepreneurs through the principle of microlending, and the International Student Emergency Fund, which was created to help international students with small, unexpected expenses. “For example, a student’s car got hit in the parking lot and the hood flew off,” Taylor says. “That’s the kind of emergency we’re talking about.”
Admission is $10 per couple or $5 per person. For more information, contact Taylor at sbt2g@mtsu.edu or Dr. Karen Petersen at 615-494-8662 or kpeterse@mtsu.edu.



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[306] ALS SURVIVOR TO BE FETED AT MTSU GOSPEL EXTRAVAGANZA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 10, 2009EDITORIAL CONTACT: Mary Glass, 615-898-5145; mglass@mtsu.edu

ALS SURVIVOR TO BE FETED AT MTSU GOSPEL EXTRAVAGANZA
Choirs, Soloists, Models, Dramatic Readings on Tap for Evening of Praise

(MURFREESBORO) – Albert Richardson, a gospel singer who has lived for 14 years with Lou Gehrig’s disease, will be the honoree at the ninth annual Gospel Music Extravaganza at 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in MTSU’s Murphy Center. The 52-year-old Richardson walks with the support of fitted bracelets on both legs, a remarkable achievement for someone who suffers from an incurable ailment that claims the lives of most people who have it within two to five years. He was honored with the Jerry Anderson Humanitarian Award at the Murfreesboro and MTSU NAACP’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. brunch on Jan. 17. Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, “is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord,” according to www.alsa.org, the official Web site of the ALS Association. It is called “Lou Gehrig’s disease” after the New York Yankees superstar who died of the illness in 1941.
All proceeds from the concert, a staple of MTSU’s Black History Month, will benefit Richardson. The lineup of entertainers slated to pay tribute to him includes choirs, soloists, dancers and models. Many of Richardson’s fellow performers are scheduled to appear, including the MTSU Gospel Choir, the Bingham Sisters, Darryl Chaney with the Christ Fellowship Chorale, the Bethel Mass Choir, Smith Fork District with Vera Warrick, the Rutherford County Community Choir with Lucille Wilcox, the Cherry Grove Men, Loretta Brown, Cicely Floyd, saxophonist Rev. Earnest Newsom, William Verge, David Brown, Carl Richardson, African-American Apparel Models (Nolia Newsom, coordinator), Generation for Creation Kids, Zachary Frazier, and poet/writer Darryl B. Rankins. The national service sorority Gamma Sigma Sigma and its social chair, Cheyara Collier, are supporters of this event. Admission is $10 per person, $5 for students, and free for children under age six. Free parking will be available in the Greenland Drive parking lot. For more information, contact Mary Glass at 615-898-5145.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color jpeg of Albert Richardson, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

[305] MTSU CAMPUS PHARMACY GRAND OPENING SLATED FOR FEB. 25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 10, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU CAMPUS PHARMACY GRAND OPENING SLATED FOR FEB. 25 Recognition of Unique University Service Combined With Health Information

(MURFREESBORO) – MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee will be on hand to celebrate the grand opening of the university’s on-campus pharmacy with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. and a Health Fair from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Campus Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. At the Health Fair, information will be provided on various programs and services, including intramural athletics, hearing screenings, and nutrition counseling. Free refreshments will be available. The pharmacy began serving the campus community on Jan. 15 with full prescription services as well as a complete line of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, including cough and cold remedies, foot care products, vitamins, antacids, first aid items and more. “The retail area seems to be a hot spot for students in the Rec Center,” says Tabby Ragland, Pharmacy Director. “Students waiting for their prescriptions to be filled also mill around to see what we have for sale. It’s nice to hear people comment on how convenient it is to have this service here.”
Accepted payment methods include cash, check, MasterCard, Visa and American Express, as well as students’ bursar accounts. The pharmacy currently is able to process Cigna insurance. Contracts with Blue Cross/Blue Shield and other companies are in progress. The pharmacy is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday with the drive-thru open until 5 p.m. and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday with the drive-thru open until 4:30 p.m. For more information, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/pharmacy/index.shtml, or phone 615-494-8888.


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[304] MTSU’S BAKARI TO RECEIVE PLEAS AWARD

MTSU’S BAKARI TO RECEIVE PLEAS AWARD
Professor to be Honored for Work in African-American Studies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 10, 2009
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919

(MURFREESBORO)— Dr. Adonijah Bakari, director of Middle Tennessee State University’s African-American Studies Program, will be presented with the John Pleas Faculty Award as part of MTSU’s celebration of African-American History Month. A reception will be held today, Feb. 10, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Tom Jackson Building’s Cantrell Hall on the MTSU campus.
The John Pleas Faculty Award has been presented since 1996 to a minority faculty member who has made significant contributions to the university and community. He or she must have excelled in research, instruction, publications and/or service to the university. The recipient also must have demonstrated a commitment to MTSU’s African-American students.
Dr. John Pleas, the retired MTSU psychology professor for whom the honor was named, will present the award to Bakari during the reception.
“It’s an honor to receive the Pleas Award because it’s such a coveted award among faculty and administrators,” Bakari said.
As the African-American Studies Program director, Bakari has encouraged students to expand their horizons through travel and study abroad. Over the years he has led several groups of students to Senegal, Gambia, Ghana and Cameroon.
Bakari is also a co-founder and member of the Nashville-based Brother-to-Brother, an initiative that seeks to develop male awareness and leadership skills in young men and college students.
Bakari was born and raised in Chicago, Ill. After high school, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in chemistry from Tuskegee University, where he began to develop an interest in his African heritage. In search of his true identity, Bakari began taking classes in African and African-American history at Northeastern Illinois University, earning his Master’s Degree in inner-city studies. While a student, Bakari worked for the Center for Inner City Studies, teaching children about black history and eventually raising enough money to fund a trip to Senegal.
“I was so inspired by the activism I encountered at the center that I vowed to dedicate my life to the liberation of black people,” Bakari said. “That trip to Senegal was truly a defining moment in my life, because afterwards I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I wanted to teach African history.”
Bakari went on to receive a doctorate in African-American studies from Temple University. His research at Temple focused on the relationship between African religion and the African-American church.

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IN BRIEF: Dr. Adonijah Bakari, director of Middle Tennessee State University’s African-American Studies Program, will be presented with the John Pleas Faculty Award on Tuesday, Feb. 10 from 4 to 6 pm in the Tom Jackson building’s Cantrell Hall as part of MTSU’s celebration of African-American History Month. The John Pleas Faculty Award has been presented since 1996 to a minority faculty member who has made significant contributions to the university and community. He or she must have excelled in research, instruction, publications and/or service to the university. The recipient also must have demonstrated a commitment to MTSU’s African-American students.

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


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NOTE: Media are welcome at the reception; Bakari and Pleas will be available for media photos at 3:50 p.m., just preceding the formal presentation ceremony.

For an advance color JPEG of Dr. Bakari, 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.

If you use this release in this entirety, please credit Claire Rogers, a senior majoring in advertising/public relations.

Thanks!

[303]Murfreesboro Bridge Repair Project Requires Lane Closures on Northwest Broad St.

February 6, 2009


Traffic Advisory

Murfreesboro Bridge Repair Project Requires Lane Closures on Northwest Broad St.


Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Transportation will begin repairing two bridges in a highly traveled section of Murfreesboro in the coming days. Both bridges are located on Northwest Broad Street. One of the bridges is located at the Main Street intersection. The other bridge crosses over Lytle Creek, just north of Main Street. This is an accelerated repair project that is expected to be complete in June 2009.

The repairs will require that Northwest Broad Street be reduced to two lanes in each direction. The center turn lane will also be closed during construction, which will prohibit left turns from Northwest Broad Street onto Main Street, as well as left turns from Main Street onto Northwest Broad. The lane restrictions will be in place on Northwest Broad Street from State Route 96 to Vine Street beginning the week of February 9, 2009.

TDOT will have several portable message boards placed near the project area and on other Murfreesboro streets to alert motorists of the closures. Drivers are strongly encouraged to seek an alternate route around this work zone.

For more information on this or any other TDOT road construction project or for weather-related road closure information, visit the TDOT Web site's dynamic TDOT SmartWay Information System at http://www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway/. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone to access valuable information about travel conditions anytime, or log on to http://www.tn511.com/.


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[301] GUEST PIANIST KEIKO SEKINO TO PERFORM AT MTSU FEB. 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 6, 2009
CONTACT: School of Music, (615) 898-2493

GUEST PIANIST KEIKO SEKINO TO PERFORM AT MTSU FEB. 10

(MURFREESBORO)—Pianist Keiko Sekino will perform in a free concert at 8 p.m. Feb. 10 in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus.
“Ms. Sekino is bringing our community a varied program of significant piano works certain to appeal to a wide range of listeners,” said Lynn Rice-See, MTSU piano professor and coordinator of keyboard studies at MTSU.
Her program will include the Robert Schumann's Fantasy, Op. 17; Liszt's Vallée d’Obermann; and Leon Kirchner's Five Pieces
Per Rice-See, each of the Kirchner pieces were inspired by a poem.
“The Schumann Fantasy is one of the landmarks of the piano repertoire, filled with tender expressive melodies and extremely difficult, exciting passages," she said.
"It contrasts beautifully with the work by his friend and contemporary, Franz Liszt,” she continued. “And the Kirchner is almost certainly a Murfreesboro premiere, although the piece was composed in 1985.”
Pianist Sekino is an assistant professor at East Carolina University, where she joined the faculty in fall 2007. She received her musical training at Yale University and Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, and has performed throughout the United States, Japan and Europe.
She also has performed at music festivals including Ravinia Yellow Barn, Santander, and LaGesse. She served as rehearsal pianists for such conductors as James Levine and Keith Lockhart.
The Feb. 10 concert is free and open to the public.
For more information on this or other concerts at the MTSU School of Music, please call (615) 898-2493 or visit the "Calendar of Events" link at www.mtsumusic.com.