FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
GREENE COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Recognizes Redland Farm for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO)—The Redland Farm in Greene 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.
In 1881, Robert Henry Lauderdale paid $75 for 200 acres on Little Sinking Creek in Greene County. He and his wife, Ellen Hogan, and their five children raised corn tobacco, wheat and cattle. Their son, H. H. Lauderdale, acquired 44 acres of the farm in 1933. With wife Della and their son, W. A., tobacco, Angus cattle, hay and corn were some of the crops and livestock.
According to the family’s records, “It was a farming operation where it was all you could do to make enough money to pay the taxes.”
Since 1995, the great-great-granddaughter of R. H. and Ella Lauderdale, Barbara, and her husband, Kenneth Belcher, have owned and operated the farm. They work 44.5 acres of the original 200 and have an additional 319 acres on which they raise hay and Angus cattle. Kenneth and Barbara reside on the family land, along with their daughter and her husband, Rebecca and Rick Tipton, and their son, Jordan, who represents the youngest generation to call the farm home.
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 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
[524] Dixon, MO., Native Ryan Prewett Graduates From MTSU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, Office of News and Public Affairs, lrollins@mtsu.edu
DIXON, MO., NATIVE RYAN PREWETT GRADUATES FROM MTSU
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Ryan Prewett, son of Connie and Arnold Prewett of Dixon, Mo., was among the 2,180 graduates who received degrees from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro during its spring commencement exercises held May 8, 2010, on the university’s campus.
Prewett graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from MTSU’s recording industry program, which is part of the university’s College of Mass Communication.
Founded in 1911, MTSU’s 99th spring commencement ceremonies featured dual ceremonies and dual speakers beginning at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Among the 2,180 who graduated, 1,804 were undergraduates and 376 were graduate students, including 278 master’s candidates, 88 education specialist recipients and 10 doctoral candidates.
Candidates from the College of Graduate Studies, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and College of Education received their degrees in the morning ceremony. That afternoon, degrees were conferred on candidates in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, said Dr. Diane Miller, interim executive vice president and provost and chairwoman of the commencement committee.
For more information about commencement, please visit the Records Office website at www.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm.
--30—
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, Office of News and Public Affairs, lrollins@mtsu.edu
DIXON, MO., NATIVE RYAN PREWETT GRADUATES FROM MTSU
(MURFREESBORO, Tenn.)—Ryan Prewett, son of Connie and Arnold Prewett of Dixon, Mo., was among the 2,180 graduates who received degrees from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro during its spring commencement exercises held May 8, 2010, on the university’s campus.
Prewett graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from MTSU’s recording industry program, which is part of the university’s College of Mass Communication.
Founded in 1911, MTSU’s 99th spring commencement ceremonies featured dual ceremonies and dual speakers beginning at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Among the 2,180 who graduated, 1,804 were undergraduates and 376 were graduate students, including 278 master’s candidates, 88 education specialist recipients and 10 doctoral candidates.
Candidates from the College of Graduate Studies, Jennings A. Jones College of Business, and College of Education received their degrees in the morning ceremony. That afternoon, degrees were conferred on candidates in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, College of Mass Communication, and the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, said Dr. Diane Miller, interim executive vice president and provost and chairwoman of the commencement committee.
For more information about commencement, please visit the Records Office website at www.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm.
--30—
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[523] Yunus Program Honors Nobelist, Former MTSU Professor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
YUNUS PROGRAM HONORS NOBELIST, FORMER MTSU PROFESSOR
Agreement with Bangladeshi University to Lead to Academic Exchange
(MURFREESBORO) – Officials of Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Chittagong (CU) in Bangladesh have finalized a five-year agreement of friendship and exchange that will pave the way for the establishment of programs honoring the work and philosophy of Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Abu Yusuf Alam, vice chancellor of CU, on March 3 and by Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU president, on April 6. It states, in part, “CU and MTSU will engage in collaborative activities in education, research, public service and other areas of mutual interest, including exchange of faculty, staff, students, and library materials, as well as sponsorship of conferences and workshops.”
Yunus was an assistant professor of economics at MTSU from 1969-72, associate professor at CU from 1972-75 and professor at CU from 1975-89. Yunus and Grameen Bank, which he founded in Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka, were awarded the Nobel jointly in 2006 for the institutionalization of microcredit. The practice of awarding low-interest loans to millions of people with little or no collateral is hailed as a means of helping to lift people in developing nations out of poverty. In recent years, Yunus also has stressed the concept of a “social business,” a no-loss, no-dividend private enterprise dedicated to public welfare.
“If there were a ‘President of the World,’ Yunus would be the first choice of most nations, including the U.S., China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and the U.K., as well as virtually all developing countries, in my opinion,” says Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, Advisor to the President and the Provost on Asian Affairs and professor emeritus of economics and finance.
As part of the exchange, Md. Alauddin Majumber, an assistant professor in CU’s Department of Economics, will take a leave of absence to come to MTSU this August. Majumber will assist Yunus Program projects while pursuing a second master’s degree under a special graduate assistantship funded with a grant from the MTSU Foundation and a national government subsidy from Bangladesh.
“It is great to become a member of the MTSU family,” writes Majumber via e-mail from his home in Feni, Bangladesh. “I feel extremely proud to have been given this opportunity to carry out higher studies at MTSU. It is really exciting to think that my dream is going to be accomplished. I also realize that I will need to put in a huge amount of effort to meet the challenges I will inevitably face.”
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Majumber teaches courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics and resource and environmental economics at CU. He was assistant director of his country’s central bank from 2000-2002 and a research economist for the bank from 2005-2007.
Dr. Richard Hannah, a professor of economics and finance and co-founder of the Yunus Program, will visit CU and Grameen Bank this fall while he is on sabbatical from MTSU.
The University of Chittagong, a public institution with a student enrollment around 20,000, is one of the largest universities in Bangladesh. It is located 22 kilometers north of the city of Chittagong, which is Yunus’ hometown. The village of Jobra, where Yunus and his students first experimented with collateral-free loans, is located nearby.
Earlier this month, MTSU shipped 300 pounds of surplus academic books to CU for its library. Other possible implementations of the program could include a Yunus Collection of books, monographs, videos and photos about Yunus’ life; research, courses and lectures about his economic philosophy; a student internship program with Grameen Bank; and student and faculty exchanges.
Kawahito says the two universities’ respective economics departments will serve as the program’s liaison offices until a permanent university-wide body is established. He says he is hopeful that the emerging Yunus Program will inspire past, present and future MTSU students for many years to come.
“The Jennings A. Jones College of Business at MTSU is very pleased to be associated with Dr. Yunus and his great work,” says Dr. E. James Burton, dean of the college. “We look forward to developing ways to participate with him in the area of economic development.”
“The MTSU Yunus Program exemplifies MTSU's role as a leading international university and its commitment to providing students (with) global perspectives,” says Dr. Charles L. Baum, chair of the Department of Economics and Finance.
For more information about the Yunus Program, contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.
--30--
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpeg photos of Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito with Dr. Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, photos of Kawahito at the University of Chittagong, and a photo of Professor Majumber, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
YUNUS PROGRAM HONORS NOBELIST, FORMER MTSU PROFESSOR
Agreement with Bangladeshi University to Lead to Academic Exchange
(MURFREESBORO) – Officials of Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Chittagong (CU) in Bangladesh have finalized a five-year agreement of friendship and exchange that will pave the way for the establishment of programs honoring the work and philosophy of Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Abu Yusuf Alam, vice chancellor of CU, on March 3 and by Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU president, on April 6. It states, in part, “CU and MTSU will engage in collaborative activities in education, research, public service and other areas of mutual interest, including exchange of faculty, staff, students, and library materials, as well as sponsorship of conferences and workshops.”
Yunus was an assistant professor of economics at MTSU from 1969-72, associate professor at CU from 1972-75 and professor at CU from 1975-89. Yunus and Grameen Bank, which he founded in Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka, were awarded the Nobel jointly in 2006 for the institutionalization of microcredit. The practice of awarding low-interest loans to millions of people with little or no collateral is hailed as a means of helping to lift people in developing nations out of poverty. In recent years, Yunus also has stressed the concept of a “social business,” a no-loss, no-dividend private enterprise dedicated to public welfare.
“If there were a ‘President of the World,’ Yunus would be the first choice of most nations, including the U.S., China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and the U.K., as well as virtually all developing countries, in my opinion,” says Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, Advisor to the President and the Provost on Asian Affairs and professor emeritus of economics and finance.
As part of the exchange, Md. Alauddin Majumber, an assistant professor in CU’s Department of Economics, will take a leave of absence to come to MTSU this August. Majumber will assist Yunus Program projects while pursuing a second master’s degree under a special graduate assistantship funded with a grant from the MTSU Foundation and a national government subsidy from Bangladesh.
“It is great to become a member of the MTSU family,” writes Majumber via e-mail from his home in Feni, Bangladesh. “I feel extremely proud to have been given this opportunity to carry out higher studies at MTSU. It is really exciting to think that my dream is going to be accomplished. I also realize that I will need to put in a huge amount of effort to meet the challenges I will inevitably face.”
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YUNUS
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Majumber teaches courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics and resource and environmental economics at CU. He was assistant director of his country’s central bank from 2000-2002 and a research economist for the bank from 2005-2007.
Dr. Richard Hannah, a professor of economics and finance and co-founder of the Yunus Program, will visit CU and Grameen Bank this fall while he is on sabbatical from MTSU.
The University of Chittagong, a public institution with a student enrollment around 20,000, is one of the largest universities in Bangladesh. It is located 22 kilometers north of the city of Chittagong, which is Yunus’ hometown. The village of Jobra, where Yunus and his students first experimented with collateral-free loans, is located nearby.
Earlier this month, MTSU shipped 300 pounds of surplus academic books to CU for its library. Other possible implementations of the program could include a Yunus Collection of books, monographs, videos and photos about Yunus’ life; research, courses and lectures about his economic philosophy; a student internship program with Grameen Bank; and student and faculty exchanges.
Kawahito says the two universities’ respective economics departments will serve as the program’s liaison offices until a permanent university-wide body is established. He says he is hopeful that the emerging Yunus Program will inspire past, present and future MTSU students for many years to come.
“The Jennings A. Jones College of Business at MTSU is very pleased to be associated with Dr. Yunus and his great work,” says Dr. E. James Burton, dean of the college. “We look forward to developing ways to participate with him in the area of economic development.”
“The MTSU Yunus Program exemplifies MTSU's role as a leading international university and its commitment to providing students (with) global perspectives,” says Dr. Charles L. Baum, chair of the Department of Economics and Finance.
For more information about the Yunus Program, contact Kawahito at 615-898-5751 or kawahito@mtsu.edu.
--30--
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpeg photos of Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito with Dr. Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, photos of Kawahito at the University of Chittagong, and a photo of Professor Majumber, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[522] June Anderson Center Amplifies Voices We Haven't Heard
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
JUNE ANDERSON CENTER AMPLIFIES VOICES WE HAVEN’T HEARD
Creative Writing Publication is Collection of Dynamic Viewpoints
(MURFREESBORO) – Expressions of confidence, faith, defiance, togetherness, satire and sobriety characterize the second edition of Voices We Haven’t Heard, a publication of MTSU’s June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students available starting Thursday, July 1.
The latest Voices is larger than last year’s edition, and it includes feminist poetry and prose complemented by photographs of students engaged in center activities, all nestled between glossy, colorful covers.
Center Director Terri Johnson says the magazine empowers students by providing them with a creative outlet for their observations on racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and other forms of oppression.
For example, in “Ghetto Poetry,” Precious Creavalle anticipates the surprise her readers might feel in discovering that verbal talent can emerge from harsh conditions.
She writes, “Ebonics and old English all in one./Yeah I was locked up, but only for a fortnight./That’s right, broken English and Webster’s best/All in the same verse./How else could I use a term like/Government sanctioned self-contained purgatory and/’Hell Yeah’ in the same line?”
Brenda (Kidd) Navarro overturns conventional thinking about womanhood and invites the readers to consider numerous possibilities in “Flesh, Mind, and Soul.”
Her poem states, “I am Mother Nature, Gaia is my name./A renegade bitch that’ll drive you insane./I’m loyal, confident, motivated, and rare …/… and when I walk by everyone stares./I am the truth that can set every man free./Masculine, Feminine, Androgynous—that’s me.”
The centerpiece of Voices is Lawrence Tumpag’s “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” a chronicle of Tumpag’s struggles in defining manhood during a life marked by encounters with some of the worst examples of manhood imaginable.
Of his hard-working single mother, Tumpag writes, “Interspersed throughout my childhood, she would come across men she hoped could be companions, care takers, role models, father figure(s) … unfortunately many of them would turn out to be individuals who took advantage of her assets, dreams to have a ‘whole or complete family’ and finally one would use his own income to give a sense of financial security in exchange for subservience and dehumanization.”
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For comic relief, Gina Logue provides an essay on the relative absence of commercials for feminine hygiene products on prime time television compared to the overwhelming saturation campaigns for erectile dysfunction drugs.
She writes, “The Viagra spots are so preposterously over the top that they almost make one yearn for the straightforward Bob Dole solicitations of yesteryear. Targeting the older demographic is fine; insulting their taste is not. Viagra commercials have all the class of an orange leisure suit, circa 1977.”
Voices We Haven’t Heard is free and will be available from the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students in its new home, Room 320 of the Keathley University Center. For more information, call 615-898-5989 or go to www.mtsu.edu/jac.
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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color jpeg of the cover of Voices We Haven’t Heard, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
JUNE ANDERSON CENTER AMPLIFIES VOICES WE HAVEN’T HEARD
Creative Writing Publication is Collection of Dynamic Viewpoints
(MURFREESBORO) – Expressions of confidence, faith, defiance, togetherness, satire and sobriety characterize the second edition of Voices We Haven’t Heard, a publication of MTSU’s June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students available starting Thursday, July 1.
The latest Voices is larger than last year’s edition, and it includes feminist poetry and prose complemented by photographs of students engaged in center activities, all nestled between glossy, colorful covers.
Center Director Terri Johnson says the magazine empowers students by providing them with a creative outlet for their observations on racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and other forms of oppression.
For example, in “Ghetto Poetry,” Precious Creavalle anticipates the surprise her readers might feel in discovering that verbal talent can emerge from harsh conditions.
She writes, “Ebonics and old English all in one./Yeah I was locked up, but only for a fortnight./That’s right, broken English and Webster’s best/All in the same verse./How else could I use a term like/Government sanctioned self-contained purgatory and/’Hell Yeah’ in the same line?”
Brenda (Kidd) Navarro overturns conventional thinking about womanhood and invites the readers to consider numerous possibilities in “Flesh, Mind, and Soul.”
Her poem states, “I am Mother Nature, Gaia is my name./A renegade bitch that’ll drive you insane./I’m loyal, confident, motivated, and rare …/… and when I walk by everyone stares./I am the truth that can set every man free./Masculine, Feminine, Androgynous—that’s me.”
The centerpiece of Voices is Lawrence Tumpag’s “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” a chronicle of Tumpag’s struggles in defining manhood during a life marked by encounters with some of the worst examples of manhood imaginable.
Of his hard-working single mother, Tumpag writes, “Interspersed throughout my childhood, she would come across men she hoped could be companions, care takers, role models, father figure(s) … unfortunately many of them would turn out to be individuals who took advantage of her assets, dreams to have a ‘whole or complete family’ and finally one would use his own income to give a sense of financial security in exchange for subservience and dehumanization.”
--more--
VOICES
Add 1
For comic relief, Gina Logue provides an essay on the relative absence of commercials for feminine hygiene products on prime time television compared to the overwhelming saturation campaigns for erectile dysfunction drugs.
She writes, “The Viagra spots are so preposterously over the top that they almost make one yearn for the straightforward Bob Dole solicitations of yesteryear. Targeting the older demographic is fine; insulting their taste is not. Viagra commercials have all the class of an orange leisure suit, circa 1977.”
Voices We Haven’t Heard is free and will be available from the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students in its new home, Room 320 of the Keathley University Center. For more information, call 615-898-5989 or go to www.mtsu.edu/jac.
--30--
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a color jpeg of the cover of Voices We Haven’t Heard, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[521] MTSU Serves As Host For Adaptive-Rec Camp ENRGY Once More
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
MTSU SERVES AS HOST FOR ADAPTIVE-REC CAMP ENRGY ONCE MORE
MTSU Professor, Doctoral Students Create Weeklong Camp for Physically Disabled Youth
(MURFREESBORO)—Although many physically disabled youth miss out on adaptive-recreation opportunities as part of their lifestyle, the local creators of Camp ENRGY are hoping their summer-camp template will soon catch on.
Now in its second year, Camp ENRGY, which stands for Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth, is a weeklong camp for youth designed and implemented by Dr. Don Morgan, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth at MTSU, and two of his doctoral students, Sandy Stevens and Jenny Hutchens.
In August 2009, Morgan, along with camp co-directors Stevens, Hutchens and a handful of volunteers, enacted their inaugural Camp ENRGY, free of charge, as a five-day camp for physically challenged youth ages 10-17 in the local area. This year, the camp is back with an expanded participant age range, 5-18, and an added emphasis on not only physical activity but also nutrition.
Set for July 26-30 on the MTSU campus, the camp’s registration roster filled quickly, reported Stevens, who said seven of this year’s participants are returning campers.
“The mission of the camp is to provide a positive experience for each child in a variety of activities,” she explained. “Our goal is to facilitate participation in lifelong physical activity, which improves their quality of life and reduces the burden of their disability. On a personal level I want each child to leave with great memories of their time at camp.”
Like last year, this year’s daytime camp will include yoga, swimming, nature trails, dance, indoor soccer, martial arts and GPS-based activities, as well as baseball, golf, strength/flexibility training and football.
Because one-third of this year’s Camp ENGRY participants are second-year campers, event organizers have worked hard to find to new ways to engage the youngsters.
“To keep them interested, we are adding a variety of new activities,” Stevens confirmed. “For example, this year the campers will be able to participate in gymnastics, kayaking in the pool, playing Wii and hosting a touch-football game.
“We are also trying to build on the mission of the Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth by instructing the campers on healthy eating and providing an opportunity for them to prepare and serve a meal,” she noted.
By providing the 20 or so campers with a wide array of adaptive-recreation opportunities, camp organizers hope that each child will leave with the desire to continue at least one of the activities explored.
Also among this summer’s activities will be a tried ‘n’ true favorite endeavor, singing camp songs.
“One of our counselors this year is the son of a Grammy-winning songwriter (Marcus Hummon),” Stevens shared, “(and) he will be providing music at various times throughout the week. … Plus, we are hoping that we may even be able to have his father perform at our camp-graduation event or maybe at the evening meal.”
Meanwhile, camp founder Morgan, who is a professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at MTSU, said that by sponsoring an activity camp for children with disabilities, he hopes MTSU’s CPAHY will forge the way for others.
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“We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” he said. “We also hope that we can raise awareness of the need for local recreations groups and organizations to provide meaningful activity and sports opportunities for these kids.”
Morgan first conceived the idea for Camp ENRGY as an outgrowth of a four-year research project conducted at MTSU and funded by the National Institutes of Health,”
While engaged in this research, Morgan said, he studied how to improve the leg strength and endurance of youngsters with cerebral palsy by helping them train on an underwater treadmill. Doing so, he added, caused him to ultimately seed the idea for what would become Camp ENRGY.
“During this (underwater-treadmill) project, I began to envision the creation of a sports and fitness camp for youngsters with physical disabilities in the hope of improving their ability to participate more confidently in home-, school- and community-based physical activities,” he explained.
For all involved in implementing Camp ENRGY, the goal is to give campers experiences that produce lasting implications by helping them incorporate physical activity, along with its benefits, into their daily lifestyle.
“Engagement in physical activity becomes more challenging for children with disabilities,” Stevens said, “and it is our hope that by providing this camp, participants will experience an increase in their confidence and their physical capability, create a positive experience with physical activity that may encourage continued participation, and also allow the participants to explore a variety of activities that have the potential for lifelong activity.”
Note: Although registration for Camp ENGRY is currently full, organizers will accept names for a first-come, first-served “stand-by” list in case anyone registered is unable to attend. For more information, please contact Morgan via e-mail at dmorgan@mtsu.edu.
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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request interviews with Morgan or Stevens, or to request a camp schedule, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu. Media are welcomed to attend, videotape and photograph camp activities for editorial purposes.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu
MTSU SERVES AS HOST FOR ADAPTIVE-REC CAMP ENRGY ONCE MORE
MTSU Professor, Doctoral Students Create Weeklong Camp for Physically Disabled Youth
(MURFREESBORO)—Although many physically disabled youth miss out on adaptive-recreation opportunities as part of their lifestyle, the local creators of Camp ENRGY are hoping their summer-camp template will soon catch on.
Now in its second year, Camp ENRGY, which stands for Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth, is a weeklong camp for youth designed and implemented by Dr. Don Morgan, director of the Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth at MTSU, and two of his doctoral students, Sandy Stevens and Jenny Hutchens.
In August 2009, Morgan, along with camp co-directors Stevens, Hutchens and a handful of volunteers, enacted their inaugural Camp ENRGY, free of charge, as a five-day camp for physically challenged youth ages 10-17 in the local area. This year, the camp is back with an expanded participant age range, 5-18, and an added emphasis on not only physical activity but also nutrition.
Set for July 26-30 on the MTSU campus, the camp’s registration roster filled quickly, reported Stevens, who said seven of this year’s participants are returning campers.
“The mission of the camp is to provide a positive experience for each child in a variety of activities,” she explained. “Our goal is to facilitate participation in lifelong physical activity, which improves their quality of life and reduces the burden of their disability. On a personal level I want each child to leave with great memories of their time at camp.”
Like last year, this year’s daytime camp will include yoga, swimming, nature trails, dance, indoor soccer, martial arts and GPS-based activities, as well as baseball, golf, strength/flexibility training and football.
Because one-third of this year’s Camp ENGRY participants are second-year campers, event organizers have worked hard to find to new ways to engage the youngsters.
“To keep them interested, we are adding a variety of new activities,” Stevens confirmed. “For example, this year the campers will be able to participate in gymnastics, kayaking in the pool, playing Wii and hosting a touch-football game.
“We are also trying to build on the mission of the Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth by instructing the campers on healthy eating and providing an opportunity for them to prepare and serve a meal,” she noted.
By providing the 20 or so campers with a wide array of adaptive-recreation opportunities, camp organizers hope that each child will leave with the desire to continue at least one of the activities explored.
Also among this summer’s activities will be a tried ‘n’ true favorite endeavor, singing camp songs.
“One of our counselors this year is the son of a Grammy-winning songwriter (Marcus Hummon),” Stevens shared, “(and) he will be providing music at various times throughout the week. … Plus, we are hoping that we may even be able to have his father perform at our camp-graduation event or maybe at the evening meal.”
Meanwhile, camp founder Morgan, who is a professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at MTSU, said that by sponsoring an activity camp for children with disabilities, he hopes MTSU’s CPAHY will forge the way for others.
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“We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” he said. “We also hope that we can raise awareness of the need for local recreations groups and organizations to provide meaningful activity and sports opportunities for these kids.”
Morgan first conceived the idea for Camp ENRGY as an outgrowth of a four-year research project conducted at MTSU and funded by the National Institutes of Health,”
While engaged in this research, Morgan said, he studied how to improve the leg strength and endurance of youngsters with cerebral palsy by helping them train on an underwater treadmill. Doing so, he added, caused him to ultimately seed the idea for what would become Camp ENRGY.
“During this (underwater-treadmill) project, I began to envision the creation of a sports and fitness camp for youngsters with physical disabilities in the hope of improving their ability to participate more confidently in home-, school- and community-based physical activities,” he explained.
For all involved in implementing Camp ENRGY, the goal is to give campers experiences that produce lasting implications by helping them incorporate physical activity, along with its benefits, into their daily lifestyle.
“Engagement in physical activity becomes more challenging for children with disabilities,” Stevens said, “and it is our hope that by providing this camp, participants will experience an increase in their confidence and their physical capability, create a positive experience with physical activity that may encourage continued participation, and also allow the participants to explore a variety of activities that have the potential for lifelong activity.”
Note: Although registration for Camp ENGRY is currently full, organizers will accept names for a first-come, first-served “stand-by” list in case anyone registered is unable to attend. For more information, please contact Morgan via e-mail at dmorgan@mtsu.edu.
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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request interviews with Morgan or Stevens, or to request a camp schedule, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu. Media are welcomed to attend, videotape and photograph camp activities for editorial purposes.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Friday, June 25, 2010
[520] MTSU Professor's Book Focus of July Book Discussions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 25, 2010
CONTACT: Antoinette van Zelm, 615-217-8013 or avanzelm@mtsu.edu
MTSU PROFESSOR’S BOOK FOCUS OF JULY BOOK DISCUSSIONS
(MURFREESBORO)—“The Good Men Who Won the War: Army of the Cumberland Veterans and Emancipation Memory,” a new book by Dr. Robert Hunt, will be the focus of this summer’s “Between the Lines: Reading About the Civil War” book group.
Beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, the group’s participants will embark on a discussion of the award-winning title, which touches on the region’s local history within a larger national context, during the club’s meeting at Murfreesboro’s Heritage Center, 225 West College St.
The following week, at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22, author Hunt will join the group for a question-and-answer session at the same location. Both sessions are free and open to the public.
“’The Good Men Who Won the War’ is an excellent study of Union army veterans who had fought right here in middle Tennessee, among other places,” said Antoinette van Zelm, historian for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. “Dr. Hunt analyzes how these men from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky viewed their role in bringing about the end of slavery in the United States.”
A member of MTSU’s history faculty since 1989, Hunt received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1988. In addition to courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, he teaches military history, history in film and Southern history.
“The Good Men Who Won the War: Army of the Cumberland Veterans and Emancipation Memory” won the University of Alabama Press-sponsored Anne B. and James B. McMillan Prize as a manuscript.
The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Linebaugh Library and the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County sponsor the book discussion group. The TCWNHA receives funding from the National Park Service and is administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU. Additional support comes from the Rutherford County Government and State Farm Insurance.
For more information on “Between the Lines: Reading About the Civil War,” please call 615-217-8013 or send an e-mail to avanzelm@mtsu.edu.
--30--
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the book’s author or a jpeg of the book’s cover, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
CONTACT: Antoinette van Zelm, 615-217-8013 or avanzelm@mtsu.edu
MTSU PROFESSOR’S BOOK FOCUS OF JULY BOOK DISCUSSIONS
(MURFREESBORO)—“The Good Men Who Won the War: Army of the Cumberland Veterans and Emancipation Memory,” a new book by Dr. Robert Hunt, will be the focus of this summer’s “Between the Lines: Reading About the Civil War” book group.
Beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, the group’s participants will embark on a discussion of the award-winning title, which touches on the region’s local history within a larger national context, during the club’s meeting at Murfreesboro’s Heritage Center, 225 West College St.
The following week, at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22, author Hunt will join the group for a question-and-answer session at the same location. Both sessions are free and open to the public.
“’The Good Men Who Won the War’ is an excellent study of Union army veterans who had fought right here in middle Tennessee, among other places,” said Antoinette van Zelm, historian for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. “Dr. Hunt analyzes how these men from Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky viewed their role in bringing about the end of slavery in the United States.”
A member of MTSU’s history faculty since 1989, Hunt received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in 1988. In addition to courses on the Civil War and Reconstruction, he teaches military history, history in film and Southern history.
“The Good Men Who Won the War: Army of the Cumberland Veterans and Emancipation Memory” won the University of Alabama Press-sponsored Anne B. and James B. McMillan Prize as a manuscript.
The Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Linebaugh Library and the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County sponsor the book discussion group. The TCWNHA receives funding from the National Park Service and is administered by the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU. Additional support comes from the Rutherford County Government and State Farm Insurance.
For more information on “Between the Lines: Reading About the Civil War,” please call 615-217-8013 or send an e-mail to avanzelm@mtsu.edu.
--30--
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request an interview with the book’s author or a jpeg of the book’s cover, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[519] Inforsearch Eases Access To Library Books, Journals At MTSU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 25, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
INFOSEARCH EASES ACCESS TO LIBRARY BOOKS, JOURNALS AT MTSU
Gore Center, Music Library, Instructional Media Catalogs Just a Mouse Click Away
(MURFREESBORO) – Students using MTSU’s James E. Walker Library will see a big change when they log on to the library’s website from now on. The institution’s new search engine is now online, providing even more options and user-friendly access to Walker’s resources for both on-campus students and distance learners at http://library.mtsu.edu.
With money from federal stimulus funds, the library has replaced its Voyager search system, which has been in place for about 10 years, with Millennium software that the library has christened InfoSearch.
“It looks a little bit more like modern-day Web interfaces,” says Electronic Resources Librarian Mary Ellen Pozzebon. “It doesn’t look as outdated as Voyager does.”
InfoSearch enables users to conduct basic searches by entering key words without having to limit themselves to title or subject. They also will be able to find out where the resource is and whether it has been checked out.
“The catalog will also include some, but not all, holdings from the Gore Center and the Center for Popular Music,” says Pozzebon. “It will include all the holdings from the (Howard) Music Library and the Instructional Media Resources Library, and, of course, all of the materials here.”
Systems Librarian David Robinson says the new system offers “a quick and intuitive search interface” with many new search tools, including content categories, tag clouds (hyperlinked words used to describe website comment), spell-checking, recently added materials suggestions and relevance ranking. The search engine even has a “Did you mean …?” feature.
Another advantage of InfoSearch over Voyager is access to Google previews. Patrons will be able to click on a picture of a book and read an overview of it before deciding whether it suits their needs.
“Book cover art, table of contents, content summary and other features will be available,” says Robinson. “Users can add descriptive tags to books in the catalog and can rate books on usefulness.”
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“There’s a very robust user community that shares tips and tricks and adjustments that they’ve made,” adds Pozzebon. “We can borrow implementations that other libraries have done.”
In addition, a smart-phone enabled interface will allow users to search the library catalog from a Web-enabled cell phone by pointing the phone’s browser to http://airpac.library2.mtsu.edu.
For more information about InfoSearch, contact the James E. Walker Library at 615-898-2772.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
INFOSEARCH EASES ACCESS TO LIBRARY BOOKS, JOURNALS AT MTSU
Gore Center, Music Library, Instructional Media Catalogs Just a Mouse Click Away
(MURFREESBORO) – Students using MTSU’s James E. Walker Library will see a big change when they log on to the library’s website from now on. The institution’s new search engine is now online, providing even more options and user-friendly access to Walker’s resources for both on-campus students and distance learners at http://library.mtsu.edu.
With money from federal stimulus funds, the library has replaced its Voyager search system, which has been in place for about 10 years, with Millennium software that the library has christened InfoSearch.
“It looks a little bit more like modern-day Web interfaces,” says Electronic Resources Librarian Mary Ellen Pozzebon. “It doesn’t look as outdated as Voyager does.”
InfoSearch enables users to conduct basic searches by entering key words without having to limit themselves to title or subject. They also will be able to find out where the resource is and whether it has been checked out.
“The catalog will also include some, but not all, holdings from the Gore Center and the Center for Popular Music,” says Pozzebon. “It will include all the holdings from the (Howard) Music Library and the Instructional Media Resources Library, and, of course, all of the materials here.”
Systems Librarian David Robinson says the new system offers “a quick and intuitive search interface” with many new search tools, including content categories, tag clouds (hyperlinked words used to describe website comment), spell-checking, recently added materials suggestions and relevance ranking. The search engine even has a “Did you mean …?” feature.
Another advantage of InfoSearch over Voyager is access to Google previews. Patrons will be able to click on a picture of a book and read an overview of it before deciding whether it suits their needs.
“Book cover art, table of contents, content summary and other features will be available,” says Robinson. “Users can add descriptive tags to books in the catalog and can rate books on usefulness.”
--more--
INFOSEARCH
Add 1
“There’s a very robust user community that shares tips and tricks and adjustments that they’ve made,” adds Pozzebon. “We can borrow implementations that other libraries have done.”
In addition, a smart-phone enabled interface will allow users to search the library catalog from a Web-enabled cell phone by pointing the phone’s browser to http://airpac.library2.mtsu.edu.
For more information about InfoSearch, contact the James E. Walker Library at 615-898-2772.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[518] Living Learning Community Aims For Campus Togetherness
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 24, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY AIMS FOR CAMPUS TOGETHERNESS
“MTSU on the Record” Previews Fall Opportunity for Rutherford, Davidson Students
(MURFREESBORO) - With an Access and Diversity Grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents and university matching funds, MTSU will create a Gen. Next Living Learning Community on campus for students from Rutherford and Davidson counties. Dr. Laurie Witherow, director of the Academic Support Center, and Vincent Windrow, director of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, will discuss this innovation at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 27, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
The goal of the project is to increase retention among freshmen and sophomores, increase progress to degree completion and quicker identification and declaration of appropriate academic majors. Officials hope that centering the students in a single dormitory will promote a fuller acclimation to campus life both academically and socially.
To listen to last week’s program about MTSU’s new international media studies minor, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/podcast2010.shtml and click on “June 20, 2010.” 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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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
LIVING LEARNING COMMUNITY AIMS FOR CAMPUS TOGETHERNESS
“MTSU on the Record” Previews Fall Opportunity for Rutherford, Davidson Students
(MURFREESBORO) - With an Access and Diversity Grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents and university matching funds, MTSU will create a Gen. Next Living Learning Community on campus for students from Rutherford and Davidson counties. Dr. Laurie Witherow, director of the Academic Support Center, and Vincent Windrow, director of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, will discuss this innovation at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 27, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
The goal of the project is to increase retention among freshmen and sophomores, increase progress to degree completion and quicker identification and declaration of appropriate academic majors. Officials hope that centering the students in a single dormitory will promote a fuller acclimation to campus life both academically and socially.
To listen to last week’s program about MTSU’s new international media studies minor, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/podcast2010.shtml and click on “June 20, 2010.” For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Monday, June 21, 2010
[515] MTSU Students Take Part In Conference Led By President Clinton
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 21, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919, or lrollins@mtsu.edu
MTSU STUDENTS TAKE PART IN CONFERENCE LED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON
MTSU Students Help Create Project Proposal to Aid Rural Poor in Nepal
(MURFREESBORO)—A team of MTSU students was recently invited from more than 4,000 applicants to attend Clinton Global Initiative University 2010, a forum created by President Bill Clinton that encourages the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world to take action on global challenges.
MTSU students Mary Lane Poe of Murfreesboro and Milan, Tenn., native Jesse Rawls, along with organizational communications major Becca Wilson of La Vergne, were among 1,300 students from 50 states and 83 countries who attended the April 16-18 event, known as CGIU, where they represented the first team of MTSU students to be invited. Jason Goodrich, a 2009 MTSU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science, served as the team’s leader.
“Attending this conference was one of the most beneficial experiences I’ve had in college,” Poe said. “The speakers and panels had spot-on discussions about pressing issues and the chance to network with so many proactive individuals from all over the world.”
The University of Miami in Coral Gables served as the host site for the conference, which focused on five global challenge areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health.
Clinton kicked off the three-day conference by speaking with panelists Sam Adelburg, founder of microlender LendforPeace.org; U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin; Grammy-winning producer Pharrell Williams; and Robyn Allen, who represented a team of university researchers developing cars capable of more than 100 miles per gallon.
During the event, students were given the opportunity to participate in thematic panels and working group sessions on such topics as world education, environmental awareness, water security and scarcity, and ongoing humanitarian efforts in Haiti.
“I hope that other MTSU students have the chance to attend this conference in the future and I encourage professors to have their students submit a commitment each year,” said Rawls, who was excited to be among the first MTSU students to attend.
The students were selected to attend CGIU based on their proposal to improve public education in rural Nepal, a project of the student organization Humans in Crisis of MTSU, which is affiliated with the charity known as Humans in Crisis International Corporation. HICIC was begun in 2003 by Dr. Hari Garbharran of MTSU’s geosciences faculty.
At the time of the conference, May 2010 graduates Poe and Rawls were seniors majoring in international relations in MTSU’s political science department.
Dr. Stephen Morris, political science chairman, said, “I am so glad the department and the university could facilitate Mary Lane Poe and Jesse Rawls' participation in the Clinton Global Initiative. No doubt this type of experience broadens our students’ horizons, lights a fire, helps them network and pushes them forward.”
“HICIC and the MTSU political science department made certain our team participated at CGIU,” Rawls noted.
The MTSU team members have applied for a $12,500 CGI Outstanding Commitment Award to implement their education-based project with HICIC.
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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request interviews with Dr. Hari Garbharran or recent MTSU student participants, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-494-8857 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919, or lrollins@mtsu.edu
MTSU STUDENTS TAKE PART IN CONFERENCE LED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON
MTSU Students Help Create Project Proposal to Aid Rural Poor in Nepal
(MURFREESBORO)—A team of MTSU students was recently invited from more than 4,000 applicants to attend Clinton Global Initiative University 2010, a forum created by President Bill Clinton that encourages the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world to take action on global challenges.
MTSU students Mary Lane Poe of Murfreesboro and Milan, Tenn., native Jesse Rawls, along with organizational communications major Becca Wilson of La Vergne, were among 1,300 students from 50 states and 83 countries who attended the April 16-18 event, known as CGIU, where they represented the first team of MTSU students to be invited. Jason Goodrich, a 2009 MTSU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science, served as the team’s leader.
“Attending this conference was one of the most beneficial experiences I’ve had in college,” Poe said. “The speakers and panels had spot-on discussions about pressing issues and the chance to network with so many proactive individuals from all over the world.”
The University of Miami in Coral Gables served as the host site for the conference, which focused on five global challenge areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health.
Clinton kicked off the three-day conference by speaking with panelists Sam Adelburg, founder of microlender LendforPeace.org; U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin; Grammy-winning producer Pharrell Williams; and Robyn Allen, who represented a team of university researchers developing cars capable of more than 100 miles per gallon.
During the event, students were given the opportunity to participate in thematic panels and working group sessions on such topics as world education, environmental awareness, water security and scarcity, and ongoing humanitarian efforts in Haiti.
“I hope that other MTSU students have the chance to attend this conference in the future and I encourage professors to have their students submit a commitment each year,” said Rawls, who was excited to be among the first MTSU students to attend.
The students were selected to attend CGIU based on their proposal to improve public education in rural Nepal, a project of the student organization Humans in Crisis of MTSU, which is affiliated with the charity known as Humans in Crisis International Corporation. HICIC was begun in 2003 by Dr. Hari Garbharran of MTSU’s geosciences faculty.
At the time of the conference, May 2010 graduates Poe and Rawls were seniors majoring in international relations in MTSU’s political science department.
Dr. Stephen Morris, political science chairman, said, “I am so glad the department and the university could facilitate Mary Lane Poe and Jesse Rawls' participation in the Clinton Global Initiative. No doubt this type of experience broadens our students’ horizons, lights a fire, helps them network and pushes them forward.”
“HICIC and the MTSU political science department made certain our team participated at CGIU,” Rawls noted.
The MTSU team members have applied for a $12,500 CGI Outstanding Commitment Award to implement their education-based project with HICIC.
--30--
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request interviews with Dr. Hari Garbharran or recent MTSU student participants, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-494-8857 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[514] MTSU Tops Tennessee Schools In Gilman Scholarship Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 21, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
MTSU TOPS TENNESSEE SCHOOLS IN GILMAN SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Federal Funding Sends Students to Japan and France for Language Education
(MURFREESBORO) –MTSU will send four of its students, more than any other institution in the state of Tennessee, abroad with stipends from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program next academic year as exchange students engaged in intensive language study.
Approximately 2,900 students from across the country applied for more than 1,000 awards from the prestigious and highly competitive program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Tekisha Bailey of Nashville and Justin Bingham of Murfreesboro, will use their $3,000 allocations to spend the 2010-2011 year at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan.
Bailey, a junior English major who minors in secondary education and Japanese, says she is spending the summer poring over her Japanese language textbook and outside sources to become more familiar with the language before she arrives in Fukuoka.
“Eventually, I hope to get into the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program or go back to Japan on a Fulbright scholarship and teaching English over there or teach Japanese or English in the public schools here,” says Bailey.
Bingham is an electronic media communication major with an emphasis in digital animation and a minor in art. While he says he has drawn off and on for a long time, his interest in Japan was inspired by his next-door neighbors, who introduced him to their native country’s unique animation style.
“Every day as I was growing up, I would hear them talk,” Bingham remembers. “I would borrow their Japanese TV videos. They were different and cool.”
Bingham’s other motivation is more personal. He was born with retinopathy of prematurity, a vision impairment stemming from his arrival into the world three-and-a-half months early. Bingham, who weighed only one-and-a-half pounds at birth, spent the first six months of his life in an incubator.
“I want to show people that I can do whatever I want,” Burgin says. “It might take a little longer, but animation is all about the end product.”
Joshua Burgin, an electronic media communication major from Louisville, Tenn., will study at l’Universite de Caen Basse-Normandie in Caen, France with a $5,000 scholarship.
Burgin, who minors in French, became intrigued with his country of destination after viewing New Wave director Francois Truffaut’s film “L’argent de poche” (“Pocket Money”) when he was 14 years old. From that moment on, he knew he wanted to study abroad as a college student.
However, a life-changing experience is steering him away from film as a career. When he was a high school senior, Burgin weighed 300 pounds. Over the past three years, he has shed 137 of those pounds.
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Now Burgin wants to attend culinary school in France and focus on low-calorie baking. He already has a head-start with his blog at www.chefjoshuaburgin.com, where he writes, “I now own my own business, and after an inspirational meeting with Michelle Bommarito (Food Network Challenge), I have decided culinary arts is where my future lies. … My ultimate goal is to one day own my own thriving bakery!”
Megan Erickson, a global studies major from Thompsons Station, will go to Saitama University in Saitama, Japan, with a $4,000 stipend. Erickson, who minors in Japanese and business administration, says she admires the kindness and generosity of the Japanese people, qualities she hopes to apply to a career in the hospitality field in Asia.
“I love serving people,” Erickson says. “I love the atmosphere of hotels and resorts where people leave their hectic lives behind and go to relax.”
Erickson’s yearning to know more about other cultures prompted her to choose global studies as a major.
“All throughout childhood, I was taught only about America,” says Erickson. “I was so excited and grateful when I heard I got this scholarship.”
“The Gilman Scholarship Program seeks to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go,” says Rhonda Waller, director of the Office of Education Abroad and Student Exchange. “Specifically, the Gilman Program offers scholarships for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in education abroad.”
Undergraduate students who receive federal Pell Grant funding at two-year or four-year institutions are eligible to apply. Gilman scholarships may be applied to tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance and international airfare.
The deadline to apply for Gilman scholarships for spring 2011 is October 5, 2010. Interested students can find eligibility guidelines and application procedures at www.iie.org/gilman. For more information about MTSU study abroad programs, contact Waller at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.
--30—
ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpeg photographs of Gilman Scholarship winners (Tekisha Bailey, Justin Bingham, Joshua Burgin and Megan Erickson), contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
MTSU TOPS TENNESSEE SCHOOLS IN GILMAN SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Federal Funding Sends Students to Japan and France for Language Education
(MURFREESBORO) –MTSU will send four of its students, more than any other institution in the state of Tennessee, abroad with stipends from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program next academic year as exchange students engaged in intensive language study.
Approximately 2,900 students from across the country applied for more than 1,000 awards from the prestigious and highly competitive program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Tekisha Bailey of Nashville and Justin Bingham of Murfreesboro, will use their $3,000 allocations to spend the 2010-2011 year at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan.
Bailey, a junior English major who minors in secondary education and Japanese, says she is spending the summer poring over her Japanese language textbook and outside sources to become more familiar with the language before she arrives in Fukuoka.
“Eventually, I hope to get into the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program or go back to Japan on a Fulbright scholarship and teaching English over there or teach Japanese or English in the public schools here,” says Bailey.
Bingham is an electronic media communication major with an emphasis in digital animation and a minor in art. While he says he has drawn off and on for a long time, his interest in Japan was inspired by his next-door neighbors, who introduced him to their native country’s unique animation style.
“Every day as I was growing up, I would hear them talk,” Bingham remembers. “I would borrow their Japanese TV videos. They were different and cool.”
Bingham’s other motivation is more personal. He was born with retinopathy of prematurity, a vision impairment stemming from his arrival into the world three-and-a-half months early. Bingham, who weighed only one-and-a-half pounds at birth, spent the first six months of his life in an incubator.
“I want to show people that I can do whatever I want,” Burgin says. “It might take a little longer, but animation is all about the end product.”
Joshua Burgin, an electronic media communication major from Louisville, Tenn., will study at l’Universite de Caen Basse-Normandie in Caen, France with a $5,000 scholarship.
Burgin, who minors in French, became intrigued with his country of destination after viewing New Wave director Francois Truffaut’s film “L’argent de poche” (“Pocket Money”) when he was 14 years old. From that moment on, he knew he wanted to study abroad as a college student.
However, a life-changing experience is steering him away from film as a career. When he was a high school senior, Burgin weighed 300 pounds. Over the past three years, he has shed 137 of those pounds.
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Now Burgin wants to attend culinary school in France and focus on low-calorie baking. He already has a head-start with his blog at www.chefjoshuaburgin.com, where he writes, “I now own my own business, and after an inspirational meeting with Michelle Bommarito (Food Network Challenge), I have decided culinary arts is where my future lies. … My ultimate goal is to one day own my own thriving bakery!”
Megan Erickson, a global studies major from Thompsons Station, will go to Saitama University in Saitama, Japan, with a $4,000 stipend. Erickson, who minors in Japanese and business administration, says she admires the kindness and generosity of the Japanese people, qualities she hopes to apply to a career in the hospitality field in Asia.
“I love serving people,” Erickson says. “I love the atmosphere of hotels and resorts where people leave their hectic lives behind and go to relax.”
Erickson’s yearning to know more about other cultures prompted her to choose global studies as a major.
“All throughout childhood, I was taught only about America,” says Erickson. “I was so excited and grateful when I heard I got this scholarship.”
“The Gilman Scholarship Program seeks to diversify the kinds of students who study abroad and the countries and regions where they go,” says Rhonda Waller, director of the Office of Education Abroad and Student Exchange. “Specifically, the Gilman Program offers scholarships for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in education abroad.”
Undergraduate students who receive federal Pell Grant funding at two-year or four-year institutions are eligible to apply. Gilman scholarships may be applied to tuition, room and board, books, local transportation, insurance and international airfare.
The deadline to apply for Gilman scholarships for spring 2011 is October 5, 2010. Interested students can find eligibility guidelines and application procedures at www.iie.org/gilman. For more information about MTSU study abroad programs, contact Waller at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.
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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpeg photographs of Gilman Scholarship winners (Tekisha Bailey, Justin Bingham, Joshua Burgin and Megan Erickson), contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Friday, June 18, 2010
[512] MTSU Minor Provides Students World Views Through Media
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 17, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
MTSU MINOR PROVIDES STUDENTS WORLD VIEWS THROUGH MEDIA
New International Media Studies Track and Classes Topic on “MTSU on the Record”
(MURFREESBORO) – A new international media studies minor, which will go into effect in the fall 2010 semester at MTSU, will be the subject of “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 20, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
Dr. Richard Pace, professor of anthropology, will explain the requirements for the new minor, which include courses in anthropology, electronic media communication, sociology, and other disciplines. The new minor is designed to offer students a broad understanding of how views are produced by and disseminated in widely varied and dispersed populations around the globe.
To listen to last week’s program on Stockton Helffrich, television’s first censor, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/podcast2010.shtml and click on “June 13, 2010.” 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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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
MTSU MINOR PROVIDES STUDENTS WORLD VIEWS THROUGH MEDIA
New International Media Studies Track and Classes Topic on “MTSU on the Record”
(MURFREESBORO) – A new international media studies minor, which will go into effect in the fall 2010 semester at MTSU, will be the subject of “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 20, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
Dr. Richard Pace, professor of anthropology, will explain the requirements for the new minor, which include courses in anthropology, electronic media communication, sociology, and other disciplines. The new minor is designed to offer students a broad understanding of how views are produced by and disseminated in widely varied and dispersed populations around the globe.
To listen to last week’s program on Stockton Helffrich, television’s first censor, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/podcast2010.shtml and click on “June 13, 2010.” For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Monday, June 14, 2010
[511] Lincoln County Farm Certified As Tennessee Century Farm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
LINCOLN COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Recognizes Sun Rose Dairy for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO)—The Sun Rose Dairy in Lincoln County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
“The dairy industry was one of the most important parts Tennessee’s overall economy throughout most of the 20th century,” Hankins noted. “The lifestyle and livelihood of many families revolved around the twice-daily milking, with many local dairies and creameries operating throughout the state to provide the freshest products to nearby communities.”
According to this 101-year-old farm’s history, Charles Newton and Ethel Williams Bates, in 1909, started a dairy farm known as the Clover Leaf Dairy, later renamed the Sun Rose Dairy. The dairy consisted of 21¼ acres of land used for raising dairy cattle, along with corn and hay that was grown for food and honey for sale.
The Newton’s operation was “the first known dairy in the area to provide fresh milk and butter, as well as honey to Fayetteville residents with door to door service,” per the family. Over the next few years, they acquired more land to eventually total 162 acres.
During the early years of their business, milk was delivered by horse and buggy and distributed in large containers from which customers dipped out the milk into their own buckets or jars. The first glass bottles with lids were patented around 1900 and the family said they believe the Sun Rose Dairy’s first use of this new technology was around 1915.
Until the 1920s, a steady water supply was an issue for the dairy. The only water came from the Drip Spring that was located an eighth of a mile away. It was the children’s job to carry water to the house for drinking. A cistern was built to catch rainwater for other uses until a metal pipeline was installed from the spring. In the 1920s, Charlie, Ethel and their neighbors paid for and installed a two mile-long water line along their road, which provided enough pressure to wash the bottles and work areas and also enable indoor plumbing.
In 1949, Charlie and Ethel’s son and daughter-in-law, Carlos and Gaynelle Bates, acquired the farm. With their three children, Jane, C. N. and Robert, they continued the daily operations of the farm. Prior to the construction of the Tim’s Ford Dam in the late 1960s, the Elk River and its tributaries would flood almost every spring, preventing the family from going to town to sell their dairy products. This was a problem because there was no refrigeration to keep the milk cool and it could take several days for the waters to subside.
According to the family, one year, the Tennessee National Guard was able to reach the dairy and take milk and other products to town for distribution. However, with the completion of the dam, there were no more problems with flooding.
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In 1972, the dairy herd was switched to beef cattle and corn was no longer grown. After Carlos passed away in 1982, Gaynelle continued to manage the farm. She lived in the house built by Charlie Bates in 1910 until her death in 2009.
Jane, C. N. and Robert currently own the farm, which is known by its historic Sun Rose Dairy name. Michael Bates, son of C. N., owns 20 acres of the later land that was bought by Charlie and Ethel, while Jane and husband Clyde Johnson own 10 acres of the original 21 on which they continue to raise beef cattle.
The Sun Rose Dairy is the 24th Century Farm to be certified in Lincoln County, Hankins confirmed.
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 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
LINCOLN COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Recognizes Sun Rose Dairy for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO)—The Sun Rose Dairy in Lincoln County has been designated as a Tennessee Century Farm, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
“The dairy industry was one of the most important parts Tennessee’s overall economy throughout most of the 20th century,” Hankins noted. “The lifestyle and livelihood of many families revolved around the twice-daily milking, with many local dairies and creameries operating throughout the state to provide the freshest products to nearby communities.”
According to this 101-year-old farm’s history, Charles Newton and Ethel Williams Bates, in 1909, started a dairy farm known as the Clover Leaf Dairy, later renamed the Sun Rose Dairy. The dairy consisted of 21¼ acres of land used for raising dairy cattle, along with corn and hay that was grown for food and honey for sale.
The Newton’s operation was “the first known dairy in the area to provide fresh milk and butter, as well as honey to Fayetteville residents with door to door service,” per the family. Over the next few years, they acquired more land to eventually total 162 acres.
During the early years of their business, milk was delivered by horse and buggy and distributed in large containers from which customers dipped out the milk into their own buckets or jars. The first glass bottles with lids were patented around 1900 and the family said they believe the Sun Rose Dairy’s first use of this new technology was around 1915.
Until the 1920s, a steady water supply was an issue for the dairy. The only water came from the Drip Spring that was located an eighth of a mile away. It was the children’s job to carry water to the house for drinking. A cistern was built to catch rainwater for other uses until a metal pipeline was installed from the spring. In the 1920s, Charlie, Ethel and their neighbors paid for and installed a two mile-long water line along their road, which provided enough pressure to wash the bottles and work areas and also enable indoor plumbing.
In 1949, Charlie and Ethel’s son and daughter-in-law, Carlos and Gaynelle Bates, acquired the farm. With their three children, Jane, C. N. and Robert, they continued the daily operations of the farm. Prior to the construction of the Tim’s Ford Dam in the late 1960s, the Elk River and its tributaries would flood almost every spring, preventing the family from going to town to sell their dairy products. This was a problem because there was no refrigeration to keep the milk cool and it could take several days for the waters to subside.
According to the family, one year, the Tennessee National Guard was able to reach the dairy and take milk and other products to town for distribution. However, with the completion of the dam, there were no more problems with flooding.
—more—
SUNROSE
Add 1
In 1972, the dairy herd was switched to beef cattle and corn was no longer grown. After Carlos passed away in 1982, Gaynelle continued to manage the farm. She lived in the house built by Charlie Bates in 1910 until her death in 2009.
Jane, C. N. and Robert currently own the farm, which is known by its historic Sun Rose Dairy name. Michael Bates, son of C. N., owns 20 acres of the later land that was bought by Charlie and Ethel, while Jane and husband Clyde Johnson own 10 acres of the original 21 on which they continue to raise beef cattle.
The Sun Rose Dairy is the 24th Century Farm to be certified in Lincoln County, Hankins confirmed.
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 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[510] Henry County Farm Certified As Tennessee Century Farm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
HENRY COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Will Honor Gregson Farm’s Owners at County Fair in August
(MURFREESBORO)—The 109-year-old Gregson Farm in Henry 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.
In 1901, Dr. John Travis Bomar founded a farm of 169 acres in what is now Mansfield, Tenn. He and his wife, Lou Hoffman Bomar, had 12 children. Together, they raised mules, milk cows, chickens, hogs, sweet potatoes and cotton. Aside from farming, Bomar was a prominent Mansfield physician Having graduated from Vanderbilt at the age of 21, he practiced medicine for 44 years.
Of Dr. and Mrs. Bomar’s 12 children, it was son Orville who became the second- generation owner in 1910. He received the land in two pieces, 10 acres in 1910 and 160 acres in 1920. He and his wife, Hattie Vanhook Bomar, had eight children. He produced many of the same crops and raised livestock in the manner he knew while growing up on the farm.
Thomas T. Bomar, the son of Orville and Hattie, became the next owner in 1962. He acquired 18 acres from his mother and additional acreage on which he and his wife Mable raised cattle, corn and soybeans. In 1975, Rebecca Gregson Brewer, great-granddaughter of the founding couple, acquired the farm in 1975. She and husband Cecil N. Brewer raised cattle and hay, and had pastureland.
In 2010, Larry Q. Gregson became the owner of 55 acres of the original farmland of his great-grandfather, Dr. Bomar. Larry has been a farmer all of his life, first working with his father, Quincie P. Gregson, on the farm when it was owned by Thomas Bomar. During his years at Grove High School, he was active in 4-H, FFA, the Henry County Saddle Club and the Henry County Fair.
Married to Deneicia J. Gregson, Larry is a member of the Henry County Livestock Association as well as the Henry County Fair Board. He works other farms, in addition to this land, which is the 21st farm to be certified in Henry County.
The Gregson Farm, along with other Century Farms, will be recognized, at a reception at the Henry County Fair in August.
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 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.
—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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners or request a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
HENRY COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Will Honor Gregson Farm’s Owners at County Fair in August
(MURFREESBORO)—The 109-year-old Gregson Farm in Henry 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.
In 1901, Dr. John Travis Bomar founded a farm of 169 acres in what is now Mansfield, Tenn. He and his wife, Lou Hoffman Bomar, had 12 children. Together, they raised mules, milk cows, chickens, hogs, sweet potatoes and cotton. Aside from farming, Bomar was a prominent Mansfield physician Having graduated from Vanderbilt at the age of 21, he practiced medicine for 44 years.
Of Dr. and Mrs. Bomar’s 12 children, it was son Orville who became the second- generation owner in 1910. He received the land in two pieces, 10 acres in 1910 and 160 acres in 1920. He and his wife, Hattie Vanhook Bomar, had eight children. He produced many of the same crops and raised livestock in the manner he knew while growing up on the farm.
Thomas T. Bomar, the son of Orville and Hattie, became the next owner in 1962. He acquired 18 acres from his mother and additional acreage on which he and his wife Mable raised cattle, corn and soybeans. In 1975, Rebecca Gregson Brewer, great-granddaughter of the founding couple, acquired the farm in 1975. She and husband Cecil N. Brewer raised cattle and hay, and had pastureland.
In 2010, Larry Q. Gregson became the owner of 55 acres of the original farmland of his great-grandfather, Dr. Bomar. Larry has been a farmer all of his life, first working with his father, Quincie P. Gregson, on the farm when it was owned by Thomas Bomar. During his years at Grove High School, he was active in 4-H, FFA, the Henry County Saddle Club and the Henry County Fair.
Married to Deneicia J. Gregson, Larry is a member of the Henry County Livestock Association as well as the Henry County Fair Board. He works other farms, in addition to this land, which is the 21st farm to be certified in Henry County.
The Gregson Farm, along with other Century Farms, will be recognized, at a reception at the Henry County Fair in August.
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 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.
—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.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners or request a jpeg of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[509] Wilson County Farm Certified As Tennessee Century Farm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
WILSON COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Will Honor Rice Farm’s Owners at Annual County Fair
(MURFREESBORO)—The Rice Farm in Wilson 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.
Andrew Jackson was a land speculator and farmer, as well as a lawyer, in the early years of Tennessee’s statehood. It was from this future president that John Rice, who hailed from Caswell County, N.C., purchased 214 acres in 1800. The receipt, which has remained in the family along with the deed, notes that Rice paid the equivalent of $1 per acre for the property in a combination of French crowns and dollars.
On the farm, John and wife Mary and their seven children raised cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, hay and grain. During this time, about 14 families established the community of Gladeville near the Pond Lick Creek. The family cemetery was also established during this time, with the earliest grave dating 1811. It is thought to be one of the earliest cemeteries in Wilson County and has 150-200 graves, many of which are the graves of slaves, according to the family’s reports.
By 1821, the farm was owned by three sons of John and Mary. Benjamin married Elizabeth Climer; John married Nancy Ramsey; and Simeon remained a bachelor. Benjamin and Nancy were the parents of William C. and John and Nancy had three children.
William C. Rice acquired the property in 1864. He and wife Catherine Gates had been married since 1841, and with their seven children, they continued the family’s traditional crops and livestock and added a mill. The family has several documents from the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction, including a receipt for $16.50 for a “rifle and accoutrements” that was sold to Col. R. Bell of the Confederate Army. Another document shows that William signed an oath of allegiance to the Union in August 1863.
In 1909, 103 acres of the original farm went to Thomas J. Rice, son of William and Catherine. With his wife Nannie, a second cousin, and their three children, Annie, Minnie and Ezra, the family raised hay, corn, fruit, cattle and a large garden.
Ezra “Edd” Rice acquired 103 acres in 1940. Married to Carmen Murphy, they were the parents of Christine and Phillip. They continued to raise a garden, corn, hay and cattle. Wilson County, along with surrounding counties, was the site of military maneuvers during World War II and the Rice Farm saw its share of this training. The war was brought much closer to the Rice family when Philip, serving in the Air Force, died in the service of his country in 1942.
Christine Rice Robinson and husband Sam became the sixth owners in 1981. With their son, Phillip Darryl, they raised cattle, goats and pastureland. In 2005, Phillip Darryl Robinson acquired the farm that has been in his family for more than 200 years.
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Today, he owns 70 acres of the original farm that John Rice bought from Andrew Jackson in 1800.
Darryl continues to raise hay and cattle as well as pasture and. He reports that when Highway 840 came through the farm, he donated the original log dwelling, built by John for Mary and their family, to Fiddler’s Grove at the Wilson County Fairgrounds.
“It is fitting that Darryl will represent his family—the Rices are a First Family of Tennessee—and the farm will be recognized at the annual Century Farms luncheon at the Wilson County Fair in August,” Hankins noted.
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 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
WILSON COUNTY FARM CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARM
State Program Will Honor Rice Farm’s Owners at Annual County Fair
(MURFREESBORO)—The Rice Farm in Wilson 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.
Andrew Jackson was a land speculator and farmer, as well as a lawyer, in the early years of Tennessee’s statehood. It was from this future president that John Rice, who hailed from Caswell County, N.C., purchased 214 acres in 1800. The receipt, which has remained in the family along with the deed, notes that Rice paid the equivalent of $1 per acre for the property in a combination of French crowns and dollars.
On the farm, John and wife Mary and their seven children raised cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, hay and grain. During this time, about 14 families established the community of Gladeville near the Pond Lick Creek. The family cemetery was also established during this time, with the earliest grave dating 1811. It is thought to be one of the earliest cemeteries in Wilson County and has 150-200 graves, many of which are the graves of slaves, according to the family’s reports.
By 1821, the farm was owned by three sons of John and Mary. Benjamin married Elizabeth Climer; John married Nancy Ramsey; and Simeon remained a bachelor. Benjamin and Nancy were the parents of William C. and John and Nancy had three children.
William C. Rice acquired the property in 1864. He and wife Catherine Gates had been married since 1841, and with their seven children, they continued the family’s traditional crops and livestock and added a mill. The family has several documents from the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction, including a receipt for $16.50 for a “rifle and accoutrements” that was sold to Col. R. Bell of the Confederate Army. Another document shows that William signed an oath of allegiance to the Union in August 1863.
In 1909, 103 acres of the original farm went to Thomas J. Rice, son of William and Catherine. With his wife Nannie, a second cousin, and their three children, Annie, Minnie and Ezra, the family raised hay, corn, fruit, cattle and a large garden.
Ezra “Edd” Rice acquired 103 acres in 1940. Married to Carmen Murphy, they were the parents of Christine and Phillip. They continued to raise a garden, corn, hay and cattle. Wilson County, along with surrounding counties, was the site of military maneuvers during World War II and the Rice Farm saw its share of this training. The war was brought much closer to the Rice family when Philip, serving in the Air Force, died in the service of his country in 1942.
Christine Rice Robinson and husband Sam became the sixth owners in 1981. With their son, Phillip Darryl, they raised cattle, goats and pastureland. In 2005, Phillip Darryl Robinson acquired the farm that has been in his family for more than 200 years.
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Today, he owns 70 acres of the original farm that John Rice bought from Andrew Jackson in 1800.
Darryl continues to raise hay and cattle as well as pasture and. He reports that when Highway 840 came through the farm, he donated the original log dwelling, built by John for Mary and their family, to Fiddler’s Grove at the Wilson County Fairgrounds.
“It is fitting that Darryl will represent his family—the Rices are a First Family of Tennessee—and the farm will be recognized at the annual Century Farms luncheon at the Wilson County Fair in August,” Hankins noted.
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 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview the farm’s owners or request jpegs of the farm for editorial use, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[508] Owls Share Summertime Fun With Potluck Pool Party
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
OWLS SHARE SUMMERTIME FUN WITH POTLUCK POOL PARTY
Older, Wiser Learners Get into Swim of Things with Alumni, Families
(MURFREESBORO) – Older Wiser Learners (OWLs), an organization for nontraditional students at MTSU, will hold a summer potluck pool party and picnic from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at the Campus Recreation Center.
Members of OWLs, OWLs alumni and their families are welcome. The event is an opportunity to bid farewell to Dr. Carol Ann Baily, director of the Off-Campus Student Center, and executive aide Virginia Ellis as they move on to other responsibilities and to meet Terri Johnson and Valerie Avent, director and assistant director of the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students.
Participants may use the outdoor pool and sundeck from 4 to 5:30 p.m., or, in the event of rain, the indoor pool and adjacent hallway. For the potluck dinner from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., each participant should bring a side dish of vegetables, salad or dessert to serve 8-10 people and a large bottle of soft drink, tea or water.
In addition, a silent auction of OWL-related items will be conducted with proceeds to benefit the student organization.
For more information, contact the Off-Campus Student Center at 615-898-5989.
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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
OWLS SHARE SUMMERTIME FUN WITH POTLUCK POOL PARTY
Older, Wiser Learners Get into Swim of Things with Alumni, Families
(MURFREESBORO) – Older Wiser Learners (OWLs), an organization for nontraditional students at MTSU, will hold a summer potluck pool party and picnic from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at the Campus Recreation Center.
Members of OWLs, OWLs alumni and their families are welcome. The event is an opportunity to bid farewell to Dr. Carol Ann Baily, director of the Off-Campus Student Center, and executive aide Virginia Ellis as they move on to other responsibilities and to meet Terri Johnson and Valerie Avent, director and assistant director of the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students.
Participants may use the outdoor pool and sundeck from 4 to 5:30 p.m., or, in the event of rain, the indoor pool and adjacent hallway. For the potluck dinner from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., each participant should bring a side dish of vegetables, salad or dessert to serve 8-10 people and a large bottle of soft drink, tea or water.
In addition, a silent auction of OWL-related items will be conducted with proceeds to benefit the student organization.
For more information, contact the Off-Campus Student Center at 615-898-5989.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Friday, June 11, 2010
[507] Women, Nontraditional Students Share New Home At MTSU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
WOMEN, NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS SHARE NEW HOME AT MTSU
July 1 Start Date for June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students
(MURFREESBORO) – Summer might be a time of relaxation for most people, but the staff and volunteers of two of MTSU’s busiest agencies are working even harder this summer. They are merging the June Anderson Women’s Center (JAWC) and the Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) Office into the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students.
By the target date of July 1, the new center will be housed in the current OCSS digs in Room 320 of the Keathley University Center (KUC) with clerical support from the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership in KUC 326. By September, director Terri Johnson intends to have everything in readiness for an open house to help people familiarize themselves with the consolidated center.
“We’re open to suggestions and comments,” says Johnson. “I think a lot of the first year will include listening to students and assessing their needs. At the same time, we’ll be doing important projects and reaching out to the community.”
Dr. Deb Sells, Vice President for Student Affairs, says the idea for the merger grew out of the President’s Task Force for Positioning the University for the Future.
“It is clearly meant to be a cost-cutting measure,” says Sells. “But it seems to be reasonable without creating gaps in services. There are a lot of commonalities the offices share.”
While specific details are still being arranged, a proposed mission statement says the center will offer “student support services conducive to learning and personal development for both women students and for the adult students who generally work fulltime, are married, have children and other adult responsibilities beyond their college experiences.”
Valerie Avent, assistant director of the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, will transfer to the new center and assume the role of assistant director there. Avent, a Shelbyville native, has been employed at MTSU for 14 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1979, her master’s degree in education in 1996, and her specialist’s degree in education in 2005, all from MTSU.
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“I am elated to be a member of the JAC team,” says Avent. “It is with great anticipation that I plan to help the new center.”
“Having an assistant director on board will provide opportunities for both the center director and assistant director to take the lead on programs and services,” says Johnson. “It will take some of the pressure off the director to be in all places at all times.”
In addition, Johnson says, student workers, scholarship students and volunteers will pitch in on a variety of projects, including National Women’s History Month and Nontraditional Students Week.
Dr. Carol Ann Baily, current director of Off-Campus Student Services, will return to teaching in the fall, guiding classes in French and educational leadership. She says she anticipates continuing her advisory role with Older Wiser Learners (OWLs), Riding Raiders, and Pinnacle, the honor society for nontraditional students.
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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
WOMEN, NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS SHARE NEW HOME AT MTSU
July 1 Start Date for June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students
(MURFREESBORO) – Summer might be a time of relaxation for most people, but the staff and volunteers of two of MTSU’s busiest agencies are working even harder this summer. They are merging the June Anderson Women’s Center (JAWC) and the Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) Office into the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students.
By the target date of July 1, the new center will be housed in the current OCSS digs in Room 320 of the Keathley University Center (KUC) with clerical support from the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership in KUC 326. By September, director Terri Johnson intends to have everything in readiness for an open house to help people familiarize themselves with the consolidated center.
“We’re open to suggestions and comments,” says Johnson. “I think a lot of the first year will include listening to students and assessing their needs. At the same time, we’ll be doing important projects and reaching out to the community.”
Dr. Deb Sells, Vice President for Student Affairs, says the idea for the merger grew out of the President’s Task Force for Positioning the University for the Future.
“It is clearly meant to be a cost-cutting measure,” says Sells. “But it seems to be reasonable without creating gaps in services. There are a lot of commonalities the offices share.”
While specific details are still being arranged, a proposed mission statement says the center will offer “student support services conducive to learning and personal development for both women students and for the adult students who generally work fulltime, are married, have children and other adult responsibilities beyond their college experiences.”
Valerie Avent, assistant director of the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, will transfer to the new center and assume the role of assistant director there. Avent, a Shelbyville native, has been employed at MTSU for 14 years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1979, her master’s degree in education in 1996, and her specialist’s degree in education in 2005, all from MTSU.
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JACWNS
Add 1
“I am elated to be a member of the JAC team,” says Avent. “It is with great anticipation that I plan to help the new center.”
“Having an assistant director on board will provide opportunities for both the center director and assistant director to take the lead on programs and services,” says Johnson. “It will take some of the pressure off the director to be in all places at all times.”
In addition, Johnson says, student workers, scholarship students and volunteers will pitch in on a variety of projects, including National Women’s History Month and Nontraditional Students Week.
Dr. Carol Ann Baily, current director of Off-Campus Student Services, will return to teaching in the fall, guiding classes in French and educational leadership. She says she anticipates continuing her advisory role with Older Wiser Learners (OWLs), Riding Raiders, and Pinnacle, the honor society for nontraditional students.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
[506] CSI: MTSU Daycamp For Area High-Schoolers Returns June
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919, or lrollins@mtsu.edu
CSI: MTSU DAYCAMP FOR AREA HIGH-SCHOOLERS RETURNS JUNE
Registration for Daytime Camp Currently in Progress; Spaces Limited
(MURFREESBORO)—For the fourth consecutive year, CSI: MTSU, a popular four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties, will return to the Murfreesboro campus June 22-25.
Co-sponsored by the MTSU College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning and the Forensic Institute for Research and Education, or FIRE, the camp’s goals are to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real-life” reasons to tackle higher-level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills.
Referring to the camp experience, Dr. Hugh Berryman, director of FIRE and the camp’s founder, said, “The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter and shoe prints.”
During the last afternoon of the camp, each team will make a presentation detailing team members’ theories of the crime and the conclusions that are reached. A panel of forensic scientists will critique team conclusions. Parents are welcomed to come to the last camp session.
“There is a growing need for trained personnel to investigate and process crime scene evidence,” Berryman remarked.
• REGISTRATION: The cost to attend this unique camp, which will be conducted 8:30 a.m. to about 4 p.m. each day, is $250 per student and includes snacks at breaks, lunch, a camp T-shirt and baseball cap. For more information or to register, please contact Eve Shockley, camp coordinator, at 615-898-5530, access http://www.mtsu.edu/learn/csi/.
About FIRE
The Forensic Institute for Research and Education provides a central focus for interdisciplinary efforts at MTSU, where educators and researchers form cooperatives dedicated to quality research, education and training in many diverse areas of forensic science.
FIRE provides continuing education for the forensic and law enforcement community and brings a forensic focus to campus education. Partnering with industry, forensic laboratories and local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies are promoted with the aim of identifying and addressing meaningful research and educational needs.
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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request interviews with Dr. Hugh Berryman regarding the camp, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-494-8857 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919, or lrollins@mtsu.edu
CSI: MTSU DAYCAMP FOR AREA HIGH-SCHOOLERS RETURNS JUNE
Registration for Daytime Camp Currently in Progress; Spaces Limited
(MURFREESBORO)—For the fourth consecutive year, CSI: MTSU, a popular four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties, will return to the Murfreesboro campus June 22-25.
Co-sponsored by the MTSU College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning and the Forensic Institute for Research and Education, or FIRE, the camp’s goals are to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real-life” reasons to tackle higher-level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills.
Referring to the camp experience, Dr. Hugh Berryman, director of FIRE and the camp’s founder, said, “The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter and shoe prints.”
During the last afternoon of the camp, each team will make a presentation detailing team members’ theories of the crime and the conclusions that are reached. A panel of forensic scientists will critique team conclusions. Parents are welcomed to come to the last camp session.
“There is a growing need for trained personnel to investigate and process crime scene evidence,” Berryman remarked.
• REGISTRATION: The cost to attend this unique camp, which will be conducted 8:30 a.m. to about 4 p.m. each day, is $250 per student and includes snacks at breaks, lunch, a camp T-shirt and baseball cap. For more information or to register, please contact Eve Shockley, camp coordinator, at 615-898-5530, access http://www.mtsu.edu/learn/csi/.
About FIRE
The Forensic Institute for Research and Education provides a central focus for interdisciplinary efforts at MTSU, where educators and researchers form cooperatives dedicated to quality research, education and training in many diverse areas of forensic science.
FIRE provides continuing education for the forensic and law enforcement community and brings a forensic focus to campus education. Partnering with industry, forensic laboratories and local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies are promoted with the aim of identifying and addressing meaningful research and educational needs.
--30--
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To request interviews with Dr. Hugh Berryman regarding the camp, please contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at MTSU at 615-494-8857 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[505] Recent Grad Gray Makes USA Today All-USA College Academic First Team
Release date: June 10, 2010
News & Public Affairs contacts: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu
Honors College contact: Dr. John Vile, 615-898-2152 or jvile@mtsu.edu
McNair Scholars Program contact: Steve Saunders, 615-904-8462 or saunders@mtsu.edu
Recent Grad Gray Makes USA Today
All-USA College Academic First Team
Biology’s Murphy Receives Honorable Mention
(MURFREESBORO) — May MTSU graduate Jasmine “Jaz” Gray of Memphis is one of 20 students nationwide named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic first team for 2010. MTSU is the only school in Tennessee represented in this top-tier group.
Gray, who received the MTSU President’s Award in April, graduated from the College of Mass Communications and also was a University Honors College student and McNair Scholars Program participant.
Gray was chosen based on her academic achievements (a 3.93 GPA in mass comm/journalism), interests (editor-in-chief of Collage, a Journal of Creative Expression, where she managed a staff of 17) and entrepreneurship (2006 founder of Jaz’s Jammies, which has collected more than 3,000 colorful pairs of pajamas for sick and homeless children).
Gray received $2,500 for the USA Today recognition.
“A lot of times you don’t realize what you do has an impact on other people,” Gray said of the honor. “You work hard. Then other people recognize what you’ve done.”
Gray, 21, who said her career goal is to be a social entrepreneur focusing on empowering youth of color and women, has had to cope with 29 surgeries for a circulatory defect in her face.
The “uncomfortable and uninteresting hospital gowns serve as a depressing reminder of illness,” she told USA Today, explaining that her experiences led to the founding of Jaz’s Jammies.
Her honors thesis addressed effects of the media on black identity. For this project, she interviewed black college students in Ghana, England and the United States and presented her findings to two universities in China as part of MTSU’s McNair Scholars Program. Gray has received a two-year, $102,000 journalism fellowship from Syracuse University to work toward a master’s degree.
“Jasmine Gray is a classic example of the kind of outstanding and hard-working students who call MTSU home,” said President Sidney A. McPhee. “In spite of many challenges, she has committed herself to being the very best that she can be, and her efforts have yielded positive results for her and for thousands of others who have been touched by her dedication and generosity. Jasmine is very deserving of this honor, and we are extremely proud of her.”
May graduate Shannon Murphy of Murfreesboro, who earned a Bachelor of Science in biology, received an honorable mention on the publication’s 2010 team.
The April Provost Award recipient also was an honorable-mention recipient from the Goldwater Scholarship Foundation in 2009, attended Posters on the Hill in both Nashville and Washington, D.C., this year and has been accepted into the East Tennessee State University medical-school graduate program. Murphy also attended a recent meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.
Both Gray and Murphy are members of multiple honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi and the recently formed Omicron Delta Kappa, which recognizes students for both scholarship and leadership.
Alumnus Taylor Barnes, now at California Institute of Technology, has been both an honorable-mention (2008) and a third-team selection (’09) by USA Today.
“These awards will reinforce the national recognition that MTSU received last year from Forbes magazine,” Honors College Dean John Vile said, recalling the university’s 2009 ranking as the No. 1 public institution in Tennessee, one of the Top 50 higher-education “Best Buys” in the nation and one of the top 100 U.S. public universities in the magazine’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” listing.
Acknowledging that Gray and Murphy would have been worthy of recognition from any school, Vile credited Laura Clippard, who directs the Honors College’s Undergraduate Fellowship Office, the McNair Scholars Program and individuals throughout campus for nominating students and helping to guide them through the application process for the team.
MTSU was the only Tennessee college or university to place a student on the USA Today first team, and it was one of only two Tennessee institutions to have a student named to one of the publication's first, second or third teams or as an honorable mention.
To read the story online, go to www.usatoday.com and search for “All-USA College winners defy expectations,” or go directly to http://bit.ly/ccilwE.
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NOTE: For photos of Gray and Murphy, or to speak to either one, please e-mail Tom Tozer at ttozer@mtsu.edu. Both of the recent graduates are available for interviews.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.
News & Public Affairs contacts: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu
Honors College contact: Dr. John Vile, 615-898-2152 or jvile@mtsu.edu
McNair Scholars Program contact: Steve Saunders, 615-904-8462 or saunders@mtsu.edu
Recent Grad Gray Makes USA Today
All-USA College Academic First Team
Biology’s Murphy Receives Honorable Mention
(MURFREESBORO) — May MTSU graduate Jasmine “Jaz” Gray of Memphis is one of 20 students nationwide named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic first team for 2010. MTSU is the only school in Tennessee represented in this top-tier group.
Gray, who received the MTSU President’s Award in April, graduated from the College of Mass Communications and also was a University Honors College student and McNair Scholars Program participant.
Gray was chosen based on her academic achievements (a 3.93 GPA in mass comm/journalism), interests (editor-in-chief of Collage, a Journal of Creative Expression, where she managed a staff of 17) and entrepreneurship (2006 founder of Jaz’s Jammies, which has collected more than 3,000 colorful pairs of pajamas for sick and homeless children).
Gray received $2,500 for the USA Today recognition.
“A lot of times you don’t realize what you do has an impact on other people,” Gray said of the honor. “You work hard. Then other people recognize what you’ve done.”
Gray, 21, who said her career goal is to be a social entrepreneur focusing on empowering youth of color and women, has had to cope with 29 surgeries for a circulatory defect in her face.
The “uncomfortable and uninteresting hospital gowns serve as a depressing reminder of illness,” she told USA Today, explaining that her experiences led to the founding of Jaz’s Jammies.
Her honors thesis addressed effects of the media on black identity. For this project, she interviewed black college students in Ghana, England and the United States and presented her findings to two universities in China as part of MTSU’s McNair Scholars Program. Gray has received a two-year, $102,000 journalism fellowship from Syracuse University to work toward a master’s degree.
“Jasmine Gray is a classic example of the kind of outstanding and hard-working students who call MTSU home,” said President Sidney A. McPhee. “In spite of many challenges, she has committed herself to being the very best that she can be, and her efforts have yielded positive results for her and for thousands of others who have been touched by her dedication and generosity. Jasmine is very deserving of this honor, and we are extremely proud of her.”
May graduate Shannon Murphy of Murfreesboro, who earned a Bachelor of Science in biology, received an honorable mention on the publication’s 2010 team.
The April Provost Award recipient also was an honorable-mention recipient from the Goldwater Scholarship Foundation in 2009, attended Posters on the Hill in both Nashville and Washington, D.C., this year and has been accepted into the East Tennessee State University medical-school graduate program. Murphy also attended a recent meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in San Diego.
Both Gray and Murphy are members of multiple honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi and the recently formed Omicron Delta Kappa, which recognizes students for both scholarship and leadership.
Alumnus Taylor Barnes, now at California Institute of Technology, has been both an honorable-mention (2008) and a third-team selection (’09) by USA Today.
“These awards will reinforce the national recognition that MTSU received last year from Forbes magazine,” Honors College Dean John Vile said, recalling the university’s 2009 ranking as the No. 1 public institution in Tennessee, one of the Top 50 higher-education “Best Buys” in the nation and one of the top 100 U.S. public universities in the magazine’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” listing.
Acknowledging that Gray and Murphy would have been worthy of recognition from any school, Vile credited Laura Clippard, who directs the Honors College’s Undergraduate Fellowship Office, the McNair Scholars Program and individuals throughout campus for nominating students and helping to guide them through the application process for the team.
MTSU was the only Tennessee college or university to place a student on the USA Today first team, and it was one of only two Tennessee institutions to have a student named to one of the publication's first, second or third teams or as an honorable mention.
To read the story online, go to www.usatoday.com and search for “All-USA College winners defy expectations,” or go directly to http://bit.ly/ccilwE.
###
NOTE: For photos of Gray and Murphy, or to speak to either one, please e-mail Tom Tozer at ttozer@mtsu.edu. Both of the recent graduates are available for interviews.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
[504] 'MTSU On The Record' Examines Early Television Censorship
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
‘MTSU ON THE RECORD’ EXAMINES EARLY TELEVISION CENSORSHIP
Professor’s New Book Explains NBC’s First Content Czar and His Decisions
(MURFREESBORO) – When television was new, how did network executives determine what content was inappropriate or offensive? A man named Stockton Helffrich set the standards for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and Dr. Bob Pondillo, associate professor of electronic media communication at MTSU, tells his story on the next edition of “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 13, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
Pondillo’s new book, America’s First Network TV Censor: The Work of NBC’s Stockton Helffrich (Southern Illinois University Press), chronicles Helffrich’s career and puts it in cultural perspective, examining it in the context of an America that was stifled by Cold War paranoia, racial and sexual oppression and sexual tension.
From 1946 to 1960, Helffrich, the middle-class son of a Yonkers stockbroker, established the tone for advertising, entertainment and even news programming on the Peacock Network, dictating terms of communication about race, sex, violence, hygiene products and even more hot button issues.
To listen to last week’s program on “Knowledge, Evidence and Justification, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/index.shtml. 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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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
‘MTSU ON THE RECORD’ EXAMINES EARLY TELEVISION CENSORSHIP
Professor’s New Book Explains NBC’s First Content Czar and His Decisions
(MURFREESBORO) – When television was new, how did network executives determine what content was inappropriate or offensive? A man named Stockton Helffrich set the standards for the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and Dr. Bob Pondillo, associate professor of electronic media communication at MTSU, tells his story on the next edition of “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 13, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
Pondillo’s new book, America’s First Network TV Censor: The Work of NBC’s Stockton Helffrich (Southern Illinois University Press), chronicles Helffrich’s career and puts it in cultural perspective, examining it in the context of an America that was stifled by Cold War paranoia, racial and sexual oppression and sexual tension.
From 1946 to 1960, Helffrich, the middle-class son of a Yonkers stockbroker, established the tone for advertising, entertainment and even news programming on the Peacock Network, dictating terms of communication about race, sex, violence, hygiene products and even more hot button issues.
To listen to last week’s program on “Knowledge, Evidence and Justification, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/index.shtml. For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Monday, June 07, 2010
[502] MTSU's Walker Library To Digitize The Past In Eagleville
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 7, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
MTSU’S WALKER LIBRARY TO DIGITIZE THE PAST IN EAGLEVILLE
Public Asked to Preserve Rutherford County Town’s Education History
(MURFREESBORO) – The James E. Walker Library and Digital Initiatives Group will present Community Scanning Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 12, at Eagleville Bicentennial Library, 317 Highway 99, in Eagleville.
The purpose of the event is to preserve Eagleville’s history in education. Organizers invite the public to bring the following materials for scanning: school class photographs, photographs of school buildings, commencement announcements or programs, school activities (including sports), and school-related photos or memorabilia.
Individuals may take their original materials back home for safekeeping. Copies of the digital images will be made available upon request.
For more information, contact Lynda Duke at 615-904-8525 or lnduke@mtsu.edu.
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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081
MTSU’S WALKER LIBRARY TO DIGITIZE THE PAST IN EAGLEVILLE
Public Asked to Preserve Rutherford County Town’s Education History
(MURFREESBORO) – The James E. Walker Library and Digital Initiatives Group will present Community Scanning Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 12, at Eagleville Bicentennial Library, 317 Highway 99, in Eagleville.
The purpose of the event is to preserve Eagleville’s history in education. Organizers invite the public to bring the following materials for scanning: school class photographs, photographs of school buildings, commencement announcements or programs, school activities (including sports), and school-related photos or memorabilia.
Individuals may take their original materials back home for safekeeping. Copies of the digital images will be made available upon request.
For more information, contact Lynda Duke at 615-904-8525 or lnduke@mtsu.edu.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[500] Bowling Green CIO Petryshak Named New VP for Information Technology at MTSU
Release date: June 7, 2010
News & Public Affairs contacts: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
or Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu
Bowling Green CIO Petryshak Named New VP for Information Technology at MTSU
(MURFREESBORO) — Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee has announced that Bruce M. Petryshak, who has served as chief information officer for Bowling Green (Ohio) State University since 2001, is the new vice president for information technology and CIO at MTSU.
Petryshak will replace vice president/CIO Lucinda Lea, who began her career at MTSU in 1973 and served as vice president of the Information Technology Division for eight years. Lea retired April 30.
“Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Petryshak has worked his way through the ranks of information technology,” McPhee said. “He comes to us very highly recommended and has the kind of professional background and experience that will allow us to continue the outstanding work started by Lucinda Lea in providing world-class IT services for our campus.”
According to McPhee, Petryshak has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of areas of information technology. In his current position at BGSU, he provides leadership for more than 140 professionals and 160 student employees.
Before joining Bowling Green State, Petryshak was employed at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, serving as executive director for information systems and telecommunications from 1997 until 2001; director of university information systems, 1994-97; associate director of computer services, 1990-94; assistant director for systems support from 1986 until 1990; and manager for administrative systems support, 1984-86.
Petryshak also gained considerable hands-on technical experience in the IT field between 1979 and 1984 as a computer operator, programmer analyst, software analyst and network administrator.
“I am impressed with MTSU’s national reputation and with its ranking as the top public institution in Tennessee by Forbes magazine,” Petryshak said. “I am looking forward to joining the executive team and working with President McPhee, the university community and the IT team to spur innovation and help ensure MTSU’s continued presence among the top 100 universities in the United States.”
Petryshak, who holds both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kent State, is expected to assume his new role at MTSU on Aug. 16.
Associate Vice President Tom Wallace will continue to provide interim leadership for the Information Technology Division until Petryshak arrives.
MTSU’s IT department includes 75 staff and 22 students.
###
Note: A high-resolution photo of Bruce M. Petryshak is available. Contact Randy Weiler in MTSU News and Public Affairs by calling 615-898-2919 or 898-5616.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
For MTSU news and information, go to www.mtsunews.com.
News & Public Affairs contacts: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
or Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919 or ttozer@mtsu.edu
Bowling Green CIO Petryshak Named New VP for Information Technology at MTSU
(MURFREESBORO) — Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee has announced that Bruce M. Petryshak, who has served as chief information officer for Bowling Green (Ohio) State University since 2001, is the new vice president for information technology and CIO at MTSU.
Petryshak will replace vice president/CIO Lucinda Lea, who began her career at MTSU in 1973 and served as vice president of the Information Technology Division for eight years. Lea retired April 30.
“Over the course of his professional career, Mr. Petryshak has worked his way through the ranks of information technology,” McPhee said. “He comes to us very highly recommended and has the kind of professional background and experience that will allow us to continue the outstanding work started by Lucinda Lea in providing world-class IT services for our campus.”
According to McPhee, Petryshak has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of areas of information technology. In his current position at BGSU, he provides leadership for more than 140 professionals and 160 student employees.
Before joining Bowling Green State, Petryshak was employed at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, serving as executive director for information systems and telecommunications from 1997 until 2001; director of university information systems, 1994-97; associate director of computer services, 1990-94; assistant director for systems support from 1986 until 1990; and manager for administrative systems support, 1984-86.
Petryshak also gained considerable hands-on technical experience in the IT field between 1979 and 1984 as a computer operator, programmer analyst, software analyst and network administrator.
“I am impressed with MTSU’s national reputation and with its ranking as the top public institution in Tennessee by Forbes magazine,” Petryshak said. “I am looking forward to joining the executive team and working with President McPhee, the university community and the IT team to spur innovation and help ensure MTSU’s continued presence among the top 100 universities in the United States.”
Petryshak, who holds both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kent State, is expected to assume his new role at MTSU on Aug. 16.
Associate Vice President Tom Wallace will continue to provide interim leadership for the Information Technology Division until Petryshak arrives.
MTSU’s IT department includes 75 staff and 22 students.
###
Note: A high-resolution photo of Bruce M. Petryshak is available. Contact Randy Weiler in MTSU News and Public Affairs by calling 615-898-2919 or 898-5616.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
For MTSU news and information, go to www.mtsunews.com.
[499] Fort Lewis College's President Will Assume Provost Role At MTSU
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 4, 2010
CONTACT: News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE’S PRESIDENT WILL ASSUME PROVOST ROLE AT MTSU
President Sidney A. McPhee Names Dr. Brad Bartel New Provost Beginning July 12
(MURFREESBORO)—Dr. Brad Bartel, president at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., has been named the next provost at Middle Tennessee State University, announced MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee.
Bartel, who has served as president of the public liberal arts college since 2004, is expected to assume his new post at MTSU on July 12.
With more than 35 years of experience in higher education, including more than 25 years of senior-level administrative leadership at four major public universities, Bartel will replace Dr. Kaylene Gebert, who returned to full-time faculty status in fall 2009 as a professor in the Department of Speech and Theatre after serving as executive vice president and provost at MTSU for six years. Dr. L. Diane Miller, vice provost, served as interim provost while the nationwide search for Gebert’s permanent replacement was under way.
“MTSU is extremely fortunate to attract someone with Dr. Bartel’s extensive administrative and academic experience,” McPhee said. “As a sitting president and former provost, he brings the kind of comprehensive view of institutional operations and the academic enterprise that is needed to help us in our efforts to position MTSU for the future.”
Prior to assuming the presidency at FLC, Bartel served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Florida Gulf Coast University (2000-2004); dean of the graduate school and associate provost for research at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1991-2000); and associate dean for the Division of Graduate Affairs and the Division of Research Affairs at San Diego State University (1983-1991).
A highly published scholar in the field of anthropology, Bartel began his collegiate teaching career as an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at San Diego State, where he continued teaching until 1991, having earned the rank of professor.
“I am honored that President McPhee has selected me to be the Provost at Middle Tennessee State University,” Bartel said in response to his new appointment. “MTSU is a great university. I look forward to being part of the team and am excited to begin working with its distinguished faculty and staff to help give students even greater learning opportunities. It will be a privilege to be a part of the MTSU family and the Murfreesboro community.”
A native of New York City, Bartel and his wife, Laura, have two adult children, Kimberly and Jordan.
—30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
CONTACT: News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919
FORT LEWIS COLLEGE’S PRESIDENT WILL ASSUME PROVOST ROLE AT MTSU
President Sidney A. McPhee Names Dr. Brad Bartel New Provost Beginning July 12
(MURFREESBORO)—Dr. Brad Bartel, president at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., has been named the next provost at Middle Tennessee State University, announced MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee.
Bartel, who has served as president of the public liberal arts college since 2004, is expected to assume his new post at MTSU on July 12.
With more than 35 years of experience in higher education, including more than 25 years of senior-level administrative leadership at four major public universities, Bartel will replace Dr. Kaylene Gebert, who returned to full-time faculty status in fall 2009 as a professor in the Department of Speech and Theatre after serving as executive vice president and provost at MTSU for six years. Dr. L. Diane Miller, vice provost, served as interim provost while the nationwide search for Gebert’s permanent replacement was under way.
“MTSU is extremely fortunate to attract someone with Dr. Bartel’s extensive administrative and academic experience,” McPhee said. “As a sitting president and former provost, he brings the kind of comprehensive view of institutional operations and the academic enterprise that is needed to help us in our efforts to position MTSU for the future.”
Prior to assuming the presidency at FLC, Bartel served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Florida Gulf Coast University (2000-2004); dean of the graduate school and associate provost for research at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1991-2000); and associate dean for the Division of Graduate Affairs and the Division of Research Affairs at San Diego State University (1983-1991).
A highly published scholar in the field of anthropology, Bartel began his collegiate teaching career as an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at San Diego State, where he continued teaching until 1991, having earned the rank of professor.
“I am honored that President McPhee has selected me to be the Provost at Middle Tennessee State University,” Bartel said in response to his new appointment. “MTSU is a great university. I look forward to being part of the team and am excited to begin working with its distinguished faculty and staff to help give students even greater learning opportunities. It will be a privilege to be a part of the MTSU family and the Murfreesboro community.”
A native of New York City, Bartel and his wife, Laura, have two adult children, Kimberly and Jordan.
—30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
[498] How Do You Know What You Know? And Can You Prove It?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 3, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW? AND CAN YOU PROVE IT?
Dr. Clarence Johnson Examines Nature of Evidence and Proof in Societal Discourse
(MURFREESBORO) – Dr. Clarence Johnson, professor of philosophy, will discuss his new fall 2010 course “Knowledge, Evidence and Justification,” on the next edition of “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 6, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
The course investigates questions such as whether knowledge is possible, what kind of evidence can be given to justify our claims to knowledge, and the difference between knowledge and belief. Johnson will teach the course (Philosophy 4800) from 4:30-7:30 p.m. each Wednesday in room 202 of the James Union Building on the MTSU campus.
To listen to prior programs, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/index.shtml. For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.
--30--
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, or WMOT-FM, 615-898-2800
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW? AND CAN YOU PROVE IT?
Dr. Clarence Johnson Examines Nature of Evidence and Proof in Societal Discourse
(MURFREESBORO) – Dr. Clarence Johnson, professor of philosophy, will discuss his new fall 2010 course “Knowledge, Evidence and Justification,” on the next edition of “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 6, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).
The course investigates questions such as whether knowledge is possible, what kind of evidence can be given to justify our claims to knowledge, and the difference between knowledge and belief. Johnson will teach the course (Philosophy 4800) from 4:30-7:30 p.m. each Wednesday in room 202 of the James Union Building on the MTSU campus.
To listen to prior programs, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/index.shtml. 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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[497] '2+2' Equals Teaching Careers For MTSU, Motlow Students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 3, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Molly Culbreath or Renea Cotham, 931-685-4444
‘2+2’ EQUALS TEACHING CAREERS FOR MTSU, MOTLOW STUDENTS
Innovative Partnership Provides Degree Tracks for Future K-6 Teachers
(MURFREESBORO) – Middle Tennessee State University will host an orientation and advising session for the “2+2” bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15, at the Middle Tennessee Education Center, 841 Union St., in Shelbyville.
“2+2” is a joint effort of MTSU and Motlow State Community College to enable students to earn an Associate of Science in Teaching degree at Motlow and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from MTSU. The courses of study will prepare students for teaching careers in K-6 elementary education.
For maximum scheduling flexibility, many course requirements are available online or in the daytime or at night at MTEC or the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro.
The orientation session is recommended for people who have completed their AST degrees or have completed at least 45 hours toward their AST degrees and are interested in the “2+2” program.
Individuals who want to want to start the “2+2” program in fall 2010 but have not completed the MTSU admissions application should apply and have their official transcripts sent to the MTSU Admissions Office as soon as possible. The website address is www.mtsu.edu/admissn/trans_admissn.shtml. Even individuals who have not applied to MTSU by Tuesday, June 15, are advised to attend.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, June 8, at www.mteducationcenter.com, or call 931-685-4444 for more information. Attendees to the orientation session should bring unofficial copies of their transcripts.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Molly Culbreath or Renea Cotham, 931-685-4444
‘2+2’ EQUALS TEACHING CAREERS FOR MTSU, MOTLOW STUDENTS
Innovative Partnership Provides Degree Tracks for Future K-6 Teachers
(MURFREESBORO) – Middle Tennessee State University will host an orientation and advising session for the “2+2” bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15, at the Middle Tennessee Education Center, 841 Union St., in Shelbyville.
“2+2” is a joint effort of MTSU and Motlow State Community College to enable students to earn an Associate of Science in Teaching degree at Motlow and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from MTSU. The courses of study will prepare students for teaching careers in K-6 elementary education.
For maximum scheduling flexibility, many course requirements are available online or in the daytime or at night at MTEC or the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro.
The orientation session is recommended for people who have completed their AST degrees or have completed at least 45 hours toward their AST degrees and are interested in the “2+2” program.
Individuals who want to want to start the “2+2” program in fall 2010 but have not completed the MTSU admissions application should apply and have their official transcripts sent to the MTSU Admissions Office as soon as possible. The website address is www.mtsu.edu/admissn/trans_admissn.shtml. Even individuals who have not applied to MTSU by Tuesday, June 15, are advised to attend.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, June 8, at www.mteducationcenter.com, or call 931-685-4444 for more information. Attendees to the orientation session should bring unofficial copies of their transcripts.
--30--
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
[495] MTSU Student Chapter of SHRM Yields Recognition For Excellence
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: L. L. Rollins, Office of News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919
MTSU STUDENT CHAPTER OF SHRM YIELDS RECOGNITION FOR EXCELLENCE
(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU’s student chapter of the Society for Human Resource
Management recently won two national awards for excellence.
Dr. Patrick McCarthy, faculty adviser for MTSU’s SHRM chapter, said its membership was awarded with a Superior Merit Award for 2009-10. The
criteria for this award require an extensive variety of quality professional
programs and activities.
“Remarkably, our MTSU chapter has earned a national merit award in seven of the past nine years, in addition to several individual student awards, including two national Graduate Student of the Year (awards) over the past decade,” said McCarthy, associate professor of psychology.
MTSU’s SHRM chapter also was named among the organization’s National Top-10 Outstanding Student Chapters for 2010.
Referring to this distinction, McCarthy said, “That's an impressive achievement by our students, particularly the graduate students from MTSU's industrial/ organizational psychology program who led these efforts as the chapter officers.”
Founded in 1948, SHRM is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management and represents more than 250,000 members in 140-plus countries. The society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Currently, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India.
For more information about MTSU’s SHRM chapter, please contact McCarthy, director of the university’s Center for Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness, at 615-898-2126 or via e-mail at pmccarth@mtsu.edu.
—30—
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
EDITORIAL CONTACT: L. L. Rollins, Office of News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919
MTSU STUDENT CHAPTER OF SHRM YIELDS RECOGNITION FOR EXCELLENCE
(MURFREESBORO)—MTSU’s student chapter of the Society for Human Resource
Management recently won two national awards for excellence.
Dr. Patrick McCarthy, faculty adviser for MTSU’s SHRM chapter, said its membership was awarded with a Superior Merit Award for 2009-10. The
criteria for this award require an extensive variety of quality professional
programs and activities.
“Remarkably, our MTSU chapter has earned a national merit award in seven of the past nine years, in addition to several individual student awards, including two national Graduate Student of the Year (awards) over the past decade,” said McCarthy, associate professor of psychology.
MTSU’s SHRM chapter also was named among the organization’s National Top-10 Outstanding Student Chapters for 2010.
Referring to this distinction, McCarthy said, “That's an impressive achievement by our students, particularly the graduate students from MTSU's industrial/ organizational psychology program who led these efforts as the chapter officers.”
Founded in 1948, SHRM is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management and represents more than 250,000 members in 140-plus countries. The society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Currently, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China and India.
For more information about MTSU’s SHRM chapter, please contact McCarthy, director of the university’s Center for Organizational and Human Resource Effectiveness, at 615-898-2126 or via e-mail at pmccarth@mtsu.edu.
—30—
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
[494] MTSU Aerospace Joins ITT's $1.4B NextGen Team
Release date: June 2, 2010
News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
MTSU Aerospace contact: Dr. Wayne Dornan, 615-898-2788 or wdornan@mtsu.edu
MTSU Aerospace Joins ITT’s $1.4B NextGen Team
(MURFREESBORO) — Middle Tennessee State University’s aerospace department is one of 33 ITT Corp. team members involved in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System to modernize the U.S. national airspace system, Dr. Wayne Dornan, department chair, said.
“We are very proud to be part of this team, which is considered the ‘who’s who’ in the aviation industry,” Dornan said.
Specifically, MTSU aerospace will provide support in air traffic management systems, human-factor research, technology assessment and large-scale demonstrations, Dornan added.
ITT, Boeing and General Dynamics received FAA System Engineering 2020 contracts worth up to $4.4 billion on May 26, they jointly announced last week. The contract for ITT, a White Plains, N.Y.-based high-technology engineering and manufacturing company, is $1.4 billion-plus.
“Being one of the ITT team members on this project will enable us to be involved in cutting-edge research and concept development that will be used to transform the national air transportation system,” Dornan said.
“It is impossible at this point to tell exactly how much funding will come to MTSU, but this is a huge victory for us,” said Dr. Mike Allen, vice provost for research and dean of MTSU’s College of Graduate Studies.
The department already had expansion plans under way before the contracts were awarded. A $3.4 million state-of-the-art air traffic control simulator will arrive in July and should be fully functioning by August, Dornan said. It will be located in the university’s Business and Aerospace Building.
Dornan said that once it’s installed, this simulator will “surpass the capabilities of the ATC simulator at NASA Ames Research Center in California.”
Allen, Dornan, Dr. Andrienne Friedli and Gail Zlotky recently traveled to Washington, D.C., “to present the MTSU assets and capabilities to ITT,” Allen said.
Friedli is a chemistry professor and interim director for special projects in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Zlotky is an aerospace associate professor who will serve as director of the ATC simulator training and testing.
Allen praised the efforts of John Cothern, senior vice president in the Division of Business and Finance; Joe Bales, vice president for Development and University Relations; and university President Sidney A. McPhee for their extensive efforts to secure funding for the new equipment.
ITT officials tentatively have agreed to come to Murfreesboro in September to view MTSU’s facilities, Allen added.
Among other team members are Raytheon, United Airlines, Bell Helicopter and Northrop Grumman. Ohio University is the only other higher education-related team member.
###
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.
News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
MTSU Aerospace contact: Dr. Wayne Dornan, 615-898-2788 or wdornan@mtsu.edu
MTSU Aerospace Joins ITT’s $1.4B NextGen Team
(MURFREESBORO) — Middle Tennessee State University’s aerospace department is one of 33 ITT Corp. team members involved in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Next Generation Air Transportation System to modernize the U.S. national airspace system, Dr. Wayne Dornan, department chair, said.
“We are very proud to be part of this team, which is considered the ‘who’s who’ in the aviation industry,” Dornan said.
Specifically, MTSU aerospace will provide support in air traffic management systems, human-factor research, technology assessment and large-scale demonstrations, Dornan added.
ITT, Boeing and General Dynamics received FAA System Engineering 2020 contracts worth up to $4.4 billion on May 26, they jointly announced last week. The contract for ITT, a White Plains, N.Y.-based high-technology engineering and manufacturing company, is $1.4 billion-plus.
“Being one of the ITT team members on this project will enable us to be involved in cutting-edge research and concept development that will be used to transform the national air transportation system,” Dornan said.
“It is impossible at this point to tell exactly how much funding will come to MTSU, but this is a huge victory for us,” said Dr. Mike Allen, vice provost for research and dean of MTSU’s College of Graduate Studies.
The department already had expansion plans under way before the contracts were awarded. A $3.4 million state-of-the-art air traffic control simulator will arrive in July and should be fully functioning by August, Dornan said. It will be located in the university’s Business and Aerospace Building.
Dornan said that once it’s installed, this simulator will “surpass the capabilities of the ATC simulator at NASA Ames Research Center in California.”
Allen, Dornan, Dr. Andrienne Friedli and Gail Zlotky recently traveled to Washington, D.C., “to present the MTSU assets and capabilities to ITT,” Allen said.
Friedli is a chemistry professor and interim director for special projects in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Zlotky is an aerospace associate professor who will serve as director of the ATC simulator training and testing.
Allen praised the efforts of John Cothern, senior vice president in the Division of Business and Finance; Joe Bales, vice president for Development and University Relations; and university President Sidney A. McPhee for their extensive efforts to secure funding for the new equipment.
ITT officials tentatively have agreed to come to Murfreesboro in September to view MTSU’s facilities, Allen added.
Among other team members are Raytheon, United Airlines, Bell Helicopter and Northrop Grumman. Ohio University is the only other higher education-related team member.
###
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
[493] Sullivan County Farms Certified As Tennessee Century Farms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 28, 2010
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
SULLIVAN COUNTY FARMS CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARMS
State Recognizes B & G, Fleenor and Morrell Farms for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO)— Three farms in Sullivan County have been designated as Tennessee Century Farms, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
• John Alexander Latture and his wife, Francis Erwin, acquired 280 acres of farmland through the probation of his father’s will in 1880, making John Alexander at least the second generation of his family to own this property, the B & G Farm. The couple had 11 children and the family raised tobacco, corn, wheat, hay cattle, chicken and horses. John built a house for his large family in 1886 and it was the home place of the family for decades although the family no longer owns it.
Mary and Martha Latture, twin daughters of John Alexander and Francis, inherited about 48 acres in 1936. Neither woman married, but they reared their nephew and niece, T. H. and Vivian Pecktol, the children of their sister, Kate. Kate, studied at the Normal School (now ETSU) to be a teacher, but died in childbirth.
T. H. Pecktol purchased 17 acres from his aunts in 1964 and inherited another nine acres from them in 1983. He and wife Mayme were the parents of Jane, Nancy and Glen. Tobacco continued to be a primary crop with this generation.
Following the death of T. H., Mayme became the owner of the property in 1993. In 2008, Mayme was awarded a 50-year membership pin for being involved in the Home Demonstration Club.
Glen Pecktol and his wife Brenda became the owners of the farm in 2000. Glen is the great-grandson of John Alexander and Francis Latture. The Pecktols produce fescue orchard grass hay and have a cow/calf Angus operation. A livestock and hay barn built by John Alexander Latture continues to be used today.
The family reports that for the past 50 years, the Lattures have gathered every summer for a family reunion where they learn about and remember their history and enjoy good home cooking. Each September, a “Decoration Day” is held at the cemetery, with singing, a message from a local preacher, and a collection is taken to pay for the upkeep of the historic family burying ground.
• The Fleenor family traces its roots to Germany. In 1884, Joel Fleenor purchased 107 acres for the sum of $1,650. He and wife Mary Ann Clark were the parents of six children though four died as children. The two who survived, Margret Susannah and Washington “Wash,” lived to be 87 and 78 years old, respectively. Wash received 30 acres of the Fleenor Farm in 1899. He and wife Ida had five children, Charles, William, Jess, Myrtle and Thelma. They raised cattle, horses, corn, wheat and sheep.
The next owner was William Miller Fleenor. He first married Mable Cowan; they were the parents of Earl. By his second marriage to Rosa Shankle, William fathered Gale. In time, Gale purchased Earl’s share of the farm and raised livestock and rented some of the acreage for pasture.
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FARMS
Add 1
In 1970, Interstate 81 was routed through the farm taking several acres. Today, the owners of the farm, Gale, wife Alice Gammon and his mother Rosa, live on the land that has been in the Fleenor family for 126 years.
• Elbert Morrell received 143 acres willed to him from his father-in-law, Ireson W. Longacre, in 1891. His wife, Sally Longacre, and their eight children raised corn, wheat, ha, and cattle. One of their sons, Porter Lee Morrell, acquired 137 acres in 1947. He and wife Lena O’Dell and their two children continued to raise many of the same crops, adding swine and tobacco. They also made good use of a new barn built in 1946, which continues to be used today.
The third generation owner of Morrell Farm is Edward, son of Porter and Lena. He and his wife, Ruth Shuttle, and their son Jonathan and his family make their home on the farm. Edward and Jonathan raise cattle and hay.
“With the addition of these three farms, Sullivan County now has a total of 19 certified Century Farms,” Hankins noted.
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 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview any of the owners of these farms, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
CONTACT: Caneta Hankins, Center for Historic Preservation, 615-898-2947
SULLIVAN COUNTY FARMS CERTIFIED AS TENNESSEE CENTURY FARMS
State Recognizes B & G, Fleenor and Morrell Farms for Agricultural Contributions
(MURFREESBORO)— Three farms in Sullivan County have been designated as Tennessee Century Farms, reports Caneta S. Hankins, director of the Century Farms program at the Center for Historic Preservation, which is located on the MTSU campus.
• John Alexander Latture and his wife, Francis Erwin, acquired 280 acres of farmland through the probation of his father’s will in 1880, making John Alexander at least the second generation of his family to own this property, the B & G Farm. The couple had 11 children and the family raised tobacco, corn, wheat, hay cattle, chicken and horses. John built a house for his large family in 1886 and it was the home place of the family for decades although the family no longer owns it.
Mary and Martha Latture, twin daughters of John Alexander and Francis, inherited about 48 acres in 1936. Neither woman married, but they reared their nephew and niece, T. H. and Vivian Pecktol, the children of their sister, Kate. Kate, studied at the Normal School (now ETSU) to be a teacher, but died in childbirth.
T. H. Pecktol purchased 17 acres from his aunts in 1964 and inherited another nine acres from them in 1983. He and wife Mayme were the parents of Jane, Nancy and Glen. Tobacco continued to be a primary crop with this generation.
Following the death of T. H., Mayme became the owner of the property in 1993. In 2008, Mayme was awarded a 50-year membership pin for being involved in the Home Demonstration Club.
Glen Pecktol and his wife Brenda became the owners of the farm in 2000. Glen is the great-grandson of John Alexander and Francis Latture. The Pecktols produce fescue orchard grass hay and have a cow/calf Angus operation. A livestock and hay barn built by John Alexander Latture continues to be used today.
The family reports that for the past 50 years, the Lattures have gathered every summer for a family reunion where they learn about and remember their history and enjoy good home cooking. Each September, a “Decoration Day” is held at the cemetery, with singing, a message from a local preacher, and a collection is taken to pay for the upkeep of the historic family burying ground.
• The Fleenor family traces its roots to Germany. In 1884, Joel Fleenor purchased 107 acres for the sum of $1,650. He and wife Mary Ann Clark were the parents of six children though four died as children. The two who survived, Margret Susannah and Washington “Wash,” lived to be 87 and 78 years old, respectively. Wash received 30 acres of the Fleenor Farm in 1899. He and wife Ida had five children, Charles, William, Jess, Myrtle and Thelma. They raised cattle, horses, corn, wheat and sheep.
The next owner was William Miller Fleenor. He first married Mable Cowan; they were the parents of Earl. By his second marriage to Rosa Shankle, William fathered Gale. In time, Gale purchased Earl’s share of the farm and raised livestock and rented some of the acreage for pasture.
—more—
FARMS
Add 1
In 1970, Interstate 81 was routed through the farm taking several acres. Today, the owners of the farm, Gale, wife Alice Gammon and his mother Rosa, live on the land that has been in the Fleenor family for 126 years.
• Elbert Morrell received 143 acres willed to him from his father-in-law, Ireson W. Longacre, in 1891. His wife, Sally Longacre, and their eight children raised corn, wheat, ha, and cattle. One of their sons, Porter Lee Morrell, acquired 137 acres in 1947. He and wife Lena O’Dell and their two children continued to raise many of the same crops, adding swine and tobacco. They also made good use of a new barn built in 1946, which continues to be used today.
The third generation owner of Morrell Farm is Edward, son of Porter and Lena. He and his wife, Ruth Shuttle, and their son Jonathan and his family make their home on the farm. Edward and Jonathan raise cattle and hay.
“With the addition of these three farms, Sullivan County now has a total of 19 certified Century Farms,” Hankins noted.
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 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 began the Tennessee Century Farm Program in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial. Today, the TDA provides a metal outdoor sign, noting either 100, 150 or 200 years of “continuous agricultural production” to Century Farm families.
To be considered for eligibility, a farm must be owned by the same family for at least 100 years; must produce $1,000 revenue annually; must have at least 10 acres of the original farm; and one owner must be a resident of Tennessee.
“The Century Farmers represent all the farm families of Tennessee,” Hankins said, “and their contributions to the economy, and to the social, cultural and agrarian vitality of the state, both past and present, is immeasurable. Each farm is a Tennessee treasure.”
For more information about the Century Farms Program, please visit its Web site at http://histpres.mtsu.edu/histpres. The Center for Historic Preservation also may be contacted via mail at Box 80, MTSU, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132, or by telephone at 615-898-2947.
—30—
• ATTENTION, MEDIA: To interview any of the owners of these farms, please contact the CHP directly at 615-898-2947.
With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.
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