[018] Checking Out the MTSU Student Farmer's Market's Cushaw Squash

For release:  July 26, 2012

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu

MTSU School of Agribusiness and Agriscience contact: Dr. Nate Phillips, 615-494-8996 (office), 615-904-4398 (cell) or Nate.Phillips@mtsu.edu

PHOTO CAPTION (for Sonja Burk.jpg)

Checking out the MTSU Student Farmers Market’s cushaw squash

Sonja Burk, an adviser in University College at MTSU, checks out the cushaw squash on display at the July 20 MTSU Student Farmers Market in the Horticultural Center on campus. A variety of produce and plants grown at the MTSU Farm in Lascassas again will be on sale to the public Friday, July 27, from noon until 3 p.m. Proceeds from the sale benefit the farm and the MTSU Plant and Soil Science Club. The Hort Center is located on Lightning Way near the Tennessee Livestock Center and close to Greenland Drive. Parking is available in nearby lots. A printable campus map is available at www.mtsu.edu/parking/Map_2011-2012.pdf.

(MTSU file photo by MTSU News and Media Relations)

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Media welcomed.

To obtain the high-resolution jpeg photo, call Randy Weiler at 615-898-5616 or email Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu.

            The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information any time, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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

{017] MTSU Engineering Technology Golf Classic's Aug. 1 Deadline Nears

Editor’s note: This version includes a comment from Jimmy Davis, owner of The Davis Groupe in Murfreesboro.

For release:  July 25, 2012

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu

Engineering Technology contact: Dr. Walter Boles, 615-898-2776 or Walter.Boles@mtsu.edu

MTSU Engineering Technology Golf Classic’s Aug. 1 deadline nears

MURFREESBORO — To help fund future MTSU student projects, the first Engineering Technology Golf Classic will be held Friday, Aug. 17, at Champions Run Golf Course, 14262 Mt. Pleasant Rd., in Rockvale, Tenn.

Before the 1 p.m. shotgun start, a light lunch will be served starting at noon.

Teams, individual players and hole sponsors are being sought by the MTSU Department of Engineering Technology, which is organizing the event. The registration and entry fee deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 1.

“The funds will establish a student project foundation account which will help fund student projects,” said Dr. Walter Boles, department chair and an avid golfer. “Student project efforts are always short of funds. We hope this effort will supplement funding solicited from other sources.”

Boles said a department committee will accept requests for funds from student project teams and decide how to distribute the funds.

“The first priority is for team projects,” Boles said. “We will consider senior projects as well if funding is available. Projects such as mini Baja, solar boat, construction- management competition and NASA robotics contest, among others, are eligible for proposals.”

Most of the student projects are national competitions against the best engineering and engineering-technology programs in the nation, Boles said.

“Potential employers like to see resumes of students who have participated in these projects,” he said. “They not only have the theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom, they have practical experience working in teams, which may involve leadership, open-ended design problems, schedule and budget constraints and solving a multitude of technical problems.”

Most of these projects typically are expensive, Boles added, making reference to costs for travel, hardware, software, supplies and more.

Today, because of a shortage in skilled labor, there’s a great demand for MTSU engineering technology graduates to meet industry’s need.

“Across the U.S. and globally, there’s an issue of not having enough skilled people at all levels in industrial and manufacturing jobs,” said Jimmy Davis, owner of The Davis Groupe in Murfreesboro. “Companies like Nissan and Bridgestone recognize that, and they’re partnering with technology centers, MTSU’s engineering technology program and others.”

There will be $2,000 platinum, $1,000 gold and $500 silver sponsorships. Each category has its own perks. Individual golfers’ entry fee is $125.

Boles added that anyone willing to donate door prizes, goody-bag items or provide lunch or hors d’oeuvres during the awards would be welcomed.

Davis, who serves as chair of the Engineering Technology Industrial Advisory Committee, is helping coordinate the event along with Tabitha Foote, marketing/event director at Champions Run Golf Course.

To mail the entry and payment, send c/o MTSU Engineering Technology Department, P.O. Box 19, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. The department’s main office is located in Room 143 of the Voorhies Engineering Technology Building on Faulkinberry Drive across from Alumni Memorial Gym and near Floyd Stadium.

For more information about the department, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/et/. Click on “Eng. Tech Golf Tournament” on the top half of the right side of the homepage to view and obtain the registration form. Or call 615-898-2776 to learn more.

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            The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information any time, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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

[016] MTSU Students Push Perry's Gas-Saving Project to Next Level

For release:  July 23, 2012

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu

Russell Chair of Manufacturing Excellence contact: Dr. Charles Perry, 615-898-5683 or Charles.Perry@mtsu.edu

MTSU students push Perry’s gas-saving project to next level

Highlights of this MTSU news:

• wheel-hub motor plug-in hybrid retrofit kit research relies on 9 students’ work;

• MTSU establishes dialogue with large companies with fleets of vehicles;

• three faculty, two staff play prominent roles in process; and

• 6-minute, 11-second video explains procedure that can double gas mileage

By Randy Weiler

mtsunews.com

MURFREESBORO — Powered by at least nine MTSU students’ work since 2008, Dr. Charles Perry continues driving toward success in the development of the plug-in hybrid retrofit kit for any car.

Perry, who holds the Russell Chair of Manufacturing Excellence, and a five-member team saw gas mileage increase anywhere from 50 to 100 percent on a 1994 Honda station wagon retrofitted with laboratory prototype plug-in hybrid capability.

Perry is now talking with several potential investors — companies with vehicle fleets — to solicit funds to build and demonstrate a manufacturing version of the plug-in hybrid technology.

The research Honda has been fitted with electric motors in each rear wheel and a large lithium-ion battery, which is mounted in the rear of the vehicle. As lithium-battery technology improves, Perry said, the battery size can be reduced in production models.

Switching on power to the two rear wheels’ electric motors made a huge difference by reducing the power required from the internal-combustion engine, he added.

“The whole point was to demonstrate the feasibility of adding the electrical motor to the rear wheel of the car without changing the brakes, bearings, suspension — anything mechanical,” Perry said.

The technology’s gas-saving principle uses an electric motor to supplement the power coming from the internal combustion engine. You can watch Perry explaining the process here.

All nine students, who now have graduated with bachelor’s or master’s degrees, came from MTSU’s Department of Engineering Technology. Each has provided unique talents and abilities to bring the project to fruition.

The most recent group includes:

•    Jay Perry (no relation to Charles Perry), mechanical design/build and drawing;

•    Brent Brubaker, electrical design and build;

•    Ken Gendrich, programming;

•    Brandon Cromwell, computer numerical-control machining; and

•    Suneth Wattage, finite-elements analysis modeling.

Alex Kirchoff ‘s drawing skills, Ken Garrett’s electrical design/build expertise, Brian Mastley’s mechanical-build talent and David Gray’s mechanical-machining experience helped in the first years of the wheel-hub project.

“It was a huge honor to work on it,” said Brubaker, a May 2012 graduate. “I got to collaborate with some of the best minds —not only the other students, but the faculty.

“The wheel-hub motor is an answer to a problem. It’s innovative technology. You can take and bolt it on a car. When people see that, their eyes light up. They think it might cost a lot of money and are surprised when you tell them it might be $3,000. We have a lot of student projects that I have been a part of, but the wheel-hub was my favorite out of the whole thing.”

Jay Perry will remain heavily involved in the project this fall. Other students will join the team as plans develop.

Perry, who also is a professor of engineering technology, said the students’ contributions proved invaluable.

“We’ve had heavy student involvement,” Perry said. “One of our goals has been to utilize students in the building, testing and design. Nine students in the last

five years very much were involved in all aspects of developing this technology.”

Team Perry also includes John Rozell, the ET department’s assistant director, and Rick Taylor, director of laboratories.

Paul Martin III, an employee who left MTSU in October 2011 to work for Quality Industries in La Vergne, assisted Perry three years. He is the son of alumna and MTSU Foundation immediate past president Murray Martin. His father, alumnus Paul W. Martin Jr., and uncle, Lee Martin of Knoxville, donated $2 million toward the building of MTSU’s Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building.

Perry said three faculty members also played prominent roles in the project:

•    Dr. Chong Chen advised in the motor’s design and directed Wattage’s modeling work;

•    Dr. Richard Redditt oversaw the mechanical build of the earliest prototype of the wheel-hub motor; and

•    Dr. Ron McBryde was a consultant and oversaw student involvement in the machine shop.

Perry said they have reached what industry insiders call “the valley of death” as they try to transfer the project’s technology from the laboratory to a commercial product.

“We have gained proof of concept in terms of feasibility,” he said. “We need quite a bit of money to have proof of product. What we’ve achieved is a demonstrated technology, not a proven technology. Investors want to see proven field-tested performance and reliability. We have to pass through this transition, from feasibility to true, viable product.”

Perry, who had 40 patents in a 28-year career with IBM before coming to MTSU, said a manufacturing partner has stepped forward “and is totally committed to us” and will accompany him to anticipated upcoming presentations.

Perry said Lou Svendsen, university counsel with the Tennessee Board of Regents, will join him in approaching companies that have both U.S. and worldwide fleets of vehicles, especially those “interested in green technology, reducing carbon footprint and savings in fuel costs.”

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Photo captions:

Perry team.jpg

Graduate student Jay Perry, left, May graduate Brent Brubaker and grad student Ken Gendrich collaborated with Dr. Charles Perry on the wheel-hub motor, plug-in hybrid retrofit kit. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Wheel-hub motor retrofit kit.jpg

The Plug-in Hybrid Retrofit Kit is applied to a vehicle’s rear wheels. After switching on the traction motors, gas mileage can increase 50 to 100 percent. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Jay Perry.jpg

After first removing the tire, graduate student Jay Perry views the rotor he has removed from the stator, which is attached to the axle bearings. In the entire process, nothing affects the car’s bearings, brakes or suspension. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

Ken and Brent.jpg

While graduate student Ken Gendrich, left, checks data on a computer, Brent Brubaker makes adjustments to the large lithium ion battery in the rear of the vehicle. (MTSU photo by Andy Heidt)

            The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information any time, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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

[015] Despite Conditions, MTSU Farm Sprouts 'Great' Success

For release:  July 12, 2012

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu

MTSU School of Agribusiness and Agriscience contact: Dr. Nate Phillips, 615-494-8996 (office), 615-904-4398 (cell) or Nate.Phillips@mtsu.edu

Despite conditions, MTSU Farm sprouts ‘great’ success

MURFREESBORO — Expect another bumper crop of vegetables at the Friday, July 13, Student Farmers Market at MTSU.

“We should have lots of green beans and lots of tomatoes,” said Dr. Nate Phillips, assistant professor in MTSU’s School of Agribusiness and Agriscience and overseer of the student-run garden at the university farm off Guy James Road in Lascassas

Open to the public, the Student Farmers Market continues Friday at the Horticulture Center on Lightning Way, just off Greenland Drive near the Tennessee Livestock Center. It will be open from noon until 3 p.m. Parking is available in nearby lots. A printable campus map is available at www.mtsu.edu/parking/Map_2011-2012.pdf.

Despite the oppressive heat and severe drought that has plagued Rutherford County for the past month and a faulty irrigation system, Phillips said the Plant and Soil Science Club has enjoyed a fruitful year.

“It has been a great year, actually,” Phillips said by phone while returning from vacation with his family in the Midwest. “We had the earliest sales start (May) ever. We had a good cool-vegetable season. We’re ramping up with the warm-season vegetables.”

An irrigation system that brings water from the East Fork of the Stones River has been down because of issues with the pump, Phillips said.

“We’ve been moving the hose around three times a day, keeping each section going,” Phillips said. “… We’re almost running irrigation nonstop through the hot weeks. Students have been getting out here on weekends and after hours.”

Phillips said one tap coming out of a well that was dug years ago has been providing water for the vegetables.

The combination of the 100-plus-degree heat and lack of rain hurt the lettuce and salad greens, said Phillips, who added that they do not irrigate those crops.

Garlic, which depends on spring rain, did not grow well, Phillips said. Only small cloves grew, he said.

In the past week while Phillips has been away, Austin Lohin of the farm staff told him the garden received about three inches of rain.

“It’s muddy, too muddy to get into the garden,” Phillips said. “We do use hay mulch to keep water in and minimize evaporation.” He added that they use drip tape as a water-conservation system method of getting water to where the plants need it.

Six regular workers handle garden duties. Phillips said May and June agriculture classes also lend a hand, but there is no class in July. Some class members keep coming.

“Some volunteer to work,” Phillips said. “It’s a sense of ownership for them.”

For more information, call the School of Agribusiness and Agriscience at 615-898-2523 or Dr. Nate Phillips at 615-494-8996.

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Media welcomed.

Austin Lohin.jpg photo caption

Austin Lohin prunes leaves off a Mandevilla plant during a recent MTSU Student Farmers Market sale in the Horticulture Center. (MTSU file photo by News and Media Relations)

            The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information any time, visit www.mtsunews.com.

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

[014] Foley's Fulbright Trip Reveals More About Asia's Islamic Culture

FOR RELEASE:  July 23, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

Foley’s Fulbright trip reveals more about Asia’s Islamic culture

MURFREESBORO--The next superstar of the Muslim world might not be a political activist or a crusading journalist; instead it just might be a Lebanese singer who was raised in Sweden, worked in New York City and lives in Malaysia.
That’s only one of the fascinating insights Dr. Sean Foley gained during his 15-month trip to Southeast Asia in 2010-11.
Funded with his third Fulbright Foundation grant, Foley conducted research at International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and made additional visits to Brunei, India, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, China and New Zealand to give presentations at universities in those countries.
Foley, who teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Middle Eastern and world history, pours the knowledge he acquires during his travels into the classroom at every opportunity. But that’s not the only benefit these trips produce.
“I’ve already had students ask about going to India,” he said. “(It’s) the connections (I make) not only as a scholar, but also in the classroom, both directly with students and what I present to students, but also one-on-one, working with them to develop their own careers as individuals and as scholars and as professionals, as well.”
While in Malaysia, the MTSU associate professor of history became acquainted with and wrote about Maher Zain, the hottest singer in the region. Zain embodies the modern Malaysia, reconciling modern singing with Islamic-themed music and clearly Islamic lyrics.
“He spent virtually no money at all on advertising in the traditional sense of the word,” Foley said in a recent interview on WMOT-FM’s “MTSU on the Record.”
“His advertising was done online, on Facebook. One thing I didn’t expect is that Facebook is extremely popular in Malaysia and, in fact, has one of the highest penetrations. Something like 40 percent of the population is on Facebook.”
The prevalence of smart phones and the presence of technology in houses of worship are also indications that Malaysia is combining 21st century modernity with both Islamic traditions and religious and ethnic diversity.
“It’s one thing to think about linking modernity and Islam,” Foley said. “It’s something very different to see it in practice. And it’s not just Islam and modernity. Christians and other peoples do it, as well.”
Sixty percent of Malaysia’s population is Muslim, but the country also has large non-Muslim populations. The government is a parliamentary democracy with representatives of various religions and ethnic cultures elected to the parliament.
“They have strong connections and have been able to build a prosperous society because of those linkages not only to Asia but to the Western world, as well,” said Foley.
Foley’s previous Fulbright-sponsored excursions were to Syria and Turkey. While visiting a sheik in Syria, Foley noticed several people from Southeast Asia in the room. While talking with a neighbor that night, the neighbor asked Foley, “Did you meet any Malaysians?”
The neighbor explained that many Malaysians take side trips to other Middle East countries when they make their annual pilgrimage to Mecca. At that exact moment, a commercial appeared on Syrian television promoting Malaysia as “Truly Asia.” The image stuck and inspired Foley’s latest cultural and historical explorations.
Another feature of Foley’s Southeast Asia experience was his appearance on al-Jazeera’s English-language channel. While at the National University of Singapore to deliver a speech, al-Jazeera’s Kuala Lumpur bureau reached him for comment on the Arab Spring. Foley previously appeared on the network from its home base in Qatar.
“The two parallel networks had lived in different worlds in many ways,” Foley noted. “The English network wouldn’t necessarily cover the Arabic (network) and vice versa. But what was really interesting about what happened during the Arab Spring was that the two began to work together in tandem.”
Of even more importance to Foley was that his parents, who live in California, could watch their son provide up-to-date analysis of one of the world’s most dynamic geopolitical evolutions in real time.

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PHOTOS ATTACHED.

Photo 1: MTSU professor Sean Foley pauses along the Great Wall of China for a quick break during his 15-month Fulbright Program-sponsored research trip into Southeast Asia.
Photo 2: MTSU professor Sean Foley stops in front of Borobudur, a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information anytime, visit http://www.mtsunews.com/.

[013] MTSU Math Instructor's Road Takes Him From Anarchy to Academia

FOR RELEASE: July 23, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU math instructor’s road takes him from anarchy to academia

MURFREESBORO--After walking for days on end, tramping from country to country to avoid being murdered, earning a master’s degree may seem a lark by comparison.

MTSU instructor Alier Reng, who was known as Johnson Reng until he legally changed his name earlier this year, was born in the southern region of Sudan in Africa in 1981. His father worked for missionaries as a security officer.

When the Second Sudanese Civil War broke out in 1983, the northern army of President Omar al-Bashir’s administration, recognized as one of the world’s most despotic regimes, would not let the elder Reng accompany his family out of harm’s way.

Despite the overwhelming physical and political perils Reng’s family endured, he knew that he would have to make it to the United States. Even during his days as a graduate assistant, students often sought out Reng to answer their math questions. But memories of the turmoil he left behind are never far from his thoughts.

His father escaped to join the family in 1985, but Reng’s mother died that same year of a water-borne disease. By 1987, the family was forced to seek refuge in Ethiopia. They walked for 30 days.

“We lost some of our brothers and friends on the way,” Reng recalled in an interview for WMOT-FM’s “MTSU on the Record.”

 “Some of them drowned in some of the tributaries of the River Nile. Some of them were eaten by wild animals like hyenas, lions and so on. Some of them were eaten by crocodiles.”

No sooner had they become adjusted to the Spartan conditions there than the Ethiopian government was overthrown in 1991, forcing the family to an Ethiopian town on the border with South Sudan. After living there for seven months, the Rengs heard that the Ethiopian army was en route to destroy the town.

The United Nations evacuated the Rengs in the summer of 1992 and took them deep into Kenya, where they lived for nine years before coming to the United States. There, along with 16,000 other refugees, they endured sickness and starvation until 1994, when the United Nations constructed barbed-wire centers to dispense food.

Through Lutheran missionaries, Reng made it to the United States. He became a naturalized American citizen in 2007 and earned his bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Texas at Dallas the following year. He received his master’s degree in professional science from MTSU in 2011.

Karen Case of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences mentored Reng when he first arrived at MTSU. She says he was exceptional, both academically and in the way he adapted to the American culture.

“Now he inspires his own students and youth groups by telling them a little bit about his story, about what he has overcome,” Case said. “He assures them that, if he can achieve what he has, then they should be able to do math with his patient guidance.”

For now, Reng makes ends meet as an instructor in MTSU’s Department of Mathematical Sciences and part-time worker at Home Depot.  However, he wants to obtain a doctorate and put his talents to work in his country of origin.

Returning to South Sudan might be somewhat easier since the nation broke away from the Khartoum regime and obtained independence in 2011, even though the violence continues.

“It was shocking news because we had never envisioned it happening during our lifetime,” said Reng. “But when it happened, we knew through the blood of our heroes, we knew that one day, one time, we were going to gain our independence.

“And what gave us hope during the struggle was the verse from the Old Testament, Isaiah 18. In Isaiah 18, they talk about tall, skinny, smooth-bodied people whose country is intertwined by rivers. And, if you go deep into the Bible, that is South Sudan.”

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PHOTOS INCLUDED.

Photo 1: Alier Ring, now an instructor in MTSU's Department of Mathematical Sciences, celebrates on the steps of Kirksey Old Main after earning his master's degree in professional science.

Photo 2: MTSU instructor Alier Reng, right, stands with a friend at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in this September 2001 photo. Reng and his family lived at the camp nine years after fleeing their home in Southern Sudan.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information anytime, visit http://www.mtsunews.com/.

[012] MTSU Camp Promotes "ENRGY' in Disabled Youth

FOR RELEASE: July 20, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Sandy Stevens, 615-478-9001

MTSU camp promotes ‘ENRGY’ in disabled youth

Five days of splashing, climbing, kicking, moving great opportunity for kids

MURFREESBORO — The fourth annual Camp ENRGY, a free, five-day event for youth with physical disabilities, is slated for July 23-27 at Middle Tennessee State University.

“The camp’s mission is to promote physical activity in a population that is at risk for sedentary behavior,” said Dr. Sandy Stevens, camp co-director with doctoral student Jenny Hutchens. “Participation in this camp increases the level of activity in these children year-round.”

Sponsored by the MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth, Camp ENRGY — which stands for Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth — includes baseball, basketball, yoga, a nutrition session, gymnastics, cheerleading, nature trail, martial arts, alpine tower, golf, football, kayaking, soccer and geocaching.

Many activities are scheduled to take place in the MTSU Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. Some activities will take place at other campus venues.

The camp has been funded with a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We feel fortunate to have had funding from the CDC,” said Stevens. “And, while the grant is expiring this year, we hope we can find more funding to keep the camp going in the future.”

For more information, contact Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu or 615-478-9001 or Dr. Don Morgan, director of the MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth, at 615-898-5549 or dmorgan@mtsu.edu.

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• ATTENTION, MEDIA: Please note that MEDIA ARE WELCOME to attend the camp to take photographs or collect footage/interviews for news-editorial use, but advance notice is requested. The camp will conclude with a graduation ceremony for participants on Friday, July 27, and this may be a desired “photo op” for some.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information anytime, visit www.mtsunews.com.

[011] 'Saddle Up for Project Help' July 26 and Give County's Cutest Cowpokes a Boost

‘Saddle Up for Project Help’ July 26 and give county’s cutest cowpokes a boost

FOR RELEASE: July 20, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Susan Waldrop, 615-898-2458 or susan.waldrop@mtsu.edu

MURFREESBORO — Dust off those boots and tighten up that 10-gallon hat for MTSU’s upcoming “Saddle Up for Project Help” fundraiser, pardner, or you’ll have to answer to some mighty big little cowpokes.

“Saddle Up” gets under way at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 26, at the MTSU Foundation House, located at 324 W. Thompson Lane next to the university’s Tennessee Miller Coliseum.

Tickets are $50 per person — Western wear is encouraged! — and include a barbecue dinner and two drinks, followed by live music and dancing. A silent auction will feature items including Southwest Airlines and Disney Theme Parks tickets, a weeklong beach-condo stay and an on-the-spot work of art painted by Nashville artist Arthur Kirkby.

Director Susan Waldrop said funds raised at the 2012 event will be used to continue expanding services for Project Help, which is Rutherford County’s only community- and center-based program serving very young children, including those with special needs.

Previous “Saddle Up” events have helped the program grow into new classroom space and offer services to older children.

“Our ultimate goal is providing a one-stop, wrap-around preschool educational and therapies center,” said Waldrop. “The fun component of this fundraiser is the way folks in the community seem to enjoy putting ‘Saddle Up’ together.”

Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides free early-intervention and family-support services to toddlers with disabilities and developmental delays. It currently serves 68 children, including 45 with special needs.

Project Help’s progressive preschool serves children from 15 months to 3 years old. The new “Project Help Prep” for children ranging from 3 years old to kindergarten currently offers a half-day, tuition-only program four days a week.

The center’s staff, which includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester, works with parents through family-support programs that include workshops, one-to-one interactions and informal training seminars.

Grants from the Tennessee Department of Education through Early Intervention Services and the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties partially fund Project Help’s work. Dozens of community organizations and businesses also provide the center with much-needed equipment, toys and consumable items every year.

Tickets are available by calling Project Help at 615-898-2458. For up-to-the-minute details on “Saddle Up for Project Help” 2012 including photos of the center’s children and the silent-auction items, visit www.facebook.com/ProjectHelp.

—30—

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information anytime, visit www.mtsunews.com.

[010] MTSU Students Land Fulbright Grants for 3 Consecutive Years

FOR RELEASE: July 20, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU students land Fulbright grants for 3 consecutive years

MURFREESBORO — For the third consecutive year, MTSU can lay claim to multiple winners of allocations from the U.S. Student Fulbright Program, one of the world’s most prestigious scholars’ programs.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Fulbright grants help the country’s most talented scholars promote understanding between the United States and other nations.

“Individuals who are selected for these honors are considered not only to be representatives of the institutions that they attended but also of the nation,” said Dr. John R. Vile, dean of the University Honors College.

“MTSU has effectively joined an elite group of schools by having multiple winners in multiple successive years. This is a tribute to the university’s increased emphasis on internationalizing its offerings.”

Adam Emerson, a spring 2012 graduate with a double major in psychology and international relations, learned June 20 that the Fulbright Program will fund his stint as an instructor of English in Russia.

“Russia is one of those places where they’re definitely establishing more ties in the technology industry, which is one of the United States’ most profitable sectors,” said Emerson.

A native of Liberty, Tenn., Emerson studied in Moscow in summer 2010 and in Prague in summer 2011. After he completes his Fulbright stint, Emerson will pursue a doctorate in international relations with a concentration in political psychology at Washington State University.

Anna Yacovone, a post-graduate adviser in the Office of Education Abroad, will teach English in Laos under her Fulbright grant. Yacovone, a Sevierville, Tenn., native, is a veteran of study-abroad excursions to Thailand and Italy.

“My international experience and on-campus involvement played a role in me receiving the Fulbright,” Yacovone said. “I avidly want to learn more about the world while serving others and fostering cultural awareness and tolerance.”

Daniel Gouger of Whiteside, Tenn., will apply his Fulbright to scientific exploration in molecular dynamics and modeling at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, Spain.

Gouger finds inspiration in one of his mentors, Dr. Nuria Novella, a professor of Spanish. Not only did Novella instill in Gouger an appreciation of Spanish language in culture; her battle against cancer bolstered his desire to pursue his dreams. Novella has been cancer-free for five years.

“I hope to one day impart to my future patients the same care and leadership that she’s been able to give me,” Gouger said.

For more information about the Fulbright Program and other fellowship opportunities, contact Laura Clippard, director of the Undergraduate Fellowships Office and Honors College adviser, at 615-898-5464 or laura.clippard@mtsu.edu.

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The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information anytime, visit www.mtsunews.com.

[009] Children's lit for 21st-century Issues to be Discussed on "MTSU On The Record'

FOR RELEASE: July 19, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

Children’s lit for 21st-century issues to be discussed on ‘MTSU On the Record’

Child Development Director Elaine Mitchell Palmore writes about addiction, divorce

MURFREESBORO—An MTSU director whose first children’s book has received the Betty Ford Center’s seal of approval will be Gina Logue’s guest on the next edition of “MTSU On the Record” at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 23, and 8 a.m. Sunday, July 29, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org).

Elaine Mitchell Palmore, the head of MTSU’s Child Development Center, is the author of “The Dragon Who Lives at Our House.” It’s one of only 14 books about addiction recommended for children by the famed alcohol and drug-abuse treatment center in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

“Dragon” also was a finalist in the “Health: Addiction and Recovery” category of the Best Books 2011 Awards sponsored by USA Book News.

In addition, Palmore will discuss her second book, “Big Changes in the Crow Family,” which tackles the subject of divorce in a compassionate, kid-friendly way. Both books are published by Fresh Fables and illustrated by nationally renowned artist Norris Hall of Murfreesboro.

Palmore has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree from Belmont University and a credential in early-childhood and elementary education from the American Montessori Society.

To listen to previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to www.mtsunews.com and click on “more” under the “Audio Clips” category.

For more information about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

                                                               --30--

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information anytime, visit www.mtsunews.com.

[008] Middle Tennessee Education Center Celebrates Learning

FOR RELEASE: July 13, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MIDDLE TENNESSEE EDUCATION CENTER CELEBRATES LEARNING

Shelbyville Extension of MTSU, Motlow Expands with More Classes than Ever

MURFREESBORO—Middle Tennessee Education Center will host “A Celebration of Education,” including a special preview of its expanding curriculum, from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, at the center, 200 Dover St. in Shelbyville.

Admissions counselors, administrators and educators will be on hand to explain how the center can help students chart a path to improving their educational credentials and obtaining more fulfilling, higher paying jobs.

The center is a partnership between Middle Tennessee State University and Motlow State Community College with the support of Bedford County government. It is designed to make access to higher education classes more convenient to students from Bedford, Coffee, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Rutherford and Williamson counties.

“The long-term impact of having a higher education campus in a community is clear,” says Dr. Mike Boyle, dean of the University College. “However, there also is an immediate economic impact to the host city because most of the students live in neighboring communities. As a result, students often buy gas, shop in the stores and frequent the restaurants around campus.

Center spokeswoman Lisa D. Moore says there are 21 new courses being offered at the center this fall, including a new emphasis in agriculture with four courses and several additional courses for the interdisciplinary studies (elementary education) major.

“We are hosting a graduate program in educational leadership,” says Moore. “Two new courses in criminal justice and social work are being test-marketed to determine the local demand for those programs. More than one-third of the courses will be taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty from MTSU.”

Among the center’s other offerings are an adult degree completion program for an accelerated path toward a bachelor’s degree at MTSU; a degree advancement program to help students who have earned an associate’s degree from Motlow pursue a bachelor’s degree at MTSU; prior learning assessment, which will enable students to earn college credit for military training, previous certifications, and professional development; and general education and developmental courses. 

With 42,000 square feet of space in Shelbyville’s former Medical Arts Building, the Middle Tennessee Education Center has room to expand its curriculum and its student population even further. Classes are slated with starting times ranging from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. to accommodate adult learners’ work schedules.

Each classroom currently in use is wi-fi-ready for students to use laptop computers and other devices. One classroom has been outfitted to facilitate instruction via videoconference.

Door prizes and refreshments will be available at “A Celebration of Learning.” For more information, contact Moore at 931-685-444 or go to http://www.mteducationcenter.com/.

                                                               --30--

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has recognized MTSU for its outstanding curricular engagement, community outreach and partnerships. As MTSU begins its second century of service, Pride, Tradition and Excellence remain the cornerstones of "Tennessee’s Best"! For MTSU news and information anytime, visit http://www.mtsunews.com/.