Tuesday, September 25, 2012

[83] Stones River Chamber Players kick off season of 'Faculty Favorites'


 
FOR RELEASE: Sept. 21, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Tim Musselman, Tim.Musselman@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2493

MURFREESBORO — The Stones River Chamber Players, MTSU’s faculty chamber-music ensemble, will celebrate a new season with its first “Faculty Favorites” Monday, Oct. 8, in the Hinton Music Hall inside the university’s Wright Music Building.

Angela DeBoer, faculty horn player and co-director of the group, said the free 7:30 p.m. performance will kick off the ensemble’s 2012-13 season.

The program will include performances of:

  • “Trio” by Grazyna Bacewicz for violin, oboe and cello, a favorite of MTSU violinist Andrea Dawson, who’ll be accompanied by oboist Laura Ann Ross and cellist Christine Kim;
  • Klaus Wüsthoff’s “Concierto de Samba,” selected by faculty guitarist William Yelverton accompanied by Dawson and flutist Deanna Little and Dawson;
  • “Auf dem Strom” by Franz Schubert for soprano, horn and piano, featuring soprano Dina Cancryn, pianist Lynn Rice-See and DeBoer; and
  • a favorite of School of Music director Dr. George Riordan, J.C. Bach’s “Quintet in D Major,” performed by Riordan on the oboe, Jessica Dunnavant on flute, Dawson on violin, Kim on cello and Lillian Pearson on the harpsichord.

More “Faculty Favorites” performances by the SRCP are scheduled next semester on Feb. 25 and April 8. Like the kickoff performance, they’ll begin at 7:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall.

For more information on the Stones River Chamber Players and any MTSU School of Music performances, please call 615-898-2493 or see the complete listing of concerts at www.mtsumusic.com at the “Concert Calendar” link.

 

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

 

 

[82] Pianist Sin-Hsing Tsai to perform free recital at MTSU


 
FOR RELEASE: Sept. 20, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Tim Musselman, Tim.Musselman@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2493

MURFREESBOROPianist Sin-Hsing Tsai will present a free public piano recital as part of the MTSU School of Music’s Guest Pianists Series on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. in Hinton Music Hall inside the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus.

The eclectic program will include works of Aaron Copland, Edward MacDowell, Robert Muczynski, Carlos Guastavino and Alberto Ginastera. 

“It will be incredibly exciting to hear such a unique and varied program,” said Dr. Arunesh Nadgir, MTSU assistant professor of piano.  “Many of these pieces are not played enough in public and I know everyone at the performance will enjoy these works.”

Heard by audiences in Asia, Europe and North and South America, Tsai, a Steinway Artist, enjoys global success as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. She is currently the UC Foundation Associate Professor of Music at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.  

For more information on this and any other MTSU School of Music performance, please call 615-898-2493 or see the complete listing of concerts at www.mtsumusic.com at the “Concert Calendar” link.

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

 

[81] MTSU's Todd Art Gallery showcases student graphic-design works


 
FOR RELEASE: Sept. 20, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Eric Snyder, 615-898-5653 or eric.snyder@mtsu.edu

 
MURFREESBORO— MTSU’s Department of Art is showcasing students’ work Sept. 24-Oct. 11 in the Todd Art Gallery at the 2012 Graphic Design Juried Student Exhibition.

Sponsored by the MTSU chapter of AIGA, the professional association for design, the free public exhibit will include a juried selection of works from MTSU students interested in graphic design as well as MTSU art students pursuing the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
 
“This event is intended to promote the making and understanding of graphic design’s role in our academic culture and community at large,” said Professor Seth Johnson, who serves as the AIGA’s chapter adviser.

 Department Chair Jean Nagy noted that the exhibit aims to “showcase the department’s largest segment of declared majors.”

Participation is limited to works of graphic design, but is open to all Department of Art majors and interested MTSU students, organizers said.

The exhibit will be preceded by a reception and awards ceremony on Monday, Sept. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Todd Gallery.

All exhibitions at MTSU’s Todd Gallery are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; the facility is closed on state holidays.

For directions, parking and other information, contact Todd Gallery Director Eric Snyder at 615-898-5653 or eric.snyder@mtsu.edu.

 

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

 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

[80] Teachers' 'Day of Learning' conference focuses on writing, literacy


FOR RELEASE: Sept. 19, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. Ellen Donovan, 615-898-5981 or ellen.donovan@mtsu.edu

MURFREESBORO — Helping teachers at all levels to learn more effective ways to teach students writing and to improve their learning process is the goal of the upcoming Fall Conference on Writing and Learning at MTSU.

The Middle Tennessee Writing Project will conduct the “Day of Learning” event in the College of Education Building on campus on Saturday, Sept. 22.

Conference registration cost is $45 per person until the day of the event; it rises to $50 per person for on-site registration.

 The conference, which will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature a panel of local educators who will discuss the ways testing data can be used to help teachers improve instruction. Following the panel discussion, participants will be able to choose from several breakout sessions led by area teachers that feature effective ways to improve student writing and learning.

The Middle Tennessee Writing Project serves the greater Middle Tennessee region as one of more that 200 networked sites that form the National Writing Project, a professional development model for teachers of kindergarten through college.

The MTWP focuses on improving writing instruction, helping teachers use writing as an effective teaching strategy in other areas, and developing teacher leadership as a means to reform and improve education.

For more information about the Fall Conference or about professional development opportunities for teachers through the Middle Tennessee Writing Project, please contact Dr. Ellen Donovan at 615-898-5981 or Dr. Ron Kates at ron.kates@mtsu.edu, or visit the MTWP website at www.middletnwritingproject.org.

 

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

 

[79] Grad scholars gather Sept. 22 at MTSU to present literary research


FOR RELEASE: Sept. 19, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gary Gravely, gtg2d@mtmail.mtsu.edu

 
MURFREESBORO A select group of graduate scholars from universities across the country has been invited to MTSU on Saturday, Sept. 22, to participate in the fifth annual literary conference hosted by the university's English Graduate Student Organization.

 

"Revisions, Retellings and Adaptations," the theme of this year's event, has drawn submissions from researchers who will present research in various categories of literary studies including Victorian, American and British literature; women's and gender studies; popular cultural and film; and children's literature.

 

"This provides students of our university and surrounding colleges the unique opportunity to present scholarship in a friendly environment," Gary Gravely, who is president and coordinator of the student organization, said of the upcoming event.

 

"Although this is a small academic conference, it offers a diverse group of presentations that could easily appeal to many areas within English studies as well as the larger academic community."

 

Children's literature scholar and featured keynote speaker Dr. Martha Hixon, an MTSU professor, has spent much of her career researching the history and cultural implications of folk and fairy tales and their modern adaptations. Her professional achievements include numerous conference presentations and journal publications. An active member of the international Children's Literature Association, Hixon previously served on the executive board as both vice president and president.

 

Since joining MTSU's English Department in 1999, she has received the university’s Outstanding Honors Faculty Award and the recent MTSU Foundation Outstanding Teacher Award for 2012. 

 

Hixon's lecture, "A Neverending Story: Revisions, Retellings and Adaptations in Folktales and Children's Literature" will explore how and why fairytales are continually recreated and retold, by using the story of "Snow White" from the Brothers Grimm as a key example.

 

The English Graduate Student Organization event is free, but seating is limited. It will be held in Rooms S-272 and S-274 of the Business and Aerospace Building on campus.

 

Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the day's events are expected to conclude by 6 p.m. For more information about EGSO, visit http://mtsuegso.org.

 

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[78] MTSU celebrates Constitution Day with naturalization ceremony for almost 300


 
FOR RELEASE: Sept. 17, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina E. Fann, 615-898-5385 or gina.fann@mtsu.edu

 
MURFREESBORO — MTSU celebrated the 225th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution today with a few new fellow citizens — 288, to be exact — and a global audience that tuned in via the Internet at a special naturalization ceremony inside Murphy Center.

 

The university celebrates the Constitution’s 1787 signing every year with special events and programs, including live readings of the document and printing portions of it on MTSU’s replica 18th-century Franklin-era printing press at Walker Library.

 

The 2012 celebration was even more special, however, because the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, allowed a rare naturalization ceremony to be held outside Nashville. The ceremony also saw three MTSU students — senior Mike Patel of Knoxville, sophomore Levon Mkrtchyan of Nashville and freshman Tammy Li of Smithville, Tenn., take their oaths as naturalized U.S. citizens. (You can read more about them at http://mtsunews.com/students-naturalization-ceremony.)

 

“Today is a day of great significance for each of you,” Magistrate Judge Joe B. Brown, who presided over the ceremony, told the new citizens.

 

“America is not just a home to you; it’s now your country. The ability to make a dream become a reality is what makes the United States unique. You are to be admired and congratulated. This was your conscious choice to become an American citizen.”

 

The new citizens were welcomed by patriotic music performed by the MTSU Faculty Brass Quintet and the presentation of colors by the Oakland High School JROTC Color Guard — Cadet Maj. Chelsea White, cadet 2nd Lts. Erica Preston and Justin Harrell and cadet 1st Lt. Anthony Casey — directed by retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Russ Rector.

 

MTSU music professor Dina Cancryn performed the national anthem, and Chief Justice Gary R. Wade of the Tennessee Supreme Court led the group in their first pledge of allegiance as new citizens. Both the anthem and the pledge evoked both tears and smiles from the new citizens as well as across the audience.

 

Wade briefly startled the new citizens during his keynote address when he deadpanned that he would ”now read to you, word for word, the United States Constitution, just in case you missed it earlier today. Just be patient, this may take a while — an hour and 10 minutes, I'm told.”

 

The audience began chuckling quietly when the justice paused to recall a friend’s instructions that a good speech “should be only 9.6 minutes long,” then swept into a quick history of government by the people, from the Magna Carta to the first documents establishing American independence.

 

Reciting the Emma Lazarus sonnet “The New Collossus,” Chief Justice Wade placed special emphasis on its final lines, engraved in bronze at the foot of that “mighty woman with a torch” that stands in New York Harbor, the Statute of Liberty.

 

“‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore,’” he quoted. “‘Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door!’”

“These words are permanently cast as a symbol of greeting to those like you who have earned citizenship in this great country,” Wade said as many listeners brushed away tears. “… From every mountainside, let freedom ring. God bless each and every one of you, and God bless America.”

 

Dr. Mary A. Evins, an associate professor of history and coordinator of MTSU's American Democracy Project, said the university had “aspired for years to bring a naturalization ceremony” to campus.

 

“We use the (Constitution Day) observances to draw students’ and the community’s attention to the Constitution and citizenship. The day is focused on civic learning,” she said. “We are so honored that the U.S. District Court graciously agreed to allow MTSU to be the site of this large combined ceremony.”

 

Each of the new citizens received a voter registration form from the League of Women Voters of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, a personal copy of the U.S. Constitution from the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and an American flag from representatives of two local chapters of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

 

MTSU’s 2012 Constitution Day celebration included readings of the document by students, faculty, staff and other volunteers across campus throughout the morning, culminating in a final live reading of the Constitution inside Murphy Center before the ceremony. The ceremony was streamed live online in its entirety, thanks to special permission from the USCIS, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

 

Foreign citizens or nationals are granted U.S. citizenship after they meet the requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Prospective citizens may apply for naturalization if they have lived permanently in the United States for at least five years and meet all other eligibility requirements, including being at least 18 years old, a green-card holder who's able to read, write and speak English and understand U.S. history and civics, and "a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution …."

 

Similar requirements are outlined for spouses and children of U.S. citizens and people with qualifying service in the U.S. military.

 

Each year, USCIS welcomes approximately 680,000 citizens during naturalization ceremonies across the United States and around the world.

 

Tennessee’s ceremonies traditionally are held in the federal courthouse in one of the state’s three grand divisions, but the number of applicants for U.S. citizenship has increased so much in recent years that ceremonies are sometimes conducted on university campuses and other public sites. Middle Tennessee citizens usually are naturalized at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District, housed in the Estes Kefauver Federal Building in downtown Nashville.

 

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

[77a] MTSU students celebrating new status as U.S. citizens at special naturalization ceremony


FOR RELEASE: Sept. 17, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina K. Logue, 615-898-5081 or gina.logue@mtsu.edu

 
MURFREESBORO — After five years or more of life in America, MTSU students Mike Patel and Tammy Li need no more time to make up their minds. They will become U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony on the campus of their university today.

 

MTSU is celebrating Constitution Day this Sept. 17 by hosting a rare naturalization ceremony held outside Nashville for new Middle Tennessee citizens. Patel and Li will be among the 300 people taking the oath of citizenship today at 2 p.m.

 

The moment will be doubly significant for Patel. The 23-year-old biology major from Knoxville is on track to receive his bachelor’s degree in December.

 

“I’ve learned a lot,” said Patel. “I don’t want to leave MTSU, but I have to leave MTSU at some point.”

 

Patel moved to the United States with his family in 2006 from Surat, a hamlet in eastern India near Bombay. An uncle, with whom Patel lived in North Carolina for his first year in this country, sponsored the family.

 

He admits to a difficult initial adjustment, since he arrived in America as a high-school senior. But Patel says his new friends were nice and, through the international language of sports, he fit in quickly and decided he wanted to stay.

 

“This country has given me the opportunity to do whatever I want to do,” Patel said. “There is no limit to what I can do here. Over here, I get more time to myself. Over here, I follow my own routine.”

 

Family is important to Patel, whose father grew sugar cane for a living in India. Now the family operates a motel in Knoxville, where Patel’s brother will graduate from the University of Tennessee in May with a degree in accounting.

 

If there is a somewhat bittersweet overtone to Patel’s naturalization, it is that he won’t be able to take the oath with his brother.

 

“We both applied at the same time, but, somehow, his (government approval) was delayed by a month,” said Patel.

 

When his brother’s approval finally came through, he happened to be in Memphis, so he went ahead with the oath there. Patel, however, says he likes the idea of having the ceremony at a place that has meant so much to him.

 

“People have always been nice and decent,” Patel said with a shy smile. “I am very grateful to them.”

 

Tammy Li is a bubbly 19-year-old freshman majoring in nutrition and food science, she came to America from Fujian Province near Hong Kong in the People’s Republic of China.

 

She lived with her parents in New York for a year but has lived in Smithville since her freshman year of high school. Li, who speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and other Chinese dialects, in addition to English, graduated high school with a 3.5 GPA. Her transcript includes membership in the Beta Club, the Science Club, 4-H and the Student Council.

 

“In the summertime, I worked six days a week, 12 hours a day, to save money,” Li said. “I am very independent.”

 

With that kind of track record, it comes as no surprise that Li received a HOPE scholarship and passed her citizenship test in the same week.

 

“I just feel that this is my home,” Li said. “You have free speech, free religion.”

She has come to feel that MTSU is also her home.

“MTSU gives me a chance to do my best,” said Li. “The teachers are so nice. I feel like if I need help I can just ask people.”

 

Back home in Smithville, Li raises her voice in song in the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church choir.

 

“I always put Jesus first, others second and self third,” said Li.

 

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

 

[77] MTSU students celebrating new status as U.S. citizens at special naturalization ceremony


FOR RELEASE: Sept. 17, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina K. Logue, 615-898-5081 or gina.logue@mtsu.edu

 

MURFREESBORO — After five years or more of life in America, MTSU students Mike Patel, Levon Mkrtchyan and Tammy Li need no more time to make up their minds. They became U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony on the campus of their university today.

MTSU celebrated Constitution Day this Sept. 17 by hosting a rare naturalization ceremony held outside Nashville for new Middle Tennessee citizens. Patel, Mkrtchyan and Li were among almost 300 people taking the oath of citizenship at the event.

The moment was doubly significant for Patel. The 23-year-old biology major from Knoxville is on track to receive his bachelor’s degree in December.

“I’ve learned a lot,” said Patel. “I don’t want to leave MTSU, but I have to leave MTSU at some point.”

Patel moved to the United States with his family in 2006 from Surat, a hamlet in eastern India near Bombay. An uncle, with whom Patel lived in North Carolina for his first year in this country, sponsored the family.

He admits to a difficult initial adjustment, since he arrived in America as a high-school senior. But Patel said his new friends were nice and, through the international language of sports, he fit in quickly and decided he wanted to stay.

“This country has given me the opportunity to do whatever I want to do,” Patel said. “There is no limit to what I can do here. Over here, I get more time to myself. Over here, I follow my own routine.”

Family is important to Patel, whose father grew sugar cane for a living in India. Now the family operates a motel in Knoxville, where Patel’s brother will graduate from the University of Tennessee in May with a degree in accounting.

If there was a somewhat bittersweet overtone to Patel’s naturalization, it is that he wasn't able to take the oath with his brother.

“We both applied at the same time, but, somehow, his (government approval) was delayed by a month,” said Patel.

When his brother’s approval finally came through, he happened to be in Memphis, so he went ahead with the oath there. Patel, however, said he liked the idea of having the ceremony at a place that has meant so much to him.

“People have always been nice and decent,” Patel said with a shy smile. “I am very grateful to them.”

Mkrtchyan, a 19-year-old photography major from Yerevan, Armenia, makes his home in Nashville. He could not be reached for additional comment at press time.

Tammy Li, a bubbly 19-year-old freshman majoring in nutrition and food science, came to America from Fujian Province near Hong Kong in the People’s Republic of China.

She lived with her parents in New York for a year but has lived in Smithville, Tenn., since her freshman year of high school. Li, who speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and other Chinese dialects, in addition to English, graduated high school with a 3.5 GPA. Her transcript includes membership in the Beta Club, the Science Club, 4-H and the Student Council.

“In the summertime, I worked six days a week, 12 hours a day, to save money,” Li said. “I am very independent.”

With that kind of track record, it comes as no surprise that Li received a HOPE scholarship and passed her citizenship test in the same week.

“I just feel that this is my home,” Li said. “You have free speech, free religion.”

She has come to feel that MTSU is also her home.

“MTSU gives me a chance to do my best,” said Li. “The teachers are so nice. I feel like if I need help I can just ask people.”

Back home in Smithville, Li raises her voice in song in the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church choir.

 I always put Jesus first, others second and self third,” said Li.

 

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

 

[76] MTSU students to cover news leaders' news at national conference


 
FOR RELEASE: Sept. 17, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Andrew Oppmann, 615-494-7800 or andrew.oppmann@mtsu.edu

 

MURFREESBORO — MTSU students will be covering the news for the people who cover the news this week as they provide exclusive stories, photos, audio and video for the Associated Press Media Editors national conference in Nashville Sept. 19-21.

 

Student journalists from the College of Mass Communication will generate all news content for the APME blog at http://apmeblog.blogspot.com as well as a daily video report and a special 24-page tabloid summing up the conference.

 

Senior Becca Andrews of Bells, Tenn., editor-in-chief of MTSU’s independent student newspaper Sidelines, is coordinating all news coverage for APME. Senior Michelle Potts of Franklin, Tenn., news director of the student-run TV station, MT10-HD, will lead video coverage.

 

All content will flow through MTSU’s new Center for Innovation in Media, which houses operations for all student media outlets as well as WMOT 89.5FM, the university’s 100,000-watt public radio station.

 

“I don’t see much difference at all in this and what we do every day,” Andrews said after discussing coverage plan with colleagues last week. “It will be a bit more fast-paced, but we’ll be doing as much as we can in advance to be ready for breaking news, too.”

 

Sidelines covers breaking campus news around the clock at its website, www.mtsusidelines.com, and also publishes a weekly print tabloid. MT10-HD presents daily news and original programming that’s broadcast locally on Rutherford Country Comcast Channel 10 and online at www.mt10tv.com.

 

“We do this regularly, but at a little slower pace because we’re teaching students, too,” said Potts. “On Thursday alone, we’ll have 11 different shoots and a four- to five-minute ‘day in review’ broadcast, as well as podcasts. Can we do it all? Sure. Just like the real world.”

 

Both Potts and Andrews are veteran young journalists with work experience in industry newsrooms as well as high-school and university ones. They’ve worked together before on news projects; in fact, the APME recognized the Center for Innovation in Media earlier this year for its efforts to converge MTSU student media and foster collaboration across media platforms.

 

That national recognition for MTSU, in the form of an honorable mention in the “Innovator of the Year for College Students” category in APME’s 2012 Journalism Excellence Awards, will be part of a presentation during this week’s conference.

 

“This news project is an outstanding opportunity for our students to cover the conference and write profiles on its participants and get more experience working across media platforms,” said Dr. Roy Moore, dean of MTSU’s College of Mass Communication, which houses the Center for Innovation in Media.

 

“They’re doing this on top of their regular (news) assignments and classes. We’re very fortunate, too, that most of the staffers have prior experience, not only with student media but with professional media as well. It’s a great opportunity to showcase their skills and talents. They won’t just be networking at a conference; they’ll actually be showing what they can do.”

 

APME is an association of editors at newspapers, broadcast outlets and journalism educators and student leaders in the United States and Canada. It works closely with The Associated Press to foster journalism excellence.

 

"APME always reaches out to student journalists to cover our conferences, and we're thrilled that MTSU students intend to raise the bar on how it's done," said APME President Bob Heisse, executive editor of The State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill.

 

The Nashville conference, which is expected to draw 150 of the top media editors from across the country, is not only getting coverage of APME news. It’s also giving students from MTSU’s College of Mass Communication a chance to show off their skills for an audience that hires interns and entry-level reporters, photographer, videographers, copy editors and designers.

 

“We really want to create a killer multimedia product and tabloid,” Andrews said, “particularly since this is also showing the members what we can do. I want my staff to get as much experience out of this as possible; most of them are seniors, so it’s very important to take advantage of an opportunity like this to showcase our work.”

 

“Basically, I told my crew, ‘I know what you’re capable of. Prove to everybody else what you prove to me every day,’” Potts added. “Then we’ll just be trying to figure out when we can get some sleep.”

 

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

[75] Cannon County counselors attend MTSU True Blue Tour event


For release:  Sept. 13, 2012

 

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

 Cannon County counselors attend MTSU True Blue Tour event

Bonnie McCarty, left, assistant director of scholarships at Middle Tennessee State University, shares financial-aid information with Cannon County High School counselors Shannon Martin and Kasey McGee. They attended the True Blue Tour luncheon, which was held Sept. 13 in the ballroom of the new Student Union Building. More than 40 counselors combined from Bedford, Cannon and Rutherford counties — plus advisers from Motlow and Columbia State community colleges — attended. The counselors heard remarks from College of Education Dean Lana Seivers, vice president for Student Affairs Dr. Deb Sells and other officials, and spoke to representatives from other departments and colleges on campus.

(MTSU photo by News and Media Relations)

 

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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.

 

 

 

 

[74] MTSU professor who knew Amb. Stevens reflects on his legacy in The Tennessean


FOR RELEASE: Sept. 14, 2012

EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081, gina.logue@mtsu.edu

 
MURFREESBORO—An MTSU professor who was acquainted personally with the late Amb. Christopher Stevens says he was the kind of person who was “in his element” in diplomatic service.
 
Dr. Sean Foley, associate professor of history and a Middle East scholar, says he met Stevens in Damascus, Syria, in 2002.  He noted that they had several important things in common.

 “We were both from the San Francisco Bay Area, had studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and were committed to understanding the modern Middle East,” said Foley.

“He was a warm person, and the Libyans responded to him with warmth. It’s obvious from the photos of him that he was in his element. He was in the right place in the right time.”

Stevens, the United States ambassador to Libya, was killed along with three other Americans Tuesday when terrorists attacked the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi.

To learn more, read Foley’s op-ed piece in tomorrow’s editions of The Tennessean.

 

 

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PHOTO ATTACHED: Amb. Christopher Stevens, who was killed Tuesday as gunmen laid siege to the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, visits the Café

an-Nawfra in Damascus, Syria, with Dr. Sean Foley and his then-fiancee, Kerry, in this 2002 photo. The man at the far left is unidentified.

 

 

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.