[354] Have you heard? MTSU debating the Irish, painting colleges, driving on chicken fat

MTSU students, faculty and staff took to airwaves recently to discuss a highly successful season thus far by the Blue Raider Debaters, a recently launched tour of community colleges to bring more transfer students to campus and a longtime professor’s recently completed cross-country trip fueled by chicken fat!

Listeners of WGNS radio heard details on these efforts during the March 16 “Action Line” program with veteran host Bart Walker.

The live program was broadcast on FM 100.5, 101.9 and AM 1450 from the WGNS studio in downtown Murfreesboro. If you missed it, you can listen to a podcast of the show here.

Guests included:

• Dr. Pat Richey, MTSU director of forensics and coach of the Blue Raider Debate Team, and MTSU senior Hailey Lawson, team captain, discussed the team’s impressive spring season thus far, including winning a regional championship earlier this semester. The team is fifth in the nation in the novice division, and 11^th in the nation in the varsity division.

The team is excited to host the Irish debate team from March 31-April 3, including an April 1 exhibition debate between MTSU and Irish debaters in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. That event is free and open to the public.

• Wendi Pelfrey, MTSU interim director of undergraduate recruitment, discussed the recently launched “Paint the Colleges True Blue” tour. MTSU is sending teams of counselors and representatives to seven Tennessee Board of Regents community colleges in March and April to aid students who have their sights set on the four-year institution.

Representatives will assist students who wish to transition to MTSU and provide them with information about the Murfreesboro campus, the transfer process and the university’s advising and student success services. The workshops will also help students who wish to declare Dual Admissions status. Read the full story here.

• Dr. Cliff Ricketts, alternative fuels researcher and professor in the School of Agriscience and Agribusiness, discussed his “Southern Fried Fuel” cross-country trip, which recently wrapped up in Seattle and was fueled by biodiesel made from chicken fat and used cooking oil from MTSU dining services.

The 38-year-veteran MTSU alternative fuels researcher had his 2014 trip aborted by a transmission problem near Kansas City last November, but vowed to regroup in the spring. Ricketts and his team make the 1,850-mile trek March 8-10, during spring break for MTSU students and faculty members. Read about the trip here.

Students, faculty and staff who are interested in guesting on WGNS to promote their MTSU-related activities should contact Jimmy Hart, director of news and media relations, at 615-898-5131 or via email at jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu.