[270] Global studies professor combines photography, geography on ‘MTSU On the Record’

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —A professor who combines her love of travel and her love of photography will be the guest on the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Christabel Devadoss, a lecturer in the Department of Global Studies and Human Geography, will air from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, and from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5 and www.wmot.org.

Devadoss teaches Geography of Asia/Pacific Rim, Introduction to Regional Geography and Cultural Geography. She earned her bachelor’s degree in visual journalism from Kent State University in 2009, her master’s degree in geography from Kent State in 2014 and her doctorate in geography from West Virginia University in 2018.

A member of the Professional Photographers of America, Devadoss has displayed her photos and prints of national and international landscapes at galleries throughout northeast Ohio and on her website at www.christabeldevadoss.com.

Devadoss, whose grandfathers were photographers, said she uses photos she has taken in India, Spain and all over the world in her classes to spark interest and conversation.

“Textbook photographs are good sometimes, but I like to bring in a little bit more exciting images that I think students can relate to or find more interesting,” Devadoss said.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://bit.ly/mtsu-otr.

For more information about the radio program, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800. 

[269] MTSU’s Baum sworn in to General Assembly’s House District 37 seat

MURFREESBORO — A Middle Tennessee State University business professor was among legislators sworn in this week for the 111th Tennessee General Assembly.

Charles Baum, an economics and finance professor in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, was sworn in Tuesday as a Republican state representative for Murfreesboro's 37th District in the state House of Representatives. 

“I am honored to have been elected to represent District 37 in the Tennessee State House,” Baum said. “I am excited to serve, as we work to find innovative ways to provide education and improve health care while budgeting responsibly.  

“Thank you to the district residents for your support. I really appreciate it."

Baum takes the seat previously held by Dawn White, an MTSU alumna who gave up the seat for a successful run for state Senate. Baum’s district covers parts of north central Rutherford County, stretching from Murfreesboro north to the county line.

Baum previously served from 2010-2018 on the Rutherford County Commission, where he chaired the commission’s Audit Committee and served on the commission’s Budget, Finance, and Investment Committee.

Baum and wife Kelly have three children, Elizabeth, Anna Jane, and Charles, who attend the Siegel schools in Murfreesboro, and they are active members of First United Methodist Church in Murfreesboro.

Other MTSU alumni and supporters in the Rutherford County legislative delegation were also in the spotlight with Tuesday’s opening of the Tennessee General Assembly, including White and fellow state Sen. Shane Reeves; state Rep. Tim Rudd; state Rep. Mike Sparks; and Rep. Bryan Terry.

[268] MTSU study estimates alumni generated $8B in business revenue in Tenn.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University already boasts almost 100,000 alumni in Tennessee alone, adding 5,230 more alums — many who will remain in the Midstate — during the latest academic year.

Many of those alumni start families, build careers and businesses, buy homes, goods and services, all while expanding the tax base. MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, also known as BERC, recently released a study that sought to better quantify the economic impact Blue Raider alums have across the state.

Key findings from BERC’s study include: MTSU alumni and their employees generated over $8 billion in business revenue within Tennessee in 2017; and over $3 billion in total business revenue was generated within Tennessee that year by the added value of MTSU degrees earned.

The full study can be viewed at https://bit.ly/2SgbMGD. 

Murat Arik, director of BERC and study author, said the value of an MTSU degree is sizable, particularly for the many first-generation college students who come to the university "to unlock their futures," he said. 

With more than 300 combined undergraduate and graduate programs, MTSU offers degrees across the arts and sciences, from theatre to teaching, mechatronics to music, aerospace to audio engineering, language to logistics, and much more.

“More and more of these businesses are requiring advanced skill sets," said Arik, noting that MTSU’s presence in the Midstate factored into Amazon’s recent decision to locate an operations center in Nashville. “More businesses out there are looking for employees with a college-level education."

Not surprisingly, MTSU alums have an outsized presence in the university’s home county of Rutherford, but also in adjacent counties such as Bedford and Cannon where “for every two degree-holders you meet on the street, one will be an MTSU alumnus,” Arik said.

MTSU continues to be the No. 1 choice for Tennessee transfer students, as well as the top provider of graduates to the Greater Nashville economy and the top choice of Tennessee adults (ages 25 and up) seeking a four-year degree. 

Alumnus Darrell Freeman Sr. isn’t shy about being a proud Middle Tennessee State University alum and challenged the 1,700-plus new alumni to make their own impact during welcoming remarks inside Hale Arena at the recent fall commencement at Murphy Center.

“Today, we celebrate your many accomplishments,” Freeman said. “Tomorrow you will change the world. Do it with integrity, with truth and do it with honor.”

A first-generation college student himself, Freeman earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MTSU before founding Zycron Inc., a multimillion-dollar information technology services and solutions firm based in Nashville that he sold in 2017 for more than $20 million.

Freeman, now executive chairman at Zycron, also currently serves as vice chairman of the MTSU Board of Trustees. He’s an example of the many successful MTSU alumni — such as fellow trustees J.B. Baker, CEO and owner of Spring Logistics, and Andy Adams, former Chairman and CEO of National Healthcare Corp., to name a few — who remain in the Midstate to launch successful professional careers. 

“I came to MTSU in 1983, the first person in my family to go to college,” Freeman said. “… Without MTSU I don’t know where I would be. I’ve got some guesses. But there is a student on this campus waiting for us to change their lives.”

For more information about the BERC economic impact study, contact Arik 615-898-5424 or email Murat.Arik@mtsu.edu.

KEY FINDINGS OF BERC MTSU ALUMNI IMPACT STUDY

Alumni by state 

                        

■ A total of 99,530 MTSU alumni live and work in Tennessee. 

■ Georgia (3,679), Florida (3,009), Texas (2,191), and Alabama (2,175) have the largest MTSU alumni populations after Tennessee. 

Tennessee alumni

■ MTSU alumni accounted for 71 percent of human capital growth in Rutherford County, 16 percent in the Nashville MSA, and 13 percent in Tennessee for 2016. 

■ Cannon, Bedford, Rutherford, Coffee, and Moore counties have the highest percentage of alumni among degree-holders at 62 percent, 51 percent, 46 percent, 41.5 percent, and 39.5 percent, respectively. 

MTSU alumni 

■ Rutherford (26,610), Davidson (17,078), Williamson (8,986), Wilson (5,596), and Sumner (4,363) counties have the highest number of alumni. 

Core impact 

■ Over $3 billion in total business revenue was generated within Tennessee by the added value of MTSU degrees earned. 

■ The Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville MSAs had additional total business revenue of $2.3 billion, $168.7 million, and $116.5 million, respectively. 

■ Among counties, Davidson benefited the most with $613.7 million in total additional business revenue. 

Economic contributions 

■ Over $8.3 billion in business revenue resulted from activities of MTSU alumni within Tennessee. 

■ The Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville MSAs had total business revenue of $6.3 billion, $276 million, and $263 million, respectively. 

■ Rutherford County had the highest total business revenue among counties at $2.1 billion. 

Extended economic contributions

■ MTSU alumni and their employees generated over $9 billion in business revenue within Tennessee. 

■ The Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville MSAs had total business revenue of $6.8 billion, $296 million, and $282 million, respectively. 

■ Davidson County had the highest total business revenue, over $1.7 billion. 

[267] MTSU’s John Hood to be honored by Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Former state Rep. John Hood, MTSU’s director of government and community affairs, was named Thursday by the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce as recipient of its 2018 Doug Young Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the university and community.

Hood, whose career spans six decades with posts in radio, banking, human resources, higher education and government service at the city, county and state levels, will be honored at the chamber’s annual Business at its Best event on Jan. 31 at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel & Conference Center.

The chamber also will recognize Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital President and CEO Gordon Ferguson as 2018 Business Legend of the Year; real estate executive John Harney as the 2018 Business Person of the Year; and Smyrna Police Chief and MTSU alumnus Kevin Arnold as recipient of the Leadership Rutherford 2018 Pinnacle Award.

“A Rutherford County native, Hood’s blood runs True Blue,” the chamber noted in its press release.

Prior to Hood’s current position at MTSU, he represented the 48th District in the Tennessee General Assembly’s House of Representatives from 1996 to 2008. Preceding his political service, he spent 20 years as vice president of marketing for SunTrust Bank; 10 years at MTSU as the first director of development, followed by assistant to the president; six years as personnel manager for Samsonite Corporation; and 10 years in radio with WGNS-AM and WMTS-FM.

Hood was a member of the Rutherford County Quarterly Court, now the County Commission, from 1968 to 1978 and the Murfreesboro City School Board from 1967 to 1983.

In 1954, Hood received a bachelor’s degree from MTSU followed by his master’s degree in education in 1974. He is a military veteran, having served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956.

Hood’s history of community service is one that spans decades. Affiliations include the Exchange Club of Murfreesboro, United Way of Rutherford & Cannon counties, Read to Succeed and the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, where he has served as a diplomat for the past 18 years.

Previous leadership roles include national president of the Exchange Clubs of America; chairman of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce; president of the Tennessee School Boards Association; chairman of the Tennessee Advisory Board for the AAA Auto Club Group; president of the MTSU National Alumni Association; and treasurer of the Rutherford County Emergency Communications District.

He was the 2012 recipient of the Murfreesboro City Schools Foundation’s Excellence in Education Award. In 2014, the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce named Hood Business Legend of the Year.

Hood was inducted in to the Tennessee Journalism Hall of fame in 2016, and in 2017 he was honored with the American Red Cross “Hero” Award.

John and his late wife, Marilyn, have three children, Garry W. Hood, Rebecca Hagan and Mark R. Hood; and four grandchildren, Christin H. Waters, twins Grady and Cooper Hood and John Robin Hood.

Reservations for the 11:30 a.m. Jan. 31 event are $50 for Chamber members and $65 for non-members. To reserve a seat, contact the Chamber at 615-893-6565 or visit www.rutherfordchamber.org.

[266] ‘MTSU On the Record’ focuses on department’s growing relationship with TBI State Academy

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — MTSU’s relationships with law enforcement officersfrom across the state will be the focus of the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Ben Stickle, an assistant professor of criminal justice administration at MTSU, will air from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, and from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 13, on WMOT-FM Roots Radio 89.5and www.wmot.org.

MTSU’s Department of Criminal Justice Administrationpresented the new Nov. 1 graduates of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation State Academywith digital cameras for taking photos of crime scenes.

“We are hoping to forge a partnership not only with TBI, but with each of these agencies,” Stickle said. “These were officers from across the state, from an investigative background, and they were coming to a central location to receive some advanced training.”

The TBI established the State Academy to give Tennessee law enforcement officers an opportunity to continue and enhance their professional development. Attendees must have a minimum of five years’ experience as a full-time commissioned officer of a Tennessee law enforcement agency to attend the six-week course. 

Those who complete the academy curriculum and enroll at MTSU also can earn nine undergraduate college credits in criminal justice administration for three senior-level courses: Criminal Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation and Special Issues in Criminal Justice.

The university offers a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration with concentrations in law enforcement and homeland security and a master’s degree in criminal justice. 

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://bit.ly/mtsu-otr.

For more information about the radio program, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800. 

[265] MTSU BioTAP Scholar Reid’s research examines roles of biology grad students’ social networks

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —MTSU graduate student Joshua Reidfinds himself in select company this academic year.

Reid, 26, of Murfreesboro, is one of 18 people from across the U.S. to be named a BioTAP Scholarfor 2018-19 by collecting and analyzing data as a group for one year.

The Biology Teaching Assistant Project, or BioTAP, is a research coordination network funded by the National Science Foundation to empower universities to use research to improve the quality of graduate student teaching.

Reid is pursuing a mathematics and science education doctorate degree at MTSU, specializing in biology education. The Cullman, Alabama, native earned his master’s degree from Alabama A&M in Huntsville following his bachelor’s and associate degrees from Athens State University and Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, respectively.

Following a selective application process, he and the others, which included only about four grad students and the rest faculty members, began to enact research projects that identify biology graduate teaching assistant teaching professional development.

Reid said biology graduate students enter graduate school under two developing roles: researcher and teacher. 

“I am looking at the social networks of biology graduate students to see how they may reinforce these roles, produce conflicts between these roles or promote positive relationships between these roles,” he said.

To date, the BioTAP project is on track, timing-wise, Reid added. 

“The project is one smaller study of my dissertation, which includes three studies,” he said. “I am planning to defend my dissertation proposal in January and begin collecting this data in the spring.” 

The group met online early on, then groups working on similar projects get together every two to three months.

“We have made collaborations that will last forever,” Reid said.

Bud Fischer, dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, told Reid he had done “a great job” in completing the process and being selected a BioTAP Scholar. 

“We are thrilled that Josh is representing math and science education and MTSU as he continues to develop his expertise as a biology education scholar,” Fischer added.

Reid told Fischer he is “truly grateful to have a supportive college, faculty and mentors to support me in my endeavors.”

Provost Mark Byrnessaid this is great for Reid and the university.

“Joshua’s been tremendous in his role as a graduate teaching assistant and this certainly is outstanding recognition,” Byrnes said. “We look forward to seeing his progress and results next year.”

Reid, who is being mentored by biology assistant professor Grant Gardner, said his time at MTSU has “been pleasant” since arriving in fall 2016. “I have been provided a lot of opportunities to grow and develop as a scholar,” he added.

MTSUhas more than 300 combined undergraduate and graduate programs. Biology, in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, one of the programs.

[264] MTSU commissions four as U.S. Army second lieutenants

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —Four recent MTSUgraduates were commissioned as U.S. Army second lieutenants Friday (Dec. 21) during a formal ceremony in the Tom H. Jackson Building’s Cantrell Hall.

U.S. Army Col. John A. Gobel, commander of the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 230^thSustainment Brigade, provided remarks, welcoming the new commissionees into the next phase of their military careers.

The ceremony is a tradition for the ROTC program, which has seen the student cadets prepare for service to their country.

Those commissioned as second lieutenants included:

• Joseph C. Decker, a business administration major from Lebanon, Tennessee.

• Ricardo Gonzalez, an integrated studies major from Philadelphia, Tennessee.

• Cody B. Magee, an aerospace flight dispatch major from Clarksville, Tennessee.

• Elizabeth N. Rhone, a psychology and political science double major from Knoxville, Tennessee.

Gobel shared with them similar words he told his son, John, who joined him at the MTSU commissioning and who is in the University of Alabama’s ROTC program and will be commissioned next spring. 

“The real first thing I told him was to learn the eight steps to the troop-leading procedures … you will use those eight steps time and time again throughout your career,” Gobel said.

“Next, I told him to be engaged, to show that you want to be there, to be part of the organization, that you want to contribute,” he added. 

“It will be the same at your first unit, ”Gobel said. “When they first meet the new lieutenant, they will be professional and welcoming, but it is not until you show them that you are listening to advice, learning the organization, asking good questions and being an active part of the unit, that you are engaged, that you want to be there that they will accept you as their leader. And once they know you are engaged, they will do everything they can to help you succeed.”

The Gobel-led 230^thSustainment Brigade, which is about 1,800 members strong, is headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with battalions in Johnson City, Humboldt and Smyrna, Tennessee. He was appointed in August.

Gobel has served in various staff and leadership assignments with the Army National Guard and Army Reserves. He enlisted in the Army National Guard in September 1989, serving as an infantry rifleman. After completing the ROTC program at the University of Maine, he was commissioned as an infantry officer in May 1991.

Lt. Col. Carrick McCarthyoversaw his first commissioning ceremony as the leader of the Department of Military Science.

“I can attest … these cadets have met every challenge and have overcome every obstacle necessary to become successful officers,” McCarthy said. “They have demonstrated professional competency, character above reproach and a commitment to serve their country and their future soldiers as leaders.”

“For alumni and other veterans in the room, I can assure you that you can be proud of these young officers who will soon take the oath of officership and join the ranks of those of us who have worn the uniform in service to our nation,” McCarthy added. 

MTSUhas more than 300 combined undergraduate and graduate programs. Military science is one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciencesdepartments.

[263] MTSU physical education courses get good grades for veteran friendliness

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —A data analysis website ranks MTSU among the top colleges in the nation for veterans studying physical education.

College Factual’s 2019 national and state rankings place MTSU’s physical education programs 61^stin the country and third in the state of Tennessee for veteran friendliness. This puts MTSU in the top 15 percent of all colleges studied in both categories. The Troy, New York-based company studied a total of 456 schools nationwide, 15 of which are in Tennessee.

Courses on MTSU’s physical education degree track range from backpacking and hiking to applied kinesiology and biomechanics. Possible careers include strength trainer, veterans hospital recreation director, dance therapist, emergency services personnel instructor, stress management consultant and many more. 

MTSU also boasts the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center, which helps student-veterans with the transition from the military to civilian life and with educational and job-seeking resources.

College Factual touts itself as “the leading source of data analytics and insights on college outcomes,” according to www.collegefactual.com. The website provides information on more than 2,500 colleges and universities and more than 350 college majors.

For more information, contact Doug Winborn, chair of the MTSU Department of Health and Human Performance, at 615-898-5110 or john.winborn@mtsu.edu. Specific information on physical education degrees is available at https://www.mtsu.edu/programs/physical-education/index.php.

[262] MTSU professor debunks myths about becoming happier, ‘self-actualized’ person

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — If the upcoming end of the year finds you in a contemplative mood about New Year’s resolutions and how to improve your life, you’re probably more than ready to say goodbye to 2018.

Some folks might take a cue from Abraham Maslow, a 20^th century American psychologist whose work is cited in academic journals and studied in universities worldwide. However, there are numerous myths about Maslow’s theories that abound and should not be accepted as part of his work. 

Those myths are debunked in a scholarly writing by MTSU psychology professor emeritus William Compton, who has studied Maslow’s concept of “self-actualization,” or reaching one’s fullest potential.

For more than 50 years, Compton, who is an adjunct professor in the College of Graduate Studies, has examined how people pursue well-being in their lives. He wrote the world’s first comprehensive textbook on positive psychology in 2004. The third edition, co-authored with Edward Hoffman, will be available in 2019.

Compton said Maslow is best known for creating a “hierarchy of needs,” a ranking of human development covering basic needs like food and shelter to mental and emotional needs. The hierarchy frequently is expressed in a pyramid shape, but Compton said Maslow found that to be problematic. 

The pyramid often misleads people to think they have to meet the lower needs fully to progress to the higher ones, as though life were a ladder-like existence.

“He said that you move back and forth between the needs, depending on the situation, depending on where you are in your life at a certain point in time, and it’s a very dynamic and fluid process,” Compton said.

Another assumption about the hierarchy is that it ignores intellectual and creative needs. Compton asserted that Maslow believed some of us don’t necessarily have to be brainy or artistic to be our best possible selves.

“The quest for higher wisdom, maybe, is not one of their motivating factors,” Compton said. “The artistic quest is not one of their motivating factors, but that’s no reason they have to be held back from reaching their potentials.”

Compton said self-actualization is not elitist, even though “self” is part of the word. In fact, Compton contended, Maslow thought self-actualized people tend to think more about others than themselves because they’ve moved beyond their basic needs.

In fact, in his later years, Maslow observed that many self-actualized people had a strong spiritual orientation. Compton said that helping others and being of service gave those people a sense of connection with the rest of the world, with a larger reality than just their own lives. This is a message that is especially popular at this time of the year.

Even so, those who look for a quick fix for depression or malaise won’t find it in Maslow’s philosophy. Compton warned that Maslow never claimed that self-actualized people are happier than other people. However, Maslow did say that self-actualization was available to anyone at any time, regardless of oppressive circumstances.

“Social aspects of our life — racism, sexism, a number of those kinds of issues — none of those had to get in the way,” Compton said. “You could become a self-actualizing person in spite of all that.”

Compton retired from MTSU in 2016. His article, “Self-Actualization Myths: What Did Maslow Really Say?,” was published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology in March 2018.

[261] University Writing Center’s director in spotlight on ‘MTSU On the Record’

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —The professor in charge of one of the university’s most widely used learning resources will be the guest on the next “MTSU On the Record” radio program.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Erica Cirillo-McCarthy, an English professor and director of the University Writing Center, will air from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 25, and from 6 to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 30, on WMOT-FM and www.wmot.org.

Since students must write papers in practically every class they take, the center is an essential aid to students with questions and concerns. Located in Room 362 of the James E. Walker Library, the center provides students one-on-one tutoring sessions with writing consultants by appointment. 

“We see writing as a social act,” Cirillo-McCarthy said. “Even though you might write, say, at 2 a.m. in your dorm room, at the end of the day, your writing is for an audience. So why not start that relationship, that partnership with someone who can act as an interested audience? And that’s what tutors do.”

The center’s personnel also engage in outreach services to local schools and compiles and edits “Off Center: A Creative Magazine for the MTSU Community.” The latest edition is at https://www.mtsu.edu/offcenter/issues.php​.

Cirillo-McCarthy took over directorship of the center in fall 2018. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida Atlantic University in 2003 and 2006, respectively, and her doctorate from the University of Arizona in 2012.

To hear previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to http://bit.ly/mtsu-otr.

For more information about the radio program, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800. 

[260] MTSU closes Dec. 24 through Jan. 1 for holiday break

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —MTSU will be closed from Monday, Dec. 24, through Tuesday, Jan. 1, for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, university officials announced. 

The university will reopen at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, and resume normal business hours.

Students and faculty will remain on winter break. Spring semester classes will begin Monday, Jan. 14. Daily campus tours will resume that day. For more information about tours, go online to https://www.mtsu.edu/schedule-a-visit/calendar.php.

The James E. Walker Librarywill be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, then closed from Saturday, Dec. 22 through Tuesday, Jan. 1.

The Campus Recreation Centerfitness center is closed until Jan. 2. Offices will be open regular hours Dec. 20-21. (Full list of all hours of operation)

The holiday closings also include the Student Union, Student Health Services, Campus Pharmacy,James Union Buildingand Keathley University Center. The pharmacy and Student Health Services will be open Dec. 21, but closed until Jan. 2.

MT Dining Servicesessentially will be closed, but check the MT Mobile App or go online to https://mtsu.campusdish.comto check for specific days certain venues might be open Dec. 20-21.

MTSUhas more than 300 combined undergraduate and graduate programs.

[259] MTSU professor debunks myths about becoming happier, ‘self-actualized’ person

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —If the upcoming end of the year finds you in a contemplative mood about New Year’s resolutions and how to improve your life, you’re probably more than ready to say goodbye to 2018.

Some folks might take a cue from Abraham Maslow, a 20^thcentury American psychologist whose work is cited in academic journals and studied in universities worldwide. However, there are numerous myths about Maslow’s theories that abound and should not be accepted as part of his work. 

Those myths are debunked in a scholarly writing by MTSU psychology professor emeritus William Compton, who has studied Maslow’s concept of “self-actualization,” or reaching one’s fullest potential.

For more than 50 years, Compton, who is an adjunct professor in the College of Graduate Studies, has examined how people pursue well-being in their lives. He wrote the world’s first comprehensive textbook on positive psychology in 2004. The third edition, co-authored with Edward Hoffman, will be available in 2019.

Compton said Maslow is best known for creating a “hierarchy of needs,” a ranking of human development covering basic needs like food and shelter to mental and emotional needs. The hierarchy frequently is expressed in a pyramid shape, but Compton said Maslow found that to be problematic. 

The pyramid often misleads people to think they have to meet the lower needs fully to progress to the higher ones, as though life were a ladder-like existence. 

“He said that you move back and forth between the needs, depending on the situation, depending on where you are in your life at a certain point in time, and it’s a very dynamic and fluid process,” Compton said.

Another assumption about the hierarchy is that it ignores intellectual and creative needs. Compton asserted that Maslow believed some of us don’t necessarily have to be brainy or artistic to be our best possible selves.

“The quest for higher wisdom, maybe, is not one of their motivating factors,” Compton said. “The artistic quest is not one of their motivating factors, but that’s no reason they have to be held back from reaching their potentials.”

Compton said self-actualization is not elitist, even though “self” is part of the word. In fact, Compton contended, Maslow thought self-actualized people tend to think more about others than themselves because they’ve moved beyond their basic needs.

In fact, in his later years, Maslow observed that many self-actualized people had a strong spiritual orientation. Compton said that helping others and being of service gave those people a sense of connection with the rest of the world, with a larger reality than just their own lives. This is a message that is especially popular at this time of the year.

Even so, those who look for a quick fix for depression or malaise won’t find it in Maslow’s philosophy. Compton warned that Maslow never claimed that self-actualized people are happier than other people. However, Maslow did say that self-actualization was available to anyone at any time, regardless of oppressive circumstances.

“Social aspects of our life — racism, sexism, a number of those kinds of issues — none of those had to get in the way,” Compton said. “You could become a self-actualizing person in spite of all that.”

Compton retired from MTSU in 2016. His article, “Self-Actualization Myths: What Did Maslow Really Say?,” was published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology in March 2018. 

[258] MTSU Christmas Village helps children learn about agriculture

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —The recent Christmas Villageat MTSU introduced many children to a holiday-themed agricultural experience.

The fourth annual event, held in early December, brought nearly 300 children and 600 people altogether to the Tennessee Livestock Center.

At Christmas Village, children have an opportunity to learn about agriculture, make Christmas crafts and see live animals and Santa and Mrs. Claus, all under one roof. To view a video slide show of the event, visit https://youtu.be/bMFdVzr3lgc.

“It was very successful,” said Alanna Vaught, an instructor in the MTSU School of Agriculture. “We moved it to the livestock center’s big arena and it received rave reviews. People liked how there was more space and it could accommodate more people.”

About 290 children attended the event and a combined 500-plus children and parents enjoyed the festivities. Volunteers, which included Vaught’s agritourism class and a Cannon County High School FFA group, increased the crowd to nearly 600. 

Children saw a cow, goat and sheep. They spent time in Little Acres interactive exhibit, allowing them to be a farmer for a day. This was provided by the Rutherford County Farm Bureau women and featured collecting eggs, milking a cow and selling agricultural products. Cookies, MTSU Creamery chocolate milk, a hay bale maze and more were available.

The event raised $2,600 after expenses, which will go toward the continued promoting of agriculture with educational materials to children and high school students, Vaught said. About $1,000 was made through walk-ups that morning.

The following week, Vaught and Kacey Roberts delivered five large boxes of food items to the MTSU Food Pantry. It was collected at the door from attendees by members of the agritourism class and Woodbury, Tennessee, FFA group.

For more information about the 2019 event, which is led by the MTSU agritourism class, call 615-653-6018.

MTSUhas more than 300 combined undergraduate and graduate programs.

[257] In the News: MTSU experts opine on hemp, racism, Amazon, mortgages, Williamson County and more

Dr. Elliot Altman, a professor of biology and director of the Tennessee Center for Botanical Medicine Research, was interviewed by the Nashville Ledger for a Nov. 16 story about the uses of hemp. His words are available here.

Altman clarified the difference between the therapeutic properties of CBD and THC in the cannabis plant, for a Dec. 13 post at www.f3nws.com. His comments can be accessed here.

Dr. Dan Morrell, an associate professor of management, commented on an employer who fired a nurse for wearing a T-shirt featuring a Confederate flag and a noose for a Nov. 16 story in the Memphis Commercial Appeal. His views can be read here.

Dr. Vincent Windrow, associate vice provost for student success, delivered an address on how to empower first-generation college students at the second annual EAB national student success summit Oct. 3-5 in Washington, D.C. Video was posted on the EAB blog Nov. 19 and is viewable here.

Dr. Murat Arik, director of the Business and Economic Research Center, explained why Amazon picked Nashville as the location for its second headquarters in a Nov. 21 story in Smart Cities Dive. His views can be read here.

Charlie Dahan, a professor of recording industry, is featured in a new documentary about the Gennett record label, according to a story in the Nov. 24 Richmond (Indiana) Palladium-Item. His remarks can be accessed here.

Dr. Christabel Devadoss, a lecturer in the Department of Global Studies and Human Geography, discussed her photography exhibit in the Conneaut Arts Center for a Nov. 25 story in the Ashtabula (Ohio) Star Beacon. Her comments are available here.

Kent Syler, a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Affairs, explained the political importance of Williamson County in Tennessee for a Nov. 25 story in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. His views can be read here.

Syler also mentioned several potential candidates for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Lamar Alexander in a Dec. 18 column in The Daily Memphian. His views are available here.

Dr. Philip Seagraves, an economics and finance professor, denounced so-called online mortgage calculators for a Dec. 11 post at www.cnbc.com. His comments can be accessed here.

Dr. Larry Burriss, a professor of journalism, explained holiday scams on the Internet for a Dec. 12 report on WSMV-TV in Nashville. The transcript and the video are available here.

Mark Montgomery, an adjunct professor of recording industry, talked about returning to investing in and advising creative-leaning startup businesses after grieving the loss of his wife in 2015 in a Dec. 17 story in The Tennessean. His comments can be read here.

Dr. Jane Marcellus, a professor of journalism and strategic media, commented on how associate professors can achieve full professorship for a Dec. 18 story at www.insidehighered.com. Her opinions are available here.

Reporters seeking expertise from MTSU personnel, as well as members of the campus community with expertise for media, may contact Gina Loguein the Office of News and Media Relations at 615-898-5081 or via email at gina.logue@mtsu.edu.

[256] Q3 TENN. HOUSING MARKET REPORT: Home prices keep rising; closings slow, inventories up in some areas

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Home prices continue to increase across the state and are at their highest level in the past decade, according the latest quarterly housing report from the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center.

While some indicators — vacancy rates, home closings and mortgages — showed dips compared to the previous year, Tennessee’s growth “is still progressing and represents a robust working environment” with very low unemployment, noted BERC Director Murat Arik, author of the report.

See the full current and previous reports with detailed breakdowns and summaries by going to http://mtsu.edu/berc/housing.phpand clicking the appropriate links.

Other report highlights:

• HOME SALES:All three regions of the state have experienced growth in home closings over the year, though the data indicate slower activity in closings throughout Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphissince the beginning of 2018. 

Quarterly closings show marginal declines in the Knoxville(6.59 percent), Memphis(3.99 percent), and Nashville(0.02 percent) areas. 

Quarterly inventories increased in all three areas with Nashville leading at 14.26 percent, followed by Knoxville with 2.18 percent and Memphis with 3.03 percent. 

“This may indicate a small correction in the market for home sales, as closings in all three areas are at a low since the beginning of this year,” Arik noted.

Nashville’s closings have steadily declined while its inventory has continually increased since the beginning of the third quarter.

• HOUSING CONSTRUCTION:Tennessee saw growth in single-family, multifamily, and total construction permits from the last quarter as well as year over year.

Compared with last quarter, the most significant increase was in multifamily permits, which saw a 35.5 percent boost, followed by a nearly 4 percent increase in total permits and a 2 percent increase in single-family permits.

• HOME PRICES:Home prices continued their positive trend across the state, with increases across all Metropolitan Statistical Areas, or MSAs, tracked by this report. 

Areas showing the most growth from last year are the Clarksville MSA(11.5 percent), the Nashville MSA(9.9 percent), and the Jackson MSA(7.8 percent). Housing prices for the state are up 7.7 percent from last year, which is 1.1 percentage points higher than the nation’s yearly growth. 

Other areas worth noting are the Johnson City MSAand the Kingsport-Bristol MSA, which have both reported much stronger growth than in the previous quarter.

• FORECLOSURES:Tennessee’s foreclosure rate was the lowest in at least 18 years, although mortgages past due are up compared to the second quarter.

Even so, for Tennessee, mortgages past due are down by 0.34 percentage points from last year. Comparatively, they are also down for the U.S. by 0.02 percentage points year over year.

BERC’s report is funded by Tennessee Housing Development Agency. The quarterly report offers an overview of the state's economy as it relates to the housing market and includes data on employment, housing construction, rental vacancy rates, real estate transactions and mortgages, home sales and prices, delinquencies and foreclosures.

The Business and Economic Research Center operates under the Jennings A. Jones College of Businessat MTSU. For more information, visit http://mtsu.edu/berc/.

THDA publishes research on affordable housing, its programs and beneficiaries. THDA also coordinates state planning for housing through the Consolidated Planning process, annual Action Plans, and annual Performance Reports.  See http://thda.org/research-planning/research-planningfor more information.

[255] MTSU survey: Tennessee consumers a bit less positive about economy this holiday season

Latest statewide snapshot points to recent stock market volatility

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Despite a strong stretch for the U.S. economy, MTSU’s most recent statewide survey of consumers indicatestheir economic outlook continues to weaken and is slightly worse than it was a year ago.

The Tennessee Consumer Outlook Index dropped to 159 from 199 in September, reports the Office of Consumer Research in MTSU Jones College of Business. This continues a similar decline from June to September of this year. 

“However, the overall mood of Tennessee consumers remains positive, albeit not as positive as it was earlier this year,” said Tim Graeff, marketing professor and director of the Office of Consumer Research. 

Graeff noted that the general decline in outlook was consistent across the state with consumers in Middle and East Tennessee showing the largest decline in outlook. To see the full report and previous reports, go to https://www.mtsu.edu/consumer/tnoutlookreports.php.

The current online survey of 630 Tennessee consumers was conducted Dec. 3-7 and has a margin of error of 4 percent. 

A decline in consumer outlook is not the news businesses and retailers like hearing heading into December, since many retailers rely heavily on December sales numbers, Graeff noted. 

The majority (62 percent) of survey respondents expect to spend less than $500 on gifts this year. 

According to the survey, when buying Christmas and holiday gifts during the recent Thanksgiving weekend:

• most consumers did their shopping online (39 percent) 

• or at big box retailers such as Walmart and Target (31 percent)

• and one-third of Tennessee did not do any shopping this Thanksgiving weekend.

Nevertheless, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain “strong and solid,” Graeff said. 

“As such, it is possible these declines in outlook are merely a correction, as consumers find it hard to believe the economy can continue to grow and expand at its current pace, evidenced by recent volatility in the stock market,” he said.

With that volatility top of mind, Graeff said “it is easy to see why consumers’ expectations for the stock market and their investments have faded” since the market saw “wild fluctuations” during the survey period of the first week in December.

From Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped a total of 878 points, or almost 3.5 percent, with some single day declines during this period reaching nearly 800 points.

For more information, contact Graeff at 615-898-5124 or Tim.Graeff@mtsu.edu. Or visit www.mtsu.edu/consumer.

[254] MTSU recruits TBI State Academy graduates for more law enforcement education

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —The latest graduating class from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation State Academy has a clear picture of the evidence.

MTSU spent about $11,000 providing law enforcement officers from around the state who successfully completed a six-week course at the academy Nov. 1 with professional cameras for taking photos at crime scenes.

“This would capture a much higher quality of picture,” said Ben Stickle, an assistant professor of criminal justice administration who lectured at the academy in September. “It would also allow them to do a variety of things that are necessary for crime scene photography such as shooting in very low light and taking very close-up pictures of fingerprints and things like that.”

In cementing a reciprocal relationship with the academy, MTSU hopes to provide working law enforcement officials with even greater opportunities for professional development.

The academy was created for officers who wish to continue and enhance their skills and knowledge. Attendees must have a minimum of five years of experience as a full-time commissioned officer of a Tennessee law enforcement agency to attend the academy located at 901 R.S. Gass Blvd. in Nashville. Stickle said MTSU professors found the curriculum to be enlightening. 

“We were highly impressed,” Stickle said. “Many of the individuals they bring in to speak are highly recognized in their fields.”

The department was so impressed that TBI State Academy graduates now can receive up to nine hours of undergraduate credit for their time at the academy if they enroll at MTSU. The credits are for courses in criminal investigation, crime scene investigation and special issues in criminal justice.

MTSU offers a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration entirely online with concentrations available in law enforcement and homeland security. A master’s degree in criminal justice also is available totally online to accommodate working peace officers.

The Department of Criminal Justice Administration faculty members have experience in police departments, probation and parole, juvenile justice, prosecution, criminal defense, corrections, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Secret Service.

Stickle, a former officer with the Bowling Green, Kentucky, police force, said there has been a push ever since the 1950s to get more college-educated police officers into the field.

For more information about MTSU’s criminal justice programs, contact the department at 615-898-2630 or go to https://www.mtsu.edu/criminaljustice. For more information about the TBI State Academy, call 615-744-4374 or go to https://tinyurl.com/yd8nteoc.

[253] MTSU master’s students find zeal, prospects during internships

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —MTSU graduate students brought passion into their recent end-of-the-semester Master of Science in Professional Science presentations.

Single mother Katrece Holland, who has four children ages 7 to 16, said she “found I love public health” after spending a semester working for the Tennessee Department of Health in her native Chattanooga, Tennessee.

MTSU, the College of Basic and Applied Sciencesand the Jennings A. Jones College of Businesscreated the MSPS program in 2004 to provide Middle Tennessee with a highly educated and well-trained STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce.

The program received the Tennessee Board of RegentsAcademic Excellence Awardin 2010 and is recognized as a model program by the Council of Graduate Studies and the national Professional Science Master’s Association program.

Holland was one of six students sharing their conclusions to their internships this summer and fall. The others included:

• Xi Yuan (biostatistics), who did his internship at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

• Elizabeth Anne Maples-Vaught(geosciences) of Murfreesboro, an MTSU student and employee who performed her internship with MTSU Facilities Services.

• John Simpson(geosciences), whose internship took place in the MTSU hydrology lab.

• Patrick Fraser(health care informatics), whose internship was with Parallon in Nashville.

• Talha Umar(health care informatics), whose internship was with National Parts-Flail Master in Murfreesboro.

All of them graduated Saturday (Dec. 15) during MTSU commencement ceremonies. Some will land jobs with the companies they interned with this semester.

“I’m so glad I found my niche,” said Holland, a health care informatics major and mother to daughter Anara, 16; son Denim, 14; and 7-year-old twin sons Casenand Sky. “I was learning and growing, and I may end up at the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), which would be my dream job.”

Holland also said she would enjoy working for the American Cancer Society or St. Jude’s — somewhere “where I can make an impact and where money’s not involved. … I love public health.”

In her time with the state health department, she said her work involved “finding trends that lead to policy.”

Umar said three things he learned in the process were collaboration, organization and patience. He conducted inventory management, dealing with many “items sitting around 10 to 15 years” and helping organize the company’s warehouse.

As a full-time MTSU employee in Campus Planning and taking one class per semester, Maples-Vaught spent longer than the others in the program. “It has been good — hard at times — so I am glad I finished,” she said about producing a story map for Facilities Services.

Andy Flatt, senior vice president and chief information officer with NHC in Murfreesboro, said MTSU MSPS “is a very good program. It’s the right combination of business and science — MTSU is unique about that.”

No stranger to higher education, Flatt is a Lipscomb University graduate and has been chair of Lipscomb’s College of Computing and Technology Board and on Lipscomb’s College of Business Board. He is on the MSPS advisory board and said NHC will utilize two more MTSU students in spring 2019.

Laurie Fo, director of operations with National Parts-Flail Master, told the group that Umar brought “discipline, patience and was very professional. This was a very positive experience — the type of students you are putting out is outstanding.”

Vince Smith, MSPS business core coordinator, followed up with Fo’s comments by adding, “We can’t do this without you (employers).”

MTSUhas more than 300 combined undergraduate and graduate programs.