NEED TRAINING? CALL HRS!

Human Resource Services isproviding more training, with top-ics including “How To ManageDifficult Employees,” “A PositiveApproach to Discipline,” “When It

Just Cannot Be Avoided: The LongJourney and Well-OrganizedDocumentation For ImprovedPerformance,” “PerformanceEvaluations: The Ins-and-Outs,”“Hiring Top Performers,” “FiringUp The Engine: Introduction toSupervision,” “Supervising WorkTeams: Are We On The Same

Team?,” “So ... You Want To Becomea Supervisor” and “Was That theBest Decision?” For registrationinformation, visit http://boffice155.mtsu.edu:9599/intro.htm. If you needto modify or cancel a reservation orask questions, please contactWilliam Respress at 615-494-7832 orrespress@mtsu.edu.www.mtsunews.com

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MURFREESBORO TNPERMIT NO. 169

IN BRIEF

a publication for the Middle Tennessee State University community April 21, 2008 • Vol. 16/No. 20

Hall of Fame timeApril 26 ceremony honors

7 ‘exemplary’ state educatorssee page 3

Mixing up a win

SOUNDS GREAT—Recording industry professors and students celebrate a studentteam’s second-place win in the 2008 Student Mixing Competition sponsored by theNashville Section of the Audio Engineering Society. From left are professor and AESco-adviser Michael Fleming, seniors Morgan Hobbs and Austin Hanson, professorCosette Collier and senior Thomas May. MTSU teams won first in 2006 and 2007.

photo submitted

Dr. Gloria Bonner, current deanof the College of Educationand Behavioral Science, has

been chosen to lead the Office ofCommunity Engagement and Support,a newly created administrative officeinitiated to support MTSU’s overallmission to address the ever-growingneeds of both the university and thesurrounding community.

Bonner’s new OCES appointmentas an assistant to MTSU PresidentSidney A. McPhee and member of his

presidential cabinetwill become effectiveMay 1. The universi-ty will begin anational search laterthis year to fill thedeanship role thatBonner has held for adecade.

In announcingthe creation of theOCES, McPhee said

its impetus sprang from “a compellingneed for a new office whose missionand focus centered on engaging thecommunity with the overall goals andobjectives of the university as it pur-sues mutually beneficial opportunitiesand undertakes new challenges.”

As the fastest growing universityin the state, MTSU—for the pastdecade—has experienced an enroll-ment growth of 26 percent and hasbeen the largest undergraduate uni-versity in Tennessee since 2003. MTSUalso has experienced significantgrowth in academic and support pro-grams, including gaining the CarnegieFoundation designation as a majorcomprehensive doctoral degree-granti-ng institution.

Throughout this period ofunprecedented growth in both stu-dents and programming, however,MTSU’s administrative and organiza-tional growth has remained minimal,

by Lisa L. Rollins

Bonner willguide newcommunitysupport office

See ‘Bonner’ page 5

Bonner

Inside this edition:Collage brings home silver again, page 2Career-planning course a new effort, page 6‘Business Partners’ make connections, page 8 GGGG rrrr eeee aaaa tttt wwww oooo rrrr kkkk ,,,, pppp aaaa gggg eeee 4444

MTSU’s Students forEnvironmental Action willsponsor an Earth Day cele-

bration on Tuesday and Wednesday,April 22 and 23.

The festival will be held on theknoll in front of the KeathleyUniversity Center from 9 a.m. to 4:30p.m. each day in an effort to bringthe campus and community togetherin support of a common goal.

Earth Day events will kick offwith a climate-commitment signingby MTSU President Sidney A.McPhee shortly after noon April 22.

“The goal of the CampusClimate Commitment is to ensureMTSU’s continued success in thefight against global warming andother environmental issues,” saidCarl Caum, an officer for SEA.

“It also guarantees the universi-ty will do everything reasonable tocombat the problem by buildingmore energy efficient buildings andpurchasing more clean energy overtime, with the goal to become carbon-neutral.”

Activities on Tuesday willinclude an earth-friendly art showfeaturing artwork made of recycledmaterials, food from local vegetarianand vegan restaurants, live music

from local bands and organic shop-ping made available by OriginsSkincare and ThinkHappyStuff.com.

A “Green Dining” survey will beconducted on the Knoll to measurehow many students are vegetarian/vegan, what they are looking forfrom campus dining and how con-cerned they are about how waste ishandled.

A petition in support of the newTennessee Bottle Bill will be avail-able for students to sign. This billwould attach a redemption amountto almost all recyclable bottles, aswell as call for reusable glass bottles.

See ‘Earth’ page 5

by Claire Rogers

Entering the spring semester,efforts to reach the $10,000 goalfor the Senior Gift Program

stood just $2,000 shy of achieving themark, said Meredith Edington, coordi-nator of annual giving for the MTSUOffice of Development.

“Our goal is to get $10,000 so wecan endow it and every year give upto a $1,000 scholarship,” Edingtonsaid. The program began in 2005.

“The overall purpose of the SeniorGift Program is to raise funds for theFoundation Graduate Scholarship,which is awarded (each fall) to a stu-dent who is attending graduate schoolat MTSU,” Edington continued.

“As an incentive to give to theSenior Gift Program, graduating sen-iors receive a unique lapel pin to wearon their graduation gown and will berecognized by President (Sidney A.)

by Randy Weiler

Senior Giftcoffers near$10,000 goal

Dyslexia grant aids expansion

One of MTSU’smost distinc-tive programs

is about to expand itsservices yet again.

The Tennessee

Center for the Studyand Treatment ofDyslexia recentlyreceived a communityenhancement grantfrom the state.

The $5,000 grantwill be used to hire a

certified speech lan-guage pathologist toevaluate every childtested by the center forpossible language disorders. Director

See ‘Dyslexia’ page 5

Related graduation info, page 6

See ‘Senior’ page 6

by Casey Brown

MTSU goes greener

page 2 The Record April 21, 2008

Middle Tennessee State University andNorthwest Normal University inLanzhou, People’s Republic of China,

will co-host a workshop on mathematics and sci-ence education on MTSU’s campus the week ofJune 22-27. Participation is by invitation only andwill include 125 scholars, 50 confirmed from 20universities in China and 75 confirmed from 40universities in the United States.

Four plenary lectures and 48 topic sessionpapers will be given by both U.S. and P.R.C. schol-ars. Participants will be divided into research work-ing groups, or RWGs, whose objective is to identifycommon priorities that promote collaborativeresearch. Topic session papers will cover six broadareas: curriculum, assessment, teacher preparation,professional development, integrating technologyinto the teaching and learning of mathematics andscience, and strategies for reaching underservedpopulations.

The week’s activities will begin with a dinnerevent during which U.S. Congressman Bart Gordonwill deliver the opening address. Plenary lectureswill be delivered by:

• Dr. Joan Ferrini-Mundy, division director,National Science Foundation;

• Dr. Liping Ma, author of Knowing andTeaching Elementary Mathematics and currently with

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement ofTeaching;

• Dr. Guo Shaoqing, professor at NWNU andmember of several projects funded by the UnitedNations Development Program; and

• Dr. Wan Minggang, NWNU professor andmember of several projects sponsored by theEuropean Union Commission and the UnitedKingdom government that focus on improving

basic education in the remoteareas of Gansu Province and west-ern China.

The speaker for the closingluncheon will be Dr. Xue Yanqing,a division chief for the ChinaEducation Association forInternational Exchanges in theP.R.C.’s Ministry of Education.

The purpose of the workshopis to provide an opportunity forresearchers from the United States

and China to meet, discuss and identify commonpriorities that promote collaborative research. Themost important unit of the workshop will be theRWGs, which will be developing professional rela-tionships that will sustain a collaborative researchagenda over a period of time. A primary interest ofthe Office of International Science & Engineering atthe National Science Foundation is the processthrough which the RWGs are formed and organ-ized to conduct collaborative research that will ben-

efit mathematics and science education in bothcountries. The size of a RWG is not being definedprior to the workshop. The only guideline is thatthe membership of a RWG must contain both U.S.and P.R.C. scholars.

MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee suggestedthe workshop to NWNU President Wang Liminduring McPhee’s visit to NWNU in 2006. I am serv-ing as MTSU’s co-chair of the workshop’s organiz-ing committee, and Vice President Deng Hualing isserving as NWNU’s co-chair. The partnershipbetween MTSU and NWNU dates back to 2003,when I and Mr. Deng participated in a Sino-American Leadership Training program sponsoredby the American Association of State Colleges andUniversities and the China Education Associationfor International Exchanges.

The June event is being funded by the NationalScience Foundation, Texas Instruments and MTSU’sOffice of the President, Office of the Executive VicePresident and Provost, Office of the Vice Provostfor Research, the Colleges of Basic and AppliedSciences and Education and Behavioral Science andthe Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technol-ogy Education Center with other sponsors pending.

Dr. L. Diane Miller, interim vice provost for aca-demic affairs, serves as director of the McNair ScholarsProgram and MTSU’s undergraduate research and hasbeen a member of MTSU’s mathematical sciences facultysince 1993.

FFOORR TTHHEE RREECCOORRDD

U.S.-Sino workshop adding up to successby Dr. L. Diane Miller

Miller

C ollage: A Journal of Creative Expression,MTSU’s student literary and arts publica-tion, was awarded its second Silver Crown

Award in two years at the annual College MediaConvention.

The award ceremony, held March 16 in theWestside Ballroom of the New York MarriottMarquis Hotel in New York City, honors out-standing college publications nationwide.Together, the fall 2006 and spring 2007 issues ofCollage received one of 31 awards out of 1,355 sub-missions.

Only 13 publications were awarded the high-est honor, the Gold Crown, and 18 collegiate pub-lications received the Silver Crown Award, theColumbia Scholastic Press Association’s second-highest award. Collage adviser Marsha Powersand the editor of the fall 2006 issue, TravestyVasquez-Terry, accepted the award. Talia Cunettowas editor of the spring 2007 issue.

“As editor of the fall 2006 edition of Collage, Iexperienced so many emotions and successes, butnone compare to the gratification of knowing thatall the hard work, hours of dedication, and sleep-less nights all count for something, and that some-

one thinks that all of that work isworthy of an award as prestigiousas the Silver Crown Award,”Vasquez-Terry said.

The award ceremony was heldby the CSPA, an international pressorganization founded by ColumbiaUniversity in 1925. The CSPA unitesstudent journalists and facultyadvisers through award programs,educational conferences, textbooksand idea exchanges.

“We are extremely pleased andproud of our staff and faculty, andespecially our many fine studentswho have contributed to the successof Collage,” said Dr. Scott Carnicom,associate dean of the UniversityHonors College. “It is a labor oflove, and to be counted among thenation’s finest literary and arts mag-azines is truly an honor.”

While Collage is a publication ofthe Honors College, its content rep-resents the student body as a whole,and all MTSU students are encouraged to submittheir creative works to the biannual publication.

Brett McIntosh is a senior majoring in journalismwith a concentration in newspaper/magazine. He alsois prose editor for the spring 2008 Collage.

Collage brings home silver again!by Brett McIntosh

CREATIVITY HONORED—Collage adviser Marsha Powers, left, joinsfall 2006 Collage editor Travesty Vasquez-Terry, right, in accepting aSilver Crown Award from C. Bruce Watterson, chair of the ColumbiaScholastic Press Advisers' Association's Judging Standards andPractices. The CSPA recognized the fall 2006 and spring 2007 issues ofCollage with a second Silver Crown Award in two years.

photo submitted

Fundraiser luncheon set at Outback

The MTSU Rutherford CountyAlumni Chapter is holding itsannual fundraiser lunch at

Outback Steakhouse, located on OldFort Parkway, to benefit its scholar-ship program.

Two seating times will be avail-able on Wednesday, April 23: 11 a.m.and 12:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per per-son, and the buffet lunch includessteak or chicken, bread, mashed pota-toes and salad.

“Since the lunch will take placeon Administrative Professionals Day,we are giving people the option ofpurchasing tickets for someone intheir office, and the Alumni Officewill send an Administrative

Professionals Day card with the tick-ets included,” said Paul Wydra, assis-tant director of alumni relations.

Last year, the chapter awarded$15,000 in scholarships for RutherfordCounty incoming freshman. It plansto increase that number this year.

“This scholarship is made possi-ble by the generosity of the MTSUcommunity and the people of Ruther-ford County,” Wydra said. “Outbackis donating all the food and staff time,which means that 100 percent of theproceeds go directly to students inRutherford County.”

For more information, please call615-898-2922 or visit www.mtalumni.com.

Bring Spot to join the fun at May 10 run

Lace up your running shoesand pack the dog biscuits,because the popular See Spot

Run 5K is back on the trail!Sure to be an event

to remember, partici-pants are encouragedto run with their dogs.Participants and theirpets will race to sup-port RutherfordCounty Habitat for Humanity in anevent unlike any other in MiddleTennessee.

The race begins Saturday, May10, at 8 a.m. on MTSU’s campus.Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. atPeck Hall. The entry fee is $20 before

Friday, May 2, and $25 thereafter.Entry fees include a T-shirt for thefirst 200 participants and awards forthe top age-group finishers. The 5K

course is both flat andfast.

Registration isavailable at www.active.com, or download theregistration form atwww.mtsu.edu/

~camporgs/events. For more information, please

contact Meagan Flippin at 615-898-5812 or camporgs@mtsu.edu. The eventis sponsored by MTSU’s StudentGovernment Association and theOffice of Leadership and Service.

The Tennessee Teachers Hall of Fame will induct seven new membersduring its annual induction ceremony and banquet beginning at 5:30p.m. Saturday, April 26, in the Tennessee Ballroom of the Opryland

Hotel in Nashville.The black-tie affair will mark the 14th year that the Tennessee Teachers

Hall of Fame has honored educators who have exemplified excellence in teach-ing in Tennessee.

To date, 71 educators have been inducted into the hall of fame, which isco-sponsored each year by MTSU and overseen by a board of governors,whose members are made up of representatives from all major educationalorganizations within the state.

“Although MTSU is the sponsor of the activities associated with theTennessee Teachers Hall of Fame, the effort truly is a statewide endeavor,” saidDr. Gloria Bonner, dean of MTSU’s College of Education and BehavioralScience and coordinator of the April 26 ceremony.

“The hall of fame is a wonderful way for Tennesseans to honor those whohave made exemplary contributions to the education profession and the livesof young people,” she added.

This year’s inductees are:• Selmer resident Martha McCullar Glover, who served 17 of her 35 years

as a professional educator in the classroom and 18 in professional assignment.Cited as “an education visionary” who “impacted a school, a school systemand thousands of students in countless … positive ways,” she joinedthe McNairy County School System as a classroom teacher in 1963and served in that capacity until becoming an assistant principalfor McNairy Central High School in 1980. She served as principalof the school from 1992 to 1998. Then, from 1999 to 2005, she wasemployed by Lambuth University as a planning coordinator forits freshman seminar program before serving as an adjunct pro-fessor in teacher preparation for UT-Martin’s McNairy Center.

• Loudon resident John Sizemore Napier, who has thusfar spent 34 years of his 35-year career in the classroom as a his-tory and social-studies teacher, school historian and part-timecoach. Napier began his teaching career in 1971 at North MiddleSchool in Lenoir City, where he coached boys’ and girls’ basket-ball and taught social studies. He joined the faculty of LoudonHigh School in 1974, where he has taught classes in Americanhistory, world history, sociology, contemporary issues, and his-tory of the 20th century, in addition to serving as a girls’ softballcoach and school historian.

In nominating Napier for the hall of fame, one supporterwrote that whenever the respected educator does finally decide toretire from the classroom, “he will leave a void that will be difficult,if not impossible, to fill.”

• Hilda Hale of Manchester, who devoted all of her 29 years toteaching primarily Spanish and sometimes English for Coffee CountyCentral High School. Hale joined the school’s faculty after receiving amaster’s degree in English from MTSU. According to her nominationmaterials, Hale’s teaching effectiveness was evident from the start. Hersupporters noted that Hale’s first teaching assignment/classroom was “inan old overcrowded high school in an auditorium balcony … (with) noneof the modern technology present in today’s classrooms.”

• Chattanooga resident Bertha Collins, a 39-year teaching veter-an who devoted 33 years of her 39-year career to classroom teach-ing and another six to professional assignment, has beenapplauded for a commitment and dedication to students thatfound them leaving her classroom “with (a) feeling of self-worthand academic accomplishment that is so important in life.”Collins taught English at Lookout Valley Middle/High Schoolfor 33 years, first joining its faculty in 1967, and served as theEnglish department’s chairwoman for 17 years.

Since her formal retirement in summer 2000, Collins—whois called “an icon” at her long-time teaching assignment—hasreturned to serve as a part-time educator for her school and also served as aliteracy coach, a role in which she helps students become better readers andassists teachers in planning outstanding literacy activities to use in their class-rooms.

• Kathleen Phillips Pennington of Huntsville, Tenn., devoted all of her 45years in education to students in the classroom before her final retirement in2007. A native of Smith Creek, Pennington’s long education career began in1957 when she was hired by the Scott County Board of Education to teach lan-guage arts for grades four through 12 and serve as librarian for Normal HighSchool. In 1975, the county schools were consolidated, so she began servingFairview Elementary School as its librarian—a job she undertook until her hus-

band’s failing health prompted her to retire so that she could care for him dur-ing what would be the final year of his life. In 2004, the school system’s direc-tor approached Pennington to fill a job for a qualified librarian. She, in turn,opted to return to Fairview Elementary, where she remained until her ’07retirement.

In spite of “overcoming many personal tragedies of her own,” Pennington“has never failed to accommodate those individuals who require both financialand personal support and assistance,” wrote one supporter.

• Teddy Brown Haley of Clarksville served all 39 years of his educationcareer in the classroom in service to students as both a coach and teacher in theClarksville-Montgomery County School District. He began his career in as an

elementary physical-education teacher at Moore County Elementarybefore taking an assignment in 1969 at Northwest High School as anassistant football coach. In 1970, he added history-teaching duties to

his responsibilities at Northwest and served in that capacity until1974. From 1975 to 1979, he taught history at Montgomery CentralHigh School and served as head basketball coach and assistantfootball coach. He joined the faculty of Northeast High School in

1980 and continued to teach history and coach at the schooluntil accepting a job as principal of Northwest High Schoolfrom 1990 to 1992. He returned to coaching and teaching historyat Northeast High School in ’92, where he remained until hisretirement in 2006.

Heralded as one who is “genuinely interested in helpingstudents, a Christian role model and a well-prepared teacher,”Haley maintained “a special ability to relate to a diverse rangeof students,” noted David E. Baker, former director ofClarksville-Montgomery County Schools.

• Dr. Lana Seivers, a resident of Nashville and the formercommissioner for the Tennessee Department of Education, whohas thus far dedicated 31 years to education, including 13 years

in the classroom. A native of Clinton, Tenn., Seivers earned abachelor’s degree in education from MTSU as well as a master’s

degree in educational administration and a doctorate in education fromthe University of Tennessee. Prior to her 2003 appointment by Gov. PhilBredesen as education commissioner, Seivers was director of ClintonCity Schools and served as chairwoman of the East TennesseeSuperintendents’ Study Council, treasurer of the Tennessee Organizationof School Superintendents and chairwoman of the Southern Associationof Colleges and Schools Elementary and Middle School Committee.

Lauded as “the ultimate champion for students” who “has given self-lessly of her time and considerable energy to improve educational oppor-

tunities for Tennessee youth,” Seivers is credited with consistentlymaintaining her focus on the classroom.

The Tennessee Teachers Hall of Fame was created with thesupport of the late Dr. James E. Walker, former MTSU presidentand a one-time public school teacher; Dr. Robert Eaker, formerdean of MTSU’s College of Education and Behavioral and a cur-rent education professor; former Tennessee Gov. Ned McWherter;

Dr. Charles Smith, the state’s former commissioner of educa-tion; the late Dr. Otis L. Floyd Jr., one-time chancellor for theTennessee Board of Regents; and Dr. Cavit Cheshier of theTennessee Education Association.

Since its 1994 inception, the hall of fame’s spring ceremony has annuallywelcomed about 500 educators, legislators and other dignitaries from acrossthe state, all of whom gather to honor inductees for their remarkable publicservice and role modeling through teaching.

“This is an exciting opportunity for all of us to honor a group of very spe-cial Tennesseans, while at the same time enhancing the status of the teachingprofession,” Bonner said.

Advance tickets to the banquet and induction ceremony are $50 each andavailable by calling the College of Education and Behavioral Science office at615-898-2874.

The Record April 21, 2008 page 3

April 26 ceremonyhonors 7 educators’‘exemplary’ effortsby Lisa L. Rollins

“Middle Tennessee Record”

Cable Channel 9: Monday-Sunday—7 a.m., 5 p.m.

NewsChannel 5+: Sundays—1:30 p.m.Visit www.mtsunews.com forother cable outlet airtimes.

WMOT-Jazz89 Annual

Fundraising Campaign

For information, visitwww.wmot.org, listen to 89.5 FMor contact: 615-898-2800.

“High Gloss” Senior Design

Show

Opening reception: Monday,April 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m.Exhibit hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.Monday-Friday, Todd GalleryFor information, visit:www.highglossdesignshow.comor contact: 615-898-5653.

Monday, April 21

MTSU Commercial Music

Ensemble

7:30 p.m., Hinton Music HallFor information, contact: 615-898-2493.

April 22-23

MT Baseball vs. MemphisApril 22: 6 p.m.; April 23: 3 p.m.

Reese Smith FieldFor information, visit www.goblueraiders.com.

Tuesday, April 22

National Women’s History

Month: Pay Equity Day

11 a.m.-2 p.m., KUC KnollFor information, contact: 615-898-5961.

Dr. Miriam Sivan of Haifa

University, “Contemporary

Women Writing in Israel”

time TBA, HONR 106For information, contact: 615-494-7906.

MTSU Symphonic Band/

Brass Ensemble

7:30 p.m., Hinton Music HallFor information, contact: 615-898-2493.

Wednesday, April 23

Last day of classes;

Administrative Professionals’

Day.

Lunch at Outback Steakhouse

benefiting the RutherfordCounty Alumni ScholarshipFund and honoring administra-tive professionals11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.Cost: $10 (includes salad, meat,potatoes and bread)For information, visitwww.mtalumni.com or contact:615-898-2922.

Mass Communication Student

Recognition and Wall of Fame

Ceremony

3 p.m., Bragg MC courtyard For information, contact: 615-898-5171.

Wednesday, April 23

Guitar Ensemble Concert

3 p.m., Hinton Music HallFor information, contact: 615-898-2493.

Faculty Recital: Maya Stone,

bassoon, and Leo Erice, piano

8 p.m., Hinton Music HallFor information, contact: 615-898-2493.

Thursday, April 24

Study Day

No classes; all offices open.

Thursday, April 24

Free Legal Clinic

7-9 p.m., JUB 206Appointments requiredFor information, contact: 615-898-2193.

April 25-27

MT Baseball vs. S. Alabama

April 25: 6 p.m.; April 26: 4 p.m.; April 27: 1 p.m.Reese Smith FieldFor information, visit www.goblueraiders.com.

April 25-May 1

Final exams

Saturday, April 26

African American Awards

Ceremony

6-9 p.m., Tom Jackson BuildingCost: $10 (includes appetizersand nonalcoholic beverages)For tickets, visit www.mtalumni.com or contact: 1-800-533-MTSU (6378).

Monday, April 28

Our Friends, Our Selves

Bookclub

featured book: The Joy LuckClub by Amy Tan3:30-4:30 p.m., JUB 206For information, contact: 615-898-2193.

Tuesday, April 29

University Scheduling Policy

Workshop

10 a.m., KUC TheaterFor information, contact:615-898-5143.

May 2-3

MT Softball vs. Western Ky.

May 2: 3, 5 p.m.; May 3: 1 p.m.Blue Raider FieldFor information, visit www.goblueraiders.com.

May 2-4

MT Baseball vs. Troy

May 2: 6 p.m.; May 3: 4 p.m.;May 4: 1 p.m.Reese Smith FieldFor information, visit www.goblueraiders.com.

Friday, May 2

First Friday Star Party

Dr. Chuck Higgins, “Messengerat Mercury”6:30-8:30 p.m., WPS Room 102For information, contact: 615-898-5946.

Saturday, May 3

Spring 2008 Commencement

9 a.m. and 1 p.m., MurphyAthletic CenterFor information, visitwww.mtsunews.com or contact:615-898-2919.

Campus CalendarApril 21-May 4

TV Schedule

page 4 The Record April 21, 2008

Through May 1

May 2Through April 30

April 25

April 23

April 21

April 24

April 26

April 28

April 22

April 29

May 3

GREAT WORK!—Betty Rowland, cen-ter, secretary for the Albert Gore Sr.Research Center, accepts the latestquarterly Secretarial/Clerical Awardfrom Ben Jones, left, Business Officemanager and chairman of MTSU’sEmployee Recognition Committee, andGore Center Director Dr. Lisa Pruitt.MTSU’s Employee RecognitionCommittee salutes staffers who makeoutstanding contributions and demon-strate excellence in their roles. Forinformation on nominating an adminis-trative, secretarial/clerical, classified ortechnical/service co-worker for thequarterly award program, go tohttp://hrs.web.mtsu.edu/er/recog.html,download an employee recognitionform and submit it to Human ResourceServices via campus mail, Box 35.

photo by Andy Heidt

Recognizing excellence

The Record April 21, 2008 page 5

with the university having one of the lowestadministrative and professional staff-to-studentratios of all state colleges and universities. With thisguiding principle in mind, MTSU’s leaders haveopted to establish the OCES with its focus onstrengthening community outreach.

“As a major economic force within theRutherford County and middle Tennessee region,MTSU’s enhanced focus on community issues isessential,” McPhee observed. “Over the years, theuniversity has demonstrated consistent progress inits community relationships … yet as MTSU contin-ues to grow and expand its operations, greaterattention must be given to strengthening its rela-tionship with the community at large.”

According to its proposed mission statement,the OCES’s primary aim will be to articulate theuniversity’s mission and activities to the surround-ing communities and, through involvement withthe community, provide a listening ear to the needsand concerns of MTSU’s neighbors relating to theactions and activities of the university. OCES, too,will serve as a unit of MTSU where communitymembers may feel comfortable accessing the insti-tution.

“I am extremely appreciative and excited aboutthe new appointment as assistant to the presidentfor community engagement and support,” Bonnerremarked. “I care deeply about this university andthe community and consider it an honor to be apart of both.

“This is happening at a very exciting time asthe university continues to expand its outreach mis-

sion throughout the community,” she continued,referring to the OCES’s creation. “I am looking for-ward to making significant contributions in abroader context on behalf of the institution. … I amhonored to be a part of his administration andinspired and encouraged by Dr. McPhee’s commit-ment and dedication toward enhancing the univer-sity’s relationship with the community.”

Regarding Bonner’s appointment, state Sen.Bill Ketron of the 13th District said, “I commendDr. McPhee for looking to Dr. Bonner to take thisposition, because I can’t think of anybody else whois so well-suited—not only from knowing the uni-versity life but knowing the community life. Shewill be able to make that transition and connect thetwo. There is a common thread between them, andmany times that thread is not connected. I think Dr.Bonner has the skills, personality and ability to dowell in this position. I look forward to workingwith her.”

Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg echoed hissupport for Bonner as the choice to lead the newOCES.

“Dr. Bonner understands the significant roleeducation plays in the continued economic devel-opment of the Murfreesboro region,” the mayorsaid. “She is uniquely connected across the commu-nity and is a natural choice for this important posi-tion.”

With a strong record of community involve-ment already to her credit, Bonner’s new OCES roleis one that community members have welcomedwith enthusiasm.

“I had the opportunity to become acquaintedwith Gloria Bonner when she served two terms onthe United Way board of directors—and that wasfrom 1997 through 2002,” said Aurelia Holden,director of allocations and volunteer coordinatorfor United Way of Rutherford County.

“We worked together on the yearly allocationsprocess, and I really consider her a friend now. Shewas just an enthusiastic and active board member,and I’m sure she will bring a lot to the new posi-tion.”

A member of MTSU’s education faculty since1985, Bonner earned her Bachelor of Science (1972),Master of Education (1974) and EducationSpecialist (1977) degrees from MTSU before receiv-ing a doctorate in education from Tennessee StateUniversity in 1988.

Bonner from page 1

McPhee Ketron Bragg

Stuart Bernstein said he believes the addition will greatlyimprove the center’s ability to assist affected children.

“Language disorders and learning disabilities, whichinclude dyslexia, are typically diagnosed separately,”Bernstein said. “Because these services are separate, andthe Dyslexia Center doesn’t have a certified speech lan-

guage pathologist on staff, we have no way of knowingthe extent to which children with dyslexia may also havemild language disorders that limit their ability to learn toread.”

With new resources in hand, the center hopes to moreaccurately pinpoint the challenges faced by their students.

“The funding will be used to help us expand testingto better understand the nature of the deficits faced bythese children,” Bernstein said.

The grant is being drawn from the 2007 state budgetsurplus, which allocated additional funds for public safety,cultural activities and community development.

State Sen. Bill Ketron (B.S. ’76) played an importantrole in obtaining the grant. After reviewing a number ofproposals, Ketron selected the Center for Dyslexia as therecipient of the allocated funds.

“We greatly appreciate Senator Ketron’s support of thecenter and children with dyslexia all over Tennessee,”Bernstein said.

The center, established in 1993 by the TennesseeGeneral Assembly, assists kindergarten through 12th-graders with dyslexia, as well as their teachers and fami-lies, through providing a clear description of each child’scondition, developing educational intervention plans andsupporting school staff.

For more information, call 615-494-8880 or visithttp://dyslexia.mtsu.edu.

Dyslexia from page 1SEA, Recycle Rutherford, the

Murfreesboro Electric Department,People for a Better Tomorrow andMTSU Environmental StudiesDepartment will have booths setup during the celebration.

Alternatively fueled vehicleswill be displayed, including theToyota Prius hybrid and concepthydrogen and electric cars. The cityof Murfreesboro will have a busfrom the Rover system there aswell.

Also featured will be MTSU’swaste-grease bus. The green feepaid with tuition was used to con-vert this bus torun on cook-ing greasefrom cam-pus diningfacilities.

Thecelebrationwill wrap upWednesday at 6 p.m. with a presentation of thedocumentary “Kilowatt Ours” inthe KUC Theater. A question-and-answer session with filmmaker JeffBarrie will directly follow the docu-mentary.

On Wednesday, SEA will holda membership drive for any stu-dents interested in helping theircause.

“SEA’s goal for this event is toraise awareness of environmentalissues and show the significance ofthe problems we face,” Caum said.“From air and water quality towater shortages to ocean acidifica-tion, they all present each andevery one of us with a challenge tounite and solve them.

“We believe with proper edu-cation, the power of human reason-ing and a little passion, we can dojust that.”

For more information aboutSEA’s event plans, please visit theorganization’s Web site atwww.mtsu.edu/~sea. In case of rain,events will move inside the KUC.

Earth from page 1

Ten Middle Tennessee high-school seniors who have over-come hardships and tragedy to

find success in life will be salutedTuesday, April 22, during the 10thannual Neill- Sandler Strive forExcellence Banquet at MTSU.

The invitation-only event willstart at 6 p.m. in the Kennon SportsHall of Fame.

The students were nominated bytheir schools and school systems andhave endured tough times. Despitetheir situations, each has excelled inthe classroom and on college entranceexaminations and exhibited leader-ship in and out of school.

Scholarships provided through

the Neill-Sandler Foundation and TheDanner Company, a Nashville-basedbusiness led by Ray Danner, will goto deserving students from theBedford, Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb,Franklin, Rutherford, Warren,Williamson and Wilson county schoolsystems and Tullahoma City Schools.

This year’s Neill-Sandler Scholarsat MTSU will include LaceyParchman of DeKalb County HighSchool; Courtney Ashburn ofHuntland High School in FranklinCounty; Kristen Bay of Lebanon HighSchool; Amy Elizabeth Hutton ofWarren County High School; MacieMayberry of Tullahoma High School;Mistee Harris of Riverdale HighSchool in Rutherford County; AshleyRamsey of Cannon County HighSchool; Matthew Bain of Cascade

High School; Kenneth James Trader ofBrentwood High School; and BridgetSnell of Coffee County Central HighSchool.

One scholarship winner willreceive the $10,000 Ray DannerScholarship. Another will receive the$7,500 Elizabeth and Sidney McPheeScholarship. Each of the other eightwinners will receive a $5,000 scholar-ship.

Kippy Todd, assistant director forannual giving and donor relations inthe Office of Development, said 95recipients have benefited from thescholarships since 1999. An annualgolf tournament, usually held the firstWednesday in October, helps raisescholarship funds.

For more information, visitwww.mtsu.edu/~devofc/neill-sandler.htm.

by Randy Weiler

10 to earn Neill-Sandler scholarships

MONEY TO SERVE—Dyslexia Center Director Stuart Bernstein,left, joins colleague Dr. Diane Sawyer and State Sen. Bill Ketron

to celebrate receipt of a $5,000 community enhancement grant.

photo submitted

page 6 The Record April 21, 2008

More than 1,900 degree can-didates are expected tograduate during MTSU’s

96th spring commencement cere-monies, reported Dr. SherianHuddleston, associate vice provostof enrollment services.

On Saturday, May 3, MTSU willonce more feature dual ceremoniesand dual speakers starting at 9 a.m.and 1 p.m. in Murphy Center. Of the1,973 set to graduate, 1,679 areundergraduates and 294 are gradu-ate students, including 240 master’scandidates, 44 education specialistdegree candidates, one Doctor ofArts candidate and nine Doctor ofPhilosophy candidates.

Huddleston noted that theupcoming commencement marks thelargest number of doctoral-leveldegrees conferred to date during anMTSU graduation event.

Candidates from the College ofGraduate Studies, Jennings A. JonesCollege of Business and College ofEducation and Behavioral Sciencewill receive their degrees in themorning ceremony. That afternoon,degrees will be conferred on candi-dates in the College of Basic andApplied Sciences, College of LiberalArts, College of MassCommunication and the College ofContinuing Education and DistanceLearning, said Dr. L. Diane Miller,professor of mathematical sciencesand interim chairwoman of the com-mencement committee.

Pete Fisher, vice president/general manager for the Grand OleOpry, will be the guest speaker forthe 9 a.m. ceremony. He earned aBachelor of Science degree in masscommunication from MTSU with aconcentration in recording industrymanagement and was recognizedas a distinguished alumnus in 2004.

Named general manager of theGrand Ole Opry in June 1999,Fisher oversees all activities of theworld’s longest-running radioshow. He also manages the day-to-day operations of the Grand OleOpry House and Acuff Theatre andproduces its weekly Opry shows, inaddition to serving as executiveproducer of “Grand Ole OpryLive” on the GAC cable networkand “America’s Grand Ole OpryWeekend,” a two-hour syndicated

radio programheard on morethan 200 stationsvia Westwood One.

Fisher’s enter-tainment industryexperience spansfrom artist manage-ment to music pub-lishing, with a spe-cial emphasisplaced on service to

a variety of music industry organiza-tions. Prior to joining the Grand OleOpry, he was a partner in FisherRaines Entertainment, where hemanaged the careers of Warner/Reprise Records artist Paul Brandtand Sony’s Marcus Hummon,among others. He also spent sevenyears at WarnerSongs Inc. as directorof creative services, where he man-aged the joint-venture publishingoperation between Warner/RepriseRecords and Warner/ChappellMusic Inc.

Fisher currently serves as presi-dent of the Nashville chapter of the

National Academy of Recording Artsand Sciences and holds membershipon the board of directors for theNashville Songwriters Foundationand the Academy of Country Music.

Ernest G. Burgess, RutherfordCounty mayor, will be the featuredspeaker for the 1 p.m. ceremony. Acattle farmer and businessman,Burgess is a lifelong resident ofRutherford County and was elected

mayor in 2006.Burgess earned

a Bachelor ofScience degree fromMTSU and a mas-ter’s degree fromthe University ofTennessee. Heretired as seniorvice president ofoperations for theNational Healthcare

Corporation, or NHC, and is a pastchairman of the Republican Party ofRutherford County.

Currently, Burgess devotes histime and service to several boardsand committees, including servingas chairman of the RutherfordCounty Board of Commissioners,the Rutherford County CorrectionalWork Center Board and CommunityCare of Rutherford County Inc. Healso serves as a board member forNHC and for National HealthRealty.

Burgess’ past community-service record includes tenure as aboard member for a number of areaorganizations, including the

Linebaugh Public Library, DiscoveryCenter at Murfree Springs, MainStreet Murfreesboro, Hospice ofMurfreesboro, the MTSU Foundationand the MTMC Foundation.

Married for 47 years to PeggyBryant, Burgess and his wife are theparents of three children and thegrandparents of seven. TheBurgesses are active members ofNorth Boulevard Church of Christ,where he is an elder.

Regarding the upcoming com-mencement, Miller said she wantedto remind all degree candidates ofthe importance of appropriate dress,decorum and respect for the com-mencement ceremony.

“We believe this is a very impor-tant day in the lives of many peo-ple,” Miller said. “Commencement isa day that families always rememberas special. It is difficult to give theceremony the dignified atmosphereit deserves if people are using airhorns or leaving before the comple-tion of the ceremony.”

Miller noted that the graduationcommittee also emphasized that stu-dents who participate in commence-ment will be required to stay for theentire ceremony. The May ceremonyshould last about two hours. Thoseplanning celebration activitiesshould be aware of this commitment,she said.

For more information aboutcommencement, please visitwww.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm orcall 615-898-2600.

Spring commencement slated May 3

by Lisa L. Rollins

Transitioning from student lifeinto the workforce can be ahard adjustment. Although col-

lege gives a student certain knowl-edge needed to a secure a job aftergraduation, other important skillsthat further advancement in theworkplace are often overlooked. The marketing department in theJennings A. Jones College of Businessnow offers a career-planning coursethat gives students the proper skillsrequired to find the perfect job.

Instructor Jean Wilson teaches thestudents important assets—how tomarket themselves to potentialemployers and how to respond ininterviews. Wilson even instructs stu-dents on hygiene issues such as howmuch cologne or perfume to wear.

Many students graduate collegewith a skewed perspective of theworkforce, Wilson said, adding thatthey may have unreasonable job andsalary expectations.

“An important reason for theclass is to put students’ expectationsinto perspective,” Wilson said. “We

are trying to teach students practicaland important skills that will helpthem move from being a student toan employee.”

Participation was slim during thefirst two semesters that the coursewas offered, Wilson said. In fall 2006,only six students enrolled in thecourse, and by spring 2007, that num-ber had decreased to four students.

But the success of the few stu-dents who took the course in the pre-vious semesters could not be ignored.Several students landed jobs beforegraduation, and three students were

hired for management-level positionsat Hobby Lobby.

Word of those success stories gotaround, and students in the Collegeof Business began to recognize theimportance of enrolling in the career-planning course. This semester,Wilson has 17 students registered.The course also is required for allmarketing majors.

Wilson is trying to make thecourse a requirement for managementmajors as well.

“With a little persuasion, weshould be successful,” she said.

by Brittany Witt

Career-planning course offers workforce guidance

More than 1,900candidates toreceive degrees

Who: 1,973 graduates* What: Spring 2008 commencement When: 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Saturday, May 3Where: Murphy Center, MTSU

Speakers:

• Pete Fisher, general manager and vicepresident, Grand Ole Opry, 9 a.m. ceremony; • Ernest G. Burgess, Rutherford County mayor,1 p.m. ceremony

Webcast: Go to www.mtsu.edu and click on the “Spring 2008 GraduationInformation” link at the bottom of the page. In addition to the streamingvideo link, the page also has links to other important graduation news.Video will be available about 15 minutes before each ceremony begins;you’ll need Windows Media Player to view it. Information on purchasingDVDs of the ceremony also can be found at the graduation info link.

*Approximate number as of April 10, 2008.

Fisher

Burgess

McPhee during the graduation cere-mony,” she said.

“Seniors who giveto this incentive alsowill be given top con-sideration if applyingfor the FoundationGraduate Scholarshipin the future.”

Edington added that the Senior

Gift Program is important for grad-uating seniors “becauseit is a way for them toleave their legacy andstart giving back to theuniversity.”

For more informa-tion, contact Edingtonat edington@mtsu.edu or

615-898-2728.

Senior from page 1

The Center for Popular Music recently hosted “’Farther Along’: A Conference on the Southern GospelConvention-Singing Tradition,” the first academic conference devoted to a routinely ignored tradition inAmerican music, and by all accounts, the two-day event was a rousing success.

More than 100 registrants, ranging from practitioners to publishers, singing-school instructors to university pro-fessors, attended the April 4-5 conference in the Tom H. Jackson Building, as well as students from middle school todoctoral programs and every level in between. Ages ranged from nine to mid-90s, and participants hailed from 15states, including Texas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia, New Jersey and every state in the SoutheastChapter of the Music Library Association’s region.

Sessions were devoted to all aspects of the tradition, past and present. Presentation topics included:• publishers of convention song books, from “mom and pop” outfits, such as the R. E. Winsett Music Company of

Dayton, Tenn., to denominational publishing houses like the Church of God-sponsored Tennessee Music and PrintingCompany of Cleveland, Tenn.;

• classic gospel songs, like “The Grave on the Green Hillside,” written by Aldine Kieffer and recorded by theCarter Family, and Albert E. Brumley’s “I’ll Fly Away” (Brumley’s son, Bob, and granddaughter were in attendance,with Bob fielding questions from the audience after the presentation);

• singing-school instructors on the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee in the late 1800s and early 1900s;• Southern gospel family groups, such as the Speer Family; and• personal and social outcomes of convention singing, such as reported health benefits and the transmission of

gender roles and family values.Other highlights included a roundtable discussion with convention songbook publishers and a performance pres-

entation on the art of convention-style piano accompaniment, which was followed by a roundtablediscussion/demonstration with accomplished pianists from the tradition. A public “singing” on Friday evening drewmore than 150 participants. The ending conversation on the future of convention singing provided much discussion,including a plea from those in attendance to make the conference a recurring event.

The Record April 21, 2008 page 7

1st Southern gospel conference a winner

test of inoculation theory,” in the latestissue of Journalism & Mass Communica-tion Quarterly, Vol. 84, No.4.

Dr. Bob Michael’s (history) TheDark Side of the Church: A History ofCatholic Antisemitism from theCrucifixion to Vatican II was publishedin March with Palgrave Macmillan,and his co-authored Dictionary ofAntisemitism was published in 2007with Scarecrow Press.

Dr. Abdul Khaliq (mathematicalsciences) traveled to Chicago March28-April 2 to work on a research col-laboration with Dr. Bruce Wade of theDepartment of Mathematical Sciencesat the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

E-mail your faculty/staff accom-plishments to gfann@mtsu.edu. Pleasenote that publication of printed orhand-written contributions may bedelayed.

Update from page 8

Research

See yourself in The Record!

Majorette teamtwirls talent intoa national titlefrom Staff Reports

COMMUNITY SPIRIT—John R.Ingram, center, prepares to accept the2008 Joe M. Rodgers Spirit of AmericaAward from Aubrey Harwell, left, chairholder of the Jennings A. Jones Chair ofExcellence in Free Enterprise, and Dr.Jim Burton, dean of the Jennings A.Jones College of Business. Ingram, vicechairman of Ingram Industries Inc. andCEO of Ingram Content Holdings,received the award during the recent17th Annual UniversityTakeover/Executives-in-Residenceprogram at MTSU, which is sponsoredby the Free Enterprise Chair. Theaward is presented annually to a busi-nessperson who has demonstrated thebest of the spirit of America throughsignificant contributions in govern-ment, education and/or civic and char-itable organizations.

photo by J. Intintoli

A significant honor

ETIS plans open house in Alumni Gym

You can learn more aboutLEGO Robotics, solar boats,space elevators, a “guitar

gizmo” and more during theDepartment of EngineeringTechnology and Industrial Studiesopen house.

It will be held from 3 to 5 p.m.Thursday, April 24, in AlumniMemorial Gym and is open to thecampus community and public, saidElizabeth Lamb, an ETIS secretary.

ETIS student projects and facultyinventions also will include frictionstir welding, hydrogen fuel cells,granular separation, truck cranestrength analysis and miscellaneoussenior projects.

Those attending the open housewill see student and faculty posterpresentations and learn about currentresearch projects, organizers said.

“The presentations at the openhouse represent the diversity andadvanced technology residing in theDepartment of Engineering

Technology," said Dr. Walter Boles,the department chair. “Presentationsrepresent projects that involve facultyresearch, industry collaborations,national student competitions andentrepreneurial activities. We invitethe campus community to come andsee our award-winning student vehi-cles, learn about alternative fuels andinteract with students, faculty andindustry partners.”

For more information, call 615-898-2776.

from Staff Reports

A story on page 3 of the April 7edition of The Record (“April 'MTR'includes campus library history”)incorrectly referred to the influentialcommunity leader and educator asAndrew Lytle Todd. That nameshould have been Andrew L. Todd.

Correction

by Randy Weiler

MTSU’s majorette linebrought home the 2007national championship

from the Collegiate Baton TwirlingChampionships of the NationalCoalition for the Advancement ofBaton Twirling at PurdueUniversity earlier this semester.

The MTSU twirlers scored asthe top team overall, outpacing 17other university competitors.

“This is something we cannote with pride,” said Dr. GeorgeRiordan, director of MTSU’sSchool of Music.

The NCABT competition wasthe team’s first. The majorettes,coached by Niki Davis, performwith the MTSU Band of Blue atuniversity athletic events.

The MTSU majorettes alsoreceived medals in several groupand individual competitions,including Brittany Galyon andKimberly Senters, first place, colle-giate pairs; Senters, second place,collegiate individual line member;Alyse Gilman, second place, colle-giate two-baton division, fourthplace, one-baton division, and fifthplace, three-baton division; andKyla Holder, fifth place, collegiatefreestyle division.

For more details, please visithttp://ncabt.com.

Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross (chem-istry) has received the King-HamptonAward, presented by the Associationof Faculty and AdministrativeWomen and the June AndersonWomen’s Center, to the woman whohas made outstanding contributionsto improve the status of women atMTSU. The award honors JeanetteMoore King, a member of the firstMiddle Tennessee Normal School fac-ulty, and Martha Hampton, firstwoman administrator at MTSU.

Dr. Ping Zhang (mathematicalsciences) was an attendee at theEastern North American Region 2008Spring Meeting of the InternationalBiometric Society, which was held inWashington, D.C., March 16-19.

Randy Livingston (journalism)has been named as the 2008-2009Learning, Teaching and InnovativeTechnologies Center Faculty Fellow.The fellowship is awarded to a mem-ber of the MTSU faculty to serve as afaculty leader and mentor to their fac-ulty colleagues and to serve as a fac-

ulty consultant to the Center.

Dr. Padgett Kelly (biology andCenter for Environmental Education)has been recognized as Most ValuableTrainer by the Washington, D.C.-based Population Connection, anational grass-roots organization thateducates young people and advocatesprogressive action to stabilize worldpopulation at a level that can be sus-tained by Earth’s resources, accordingto its mission statement. He was fea-tured in the PopEd section of theMarch issue of The Reporter, aPopulation Connection publication.

Dr. Robert B. Blair (businesscommunication and entrepreneur-ship) completed a 30-hour Associa-tion for Institutional ResearchAssessment Institute in AtlantaMarch 31-April 4.

Dr. Wandi Ding (mathematicalsciences) presented “Optimal Controlon a Hybrid Tick Disease Model” atthe Mathematical Association of

America’s 2008 Annual Meeting—Kentucky Section, held in BowlingGreen, Ky., March 28-29.

Dr. Loren Mulraine (recordingindustry) presented “The ControlledComposition Clause: ReasonableContract Negotiation or FlagrantViolation of Law” at the annualMusic and Entertainment IndustryEducators Association ConferenceMarch 27-29 in Dix Hills, N.Y.

Dr. Edd Applegate (journalism)contributed the chapter “TheDevelopment of Advertising: 1700-1900” to The Media in America: AHistory, Seventh Edition, Wm. DavidSloan, editor. Published recently byVision Press, the text is the mostwidely adopted for courses that con-cern the history of journalism and/ormass communication.

Dr. Joon Soo Lim (journalism)has three entries in the two-volumeEncyclopedia of Political Communication(Sage Publications, February 2008):“authoritarianism,” “The UnitedStates Information Agency” and“CNN.” Lim also has published anarticle, “Resistance to ethically suspi-cious parody video on YouTube: A

page 8 The Record April 21, 2008

Faculty/Staff Update

Publications

Awards

Getting the proverbial foot in the labor-forcedoor can be a challenge for students. TheJennings A. Jones College of Business is

trying to open up job opportunities for prospectivegraduates by solidifying a relationship with differ-ent businesses within Murfreesboro and the sur-rounding area.

With the implementation of the “BusinessPartners” program, faculty and students in theDepartment of Management and Marketing hope tobecome better connected to community businessesand foster a productive and beneficial relationship.

“There is a need for more interaction with thebusiness community,” said Dr. Don Lester, chair ofthe Business Partners initiative and an associateprofessor of management and marketing.

“The goal of the program is to create a discus-sion about curriculum, internships and employ-ment opportunities between the College ofBusiness and the community.”

Although the partnership’s organizers wouldlike to include as many companies as possible, theysay they also realize the need to start small andbuild strong relationships with a select group ofbusinesses.

Thus far, the department has partnered withfour major companies: Walgreen’s, Logo, Enterpriseand Stinger Medical.

Walgreen’s is a 109-year-old retail chain withlocations all across the country. Logo is a smallbusiness in Franklin, Tenn., which manufacturesand distributes college memorabilia. Enterprise isNorth America’s largest car rental company, rank-ing No. 21 on the Forbes Top 500 Private Companiesin America. Stinger Medical is a medical technolo-gy company that specializes in producingComputer on Wheels, or COWs, which speed upthe care of hospital patients by making medicalrecords more easily accessible.

Darren Sanders, a representative of Walgreen’s,

says he’s excited about the new partnership that isbeing forged.

“It allows for an exchange of new ideas andallows students to better understand the theorythey are learning in class and how they can apply itin a real-world business setting,” he said.

Sanders, along with representatives from

Enterprise, Logo and Stinger Medical, said thatMTSU is one of the primary sources for new-hirecandidates.

According to Mickey Heath of Enterprise,“Three out of four MTSU-sponsored internships[with Enterprise] turn into full-time positions.”

‘Business Partners’ making community connectionsby Brittany Witt

A NEW BUSINESS PLAN—Dr. John Mullane, left, associate professor of management and marketing, talks with Logoco-owner Rik Talley during a reception for the Jones College's "Business Partners" program. Logo is one of four com-panies participating in the program, which aims to discuss and coordinate curriculum needs, internships and employ-ment opportunities between the college and companies.

photo by Andy Heidt

People Around Campus

UR075-0408

Tom TozerDirector, News and Public Affairs

Editor: Gina E. Fanngfann@mtsu.edu

Contributors: Gina K. Logue, John Lynch,Paula Morton, Lisa L. Rollins, Randy Weiler,Doug Williams, Seth Alder, DanielleHarrell, Claire Rogers, Bonnie Bailey,Casey Brown and Brittany Witt.

Photos: MTSU Photographic Services,except where noted

Printed by Franklin Web Printing Co.

Phone: 615-898-2919 Fax: 615-898-5714

The Record is published every two weeksby the Office of News and Public Affairsat MTSU. It is distributed free to faculty,staff, friends and media outlets.

Attention Postmaster:Address changes and othercorrespondence should be sent to:

The RecordOffice of News and Public AffairsBox 72, MTSU1301 E. Main St.Murfreesboro, Tenn. 37132

MTSU, a Tennessee Board of RegentsInstitution, is an equal opportunity, non-racially identifiable, educational institu-tion that does not discriminate againstindividuals with disabilities.

Honors

See ‘Update’ page 7

Conferences

Fellowships

Institutes

Presentations