Local and regional military vet-erans will be recognizedSaturday, Nov. 25, at the 25th

annual MTSU Salute to Veterans dur-ing the 2:30 p.m. football game againstTroy University.

About 250 to 300 veterans andtheir families will attend, said Maj.Chuck Giles, assistant professor ofmilitary science.

Activities will start with an 11a.m. picnic outside Forrest Hall, Gilessaid, adding that veterans and theirfamilies can eat inside Forrest Hall ifthere is inclement weather.

Giles said all service groups—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines andCoast Guard—will have activities andrecruiters in Walnut Grove with othercampus and student organizationsduring pregame tailgate events.

“About 2 p.m., we’ll march toFloyd Stadium,” Giles said.

Four Army ROTC cadets whoserved in Iraq—Spcs. Matt Wallaceand James Lax and Sgts. KenMcDevitt and Paul Wise—will be

‘MY NAME IS WALLACE’ GETS

FINALIST NOD IN HOLLYWOOD

“My Name is Wallace,” a short film

written and co-directed by Dr. Bob

Pondillo, professor of electronic media

communication, has been accepted as a

third-quarter finalist at the Golden

Shorts Fest 2006 in Hollywood, Calif.,

out of 108 submissions. The movie will

be shown at the Egyptian Theatre in Los

Angeles during the festival March 8-11,

2007. “My Name is Wallace,” a poignant

comedy about a man afflicted with

Asparger’s syndrome and his search for

love, has been entered in 117 film festi-

vals worldwide, including Sundance

and Tribeca. To see a one-minute trailer

for the film, visit www.youtube.com and

search for “Pondillo.”

ICE DOWN SOME PREDS TICKETS,

EARN COLD SCHOLARSHIP CASH

MTSU Night with the Nashville

Predators is back! Special ticket prices

are being offered to the MTSU commu-

nity for two upcoming Predators games:

Saturday, Dec. 2, against the Chicago

Blackhawks and Thursday, Dec. 14,

against the Ottawa Senators. Both games

begin at 7 p.m. at the Gaylord Entertain-

ment Center in Nashville. Ticket prices

will be discounted up to $6 for MTSU

faculty, staff and students, and the

Predators will donate $4 from each ticket

sold to the Sports Marketing Scholarship

in the Department of Management and

Marketing. To order tickets or get more

information, call Dan Schaefer, Nashville

Predators group sales account executive,

at 615-770-2115 and mention the MTSU

Night promotion to receive the discount

ticket pricing.

HOLIDAY TO-DO LIST: BUY GIFTS,

SEND INFO TO THE RECORD

Make sure your winter campus

events are included in the final edition

of The Record for the Fall 2006 semester,

publishing Monday, Dec. 4. Events

occurring between Dec. 4 and Jan. 16,

2007, when the university’s Spring 2007

semester begins, should be e-mailed by

Wednesday, Nov. 22, to gfann@mtsu.edu.

To see publication dates and when to

submit your information for The Recordin 2007, visit www.mtsunews.com and

click on “The Record” at the top of the

page, then click “Deadlines &

Submissions.”

www.mtsunews.com

a publication for the Middle Tennessee State University community Nov. 20, 2006 • Vol. 15/No. 10

PRE-SORTEDFIRST CLASS MAILU.S. POSTAGE PAID

MURFREESBORO TNPERMIT NO. 16

IN BRIEF

Positive behaviorAudio-Visual Services winsacclaim for DCS training videosee page 2

Cleaning upBiology professor teams upwith firm to kill staph germssee page 8

Social Insecurity?MTSU study says problemsno easy fix as nation agessee page 3

MTSU ProcurementServices has acquired anew online software

package, SciQuest E-ProcurementMarket Place, that allows vendorsto access a Web site and registertheir contact information and serv-ices.

That will put them into anactive database of suppliers andprovide MTSU with a broaderrange of choices and an easier wayto make purchases.

See ‘Thanks!’ page 5

by Tom Tozer

See ‘Bid’ page 6

by Randy Weiler

‘He’s making a list ...’

Honor veteransduring Nov. 25slate of events

New softwarelets vendorsbid online

MTSU’s Seigenthaler Chair ofExcellence in FirstAmendment Studies will

host a one-day event focusing on warjournalism on Monday, Nov. 20, thatwill feature Pulitzer Prize-winningjournalist David Halberstam and Timemagazine senior correspondentMichael Weisskopf.

“Covering the Front Lines: TheEvolution of War Journalism and

Lasting Effects of War Coverage onJournalists” is free and open to thepublic. It will be held in the KeathleyUniversity Center Theater.

“We are very excited to hear fromnationally recognized journalists andexperts about the state of war journal-ism, as well as how dedicatedreporters and photographers have

See ‘War’ page 5

‘Covering the Front Lines’Journalism seminar set

page 2 The Record Nov. 20, 2006

A typical day for a nontradition-al student involves compro-mise to manage that scarce

resource of time. Take, for example,Tuesday, Nov. 6.

I wake at 5:30 a.m. and I amalready behind. While munching on abowl of Crisp’n Fruity Rice, I try totighten up one of two essays duetoday. It is not the quality product Iprefer, but it will have to suffice.

Around 7:30, the news station tellsme the lines are starting to form atsome polling stations. I save the unsat-isfactory essay to my thumb drive andrace through the rest of my morningroutine. I arrive at 8:05 at the churchwhere I vote, and the line is modestbut slow-moving. While in line, Ireview the ballot I printed off thismorning, plus three sources for anoth-er essay I have to finish by Thursday.

While on the road toMurfreesboro, with National PublicRadio blaring, I am elsewhere, calcu-lating how much I need to work todayto make sure I get enough hours overthis pay period to meet my family’sneeds. Sadly, I figure that I need tomake up the time I lost voting or elseDecember will be an uncomfortablytight month. So I resign myself tomissing one of my favorite classeswhile I put in hours at work. Timeescapes me. My next class starts in fiveminutes at the BAS, and I haven’t leftmy desk. My co-worker prints thelackluster essay for me while I packmy backpack, then snatch the essayand bolt to class.

Class lets out early and the skydarkens as I trundle along to the KUCand up to the Adult Services Center.This sanctuary often provides me witha boost when I need some motivationor sympathetic understanding when Ineed to gripe. Today I am greeted withsnacks and a small pot of steamingapple cider because it is Nontradi-tional Student Week. What a blessing!I agree to write this essay about a dayin the life of a nontraditional student.This center has provided so much tome, and this is a way I can return thefavor.

During the discussion in myevening psychology class, I get a littleargumentative. So I practice some self-restraint and check the time on myphone. One missed call. One newvoice-mail. During the break, I checkmy voice-mail. My wife’s voicesoothes my grumpy demeanor, and Imake a mental note to call her as soonas class lets out.

Walking to the car at 9 p.m., I callhome. I savor our conversation, as thismay be the most we get to say to eachother today. Fourteen hours havepassed like minutes. The ride homeblurs into a mixture of amusing liveradio commentary and planning forthe next 10 hours. Work on the nontra-ditional student essay, check myonline class discussion and my e-mail

FFOORR TTHHEE RREECCOORRDD

Nontraditionalstudent jugglesacademic, family,work, civic dutiesby Jacob Potts

T he Department of Audio-Visual Services inMTSU’s Instructional Technology Support Centerrecently received a 2006 Bronze Telly Award for

producing “Fostering Positive Behavior,” a three-DVDtraining video for the Tennessee Department ofChildren’s Services in collaboration with theTennessee Center for Child Welfare.

“When the video was complete, we knew itwas good work, but we weren’t sure whichplaces were still accepting submissions,” saidDr. Connie Schmidt, director of ITSC and co-producer of the video, “so we did someInternet searching and found the Telly Awards.”

For more than a quarter century, the Telly stat-uette has been a symbol of creative excellence. Tellystatuettes honor outstanding local, regional andcable television commercials and programs, aswell as the finest video and film productions;past winners include the Children's MiracleNetwork, Court TV, Cox Communications, E!Networks, Harpo Studios, J. Walter Thompson,Spike TV, Targetcom and Universal StudiosHollywood.

The 2006 Telly Awards competition receiveda record-breaking 12,000-plus entries from ad agencies,production companies, TV stations, cable companies andcorporations throughout the world.

“DCS asked us to produce a video as a part of theirtraining program for caseworkers,” David Smith, TCCWvideo production manager, said.

“They needed training videos that could be facilitatedby a trainer or stand alone for viewing by caseworkers orresource parents.”

Each of the three instructional modules contained in

the “Fostering Positive Behavior” DVDs are designed tochallenge caseworkers to think about the strategies theyuse in helping families resolve child behavior problems.

“Focusing on family strengths and empowering fami-lies is the mantra of the videos,” Smith said. “The videosdeal with tough but important topics.”

In all three modules, case managers learn key behav-ioral concepts, relevant DCS policies and effectivecase management strategies. The video emphasizes

providing service that is family-centered, culturallyresponsive and strengths-based.

“The videos have been very well received,”Smith said, “and evaluations done at the end of thetraining sessions help us measure the effectivenessof the videos.”

Audio-Visual Services has already begun produc-tion of a second major training video for DCS,

“Pathways to Permanence,” which is slated for com-pletion this year.

The moderator for the DVD series is Lynn Yates,a former MTSU student and spokesperson for“HealthBreak,” a regular feature on WSMV-TV inNashville.

MTSU speech and theatre faculty members whohave principal roles in the video are Drs. Jette

Halladay and Crosby Hunt and assistant professorJacqueline Holmes.

Schmidt and Smith co-authored the original script forthe video in consultation with MTSU’s Dr. StaceyBorasky, TCCW executive director; Tricia Henwood andDonna Johnson, DCS administrators; and Dr. ChrisBellonci, a psychiatrist from Walker School in Needham,Mass. Frank Forgette, director of audio visual-services,along with Pat Jackson, assistant director of program-ming, and Jeffery Nokes, assistant director of engineering,provided support for the project.

Audio-Visual Services earns Telly Awardby Cristol Camacho

A SHOW OF APPRECIATION—Fifth BrigadeROTC commander Col. Kenneth Bishop, left, poseswith Nancy Garner, center, executive aide in theDepartment of Military Science, and departmentchair Lt. Col. Mike Walsh in celebration of Garner’s25-plus years of service to MTSU. Bishop, who over-sees college ROTC programs in Tennessee and Northand South Carolina, presented Garner with theCommander’s Award for Public Service from theDepartment of the Army. “I’ve gotten to do a lot ofthings I wouldn’t have been able to do if I was inanother office on campus,” Garner said during theceremony. “I’ve traveled to other army posts, gottento fly on a C-130, visited the Tomb of the UnknownSoldier. ... I’ve met a lot of students and been a partof their lives. It’s been a learning experience.”

photo submitted

25+ years of dedication

P rofessor, speaker, author andinventor Dr. Calvin Mackieand Tennessee Board of

Regents Chancellor Charles Manningreturned to Murfreesboro Nov. 17 forthe fourth annual Tennessee LouisStokes Alliance for MinorityParticipation UndergraduateResearch Conference.

“About 200 students and facultyfrom six institutions attended theconference,” said Dr. Barbara Knox,former TLSAMP director who recent-ly left MTSU to take a position atVanderbilt University.

Students and faculty fromTennessee State University,Vanderbilt, the Universities ofTennessee and Memphis, LeMoyne-Owen College and MTSU attendedthe two-day conference at the

Holiday Inn on Old Fort Parkway.Mackie and Manning made

keynote remarks centered on the con-ference theme, “Increasing Diversityin Science, Technology, Engineeringand Mathematics,” Knox said.

Mackie recently participated inSpike Lee’s documentary, “When theLevees Broke,” that stemmed fromthe catastrophe in New Orleans afterHurricane Katrina in 2005.

Manning generally speaks to hisaudiences without prepared remarks,said TBR spokeswoman MaryMorgan, so efforts to obtain com-ments from him in advance wereunsuccessful. He has attended anumber of MTSU-related functionssince taking his post in April 2000.

A former higher education execu-tive in West Virginia, Oklahoma andColorado, Manning has overseen thelaunch of the Regents Online DegreeProgram.

Mackie, a Tulane University fac-ulty member, spoke at an earlierMcNair Scholars Program function,telling the 150-plus attendees to“dream big dreams. Go back to yourdorm and tell yourself, ‘No man orwoman is going to stop me fromachieving what I want.’”

TLSAMP students presentedposters Nov. 16.

Speakers inspire undergrad researchersby Randy Weiler

See ‘Nontraditional’ page 6

ManningMackie

R aising the normal retirement age, or NRA, to maintain the solvency ofSocial Security seems like a good idea. However, younger job seekersthen would have fewer opportunities from which to choose if their eld-

ers had to keep working longer to collect their SS benefits.That’ s just one observation in a study conducted earlier this year by Drs.

William Ford, Weatherford Chair of Finance, and Franklin Michello, associateprofessor of economics and finance, in the Jones College of Business.

“The Unemployment Effects of Proposed Changes in Social Security’s‘Normal Retirement Age’” was subsequently published in the prestigiousBusiness Economics.

Ford and Michello contend that the desire to reform SocialSecurity and reduce unemployment can be conflicting objec-tives.

“Some of the many proposals for reforming SS involveeither raising taxes or cutting benefits,” Ford noted. “BeforeWorld War II, 17 workers paid into SS for every retiree. Today,it’s down to three to one, which means that a smaller numberof workers relative to a growing number of retirees will haveto pay more taxes.

“And the problem with cutting benefits is that if you dothat, and also raise the NRA, many older workers who arejust plain worn out will wind up on welfare, which will offset some hoped-forimprovements in the system’s financial viability.

“We think raising the retirement age is something that should not hap-pen,” Ford added. “The longer you extend the retirement age, the higher therisk that older folks may not be able to keep working and may even get fired.Then they’ll be counted as unemployed instead of retired.”

Ford and Michello suggest that if the economy were persistently robustand the risk of inflation high, it might then make sense to encourage olderworkers to work longer to relieve labor market pressures.

They pointed out that a cyclically adjusted retirement age during periods

of low unemployment might be a time for people to work longer. If there werea severe, cyclical labor shortage, one might then encourage workers to stay onthe job. However, that has not been the case in recent years.

Additionally, the trend toward early retirement has already begun toreverse itself, they contend. Life expectancy continues to increase, so peoplehave to plan for additional years of retirement. The so-called “Baby Boomers”aren’t saving enough to afford even normal retirement.

And while there’s an estimated $150 billion annual surplus right now inthe SS budgets, the agency claims its trust fund is in debt because of a huge,long-term, unfunded liability that will surface as the “Boomers” retire.

“The amount of payroll taxes coming in continues to grow slowly, but theamount going out to retirees is accelerating,” Ford pointed out, adding that

around the year 2015, those two lines will cross.“At that point, Social Security will have to dip into its

Trust Fund, which contains nothing but government debtobligations. This means when they hand it to the Treasury, theTreasury either has to raise taxes or incur an even largernational debt,” he explained.

Right now, the SS payroll tax rate is 12.6 percent, with theemployee and employer each paying half. Ford and Michelloproject that rate will reach 13 or 14 percent in just a few years.

The professors also believe that more research needs tobe done before a decision is made to raise the NRA. In peri-ods when there is already substantial unemployment, raising

the NRA would only add to unemployment without making any positiveimpact on the SS system’s bleak financial outlook. Furthermore, they point out,unemployed people do not make FICA payments, which would only put agreater burden on the system.

Finally, public opinion polls also have consistently indicated that peopledo not favor raising the NRA, and it would be difficult to implement intoday’s political environment. Out of political necessity, therefore, policy mak-ers will be pressed to look for alternative solutions, the authors contend, suchas partially privatizing the system, changing the current age-62 early-retire-ment option or reducing the annual inflation increments paid to retirees.

The Record Nov. 20, 2006 page 3

Study says reforming Social Security no easy fixby Tom Tozer

MichelloFord

Professor’s art takes flightat Nashville airport exhibit

T he heightened security meas-ures of the NashvilleInternational Airport won’t

allow an unveiling of a flock of birdsin the ticket lobby, but that’s exactlywhat local artist and MTSU art pro-fessor Erin Anfinson has done.

An assistant professor of art atMTSU, Anfinson recently broughtnature inside Nashville’s airport byshowcasing two original works ofart, “Startled” and “Gathering,” bothof which feature flocks of birdspainted against the landscape of afield. They’re on exhibit through Dec.3.

A native of Iowa, Anfinson saidshe became involved with Arts at theAirport last spring when she submit-ted a portfolio and a visual proposalfor the paintings that she wished tocreate. The curator selectedAnfinson’s proposal, and she wasawarded the opportunity to displayher artwork at the airport.

Depending on the viewer,Anfinson’s artwork may be interpret-ed in several different ways.

“Part of my motivation behindthese paintings, and most of myother work, is my interest in howone can either be informed or misin-formed by images and representa-tions of the natural world,” Anfinsonsaid.

Anfinson said that the process ofvisual abstraction has served as atool that allows the finished paint-ings to remain in an unstable spacefor the viewer.

“What I intended for the audi-ence to experience was this shiftingperspective of the abstracted images

moving in and out of focus,”Anfinson said. “My hope is that thisexperience will lead them into think-ing about the authenticity of theveiled and abstracted imagery.”

Anfinson’s artistic ideas ofabstraction and camouflage aredeeply rooted in the process sheemploys when preparing to paint anew work of art. Anfinson said sheusually begins a new body of art bysurfing through Internet images, clipart and her own personal digitalphotos. She said she starts eachpainting by making a black-and-white digital collage of the collectedimages in Photoshop, a computerprogram used for editing graphics.

“Once I have a composition thatI’m happy with, I compress the col-laged imagery through a series of fil-ters in Photoshop to bring a sense ofcontinuity to all of the various col-laged elements,” Anfinson explained.“These compressed images are thenprojected and drawn on to the can-vas or surface I’m working on, andthen I begin painting and filling inthe appropriate colors and valuesfrom the color scheme I’ve chosen.”

Anfinson said her interest inabstraction and camouflaging comesfrom her perception of both the natu-ral world and its innate occurrences.

“My own perception of the natu-ral world, and events that happen inthe natural world, often feels some-what misinformed, abstracted andambiguous due to the nature of howI experience it primarily via repre-sentations and not authentic experi-ence,” she explained.

Anfinson said that many of theimages that inspire new paintingsare usually of events she’s never seen

in real life, such as animal confronta-tions and catastrophic weatherevents. But she added that she hasseen these things so many timesthrough representation that it feels asif she has actually experienced them.

“This huge gap of understandingbetween the experience of somethingauthentic and its often simplifiedand dramatic representation is reallywhat drives my work and process,”Anfinson said.

Although Anfinson may nothave personally encountered everyscenario she paints, the paintings atthe airport do hold substantial mean-ing for the artist.

“The subject matter in thesepaintings for the airport holds somepersonal significance for me, becausethey relate to images from my child-hood growing up in Iowa,” sheobserved. “The palette of colors, thereferences to a landscape of fieldsand the imagery of large flocks ofbirds/ducks taking flight are allexperiences and images tucked away

in my memories of home.” It was, in fact, Anfinson’s pas-

sion for art that led her to a teachingjob at MTSU, she said, where she hastaught in the art department since2003. Currently, Anfinson teaches inthe foundations division, whichoffers classes such as 2-D Design, 3-DDesign, Drawing I and Drawing II.

“A lot of learning takes place inthese initial experiences, and I oftenfind myself challenging my ownapproaches to my art work throughthese experiences,” said Anfinson,who especially enjoys working withstudents taking their first art classes.“Students can make huge leaps dur-ing this time, which is always excit-ing to be a part of.”

For more information aboutAnfinson’s artwork, including vari-ous group shows, please visit herWeb site at www.erinanfinson.com.

Brittany Witt is a sophomore major-ing in mass communication.

TAKING WING—MTSU art professor Erin Anfinson works on “Scattered,” an acrylicon canvas on display at Nashville International Airport through Dec. 3.

photo submitted

by Brittany Witt

“Middle Tennessee Record”Cable Channel 9Monday-Sunday-5 p.m.NewsChannel 5+ Saturdays-1 p.m.

MTSU Guys & Dolls Swing Dance ClubFree dance lessons 6-7 p.m.,open dancing 7-9 p.m.Murphy Center Dance Studio AFor information, e-mail: lindyfiend@gmail.com.

Monday, Nov. 20“Covering the Front Lines:The Evolution of WarJournalism and Lasting Effectsof War Coverage on Journalists”Sponsored by the SeigenthalerChair of Excellence11:30 a.m.-8 p.m., KUC TheaterSee full schedule, page 5;for information, contact: 615-898-5150 or e-mailjpaul@mtsu.edu.

Honors Lecture SeriesDr. Will Brantley, “CelluloidDisaster in the 1970s”3-3:50 p.m., HONR 106For information, contact: 615-898-7611.

Nov. 23-25Thanksgiving HolidaysNo classes; university closed

Friday, Nov. 24Women’s Basketball vs. Chattanooga7 p.m., Murphy CenterFor information, visitwww.goblueraiders.comor contact: 615-898-2103.

Saturday, Nov. 25Varsity Club Pregame Reception12:30 p.m., Kennon Hall of Fameopen to Varsity Club membersand their familiesFor information, contact: 615-898-5632.

Saturday, Nov. 25 Blue Raider Footballvs. Troy University“Salute to Veterans/Senior Day”Time 2:30 p.m., Floyd StadiumFor information, visitwww.goblueraiders.comor contact: 615-898-2103.

Sunday, Nov. 26“MTSU On the Record—Albert Gore Sr.”Guest: Dr. Tony Badger7 a.m., WMOT 89.5-FMPodcast at www.mtsunews.com.

Monday, Nov. 27Men’s Basketball vs. Belmont7 p.m., Murphy CenterFor information, visitwww.goblueraiders.comor contact: 615-898-2103.

“An Evening of Schumann”with faculty H. Stephen Smith,tenor, and Caleb Harris, piano8 p.m., Hinton Music HallNo admission chargeFor information, contact:615-898-2493.

Nov. 30-Dec. 1MTSU Dance Theatre Fall Dance Concert7:30 p.m., Tucker TheatreAdmission: $8 per personFor information, contact:615-494-8810.

Thursday, Nov. 30Men’s Basketball vs. Indiana State7 p.m., Murphy CenterFor information, visitwww.goblueraiders.comor contact: 615-898-2103.

MTSU Women’s Chorale7:30 p.m., Hinton Music HallNo admission chargeFor information, contact:615-898-2493.

Friday, Dec. 1First Friday Star Party“The Sun-Earth Connection”6:30-8:30 p.m., WPS Room 102For information, contact:615-898-5946.

MTSU Flute Studio1 p.m., Hinton Music HallFor information, contact:615-898-2493.

Friday, Dec. 1MTSU Wind Ensemble7:30 p.m., Hinton Music HallNo admission chargeFor information, contact:615-898-2493.

Saturday, Dec. 2CUSTOMS—Spring 2007 All day, campuswideFor information, contact:615-898-5533.

Sunday, Dec. 3“MTSU On the Record—‘My Name is Wallace’”Guests: Dr. Bob Pondillo, David Lawrence7 a.m., WMOT 89.5-FMPodcast at www.mtsunews.com.

Handel’s “Messiah”with MTSU combined choruses3 p.m., Hinton Music HallNo admission chargeFor information, contact:615-898-2493.

MTSU Symphony Orchestra8 p.m., Hinton Music HallNo admission chargeFor information, contact:615-898-2493.

CalendarNov. 20-Dec. 3

TV Schedule

page 4 The Record Nov. 20, 2006

Making it official

NEW TOP COP—Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, left, officially swears in the new chief of MTSU’s Department of Public Safety andSecurity, Carl “Buddy” Peaster, a 24-year law enforcement veteran who joined the university April 3. Peaster came to MTSU fromGeorgia Southern University, where he handled investigations, training, crime prevention and community relations.

photo by J. Intintoli

Nov. 20

Nov. 25

Dec. 2

Nov. 30

Dec. 1

Nov. 27

Every Monday night

Nov. 23

Nov. 26

Dec. 3

Nov. 24

The Record Nov. 20, 2006 page 5

Thanks! from page 1honorary captains for the coin toss, Giles said. At halftime, MTSU’s Band ofBlue will play military theme songs while the veterans walk across HoraceJones Field. The Blue Raider Corps of Cadets will escort them.

D. Ed Moody of Franklin will receive the Joe T. Nunley Memorial Award.It will be presented by Joe Nunley Jr., whose father was a former MTSU alum-ni director. Past recipients include Dr. Roger Washington Bouldin (2005) ofHohenwald, Clarksville’s Charles H. Warfield in 2004, Nashville’s Warren G.King (2003), Shelbyville’s Edward C. Huffman (2002), Franklin’s John A. Bragg

(2001), Murfreesboro’s Dr. Bob Womack (2000), Smyrna’s Harriett Howard(’99), Hendersonville’s L.W. Oliver Jr. (’98), Murfreesboro’s Joe B. Jackson (’97),the late State Rep. Shelby Rhinehart (’96) of Spencer, McMinnville’s ElizabethChastain (’95), Shelbyville’s W.L. “Jug” Landers (’94), former State Rep. JohnBragg (’93) of Murfreesboro, Hendersonville’s Robert “Bob” DePriest (’92),Tullahoma’s Robert “Bob” Couch (’91) and McMinnville’s Rayford Davis (’90).

For more information, contact Howard by calling 615-355-0746 or militaryscience at 615-898-2470.

personally been affected by puttingthemselves into harm’s way to tell astory,” said Beverly Keel, MTSU pro-fessor and Seigenthaler Chair director.

“We’ll discuss how war journal-ism has changed over the decades,the effectiveness of ‘embedded’ jour-nalists and where we are headed. ...We’ll also get a personal account fromthose who have reported from thefront lines and learn about the lastingpsychological effects of doing so.”

The Nov. 20 event begins at 11:30a.m. with the opening address byHalberstam, who won a Pulitzer Prizeat age 30 for his reporting on theVietnam War. He is a best-sellingauthor, historian and one of thenation’s most distinguished socialand political commentators. He wroteThe Best and the Brightest, whichexplains how and why America wentto war with Vietnam, as well as ThePowers That Be, The Reckoning, TheFifties, Firehouse and The Teammates.

At 2:20 p.m., a panel is scheduledon the evolution of war journalism.The panelists are:

• George Esper, one of the fewwho achieved the title of SpecialCorrespondent at The AssociatedPress. He spent 42 years at the AP,where he was an eyewitness to histo-ry, covering the fall of Saigon in 1975and the battlefield surrender of Iraqin 1991. Esper retired in 2000 andteaches at West Virginia University.

• Robert Reid, the AssociatedPress correspondent-at-large whorecently completed a three-yearassignment that included serving as arotating chief of AP’s Baghdadbureau. Currently stationed inAmman, Jordan, Reid has been withthe AP since 1969 and has been corre-spondent-at-large since 2005.

• Dr. Michael Sweeney, a profes-sor and head of Utah StateUniversity’s Department ofJournalism and Communication andauthor of five books, including 2006’s

The Military and the Media, a history ofU.S. press and military relations.

• George C. Wilson, former chiefmilitary correspondent for TheWashington Post, who has been study-ing the American military and writingabout it for more than four decades.The author of six books, his reportingincludes the 1968 Tet Offensive andthe 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The second panel will begin at4 p.m. and focus on the effects of warreporting on journalists. Along withEsper and Wilson, it will feature:

• Leon Alligood, a Tennesseanwriter who reported fromAfghanistan and Iraq. He teaches inthe School of Journalism at MTSU.

• Dr. Anthony Feinstein, a neu-ropsychiatrist, professor of psychiatryat the University of Toronto and aGuggenheim Fellow. He also is theauthor of Journalists Under Fire: ThePsychological Hazards of Covering War,based on a series of studies investi-gating the war’s emotional impacton journalists.

• Amy Schlesing, militaryreporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, who spent one year inBaghdad with the ArkansasNational Guard's 39th InfantryBrigade, becoming the longest-tenured embedded reporter sinceErnie Pyle in World War II. Lastfall, she rolled into New Orleanswith the first military convoy toenter the city in the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina. After taking aleave of absence to finish a bookabout life with America's Infantry andthe evolving role of the NationalGuard, she returned to Iraq withLittle Rock Air Force Base's 463rdAirlift Group in January. And inSeptember she went back to Iraq withthe 463rd, returning home this month.

At 7 p.m. Time’s Weisskopf willgive the keynote address. He recentlywas featured on the magazine’s coverwith the release of his book, Blood

Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57,which recounts his experiences begin-ning in 2003, when he threw a liveIraqi hand grenade from a U.S. ArmyHumvee, saving the lives of the otherpassengers but costing him his righthand. For his Iraq stories, he won theNational Headliners Award and TheDaniel Pearl Award for courage andintegrity in journalism.

Weisskopf will speak about hisharrowing journey of recovery and

the bond he formed with otherpatients at the Walter Reed MedicalCenter. He joined Time in 1997 after20 years with The Washington Post andnow covers national politics andinvestigations, as well as the war,from Washington.

A reception will follow Weiss-kopf’s talk, and he, Feinstein andSweeney will be available to signbooks. For more information, call 615-898-5150 or email jpaul@mtsu.edu.

War from page 1

“Covering the Front Lines: The Evolution of War Journalism and Lasting Effects of War Coverage on Journalists”Monday, Nov. 20

KUC Theater11:30 a.m.–12:25 p.m. – Opening address by David Halberstam, Pulitzer

Prize-winning author, journalist and social commentator who covered theVietnam War

2:20–3:45 p.m. – Panel discussion: The Evolution of War Journalism• George Esper, retired Associated Press special correspondent• Robert Reid, Associated Press correspondent-at-large• Dr. Michael Sweeney, Utah State professor and author4-5:30 p.m. – Panel discussion: The Effects of War Reporting on Journalists

• Leon Alligood, reporter, The Tennessean• George Esper, retired AP special correspondent • Dr. Anthony Feinstein, professor of psychiatry and author• Amy Schlesing, military reporter, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette7 p.m. – Keynote address by Michael Weisskopf, Time magazine seniorcorrespondent and author of Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57; areception for the public and book signing will follow

For more information,contact 615-898-5150 or jpaul@mtsu.edu

Schedule of Events

TIME FOR CHANGE—Barbara Draude, left, director of MTSU’sAcademic and ITS Faculty Instructional Technology Center.,demonstrates the new ThunderTM Virtual FlipchartTM System inthe Paul W. Martin Sr. University Honors Building’s Room 218,now named the Cingular Wireless Advanced TechnologyLaboratories, as observers look on. From center left are JimThorpe, Cingular Wireless vice president and general manager,Kentucky and Tennessee region; the late Martin’s daughter-in-law, Carla Martin; and MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee. Thenew technology creates a “group easel” with virtual “pages” thatallow participants to jot notes with a stylus or finger. Those pagescan be "posted" or projected onto the wall in high resolution,allowing all the information to remain visible to participants. Andany student or team member on a laptop with an Internet connec-tion can immediately join in the session from within the room orremotely, according to system developer PolyVision Corp. Afterthe demonstrations, Dr. H. Lee Martin, managing member ofKnoxville-based mentor capital group Clarity Resources LLC,presented the Honors Lecture Series lecture "Techonomics:Understanding the Sources of Global Change."

photo by Jack Ross

Classroom technology

T he faculty of MTSU’s danceprogram is serving as host fortwo internationally known

choreographers—Gabriel Masson andZelma Badu-Younge—who will pro-vide master classes and deliver lec-tures and stage repertory for theMTSU Dance Theatre during theirNovember residencies.

“All master classes and lecturesby Masson and Badu-Younge areopen for public attendance and par-ticipation,” said Kim Neal Nofsinger,director of MTSU’s dance program.

Masson was in residence Nov. 9-13 and choreographed a new work forMTSU dance faculty membersNofsinger and Marsha Tardy, whowill premiere in the piece during the“Fall Dance Concert” Nov. 30-Dec. 2.

With a varied career as a per-

former, choreographer and teacherthat spans 20 years, Masson hastoured the world in the companies ofHannah Kahn, Rosalind Newman,Lucinda Childs and Doug Varone.Since 1989, he haschoreographed morethan 25 pieces forrepertory and uni-versity dance com-panies and was artis-tic director of hisown company,Gabriel MassonDance, for which hecreated a criticallyacclaimed group ofdances, “Human Series, Part I-IV.”

Additionally, Nofsinger saidMasson has also choreographed anddirected two films with differently-abled dancer Hamel Bloom: “AlmostTogether” and “Family: Portrait.”

With an international reputation

as a teacher, Masson has taught andperformed at festivals worldwide,including the American DanceFestival, the Edinburgh Festival inScotland and the San Biennial in

Brazil. After receiving a

master of fine artsdegree from NewYork University’sTisch School of theArts, Masson servedon its faculty from1990 to 1995 andfrom 1997 to 2001.He also served asguest artist at the

University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Guest artist Badu-Younge was to

be in residence at MTSU Nov. 15-21.During her residency, she was todeliver a free lecture, “Ewe Culture asExpressed in Ghana, West Africa:From the Village to the Stage to the

West,” at 9:10 a.m. Nov. 17 in theHonors College Amphitheatre. Inaddition, she will stage a new dancefor members of MTSU Dance Theatreto be performed during the springsemester.

Badu-Younge, who visited MTSUin 2004, holds a B.F.A. in contempo-rary dance and choreography fromConcordia University, an M.F.A. indance ethnology from York Univer-sity and a Ph.D. in integrated studiesin education from McGill University.

Her most recent activities includeteaching and performing in Taipei atthe Taiwan University of the Arts andin Seoul, South Korea, with Azaguno,a newly formed African drummingand dance company that she foundedand directed with Dr. Paschal Younge.

For additional information oneither artists’ residency, please contactNofsinger via e-mail at nofsinge@mtsu.edu.

page 6 The Record Nov. 20, 2006

Renowned choreographers in residence at MTSUfrom Staff Reports

and gulp down some vegetable soup. Reverse the order and it’s a plan. Park,amble into the house and begin to work.

OK, it is almost midnight and I just got started. I have been burning thecandle at both ends and the middle since before fall break, and there is norespite until December. I just can’t seem to concentrate; the words don’t come.I go rotate the laundry and muse about what to write. While folding theclothes, I consider tomorrow’s obligations. Work at 8:00 (I know I’ll be late),then my Academic Service scholarship hours at the Adult Services Center at

12:30. I hope I can get that mailing list done tomorrow. I try to get some sleepand set my alarm for 5:30. It goes off. I roll out of bed and start a new day,much the same as the last.

Jacob Potts, winner of the 2006 Nontraditional Student Week Essay Contest, is asenior majoring in industrial/organizational psychology who will graduate inDecember.

Nontraditional from page 2

“Even though the system won’t be up and run-ning until early 2007, the supplier registration andonline bidding begins this month,” said Joe Hugh,assistant vice president for purchasing and auxil-iary services. “We want to alert all vendors, largeand small, local and outside the area, to log in rightnow so that they can compete in the biddingprocess. It’s important that they become part of oursupplier database.”

The Web site to register is sciquest.ionwave.net/MT$ource. Hugh says the site will ask for a pass-word known only to the vendor and then will askfor company-profile information and commodityclassifications.

“Registered vendors will receive notificationsof available bid opportunities by e-mail,” Hughnotes. “The system will greatly reduce the cost ofsupplies and distribution while increasing thespeed and accuracy of the public bid process.Bidders without electronic access will still be able

to participate in the bid process by going to thesame Web site and selecting ‘current bid opportuni-ties’ or visiting the procurement office where acopy of any bid will be available.”

This SciQuest E-Procurement Market Place soft-ware will become available to campus users in thespring of next year, and the use of the MTSUP-Card should be compatible with the software,Hugh says.

“For now we want to build our vendor data-base, and we want to open it up to all merchants inthe area,” he emphasizes. “There are no fees to ven-dors for utilizing the new system. They controltheir own destiny. If vendors want to be part of thebid process, they can access the site and check tosee what we have on bid—and they can bid on it. Itgives them control over their company informationin the database. If they need to change theiraddress or if they change or add a salesperson,they’ll be able to go in and do that.”

Because the software will open up the bidprocess to many more vendors, Hugh says it willprovide the buyer with better vendors and prices.A buyer also may include all vendors with a “spe-cial classification” such as small, minority- orfemale-owned, for any commodity group. This willopen the door to more disadvantaged vendors inresponse to Gov. Phil Bredesen’s Executive Order#14 to “attract, direct and support minority, womenand small business by increasing procurementopportunities,” Hugh adds.

Eventually, MTSU personnel will be able to usethe SciQuest Market Place to order everything fromcomputers, telephones and new telephone lines tofurniture and other items through the system.

“It will be one-stop shopping, and the programwill even disperse all of the purchase orders towhere they need to go,” Hugh notes.

For more information, contact Hugh at 615-898-2944.

Bid from page 1

C’EST MAGNIFIQUE—Motlow State Communiy CollegePresident MaryLou Apple, left, joins MTSU President Sidney A.McPhee to sign an agreement for a pilot study-abroad programplanned for summer 2007 with Cherbourg University inNormandy, France. In signing the memorandum of understand-ing, McPhee said the “historic partnership” between the educa-tional institutions will allow students from Motlow and MTSU tofulfill course requirements in agriculture, biology, art, history,anthropology and international trade/economics, to name a few.MTSU and Motlow have several educational partnerships inplace that allow students at the two-year associate’s degree col-lege to attend classes for bachelor’s degree credit at MTSU.

photo by J. Intintoli

‘Historic partnership’

MassonBadu-Younge

Expanding Your Horizons 2006

The Record Nov. 20, 2006 page 7

INVESTIGATING SCIENCE—Biologygraduate student Randy Stewart shows twobudding scientists how to dissect a smallshark during a biology workshop at the 10thannual Expanding Your Horizons science andmath conference for girls in fifth througheighth grades. The conference, held Oct. 28 atMTSU, offered hands-on opportunities formore than 300 girls to see science, mathemat-ics, engineering and technology in action andlearn about potential career fields from morethan 50 MTSU faculty, students and commu-nity professionals. The event, which celebrat-ed a decade of encouraging young women toconsider math and science careers, was spon-sored by MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee,the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, theCumberland Valley Council of Girl Scoutsand the American Association of UniversityWomen’s Murfreesboro branch.

photos by Zach Sensabaugh

A decade ofgoo and slime’

Newsome and Tenney soon designedlaboratory experiments at MTSU todemonstrate the bactericidal proper-ties of chlorine dioxide using thisnewer technology.

Tests conducted in fall 2005 byNewsome and his students showedthe new chlorine dioxide generationtechnology could be used to kill all orsignificantly reduce the bacteria asso-ciated with shoulder pads and foot-ball helmets. For these studies theyworked closely with MTSU footballequipment manager Chris Matusek.

Following these encouragingresults, a similar procedure was donewith the cooperation of Coach Eddie

Bassam and the staff at MiddleTennessee Christian School.

“For all these tests, it was shownin dramatic fashion that bacteria weremarkedly reduced or eliminated fromthe equipment,” Newsome said.

This past spring, Newsome andtwo undergraduate students contin-ued the research, applyingStaphylococcus aureus, the staph bac-terium, directly to football pads.

“One surprising observationmade,” he said, “was that if staph areapplied to football pads with a paint-brush and allowed to sit for severaldays, the greatest number of staph arefound not to be on the mesh surface

of the pads but rather on the under-side of the mesh covering and withinthe foam pad itself.”

Using the chlorine dioxide gastreatment approach, his studentresearchers found that bacteria werekilled not only on the surface, but inthe mesh layer and even into thefoam pad beneath.

“Traditionally the way to treatsports equipment was to wipe itdown with a disinfectant,” Newsomeobserved. “That treats the top surface,but doesn’t get into the pores of thepads. The only way to completelyeliminate the bacteria was to tear outthe old pads and replace them, some-

thing that’s very costly for the aver-age high school. This new technologyallows for a simple, safe, on-site inter-vention for hard-to-clean sharedgear.”

Moreover, he added, “We’re look-ing at a number of other uses forthese products. Foodstuffs likespinach or tomatoes could be treatedin the field to improve safety withoutaffecting the quality. We’re also evalu-ating medical device sterilization,portable water treatment, and otherresearchers are looking at biothreatresponse to anthrax, SARS and avianflu.”

Germs from page 8

Dr. Thomas Berg (electronicmedia communication) was electedpresident of the Broadcast EducationAssociation during its Board ofDirectors meeting Oct. 28. Berg’s one-year term as BEA president com-mences April 18, 2007.

Dean Anantha Babbili (masscommunication) presented “Empireand Globalization: AmbivalentDiscourses in a Post-Colonial World”as an invited speaker at the James W.Carey Research Symposium held atthe University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Oct. 26-28. A dozen ofCarey’s former students were invitedto share their current research leadingto a festschrift for Carey, a major fig-ure in American cultural studies whopassed away earlier this year, to bepublished by the University of IllinoisPress.

Dr. Watson Harris (provost’soffice) presented twice at the No-Name Annual Facilities Conference inSyracuse in June on the topics of theHonors Advanced ClassroomTechnologies Lab and the final reporton Vision 2020. Additionally, Harrispresented at the SCUP SouthernConference in Atlanta this October onthe topic of the Honors AdvancedClassroom Technologies Lab.

Dr. Jwa K. Kim (psychology) andpsychology graduate studentAmanda Cotton presented a paper

“Psychometric Analysis of AthleticPerfectionism through PolytomousItem Response Theory” at the Mid-South Educational Research Associa-tion in Birmingham, Ala., Nov. 8-10.

Dr. Robert J. Lahm (businesscommunication and entrepreneur-ship) presented “Are We on theLookout for Plagiarism in BusinessPlans?” at the Allied Academies’ FallInternational Conference in Reno,Nev., Oct. 20. That presentation isalso a paper, “Plagiarism andBusiness Plans: A Growing Challengefor Entrepreneurship Education,”which has received Allied Academies’Distinguished Research Award andhas been accepted for journal publica-tion by the group as well.

Dr. Joan Raines (academicenrichment) led the “How Much is aMillion?” workshop at the 10thAnnual Expanding Your Horizons inScience and Mathematics Conferenceat MTSU Oct. 28.

Dr. Stephen Schmidt (psycholo-gy) presented an abstract, “LexicalPop-Out: The Effect of Emotion onAutomatic Attention to Words,” atthe 47th Annual Meeting of thePsychonomic Society Nov. 16-19 inHouston, Texas.

Carol M. Smith (Center forHealth and Human Services) present-ed a poster, “Conducting a statewidematernal and child health needsassessment in seven months:Challenges and lessons learned,” atthe American Public Health

Association meeting in Boston Nov. 6as part of the Maternal and ChildHealth Section, Topics in MCHEpidemiology and Data.

Dr. Pat Wall (business law) pre-sented “An Employment LawUpdate” at the Tennessee Society ofCPA’s Manufacturing Conference Oct.27 in Nashville. Dr. Wall and Dr.Daniel published an article, “Employ-ment Law Update,” in the Journal ofApplied Business Research, Vol. 22,Number 2, Second Quarter 2006, 73-78.

Drs. Kim Cleary Sadler andCindi Smith-Walters (biology), Dr.Tracey Ring (elementary education)and Marrie Lasater (Homer PittardCampus School) have recently pub-lished a chapter, “Thinking Outsidethe Box—No Child Left Inside atCampus School” in a new book,Exemplary Science in Grades PreK-4:Standards-Based Success Stories. Sadleralso published a feature article forGreen Teacher magazine, “ExoticInvasive Species: The Guests thatWon’t Go Home” for the late sum-mer/early fall issue. In the sameissue, Sadler and Karen Hargrove(biology, Center for EnvironmentalEducation) collaborated on the publi-cation of two activity lessons on exot-ic species, “A Date With FreddieKudzu” and “Something’s ChokingAuntie Elm.”

page 8 The Record Nov. 20, 2006

Faculty/Staff Update

People Around Campus

S chool districts in MiddleTennessee recently have report-ed several cases of staph infec-

tion among students and schoolworkers, and an MTSU biology pro-fessor is involved in research thatholds the promise of helping toreduce the number of these infections.

Dr. Anthony Newsome and someof his students are investigating theeffectiveness of chlorine dioxide gasin killing the germs that live in sportsequipment such as shoulder pads andhelmets. The research may also pointto new ways to combat otherpathogens, such as anthrax, SARSand avian flu.

According to Newsome, use ofthe chemical to kill germs is not new.It has a long history of use as a disin-fectant, and it is used worldwide totreat tap water and preserve food.Unfortunately, it is too unstable toship as a gas and must be producedon-site. Historically, this has requiredbulky equipment and training of per-

sonnel to operate the equip-ment.

What makes his researchsignificant is the new methodused to generate chlorinedioxide. Instead of bulkyequipment, Newsome isusing a system involving adry chemical powder storedin a container about the sizeof a salt shaker. When thepowder is activated, smallamounts of chlorine dioxidegas is released.

ICA TriNova of Newnan,Ga., produced the chemicalsystem used in the tests. In2001, Joel Tenney, the compa-ny’s executive vice president,and several other individualswith backgrounds in publichealth and chemical engineer-ing developed technology fora new method of producingsmall amounts of chlorinedioxide to meet specificneeds. Tenney says his com-pany’s system differs fromolder methods of chlorinedioxide generation in that it’sportable and simple to apply.

Early in the company’s develop-ment, ICA TriNova showed that itsproducts could be used effectively todeodorize and decontaminate mili-tary clothing and equipment. Theseproducts are currently being used by

some U.S. troops overseas to deodor-ize protective body armor. From theseuses, the idea emerged that it mightalso be used to kill bacteria associatedwith athletic equipment such as foot-ball pads.

Tenney recently attended a con-ference where Newsome and his

graduate students presented theirstudies about the type of microorgan-isms present in cooling towers.Through that chance meeting, a coop-erative relationship developedbetween Newsome and the company.

Cleaning up in the fight against germs

by John C. Lynch

Publications

Presentations

Elections

Newsome teamswith Georgia firmto kill staph bugs

UR024-1106

Tom TozerDirector, News and Public AffairsEditor: Gina E. Fanngfann@mtsu.edu

Contributors: Doug Williams, Lisa L.Rollins, Randy Weiler, John Lynch, Gina K.Logue, Paula Morton, Seth Alder, CristolCamacho, Danielle Harrell, BrittanySkelton and Thad Mitchell.

Photos: MTSU Photographic Services,except where noted

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

The Record Editorial Board:Dr. Anantha Babbili, J. Steven Barnes, Dr.Preston MacDougall, Dr. Rebecca “Becky”Seipelt, Molly Culbreath, John Harris, Dr.Don Roy, Angie Ray, Dr. Alexis Miller, Dr.Kathleen Burriss and Linda Puckett.

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 andother correspondence shouldbe addressed to:

The RecordOffice of News and Public AffairsCAB 209, MTSUMurfreesboro, Tenn. 37132

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See ‘Germs’ page 7

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY—MTSU biology professor Dr. Anthony Newsome, left, and ICATriNova executive vice president Joel Tenney inspect experimental methods of killing staph germs.

photo by J. Intintoli