MTSU faculty and staff recently provided the news media with analysis on assorted topics including recruiting transfer students, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Gilded Age, the Federal Reserve Board, king cakes and other subjects.

Dr. Carroll Van West

Dr. William Yelverton

• Dr. Carroll Van West, director of the Center for Historic Preservation and Tennessee State Historian, participated in “Naming an Era: The Gilded Age as Novel and Nom de Guerre,” a Jan. 27 virtual panel discussion about the Mark Twain novel and the period of American history it described, under the auspices of Newport Mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. The video, which was posted Jan. 28 on YouTube, can be seen here.

• Dr. William Yelverton, a professor of guitar, commented on becoming the world’s fastest 400-meter sprinter over the age of 60 in 2021 in a Jan. 30 article in the Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. His remarks can be read here.

Dr. Kevin Corns

Dr. Daniel Smith

• Dr. Kevin Corns, an assistant professor of aerospace, talked about the use of drones in agriculture in a Feb. 3 report on the RFD television network. The video is available here.

• Dr. Daniel Smith, director of the Political Economy Research Institute and associate professor of economics, wrote an editorial about President Joe Biden’s nominees to the Federal Reserve Board that was published Feb. 7 in the Citizens Journal of Ventura County, California. His views can be read here.

Dr. Walker Todd

Dr. Andrew Polk

• Dr. Walker Todd, a lecturer in the Department of Economics and Finance, speculated on what might happen if the Federal Reserve Board raises interest rates several times in 2022 in a Feb. 7 article in U.S. News and World Report. His analysis can be accessed here.

• Dr. Andrew Polk, an associate professor of history, commented on a controversial curriculum provided to Hamilton County, Tennessee, schools by a nonprofit group called “Bible in the Schools” for a Feb. 7 report on WTVC-TV in Chattanooga. The video and transcript are available here.

Kent Syler

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee

• Kent Syler, a professor of political science and international relations, assessed the political delays of President Joe Biden’s appointments to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors in a Feb. 9 article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The story, which also ran in Yahoo! News and the Marietta (Georgia) Daily Journal, can be read here.

• Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, university president, explained the need to expand MTSU’s aerospace program in a Feb. 9 report on WTVF-TV in Nashville. The video and transcript can be accessed here.

Lindsey Powers Joyner

Dr. Robert Bray

• Lindsey Powers Joyner, transfer enrollment coordinator, described the annual Promise Tour in a stop at Jackson State Community College as reported in a Feb. 9 story by WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee. The video and transcript are available here.

• Dr. Robert Bray, a retired professor of English, talked about his love of authentic New Orleans king cakes in a Feb. 13 story in the Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. His remarks can be read here.

Dr. Don Roy

• Dr. Don Roy, a professor of marketing, said he thinks the benefits of Spotify’s sponsorship of the FC Barcelona soccer team outweigh the risks in a Feb. 14 article at www.zonamovilidad.es. His views can be accessed in English here.

Reporters seeking expertise from MTSU personnel, as well as members of the campus community with expertise for media, may contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Media Relations at 615-631-8322 or via email at gina.logue@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)