Reporters recently turned to MTSU faculty members for insight and analysis on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the vaping industry, the promotion of baby formula, the global supply chain and other subjects.

Dr. Alan Musicant

Dr. Daniel Smith

• Dr. Alan Musicant, a professor emeritus of psychology, paid tribute to his former University of Chicago professor Dr. Robert Butler, who died Feb. 5 at the age of 98. Musicant’s comments are in a Feb. 23 story by UChicagoNews, which can be accessed here.

• Dr. Daniel Smith, director of the Political Economy Research Institute and a professor of economics, analyzed the impact Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have on gas prices and the global supply chain in a Feb. 24 report by WSMV-TV in Nashville. The video and transcript are available here.

Smith wrote a column about who is helping the tobacco industry try to stamp out the vaping industry. The column was published Feb. 28 at www.realclearpolicy.com and can be read here.

Dr. Katie Foss

Dr. Hanna Terletska

• Dr. Katie Foss, a professor of media studies, commented on the impact of marketing by formula companies on breastfeeding in a Feb. 24 article in the Tennessee Tribune. Her remarks are available here.

• Dr. Hanna Terletska, an assistant professor of physics, participated in a pro-Ukraine demonstration that was shown in a Feb. 25 report by WSMV-TV in Nashville. Her remarks, which begin at 2:07 on the video, are available here.

Terletska was interviewed Feb. 25 by WZTV-TV in Nashville about her support for her homeland of Ukraine. The video can be seen here.

Dr. Ben Jansen

Dr. Michael Federici

• Dr. Benjamin Jansen, an assistant professor of finance, explained the SWIFT system of banking from which Russia is being cut off with sanctions because of its invasion of Ukraine in a Feb. 25 report by How Stuff Works. The story can be accessed here.

• Dr. Michael Federici, a professor of political science and international relations, discussed the work of Orestes Brownson, a Catholic intellectual and activist, on the Hermitix Podcast. The video, which was uploaded to YouTube Feb. 27, can be seen here.

Dr. John Vile

Beverly Keel

• Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College and a political scientist, discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the Feb. 28 edition of “Open Line” on NewsChannel5+. The video can be viewed here.

Vile lent historical perspective to the astonishment some journalists express at the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a March 4 article in The Christian Science Monitor. His remarks can be accessed here.

• Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment, was interviewed about her life for www.musicrow.com. Her comments, which were republished March 2 by www.thetalkingfern.com, are available here.

Dr. Andrei Korobkov

Dr. Emily Baran

• Dr. Andrei Korobkov, a professor of political science and international relations, explained the impact of Western sanctions on Russian elites in a March 3 interview with the TRS public broadcast service of Turkey. The video, which was posted to YouTube March 4, can be seen here.

• Dr. Emily Baran, a professor of history, asserted that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not extremists, contrary to statements from the Russian government, in a March 7 article by the Associated Press. The story was published by numerous news agencies, including the Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Sun-Gazette, and can be read 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)