In the News: MTSU faculty talk ICE detainment, gerrymandering, free speech, electrical grid, more

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University faculty recently provided the media with their perspectives on various issues, including financial advice, free speech, gerrymandering, rights of bystanders during ICE detainment and innerworkings of the electrical grid.

Aerospace department Chair and faculty Paul Craig — Dr. Paul Craig

• Dr. Paul Craig, aerospace professor, was spotlighted Dec. 30 for releasing the third edition of his book, “The Killing Zone: Airplane Accidents and Lessons for Survival.” Read the article and listen to the podcast.

• Dr. Colby Jubenville, health and human performance professor and director of the Center for Student Coaching and Success, talked with WalletHub on Jan. 8 about tips for using no-balance-transfer credit cards. Read the article.

Dr. Gloria Bonner

• Dr. Gloria Bonner, dean emeritus of education, talked with WTVF NewsChannel 5 on Jan. 8 about the photo restoration project (helped in part by MTSU) of class portraits from the historic Holloway High School in Murfreesboro. Watch the segment.

• Dr. John Vile, Honors College dean, was a featured panelist talking about issues in Venezuela Jan. 8 on WPLN-FM’s “This Is Nashville.” Watch the show.

Dr. Murat Arik, assistant professor of management, Jones College of Business, and director of the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center — Dr. Murat Arik

Ken Paulson, director, Free Speech Center at MTSU, College of Media and Entertainment — Ken Paulson

• Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center, talked with USA Today on Jan. 13 about legal rights for those recording ICE interactions. Read the article.

Paulson talked with USA Today Network – Florida on Jan. 27 to offer tips on First Amendment freedoms when observing ICE detainment practices. Read the article.

• Dr. Murat Arik, associate professor of economics and director of the Business and Economic Research Center, talked with The Tennessean on Jan. 13 about disputes over South Korea’s zinc mining buildout in Tennessee. Read the article.

Arik talked with The Tennessean on Jan. 13 about potential effects of elevated numbers of layoffs in the state. Read the article.

Dr. Sean Salter, associate professor, Economics and Finance — Dr. Sean Salter

Michelle Conceison, chair, MTSU Recording Industry — Michelle Conceison

• Dr. Sean Salter, associate professor of economics, talked with Bankrate on Jan. 14 about mortgage rate changes following a bond-buying edict. Read the article.

Salter talked with Bankrate on Jan. 21 about the recent increase in mortgage rates. Read the article.

• Michelle Conceison, Department of Recording Industry chair, talked with Nashville Lifestyles on Jan. 15 about Billboard naming MTSU as one of the best music business schools in the nation. Read the article.

Dr. Daniel Smith, director of the Political Economy Research Institute; associate professor in Economics and Finance — Dr. Daniel Smith

• Dr. John Villanova, assistant professor of physics, was featured in a Jan. 16 article from Oak Ridge National Laboratory on quantum materials development. Read the article.

• Dr. Daniel Smith, associate professor of economics and director of the Political Economy Research Institute, coauthored a Real Clear Policy article Jan. 21 on index funds. Read the article.

Dr. Jorge Vargas, associate professor, Department of Engineering Technology — Dr. Jorge Vargas

• Kent Syler, political science professor, talked with the Milwaukee Independent on Jan. 26 about the effects of gerrymandering in Congress. Read the article.

• Dr. Jorge Vargas, associate professor of engineering technology, talked with WKRN-TV Channel 2 on Jan. 30. about the electrical grid following the recent ice storm. Watch the segment.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)