MTSU faculty experts recently offered their perspectives to local, national and international news outlets on a wide range of topics including the life and death of Charlie Daniels, reopening schools safely, international students, the rise in COVID-19 cases and the destruction of an historic schoolhouse.

Dr. Jackie Gilbert

Dr. Jackie Gilbert, a professor of management, wrote about creating a culture of inclusion in the workplace for a July 4 post at www.organizedforefficiency.com. Her views can be read here.

Beverly Keel

Keith M. Huber

Beverly Keel, dean of the College of Media and Entertainment, and retired Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives, remembered country music legend Charlie Daniels following his death from a stroke at the age of 83 in a July 6 report on WSMV-TV in Nashville. The video and transcript are available here.

Keel and Huber also remembered Daniels and his support for veterans on campus in a July 6 report on WTVF-TV in Nashville. The video and transcript can be accessed here.

Andrew Oppmann

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee

Andrew Oppmann, vice president of marketing and communications, explained why MTSU is winding down its affiliation with the Confucius Institute in a July 7 story in the Murfreesboro Post. His comments can be read here.

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU president, spoke at a July 7 White House gathering on reopening schools safely. The video, posted by The Hill newspaper of Washington, D.C., is available here. McPhee’s remarks begin at 1:13:20.

McPhee told that assembly that each class will be electronically captured for students who desire it, as reported in a July 8 article at www.timeshighereducation.com. His remarks can be read here.

McPhee discussed operating a university during the COVID-19 pandemic on the July 17 edition of C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. The video is available here.

Dr. Sekou Franklin

Dr. Robert Summers

Dr. Sekou Franklin, an associate professor of political science and international affairs, said it is difficult for Republicans to accept racism as an urgent issue while Donald Trump is president in a July 8 article in The New York Times that was reprinted in numerous newspapers across the country. His views can be accessed here.

Dr. Robert Summers, vice provost for international affairs, said international students make MTSU a better place in a July 8 report by WZTV-TV in Nashville. The video and transcript are available here.

Dr. Ken Blake

Dr. Don Roy

Dr. Ken Blake, a professor of data journalism, said COVID-19 cases nearly quadrupled in Davidson and Rutherford counties in a six-week period in a July 5 report on WMOT-FM. His analysis can be read here.

Blake also said Middle Tennessee residents slowly returned to their usual lifestyles in May and June in a July 9 story on WMOT-FM. His comments can be accessed here.

Dr. Don Roy, a professor of marketing, said there is a variety of career opportunities available in the health care marketing field in a July 10 article in Becker’s Hospital Review. His remarks are available here.

Dr. Mary S. Hoffschwelle

Dr. Katie Schrodt

Dr. Mary Hoffschwelle, associate provost for strategic planning and partnerships, commented on the destruction by fire of an historic African American schoolhouse in Maury County in a July 10 report by WZTV-TV in Nashville. The video and transcript can be accessed here.

Dr. Katie Schrodt, an assistant professor of elementary and special education, co-authored an article on how teachers have shown creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic that was posted July 10 by www.literacyworldwide.org. The article can be read here.

Dr. Kahler Stone

Dr. Andrew Owusu

Dr. Kahler Stone, an assistant professor of public health, explained how the COVID-19 virus spreads in a July 11 article in the Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. His views can be accessed here.

Dr. Andrew Owusu, an associate professor of public health and director of the master’s degree in public health program, said 14 days is the appropriate length of time for a COVID quarantine in a July 11 article in the Daily News Journal. His comments are available here.

Dr. Sean Foley

Kent Syler

Dr. Sean Foley, a professor of history, discussed his book “Changing Saudi Arabia: Art, Culture, and Society in the Kingdom” in a July 12 online lecture for the Middle East Institute of New Delhi, India. The video can be viewed here.

Kent Syler, a professor of political science and international relations, characterized the upcoming November election as “a referendum on Donald Trump” in a July 13 article in La Presse of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His remarks can be accessed here.

Syler also analyzed the Republican primary fight between U.S. Senate contenders Bill Hagerty and Manny Sethi in a July 16 story in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. His views are available here.

Dr. Ben Stickle

Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross

Dr. Ben Stickle, an associate professor of criminal justice administration, noted that scrap metal is one of the most highly sought after items by home burglars in a July 13 article in Reader’s Digest. His comments can be read here.

Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, a professor of chemistry, hailed the selection of Ruth Woodall as the winner of the 2021 Charles Lathrop Parsons Award from the American Chemical Society’s board of directors in a July 15 article in Chemical and Engineering News. Her remarks are available here.

Dr. Charlie Baum

Dr. Charles Baum, a professor of economics and a member of the Tennessee General Assembly, wrote and voiced an editorial promoting state financial assistance for first-time homebuyers and veterans that aired July 15 on WGNS-AM in Murfreesboro. The transcript 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.