MTSU faculty and staff recently provided the media with their perspectives on various issues, from economics to education initiatives, while others were spotlighted for accomplishments and community service.

• MTSU Master Patrol Officer Leroy Carter and Capt. Jeff Martinez talked with WKRN-TV May 2 about bike patrol training taught at the university. See their interviews.

• Dr. Sekou Franklin, political science professor, participated in a panel discussion on NPR regarding the health of democracy in America’s state legislatures. Check out the May 4 discussion and story. Franklin was also interviewed by April Eaton, host of WTVF-TV Channel 5’s Urban Outlook, about the Tennessee Legislature’s expulsion of two Black lawmakers as well as his book, “Losing Power: African Americans and Racial Polarization in Tennessee Politics.” Check out the interview from May 16.

• Dr. Neporcha Cone, new dean for the College of Education, was interviewed by WKRN-TV in Nashville at the launch of the Tennessee Teach Back Initiative May 8. Check out the interview.

• Dr. Ben Stickle, criminal justice professor at MTSU, talked about the importance of clarifying the difference between security guards and certified law enforcement officers in this WSMV-TV story about a Middle Tennessee company hiring impersonators. Check out his comments from May 11.

• Dr. Michael Peasley, director of the Office of Consumer Research in MTSU’s Jones College of Business, was tapped by ABC affiliate WKRN-TV in Nashville for his survey of Tennessee’s business climate in the first quarter. The Office of Consumer Research has been doing the Tennessee Business Barometer since 2015. The next survey goes out in June. Read Peasley’s comments and watch his interview from May 12.

• Dr. Debra Sells, who is retiring as vice president for student affairs and vice provost for academic and enrollment services after 27 years at the university, was spotlighted May 12 in an article by Main Street Media.

• MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee talked with The Tennessean’s opinion editor David Plazas about the university’s Teach Back Initiative is investing in the next wave of educators. Read his May 16 guest column in this online posting.

• Dr. Mark Allan Jackson, professor of English, was featured in numerous national publications for his piece on Woody Guthrie’s discourse about the national debt debate in Congress during the Depression. You can read his commentary in The Conversation published May 17.

• Dr. Sean P. Salter, assistant dean for assessment and associate professor of finance in MTSU’s Jones College of Business, talked with U.S. News and World Report May 17 about the steep downfalls of no-credit-check loan options. Read more.

• Sgt. Erik Libby and officer Andrew Bradham with the MTSU Police Department were spotlighted on Nashville’s WKRN-TV for taking a tiny kitten into “protective custody” when it got stuck in a vehicle’s wheel well in the wee hours of May 18. Check out the story.

• Chattanooga Times Free Press interviewed MTSU journalism professor Ken Blake about public perception related to mass shootings in the United States. Read his comments in the article published May 20.

• Political science professor Kent Syler shared his thoughts in an Associated Press story connecting far-right interest groups and anti-transgender health bills. This story was in media outlets across the country over the weekend, including The Washington Post on May 20. You can read his comments.

• Leon Alligood, associate professor in the MTSU School of Journalism and Strategic Media, is in Henry County this month with journalism students who are participating in a cooperative with The Paris Post Intelligencer in Paris, Tennessee. Read Alligood’s comments about this immersion experience in this article published May 22.

• Dr. Jackie Gilbert, professor of management, was referenced in this May 23 Communication Intelligence magazine article, “Don’t Be Afraid to Admit Your Mistakes.”

— Nancy DeGennaro (nancy.degennaro@mtsu.edu