In the News: MTSU faculty talk Israel-Hamas war, aircraft bird strikes, metal theft, more

In the News-short mark graphic-rev white

MTSU faculty and staff recently provided the media with their perspectives on various issues, including the Israel-Hamas war, aircraft bird strikes, metal theft, dyslexia and the rural South’s economic crisis.

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU president — Dr. Sidney A. McPhee

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

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

• WRCB-TV Local 3 News spotlighted Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, MTSU president, and MTSU’s True Blue Tour stop Nov. 2 in Chattanooga. Watch the segment.

• Dr. Daniel Smith, economics professor and director of the Political Economy Research Institute, talked to The Daily News Journal about the city of Murfreesboro’s plan to subsidize a baseball stadium. Read the Nov. 3 article.

• Dr. Murat Arik, associate professor of management and director of MTSU’s Business and Education Research Center, was referenced from a 2019 commentary on governmental spending on sports facilities included in this Nov. 3 article in The Daily News Journal in relation to Murfreesboro’s attempt to fund a baseball park.

Dr. Sean Foley, an associate professor of history — Dr. Sean Foley

• Dr. Sean Foley, professor of history who specializes in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and political and socio-religious trends in the broader Islamic world, has talked extensively about the Israel-Hamas war.

Nikki McGee interviewed Foley about the protests calling for ceasefire in this article that aired Nov. 4 on WKRN-TV News Channel 2.

Foley talked with Jim Richards of Newstalk 1010 — a major AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario — in a Nov. 9 interview focused on the topic, “Israel-Hamas: How Did We Get Here?”

Foley talked on “Openline with Ben Hall” in this WTVF-TV NewsChannel 5 news program that aired Nov. 14.

• Dr. Arunesh Nadgir, coordinator of keyboard studies, was spotlighted in The Daily Progress Nov. 9 for his performance with the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of Virginia. Read the story.

Dr. Arunesh Nadgir, piano professor and co-director of the Stones River Chamber Players — Dr. Arunesh Nadgir

Dr. Benjamin Stickle, associate professor, Department of Criminal Justice Administration — Dr. Ben Stickle

• Dr. Ben Stickle, criminal justice professor, talked with CBC Radio in Canada Nov. 10 about copper wire theft. Listen to his commentary.

Inside Edition interviewed Stickle about the growing trend of thieves targeting delivery trucks. Watch the segment that aired Nov. 15.

Stickle’s expertise on catalytic converter theft provided information in this Nov. 15 New York Times article.

Dr. Steven Sprick Schuster, assistant professor of economics and member of the Political Economy Research Institute at MTSU — Dr. Steven Sprick Schuster

Stickle takes on the topic of porch pirates in this Los Angeles Fox News affiliate article on Nov 23. Watch the segment and read the article.

Stickle was interviewed by E-Commerce Times about porch pirates for an article that ran Nov. 28. Read the article. He takes on the same topic The Decatur Daily, which referenced a podcast Stickle did about porch pirates. Listen to the podcast.

• Dr. Steven Sprick Schuster, assistant professor of economics, and Dr. Ben Stickle, criminal justice professor, co-authored an article about the importance of educating prisoners to reduce recidivism in an article published at The Conversation on Nov. 20. Read the commentary.

• Robert Fowler, aerospace assistant professor, talked with WSMV-TV Channel 4’s Michael Warrick Nov. 15 about the prevalence of bird strikes. Watch the segment.

Robert Fowler, assistant professor, aerospace — Robert Fowler

• Dr. Tim Odegard, a professor and holder of MTSU’s Murfree Chair of Excellence in Dyslexic Studies, shared his personal journey grappling with literacy challenges and delved into the flawed approaches of American schools in this article that appeared Nov. 15 in The Hechinger Report as well as Scientific American, and pointed to another article in The Hechinger Report where Odegard talks about educational disparities for students of color. Learn more.

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

• Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, director of the Albert Gore Research Center at MTSU and professor of history, wrote about the rural South’s economic crisis in an article published Nov. 15 in The Conversation.

• Ken Paulson, director of the Free Speech Center, talked about constitutional rights of students holding pro-Palestinian rallies in a Nov. 16 USA Today article. Read his comments.

• Dr. Carol Nies, associate professor and music director of the MTSU Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, was interviewed in a Nov. 18 article published in China Daily an Oct. 21 concert collaboration with Chinese erhu instrument virtuoso Ma Xiaohui.

• Dr. John Vile, Honors College dean and political science professor, shared his thoughts with Pat Nolan, WTVF-TV News Channel 5 “Inside Politics” analyst, about the upcoming election year. Watch the segment that aired Nov. 20.

• Kent Syler, political science professor, talked to Inc. magazine Nov. 21 about the impact political divisiveness has on entrepreneurship. Read his comments.

Kent Syler, assistant professor, political science — Kent Syler

Dr. Keith Gamble, chair, economics and finance — Dr. Keith Gamble

Dr. Janet Colson, professor of nutrition and food science and registered dietician, Department of Human Sciences — Dr. Janet Colson

• Dr. Keith Gamble, director of the Data Science Institute, addressed the development of data science and artificial intelligence at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce’s We Grow Talent Workforce Summit. Read about the event in a Rutherford Source article posted Nov. 27.

• Dr. Janet Colson, a professor of nutrition, talked about the food desert created in the MTSU area of downtown Murfreesboro in an article that ran Nov. 29 in The Daily News Journal. Read her comments.

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