National news outlets recently turned to MTSU faculty for their expertise on a variety of subjects including mortgages, the recording industry, breastfeeding, hip replacement surgery and hurricane relief, among others.

Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes

Dr. Sidney A. McPhee

Dr. Daniel Smith

• Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, director of the Albert Gore Research Center and a professor of history, reacted to Vanderbilt University Professor John Geer’s defense of tobacco companies in litigation brought by smokers for a Sept. 10 story by Nashville Public Radio. The transcript and audio can be accessed here.

• Dr. Sidney A. McPhee, university president, lamented the loss of his grandniece due to Hurricane Dorian as he prepared to send more supplies to the Bahamas in a Sept. 11 story on WKRN-TV. The transcript is available here.

• Dr. Daniel Smith, an associate professor of economics, commented on President Trump’s assertion that the Federal Reserve Board should lower interest rates to zero or less for a Sept. 11 story by NBC News. His views can be read here.

Dr. Sekou Franklin

Ken Paulson

Beverly Keel

• Dr. Sekou Franklin, an associate professor of political science and international affairs, explained how felony disenfranchisement laws adversely affect neighborhoods with large numbers of previously incarcerated people for a Sept. 19 story at www.themarshallproject.org. His comments can be found here.

• Ken Paulson, director of MTSU’s Free Speech Center, denounced the suppression of free speech by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association in a Sept. 20 article in The Wilson (North Carolina) Times and other newspapers. His views are available here.

• Beverly Keel, chair of the Department of Recording Industry, explained her hip replacement surgery in a Sept. 20 story at www.aarp.org. Her words can be read here.

Dr. Katie Foss

Dr. Philip Seagraves

• Dr. Katie Foss, a professor of journalism and strategic media, analyzed an episode of the television series “Friends” that focused on breastfeeding for a Sept. 21 article at www.newslive.com. Her comments can be accessed here.

• Dr. Philip Seagraves, an associate professor of finance and real estate, commented on a report that few millennials ask their parents for help in paying mortgages for a Sept. 21 report in the Dallas Morning News. His views can be accessed here.

• Dr. Kris McCusker, a professor of history, ethnomusicologist and co-director of the Oral History Association, participated in a panel discussion about diversity in music for “NPT Reports: Whose Music?” The program aired Sept. 22 on WNPT-TV. The video is available here.

Dr. Kris McCusker

Leon Alligood

• Leon Alligood, an associate professor of journalism, penned a column about driving Jimmy Carter’s car when he was only 16 years old for the Sept. 24 edition of The Tennessean. His words 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 615-898-5081 or via email at gina.logue@mtsu.edu.