MTSU faculty experts continue to distinguish themselves in national media with cogent comments on holiday eating, exercise psychology and a beloved movie character.

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  Dr. Mark Anshel

  

  Tracy Noerper

  Tracy Noerper, a registered dietician and a lecturer in the Department of Human Sciences, provided www.qualityhealth.com with remarks on the best and worst foods to consume during a holiday period. You can read her remarks within this article.

• Dr. Mark Anshel, a professor emeritus in MTSU’s Department of Health and Human Performance, opined about five brain tricks to improve an exercise workout for Yahoo.com. Find his remarks here.
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  Dr. Mark Byrnes

  

  Dr. Ric Morris

  Dr. Mark Byrnes, a political science professor and dean of the College of Liberal Arts, compared the naive U.S. senator in the 1939 film classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” with today’s members of Congress. Byrnes’ viewpoint was included in an editorial in the Orlando (Florida) Sentinel about the new Congress that may be read here via PDF.

• Dr. Ric Morris, a professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, analyzed President Barack Obama’s decision to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba for the Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Morris’ comments may be read here via PDF.

Morris, who has visited Cuba with MTSU students several times, also provided www.factcheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, with his comments on the reason American Alan Gross was in Cuba. Gross, who had been jailed in Cuba since 2009 after being accused of working for American intelligence services, was freed in December 2014 on humanitarian grounds.

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.

— Gina Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)