MTSU faculty appeared on WGNS Radio’s “Action Line” program recently to talk about the recently held Holocaust Studies Conference, a heat mapping research project and newly appointed chair of excellence in accounting.

The live program with host Scott Walker was broadcast on FM 100.5, 101.9 and AM 1450 from the WGNS studio in downtown Murfreesboro. If you missed it, you can listen to a podcast of the Sept. 19 program here.

Guests included:

• Dr. Elyce Helford, professor of English and director of the Jewish and Holocaust Studies Minor, who discussed by phone the recently held 14th biennial Holocaust Studies Conference Sept. 22-23 at MTSU.

A highlight of this year’s conference was a Friday, Sept. 23, appearance by Sonja Dubois, a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee, who shared her survival story. Dubois gave a talk titled “Finding Schifrah: A Holocaust Child Survivor’s Journey and the Making of a Memoir” and answered questions, along with her memoir editors, in the Student Union Ballroom. She also signed her book, “Finding Schifrah,” which explores her journey as an adult to uncover the truth of her identity and understand her Jewish heritage.

• Dr. Alisa Hass, assistant professor of the Department of Geosciences, who discussed by phone a “heat mapping” research project in partnership with Nashville to help communities manage neighborhoods vulnerable to extreme heat.

Hass coordinated volunteers to collect Nashville’s heat data as part of research for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Heat Mapping Campaign to chart heat risk in an urban heat island environment — city areas that can be up to 20 degrees hotter than surrounding rural areas and neighborhoods. The goal is to identify and help communities manage neighborhoods vulnerable to extreme heat.  

• Jarret “Jerry” Decker, the new Jacobs Chair of Excellence in Accounting and Professor of Practice in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, who discussed his new position as Jacobs Chair of Excellence in Accounting.

With an extensive background in international accounting and licensed as both a lawyer and CPA, Decker hopes to bring his global and legal experience to bear as the new Jacobs chairholder. A former head of the World Bank’s Centre for Financial Reporting Reform in Vienna, Austria, Decker has advised governments on reforms to improve corporate accounting, auditing and governance in more than 30 developing and transitional countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. 

Students, faculty and staff who are interested in guesting on WGNS to promote their MTSU-related activities should contact Jimmy Hart, director of news and media relations, at 615-898-5131 or via email at jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu.