Hannah Travels to Bangladesh to Aid University Partners

Muhammad Yunus

Dr. Richard Hannah [Department of Economics and Finance] spent two weeks in December visiting Chittagong University in Bangladesh, one of MTSU's international partners, and making contact with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, former MTSU professor and founder of the Grameen Bank in the capital city of Dhaka. A second shipment of books is on its way to CU students through the efforts of MTSU's Yunus Program.

In addition, Hannah met with the executive staff at Grameen to discuss expanding internships at the bank. The first MTSU student to intern with Grameen, Steve Sibley, is in his second year of a doctoral program at Purdue University. [See Sibley's letters from Grameen describing his internship experience.]

[Read complete article in the Record.]

Dr. Richard Hannah, second from right, meets staff members at a medical facility in rural Bangladesh that has been set up as a social business.

Take a Stand: Stop Bullying

March 17, 6-8 p.m., BAS State Farm Room

National expert on workplace bullying Dr. Gary Namie will speak on March 17, 2011, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the State Farm Room in the Business and Aerospace Building on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Namie taught the nation's first university course on workplace bullying. He was the expert witness in the nation's first bullying trial in Indiana with the verdict upheld by the state Supreme Court.

Dr. Namie and his wife, Dr. Ruth Namie, are the most recognized individuals associated with bullying in the U.S., due in large part to the eight public websites devoted to education about bullying for individuals, lawmakers, unions, and employers. Their work has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, NPR, and in print.

Dr. Namie directs a national network of state coordinators [the Healthy Workplace Campaign], acting as citizen lobbyists, who work to pass into law the anti-bullying Healthy Workplace Bill.

This event, free and open to the public, sponsored by the Distinguished Speaker Series and the Jennings A. Jones College of Business. For more information, contact Jackie Gilbert, 615-898-5418. More information regarding bullying, civil discourse, and respectful interaction can be found at OrganizedforEfficiency.com.

[Download promotional flyer pdf.]

Insurance Career Fair

Martin Chair of Insurance / Gamma Iota Sigma Career Fair today in Keathley University Center rooms 322 and 316 [more]

Tennessee Housing Market 3rd Quarter

The Business and Economic Research Center has posted its Tennessee Housing Market Report with 4th Quarter 2010 data - 
http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/housingbrief.html

Tennessee Business News

Latest business headlines for Tennessee and its 10 metropolitan statistical areas: 

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~berc/tacir/tacir.html#news

Tennessee Initial Unemployment Claims

New graph from the Business and Economic Research Center:
http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/tacir/taciruiclaims.html

FBLA Region 4 Conference

Tennessee’s Region 4 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) held its annual conference at MTSU on February 8, 2011. The Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship (BCEN) hosted a reception for the participants and teachers and served as judges and proctors for the competitive events.

The events involved over 300 students from local high schools and middle schools in numerous business disciplines. Region 4 consists of Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall, Maury, Perry, Rutherford, Wayne, and Williamson counties.

Update: Tennessee's Economic Recovery

http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/ppts/recoveryfeb11.ppt

David Penn's presentation "Update: Tennessee's Economic Recovery" (.ppt) to TACIR (Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations)

Jones College Research Cited by Atlanta Fed

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's blog Southpoint cited research by MTSU's Office of Consumer Research and Business and Economic Research Center in its post "Confidence Improving in the Region": 

• In their December publication, Dr. Timothy Graeff writes that: "On the positive side, consumers feel slightly better about the current economy. The current situation index rose modestly to -90 from -93. The percent who said that business conditions in the country as a whole are 'good' gained only slightly to 7 from 5, but the percent who said that business conditions are 'bad' dropped to 34 from 41."
• As an aside and a plug for our friends at MTSU's Business & Economic Research Center, see their heat maps of Tennessee's employment picture. They also provide similar maps for major state metro areas, including Nashville."

Census City Population Widget

On the Business and Economic Research Center site:
http://www.mtsu.edu/~berc/citypopulation.html

Poll: Consumers More Optimistic about Future

Consumer confidence in Middle Tennessee rose significantly this week, with consumers polled by telephone expressing more optimism about the economy, the job market and their stocks.... "Even though consumers are more confident and more hopeful about the future, the future economy and future jobs, they don't see it right now," said Timothy Graeff, director of MTSU's Office of Consumer Research, which conducts the consumer poll periodically. [Daily News Journal article]

Wall Street Journal Writer Slated to Speak at MTSU

Stephen Moore to Discuss Government, Taxes, State of National Economy

Stephen Moore, senior economic writer for the Wall Street Journal and a member of the WSJ’s editorial board, will lecture on current events Thursday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.

Moore is the author of five books, most recently Bullish on Bush: How the Ownership Society is Making America Richer. He also is the former president of the Free Enterprise Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group for limited government and tax relief, and the founder and former president of the Club for Growth, a political action committee committed to less government and lower taxation.

             

A former consultant to the National Economic Commission and ex-research director for the Commission on Privatization under President Regan, Moore’s resume also includes stints at two Washington-based think tanks, the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute.

             

A question-and-answer session will follow the lecture. This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, the Wright Travel Chair in Entrepreneurship, and the Young America’s Foundation. For more information, contact Doug Tatum at 615-898-2785 or dtatum@mtsu.edu.

Obituary: Dr. Anna Burford

Dr. Anna M. Burford, 83, died on Jan. 5, 2011. Dr. Burford was employed by MTSU from August 1981 until her retirement in July 2000. She was a professor in the Department of Business Education, Marketing Education and Office Management [BCEN, from the Record].

Would You Pay $170,000 for a Consultant?

Doug Tatum, associate professor [Business Communication and Entrepreneurship], who holds the Wright Travel Chair in Entrepreneurship, was quoted in a New York Times blog post on running a small business.