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Words from the Chair

Vol. 17, No. 1 Fall 2005

continued on page 2

John R. Vile

I want tobegin bythankingthose of youwho con-tinue to sendinformationthat we caninclude inforthcomingnewsletters.It is refresh-ing to readabout yourachieve-

ments; I also enjoy your reminiscencesand comments about the department

and faculty members who played aspecial role in your life. It is hearteningto know that many of you are still ben-efiting from instructors who taught herethirty and forty years ago. James C.Free, a graduate from the class of 1969,was among those who showed hisappreciation by endowing a departmen-tal scholarship over the past year.

Many of you observed that the depart-ment was relatively small when youwere here. Largely because demandcontinues to grow for departmentalprograms, we are still short-handed, butwe have fourteen full-time facultymembers (all with Ph.D.s) and a num-

Mr. James C. Free (B.S. 1969, M.P.A.1972), with the Smith-Free GroupInc. in Washington, D.C., has re-cently donated $10,000 to endow ascholarship. The James C. FreeScholarship will be available to resi-dents of Maury County, Tennessee,who are majoring in political scienceand can verify financial need.

Mr. Free has been one of thedepartment’s most successfulalumni. His consulting group isamong the leaders in Washington,and he managed the presidentialcampaign of Al Gore in 1988. In

James (Jim) C. Free Donates $10,000!past years, Mr. Free hashelped MTSU political sci-ence students who wanted tointern in his office. In 1993,MTSU awarded Free one ofits Distinguished AlumniAwards.

Mr. Free joins other generousalumni and former facultymembers and families offaculty members such asCharles Ray, Norman Parks,and Harry Horne in estab-lishing scholarships for thedepartment.

Inside this issue:Pam's Corner ................................ 2

Japan Field Study Trip 2005 ........... 3

Welcome ...................................... 4

Broadside ..................................... 4

Student News ............................... 5

Faculty News ................................ 9

Survey ........................................ 11

Alumni News ............................. 14

Mock Trial ................................... 18

Jim Free (center) visits with old friends and colleaguesformer Judge Tom Wiseman (left) and former statelegislator Bobby Sands (1972) at an MTSU 2001Legislative conference.

Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro

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Words continued from page 1

ber of adjuncts. We now have over 500majors. Some are in the general politi-cal science major; others are concen-trating in pre-law, public administration,or teacher licensure; and still others aregetting degrees in international rela-tions. Faculty members work with anumber of minors including GlobalStudies, African Studies, African Ameri-can Studies, Urban Studies, RussianStudies, and the like.

Three events helped highlight my workas a faculty member over the past year.One was a wedding I attended in Nash-ville. The bride, Kim Miller (who wasmarrying Justin Pitt, a Nashville attor-ney), while not a political science ma-jor, was one our mock trial “stars,” andthere must have been close to ten suchalums (many of whom were politicalscience majors) in attendance. Each hadspecial recollections of their years atMTSU and special praise for MTSUfaculty members and coaches who hadpositively influenced their lives. Almostevery one has served as a judge at ourmock trial tournament in November thatis now one of the largest in the nation.

The second event was an awards cer-emony and graduation that I attendedfor the 225th class of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College ofWilliam and Mary. As any father wouldbe, I was proud of my daughter, whohas put her MTSU political science andFrench majors to good use. I was alsoproud to see that another MTSUalumna, Brooks Rodgers (a politicalscience minor), was graduating in thesame class and was also being givenspecial honors. It is always a pleasurewhen I receive a card or see a newspa-per article about an alum who has re-cently completed a law or graduatedegree.

A third event was the scandal con-nected to the Tennessee Waltz stingoperation in Nashville that occurred justas the legislative session was ending.Although MTSU has a sizable presenceat the legislature, I don’t believe thatany of our interns were working for

Pam's CornerI realize as Ienter myfifth yearworking forthe PoliticalScienceDepartmentthat I haveseen in-comingfreshmenall the waythrough tograduation

(well, most of you!). I have come toknow a whole “class” of politicalscientists! It is hard to believe thatyou were once bumbling undergradu-ates and I was once a bumbling newsecretary for a department of 13.Now you are all aspiring or recentgraduates, and I am an executive aidefor a department of 15. We’ve allgrown in the time we’ve known eachother. Along the way, I have discov-ered that I have a new sense ofpride—pride in this University, pridein this department, and pride in ourbright and capable students.

As many of you know, I am an MTSUalumna as well as an employee, somy experience with the University is

two-fold. I believe I have a uniqueperspective from “both sides of thedesk,” and I have always tried toimpart the knowledge I have gainedboth as a student and as an em-ployee. I have been heartened by thenumber of students who have feltthat I have been of service to them.

On that note, I should tell you that Ihave decided to pursue a master’s ineducation, majoring in administrationand supervision with a specializationin higher education, beginning thisfall. This means that I will definitelybe here until I have completed thedegree. The degree will qualify me towork as an advisor and in severalother positions within higher educa-tion. This University may never be ridof me! I will no longer be unsympa-thetic when you have “so much dueat one time” or when you have“three exams in one day,” or “a hugepaper to finish.” I will be right therein the trenches trying to meet dead-lines as well.

Please stay in touch and let us knowhow and what each of you are doing.We love to get updates on the lives ofour students. It makes us feel like wereally are in touch with the outsideworld.

Pam Davis, executive aide

individuals who were indicted in theoperation. As an essay in this newslet-ter indicates, the event made a vividimpression on those who were workingthere. It pointed anew to the impor-tance of integrity in the governing pro-cess. I hope and believe that, in addi-tion to the subject matter we teach,we also convey the need to place pub-lic good above personal gain, and Iknow that I am not the only facultymember who tried to caution the me-dia not only about the presumption ofinnocence for those who were arrestedbut also about not judging all legislators

by allegations of the corruption of afew.

We have designed this newsletter toprovide information on current andretired faculty members, on studentswho are enrolled in our programs, andon alumni. I hope you will share thepride that I take in the diverse array ofaccomplishments described herein. Ihope that you will continue to sendinformation and comments.

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by Dr. Moses Tesi

When I left Nashville with Dr. KiyoshiKawahito and nineteen others for Japanon May 16, 2005, I expected the trip tobe quite fascinating and educational butnothing like what I experienced. I hadbeen to other parts of the developedworld before and was not easilyimpressed by anything marginal thatconcerned development. Japan FieldStudy, as the trip was code-named, wasorganized by Dr. Kawahito of theEconomics and Finance Department, aspart of the Japan-USA program that heheads and whose mission is to fosterbetter understanding between thepeoples of the two countries.

We arrived at Nagoya Internationalairport in central Japan a little after15:45 on the evening of Tuesday, May17, 2005. We spent all of Wednesday,May 18, our first full day in Japan, onlogistical matters—getting our Japan Railpasses and then traveling to Osaka,where we would be based for the nextfour days.

Our field study had four components—Japanese history, educational system,economy, and culture and politics. Wemade Osaka our base during the firstfour days of our study (May 19–23),commuting from there to Hiroshima,Nara, and Kyoto. During this leg of thetrip we focused on Japanese history,education, and some culture. Wevisited Kishawada High School in Osakaon May 19 where, we observed classesin session, participated in some class-room activities, observed and partici-pated in some extracurricular activities,and had lunch with students and facultymembers. While the curriculum wasnot that different from what one wouldfind in an American high school,extracurricular activities such as theJapanese Tea Ceremony Club, FlowerArrangement Club, Kendo, andCalligraphy were culturally Japanese.Our lunch menu and setting weretraditionally Japanese—sitting on thefloor with legs folded, sushi, seaweeds,rice, and fish. After touring the Osaka

School ofCommunicationArts the next day,we took a longtrain ride fromOsaka toHiroshima,where the firstatomic bomb wasdropped.

Hiroshima ismore than 150miles south ofOsaka, but thespeed of thetrains of JapanRail makes thatdistance seemlike only a fewmiles away. Eventhough we didnot know whatHiroshima wouldbe like, we didnot expect to seea bustling city thatseems to havemoved on from the dark days of thedestruction and losses it suffered as aresult of the atomic attack of World WarII. Hiroshima Peace Park and the AtomicBomb Memorial Museum, located inthe area where the bomb was dropped,provide perhaps the most compellingmemories of the sufferings that thepeople went through.

After the somber experience atHiroshima, we spent Saturday, May 21,learning about Japanese history in Naraand Kyoto. These two cities were oncethe capitals of Japan. Today, they arepreserves of the history and culture of aparticular era in the country’s long evo-lution—an era characterized by war-lords. The Buddhist shrines in Nara,considered the tallest and biggestwooden structures in the world, wereparticularly intriguing. Our trip to thetwo cities also ended the first part of ourstudy program. The following day, Sun-day, May 22, we left Osaka for Tokyo.

We stayed in Tokyo for four very busydays during which we shifted our focusfrom history, culture, and education toeconomics, trade, business, and politics.We held discussions with the economicstaff of the American Embassy, on themorning of May 23, on U.S. economicrelations with Japan. In the afternoon,we held another session at the JapanExternal Trade Organization (JETRO) onJapanese macroeconomy, focusing oninternational trade and investment. Thiswas followed that afternoon by our thirdeconomic session of the day at Nissan,where its global marketing and salesdirector talked to us about Nissan’s past,present, and future competitiveness.During our remaining two days in Tokyo,we visited the Toshiba plant outside thecity and attended a presentation on thecompany’s activities, management, andfuture competitiveness. We also went toJFE Steel, the largest steel company inthe world, where we held discussionswith authorities on the steel industry andthen toured JFE Steel’s Keihin Works.

continued on page 13

Japan Field Study Trip 2005

This picture was taken on May 27 with a Sheinto Priest at a SheintoShrine celebrating good harvest. The ceremony took place on theoutskirts of Furkushima, a city in Northern Japan, where Dr. Tesi (thirdfrom left) stayed with a family. The man and woman at the extremeleft in the picture are the people he stayed with.

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The department is pleasedto welcome a new facultymember for the third suc-cessive year. Dr. Karen K.Petersen joined the facultythis fall. Dr. Peterson gradu-ated in international rela-tions from MTSU in 1998and subsequently earnedher M.A. and Ph.D. atVanderbilt University. Herdissertation focused onmilitarized interstate conflictbetween democratic andnondemocratic states.

Dr. Peterson served as a senior lecturer at Vanderbilt duringthe 2004–2005 school year. She published three articles in2004—”Multiparty Disputes and the Probability of War(1816–1992),” which she coauthored with John Vasquez andYijia Want for Conflict Management and Peace Science; “AResearch Note: Re-examining Transnational Ethnic Alliancesand Foreign Policy Behavior,” which she published in Interna-tional Interactions; and “Neutrality, Common Foreign andSecurity Policy, and the Fourth Pillar of the European Union,”which she published in the International Affairs Forum.

Dr. Peterson will be taking over a number of classes previ-ously taught by Dr. Anne Sloan, who has now assumed avariety of other administrative duties.

Another WelcomeThe department is honored to have Ray Block Jr. on campusfor the 2005–2006 school year. Professor Block is one of fivedoctoral candidates visiting the campus as part of the GeierMinority Fellowship. Block earned his undergraduate degreeat Howard University, where he was selected as a member ofPhi Beta Kappa and where he was chosen to participate in aRalph Bunche Summer Institute Research Fellowship at theUniversity of Virginia and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Sum-mer Research Scholarship program. He is working on hisPh.D. at Ohio State University, where his dissertation is “Ex-ploring the Impact of Race on the Correlates and Participatory

Special Welcome

Consequences of PoliticalInterest.” Block will beteaching a section ofresearch methods this falland another class in thespring.

BroadsideMaster cabinetmaker Keith Jenkins and master blacksmith Jeff Henderson ofMTSU have constructed a replica of the press that Benjamin Franklin used inthe eighteenth century. The press is offering a limited edition broadside of anannouncement of John Vile’s The ConstitutionalConvention of 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclo-pedia of America’s Founding. The broadside ishandmade by Janet Higgins, Alan Boehm (pic-tured), and Bill Black. Book artist Claudia Leehas made the cotton paper at her Liberty PaperMill in Liberty, Tennessee. The illustration of arising sun emblem is designed and printed froma relief block crafted by Nashville artist NancyCooley. The broadsides, which are approxi-mately 14 inches wide and 16 ½ inches high,may be purchased for $10.00 each. Alumni canobtain purchasing information from Bill Black atthe MTSU Walker Library at wblack@mtsu.eduor (615) 898-8378.

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STUDENT NEWS

Model United Nations NewsMTSU students participated in two Model United Na-tions competitions over the past year. Dr. StevenLivingston accompanied students on both trips. Elevenstudents attended a competition in October in Arling-ton, Virginia. The students were Neal Adamson,Fatima Badreddine, Robert Blackwell, SuzanneFisher, Dakotah Green, Timothy Lord, HeatherMoore, Kevin Stimson, Christopher Hurman, andJesse Moore.

A second group attended a competition at the Univer-sity of Virginia in March. These students were WesAdamson, Robert Blackwell, Sara Fisher, DakotahGreen, Channing Hatmaker, Anna Hodges, GarrettKidd, Jesse Moore, Candice Nunley, RussellParman, and Kevin Stimson. Students placed third inthis competition. Russell Parman received honorablemention for his representation of China on the SecurityCouncil; Garrett Kidd got an honorable mentionaward for representing Syria in the League of ArabStates; and Wes Adamson was named best delegatefor representing Dmitri Ustinov, minister of defense onthe 1980s Soviet Politburo.

Mock Trial NewsMTSU hosted one of the largest invitational tourna-ments in the nation in November 2004, with a totalof 62 teams from more than fifteen states.

In addition to this tournament, MTSU teams at-tended a tournament at Rhodes College, placingtenth.

MTSU qualified two teams for national competitionat this year’s regional tournament at Samford Uni-versity, where teams placed second and sixth andcaptured three attorney and three witness awards.One team went to the National Tournament atEastern Kentucky University and the other went tothe National Championship Tournament in DesMoines, Iowa. The team that went to the NationalTournament in Kentucky consisted of Aaron Perry,Jason Walker, Jamie Bowers, Marshall Weber,Maryam Kassaee, Cortney Simmons, and BryanCook.

For the fourteenth successive year, an MTSU mock trial teamreceived an award at the National Championship Tournamentin Des Moines. A team lead by Ashley Jones received anhonorable mention award after splitting each of the four

Public Service and Political CampaignInterns 2004-2005Summer 2004Chelsea Nicholson–Rep. Bart Gordon, MurfreesboroMelanie Sisco–Williamson County TrusteeJustin Brown–House Commerce Office, Tenn. State LegislatureKyle Bacon–U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy, TokyoDaniel Stegall–Rutherford County Regional Planning CommissionGary Scheider–Department of Veterans AffairsDylan Brown–Sen. Bill Frist and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt in

Washington, D.C.

Fall 2004Justin Owen–Senator Bill Frist in NashvilleChristy Holden–Research Department of Tenn. Democratic PartyJenelle Byrd–Gerald Melton, Public DefenderJordan Chinooth–Sen. Lamar Alexander, NashvilleJason Crook–Rep. Bart Gordon, MurfreesboroJosh Hudgins–City of Murfreesboro, Mayor's officeSarah Hearld–Tenn. Democratic Party

Spring 2005Kelly Brad Burns–Metro PoliceElizabeth Underwood–Tenn. Economic Council on WomenAngelique Golden–Metro Human Relations CommissionTyler Smith–Sen. Bill Frist, NashvilleMathew Gardner–Tenn. Office of Homeland Security, NashvilleSara Carter–White House Office of Public Liason, Washington, D.C.

rounds in the tournament. Other team members includedTiffany Walters, Lauren Parker, Jamie Bowers, AshleyEdgar, Eric Evans, Matt Orenstein, and Kevin Rayburn.

Top Row (L-R) Jamie Bowers, Lauren Parker, John Vile, Ashley Edgar, Tiffany Walters.Bottom Row (l-r) Matt Orenstein, Ashley Jones, Eric Evans, Kevin Raburn

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Student InternsMTSU’s student interns have a sizeablepresence in the Tennessee legislature.This year, Dr. Mark Byrnes, who super-vises these interns, had a luncheon atthe state capitol to which members ofthe University and the state legislaturewere invited. Guests from MTSU in-cluded President Sidney McPhee, Ex-ecutive Vice President Kaylene Gebert,Vice Provost Jack Thomas, Assistant tothe Vice President Faye Johnson, Deanof Liberal Arts John McDaniel, and JohnVile and Mark Byrnes from the PoliticalScience Department. Vice ChancellorDavid Gregory and CommunicationsDirector Mary Morgan attended fromthe Tennessee Board of Regents. Legis-lators in attendance included SenatorBill Ketron, Senator Jim Tracy, SenatorDiane Black, Representative John

Hood, Representative Kent Coleman,Representative Curt Cobb, Representa-tive Joe Fowkles, RepresentativeCharles Curtiss, and RepresentativeStacy Campfield. Alums attending in-cluded Connie Frederick, director ofLegislative Administration; BurneyDurham, chief clerk and chief of staff,House; Tammy Letzler, deputy chiefclerk and chief of staff, House; AlanWhittington, deputy chief clerk andchief of staff, Senate; as well as DonnaMorgan, intern coordinator.

MTSU interns worked in the followingoffices over the past year: SoniaJennings—Representative JereHargrove; Lakesha Parker—SenatorJoe Haynes; Matthew Parriott—Representative Phillip Pinion; Brian

Steward—Senator Ron Ramsey; Ben-jamin Cooley—Representative CurtCobb; Ed Evans—Senator Jim Tracy;Joshua Johns—Representative JohnHood; Konstantinos Asimakopoulos—Representative Kent Coleman; AminSalemi—Senator Bill Ketron; AndrewWood—Representative CharlesSargent; and Joshua Evans—SenatorDiane Black. In addition, LeslieStevens worked for the TennesseeBoard of Regents, Tommie Norwoodfor the Department of Human Services,and Matthew Coleman with the IngramGroup.

Special congratulations are due toBenjamin Cooley, who was electedgovernor of the mock legislature thatthe legislative interns sponsor eachyear.

STUDENT NEWS (continued from pg. 5)

Interning for theTennessee legisla-ture was one ofthe best experi-ences of my life.No, I neithermade coffee norgot lunch, but Ipride myself inbeing the fastestenvelope stufferthere is. I dideverything from

making copies to answering the phoneto helping a lady find a place to liveafter her house caught on fire. Thetelephone calls never stopped, but thejob was about helping people, learningabout the state government, and learn-ing about the people in state govern-ment.

I didn’t know what I wanted to gainfrom my internship. Luckily, I wasplaced in the best office in the Legisla-tive Plaza. I can remember the day Iwalked up to the office and I read theplate that said, “Democratic Caucus

Chair,” and found myself working forSenator Joe Haynes. Senator Haynes isa very powerful man who has beenworking in the legislature for over 20years. In addition to being a state legis-lator, he is also an attorney in the cityof Goodlettsville, a husband, and afather. He always took the time to talkto his constituents whether they madean appointment or not.

My most vivid moment was near theend of the session. It included camerasshooting from every angle, news report-ers trying to get the best story, legisla-tors being arrested, TennCare advocatessinging “Amazing Grace” while thelegislators were on their way into ses-sion, legislators being arrested, a super-visor having a special meeting with theinterns to remind us not to go to recep-tions uninvited, being stuck in traffic onI-24 and I-40, legislators being arrested,and bad parking. Did I mention legisla-tors being arrested? Yes, the intern classof the 104th General Assembly experi-enced first-hand what is known as the

Tennessee Waltz. It was especiallyexciting for me because my office wasbetween two of the legislators whowere arrested and around the cornerfrom another. It was a chaotic day foreveryone on Capitol Hill. The capitoland the plaza were filled with constitu-ents, news reporters, and the familiesof the legislators. The following day, thetelephones were ringing off the hookwith people from all over calling torequest that ethics bills be pushedthrough and passed into law. Butthrough it all, the legislators still man-aged to continue with their responsibili-ties and pass a budget.

As a legislative intern, I made a lot offriends. I learned that in order to sur-vive through the legislative session youneed to have a lot of patience andwillpower, and you have to be photoge-nic. If you have these three, then youwill make an excellent intern.

Editor’s note: In addition to serving asan intern, LaKesha has worked as anaide in the department.

Experience of an MTSU Intern, 2005by LaKesha Parker

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Student Award WinnersEach year the department gives several awards tostudents for outstanding scholarshipand service. This year, RichardSmith received the Norman L.Parks Award for being thepolitical science/pre-law majorwith the best GPA. Bill Fisherand John Miller shared the C.C. Sims Award, and BrianCunningham received the JohnW. Burgess Award for outstandingGPAs. Tim Lord received the JackJustin Turner Award for being the international relationsmajor with the best GPA, and Robert Blackwellreceived the Meritorious Service Award for his serviceto the Model United Nations program.

McNair ScholarsRussell Parham, a senior majoring in international relations, isworking with Dr. Andrei Korobkov and the McNair ScholarsProgram on a project related to terrorism. Deidre Cullom,another departmental senior, is doing research on environ-mental policy with Dr. Sekou Franklin. The McNair Program isdesigned to prepare first-generation college students for fu-ture graduate work.

Reflections of a Ray Scholarby Michael Jackson

My experience at Middle Tennessee State University has beenfar-reaching. Since first entering MTSU, I have participated inmany activities including the honor societies of Phi Eta Sigmaand Phi Kappa Phi, the Student Government Association(SGA), and the MTSU College Democrats, all of which haveenhanced my knowledge. However, chief among my experi-ences are those that have taken place in the classroom. Al-though it can be difficult for college students to find theirniche, I found mine while taking P S 2010 (American Govern-ment) and P S 2440 (Law and the Legal System) classes. Dur-ing my first term, I left those classes each day filled with anincreased fervor for the law and for political science. It wasclear to me that I wanted my future to be filled with argu-ments, debates, and briefs. Financially, however, I was strug-gling to pay for tuition, so I did not think that law school (amuch more costly endeavor) was realistically within reach.

That spring, I received the best news in a long while fromPolitical Science Chair Dr. Vile. He informed that that due tomy high grade point average my first term and my scholasticrecord from high school, I qualified to be a Charles RayScholar. This generous financial award is given to four students(one recipient each in the freshman, sophomore, junior, andsenior classes) who have declared a pre-law concentration

Charles R. Ray ScholarsAshleigh McCain of Beech High School in Goodlettsville,Tennessee, is the latest recipient of the Charles R. Ray Schol-arship, which the department awards each year to an incom-ing freshman from funds supplied by Nashville attorney andMTSU alumnus Charles R. Ray. Lisa has been active in numer-ous high school activities and has taken college prep andhonor classes.

Lisa will join Brittany Mebane, sophomore; Stacey Badger,junior; and Mike Jackson, senior, as a Ray Scholarship recipi-ent.

Other Scholarship Award WinnersLuke E. Dickerson has been awarded this year’s George T.Adcock Scholarship. Luke has a dual major in internationalrelations and German and has studied abroad.

Jason Crook has received the Jo Anne Arnold scholarship.He is an Eagle Scout and former state president of BusinessProfessionals of America. He is simultaneously pursuing hispolitical science degree and a degree in business administra-tion. Jason is planning to attend law school after marryingBrittany Sewell and graduating in 2006.

Misty Herndon has been award the Jane Duke MemorialScholarship. Misty is a college senior.

and intend to go to law school. Thisscholarship has proven to be a tre-mendous help to me. It has not onlyhelped me financially but also hasshown me that dreams are an im-pregnable force and that kindness,faith, and hard work can melt eventhe toughest obstacles. With thissentiment in mine, I would like tothank Mr. Ray for the invaluable role he has played in myeducation without even knowing it.

As I complete the final steps toward my degree and the lawschool application process, I would like to encourage theMTSU political science faculty and alumni to continue toinspire, prod, and challenge students within the department.Each of you possesses tremendous power to affect studentsand their futures. As this year approaches and passes, I askeach of you to remember this in your most trying times. Icertainly will as I prepare to embark upon my journey.

Note: Michael is a senior political science major with a concen-tration in pre-law and an English minor. He is the senior classrecipient of the Charles R. Ray Scholarship.

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STUDENT NEWS (continued from pg. 7)

Working inthe PoliticalScienceDepart-ment hasbeen aninvaluableexperiencefor me. Ithas givenme im-menseinsight intomy field ofstudy and,

through assisting Dr. John Vile and Dr.Mark Byrnes on various projects, I havefurther enhanced my research skills. Iconsider my experience working in thedepartment a sometimes daily adven-ture and a truly valuable extension of

Experiences of a Departmental Student Aideby Barbara Sidwell, senior

the education I have received as astudent of political science.

Both academically and personally, Ihave found the professors in the Politi-cal Science Department to be the ab-solute best MTSU has to offer, and noother department has an executiveaide like ours! I have witnessed first-hand the department’s sincere concernfor students’ well-being. Both PamDavis and the professors make certainthe doors of the department and theiroffices are always open to students,and those who have ever tried to getanything done at some other places oncampus know how lucky we are asstudents that they make such an effort.Most important, they express a genuinejoy for politics and government that isevident in their work and their lives.

As my education at MTSU comes to aclose, I would like to take this opportu-nity to express my sincerest gratitude toall the professors in the Political ScienceDepartment. From my first class withDr. King-Meadows my freshman year tomy very last, my professors have chal-lenged me to take a deeper look at theworld and my own belief structure. Notall students at MTSU will graduate think-ing they have received the best educa-tion possible. Not all students willgraduate with the necessary skillsneeded to succeed in law school orgraduate school, but those students willnot be graduating with political sciencedegrees. The political science profes-sors continue to arm their students witha valuable education that will helpthem succeed in all that they do. Forthat, you should all be proud!

Bredesen AppointeeGovernor Phil Bredesen appointedDennis Clark, a junior political sciencemajor, to the Tennessee Commissionon Children and Youth in October2004. In this capacity, Clark serves as alink between Tennessee state govern-ment and youth who are in need. Clarkis serving as president of the AfricanAmerican Student Association, and heserves on the University DisciplineCommunity and is active in the StudentGovernment Association.

Helen Caddes Seeks JusticePolitical science major Helen Caddeshas been working to prove that KirstinLobato, who has been sentenced to alife term for a murder in Las Vegas, isinnocent. Lobato’s story was aired onthe Discovery Channel on July 5, 2005.Those interested in further informationcan find it at www.justice4kirstin.com.

Barbara Sidwell

Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science honor society, recognizes juniorsand seniors in the department with a 3.2 grade point average or better.Dr. Robb McDaniel advises this group. New members in 2004–2005included Ashley Adams, Mariam N. Awad, Brian C. Belden, VictoriaBritton, Stewart A. Carlton, Joseph W. D’Onofrio, Steven S. Fowler,Lenore A. Gawf, Richard W. Guthrie, Misty D. Herndon, Christy L.Holden, Derek E. Johnson, Aaron M. Kean, Chastity D. Lark, NathanS. Luna, Carla Brooke Maners, Whitney E. Mitchell, Jason W.Norris, Trenton Poynter, Amin Salemi, Gary A. Schneider, Robert N.Shrum, Christopher M. Smith, L. Michelle Stephenson, Kenecia D.Sullivan, Tessa Swartz, Kristin P. Taylor, Shannon R. Thornton, JamesR. Tucker, Thomas Vincent, Charles Warren Wakeland, Kelly R.Warf, and Marshall B. Weber.

Congratulations to one and all!

Pi Sigma Alpha

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FACULTY NEWSDr. Mark Byrnes served during thespring 2005 semester as interim chair ofthe department while John Vile was on anoninstructional assignment. Byrnescontinues to head up University effortsfor the American Democracy Project,and he serves as a member of the Ruth-erford County School Board. Dr. Byrnessuccessfully hosted a meeting of MTSUlegislative interns, area legislators, anduniversity administrators in March, 2005at the state capitol. (Please also see“Personal News” p. 13.)

Dr. David Carleton has been nomi-nated as one of MTSU’s OutstandingTeachers. He continues to work withstatewide programs directed to the edu-cation of gifted children. In 2004–05 heserved on the executive board of theTennessee Initiative for Gifted EducationReform and with the Tennessee Depart-ment of Education’s Task Force on GiftedIdentification. He was presented withboth the Senator Curtis Person AdvocacyAward and the 2004 Parent of the Yearaward at the annual meeting of the Ten-nessee Association of the Gifted.

Dr. Sekou Franklin has made presenta-tions over the past year to the NationalPeace and Justice Center LeadershipInstitute, the Midwest Political ScienceAssociation, and the Honors College. Hehelped plan a campus celebration of the

fiftieth anniversary of the Voting RightsAct of 1965 and has been working withthe American Democracy Project andwith various local committees commit-ted to advancing the public goodthrough political activism.

Dr. Andrei Korobkov coauthored ar-ticles in Communist and Post-CommunistStudies and chapters in Russia andUkraine in a Changing World and in Post-Communist Countries in a GlobalizingWorld. Over the past year he served aschair of the International Studies Asso-ciation Post-Communist Studies. He hasalso presented papers at George MasonUniversity in Virginia, in Nashville, inHonolulu, in Washington, D.C., in Bos-ton, and in Salzburg, Austria. As a mem-ber of the Faculty Senate, Dr. Korobkovhas been working on the idea of a cam-pus memorial to students who havefallen in defense of the nation. Dr.Korobkov’s oldest son, Andrei, will beattending MTSU as an undergraduate thisfall.

Dr. Lisa Langenbach is the first personin the department to have received theCertified Online Instructor designation.Dr. Langenbach offers numerous onlineclasses. In addition to committee work,she works with the Boy Scouts inFranklin.

Dr. Steven Livingston continues editingGlobal Commerce, and he has had an

article titled “Measuring Globalization ina Regional Economy” accepted for publi-cation in a refereed journal. He deliv-ered papers at the International StudiesAssociation and at the annual conventionof the Tennessee Political Science Asso-ciation, for which he served as vicepresident and program chair. Dr.Livingston accompanied MTSU studentscompeting in the Model United NationsProgram.

Dr. Robb McDaniel offered a newcourse in totalitarianism and is chairingthe department’s Institutional Effective-ness Study and advising campus Demo-crats. He served last year as president ofthe Tennessee Political Science Associa-tion.

Mediation NewsMTSU continued its impressive record in NationalMock Mediation tournaments by attending a scrim-mage at Brenau College and by placing second inthe national tournament held at the John MarshallLaw School in Chicago last October just behind Bos-ton University and ahead of New York University.MTSU student participants included Ashley Horn,Andrew Johnson, Ryan Lorimer, Allan Lutes,Melanie McDavid, John Schlicher, Richard Smith,and Kenecia Sullivan.

2004 Mediation Team

continued on page 10

10

Dr. JohnMaynor contin-ues work editinga book on re-publicanism,which is alsothe theme ofhis first pub-lished book.Maynor hasbeen invited tobe an associateeditor of Con-temporary Political Theory, and he re-ceived a summer research grant. Dr.Maynor has developed new courses onhuman rights and contemporary politicaltheory.

Dr. Mario Perez-Reilly continues toteach introductory Foundations of Gov-ernment classes as well as classes inquantitative methods and Latin America.

Dr. Anne Sloan has been serving bothas associate dean of the College of Lib-eral Arts and as an assistant to the Uni-versity Provost for matters related tointernational studies. She chaired a panelat the Women and Power Conferenceover the past year. Her daughterSamantha continues to distinguish her-self as a student at Webb School in BellBuckle. (Please also see “PersonalNews” p. 13.)

Dr. Moses Tesi continues to edit theJournal of African Policy Studies, and heserves on the board of the Journal ofThird World Studies. He prepared a chap-ter on the Ivory Coast for a referencevolume titled Governments of the World.In April hepresented apaper at theAcademy ofAfrican Busi-ness andDevelop-ment Confer-ence in At-lanta, Geor-gia. Dr. Tesirecentlypublished an

essay titled “Cameroon’s EndangeredEnvironment: Economic Policy and ForestLoss” in Agenda Setting and Public Policyin Africa, ed. by Kelechi A. Kalu(Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2004). Hepublished a chapter on Cameroon’senvironment in a book titled AgendaSetting and Public Policy in Africa andpublished four entries in the Encyclope-dia of African History, published byRutledge, Taylor, and Francis. He servedon a panel at the November 2004 meet-ing of the African Studies Association inNew Orleans, Louisiana. Tesi traveledwith a group of MTSU faculty membersand students to Japan in May and June.

Dr. George Vernardakis served on anumber of University committees overthe past year.

Dr. John R.Vile coedited(with DavidSchultz ofHamline Uni-versity) a three-volume work,The Encyclope-dia of CivilLiberties inAmerica, whichM. E. Sharpepublished in January 2005 and to whicha number of departmental faculty mem-bers and alumni have contributed. Thevolumes have been favorably reviewedin a number of journals. Dr. Vile alsoauthored The Constitutional Conventionof 1787: A Comprehensive Encyclopediaof America’s Founding (two volumes),which ABC-CLIO published in June2005 along with a third edition of hisPleasing the Court: A Mock Trial Hand-book. Vile continues to coach MTSUmock trial teams. Over the past year,Vile attended conferences on legal is-sues at the Annenberg Center in Phila-delphia and in Santa Monica, California.Vile received an award from the Collegeof Liberal Arts for Outstanding Advising.

Dr. Clyde Willis continues coachingMTSU mediation teams, which placedfourth in the nation this year.

Meet the Adjuncts!The Department of Political Sciencedepends chiefly on full-time faculty, butwe also rely on adjuncts to teach special-ized courses (especially in paralegal stud-ies) and to meet demand in introductoryclasses. Here are brief introductions toour adjunct faculty members this year.

Jay Barger (1998) is teaching a LegalResearch and Writing class. A depart-mental alumnus, he earned his J.D. fromthe University of Tennessee and is em-ployed by Kious and Rodgers.

David Hudson is teaching AmericanConstitutional Law. A graduate of DukeUniversity and the Vanderbilt LawSchool, he is a research attorney withthe Freedom Forum First AmendmentCenter at Vanderbilt. He has an exten-sive record of publications andspeeches.

Michael McDonald (1979) is teachingLitigation and Trial Practice. He is anMTSU alumnus who earned his master’sdegree from Southern Illinois Universityand his J.D. from the John MarshallSchool of Law. He served for more thanten years as the Davidson County Elec-tion Commissioner.

Steven D. Maloney is teaching twosections of American Government. He isworking on a Ph.D. specializing in politi-cal theory at the University of Maryland,College Park.

Stacy Miller is teaching Family Law. Sheis a graduate of Northwestern Universitywho earned a master’s degree from SanFrancisco State University and a J.D.from the Nashville School of Law. Sheworks with the Department of Children’sServices.

Steve Robertson is teaching two sec-tions of Foundations of Government anda Women and the Law course. He is analumnus of the MTSU Political ScienceDepartment and has done graduate workat Vanderbilt University.

continued on page 13

FACULTY NEWS (continued from pg. 9)

11

SurveyGraduates in International Relations and Political Science

Middle Tennessee State University, MurfreesboroThe Department has decided to repeat its survey of last year. We are particularly interested in getting information fromindividuals who did not respond last year or in hearing of developments since that time. Your response will help theDepartment assess its current strengths and weaknesses and will provide information for our next newsletter.

Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Adress ___________________________________________________________________________________________

What was your degree program?

B.A. International Relations B.S. International Relations B.A. Political Science B.S. Political Science

Degree concentration: None Pre-law P.A. M.A. M.P.A. Year you received your de-gree________

Do you have a graduate degree? If so, which one(s)?

M.A. from ____________________________________ J.D. from _____________________________________

M.P.A. from ___________________________________ Ph.D. from ____________________________________

What is you profession?

Lawyer Judge

Government official Lobbyist

Elected official Businessperson

Teacher Other________________________________________

For whom do you work? Where? ______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is your title or position? _________________________________________________________________________

What other positions have you held since receiving your last degree? ________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

In retrospect, what were the strengths and weaknesses in your MTSU program? ________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personal data. Happenings in your life since we last saw you: _______________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please feel free to add any additional comments that you think might be helpful: ________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________Please fold in half so the address is on the outside, tape bottom, and mail.

12

NO POSTAGENECESSARY

IF MAILEDIN THE

UNITED STATES

2-13350

POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENTMIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITYPO BOX 29MURFREESBORO, TN 37130-9912

BUSINESS REPLY MAILPOSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE

FIRST CLASS MURFREESBORO, TNPERMIT NO. 110

13

FACULTY NEWS (continued from pg. 10)

Steve Saunders is teaching a Founda-tions of Government class. He has abachelor’s and a master’s degree fromOhio State University and was recentlyselected to head MTSU’s McNair Pro-gram. Steve is married to Dr. AnneSloan.

Kent Syler, an aide to CongressmanBart Gordon, has been offering a Politi-cal Campaigning course that has provedto be particularly popular over the pastseveral years.

Brandi Snow Bozarth (1999) is teach-ing Law and the Legal System and ishelping coach MTSU mock trial teams.She is a Political Science alumna andearned her law degree from the Univer-sity of Dayton. She is married to ShivaBozarth, another departmental alum.

Jadie Thomas is teaching a section ofLegal Research and Writing. She earneda B.A. in political science at SouthernIllinois University and her J.D. at theWashington University School of Law inSt. Louis, where she edited the Wash-ington University Journal of Law andPolicy. She practiced law in Arizona.

Adjuncts continued from page 10

Dr. Anne Sloan had cancer surgery thissummer but is recovering nicely and isexhibiting her typical pluck in the faceof adversity. This is the second opera-tion she has had, but the second cancerdoes not appear to have been causedby the first and the surgery appears tohave been a success.

Abigail Byrnes, the four-year-old daugh-ter of Mark and Julie Byrnes, washospitalized with HUS, a type of kidney

Personal Newsfailure that was probably triggered by E.coli. This, in turn, appears to have ledto one or more strokes. Her kidneyfunctions have returned, and in earlyJuly she was moved from VanderbiltChildren’s Hospital to Atlanta, wheremore extensive physical therapy is avail-able. She is now continuing withtherapy in Murfreesboro.

Both families have appreciated yourprayers and expressions of support.

Retired FacultyDr. Everett Cunningham continues alively interest in politics and sends ar-ticles of interest to the departmentfrom time to time.

Dr. Frank Essex continues to reside inMurfreesboro with his wife, Betty.

Dr. David Grubbs and his wife, Sue,continue to reside in Murfreesboro.

Dr. Tom Vandervort was featured inthe March 9 issue of Rutherford A.M.for woodwork that he has made andexhibited in local craft shows. Tom andhis wife, Elsa, were among those whoattended the wedding of Virginia Vileand Keith Wesolowski in Williamsburg,Virginia. Although he missed the tour-nament last year because he was vaca-tioning in Europe, Tom plans to judge atMTSU’s annual mock trial tournamenton November 11 and 12.

Japan Trip (continued from pg. 3)

continued on page 19

On May 26, weleft Tokyo forFukushima tothe north.Fukushima is acity of about300,000people andhome toFukushima University.Fukushima University, located in a beau-tiful rural setting of hills and valleys, is asister university of MTSU. The universityauthorities received us very well andcoordinated our field study in the area.Our learning activities returned to edu-cation at the primary school and univer-sity levels on our first day there. Inaddition to meeting with universityofficials, we visited Fukushima ThirdElementary School, where we observeddifferent classes in session and later hadlunch with the students. During theremaining two days in Fukushima, ouremphasis shifted to a focus on experi-encing Japanese culture, with each of usstaying with a Japanese family. This gaveus the opportunity to interact with thema lot more directly—on our own in theirhomes and at places they took us to.

On May 29, we returned to Tokyo fromFukushima to complete our programbefore returning to the States. On themorning of May 30, we visited the Bankof Japan (Japan’s version of the FederalReserve) and listened to a presentationby its deputy director for public relations(a Vanderbilt University graduate) onhow the bank used unprecedentedmeans to tackle the Japanese bankingcrisis of the late 1990s. Our afternoonprogram included a visit and tour of theJapanese Diet (Congress) and a discus-sion meeting with the deputy editor andone of the editorial writers of theNikkei, the largest publisher of businessand financial publications in the world.On the morning of May 31, we leftTokyo for Nagoya, where we took theplane that evening for Chicago.

MOCK TRIALNOV. 11–12

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ALUMNI NEWSSam Adams (2004) is studying for amaster’s degree in student affairs ad-ministration in higher education atTexas A&M University.

Jeremy Allen (2005) graduated as acadet colonel and a wing commanderin charge of the training and progressionof over 100 cadets.

J. Nathan Allen II (2001) has for thepast two years been volunteering timeto do international mission work withthe Southern Baptists. He has workedon a variety of tasks in Rio de Janeiro,periodically returning home to raisemoney. He is hoping to enroll in semi-nary in Louisville this August to work ona master’s degree in missions.

Gaines E. Anderson III (1986) is presi-dent of Dr. Drew Inc. in Sarasota,Florida.

Matthew Barber, who attended MTSUfrom 2000 to 2002, has graduated fromthe American Musical and DramaticAcademy in New York City. He teachesdance and is hoping to complete hisundergraduate degree at Fordham Uni-versity.

Jay Barger (1998) earned his law de-gree from the University of Tennesseeand is practicing law for Kious andRogers in Murfreesboro.

Michelle Blaylock-Howser is workingas an administrative assistant for JudgeJ. Mark Rogers in Murfreesboro andcompleting her fourth year at the Nash-ville School of Law. She is married toEric Howser. They are raising HannahBlaylock, 8, and Drew Howser, 7.Michelle has helped mock trial teamssecure access to the Rutherford JudicialBuilding for scrimmages and has solic-ited information from alums for thisnewsletter. Thanks!

Brandi Snow Bozarth (1999), whograduated from the University of Day-ton, is working for the state of Tennes-see and helping coach MTSU mock trialteams.

Shiva Bozarth (1999) is a lawyer forthe state of Tennessee.

Tracy Brakebill (1993), a former mocktrial participant, is working as an associ-ate publisher with Panache PartnersPublishing in Atlanta, Georgia.

Karl E. Bren (1967) earned an M.A.from Virginia Tech and is president ofGreen Visions in Richmond, Virginia.He has now been married for 37 yearsand has done some teaching at VirginiaCommonwealth University and at theUniversity of Richmond.

Sylvester Brooks (1970), graduatedfrom the Washington University Schoolof Law in St. Louis in 1973 and nowlives in Macedonia, Ohio, where he isassistant director of the UAW LegalServices Plans for General Motors andother car manufacturers. The youngestof his four children recently passed thebar exam in Maryland and works in theoffice of general counsel at HUD head-quarters in Washington, D.C.

Leah Erin Bumbalough (2003), whocontinues to study lawat Ohio NorthernUniversity, marriedMichael ThomasBegley on July 30 atthe First BaptistChurch in Manches-ter, Tennessee. May they both livehappily ever after!

Claire S. Burger (2000) received herJ.D. degree, cum laude, at the Univer-sity of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.She received the Litigation Skills schol-arship award for 2003. She has joinedthe law offices of Burger, Siskin, Scottand McFarlin in Murfreesboro.

Tinisha Buttrey (1999) has been serv-ing since January of 2004 as a deputypress secretary for Congressman J.Randy Forbes of the fourth district of

Virginia. She previously served from2002 to 2004 as director for communityrelations for Mercy Ministries ofAmerica and from 2000 to 2002 as alegislative liaison for the TennesseeDepartment of Transportation. Tinishamarried Matthew D. Weigelt, a legisla-tive correspondent for CongressmanMark Souder of the third district ofIndiana, on July 30, 2005, in Bon Aqua,Tennessee.

Mark Byrnes (1982), Ph.D. VanderbiltUniversity, continues teaching in theDepartment of Political Science atMTSU and is serving on the RutherfordCounty School Board.

Abigail Cadle (1998) is an interna-tional trade specialist with the U.S.Department of Commerce and is work-ing in New York City, where she hasbeen for the last five years.

Roger Carson (1972) earned a master’sdegree in city and regional planning atthe University of Memphis in 1981. Heis now a commercial real estate ap-praiser and consultant working in Geor-gia. He and his wife, who is an artist,have two children.

Larry Cox (1968) is president andowner of Homestead, Inc., a wholesalefood distributorship in Knoxville. Larryserved on the Knoxville City Councilfrom 1984 to 2003 and is now servingas a field representative for Congress-man John J. Duncan Jr. He and wifeBrenda Mize have two children, Shane,25, who graduated in May 2004 fromCumberland College in Williamsburg,Kentucky, and works for the KnoxvilleBoys and Girls Club and Brooke, 21,who is a junior at East Tennessee StateUniversity. On April 17, 2004, the EastTennessee Chapter of the NationalFootball Foundation and Hall of Famepresented Larry with the DistinguishedAmerican Award as someone “who hasset a standard of excellence in a life ofservice to the community.”

Andrae Crismon (2000), who com-pleted his law degree at Vanderbilt, isworking for the Office of General

15

Council at the Tennessee Departmentof Health.

Marlin Curnutt (1995) earned amaster’s degree in history at SoutheastMissouri and works as a media relationsdirector and adjunct professor of historyat Carson-Newman College in JeffersonCity, Tennessee. He began furthergraduate study in political science at theUniversity of Tennessee–Knoxville inthe summer of 2005. He dropped by tovisit the department in June on his wayto a meeting in Nashville of the Ten-nessee Sports Writers Association.

Don Darden (1967) earned his M.P.A.from the University of Tennessee andworks as a municipal managementconsultant for the University of Tennes-see. He and wife Dianna Darden havefive children. Greg is an army officer inKorea, Jack is a network administrator,Emily works for a cardiology group,David is a junior at MTSU, and Steven isa senior in high school.

Kyle Dodd (2002) earned his law de-gree from the Cumberland School ofLaw.

Harold B. Duff (M.A., 1965) earned aPh.D. from the University of Tennesseeat Knoxville and now serves as a countycommissioner in Lenoir City, Tennes-see, after retiring as superintendent ofschools.

Steven D. Ervin (1996) has earned anM.B.E. from MTSU. He is a teacher andmarketing director at Lighthouse Chris-

tian School and is especially proud ofhis six grandchildren—Lane, Abby,Marissa, Isabella, Gabe, and Gabby.

Thomas C. Faris (1975), who has beena practicing attorney in Winchester,Tennessee, since 1978, was electedgeneral sessions judge of FranklinCounty in August 2004. It includesjurisdiction over criminal cases, smallclaims, juvenile court, and probatematters.

Kevin Fowler (1987) earned his J.D. atthe University of North Carolina atChapel Hill and works for the Legal AidSociety of Middle Tennessee and theCumberlands.

Dwayne Fulmer (1995) is working withthe Drug Enforcement Agency in theMilwaukee District Office, where hedescribes himself as a “jack of alltrades.” His work includes case sup-port, quarterly reporting, and represent-ing the DEA at conferences, round-tables, and meetings involving otherlocal and federal law enforcementagencies. He and his wife, Kristie, havetwo children: Reilly, 4, and Kelsey, 2.

Nathan Gardner (2005) is stationed atFt. Lewis where he is in charge of theTOC, the office that acts as the centralpoint for all incoming and outgoinginformation. He is also overseeing fourreserve soldiers.

Brian Gilbert (2001) finished hisM.Div. from Wesley Theological Semi-nary and is an associate pastor of Madi-son St. United Methodist Church in

Clarksville, Tennessee. Brian droppedby to visit the department in June.

Lauren Gillespie (2001) is now work-ing as an aide to Senate Democrats inthe Tennessee legislature.

Donald G. Goff (1969) earned hisM.B.A. from Southwest Missouri StateUniversity in 1976 and his Ed.D. fromthe University of South Florida in 2004.He is now the vice president for busi-ness and administration at HillsboroughCommunity College in Tampa, Florida.He served for 30 years as an armyranger and was academic dean atHillsborough before taking his presentposition.

Bart Gordon (1971) continues to servein the U.S. House of Representativesfrom the Murfreesboro area.

Jaime Groce (1997) is a senior cityplanner with the city of Franklin, Ten-nessee.

Ensley Hagan (2004) is enrolled in theCecil C. Humphreys School of Law inMemphis, where he received an awardfor best memo for his legal methodssection.

Joshua S. Haley (1999) completed twoyears of graduate work at the Universityof Texas at Austin in government andforeign affairs before enrolling in thelaw school at Southern Methodist Uni-versity, where he earned his degree in2004. He married Sylvia Martinez, agraduate of the University of Texas atAustin, and is now a staff attorney forthe Texas Municipal League after havingpreviously worked in the law office ofJamie Balogia in Austin.

Nick Harris (2000) graduated in May2005 from the Nashville School of Law.

Mary Katharine Harvey White (1993)graduated from the law school at theUniversity of Tennessee and is an assis-tant district attorney in Smyrna, Tennes-see. She and her husband Bryan Whitehave a 4-month-old child, KatharineElizabeth (Katie Beth).

Constance (Connie) Anne FoutsThe department is saddened to report the death of Constance (Connie)Anne Fouts in July of 2005. Connie graduated from MTSU with a major inpolitical science in 1971 and subsequently went to Southern Methodist LawSchool.

She was a member of a two-member law firm in Dallas for about 35 years.Dr. Anne Sloan, a classmate, was among those giving eulogies at her funeral.Connie is survived by her mother, Leola Page Fouts of Murfreesboro, and bysisters Collene Lumpkin and Deborah Coburn, and brothers Gary Fouts,Duane Fouts, Doug Fouts, and Tim Fouts.

continued on page 16

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ALUMNI NEWS (continued from pg. 15)

Daniel Hayes (1999) and his wife havemoved to Baton Rouge and are expect-ing their first child. He has been work-ing on political campaigns in Virginiaand in Louisiana. He has finished hismaster’s degree in modern Europeanhistory and received an award from hisdepartment for his thesis on the Bulgar-ian Secret Central Committee in the1860s and ’70s.

Thomas S. Hirsbrunner (1995) earnedhis law degree at the Thomas CooleyLaw School and is in solo practice inLansing, Michigan.

L. Craig Johnson (1986) has been serv-ing since 1998 as a circuit court judgein Coffee County. Johnson has 21 yearsof military service including time inOperation Desert Storm and OperationIraqi Freedom. He served in 1997 aspresident of the Manchester Chamberof Commerce; he was on the Manches-ter YMCA Start-up Committee; and hehas been a member of the DemocraticExecutive Committee for CoffeeCounty. He and his wife, Mary Eliza-beth Johnson (also an MTSU graduate),have three sons: Matt and Kyle, 8, andNicholas, 3.

DeAnna Jones (2002) is an office man-ager for First Defense Fire Protection inHuntersville, North Carolina. She isworking on a second undergraduatedegree in accounting and hopes to getan M.B.A. at UNC Charlotte afterward.She has been volunteering through theUnited Way with Big Brothers/Big Sis-ters and likes to get back to Colorado asmuch as possible.

Sheryl Bauer Jones (1997) finished herJ.D. at the Nashville School of Law andis now self-employed as a residentialcontractor. She married Jennings H.Jones in 2000.

Kelly Kirby (1998), a former mock trialparticipant, is working in pharmaceuticalsales with Pedinol Pharmacal in Nash-ville. She is married to John Piovarcy.

Matthey Komisky (2004) is a centermanager in training for FedEx/Kinko’s of

Nashville. He married Maria Chamber-lain in December 2004.

Nathan J. Landkammer (2001) is aspecial agent with the U.S. Secret Ser-vice in Nashville. Hehas conducted anumber of criminalinvestigations in Nash-ville and served onprotection details forPresident George W. Bush, Vice Presi-dent Dick Cheney, and former presi-dents Bush, Carter, and Clinton.

Rebecca Lashbrook (2000) is servingas a paralegal/executive assistant toattorneys M. Keith Sisken and Ben HallMcFarlin III in Murfreesboro. She andher husband, SFC Charles Lashbrook,have two children: Sydney Ellen, 3, andJackson, 21 months. Rebecca reportscelebrating her tenth wedding anniver-sary and earning a Ph.D. in mother-hood.

Tammy Letzler (1993) is deputy chiefclerk of the Tennessee House of Repre-sentatives.

Cara Loeffler Harr (1993) is working inGallatin, Tennessee, as an administra-tive judge. She and her husband, AaronHarr, have a five-year-old son namedMadison.

Duane Lowe (1999) has earned anM.A. from Cumberland University andteaches at Friendship Christian HighSchool in Franklin, Tennessee, wherehe has been since graduating. He andwife Cathy Rogers Lowe (anotherMTSU graduate) had a daughter, BaileyLowe, in May 2003.

Michale W. Lutche (M.P.A., 1975)earned a master’s degree from the U.S.Naval War College. He is now semire-tired from positions as director of hu-man resources, city manager, and Pa-cific Command Intelligence Liaison tothe House and Senate Armed ForcesCommittees. He describes his currentposition as “Honey, take care of thissince you’re not working.”

Joyce Davie McClaran (1967) lives inFranklin, Tennessee, but is vice presi-dent for Policy Studies Inc. of Denver,Colorado. She previously served asdirector of child support service withthe Tennessee Department of HumanServices (1983–1998), as director ofMedicaid policy and procedures withthe Tennessee Department of Health(1982–1983) and as director of Medic-aid eligibility with the Tennessee De-partment of Human Services (1980–1982). Joyce has two children, Mollyand Matt, and four grandchildren. Molly(O’Neal) received her master’s inschool counseling from MTSU in 2003.

Johnny McGraw Jr. (2000) graduatedfrom the University of Michigan and ispracticing law with the firm ofSennenschein, Nath, and Rosenthal inthe Sears Tower in Chicago. Johnnymade a generous contribution of $300to the departmental mock trial program.

Lori McKee (1997) is a casework direc-tor in the McMinnville District Office ofCongressman Lincoln Davis (4th Dis-trict, Tennessee). She plans to graduatefrom the Nashville School of Law inMay 2006.

Jotrone R. Marable (2002) is a proba-tion officer in Murfreesboro. He hasjoined the NAACP and plans to gradu-ate from MTSU with a master’s degreein criminal justice administration in2006.

Gerald Melton (1978) is the PublicDefender for the 16th Judicial Circuit,which includes Cannon and RutherfordCounties. He is teaching a class incriminal law at MTSU for the CriminalJustice Administration Department. Healso coordinates the Continuing LegalEducation credits for public defendersthroughout the state. He and his wifehave five children. The three eldestsons and one daughter-in-law have allgraduated from MTSU. A daughter andson are still in high school. Geralddropped by the department in earlySeptember.

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Forrest L. Moegle (1995) finished hisJ.D. at Mississippi College and is nowan associate attorney with Hayes,Harkey, Smith, and Cascio in Monroe,Louisiana. His wife, Steele, is a profes-sor of music at Louisiana Tech and alsoan MTSU alum (B.M. ’93, M.A. ’95).Their daughter Alma is 3 and their sonRiley is a newborn.

John Mulvey (1997) and his wife re-cently completely renovated anotherold house that they purchased in Nash-ville.

Nicole Lester Russell (1998) hasgraduated from the Nashville School ofLaw, passed the Tennessee bar exam,and is a law clerk for Chancellor RobertE. Corlew III in Murfreesboro. Shemarried alumnus Joe L. Russell II (B.S.’89).

April Phillips Huffines (1997) is work-ing as a stockbroker and financial advi-sor with the Harris-Huffines investmentgroup in Graham, North Carolina. In2000, she married Benjamin Huffines.

Frank Parlow (2002) is in the 101stAirborne Division and is gearing up for ayear-long deployment in Iraq. After hisreturn, he hopes to enroll in graduateschool at MTSU.

A. Michell Poss (1991) has helpedform the firm of Sobel, Poss, andMoore to do litigation in Nashville.

Richard D. Pugh (M.P.A., 1986) is thesenior auditor for the University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles. He hasworked at UCLA since 2001, havingpreviously served as a state legislativeauditor in Tennessee, New Hampshire,and Nevada.

Thomas B. “Tom” Norris (1982)earned his J.D. from the NashvilleSchool of Law and is a sole practitionerin Nashville, where he is also vicepresident of Nutrionics. He publishedan article in the November 2004 issueof the Tennessee Bar Journal titled “TheNew Salary Exemption Tests.”

Karen K. Petersen (1998) has com-pleted her Ph.D. in political science atVanderbilt University and has beenhired to teach in the Department ofPolitical Science at Middle TennesseeState University.

Walter M. Ragsdale II (1969) is a leadman senior meter technician with theNashville Electric Service. He has sev-eral children and is looking forward toretiring soon.

Sara Rainwater (2001) graduated fromthe London School of Economics andPolitical Science in 2003. She is noweditor of The EuropeanJournal, the Euro-pean Foundation’smain publica-tion. She alsomanages theday-to-dayoperationsof theofficeand special-izes in relationsbetween the Euro-pean Union and the U.S.

Cal Renegar (2000) has enteredVanderbilt Law School. He and his wifeAmanda have moved to Nashville.

Charles R. Ray (1970) continues tosupport four Ray Scholars majoring inpolitical science.

Brooks Rodgers-Miller (political sci-ence minor, 2000) graduated from theMarshall-Wythe School of Law at theCollege of William and Mary in May2005. Brooks received a dean’s certifi-cate for her work on behalf of the lawschool, a legal scholars award for herperformance in legal skills classes, andan award from the National Associationof Women’s Lawyers for her work aseditor-in-chief of the William and MaryWomen and the Law Journal.

Doug Sadler (2002) has graduatedfrom the Stetson University School ofLaw and is now practicing law in Nash-ville.

Sean Scally (1984) earned his J.D.from Washburn University and an LL.M.from Georgetown. He works as a legalcounsel and tax attorney for VanderbiltUniversity and the Vanderbilt MedicalCenter. He and his wife have two chil-dren: Casey, 10, and Molly, 7.

Darren Scoggins (1994) completed hislaw degree at the University of Tennes-see and is working in criminal defensein Columbia, Tennessee.

Tracy Seaman (1993) is a director ofsales for Hypercom in Centennial,Colorado.

Landon Sessoms (2003) is a projectsmanager with the Cavender FinancialGroup Inc. in Murfreesboro. He servedas an assistant soccer coach for OaklandHigh School in the spring of 2004,where he is also a team leader forYoung Life. He married AliceWisecarver, another MTSU graduate,in June 2005.

Anne Sloan (1971), Ph.D. Ohio StateUniversity, is serving as associate deanof the College of Liberal Arts and as anadvisor to the MTSU Provost’s Office.

Doug Sloan (1994), who graduatedfrom the Nashville School of Law,works for the city of Nashville.

Keith Slocum (1998), who graduatedfrom the Nashville School of Law, con-tinues to do bankruptcy law in Nashvillewith Rothchild and Salas. His wife,Jenna, (1997) is doing marketing/com-munications for Corrections Corporationof America.

Byron Smith (1984) earned an M.B.A.at the University of Chicago in 1986and works for Asurion, which he helpedrelocate from the Silicon Valley in Cali-fornia to Tennessee. He is serving asthe EVP and chief marketing officer.Byron was selected to participate in the2004–05 class of Leadership Nashvilleand was named to the board of direc-tors of the Adventure Science Center inNashville.

continued on page 18

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Karl Smithson (1971) remains home-less in Nashville. Over the yearsSmithson has been an outspoken advo-cate for the homeless. Many of you willremember that Karl won the C. C. Simsaward for his undergraduate record.Mark Byrnes, Anne Sloan and John Vilewere quite pleased to see him severalyears ago at a book presentation thatthey made in Nashville.

Clifton B. Sobel (1991) has helpedform the firm of Sobel, Poss, andMoore to do litigation in Nashville.

Aspen Stewart (2004) is working onher law degree at the University ofTennessee.

Tim Stone (1996) is now the managerof the Murfreesboro FedEx/Kinko’soffice, after having previously managedtwo such stores in Nashville.

Ralph Swindler (1988) earned his M.A.from Miami University and is now asenior director and mission crew com-mander in the Florida Air NationalGuard. Ralph looks back fondly to thedays when he worked as an intern forRepresentative Bart Gordon and onSenator Andy Womack’s first state sen-ate primary campaign. He and his wife,Laura Taylor Hill, have two daughters:Reagan, born in 2001, and Morgan,born in 2004. Ralph has worked on airdefense for the U.S. and has beendeployed several times to Nashville tosupport security for President Bush.

Beth Tidwell (1992), a former mocktrial participant, is a sales and marketingcoordinator with Ripple IT in Atlanta,Georgia.

Barry Toyit (2005) has been acceptedinto the Nashville School of Law and isalso contemplating pursuing an M.B.A.degree.

Virginia Vile (2002) graduated fromthe Marshall-Wythe School of Law atthe College of William and Mary in May2005. She received a dean’s certificatefor her work on behalf of the lawschool, was inducted into the Order ofBarristers, and received one of two

awards from the Virginia Trial LawyersAssociation for her skills in legal advo-cacy. Virginia was one of two winnersof the Laurence W. I’Anson Award(named after a former Virginia SupremeCourt Justice), which the faculty awardsfor professional promise, scholarship,character, and leadership. Virginia wasmarried to Keith Wesolowski, a gradu-ate of Yale and the Marshall-WytheSchool of Law, at a ceremony in theWren Building on the William and Marycampus in early March. They havemoved to Crystal City, Virginia, whereshe is studying for the Virginia barexam. She has accepted a pro bono jobwith the public defender’s office inAlexandria, Virginia.

Greg L. Wade (1977) is a general man-ager of Deep South in Brentwood,Tennessee. He and his wife have threechildren. Greg has visited 13 countriesand 46 states since graduating. He alsoreports having written articles for historypublications.

Lisa Wagner (2002) is a judicial com-missioner with Judge Christopher Coatsof the Smyrna Municipal Courts. She isalso a volunteer for a local cancer soci-ety.

Maria Weir (2002) is a senior researchcoordinator at the University of KansasMedical Center, where she coordinatesvarious research projects aimed at ad-dressing health disparities amongunderserved populations. She is plan-ning to apply to some Ph.D. programsthis year in the hope of getting a de-gree focusing on health and humanrights in Central Asia.

Al Wilkerson (1993) is afacilities managementsupervisor with StateFarm Insurance in Aus-tin, Texas. He has beenpursuing a master’sdegree at St. Edwards

University in Austin andhe and his wife Rochelle L.Cason-Wilkerson (a medical

doctor) are expecting a child.

ALUMNI NEWS (continued from pg. 17) MOCK TRIALNovember 11–12

We Need Your Help!

If things go according to plan,alumni will be receiving thisnewsletter earlier in the yearthan usual. One reason we haveaimed for an earlier date is thatwe want alums who are in lawschool or who have earned lawdegrees to know about ourmock trial tournament and toconsider helping us judge.

MTSU’s invitational tournamentis now one of the largest in thenation. For the last few yearsnow, we have had 60 or moreteams participate each year. Thistournament not only providesincredible publicity for MTSUbut also provides an opportunityfor MTSU to enter its own teams(we usually have four to six)without having the expenses ofgoing on the road.

This year’s tournament will havefour rounds—two beginning onFriday afternoon and two begin-ning Saturday morning. Thesingle biggest obstacle to thefurther growth and prestige ofthis tournament remains secur-ing an adequate number ofjudges. If you are a law studentor an attorney, you probablyalready know the value of thisactivity. Please consider volun-teering for this event! In addi-tion to doing a great service forour undergraduates, this is oftena good way to meet alumni withwhom you graduated or partici-pated in mock trial or other ex-tracurricular activities.

19

During thefifteen daysthat we werein Japan, I fellin love withthe country.Although thetrip was verytiring, welearned a lotabout thecountry and its

people. I was amazed at how highlyorganized and structured the peoplewere. Everywhere we went, our recep-tions and programs were scripted almoston a minute-by-minute basis. This ap-plied to small family functions as well asbig corporate and government activities.I was also struck by the humility of theJapanese people. Even in Hiroshima, wefound the people to be very receptive,respectful, and humble. There was novisible sign of anti-Americanism, eventhough they would have had all thereasons in the world to exhibit it after allthat happened to them. Japanesepeople are very interested in learningEnglish. Some even went out of theirway to change seats in the train in orderto sit next to me so as to practice theirEnglish when they recognized that I wasfrom the U.S. I was also amazed to seethat even though Japan is so industrial-ized and, as a country, has gone out ofits way to embrace much of Westernculture—Western dresses, movies,music, foods, and habits of othertypes—it continues to cling to and pre-serve its own culture and beliefs. In-deed, Japan is still largely a traditionalsociety in the sense that traditionalbeliefs, norms, and values continue togovern certain areas of society. Its vari-

Dr. Moses Tesi

Japan Trip (continued from pg. 13)

ous temples and castles remain centersof spiritual guidance and renewals.Shinto services to pray for good harvestsremain to this day. My experience atsuch a ceremony during my stay inFukushima was truly humbling. Teaceremonies, flower arrangements,kendo, etc., continue to thrive andserve important social functions. I wasalso surprised that crime was so low inthe country. Even at night, we movedwithout fear through the towns andcities we visited.

Japan has not quite decided where itsfuture economic direction as a country

in this age of globalization lies—whether in Asia, in which case Japanwould need to work with China (beforeit fully becomes dominant) to ensure astrong leadership role for it in the re-gion, or whether it sees its future direc-tion being with the U.S. We found thecountry to be flooded with cheaplyproduced Chinese goods in the sameway one finds them in the U.S. More-over, Chinese immigrants are enteringthe country at a rate that is similar tothe influx of Mexicans coming to theU.S. in search of jobs and a better life.What is interesting is that Chinese whohave studied English in China find thatskill in high demand in Japan. Our inter-preter at the school of communicationarts and digital animation, for example,was a young Chinese woman who hadstudied English in China. Most foreignstudents at the various institutions ofhigher education we visited were fromChina, with large numbers also comingfrom South Korea and other East Asiancountries. In our discussion at Toshiba,

Nikkei, and the other companies wevisited, we found out that the compa-nies were outsourcing most of theirlow-end production activities to China.

Many Japanese look up to the U.S.Although they see the relationship asone that is very good, some friction isinevitable. They see trade frictionsbetween the two countries as minorissues compared to some of the prob-lems they have with China. Problemswith the U.S. are generally resolvedamicably.

I went to Japan to enhance my researchand teaching. As the second largesteconomy in the world, economic activi-ties and decisions in Japan have im-mense effects on the operation andfunctioning of the global economy.Only fifty years ago, the Japaneseeconomy was largely underdeveloped;it is now one of the most industrializedand economically influential countriesin the world. The story of this develop-ment is of continuing interest to allstudents of Third World development.

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