March 2007 Alumni Record - Middle Tennessee State University

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Photos by J. Intintoli The Jan. 19 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building expansion included (front row, from left) TBR Vice Chancellor David Gregory, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee, School of Nursing Director Lynn Parsons and Bob Mifflin, director of community partner Christy-Houston Foundation, and (back row, from left) State Rep. John Hood (B.S. ’54, M.Ed. ’74); Jim Stubblefield (B.S. ’83), field representative for Sixth District Congressman Bart Gorgon (B.S. ’71); State Rep. Jim Tracy; State Sen. Bill Ketron (B.S. ’76); and Bob Thomas of the TBR. Nursing from Page 1 now have to educate even more students in the nursing profession,” MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee said. “Over three years ago, we developed a strategic plan that called for elevating the status of our nursing program to one of the premier programs in the country,” McPhee added. “Our plan included expanding our facilities to accommodate more students, strengthening the curriculum, recruiting the best faculty and students for the program and providing increased scholarship support for our students. “We have made great progress toward elevating the academic status of the nursing school: The curriculum has been enhanced, we have raised thousands of dollars for new scholarships, our applicant pool continues to grow both in numbers and in overall quality, and today’s event reflects our commitment to improving the facilities and providing our students with a world-class teaching and learning environment. “When you have a school that pays particular attention to state needs, that’s growth for meaningful purposes,” said David Gregory, an MTSU student in the 1970s who now is vice chancellor for the Tennessee Board of Regents. “And look across the state right now. There’s no greater need than what is happening in the health- care arena, and nursing is probably leading that way. “Just like you have seen Middle Tennessee step up in the role of teacher education in the past, you are seeing Middle Tennessee step up in the area of nursing and allied health professions to meet a particular state need.” Parsons said up to 66 students in the general program and another 150 in an accelerated LPN to B.S.N. program annually can benefit from five clinical laboratories (health assessment, two large medical/surgical labs with critical care and triage beds, an obstetrics lab and a computer simulation lab). All the classrooms and clinical labs have multimedia capability, she added. McPhee and Parsons acknowledged community partner Christy- Houston Foundation and its director, Bob Mifflin. The president also acknowledged federal support shown by former Sen. Bill Frist, Sen. Lamar Alexander, and Congressman Bart Gordon (B.S. ’71). Thomas, Miller & Partners LLC of Nashville was the building designer. School of Nursing Director Lynn Parsons expresses her appreciation for the financial support for the new addition and how it will help the program grow. In the new 20-bed clinical laboratory, senior Samantha Linton, foreground,demonstrates how to perform tracheotomy care while Tracy McCauley, left, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, and seniors Kelley Fitzpatrick, Rachael Palermo and Brooks Hereford observe. 4 The Alumni Record/mtalumni.com It’s (H)all in the family Harrelson’s online nursing degree keeps tradition alive By Randy Weiler jweiler@mtsu.edu Carolyn Hall Harrelson went a roundabout way to become the sixth person in her family to obtain an MTSU degree. Harrelson (B.S.N. ’06), who attended MTSU from 1972 to 1973, was the last of William (B.S. ’48) and Louise Beasley (B.S. ’48, M.Ed. ’71) Hall’s four children to graduate from MTSU. She earned an online degree in nursing. “I had a really good experience with the online program,” Harrelson, who lives in Centerville, Tenn., said. “I couldn’t have done it if it had not been online. I’m very grateful MTSU had the online program.” Previously, brothers Michael Hall (B.S. ’75) and Andy Hall (B.M. ’81, M.Ed. ’91) and sister Evelyn Hall-Forbes (B.S. ’78) earned MTSU degrees. All four Hall children also Harrelson earned degrees from other colleges and universities. A work commitment with Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia prevented Harrelson from attending Dec. 16 commencement services in Murphy Center. Her fall online coursework was interrupted by the death of her father Oct. 18. Harrelson entered MTSU in the fall of 1972 to study English and history, but soon married and transferred to Vanderbilt University, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting in ’75. This degree served her well until she happened to live “in a neighborhood with a lot of older people,” she said. “I liked going and helping those folks. It was a lot more satisfying than bookkeeping and accounting.” In 1994, she earned her associate of applied science degree in nursing from Columbia State Community College and has been in nursing ever since. Carolyn and her husband, David, have a daughter, Clea, of Centerville, and a son, Ansel, a freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Harrelson’s parents, who attended MTSU when (See ’Hall,’ Page 5) Photo submitted by Hall family At the 50th anniversary for William (B.S. ’48) and Louise Hall (B.S. ’48, M.Ed. ’71) in 2001, children and fellow MTSU alumni (back row, from left) Andy Hall (B.M. ’81, M.Ed. ’91), Evelyn Hall Forbes (B.S. ’78), Carolyn Harrelson (B.S.N. ’06) and Mike Hall (B.S. ’75) joined in the celebration. William Hall died Oct. 18, 2006.
Green from Page 1 per block, and the net cost is 2.67 cents per kwh. It will cost about $44,000 to buy a onemonth supply of Green Power, he added. Longtime alternative fuels expert Dr. Cliff Ricketts, professor in the agribusiness and agriscience department, already has been utilizing solar panels on campus for his own projects since March 2004. “Green Power is the sleeping giant in the future of the transportation industry,” Ricketts said. Whitefield said a turbine generates about one-half of the energy needed by the campus; the rest comes from TVA and the Murfreesboro Electric Department. The campus consumes 75 million kilowatt hours in a year, with 37 million kilowatt hours purchased from TVA and Murfreesboro Electric, he added “We’ve had an energy program for awhile,” said Whitefield, whose second-floor office is located in the Central Utility Plant/ Cogeneration Plant near the Reese Smith Baseball Field. “The Cogeneration Plant is an efficient way to go. We've been energy conscious since the mid-1990s.” According to the Living Green advertising supplement in the Sept. 9, 2006, Whitefield issue of The Tennessean, “MTSU is projected to become the largest Green Power Switch customer in the state of Tennessee. For a regional perspective, Duke University is the only other college in the Southeast that uses more renewable energy.” Green power sources harness power from the sun (solar panels), wind (turbines) and earth (energy from methane gas). Recent alumnus Brandon Armstrong (B.A. ’05) has a passion and heart for “environmental activism.” He was among those who led the charge to get fellow students to vote in 2005 on the Clean Energy Initiative during a Student Government Association election. With 89 percent in favor, the students voted overwhelmingly for the initiative. The vote on the initiative included a new fee of $8 per student per semester so that MTSU may purchase renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, Armstrong said, adding, “Students are even willing to tax themselves to make it happen. “By supporting this initiative, MTSU students have shown their dedication to a clean energy future by tak- Zoo day is May 19 MTSU Alumni Day at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere is coming Saturday, May 19. All MTSU alumni, friends and families will enjoy a fun-filled day at the zoo, with a free lunch compliments of the MTSU Alumni Relations office. The cost of admission will be $6 per person. Lunch will be from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Watch for upcoming details on mtalumni.com. The Zoo is located at 3777 Nolensville Road. For further questions or to R.S.V.P., please contact the Alumni Office at 615-898-2922 or 800-533-MTSU (6878). There will be food and fun all afternoon, so bring the family and enjoy a great day at the Nashville Zoo! Hall from Page 4 it was referred to as State Teachers College, have been loyal Blue Raider athletic, Golden Raider and Band of Blue supporters. Longtime educator Louise Beasley Hall moved to Adams Place last fall. (Harrelson’s uncle and Louise’s brother, Horace Beasley, is professor emeritus in music.) Michael Hall is an attorney and bluegrass music promoter in Redwood City, Calif., near San Francisco. Evelyn Hall-Forbes (M.S. ’82 from Vanderbilt), has had a career in the medical library field at Vanderbilt, St. Thomas and General hospitals and will return to Baptist Hospital Library for several months this spring. She is a full-time mother to daughters Rachel and Hannah Forbes and lives in Fairview with her MTSU Photo Services file photo For several years, longtime professor Cliff Ricketts has used solar panels to harness energy that TVA purchases. ‘MTSU is projected to become the largest Green Power Switch customer in the state of Tennessee. For a regional perspective, Duke University is the only other college in the Southeast that uses more renewable energy.’ — From Sept. 9, 2006, Living Green special advertising section of The Tennessean Alumni board nominations sought The Office of Alumni Relations is now accepting nominations for members of the Alumni Association Board of Directors for 2007-2008. Membership requirements include attending all board meetings, held three to four times per year. Potential board members also should be willing to support the activities of the Office of Alumni Relations within their hometown communities and provide assistance when possible. The deadline to nominate is Friday, March 30, and interested individuals should contact the Alumni Office for a nomination form by calling 1-800-533- MTSU (6878) or visit mtalumni.com. MTALUMNI.COM ing responsibility for where their energy comes from.” “The first big initiative to require funding was created by the students,” Whitefield said. “It was a self-imposed fee to promote the Green Power program ideals and initiatives. The students deserve a ton of credit. “We (university) don’t have the funding mechanism.” The $8 student fee includes $5 for Green Power and $3 local initiatives that include energy efficiency/conservation, alternative fuels (transportation), renewable energy (installation of solar panels) and sustainable (recycling or anything environmental), Whitefield said. Armstrong, who was the 2005 President’s Award recipient, said he is a volunteer with a statewide organization, Tennessee Alumni & Students for Sustainable Causes, and added that he travels to environmental conferences and college and university campuses to promote his cause. He said he wants to know if other alumni share similar feelings toward the environment. Aerospace alumni await scholarship party on June 16 Aerospace alumni are invited to attend the 4th annual Excellence in Aviation Scholarship Party. Last year, the event raised more than $20,000 in scholarships for MTSU students. The event, which will be held on Saturday, June 16 in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., will cost $10 per person, and includes live entertainment, food, a silent auction and much more. For more information, please contact Bruce Thomas (B.S. ’77) at 615-403-3855 or bruce@mtsuexcellenceinaviation.org. husband, Jim Forbes (B.S. ’73). Andy Hall is a music teacher and band director at Dawson Springs (Ky.) High School. He and his wife, the former LeeAnne Burke (B.S. ’80), have a daughter, Mallory. March 2007 The Alumni Record/mtalumni.com 5
Page 1 and 2: Advancement Services P.O. Box 109 M
Page 3: CALENDAR Alumni events April 13 Pre
Page 7 and 8: University’s momentum continues T

March 2007 Alumni Record - Middle Tennessee State University

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