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Stunning Returns A team of business majors proved their market analysis skills are comparable to those of Wall Street veterans with stellar results in the latest TVA Investment Challenge. After starting the year with a half-million-dollar stock portfolio to manage, MTSU’s student team finished with a 24.6% return, bringing the portfolio balance to more than $623,000. The S&P 500 returned 18.4% in 2020, and over 90% of mutual funds in the U.S. fail to beat the S&P return consistently.
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Managing Risk
Clinical Trial
MTSU business students also won the 2021 Selective Insurance College Competition, a national contest allowing future generations of insurance professionals to run virtual insurance agencies. The five-member MTSU team comprised juniors and seniors with majors in Risk Management and Insurance, Actuarial Science, and other business-related areas. Michael Stansbury, managing partner of Elite Insurance Solutions in Franklin, served as the team’s mentor.
MTSU Exercise Science researchers concluded a preliminary study of PENDL, a device that could help ease lower back pain. Users are tethered to the apparatus, which is suspended from a ceiling or other elevated point, and use muscles to spin and swing. The clinical trial showed a 76% reduction in lower back pain, a 28% improvement in back power, a 14% increase in back strength, and a 21% improvement in back flexibility. mtsunews.com/pendl-workoutdevice-study-april2021
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Modern Politics
Equine Excellence
Showcase on Campus
An MTSU media graduate’s research into how social media can affect politics and voting was chosen as 2021’s best thesis by the Tennessee Conference of Graduate Schools. Ben Burnley earned his master’s degree from MTSU’s School of Journalism and Strategic Media almost a year ago. Now at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy in Washington, he’s working toward a master’s in Public Policy and a doctorate in American Government.
MTSU stock horse team members finished fourth overall but brought home a combined 10 championship and runner-up awards at this year’s American Stock Horse Association National Show Division 2 championship in Texas. MTSU, the 2019 champion, also earned the 2016 title. Team members are Lindsay Gilleland (pictured), Taylor Meek, JoBeth Scarlett, Jordan Dillenbeck, Rachel Petree, and Louann Braunwalder. Meek also received the Sumrall Sportsmanship Award.
MTSU’s Alumni Spring Showcase 2021 included a mix of in-person and virtual activities in April, allowing University alumni and friends to sample what’s taking place on campus. Offerings included the “I Am True Black: A History of Black Student Life and Activism” exhibit (pictured above) in James E. Walker Library; Godspell, livestreaming from Tucker Theatre; and an alumni and sculpture medallions metal pour led by associate professor Michael Baggarly.
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