Physical Therapy Professor Dr. John Halle was recently featured in a physical therapy faculty interview series. Dr. Halle talked about his career development and what inspired the establishment of the human anatomy lab at Belmont University.
Throughout the interview, Halle discussed how teaching strategies in the human anatomy lab help to improve student knowledge and outcomes. Additionally, this laboratory space has provided an excellent opportunity for inter-professional education (IPE) and research publications related to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. He finishes the interview with advice for individuals considering a career in physical therapy.
Physical Therapy Professor Dr. Mike Voight recently served as an invited research judge for the 2020 Scandinavian Sports Medicine congress in Cophenhagen, Denmark, sponsored by the Danish Society of Sports Physical Therapy (DSSF) and the Danish Association of Sports Medicine (DIMS).
As the editor in chief of the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, Voight was one seven editors chosen from the top Sportsmedicine journals in the world.
In his invited role, Voight served on a panel that reviewed several hundred abstracts submitted to the scientific committee to be considered for inclusion to the congress. Onsite, Voight reviewed and judged both poster and oral presentations to determine the best at the congress.
Belmont University is the newest sponsor of carbon offsets offered through the Hytch Rewards mobile app, a transportation demand management initiative that verifies shared rides in real time.
Recent Tennessee Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award winners, Belmont and Hytch are teaming up to provide cash incentives for faculty, staff and students living off campus whenever they share rides to the University. Furthering the University’s commitment to sustainability, these rewards are intended to encourage more sustainable mobility choices as it encourages the Belmont community to reduce carbon emissions by carpooling to and from campus.
“We have a responsibility to preserve our earth for generations to come. Our Conservation Covenant is a promise to care for the place that cares for us,” said Belmont’s Vice President for Administration and University Counsel Jason Rogers. “This partnership with Hytch engages everyone to use our daily commute as an action in our Conservation Covenant with the Earth.”
Belmont will launch a pilot of the program beginning on March 2,
which will ultimately line up with the University’s Sustainability Week and
later, Earth Day.
“The theme for Earth Day 2020 is climate action, and we’re excited to be taking action. At Belmont, we believe taking care of God’s creation is more than a cause. It’s a charge. We see it reflected in verse after verse in the Bible as we are given the responsibility to preserve God’s creation for generations to come,” said Vice President for Spiritual Development Todd Lake. “Hytch Rewards is another tool we’re providing our future thought leaders here at Belmont to aid in solving the enormous challenges of our time.”
Employees use the Hytch App to carpool to Belmont’s campus
The Hytch mobile app acts as a daily mobility diary, tracking emissions reduced or avoided by participating users. Each qualifying carpool mile tracked through the mobile app will be rewarded with cash incentives and carbon offsets. Users are able to see their positive impact on air quality firsthand, virtually saving trees by driving with others, walking, biking or using mass transit. Challenges will be set during the pilot period for faculty, staff and students to see how many trees can be saved, for example.
Mark A. Cleveland, co-founder and CEO of Hytch Rewards said Belmont is doing something measurable and specific by focusing on driving behavior change. He said, “By investing in people who make smart mobility a part of their daily routine, leaders turn Earth Day into an Earth Habit. It’s a fun and compelling vision to build a virtual forest using our free and open platform. 50 miles saves one tree. If Belmont users were to reach 5,000 miles on Hytch, they will have saved the equivalent acreage of their 95-acre campus.”
Hytch Rewards is a Nashville-based social impact, mobility incentive platform that rewards users for lowering carbon emissions, protecting clean air and reducing traffic congestion by logging their shared commutes. Employers and communities use Hytch to engage employees in corporate social responsibility initiatives, promote the habits of sharing a ride, walking, biking or using mass transit, and even to connect people to job opportunities and critical services. Hytch was recognized as the Nashville Technology Council’s Emerging Company of the Year, and has received the Tennessee Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Sustainable Transportation Award, and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s 2018 NEXT Award as Social Enterprise and Sustainability Startup of the Year. To learn more, visit www.hytch.me or email press@hytch.me for media inquiries.
Alumnus Mark McBryde spent several days on campus sharing his experience in post-production sound with the Curb College community. With more than 25 years as a Foley artist and ADR-mixer, McBryde has worked on the sound department of more than 200 productions.
His expansive resume includes work on episodes of Lost, Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, American Horror Story, Boy Meets World and Hannah Montana, as well as feature films such as TheFundamentals of Caring and Atomic Blonde. McBryde is currently the owner of Postmark Audio Services, a company that works on shows for Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Hallmark, Lifetime, OWN, A&E and more.
Students had the opportunity to learn from McBryde during the seminar “Best Job Ever: Audio Production,” where he shared details of his career path, along with other panelists, in hopes of encouraging career exploration among students. Additionally, he spoke to Sound for Picture and Foley classes.
Before heading back home to Los Angeles, McBryde met with Curb College faculty and staff in a roundtable Q&A about his experiences with the entertainment industry on the West Coast. McBryde is one of many alumni who have generously donated their time to Curb College students in the last month during homecoming season. You can read more about recent alumni visits here.
The Belmont University Guitar Ensemble performed a 30-minute set of music on 91 Classical FM’s “Live in Studio C” program on February 25. The show will be available online by the end of the week at Live in Studio C – 91 Classical.
The ensemble performed seven songs including, “Moliendo Cafe,” “Samba Feliz,” “Samba Matuto” and “Oblivion.”
Ensemble Director Robert Thompson said he is very proud of each of the students. “The show was a huge success, and students performed musically and technically very well with precision. The host of the show and the sound engineer were very complimentary of the ensemble and the repertoire we brought to the show,” he said.
“Think of your life like a pilgrimage,” Dr. Jeremy Fyke suggested to Belmont University students in a recent campus address. “Ask yourself, ‘What can this class or experience teach me about the world?’ and ‘What can it teach me about myself?’”
A faculty member in the Department of Communications Studies, Fyke delivered the annual College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Robert E. Simmons Distinguished Faculty Lecture, named in honor of a former faculty member, during Belmont’s 2020 Homecoming Celebration. His selection recognized his teaching and research. His presentation was entitled, “For the Love: Graced for the Work of Stewardship.”
Even if we don’t realize it, “We’re all called to something,” he said, citing a Bible verse from Ephesians 2. Finding our calling is possible if we “don’t rush it, but be intentional.” People can shift their mindset and shift their language. “What has God gifted me to do?” he asked.
Fyke shared his path of finding God’s purpose in his life and encouraged his listeners to think about their energies, passions and talents. “Then, think about shifts that it would take to make it a life of stewardship, gifts for you to use,” he said.
Fyke said the question, “Why am I here?” is one of the most frequently searched questions on Google. People search for meaning and purpose in their lives. Fyke said his own path included stints as a waiter, lifeguard, vacuum cleaner salesman and telemarketer, along with disappointing initial academic performance. Eventually he found in a communications class in college something that connected with him and excited him. He went on to graduate school and now enjoys his faculty position at Belmont University. He teaches classes in organizational communications and corporate social responsibility, and he conducts research on related areas including career readiness.
“Whether you’re 5, 25 or 75, you can think about what God has gifted you to do,” said Fyke. “God knows you, and he knows what He made, and He doesn’t have any regrets.” He said shifting our mindset to one of stewardship “is a recipe for a life set apart and it sets us up to be truly distinguished.”
Fyke came to Belmont in 2016 from a faculty position at Marquette University. He earned his doctorate in 2011 in communications and organizational behavior. He was introduced at the lecture by Dr. Bryce Sullivan, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences. For more information on the Simmons Lecture or the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences visit www.belmont.edu/liberal-arts/index.html or contact Karen Bennett at 615-460-5505 or karen.bennett@belmont.edu.
In celebration of Homecoming season, Curb College professors welcomed several accomplished alumni into their classrooms during the month of February. Through a series of five guest lectures, students had the opportunity to see real examples of Belmont University’s motto; “from here to anywhere.”
One contract law class got to hear from alumna Molly Shehan, a legal partner at Milom Horsnell Crow Kelley Becket Shehan, PLC, specializing in intellectual property law. Shehan was an accomplished and active student, graduating from both Curb College (‘11) and as a member of the second class of Belmont’s College of Law (‘14). Her experience includes internships with Nashville Music Council, Congressman Jim Cooper and Loeb & Loeb, LPP.
Molly Shehan speaks to Amy Smith’s Copyright Law class
Two audio engineering classes had the opportunity to learn from alumni of the program. Local software developer and engineer Tony Lassandro spoke to students studying the field. Additionally, Jeremy Seawall, regional manager for d&b audiotechnik, spoke to a sound systems engineering class. The 2006 graduate of the Curb College has experience in artist and tour management, project coordination, system design, audio engineering and more.
Publishing students were visited by Kathryn Notestine, a graduate of Curb College as well as the Happy Together Tour program. Since graduating in 2018, Notestine has held positions in Nashville’s budding book publishing industry. Currently, she is an associate editor at Dexterity LLC.
Lastly, Clint Higham spoke in a Curb seminar. Higham, president of Morris Higham Management, graduated from Belmont in 1995 before becoming an industry success. He recently spoke to students in a seminar about his experiences over 40 years managing country music artists, including the likes of Kenny Chesney and Old Dominion.
Belmont University was recently notified its four-year-old Mental Health Counseling program has received accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP, a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), granted accreditation to both Belmont’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling (M.A.) and the Marriage, Couples and Family Counseling (M.A.) Mental Health Counseling Degree Program tracks.
Since the program’s inception in the fall of 2016, faculty
have been working diligently toward this national accreditation goal.
Director and Professor of the Mental Health Counseling Program
Janet Hicks said the team is excited to receive the eight-year accreditation. “This
accomplishment highlights the quality of our program, the proficiency of our
curriculum, the knowledge of our current students, and the skills of our alumni
currently working in the field,” she said. “This is a groundbreaking accomplishment
for the program, faculty and students – past, current and future.”
Belmont’s programs are designed to prepare men and women to
serve as counselors and psychotherapists in professional mental health settings
ranging from community mental health centers to psychiatric hospitals, to
faith-based counseling centers, to residential treatment facilities, to private
practice. Housed in the College of Theology and Christian Ministry, the 60
credit hour program can be completed in two calendar years with full-time
continuous enrollment.
Dean of the College Darrell Gwaltney remembers the
origins of the program and touted the uniqueness in their placement. “Our goal from the very beginning has been to create
a strong academic program that prepares students for a counseling vocation
while being true to our ecumenical mission of learning and service,” he
explained. “We are delighted to have achieved this important milestone.”
Tom Knowles-Bagwell, associate director and associate
professor in the mental health counseling program, explained the program
integrates spiritual principles with counseling knowledge and skills.
He said, “What sets Belmont’s
Mental Health Counseling program apart from other counselor education programs
is the integration of Christian resources and scientific perspectives on human
nature and development, human suffering and its alleviation, and the guiding
values and ideals for living.”
More than half of Tennessee’s population live in rural areas where access to health care is limited and higher rates of poverty and poor health outcomes are the norm. Last week, College of Health Sciences faculty and Doctor of Nursing Practice students Samuel Lewis and Ashlyn Upshaw attended a Nashville Health Care Council event to learn more about this growing national problem.
“Solving the Rural Health Care Puzzle: National, State and Provider Perspectives” featured an expert panel moderated by Bill Frist, MD, former US Senate majority leader, and included Alan Levine, executive chairman, president and CEO of Ballad Health; Sarah Chouinard, MD, chief medical officer for Community Care of West Virginia; and Stuart C. McWhorter, commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration.
Panelists addressed rural health challenges including health disparities, workforce shortages, the need for systems innovation and the move to reimbursement for value over volume-based care.
Dr. Virginia Christy Lamothe, assistant professor of musicology, recently presented a paper titled “Hearing the Demon’s Song: The Condemned Magic of Tommaso Campanella and the Operas of the Barberini Court” at the Esoterism in Music Symposium. The symposium was held Feb. 21-23 at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York.
Lamothe’s paper focused on spiritual and philosophical ideas of the controversial Renaissance theologian, Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639). The connections between these ideas and his connections to the Barberini Papal court are explored in the paper to help scholars better understand the composition and performance practice techniques in the sacred operas of the Barberini court, Sant’Alessio (1634) and San Bonifatio (1638).
