Bennett also served as a judge for the national Scripps Howard Journalism Awards. The Scripps Howard Awards program offers 17 categories and $180,000 in prize money. The competitions recognize work across multiple platforms and category eligibility. What was once extended primarily to newspapers, now embraces television stations, networks, online media outlets and independent producers.The judging took place at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. Winners can be found here.

Belmont University’s Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Dr. Elena Espiritu, Assistant Professor of Media Studies Dr. Hyangsook Lee, Director of Community Relations Joyce Searcy and Director of Service-Learning Tim Stewart recently attended the Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement in Little Rock, Arkansas, sponsored by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas Clinton Center for Public Service.

Dr. Espiritu presented a poster on “Supporting Professional Healthcare Educational Program Curriculum Standards Through Service-Learning Leadership Experience” and Dr. Lee presented a poster on “Breaking Media Stereotypes: One tutoring session at a time” and co-presented with Stewart on “Connecting Campus to Community: Integrating a Web-based Software Platform to Support Service-Learning and Civic Engagement.”

Stewart also co-presented “Service-Learning Administration 101” at a pre-conference workshop with colleagues from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Stewart serves on the Executive Committee of the Gulf-South Summit as the evaluation chair and Professor and Chair of the Communication Studies Department Dr. Mary Vaughn served as a proposal reviewer for this year’s Gulf-South Summit.

Hidden under eight inches of soil in West Tennessee, Brood XXIII of the periodical cicadas will make their presence known in loud choruses in the spring of 2015 during their 13-year cycle of emergence. Entomologist and Professor of Biology at Belmont Dr. Steve Murphree recently published “Look For 13-Year Cicadas ‘Out West,” an article on the expected emergence of millions of cicadas in West Tennessee and states bordering the Mississippi and western Ohio Rivers.

The article was published in the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine (TCM), a magazine dedicated to telling the stories of Tennessee’s natural, cultural and historical distinctiveness for more than seven decades. TCM features authentic Tennessee places, people and experiences through photography and informative articles.

Professor of Physical Therapy Dr. Patrick Sells was recently honored by the Greater Nashville Affiliate of Susan G. Komen as part of the 2015 class of Pink Tie Guys.  Dr. Sells was among nine individuals from Middle Tennessee who were recognized this year.

The Pink Tie Program honors  influential leaders who help mobilize, energize and engage audiences in the breast cancer movement through their role within the community, their organizations and their personal involvement. Pink Tie Guys are leaders who bring a male voice to the urgency of finding the cure for breast cancer.

It was Sells’s interest in service that first led him to get involved with Komen and the Race for the Cure. His interest was heightened following the passing of his grandmother, who happened to be a 20 year survivor of breast cancer. After her death, Sells spent a great deal of time contemplating the courage, strength, determination and faith required of someone facing breast cancer and became increasingly interested in finding the cure.

Sells, along with 2014 Pink Tie Guy and fellow Belmont professor, Dr. Mike Voight, coordinates more than 100 student volunteers from Belmont’s School of Physical Therapy for the Race each year.  These students were recognized in 2013 by Komen International as the Outstanding Volunteer Group of the Year.