Many Belmont College of Sciences and Mathematics faculty members gave presentations at the Joint Mathematics Meeting of The Mathematical Association of America and the American Mathematical Society held in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 10-13. More than 6,000 people were in attendance, making the event the largest Mathematics meeting in the world.

Presentations included “Encouraging a ‘Growth Mindset’ in Our Mathematics Courses” by Professor of Mathematics and Director of the Teaching Center Dr. Mike Pinter, “Tying Statistics to the Real World – Group Projects using Linear Regression” by Assistant Professor of Mathematics Dr. Robin Lovgren, “Reacting to the Past in a Mathematics Classroom” and “Linking Mathematics and the Arts through a Poster Assignment” by Chair and Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Andy Miller and “Algorithm to Enhance Stereoscopic Imagery” by Assistant Professor of Mathematics Dr. Michelle Guinn. Assistant Professor of Mathematics Dr. Maria Neophytou also participated in the conference.

Lecturer of English Dr. Charmion Gustke recently presented at Parnassue Books on Willa Cather, an American author, and her novel The Professor’s House. Dr. Gustke then led a discussion about themes, historical elements and biographical specifics connected to the book.

Dr. Gustke’s scholarly interests include the intersections of post-colonial theory and American literature, Empire Studies (particularly South African literature), and the work, both fiction and nonfiction, of Willa Cather, on which Dr. Gustke has published articles. In the summer of 2012 she was awarded a James Woodress Research Grant from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln to explore Cather’s later work in light of the Great Depression.

Professor of Biology Jennifer Thomas will serve as the Teaching Center assistant director for the 2015-16 academic year.

Thomas is a recent recipient of Belmont’s Chaney Distinguished Professor Award.  She has been very involved in Teaching Center programs during her time at Belmont, including active participation in recent workshops and discussions. She brings extensive experience with undergraduate research and BELL Core general education offerings to her work with the Center.  

Thomas also has interests in the scholarship of teaching and learning, including a presentation at the November 2014 Lilly Conference on College Teaching in Oxford, Ohio.

English Professor Douglas Murray served as a guest clinician at OrgelFest, a East Tennessee gathering for young organists, sponsored by the Department of Music at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  Murray discussed Renaissance and Baroque traditions and techniques of improvisation and coached three students in a masterclass on improvisation.  He closed the three hour session with three improvisations, each in a different style, on a given hymn tune.

Murray was the runner-up in the National Competition in Organ Improvisation, held last June in Boston, Massachusetts.

Andrea Stover and John Paine, professors in the English department, attended the Japan Studies Association (JSA) annual conference Jan. 7-10 in San Diego, California.

Stover serves on the board for JSA and was a co-organizer for the conference. Paine edits the Japan Studies Association Journal, JSA’s professional journal and presented and directed discussion of Kenko, Essays in Idleness, a medieval classic of Japanese aesthetics in plenary session.

Drs. Alisa Spinelli and Tracy Frame, assistant professors in the College of Pharmacy, were recently published in Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, a professional journal for pharmacy education.

Spinelli published “Assessing the Value of a Pharmacy Student First Aid Volunteer Experience at a Large Venue Sporting Event,”an article co-written by Drs. Randell Doty and Melonie Stanton from the University of Florida.

Their research assessed the perceived value to pharmacy students in volunteering at first aid stations during University of Florida football games. The study concluded that the volunteer opportunity significantly improved the confidence of pharmacy student participants in providing patient care activities and recognizing patients who were experiencing a medical emergency.

In November, Frame published an article entitled, “Student Perceptions of a Self-Care Course Taught Exclusively by Team-Based Learning and Utilizing Twitter”, co-written by Drs. Kelly Wright and Melody Hartzler from Cedarville University in Ohio.

The objective of their research was to assess student perceptions of the use of team-based learning (TBL) and Twitter in an Introduction to Self-Care course. Overall, their study revealed TBL use in the course as favorable, but course improvements were needed, such as increasing the course to three credit hours and reshaping the use of social media to better engage students in discussion beyond the classroom.

Director of Study Abroad Shelley Jewell and Director of International Student Services Kathy Skinner were recently named co-presidents of the Tennessee Chapter of the Fulbright Association.

The Fulbright Association is a private, nonprofit and nonpolitical organization whose members are Fulbright Program alumni and friends of international education. The Association supports international educational, cultural exchange and mutual understanding among the peoples of the world.

“Having the co-presidents of the Tennessee Chapter on campus will encourage further awareness of the Fulbright Program and promotion of theoutstanding academic opportunities available to Belmont students and faculty,” said Skinner.

More information on the Fulbright student exchange program can be found here.

Associate Professor of Music Business Cheryl Slay Carr presented two lectures, “Jazz Industry Best Business Practices” and “Copyright Law & the Business of Jazz,” at the 2015 Jazz Education Network Conference in San Diego.

Slay Carr is a member of the board of directors of the Jazz Education Network (JEN) and chairs the JEN Jazz Industry & Music Business Committee.