Assistant Professor of Nursing Dr. Erin Shankel has presented her work on tele-monitoring and app-based symptom management in pediatric asthma at two recent national conferences. She presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in June and at the national Doctor of Nursing Practice conference in October.
Shankel Presents at Nursing Conferences
Nursing Faculty, Students Publish Journal Articles
Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Carrie Harvey along with nursing graduate students Cassandra Gladkowski, Chelsey Medley, Heather Nelson and Angela Price published a manuscript in the September issue of Journal for Nurse Practitioners, the premier peer-reviewed journal for nurse practitioners. The manuscript was titled “Opioids versus physical therapy for management of chronic pain.” They presented an extensive review the literature and critique of the evidence.
Also, nursing faculty Dr. Jamie Adam and Dr. Leslie Folds published a manuscript in the October issue of that same journal titled “Depression, self-efficacy and adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes.” Their research explored various factors that affect diabetes adherence, finding that as depressive symptoms increase, self-efficacy behaviors decrease.
Alumna Featured for Work with Poverty & the Arts
Belmont alumna Nicole Brandt was recently featured in The Tennessean and on News Channel5 for her continuous efforts with Poverty & the Arts. Brandt has also been featured in The Contributor, Nashville’s local “street newspaper” for her success with this organization.
Last month, Brandt hosted an art show showcasing the work created by the homeless community of Nashville with the goal of breaking down the stereotypes that surround homelessness. Artists were able to speak about their artwork and tell their stories as well as keep 75 percent of every piece they sold during the art show.
Brandt founded the nonprofit organization while working a campus job in the Center for Service Learning to aid Nashville’s homeless through performing and fine arts. The organization organizes music, visual art and creative writing events with the Nashville area to cultivate community relationships and empower homeless individuals.
In 2015, the organization will partner with How’s Nashville to offer creative classes and lessons to the individuals in the program receiving housing.
Students Win Awards at International Business Competition
Four Belmont Massey College of Business students–Cody Fincher, Sean McHugh, Elizabeth Ashby and Steven Bell–competed and won awards in this year’s Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) international case competition, held Oct. 15-18 at the University of Connecticut. The CIBER Case Challenge brings teams of four undergraduate students from around the world to compete in analyzing and presenting an international business case to judges. The CIBER Case Challenge offers an excellent opportunity for students to gain exposure to international business issues as well as to meet business students from around the globe. The eight universities represented in this year’s competition included Belmont, Bryant University, Purdue University, Rikkyo University, San Diego State University, University of Connecticut, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and Università di Trento (Italy).
Overall, Bell’s team won their preliminary round and placed first in the final round and overall competition. As well, McHugh’s team won its preliminary round and placed third in the final round and overall competition. In addition, Ashby and Fincher won individual awards for best Q&A in their preliminary rounds. Finally, McHugh also won an individual award for best presenter in his preliminary round.
Morris Profiled in Online Magazine
James Morris, a sophomore majoring in audio engineering technology, was recently profiled on Enstars.com during his participation in New York Comic Con 2014 as he promoted the book series he has authored while going to school and pursuing musical aspirations.
Currently, Morris has released two books, Sky Bound and Water Tower, in his “The Three Kingdoms” adventure series with a third and final installment, Surface, scheduled for a April 2015 publication. Click here to read the article and here to visit Morris’ website.
A native of San Diego, California, Morris now resides in Nashville.
Honors Professors Present at Teaching the Christian Intellectual Tradition Conference
Belmont Honors Program Instructor Laura Hohman and Jonathan Thorndike, Honors Director, recently presented at the “Teaching the Christian Intellectual Tradition” conference at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The conference, supported by funding from the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, focused on the formative Christian theologian of the West, St. Augustine, and featured plenary speakers Peter Kaufman (University of Richmond) and Kristen Deede Johnson (Western Theological Seminary). The conference was hosted by Samford’s Core Texts and University Fellows Honors Program. Samford religion professor and conference co-chair Scott McGinnis said the series was designed to provide an opportunity for scholars from across the disciplines to share ideas about teaching Christianity’s rich intellectual heritage to today’s undergraduates. Hohman and Thorndike’s presentation was titled “Teaching Augustine in the Interdisciplinary Honors Core,” and they discussed the design of the Honors Core courses, Honors curricula and the use of primary texts such as St. Augustine’s Confessions to provide a bridge between the Classical Civilizations and Medieval World courses.
Laura Hohman is a doctoral candidate through the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She is writing her dissertation on early medieval sermons and religious culture. Laura specializes in Ancient, Late Antique and Medieval history and teaches the Honors Classical Civilizations course as well as First Year Seminar. She has spent time in Europe, most recently doing manuscript work in Paris under a research grant through the Council for European Studies. Jonathan Thorndike is Honors Program Director and served on the National Council of Alpha Chi Honor Scholarship Society as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Southeast region. He is Belmont’s representative to the National Collegiate Honors Council and teaches interdisciplinary Honors Core courses including Classical Civilizations, The Age of Exploration, Discovery and Revolution and Topics in the 20th and 21st Centuries. He teaches a study abroad course in London on C. S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings.
Law Review Holds Health Care Law Symposium
The Belmont Law Review held a symposium titled “Health Care in the Balance: Weighing Competing Interests in Health Care Law” on Fri., Oct. 17. The Law Review staff assembled a strong lineup of presenters featuring the following special guests:
- Lorri Unumb, a former law professor who is now the vice president of state government affairs at Autism Speaks, presented on “Legislating Autism Coverage: The Conservative Insurance Mandate.”
- Professor John D. Blum, who holds the John J. Waldron Research Professor Chair at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, addressed “Compelling Interests, Hobby Lobby and Population Health.”
- Congressman Jim Cooper, the United States Representative for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district, offered a health care policy focused address.
- Belmont Professor Amy Moore explored “The Due Process Conundrum: Using Matthews v. Eldridge as a Standard for Private Hospitals under the Healthcare Quality Improvement Act.”
- Gary Montle, an attorney with the law firm of Waddey Patterson, presented “Our Patent System and Healthcare Information Technology: Valuable Incentive or Impediment to Innovation?”
- Professor Joshua Perry of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business discussed “For Patients and Profits: The Business of Dialysis & the Necessity of Ethical Astuteness.”
Members of the bench and bar were invited to the event, and the Law Review provided lunch and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit to attendees.
Dr. Karen Swanson Discusses ‘Worship Behind Bars’
Dr. Karen Swanson spoke to students, faculty and staff about lessons to be learned from worship in prison at a convocation event in the Chapel on Monday. Swanson is director of the Institute for Prison Ministries (IPM) at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.
She began her presentation by challenging the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the imprisoned.
“Use your imagination as we enter into the world of incarceration,” she said.
She then described the harsh conditions of both national and local prisons and the unfortunate circumstances that lead to most of the inmates’ incarceration. She explained that many of these inmates turned to crime as a last resort to provide for themselves and their families. Because of the lack of resources, these individuals lacked opportunity and therefore turned to criminal activity for solace. She continued by stating that Christian worship, when done well, can help these inmates encounter God and transform their lives.
When these inmates were asked what “worshiping behind bars” meant to them, they responded, “I’m looking for mercy, not forgiveness.”
Junior Jackson Wells Takes Songs ‘From Here to Anywhere’
A New York City native who lived much of his childhood in California, Belmont junior Jackson Wells’ life to date has spanned both coasts of the United States, but it’s a faraway locale that has captured his imagination. For this songwriting major and pop performer the Belmont motto “From Here to Anywhere” has taken on dramatic significance as his long-held fascination with Chinese culture has carried him to the heights of fame overseas, with fans literally numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
“After taking eight years of Spanish in school, I just found myself getting tired of it and started developing a real interest in Chinese,” said Wells, who began studying Mandarin in high school and is also minoring now in Chinese at Belmont. Belmont was a perfect choice for Wells due to the University’s prominence in music business fields and its location in Music City, but it also keeps the young singer-songwriter close to home as his family moved to Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee several years ago. And the Tennessee connections helped launch an unexpected journey that’s led to unimaginable success.
Knowing his interest in the Chinese culture, the Chinese tutor of one Jackson’s school friends invited him to go to China in 2012, for what Jackson thought was an opportunity to teach English to students there. Instead, he was encouraged to bring his guitar and asked to perform in the International Youth Music Festival in Chengdu. That year Jackson played in front of about 5,000 people. Return trips saw his audience gradually grow, and his prominence also began to rise exponentially on YouTube, with three music videos garnering more than 1.8 million views internationally. Two years later, Wells’ popularity in China has exploded. His most recent trip in August found him performing as a headliner at the festival, this time playing to more than 470,000 fans over three nights.
Students Win Awards at AES Convention
Students from the Curb College represented Belmont well in the Student Recording Competition at the 137th International Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention, held last weekend in Los Angeles. Sophomore Cory Wilhite (from Chantilly, Virginia) won the Gold Award for Traditional Studio Recording, and senior David Villa (from Chandler, Arizona) brought home an Honorable Mention for Modern Studio Recording.
The Student Recording Competition is a highlight at each convention. A distinguished panel of judges participates in critiquing finalists of each category in an interactive presentation and discussion. The top three finalists in each category present a short summary of their production intentions and the key recording and mix techniques used to realize their goals. They then play their projects for all who attend.
