Dr. Brianna Witherspoon, adjunct faculty member in the School of Nursing, presented a scientific poster titled “ACNP Intensivists – Evaluating A Model of Care” at the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) National Magnet Conference in Dallas Texas last week. Witherspoon’s work described patient outcomes such as mortality rates and intensive care unit length of stay before and after acute care nurse practitioners (ACNPs) joined the critical care team. Witherspoon teaches adult health clinical and lab in the undergraduate nursing program.
Witherspoon Presents Poster at Nursing Conference
Notable Author Sheryl WuDunn Presents on Economic Inequality
Famed author and speaker Sheryl WuDunn spoke to students, faculty and staff about the growing global wealth gap and the solutions for bringing about change around the world during a campus-theme convocation event held in Neely Dining Room on Wednesday.
WuDuun is the first Asian-American Pulitzer Prize winner and is the co-author with her husband Nicholas D. Kristof of two best-selling books, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide and A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity. The latter work investigates the art and science of giving by determining the most successful local and global aid initiatives, evaluating the efficiency and impact of these charities and fundraising approaches. She currently works with entrepreneurs in new media, technology and social enterprise at a small investment banking boutique in New York City.
During this convocation, WuDunn discussed individuals and organizations that are making a difference both locally and globally in income inequality and other human rights issues. She explained that no individual can single-handedly solve all the world’s problems, but there are many solutions that can bring about change and a number of ways the public can get involved and support these notable organizations.
WuDunn mentioned Charity Water, a non-profit organization that strives to provide clean and safe drinking water to every person in the world, as one of the most entrepreneurial organizations making strides to equalize the quality of life for everyone around the world. The organization ensures that 100 percent of their donations go directly to the field to fund water projects.
The Birthday Project allows individuals to campaign for their birthdays and pledge all of their gifts to Charity Water. WuDunn told the story of nine-year-old Rachel Beckwith who participated in this project, but passed away before she could complete it. Word spread around the world, and Beckwith raised more than $1.2 million to help build wells in Africa.
In addition, WuDunn cited statistics about the global income inequality explaining that the richest 85 people on earth have more wealth that the bottom half of humanity. While she explained that these statistics are important to understanding the severity of the situation, the real solution is improving education and the environment in which these impoverished individuals live.
“Poverty is more than inequality. It’s more than numbers and money. Poverty is about the terrible ecosystems that surround these individuals. It’s about lack of opportunity,” WuDunn said.
WuDunn discussed that research in education and childhood development has shown that through education, it is possible to break the cycle of poverty and improve not only these children’s futures but the lives of their families as well. She explained that strength of character and the ability to delay gratification for a larger reward is the formative factor for success with impoverished children and what will lead to their escape from poverty. She refers to this practice as “grit.”
“Grit is 80 percent of success. It is what is making the next leaders of these communities, and it can be instilled around the world through educational practices.”
At the end of her presentation, WuDunn offered practical advice to students, faculty and staff on how best to donate and get involved and how they will personally benefit from being effective global citizens.
“Are you going to get engaged or continue to be a bystander?” WuDunn asked the audience. “I challenge you to get involved.”
Searcy Receives 2014 ‘Amiga of the Year’ Award
Joyce Searcy, director of community relations, received the 2014 Amiga of the Year Award at the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Community Awards. The presentation took place at the program culminating Hispanic Heritage Month. The award recognizes Belmont University as well as Searcy’s efforts and dedication in support of the Hispanic Chamber. Searcy is the first woman to receive the award.
Shin Presents at the World Association for Sport Management Conference
Dr. Stephen Shin, an assistant professor in sport administration, presented “Adapting Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI) Scale to Ethnic Consumers” at the poster session in the World Association for Sport Management (WASM) conference in Madrid, Spain. In order to make psychometric properties of the CSI generalizable to ethnic subcultures, the CSI was applied to the context of Korean American consumers to identify shopping orientations. Then, the essential consumer decision-making styles were validated on the purchase of golf clubs as a selected sport product category. Profiling ethnic consumers by exploring their decision-making styles and demographic variables provided more critical ways to identify and understand the differences between consumer segments and to target each segment with the tailored marketing strategies. Dr. Shin shared his experiences and information obtained from the conference with his students in the sport administration program. Based on the context of the global sport platform, it was discussed in his class how Spanish professional soccer clubs have been developed and how their organizational and financial system is different compared to American sport organizations.
Lunsford and Panvini Awarded Grant by the TN Higher Education Commission
Dr. Darlene Panvini, professor and chair of the biology department, and Dr. Lauren Lunsford, associate professor of literacy in the education department and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, were recently awarded a Tennessee Higher Education Commission grant for their proposal “Cooking and Gardening: Strengthening Middle School Math Competencies Across the Disciplines.” Related Belmont faculty who are working on the project include: Dr. Sally Barton-Arwood and Kate McGowan (education), Dr. Kim Daus (chemistry), Dr. Ryan Fox (mathematics) and Dr. Bonnie Smith Whitehouse (English). The grant will fund a week-long institute for teachers during the summer of 2015 as well as books, a cooking kit, a gardening kit and ongoing support during the fall semester.
This is the second year in a row that this team of faculty have been awarded funds to provide professional development to teachers from four area school districts. The workshop that was held in the summer of 2014 is featured in an article in the Earthbox Education Newsletter this month. The Earthbox Gardening System can be used to grow produce virtually anywhere, and it will again be given to the participants in the 2015 workshop hosted by Belmont faculty members. The photo from the 2014 workshop shows Belmont faculty cooking together.
Pharmaceutical Studies, Pharmacy Students Assist with Drug Take-Back Event
On Sept. 27, Belmont graduate and undergraduate students and chemistry Professor Dr. Kimberlee Daus participated in the Dickson County Drug Take-Back event. This event was held on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and was coordinated by Vanderbilt University and the Dickson Police Department. Working alongside faculty and students from Vanderbilt and Lipscomb Universities were 12 Belmont undergraduate pharmaceutical studies students and graduate pharmacy students and faculty. The group cataloged and counted more than 50 pounds of medication. The National Drug Take-Back Day, set by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), provides a service to the community through safe and responsible disposal of unused medication. Additionally, these events help to educate the public about the potential of drug abuse associated with these medications. There were more than 5,200 collection sites across the country.
The Pharmaceutical Studies students shown in the group photo are: Front row (l-r) Samantha Perkowski, Jennifer Shin, Heather Stice, Madeline Ricardo, Hiedi Habib; Back row: Ryan Lipe, Madalyn Chilcutt, Rachael Grussing, Kasey Kolb, Bella Watson, Savannah Bobo-Bressler and Danielle Dauchot.
Faculty Member, Students Honored Nationally by PRSSA
Belmont’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America scored significant acclaim this week with numerous national awards at the parent organization’s national conference, held Oct. 10-14 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Bonnie Riechert, associate professor and chair of Belmont’s Department of Public Relations, was honored for her work as faculty adviser to the Belmont Chapter of PRSSA. Riechert received the national PRSSA Outstanding Faculty Adviser Award, based on service to the PRSSA Chapter through dedication and creative chapter guidance, effective student motivation, exceptional contributions to public relations education, supportive chapter advocacy and representation within the academic department and with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) sponsor Chapter and its members. The award includes an engraved trophy and a cash prize. Accredited in Public Relations and a member of the PRSA College of Fellows, Riechert has served as the Belmont PRSSA faculty adviser since coming to the faculty in 2006. She is the current president of the PRSA Nashville Chapter.
Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub Moves to Belmont University
New location serves to further advance region’s academic development in science, technology, engineering, math fields
Belmont University and Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) announced today that the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub will be moving to Belmont’s campus, effective immediately, providing a centralized location to support the region’s educational advancement in the academic disciplines of the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). More than 18 percent (or 125,230) of the region’s jobs require STEM skills, and positions are anticipated to continue to grow at a fast pace in STEM industries throughout Middle Tennessee. Further development of STEM programs—along with partnerships among higher education, K-12, nonprofits and businesses—will be crucial to national and regional economic stability and growth in the coming years.
Belmont Provost Dr. Thomas Burns said, “Belmont University is committed to being a higher education leader in STEM education as shown in the recent opening of our Wedgewood Academic Center, which features more than 20 science lab spaces and over $2 million of state-of-the-art lab equipment, not to mention our recent establishment of a new College of Sciences and Mathematics. We believe locating the STEM Innovation Hub on Belmont’s campus is a perfect next step to help position it to develop even more partnerships with K-12 schools, higher education institutions and businesses while also expanding our own impact in these vital STEM fields.”
Dr. Jay Steele, chief academic officer at MNPS, added, “The move of the STEM Hub to Belmont will lead to partnerships with a greater number of colleges and universities in the Middle Tennessee region for advancing STEM initiatives, the promotion of new partnerships with businesses for advancing STEM initiatives, and the promotion of curriculum and instruction related to STEM content that will promote STEM with teachers and students throughout Middle Tennessee. I look forward to our continued relationship with Belmont and the STEM Innovation Hub.”
McEntire Essay Published in Marginalia Review of Books
Professor of Biblical Studies Dr. Mark McEntire recently had his essay, “Locating Memory between Story and History,” appear in Marginalia Review of Books, a channel of the Los Angeles Review of Books. The essay is available online here.
Massey Graduate School of Business Named a 2015 Best Business School
Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business is an outstanding business school, according to education services company The Princeton Review. The company features the school in the new 2015 edition of its annual guidebook, “The Best 296 Business Schools.”
Jack C. Massey College of Business Dean Dr. Pat Raines said, “The Princeton Review is the most widely respected business school guide in the U.S. Belmont University MBA students say exactly what a top program would want: our programs are challenging, they prepare students for the dynamic global economy, and our faculty are accessible, knowledgeable and teach from experience. It is an honor to be listed for the ninth consecutive year.”
“Our students and alumni will be pleased to see that our Princeton Review rankings streak continues,” said Associate Dean Dr. Joe Alexander. “And I feel certain Mr. Massey himself would be very proud to see that the program he first envisioned in 1986 is now routinely mentioned in the same sentence as our nation’s other top graduate business programs.”
The Princeton Review’s survey asked 21,600 students at the 296 schools their opinions of their school’s academics, student body and campus life as well as about themselves and their career plans. The student surveys analyzed for this edition were conducted during academic years 2013-14, 2012-13 and 2011-12.“The Best 296 Business Schools” has two-page profiles of the schools, and the Princeton Review editors describe the program as a “great classroom-based education that is flexible enough for a working student” and “balanced between verbal, interpersonal and mathematical reasoning abilities.” The profile also highlights Massey’s mandatory study abroad program and many concentrations, including accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, general business, healthcare, marketing and music business.
