Belmont University hosted the annual Tennessee Herpetological Society (THS) meeting on Sept. 25-27 in the Beaman Student Life Center. Dr. John Niedzwiecki, professor of biology, served as the Belmont host for this event. The meeting included a keynote speaker, poster presentations, speaker presentations and an auction to benefit the THS scholarship fund. (THS) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the study and conservation of reptiles and amphibians worldwide, but particularly within Tennessee.
Belmont Hosts the Tennessee Herpetological Society (THS) Annual Meeting
College of Business Students Participate in First-Ever Cat Financial Case Competition
Ten Belmont College of Business students participated in the first-ever Case Competition hosted by Cat Financial Young Professional’s group on Sept. 16. The competition was created to use diversity of thought and inclusion to solve a real business problem at Cat Financial. Five teams, each comprised of two Belmont students and three Cat Financial employees including a six Sigma Black Belt, competed against each other to come up with the best and most innovative solution to the problem posed in the case study. The teams were given 24 hours to work as a team to come up with a solution and develop a presentation to present their recommendations. They each had 15 minutes to present in front of a judging panel and audience. Maggie Fincher, a junior entrepreneurship major, and Ananta Sharma, a senior economics and applied mathematics major, were members of the first place team.
Curb College Professors Receive Recognition for ‘Problem-Based Learning’ Paper
Curb College professors David Herrera and Clyde Rolston received Best in Track for the Arts, Music and Entertainment track for their paper “Using Group Projects for Problem-Based Learning in Music Business Courses” at the Atlantic Marketing Association 2014 Conference held Sept. 24-27 in Asheville, NC. The paper detailed how problem-based learning helps students achieve course outcomes and improves learning in two music business courses.
Judy Bullington Published in ‘Global Trade and Visual Arts in Federal New England’
Professor of Art History Judy Bullington recently published a chapter titled “Cultivating Meaning: The Chinese Manner in Early American Gardens” in the book “Global Trade and Visual Arts in Federal New England.” The volume, published by the University of New Hampshire Press, was edited by Patricia A. Johnston, the Mears Chair in Fine Arts at The College of Holy Cross, and Caroline Frank of Brown University.
Bullington’s study focuses on the Chinese Manner as it appears in the architectural and ornamental details of gentry-class gardens from New England to Philadelphia and down the Atlantic coast during the formative years of the Revolution and through the era of the New Republic. She identifies an emerging pattern of introducing orientalized summerhouses, temples, bridges and the wooden palings of fences into the gardens surrounding the estates of prominent figures of the period and contextualizes a frequently referenced, but seldom analyzed, aspect of gardens that existed prior to the publication of A. J. Downing’s mid nineteenth-century treatise describing Chinese tastes in gardening.
Sybril Bennett Published in ‘Civic Learning and Teaching’
Professor of Journalism Dr. Sybril Bennett published an article titled “Civility, Social Media & Higher Education: A Virtual Triangle” in Civic Learning and Teaching: A Bridge to Civic Life and a Life of Learning, edited by Ashley Finley. The monograph is the most recent publication in The Civic Series, a partnership project between the Bringing Theory to Practice Initiative and the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Pharmacy Students Certified as Immunizers
Sixty-seven second year pharmacy students enrolled in Pharmaceutical Care II course, taught by Dr. Elisa Greene and Dr. Alisa Spinelli, recently became certified immunizers. Utilizing the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery program, students completed 20 hours of self-study, didactic and skills-based training. Topics included vaccine preventable diseases, the role of pharmacists as vaccine advocates and administrators, legal and regulatory issues and injection technique. This is the third year that students enrolled in the course have participated in the certification program.
Over 50,000 people die from vaccine preventable illnesses in the United States each year. Immunization-certified pharmacists have expanded community access to protection against vaccine preventable diseases, such as influenza, shingles, and pneumococcal disease. The Institute of Medicine estimates that immunizations, including pharmacist-administered immunizations, have helped to prevent 14 million infections and 33,000 additional deaths from these conditions each year.
Belmont Equestrian Club Wins at First Competition of the Year
The Belmont Equestrian Club won three first place ribbons at the Intercollegiate Horse Show, the first competition of the year, which was hosted by Sewanee: The University of the South on Sept. 27-28.
Members Caitlyn Marsh, Courtney O’Connor, Mary Ritchea and Meg Anderson competed in the hunter/jumper discipline of equestrian sports against schools such as Vanderbilt University, the University of Tennessee, the University of the South and Murray State University. The riders brought back a total of eight ribbons.
“During my first show with the Belmont Equestrian Club, I learned that we were not only a club, but a team that supports one another in every way. I am a freshman who wanted to join the Belmont Equestrian Club to find a fun and diverse group of people that all shared a common love for horses, but I found so much more thanks to this supportive group,” Meg Anderson said about the Belmont Equestrian Club.
The Belmont Equestrian Club is open to all Belmont University students who express a passion for horses. Club members compete at two competitions each semester as well as attend monthly meetings, weekly lessons, and club events. For further information contact belmontequestrian@gmail.com.
Summer Scholars Present Undergraduate Research
The Belmont Summer Scholars program recently hosted a poster session showcasing the research conducted by the student and faculty participants in the 2014 Summer Scholar Communities. Summer Scholars is a program of undergraduate research in which faculty mentors in the College of Sciences and Mathematics guide students in the collection, analysis and sharing of data. It blends the structure of a summer session class with the format of a research team focused on a faculty-designed research project. The Summer Scholar Communities program students spend 16-18 hours per week for eight to ten weeks on a research project working with several other students and faculty mentors. The scholar communities gather throughout the summer to discuss their research challenges and successes. The poster session provided a venue for sharing that experience with other students and faculty.
Dr. John Niedzwiecki mentored a group of students whose research focused on predator avoidance behavior. These students collected snails from a nearby stream and measured the snails’ ability to detect and avoid predators. The snails were able to detect differences in type and size of the predator as well as how long ago the predator was present. Students Nicole Knowles, Taylor Mills, Raina Burley, Sonia Kadakia and Brielle Davis worked with Niedzwiecki on this project. These students will also present their findings at the Tennessee Academy of Sciences meeting at Walter State Community College and Belmont’s Science Undergraduate Research Symposium (SURS) this fall.
Dr. Lori McGrew’s research group used zebrafish (Danio rerio) to assess differences in memory and anxiety following treatment with various chemicals. The chemicals tested by this group included: nicotine, buproprion (an antidepressant), triclosan (an antimicrobial), a pre-workout supplement and a cannabinoid-like compound. The students were able to determine that both triclosan and the pre-workout supplement increased anxiety while the cannabinoid compound and buproprion decreased anxiety as measured in the Danios. Student researchers included Karah Parker, Iqra Wahid, Hensley Barnes, Jaime Wesley and Cassie Wyatt. These students will present their findings at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington, DC as well as SURS this fall at Belmont.
Belmont Faculty and Students Attend Actuarial Meeting
Dr. Danny Biles, professor of mathematics, and five of Belmont’s actuarial program students attended the 2014 annual fall meeting of the Casualty Actuaries of the Southeast (CAS) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Ga. on Sept. 22. Annie Brunelle, Stephen Sells, Savannah Halliday, Elly Fell and Katie Kruzan gained knowledge of current issues in the actuarial profession and made contacts with several practicing actuaries. The CAS focuses on supporting casualty actuaries who are committed to achieving their full professional potential while maintaining the highest standards of conduct and competence.
Massey Foundation Donates $6.75 Million to Belmont University College of Business
The Jack C. Massey Foundation, which honors the legacy of one of the country’s greatest entrepreneurs and businessmen, announced today a new gift of $6.75 million to Belmont University. With this donation, the Massey Foundation provides the lead gift in a planned $10 million renovation of Belmont’s Massey Business Center as well as secures a new name for Belmont’s College of Business Administration, now to be known as the Jack C. Massey College of Business.
The late Jack C. Massey (1904-1990) and his family have collectively been among Belmont University’s biggest benefactors. The first person in history to take three unrelated companies to the New York Stock Exchange, Massey’s gifts helped Belmont establish its undergraduate and graduate business programs and built both the Massey Business Center and the Massey Performing Arts Center. In addition, Massey’s gifts have endowed Belmont’s Chair in Entrepreneurship, leading the program to be among the best in the nation, as well as the Massey Center for Financial Information, the first financial training lab in Tennessee when it opened in 2005.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “Belmont is blessed to have a number of strong supporters within the community and around the region, but without Jack C. Massey, this institution may not have survived its financial struggles in the 1970s. The recipient of Belmont’s first honorary doctorate, Mr. M, as he was called, and our late Chancellor Herbert C. Gabhart forged a friendship that quite literally changed the course of Belmont. We cannot say thank you enough for the generous and continued support of Barbara Massey Rogers, as well as the entire Massey family and the Massey Foundation, for all of their efforts which have made such a tremendous difference in the lives of thousands of students.”
Barbara Massey Rogers, daughter of Jack C. Massey and a long-time supporter of Belmont, added, “The Massey family, along with the Massey Foundation, is pleased to be a part of this celebration. It is exciting to know that the Jack C. Massey name will now be on all diplomas given to both the undergraduate and graduate students of the Jack C. Massey College of Business, which will bring greater recognition and accolades to the widening fame of Belmont and the Massey College. This is a very special event for our family and Belmont University.”
