Lacey Lyons, an adjunct English instructor, presented on the ways in which life changes affect health at the 12th Annual Tennessee Disability MegaConference. Topics of discussion included the methods people with disabilities and people who care for them use to plan for positive or negative life changes. Participants discussed the times life changes have affected their management of their disabilities, and the group talked about emergency measures they take to cope with disorders during times of change or upheaval.”
Webb Published, Speaks at Higher Education Conference
Dr. Nathan Webb, assistant professor of communication studies, recently was published in the Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. His article examined how college-level instructors build rapport with students in the classroom. In addition, Webb recently traveled to Anchorage, Alaska to present at the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning conference. His presentation focused on his research on instructor self-disclosure on social networking sites.
McDowell’s Works Published, Earn Awards
English Assistant Professor Gary L. McDowell recently won the 2014 Neil Shepard Prize in Creative Nonfiction from “Green Mountains Review.” In addition to a monetary prize, his lyric essay, “An Eye that Never Closes in Sleep: A Nightbook,” will be published in the Spring 2015 issue of “Green Mountains Review.” His poem, “Echolocation,” was a finalist in Yemassee’s Pocataligo Poetry Contest. Also, his poetry manuscript, “Mysteries in a World that Thinks There Are None,” has been a runner-up or finalist in several contests this spring including the Permafrost Prize from University of Alaska Fairbanks Press, the Poets Out Loud Prize from Fordham University Press, the Maxine Kumin Memorial Prize from C&R Press, and The Burnside Review’s Book Prize.
Belmont Students Earn German Scholarships
Alumna Susan Bay (’13) has received the the prestigious Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, known as the German Academic Exchange Service scholarship, and will spend the 2014-2015 academic year at Technical University Dresden. Bay graduated from the Honors Program in the Project LEAD program with a degree in classical voice performance in May 2013.
Belmont students Cailey Norris, Miranda Richardson and Trey Gwaltney also will study at Technical University Dresden. During the past 12 years, an average of two Belmont students annually received smaller DAAD scholarships, worth about 1,250 Euros a semester, through the Technical University Dresden to support their studies.
Junior Crowned Miss Nebraska
Belmont junior Megan Swanson recently was named Miss Nebraska 2014. She performed “You Raise Me Up” during the scholarship pageant. Swanson, who is studying music and plans to become a motivational speaker and singer/songwriter, previously held the title of Miss Douglas County. She will represent Nebraska at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey in September.
Belmont Partners with Community Organizations to Host Movie Series
Imagine Me summer film series to education, entertain Nashville youth
The Belmont University Troutt Theater will host the International Black Film Festival of Nashville (IBFFN)’s six-week Imagine Me summer film series for children at 10 a.m. on Saturdays between June 28 and July 26 for families to view feature films at discounted rates.
The film series is held in collaboration with Organized Neighbors of Edgehill (ONE), Metro Parks, Easley Historical Recreation Center and the Edgehill Family Resource Center (EFRC) to put quality film programming in the heart of their communities. Imagine Me aims to engage children in the art of film by developing skill and knowledge in media and technology literacy, broadening insights into other cultures, enhancing aptitude for foreign languages, developing critical thinking skills and inspiring a lifelong appreciation for cinema.
“The film series is a must do for IBFFN. It is a part of our mission to make accessible the many aspects of visual media and effectively empower this generation to embrace and participate in the art of storytelling,” said IBFFN Founder and Executive Director Hazel Joyner-Smith.
The series includes a host of short, documentary and feature films that provide positive, educational and family-friendly entertainment. The film line-up includes “Spider Man 2,” “Rio 2,” “The Nut Job,” “Frozen,” French film “Ernest et Célestine” and South African film “Khumba.” The children also will learn about the critical aspects of film in many different areas including directing, producing and during talk back discussions following the showings.
“We’re glad to provide an opportunity to develop the critical thinking and creative skills for the children in our neighborhood and keep them positively occupied for the summer,” said Joyce Searcy, director of community relations at Belmont University.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our kids to learn the various aspects of film,” said Marlo Lavendar, director of the Easley Historical Recreation Center. “More importantly, it will help in their ability to analyze and critique films and other forms of media.”
Tickets are $1 for children under age 6, $4 for general admission and can be purchased by calling (615) 565-9256. Click here for more information.
Belmont Hosts Workshop for Science, English Teachers
Twenty middle and high school teachers attended a May 29 workshop on Food & Gardening intended to grow partnerships between science and English teachers to support instruction of the sixth through 12th grade Reading (Literature and Informational Text) CC Standards. Leading the discussions were Belmont professors Lauren Lunsford, Darlene Panvini, Sally Barton-Arwood and Bonnie Smith-Whitehouse. Dinner, books and teaching items were provided by the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub and the event was coordinated by Glenn Acree.
A follow-up workshop will be held at Belmont on June 16 through 20 and will focus on using cooking and gardening to develop partnerships between Science and English teachers to support instruction of the sixth through 12th grade Reading: Literature and Informational Text CC standards. Twenty-four teachers from five school districts will participate.
This workshop is funded by a Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) $75,000 grant received by Lunsford and Panvini earlier this year. Lunsford and Panvini worked with Acree and the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub’s Director Vicki Metzgar on the grant, with the purpose to unite English and Science teachers to help their students explore text in interactive and fun ways. Their project will provide teachers with the professional development and time to explore and plan lessons that utilize hands-on activities like community gardens and classroom kitchens to support the teaching of informational texts. Teachers from Bedford County, Davidson County, Dickerson County, Montgomery County and Franklin City Schools will have the opportunity to participate in workshops this summer and receive continued support in the fall.
Biology Professors Lead Home School Science Discoveries
Dr. John Niedzwiecki and Dr. Steve Murphree, of biology, led 16 home schooled students, grades seven through 10, in their Vertebrate Anatomy Home School Science Discoveries session on May 28. The students performed dissections to learn about muscles, organs and organ systems and how they function.
Pethel Article Published in Tennessee Historical Quarterly
Mary Ellen Pethel, of the Honors Department, had the article “The Coming Woman: Ward Seminary, 1865-1913” published in the April issue of Tennessee Historical Quarterly. The subject of her article was also featured on the back cover in the form of a historic postcard.
Overall Presents at Conference
Assistant Professor of English Joel Overall recently presented at the International Rhetoric Society of America Conference in San Antonio, Texas. His paper was entitled “Kenneth Burke and Nazi Musical Propaganda”. The presentation examined noted rhetorician Kenneth Burke’s review of Paul Hindemith’s “Mathis der Maler” symphony to understand how Nazi propagandists persuaded the German public to join the National Socialists in 1934. In addition, his multimedia presentation breaks new ground in rhetorical studies by investigating how Burke’s extensive rhetorical theory might apply to nonlinguistic rhetorics.
