Belmont Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Susan West was appointed co-chairwoman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education Report Card Committee. The Education Report Card Committee provides a community perspective on specific issues and challenges facing Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the Chamber in this capacity.  This appointment reaffirms my commitment to creating the best possible education system that we can envision for our youth and our community,” West said.

The committee reports on overall school system performance as well as a topic selected annually. Most recently, the chamber’s focus area was chartered schools.

The committee, comprised of  business and community leaders, conducts interviews, collects data and visits schools before developing findings and recommendations for improvement. The MNPS School Board and administration consider the committee’s findings each year and report specific outcomes of implementing the recommendations.

Urban League President and Chief Executive Officer Patricia Stokes served as co-chairwoman with West. In their roles, West and Stokes played an integral leadership role in the report card process, leading each meeting and ensuring that the committee stays on task to produce the report.

In its 2013 Education Report Card for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools released on Dec. 16, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education Report Card Committee issued five recommendations in the areas of school system performance and Common Core State Standards. The final report was presented to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the MNPS School Board and administration, the mayor, the Metropolitan Council.

“The committee believes the district is taking the right course in its commitment to teacher quality, lead principals, school autonomy, quality school choices, and the ambitious goal of being the highest-performing urban district in the country by 2018,” West said in a press release. “When looking at the 2012-2013 school year, however, we find the academic results are mixed.”

Click here to read the recommendations. Click here to read the full report.

Two faculty members from the Belmont University School of Nursing recently assisted Hillwood High School’s Academy of Health Sciences in securing a $100,000 grant from the HCA Foundation made on behalf of the HCA/TriStar Family of Hospitals.   The School of Nursing is a PENCIL partner with the academy.  Belmont faculty and students volunteer time to provide guidance to the school’s administration and career advice to its students.  The PENCIL Foundation helps link community resources with Metro Nashville Public Schools.

Dr. Sandy Murabito, assistant professor of nursing, and Sandra Rosedale, clinical placement coordinator, provided significant assistance in writing the grant application. Murabito is the school’s Parent Teach Organization president, and Rosedale serves on the academy’s advisory board.

The grant will be used to fund the design and construction of two state-of-the-art patient simulation laboratories at the academy, giving students the opportunity to simulate and practice a variety of real-world medical procedures and activities such as drawing blood, starting an intravenous, processing patients, labor and delivery support.  Skill-based learning activities help to prepare students for future careers in medical and surgical nursing, emergency medicine, physical therapy, rehabilitation and sports medicine and many more health related professions.

Dr. Beth Hallmark, director of patient simulation for Belmont’s Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing, joins Rosedale on the advisory panel which will guide the project through fruition. Once completed, the laboratories will serve health science students from all Metro Nashville public schools.

As the philanthropic arm of HCA, the mission of The HCA Foundation is to promote health and well-being, support childhood and youth development and foster the arts in Middle Tennessee.  HCA has been an Academy Business Partner since 2009 providing student field trips, job shadowing, internships and teacher externships in support of the mission of the Hillwood Health Science Academy.

Chip Henderson, adjunct instructor of guitar, is a contributor to the Second Edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music, which was released on Dec. 2. His articles profile guitarists Johnny Smith, Larry Coryell and James “Blood” Ulmer. He also wrote profiles for saxophonist Scott Hamilton and early Jazz bandleader Elmer Snowden. Click here to read The New York Times’ announcement on the updated dictionary

School of Religion adjunct faculty member Charles Parker recently published the article “The Effects of the Civil War on the Baptist Churches of Middle Tennessee” in the fall 2013 issue of Tennessee Baptist History, which is devoted to Tennessee Baptists and the Civil War. The magazine also contains his president’s column entitled “War and Peace,” written in his capacity as outgoing president of the Tennessee Baptist Historical Society.

The 2013 Gabhart Award for Staff Excellence and Service was presented to Senior Director of Curb College Initiatives Sarah Cates during the annual Staff Christmas Breakfast.

Cates is a former Bruin student-athlete, an alumna, a strong advocate for student centeredness and a promoter of the University’s sense of community. As written in her nomination, “She always seeks to do that which is right and uses her faith as a measure for action.”

She is known for fostering community and collaboration among faculty and staff. She has persuaded Curb College staff members to get to know employees in other departments by giving them each $20 of her own money to break bread with colleagues across campus.

It is her responsibility to develop external programs and industry relationships for Belmont students, and she does not stop at 4:30 p.m. She lives out the University mission in her daily life. To help “empower men and women of diverse backgrounds,” she opened her home to provide dinner to Bridges to Belmont students adjusting to life in college. To “engage and transform the world,” she counsels and supports recording artists and their families through Porter’s Call and serves on the NashvilleNext Arts and Culture team using her topical expertise to develop the city’s 25-year plan.

The Gabhart Award for Staff Excellence and Service is the highest honor Belmont University presents to a staff member. It recognizes exemplary commitment and service to the University as well as honors staff members who have demonstrated achievements and contributions of a significant nature.

Computer Technician Chris Wilcoxson gave a presentation at WordCamp Nashville 2013 back in April on building your first WordPress widget. Click here to watch the video of his presentation posted on WordPress’s video training site.

Twenty years after entertainment industry studies adjunct Steve Taylor’s last studio album, he’s taking a sabbatical from film making to record all new music with a new band. The album Kickstarter campaign was fully funded in 36 hours. Click here to watch the video. 

Audio Engineering Assistant Professor Eric Tarr had a manuscript accepted for publication to The International Journal of Audiology.  The title of the article is “Low-frequency signals support perceptual organization of implant-simulated speech for adults and children.” The article discusses how the combination of hearing aids and cochlear implants can be used to improve speech perception for listeners with hearing loss.