Dr. Davon Ferrara, assistant professor of physics, has had a research paper approved for publication in the journal Nano Letters. The paper is titled “Plasmonic probe of the semiconductor to metal phase transition in vanadium dioxide” with authors Davon W. Ferrara, Joyeeta Nag, Evan R. MacQuarrie, Anthony B. Kaye and Richard F. Haglund. Nano Letters reports on fundamental research in all branches of the theory and practice of nanoscience and nanotechnology, providing rapid disclosure of the key elements of a study, publishing preliminary, experimental and theoretical results on the physical, chemical and biological phenomena, along with processes and applications of structures within the nanoscale range.
Ferrara Has Paper Published
Charles A. Trost Elected Treasurer of Uniform Law Commission
Charles A. Trost, professor of law at Belmont University College of Law, has been re-elected to serve as treasurer of the Uniform Law Commission.
Founded in 1892, the ULC is an organization comprising more than 350 practicing attorneys, judges, law professors, legislators and other state officials appointed by every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to draft and promote enactment of uniform laws that are designed to solve problems common to all the states. Commissioners donate their time as a pro bono public service.
Trost has been a member of the Uniform Law Commission since 1997. As a Tennessee uniform law commissioner, he has served on numerous ULC committees. He is a member of the ULC Executive Committee and a member of the International Legal Developments Committee. He is also a member of the Study Committees on Trust Decanting and Trust Protectors. He chaired the drafting committee on the Uniform Wage Withholding and Unemployment Insurance Procedure Act.
He teaches tax courses at Belmont and serves as Of Counsel with the Nashville law firm of Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis LLP, where he focuses on state and federal tax law and tax litigation.
YWCA, Nashville Leaders Speak Against Domestic Violence

Belmont University hosted the YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee community breakfast to engage men to stop violence against women and girls on Aug. 7 at the Curb Event Center. Nationally-recognized speaker, author and educator Tony Porter, co-founder of A CALL TO MEN, opened the program. TBI Director Mark Gwyn, Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson and Nashville Mayor Karl Dean also discussed the epidemic of violence against women.
“We must recognize the fact that helping domestic violence victims is only half of the equation. Because, while we may work hard to keep one particular woman safe, the truth of the matter is that there will be another woman just around the corner to take her place with that abuser. And for that reason, we need to help this generation of boys grow up to be better men,” Mayor Karl Dean said.
Tennessee ranks third in the nation for the rate of women killed by men. Last year in Davidson Co., an act of domestic violence was reported every 21 minutes. Across the state of Tennessee, 51 percent of all crimes against persons are domestic violence-related. The YWCA event mobilized men to start the conversation about violence prevention.
Summer 2013 Commencement Ceremony Set for Friday
Belmont University will hold its summer 2013 commencement ceremony for graduate and undergraduate students at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9 in the Curb Event Center.
Belmont will celebrate the graduation of a total of 225 students. During the graduation ceremony, 83 undergraduate, 104 master’s and 38 doctoral degrees will be conferred.
Dr. Robert C. Fisher, president of the University, will preside over the event. Dr. Kelley Kiningham, College of Pharmacy assistant dean of student affairs and an associate professor, will present the commencement address.
Watch the graduation ceremony live by visiting www.belmont.edu during the ceremony and clicking the watch live link.
Belmont Named to Princeton Review’s ‘Best in Southeast’ List
Belmont University is one of the best colleges in the Southeast according to the nationally known education services company, The Princeton Review. Featured for the sixth consecutive year, Belmont is one of 138 institutions The Princeton Review recommends in its “Best in the Southeast” section of its feature, “2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region,” that posted today on the organization’s website.
The 138 colleges The Princeton Review chose for its “Best in the Southeast” designations are located in 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Princeton Review also designated 226 colleges in the Northeast, 124 in the West, and 155 in the Midwest as best in their locales on the company’s “2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region” lists. Collectively, the 643 colleges named “regional best(s)” constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges.
Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s senior vice president/publisher, said, “We’re pleased to recommend these colleges to users of our site as the best schools to earn their undergrad degrees. We chose these as our ‘regional best’ colleges mainly for their excellent academic programs. From several hundred schools in each region, we winnowed our list based on institutional data we collected directly from the schools, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of our staff, plus college counselors and advisors whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what students at the schools reported to us. Only schools that permit us to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional ‘best’ lists.”
About The Princeton Review
Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review (www.princetonreview.com) is a privately held education services company headquartered in Framingham, MA. The Company has long been a leader in helping students achieve their education and career goals through its test preparation services, tutoring and admissions resources, online courses, and more than 150 print and digital books published by Random House, Inc. The Princeton Review delivers its programs via a network of more than 5,000 teachers and tutors in the U.S.A., Canada, and international franchises. The Company also partners with schools and guidance counselors worldwide to provide students with college readiness, test preparation and career planning services.
Cates Featured in Music Row Magazine
Senior Director of Curb College Initiatives Sarah Cates is featured in the June/July edition of Music Row magazine. In her “Rowfile” interview, Cates discusses her career path at Belmont and describes her role in developing external programs, like Belmont East and West, and industry relationships, including those with members of CEMB’s advisory board.
“At the end of the day, our jobs are about providing opportunities for students to succeed in life and in the entertainment business,” said Cates. “Anything I do with the industry has to connect to that point. Belmont provides a great open door to our industry—it’s up to the students to walk through it.”
Dining Services Adds New Options, Services for Fall Semester

With a goal to enhance the student experience, Belmont Dining Services, provided by Sodexo, will launch several new initiatives this fall as well as open two new popular chain restaurant locations on campus.
An express version of McAlister’s Deli, serving the popular chain’s top 25 best-selling items, opens Aug. 12 in the former spot of Buzzy’s candy store on Belmont Blvd. While the chain has expanded into Middle Tennessee in recent years with shops in Brentwood, Cool Springs and Murfreesboro, this will be the first McAlister’s in Nashville.
Meanwhile, a Papa John’s branch will be added to the former Quizno’s spot in Curb Cafe. The pizza shop will offer both eight-inch individual size pizzas as well as 16-inch pies. The site will open for business on Monday, Aug. 19.
Director of Dining Services Kyle Grover said, “This past year Dining Services hosted four student focus groups, and we asked students what food options they wanted on campus. Adding McAlister’s and Papa John’s will meet the students’ needs.”
The cafeteria, located in the Gabhart Student Center, adds a Simple Servings station that offers allergy sufferers (gluten, lactose, shellfish, etc.) meal options free of instigating allergens. In addition, Sodexo has partnered with MyFitnessPal.com to include more than 1,200 recipes on the site so diners can scan an item in line and immediately have access to nutritional information on the website. Sodexo is also instituting Qbot, a rewards program that offers free products when users reach certain pre-set milestones in purchases.
To give students even more options for dining, Bruin Bucks can be used at several off-campus vendors, allowing students to enjoy meals at locations beyond the cafeteria, Curb Cafe, Bruin Grounds, What’s Bruin and Corner Court. In addition to using Bruin Bucks in Belmont’s on campus eateries and pharmacy, students can use the system at Subway, Chago’s, Kalamata’s, Noshville and Papa John’s as well as at the new campus locations of Papa John’s and McAlister’s. An announcement will be made soon regarding new additions to the Bruin Bucks program.
All of the new options are a precursor to Fall 2015 when the new Academic and Dining Services complex is scheduled to open. Fred Puffenberger, senior director of auxiliary enterprises, said, “We are excited about the opportunity to offer the additional on-campus food options to our student body. These additions along with expanding our partnerships with several new off campus vendor Bruin Bucks partners is another step in the continuation of enhancing the student experience here at Belmont.”
Class of 2013 Graduate Receives Mylan Excellence in Pharmacy Award
Dr. John Barnwell (’13) was awarded the Mylan Excellence in Pharmacy Award in May and has recently been recognized in the official publication of the American Pharmacist’s Association, Student Pharmacist. While a student in the College of Pharmacy, Barnwell was an active leader in various pharmacy organizations including American Pharmacist’s Association, American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists, Phi Delta Chi, Phi Lambda Sigma and Rho Chi. He resides in Nashville, Tenn. and is employed by Kroger.
PharmD Students Attend State Pharmacists Meeting
Belmont pharmacy students recently attended the 126th annual Tennessee Pharmacists Association meeting in Chattanooga, Tenn. Kelly Maguigan (’14), Kyle Robinson (’14), Mandy Newman (’14) and Alexander Tu (’16) represented Belmont’s College of Pharmacy as the Self Care Team.
Dr. Traci Poole, adviser of Tennessee Society of Student Pharmacists, said, “It was wonderful to see our student pharmacists engaged with their state association in a variety of ways, including the discussion of policy in our House of Delegates and the Self-Care Competition.”
Anderson’s Translations of Plato Published
Mark Anderson’s, associate professor of philosophy, translations of several of Plato’s “myths” have just appeared in a book entitled, Gods, Heroes, and Monsters: A Sourcebook of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern Myths in Translation, edited by Carolina Lopez-Ruiz and published by Oxford University Press.