IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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Wiseman Urges Executives to Multiply Company Talent

Author and leadership development professional Liz Wiseman challenged Nashville-area business executives to maximize the existing resources at their firms by being leaders who multiply the capabilities of their employees.

Imagine what is possible with all the intelligence that sits in your organization. The role of the leader is shifting from knowing, telling and directing to one where the leader observes, harnesses and unleashes the capabilities of others,” Wiseman said.

The Center for Executive Education at Belmont University hosted Liz Wiseman as the keynote speaker during its Spring Leadership Breakfast on May 1 in the Curb Event Center arena. Presented in partnership with the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the event explored how executives can become leaders who inspire employees to stretch themselves to deliver results that surpass expectations.

Her talk over breakfast focused on her leadership books Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter and The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools, which promote “the multiplier effect” or the influence leaders have on the intelligence of people around them.

“Some leaders tend to grow intelligence and others tend to suck it right out of organizations like wet blankets,” Wiseman said. “As a multiplier, you use your intelligence to amplify and grow the people around you. The people get smarter and more capable when they work with you.”

Maszaros Presents at Tennessee Library Association Conference

Unit Head for Library Systems and Collection Management Sue Maszaros, who works in the Bunch Library, was a co-presenter for a session at the Tennessee Library Association conference held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, April 25-26.  This statewide library and information science conference focused on “Outside of the Box” thinking related to library services and user access to resources.  Maszaros helped lead the session titled “RDA Demystified: Resource Description and Access for Non-Catalogers,” which discussed the new cataloging standard, Resource Description and Access, and its application within libraries. Designed for the digital world, Resource Description and Access (RDA) provides a flexible and extensible framework for recording metadata and is intended to replace the current cataloging standard, AACR2, now used in libraries. The Library of Congress made the transition to the new RDA standard in March 2013, and Bunch Library plans to begin implementation of this standard within the year.  Maszaros collaborated on this presentation with colleague Margaret Brown, catalog librarian at Williamson County Public Library.

Biology Students Recognized for Research Presentations

Announcements were recently made regarding the student research poster awards from the 122nd annual meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences held November 2012. This annual meeting of scientists in Tennessee was held at Vanderbilt University and celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of the organization. Five students in the Department of Biology were recognized for their excellence in presenting their research posters in three sections, competing against graduate and undergraduate students from other Tennessee universities. In addition to a certificate, students receive a year’s membership to the Tennessee Academy of Sciences. The awardees and their research collaborators are:

Cell and Molecular Biology: 1st place – Fatin Jweinat (Dr. Robert Grammer); 2nd place – Lacey Dunkley (Dr. Robert Grammer); 3rd place – Rachel Garland (Dr. Nick Ragsdale)

Microbiology: 3rd place – Shea Harrison (Dr. Jennifer Thomas)

Botany: 2nd place  – Emma Ghulam Jan (Dr. Darlene Panvini)

School of Science Students Win Awards at TAS Annual Meeting

Belmont’s School of Sciences hosted this year’s Tennessee Academy of Science (TAS) Middle Division Collegiate Annual Meeting on April 6.  Dr. Duane Hatch, assistant professor of chemistry, coordinated the event. There were 40 undergraduate presenters from Belmont, Tennessee State University, Fisk University and Austin Peay State University.  There were seven different sessions including chemistry, zoology, cellular/microbiology, botany/ecology, engineering/computer science, mathematics and psychology.

The following Belmont students won awards:
Math: Marcella Noorman, 1st place
Cellular/Microbiology: Fatin Jweinat, 1st place; Lacey Dunkley, 2nd place 
Zoology: Lauren Land, 1st place; Breanna Poore, 2nd place; Anna Beth Jones, 3rd place      
Botany/Ecology: Parth Majmudar, 1st place; Jessica Braden, 2nd place; Rachel Chandler, 3rd place      

Several School of Science faculty served as judges/moderators – from Biology, Darlene Panvini, John Niedzwiecki, Chris Barton, Steve Murphree, Robert Grammer, and Roger Jackson; from Chemistry & Physics, Davon Ferrara and Justin Stace; from Mathematics & Computer Science, Danny Biles; from Psychological Science, Linda Jones.

The Tennessee Academy of Science seeks to promote scientific research and the diffusion of knowledge concerning science; to secure communication between persons engaged in scientific work, especially in Tennessee; to assist by investigation and discussion in developing and making known the material, educational, and other resource and riches of the state; to arrange and prepare for publication such reports of investigations and discussions as they further the aims and objectives of the Academy.

Parry Receives Fellowship

Pam Parry, chair of the communication studies department, received a fellowship April 24 from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she is a doctoral candidate. The university gave her the Arthur J. Kaul Memorial Fellowship for a media history doctoral student who is nearing completion of her degree. Parry anticipates graduating from Southern Mississippi in December.

Belmont University Holds Spring Commencement Ceremonies May 4

Degrees conferred during two ceremonies Saturday

Belmont University will hold its spring 2013 commencement ceremonies for graduate and undergraduate students on Saturday, May 4 in the Curb Event Center.

For the third consecutive year, the University will have two ceremonies on the same day. At 9:30 a.m. candidates from the College of Business Administration, Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business and College of Visual and Performing Arts will have their degrees conferred. At 2:30 p.m. candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences, Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing, College of Pharmacy, University College and Interdisciplinary Programs and School of Religion will have their degrees conferred.

Belmont celebrates the graduation of a total of 955 students. During the graduation ceremonies, 765 undergraduate, 105 master’s and 85 doctoral degrees will be conferred.

Tickets, which have been distributed to the graduating students, will be required for guests wishing to attend either event.

Dr. Robert C. Fisher, president of the University, will preside over the events and present the commencement address at both ceremonies. In addition, the Office of Alumni Relations will sponsor receptions–one at 7:30 a.m. prior to the morning commencement and another immediately following the 2:30 p.m. ceremony–for all graduates and their families in the Beaman Student Life Center.

Baccalaureate will take place at 2:30 p.m. Friday, May 3 in the Curb Event Center.

 **Updated May 6, 2013: Online video streams of the May4 graduation ceremonies are now available for viewing here.

Alumni Teach Foreign Languages at Nashville Community Education

Belmont alumni Warren Ray and Jessica Spradlin (’12) served as foreign language instructors at Nashville Community Education, a city department dedicated to adult education in the community, this year. Ray taught Spanish, and Spradlin taught Italian. Their work was the result of a new partnership with the Belmont University Department of Foreign Languages. Nashville Community Education worked with Belmont Foreign Language Department Chair David Julseth to link it with Ray and Spradlin. Click here to read more.

Student Earns Critical Language Scholarship

Belmont University student Deya Maldas has been awarded  a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) to study the language of Bangla in Bangladesh this summer.

Maldas is one of approximately 610 U.S. undergraduate and graduate students who received a scholarship from the U.S. Department of State’s CLS Program in 2013. CLS participants will spend seven to ten weeks in intensive language institutes this summer in one of 13 countries to study Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, or Urdu.

The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. It provides fully-funded, group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences.  CLS Program participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.

Consistent with the U.S. Department of State’s goals to increase diversity among international educational exchange program participants, the CLS Program actively recruits in states and regions of the United States that have been historically under-represented in international exchange and encourages students from diverse backgrounds and academic majors to apply. The CLS Program also promotes diversity in the independent review process, and includes readers and panelists from 44 states and 160 institutions, including land-grant public universities, liberal arts colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Ivy League institutions, and community colleges.  In 2013, 255 professionals, including critical language faculty, area studies specialists, international education professionals, and fellowship advisors, participated in the selection process for the CLS Program.

McAfee Concert Hall, Baskin Center Earn National Recognition

The architect behind the renovation of Belmont’s McAfee Concert Hall, Earl Swensson Associates, Inc. (ESa), recently received a Citation of Excellence Award for outstanding educational facility design in the Spring 2013 edition of Learning By Design, the premier biannual guide that showcases innovative school and university design projects. Recognized for the renovation and adaptive reuse of McAfee Concert Hall, ESa is one of only seven firms in the country to receive a Citation of Excellence Award in the Spring 2013 design competition.

ESa repurposed the aging church sanctuary into a contemporary music hall that serves both the campus and the surrounding community. Unique details were preserved, while nearly doubling the volume by utilizing previously unused attic and floor space. “I imagine this is a great place to see a concert,” commented a Learning By Design judge.

In addition, Belmont’s Randall and Sadie Baskin Center, which was also designed by ESa, received an Honorable Mention Award. ESa is one of only three firms in the country to receive this award.

Learning By Design is published twice annually by Stratton Publishing & Marketing Inc., with support from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), APPA—Leadership in Educational Facilities, Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI), National School Boards Association (NCBA), and others.

ESa is a 52-year-old architectural firm based in Nashville providing services in architecture, interior architecture, master planning and space planning to clients across the country and globally.

Pharmacy Fraternity Inducts New Members

Thirty-two students in the College of Pharmacy were inducted into the Delta Mu chapter of Rho Chi on April 25.

Rho Chi encourages and recognizes excellence in intellectual achievement and advocates critical inquiry in all aspects of pharmacy. The Society further encourages high standards of conduct and character and fosters fellowship among its members.  The Society seeks universal recognition of its members as lifelong intellectual leaders in pharmacy, and as a community of scholars, to instill the desire to pursue intellectual excellence and critical inquiry to advance the profession.