Second-year College of Law student Franklin Graves was selected as one of 12 law students from across the country to attend the 28th Annual ABA Intellectual Property Law Conference in Washington, D.C. As part of the Third Annual Law Student Reporters Program, Graves will report live via social networks and blogs at each conference event on behalf of the American Bar Association’s Law Student Action Group. The conference, taking place April 3 through 5 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, offers over 30 Continuing Legal Education sessions in addition to multiple networking events. Click here to follow the action and interact with the speakers and attendees leading up to the conference.
Law Student Earns Reporting Position at Intellectual Property Conference
Chmieleski Shares Thoughts, Personal Experience on Mentorship
As his first semester of college drew to a close, Guy Chmieleski opened the spring course catalog and had an unexpected experience.
“I flipped right past the science classes and straight to the religion classes. As I sat down with that catalog, it was like God was in my dorm room. He was guiding me,” said Chmieleski, who originally planned to major in chemistry. That semester, he took a large number of religion courses. “In a moment of weakness, I forged the signature of my chemistry adviser. I was terrified of what they would say.”
What initially began as interest in religion became a career, and Belmont University Minister Chmieleski has never looked back. He shared his personal experiences with faith and mentoring throughout college and discussed his new book Shaping Their Futures during a Wednesday convocation lecture.
Chmieleksi began by reading the parable of the sower from the book of Matthew. For him, the first seeds were planted in high school. However, it wasn’t until he reached college that the seeds began to grow. After changing his major, Chmieleski met a professor who would become one of the most influential people in his life.
“She blew up my world spiritually. She planted the seed in me,” he said emphasizing the importance she played as a mentor in his life.
She suggested Chmieleski consider working with college students. He took her advice and now shares her passion for mentorship.
“I sensed God making me available to college students,” he said.
High School Students Job Shadow at College of Pharmacy
Hillsboro High School students visited the College of Pharmacy March 20 as part of a job shadowing program designed to expose them to the pharmacy profession and expand student interest in the pharmaceutical field.
“Health care and pharmacy are changing now, and the industry wants to be prepared. PharmD is a terminal degree and a commitment. The high school age group is good to target because they will know whether this is for them or not,” said Assistant Professor Edgar S. Diaz-Cruz, who serves as an advisory board member for Hillsboro’s Global Health Academy. “High school students also can gain valuable experience as a certified technician, and we want to expose them to that. This was a chance for them to see our facilities and research labs and get to interact with our students and faculty.”
The job shadow day was made possible in part by the Walgreens Diversity Donation award, which aims to recruit minorities to the pharmaceutical field.
“I never thought about all the things pharmacists do, like working in labs and making medicine. It’s a broad field,” said Hillsboro junior Zacnite Vargas. She said she is now considering pharmacy in addition to her previous goal of pediatric medicine.
Belmont Rock Outing Club Sends Two Students to National Competition
Junior Chris Clark and sophomore Danny Hupp have both qualified for the National Collegiate Climbing Series competition. In order to qualify, each had to place in 10 regional tournaments. Both are members of the Belmont Rock Outing Club (B-ROC).
Hupp, a songwriting major, has been with the club for two years. He is the group’s safety coordinator and oversees outdoor climbing. Clark, an audio engineering technology major, serves as the group’s vice president. The two are leaders in the club beyond their titles. “We try to act as the coaches, too,” said Hupp.
The competition will take place from April 19-20 in Melbourne, Fla. In order to fund the trip, the two students have created a donation page. If they are able to raise enough money, they both intend to participate in the competition.
There will be more than just competition. The students will have an opportunity to attend a climbing clinic on one of the days. Last year, nationally recognized climber Daniel Woods spoke.
This is the second consecutive year that members of B-ROC have received an invitation to compete. Last year, alumnus Andrew Bellisle placed in the top 50 at the national competition.
Beltones Move on to Semifinal Round in A Capella Competition
On Saturday, Feb. 16 Belmont’s a capella group, The Beltones, won their quarterfinal division. The group will now move on to the semifinal regional competition which will take place at Vanderbilt University on Mar., 23 at 7 p.m. This was the second year the group participated in the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella since they were formed in 2009. It is the group’s first competition victory.
Their winning performance on Feb. 16 consisted of “Bottom of the River” by Delta Rae, “Barton Hollow” by The Civil Wars, “Down to the River To Pray” the traditional American hymn and “Cry Me a River” as performed by Joe Cocker. Senior religion and the arts major and president of the Beltones Robert O’Brien described the experience at quarterfinals.
“It was a little intimidating to be the only group from out of state performing at the Duke quarterfinal,” he said. “We thought that we would do well–partially because of the unique, dark feel to our set–but we never thought that we would win. Right before we went on stage we collected ourselves and told each other that the main thing to do is have fun doing what we love. We did just that, and we won!”
In the semifinal round, the Beltones will compete against nine other teams from the southern region. The winner of the semifinal round will go on to compete in the final international round held at the Town Hall in New York City.
Advance tickets for the semifinal event at Vanderbilt are available for purchase.
Belmont Places Third in Tennessee Valley Authority’s Investment Challenge
Belmont placed third in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Investment Challenge for its work in 2012. TVA’s Investment Challenge is an innovative partnership between TVA and universities in its service territory that provides a real-world learning experience in portfolio management. The Challenge gives teams of students hands-on experience in managing TVA stock portfolios.
Currently, 25 universities participate in the program, including Vanderbilt, UT Knoxville and Murray State. In each university’s first year of participation, the TVA awards $300,000 from their Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Fund for that university to manage. Belmont was awarded their grant in 2011. At Belmont, the Equity Trading Club manages the entire $300,000 portfolio. The club holds stock in each of the 10 different sectors.
Though it is primarily composed of finance and accounting majors, anyone is welcome to join the club. The team meets every Wednesday at 5 p.m., and often meets on Saturdays. “We come to together to work on our discipline and build a model,” said Rami Nofal, economics, finance and international business major and president of the Equity Trading Club. The clubs hopes to put together a long-term operations manual in order to ensure the group’s success in the future.
Belmont Announces NCAA Tournament Watch Party
Belmont University announced today an NCAA Tournament Watch Party for Thursday evening, March 21, in the Curb Event Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and the game, which will be broadcast live on TNT, is scheduled to tip-off at 6:20 p.m. Central. Refreshments will be available while they last, and the Watch Party will include in-game promotions and giveaways. This event is free and open to the public.
On March 9, Belmont men’s basketball team defeated Murray State, 70-68, in overtime to claim the 2013 OVC Men’s Basketball Championship and earn an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. The victory marked win No. 1000 for the Belmont program, and the Bruins (26-6) will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in eight years.
On Sunday, the team and their fans discovered their first opponent in the Big Dance will be the No. 6 seeded Arizona Wildcats during the annual nationally televised CBS “Selection Sunday” bracket broadcast. The Bruins, enjoying their highest NCAA seeding to date at No. 11, departed campus Tuesday morning for their flight to Salt Lake City, Utah where they’ll play Thursday’s second round game at the EnergySolutions Arena.
For the latest NCAA Tournament information, visit www.belmontbruins.com.
College of Law Student Bar Association Holds Inaugural Barrister’s Ball
Event provides $5,000 donation to local nonprofit
Belmont University’s College of Law held its first-ever Barrister’s Ball Friday evening at the Hutton Hotel, turning the traditional law school event into a fundraiser for locally-based Both Hands Foundation. Organized by the College’s Student Bar Association, the Barrister’s Ball was a semi-formal event that celebrated the coming completion of the academic year and allowed a number of student and faculty awards to be presented. Congressman Marsha Blackburn served as the event’s keynote speaker.
Robert “Jaz” Boon (class of 2014), president of Belmont’s Student Bar Association, said, “Our hope for the Inaugural Barristers’ Ball is to establish a tradition at the College of Law of being heavily invested in the Nashville community. Barristers’ Balls are a staple event at law schools across the country, but our goal was to go beyond a social event and find a way to connect locally.”
Boon added that the student planning committee determined the Barrister’s Ball would be a fundraiser to benefit a locally-based nonprofit. “The student body chose the Both Hands Foundation because they are a local organization that works with some of the most vulnerable people in our society—orphans and widows. As our law program grows, we hope that our ability to be an asset to Nashville and the State of Tennessee grows accordingly.”
The College of Law students raised $5,000 for Both Hands and presented the organization a check on the night of the event.
Belmont Bruins Win March Madness Academic Bracket on InsideHigherEd.com
Team defeats Harvard, Butler, Notre Dame based on academic standards
InsideHigherEd.com—an online source for news, opinion and jobs for all of higher education—released today its own picks for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket and selected Belmont University to take home the Championship Trophy, at least according to the team’s multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR). The site annually completes an NCAA bracket based on each team’s academic performance, and for the past two years the winner of its Academic Performance Tournament bracket has played in the actual championship game.
A team’s APR is a measure of eligibility and retention for Division 1 student-athletes that was developed by the NCAA. Belmont’s men’s basketball currently boasts a perfect 1000-point APR as well as a 100 percent graduation rate. Even those numbers still made the Academic Bracket a challenge as the Bruins were matched by Notre Dame in the Sweet 16, but Belmont pulled through with a tiebreaker based on federal graduation rates.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “I’ll be the first to admit my love for basketball and the joy it brings to see our players compete. However, nothing makes me prouder than seeing our students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs, an effort that begins in an academically challenging environment. Our scholar-athletes’ performance in the classroom indicates to me that their future success is ensured, regardless of game scores or tournament bids.”
Men’s basketball Head Coach Rick Byrd added, “We appreciate Inside Higher Ed recognizing Belmont University and our men’s basketball program in this fashion. We are proud of the academic success that our players, both past and present, have achieved.”
Belmont Mansion Showcases Restored Master Bedroom
After 40 years of planning and four years of labor, the Belmont Mansion has opened the restored master bedroom suite where Adelicia Acklen rested and stored clothes as well as where her children studied.
The mansion hosted a grand opening Friday morning with Executive Director Mark Brown (’77) answering questions on the restoration project. Renasant Bank is sponsoring a free open house with cake, storytelling and children’s craft at the mansion from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday to celebrate Adelicia Acklen’s 196th birthday and the major restoration of Adelicia’s bedroom suite.
To return the suite to its original condition, workers reproduced faux wood grain, installed silver plating on door knobs and purchased drape trims, lace curtains and upholstery. Hand-woven carpet for Acklen’s bedroom was imported from England. Brown also spent the last few months searching for a free-standing towel rack, a school table for the School Room and another mid-19th century wall map, as the inventory listed two old maps.
The bedroom’s original furniture was returned to the bedroom suite. The high Victorian furniture was auctioned off when Acklen sold the residence in 1887 and stayed within 15 miles of campus for more than a century before Nashvillians Margaret Smith Warner and Overton T. Smith donated the pieces to the mansion.
“The wall papers were probably the most challenging project because it was impossible to reproduce with more traditional methods like silk screening,” Brown said.
