Biology Professor Steve Murphree has an article published in the September/October 2012 issue of the Tennessee Conservationist magazine entitled “Tennessee Scorpions.” This is the 19th article Murphree has authored or coauthored for this publication. The Tennessee Conservationist is dedicated to promoting the mission of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to preserve, protect and wisely use the state’s natural and cultural resources.
Ham Published in American Journal of Pathology
Assistant Professor Amy Ham of the Department of Pharmaceutical, Social & Administrative Sciences has published “Proteomic Profiling of Paraffin-Embedded Samples Identifies Metaplasia-Specific and Early-Stage Gastric Cancer Biomarkers” in The American Journal of Pathology.
Early diagnosis and curative resection are the predominant factors associated with increased survival in patients with gastric cancer, yet most gastric cancers are detected in late stage disease. In this paper, the authors analyzed formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) stomach tissues of Korean patients from intestinal-type gastric cancer, metaplasia and normal mucosa using proteomic technologies to look at protein expression differences with the goal of finding potential protein biomarkers for the early detection of gastric cancer. Selected proteins were analyzed first using peptide isoelectric focusing and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis to generate proteomic profiles. Selected proteins were subsequently analyzed by immunostaining in larger tissue array cohorts in an effort to verify the findings. The authors detected 60 proteins up-regulated and 87 proteins down-regulated during the progression from normal mucosa to metaplasia to gastric cancer. These studies led to the identification of two novel markers for stomach metaplasias and gastric cancer prognosis.
Nashville’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration Begins at Belmont
Belmont University hosted the Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off event for the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 14 in the Vince Gill Room of the Curb Event Center. Click here to view photos from the event.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a nation-wide celebration that coincides with the anniversary of independence for several Latin American countries. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Chile all achieved independence between Sept. 15 and 18.
To learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month, visit hispanicheritagemonth.gov. For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month events in Nashville, visit www.nashvillehispanicchamber.com.
Belmont University Remains in Top 10 in Annual U.S. News College Rankings
University lauded for commitment to undergraduate teaching
Belmont University remained at No. 7 on U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of America’s Best Colleges. Announced today, Belmont placed in the Top 10 of the Regional Universities-South listing for the fourth consecutive year and was also lauded for the fifth year in a row as a top “Up-and-Comer.” Belmont was ranked second in the southern region in that category, indicating the university has made “the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus or facilities.” Moreover, Belmont was praised by its peers for its “unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching,” placing second in a regional ranking in that area.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “These annual rankings confirm what we already know: that Belmont University continues to be a highly desired destination for the best qualified students as well as for faculty devoted to student-centered learning. I’m proud that our commitment remains strong and that our peers recognize both our innovative approach to higher education and our dedication to teaching and service.”
In the Best Regional Universities-South category, Belmont is again the highest-ranked university of the 15 ranked Tennessee institutions and in the top seven of the 128 schools included from the South. Belmont has improved over the previous year in a number of areas including in its graduation rate, percentage of full-time faculty, alumni giving and freshman selectivity (percentage in the top quarter of their high school graduating class). Other regional institutions in the Top 10 include Rollins College, Elon University, Stetson University, Samford University, The Citadel and James Madison University.
At the start of the semester Belmont reached a record-breaking enrollment number for the twelfth consecutive year with approximately 6,650 students on campus. Moreover, the incoming freshmen’s credentials continue to increase in strength with an average ACT score of 26.4 for the Class of 2016. In addition, 35 percent of new freshmen at Belmont were in the top 10 percent of their graduating class, and 62 percent were in the top quarter.
Author Margaret Feinberg ‘Scouts the Divine’ During EMERGE
Author and speaker Margaret Feinberg visited Belmont this week as part of the annual spiritual emphasis week known as EMERGE, an event sponsored by University Ministries to encourage the campus community to reflect, refocus and renew at the start of the new academic year.
Feinberg, writer of such popular books as The Sacred Echo and The Organic God, spoke to students, faculty and staff primarily from her 2009 work, Scouting the Divine, which considers how ancient livelihoods illuminate meaningful Christian truths. During her first talk on Monday, Feinberg recounted how conversations with a shepherdess opened her eyes to ways to rediscover the Bible, bringing fresh insights to seemingly familiar passages.
“How have I listened to so many sermons and no one has told me these things?” she asked. “My search became a book called Scouting the Divine: My Search for God in Wine, Wool and Wild Honey… I want to share gems I’ve discovered. The Bible is written in an agrarian context, but I’m so disconnected from that in the modern world.”
Her exploration led to Nebraska where she spoke with a farmer about the awareness of seasons and the excitement of harvest. She also learned about the importance of planting in straight rows, as a tractor’s slight swerve during planting can cause seedlings to fight for nutrients and sunlight. The knowledge brought new understanding of Luke 9:62 (“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God”) and the concept of fixing our eyes upon Jesus.
Belmont Hosts Women in Workplace Breakfast, Forum
Belmont University’s Office of Community Relations and Center for Executive Education (CEE) hosted the Middle Tennessee Diversity Forum’s Women in the Workplace Awards and Forum on Sept. 6 in the Maddox Grand Atrium. Some 400 people registered for the events.
Provost Thomas Burns gave the welcome and Director of Community Relations Joyce Searcy issued awards during the breakfast program. Belmont alumna Kia Jarmon, owner and creative director of MEPR Agency, earned the Woman to Watch Award for her reputation on deliverables in the communications arena, including marketing, community engagement and strategic planning.
The event included a conversation with Nancy Peterson, chairman and chief executive officer of Peterson Tool Co. Inc, who assumed leadership of her family business after her husband died and waited six months to share the news with clients.
Belmont Vice President and Chief of Staff Susan West, CEE Executive Director Gene Mage and CEE Director of Executive Learning Networks Jill Robinson hosted a discussion dialogue on “Achieving Your Breakthrough Career Goals.”
Internet Visibility Expert Shares Secrets with Belmont Entrepreneurs
Ross Jones shared with Belmont students how to grow their personal brands and the websites of their companies through search engine optimization during a lecture Wednesday morning in the Massey Boardroom.
Jones, a founder of 2theTop Web Design & Promotion and an Internet marketing professor at the Art Institute of Tennessee, told the story of how he has leveraged his 81 websites on Google and other search engines to earn what he calls “mailbox money,” including $160,000 through Google’s AdSense. His largest website has generated 2.2 million visitors in 2011. The “mailbox money” was instrumental in helping him make the leap from the security of a corporate job into the world of self-employed.
His journey to become an expert in website visibility began when he sold four tickets for University of Tennessee football games but continued receiving emails from interested buyers. In 1997, he began doing affiliate marketing for licensed ticket brokers who paid commissions on sales referred from his websites.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) includes using keywords and phrases correctly to increase the ranking of a website on directories and sites like Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp, Yellow Pages, and Citysearch that use algorithms and software to help users find data. Even Apple’s Siri is a type of Search Engine that savvy marketers can optimize.
As Jones describes it, “Search Engines are tools to find information on the Internet. Optimization means to take full advantage of. SEO is simply the process of maximizing our visibility on the tools where people find information.”
Belmont Named a ‘Best in Southeast’ College by Princeton Review for Fifth Consecutive Year
Belmont University is one of the best colleges in the Southeast according to the nationally known education services company, The Princeton Review. It is one of 136 institutions The Princeton Review recommends in its “Best in the Southeast” section of its website feature, “2013 Best Colleges: Region by Region,” posted Aug. 20 on PrincetonReview.com. In the profile on Belmont on its site, The Princeton Review describes the college as “comprehensive university … and among the fastest growing [Christian schools] in the nation.”
Says Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s senior vice president and publisher, “We’re pleased to recommend Belmont to users of our site as one of the best schools to earn their undergrad degree. We chose it and the other terrific institutions we name as ‘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 about their campus experiences at them on our 80-question student survey for this project. Only schools that permit us to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional ‘best’ lists.”
For this project, The Princeton Review asked students attending the schools to rate their own schools on several issues, including the accessibility of their professors and quality of the campus food, as well as to answer questions about themselves, their fellow students and their campus life.
School of Music Students, Alumni Find Success in Field
Graduate student Ryan Ogrodny was selected to play fiddle, mandolin and vocals with country music singer Alan Jackson. This is not Ryan’s first experience with a notable artist. He has previously played fiddle for Craig Morgan, Billy Ray Cyrus and Laura Bell Bundy.
Alumnus Michael O’Gieblyn (’12), who studied violin performance, won an audition with Memphis Symphony on Aug. 21. Last fall, while still in the graduate program, he earned a position in the Huntsville Symphony first violin section. Prior to that, O’Gieblyn also won the sub audition for the Chattanooga Symphony in the spring of 2011. Most recently, he had the opportunity to play with Ray Price at the Grand Old Opry.
Charity Callahan, an alumna of Belmont’s undergraduate music program, earned certification in all 10 Suzuki books. She has been appointed the new orchestra director and violin professor at Greenville College in Greenville, Ind.
Belmont Celebrates Annual Humanities Symposium Sept. 21 – Oct. 1
Belmont University is hosting its 11th annual Humanities Symposium this month, featuring author Stephen L. Carter as the keynote speaker. Carter, a law professor at Yale University, has helped to shape the national debate on issues including religion in politics and culture and is author of 12 books.
Centered on the theme “Civility and its Discontents,” the 2012 Humanities Symposium will occur Sept. 24 through Oct. 1 and parallels the 2011-12 university theme of “E Pluribus Unum: Dialogue in the Digital Age.” The Humanities Symposium seeks to stimulate intellectual conversation through its 33 events, which together will engage in a week-long conversation about civility from many perspectives including technology, democracy, culture and education.
“As we struggle to find a healthy balance between community and individual rights, Americans have experienced new forms of public discourse which thrive on the language of discord and distortion. Through visiting lecturers, interactive projects and a service learning project we hope to act as a model of talking through difference in support of the common good,” said English Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty for the College of Arts & Sciences David Curtis, who is co-chairing the symposium.
