A team of nursing students is on a mission trip this summer in Cambodia. They have volunteered taking vitals, drawing blood, starting IV’s, checking blood glucose levels and cleaning wounds at Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope; gone on home visited to check on HIV patients; visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum; watched a traditional Cambodian wedding; and shadowed surgeries at the Emergency Hospital in Battambang. Click here to read their live blog.
Nursing Students on Mission Trip in Cambodia
Pharmacy Student Joins Duke Surgery Team in Guatemala
Belmont pharmacy student Bethany Bedford traveled to Guatemala this spring with a surgery team from Mending Kids International and Duke University Children’s Hospital on another mission trip for The Shalom Foundation. The doctors saw 174 patients and the team performed 48 surgeries on children from across the country at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center in Guatemala City. Bedford and other team members blogged about their experience.
Brown Attends Venue Management School, Elected to Office
Belmont University Event Manager Sarah Brown attended Year One of Venue Management School through the professional organization International Association of Venue Managers and was elected as one of six class representatives from 130 in attendance. Brown will help plan activities related to next year’s school. She also will transition from a two-year term on the IAVM Young Professionals committee to a three-year term on the Universities Committee.
Maymester Class Teaches the Science of Healthy Foods
Dr. Kim Daus, professor in the Chemistry and Physics Department, taught a Maymester class titled “Better Eating Through Chemistry.” The intent of the class was to use chemistry to help students understand the nature of food and cooking so that they could use it to intentionally improve recipes and develop new recipes that were healthy and full of nutrients.
Daus had 23 students plus an assistant working in one large kitchen with one stove top and two ovens. Each week the class focused on a new cuisine: Week 1 – Southern (fried chicken and sides); Week 2 – Hispanic (tortilla-based entrees and salsas/guacamole); Week 3 – Local Food (student-friendly cuisine).
They started each week by sharing a meal the first day at a local restaurant, including Loveless Cafe, La Hacienda and Sloco’s/Burger Up. They then studied the chemistry of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables, did lab experiments that dealt with them, trialed recipe modifications in the lab and finished each week with each of the groups preparing their version of the meal.
In the last week the class visited Real Food Farms, Belmont’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), where students learned about their sustainable, organic practices, helped out with a few duties including mulching and setting up tomato cages and then took some of Daus’ CSA share to use in their last meal preparation.
Magruder and Robinson Co-Author Article
Dr. Robert Magruder, professor, and Dr. Steve Robinson, assistant professor, of the Chemistry and Physics Department at Belmont University, along with a Belmont alumna Catlin Smith, now a graduate student at Georgia Tech University, co-authored a paper that was recently published in the Applied Physics A – Materials Science & Processing Journal. The other co-authors were A. Meldrum, University of Alberta, and R.F. Haglund Jr., Vanderbilt University. This paper also made the list of New Papers of Key Interest.
The paper is titled “Fabricating a Dichroic Plasmonic Mirror in Fused Silica by Dual-Ion Implantation.”
Applied Physics A publishes experimental and theoretical investigations in applied physics as regular articles, rapid communications, and invited papers. The distinguished 30-member Board of Editors reflects the interdisciplinary approach of the journal and ensures the highest quality of peer review.
Public Relations Becomes an Academic Department
After eight years as a major in the Department of Media Studies, Public Relations (PR) is now an independent academic department in the College of Arts and Sciences. PR has enjoyed steady growth and success, now boasting almost 100 majors and almost 50 minors.
Dr. Bonnie Riechert served as program director since 2008 and now is the PR department chair. She is supported by a strong faculty that includes Susan Barnes and Kevin Trowbridge.
Belmont PR students are very competitive for internships, employment opportunities, and graduate schools. The Belmont Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) was chartered in 2005 and has received numerous national awards. In March, the Belmont chapter hosted the Region 5 PRSSA Conference, attracting students from 14 chapters and several states. The new department is positioned to grow in the program’s already strong reputation as one of the best places to study PR.
Four Davidson County Students Earn Belmont University Scholarships
Tuition scholarships awarded to students from Districts 17, 18 and 19
Four Davidson County high school graduates and incoming Belmont freshmen have received four-year scholarships to cover their tuition and fees at Belmont University. They join seven other Davidson County students who are continuing their enrollment as upperclassmen at Belmont and as recipients of the Rose Park and Community Outreach Scholarships.
This fall Belmont will welcome Rose Park Scholarship recipients Ebone Haymer of Middle College High School, Octavia Nichols of Martin Luther King Magnet School and Cherish Woodard of East Magnet School as well as Community Outreach Scholarship recipient Cleonus Mitchell of Hillsboro High School.
In 2007, Belmont University committed to enhancing the Edgehill community through the renovation of E.S. Rose Park Sports Complex and the creation of the E.S. Rose Park Scholarship. Each year, the University awards two-full and one half tuition scholarships to graduating high school students permanently residing in Council Districts 17, 19 and parts of 18 that plan to enroll at Belmont University.
The Community Outreach Scholarship is given biennially to a student within the geographic boundaries of Natchez Trace, Woodmont, Interstates 65 and 440. The half-tuition scholarship is awarded for eight consecutive semesters.
Since both scholarships’ inceptions in 2007, the University has awarded some $544,902 to deserving Davidson County students.
The students each have visited campus for a welcome dinner with previous scholarship recipients, faculty and staff as well as for photos with Metro Councilwomen Erica Gilmore and Sandra Moore as well as Belmont President Bob Fisher.
Belmont Students Complete Study Abroad to Geneva
Twelve students from Belmont recently spent three weeks in Geneva, Switzerland and the area around the city in a unique study abroad experience full of firsts. It was Belmont’s first study abroad to the city of Geneva, the first for a nursing clinical course, and the first for a shared educational experience with some students enrolled in community health nursing and others in a humanities course. The courses included a shared study of the book Frankenstein as Geneva is the setting for much of this classic’s action, The students had a first-hand opportunity to explore the book from literary, philosophical, historical, psychological and public health points of view. The courses were taught by Professor of English and French John Paine and Associate Professor of Nursing Ruby Dunlap.
The group visited the International Federation of the Red Cross, which focuses on humanitarian, disaster and health initiatives, where they listened to presentations on the health implications of safe water and sanitation, and on training and education in public health. Later, the class spent a couple of hours at the World Health Organization, listening to presentations on the global efforts to reduce hospital acquired infections and on issues related to the global shortage of nurses and midwives.
The group learned that the Geneva of Jean Calvin’s time was a city of refugees, people fleeing persecution of one kind or another. Today, Geneva is a center of international cooperation, with headquarters for the United Nations and some of its divisions, as well as agencies such as the Red Cross and the International Council of Nurses.
The class visited many historical and cultural sites such as Chamonix, a village in the French Alps which sits in the valley below the “Glace de Mer,” the largest glacier in France. Other highlights included visits to Chillon Castle and the Lausanne Cathedral; a trip to CERN, Europe’s atomic particle accelerator, which provided the setting for our disaster response discussion; and the Museum of Natural History with an exhibit on malaria that provided the perfect opportunity for an onsite discussion of infectious disease and vulnerable populations. The group learned that Geneva is a unique city in history, culture, and agencies which serve the interests of the global community.
Belmont Well Represented at TICUA Conferences
Belmont University hosted the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association’s Grant Writing Workshop on May 31. The workshop offered suggestions about grant writing and information about grants available from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) in the area of K-12 teacher professional development.
Mike Krause, Director of Academic Affairs at THEC outlined THEC’s next grant opportunity – Improving Teacher Quality, which will be released in July. David Sevier, Deputy Executive Director with Tennesse’s State Board of Education and Scott Eddins, Research Associate with the State Board shared their perspectives on grant writing as seasoned grant evaluators. Over 60 individuals from 15 TICUA institutions participated in the workshop.
Belmont’s Director of Technology Services Randall Reynolds also addressed lecture capture at the TICUA’s annual IT Retreat on May 18 .
Belmont is a member of the consortium, which serves 35 non-
Student Wins PECAN’s 2012 Arpeggio Award for Influence in the Arts for Youth
Belmont junior Ben Gallaher has earned the Progressive Education of Children in the Arts Network Inc.’s 2012 Arpeggio Award. The award recognizes “a celebrity who is a good mentor and sets a good example helping youth to create harmony in their lives through the arts.” The Pennsylvania-based non-profit organization, known as PECAN, will recognize Gallaher at its 15th annual Celebration of Children showcase on July 15 in Harrisburg, Pa.
“Ben Gallaher embodies the talent, character, and determination that young people can relate to and learn from. When our organization saw Ben’s new country music album on iTunes, and then watched his YouTube videos, we noticed not only amazing talent, but his Eagle Scout videos further impressed us. We saw the young people who supported him in building his church project, and we saw the fans relate to him when he performs,” said PECAN founder Shirley Nolt in a news release.
Gallaher is studying entertainment industry studies.
“I am incredibly honored to receive this award. My music path is probably a little different than most. I do not have formal music training, but I love to play guitar, write songs, and perform. I love to entertain and see fans respond to my music,” he said. “My message to young people is a message I’m still living: Never give up. What do musicians do when times get tough or things don’t go your way? You write a song about it, and that’s what I did. We all have talents and gifts, and young people can learn from people who have overcome the odds. If you believe in yourself, then you’ll make it!”
Click here to read more.
