Dr. Robert Magruder, chair of the Chemistry and Physics Department, recently had a paper accepted for publication in the journal Applied Physics A. The article is titled, “Fabricating a Dichroic Plasmonic Mirror in Fused Silica by Dual-Ion Implantation.” Magruder co-authored the article with professors from Vanderbilt and the University of Alberta.
Philosophy Professors Host Saturday Lecture Series
Philosophy professors Mark Anderson, Andrew Davis and Melanie Walton will lecture on “Ancient Greek Philosophy: The Foundations of Western Intellectual History” each Saturday during the month of February as part of the Nashville Parthenon’s Saturday Series.
“The series is always on an ancient Greek topic, such as tragedy and history. Greek philosophy is a major component of Greek history,” Anderson said. He previously taught two other series for the Nashville Parthenon.
The talks will be held 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Parks and Recreation Board Room at Oman Drive and Park Plaza. The cost is $60 for the general public and $50 for conservancy members. To register, call (615) 862-8431. Click here for more information.
Saturday, Feb. 4: The Presocratic Philosophers by Mark Anderson, assistant professor of philosophy
The Presocratics were the earliest Greek philosophers; their work laid the foundations for western science, philosophy, and theology. Chronologically they appear after Homer and before Socrates. Significant figures include Heraclitus, who influenced the ancient Stoics and, much later, Friedrich Nietzsche; Pythagoras, of the Pythagorean Theorem and the idea of the “music of the spheres”; Parmenides, often called “the father of logic”; and Democritus, one of the first to say that nature is composed of atoms.
Saturday, Feb. 11: Plato by Mark Anderson, assistant professor of philosophy
Plato was perhaps the most famous and influential follower of Socrates. He founded a school/research institution known as the Academy; he composed over thirty important and influential dialogues; his influence on western philosophy and theology is immeasurable. A famous twentieth century philosopher called the history of western philosophy “a series of footnotes to Plato.”
Saturday, Feb. 18: Aristotle by Andrew Davis, assistant professor of philosophy
Aristotle was a student of Plato who later founded his own school (the Lyceum). He exercised an immense influence on medieval Islamic and Christian philosophy; he was the first to systematize the laws of logic; he studied and wrote about everything from Physics and Metaphysics, to Politics, Poetry, and Zoology.
Saturday, Feb. 25: Hellenistic Philosophy by Melanie Walton, assistant professor of philosophy
This period is probably the one best known to non-specialists. The major Hellenistic schools were Epicureanism, associated with the doctrine that pleasure is the highest good (hedonism); Stoicism, associated with the doctrine that good and bad are dependent upon human judgment (widely influential among the Romans); and Neoplatonism, deriving from Plotinus and influential to the development of rational mysticism and some aspects of Christian theology (St. Augustine was a Neoplatonist prior to his conversion).
CVPA, Nashville Ballet Bring ‘Aesop’s Fables’ to MPAC
The College of Visual and Performing Arts and Nashville Ballet hosted a free performance of Aesop’s Fables in the Massey Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Jan. 29. The event brought hundreds of children and their parents to campus for the interactive show.
“The Tortoise and the Hare,” “The Fox and the Crow,” “The Wind and the Sun” and “The Ants and the Grasshopper” tales were woven together with an original narrative. These stories creatively depict Aesop winning his freedom from slavery through his cautionary storytelling.
The children’s ballet was performed by the Nashville Ballet’s pre-professional company to live music composed by Belmont University School of Music Professor Emeritus Paul Godwin. The music was performed by School of Music students and faculty.
“This is great for kids to learn about music, to learn about dance at an early age,” explained Nashville Ballet’s Jan Morrison to NewsChannel5. “These performances that we do for children are perfect because they’re narrated, so they can really learn what’s happening. They can really learn to associate movement, dance, body coordination and music.”
Click here to view photos from Aesop’s Fables.
Belmont Welcomes Neighbors to Campus for Community Days
As a show of gratitude to the University’s friends, Belmont invited its neighbors and the general public to the women’s basketball game against North Florida on Jan. 26. The event was free and included hot dogs, popcorn, drinks, a balloon artist and face painting.
“This day was a continuation of an annual event for Belmont to welcome the community to campus. We make an effort year-round to improve the dynamics between neighbors and the University,” said Joyce Searcy, director of community relations. Click here to view photos from Community Day 2012.
Belmont opened its arms again Jan. 28 with the Community Health Fair in the Maddox Grand Atrium of the Curb Event Center in conjunction with the men’s and women’s basketball games against Jacksonville. The free fair featured 30 booths with blood pressure, body composition and bone density screenings; CPR demonstrations; and information on tobacco cessation, breast cancer awareness, diabetes, healthy eating, self defense and recreation. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Renfrew Center, Edgehill Community Garden, Edgehill Family Resource Center, YMCA and Real Food Farms had booths.
“Belmont has always been supportive of the community and has done a lot of partnering and programming in the area surrounding campus. This (was) a continuation of those services to share information,” said Director of Health Services Katy Wilson. “Students from all of the health sciences programs, athletics department and fitness and recreation center (were) heavily involved in the fair.” Click here to view photos from the Community Health Fair.
The fair was intended to put wellness and preventive health resources within reach of Belmont’s neighbors and fans with screenings, pamphlets and prizes. Although the event marked the first Community Health Fair at Belmont, it was an extension of the annual Pink Zone through an initiative with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to promote breast cancer awareness. The women’s basketball team wore pink uniforms. Fans received free pink T-shirts and pom poms.
“We have been fortunate to have a long-standing relationship with Susan G. Komen’s Nashville office. They set up a table in the hope of interacting with fans on game day,” Director of Athletics Marketing Jimmy Frush said. “We chose this doubleheader to reach a wide variety of people, ages and genders and to feature the College of Health Sciences’ many different programs and departments. Hopefully, it (delivered) a valuable service to the fans coming to the game.”
Student Athletes Take Talent Show Stage in ‘Battle of the Bruins’
Athletics event to benefit Nashville Special Olympics
Student athletes will compete off court and away from fields in Battle of the Bruins, the first student-athlete talent show, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7 in the Curb Event Center. All 11 of Belmont’s athletic teams will be represented on stage.
“This is also something fun for the athletes to get us all together because we are traveling a lot so we don’t always get to interact across teams. And it also will allow other students to know who we are when we aren’t playing sports,” said Jennifer Newnan, a senior on the women’s golf team, who will dance during Battle of the Bruins.
The talent show is presented by Belmont’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Among the performances are skits, dance routines and musical acts. Judges are three members from Diamond Rio, Golden Tate of the Seattle Seahawks, alumna Melinda Doolittle, Allison Demarcus and Special Olympic Star Josh Putnam. The athletes are competing for Bruins Supporting Bruins points, an initiative to get athletes to attend each other’s sporting events. At the end of the year, the most supportive team is rewarded with a dinner.
“Belmont is such a unique place with so many people that are musically talented. This talent show will give athletes a chance to show their natural talent, like singing or dancing or playing an instrument, that they usually cannot show off because they are busy with practice and games. Athletes are naturally talented and competitive, so this is a good fit,” said Morgan Gilman, a graduate student studying sport administration, who has been instrumental in the planning of Battle of the Bruins. While a swimmer at the University of Illinois, she and teammates hosted a similar talent show as a philanthropy event. She translated that event into Battle of the Bruins.
Belmont Announces Schedule for Homecoming 2012 Feb. 13-18
Belmont University invites alumni, friends and family to make their “Destination Belmont” Feb. 13 – 18 for a week’s worth of special Homecoming 2012 events. The week-long celebration will feature an alumni art exhibit, a basketball doubleheader, a residence hall banner competition for students and a campus-wide pep rally and bonfire. For a complete list of all Belmont Homecoming 2012 events and an opportunity to register, visit http://alumni.belmont.edu/.
Julie Thomas, director of constituency programs in the Office of Alumni Relations, said, “Belmont alumni are such an important part of this institution. Homecoming is the perfect time for us to honor and celebrate our alums and welcome them back to campus.”
Professor Publishes Black Death Encyclopedia
Dr. Joe Byrne, historian and professor in Belmont’s Honors Program, has authored Encyclopedia of the Black Death, published by ABC-CLIO press. Its 300 entries are the culmination of over a decade of his research and writing while on staff at Belmont.
ABC-CLIO press wrote, “Encyclopedia of the Black Death is the first A–Z encyclopedia to cover the second plague pandemic, balancing medical history and technical matters with historical, cultural, social, and political factors and effects in Europe and the Islamic world from 1347–1770. It also bookends the period with entries on Biblical plagues and the Plague of Justinian, as well as modern-era material regarding related topics, such as the work of Robert Koch and Louis Pasteur, the Third Plague Pandemic and plague in the United States. Unlike previous encyclopedic works about this subject that deal broadly with infectious disease and its social or historical contexts, this interdisciplinary work synthesizes much of the research on the plague and related medical history published in the last decade in accessible, compellingly written entries. Controversial subject areas such as whether ‘plague’ was bubonic plague and the geographic source of plague are treated in a balanced and unbiased manner.”
It follows his two monographs on the Black Death (2004, 2006) and the Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics and Plagues he edited for Greenwood Press (2008). Byrne also is editing a series of historical monographs on “Health and Medicine in Daily Life” for Greenwood Press.
Belmont Alumni Featured in HGTV Show
School of Music alumni Brad Ramsey (’03), Katie Rogers Langley (’02) and Courtney Grimes Cuden (’00) debut in a docu-drama of design company Pierce & Co. at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 on HGTV. The 30-minute interior design show will air weekly and follow the company as its employees design throughout Nashville.
Alumnus Brad Ramsey has worked with Pierce & Co. for three years and said he loves the clients he designs for and the chance to be creative.
“Pierce & Co. is a unique and talented crew of individuals with very diverse backgrounds. I think that is what makes us stand out in Nashville. We hope the show displays that talent and creativity, but our main goal is to make every client’s home unique and special. In the end, this show could broaden our business and allow us to work even more throughout the U.S.,” Ramsey said.
‘Music City Roots’ Takes on Distinctly Belmont Flavor
“Music City Roots at the Loveless Cafe” lured plenty of leather boots, flannel shirts and facial hair Wednesday night as the weekly, two-hour concert and live radio show often does. This week, however, the performance offered a uniquely Belmont-related theme. The Westbound Rangers, Leah Korbin, Shirock, Kopecky Family Band and the Apache Relay–all bands consisting of Belmont alumni or current students–pumped out bright and lively tones all night.
The audience reciprocated the school spirit with a large serving of Belmont students and faculty in attendance, including Curb College faculty members Dan Keen and Clyde Rolston, who helped organize the event. Click here to view the concert in its entirety.
“Music City Roots” aims to revive the historic legacy of live musical radio production in Nashville. Broadcast on Wednesday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. on WRLT-Lightning 100, “Music City Roots: Live From the Loveless Cafe” showcases Nashville’s astonishing music scene. Host Jim Lauderdale and the bands closed the show Wednesday night with the weekly Loveless Jam tradition, this time gathering all the artists on stage for a final group performance of classic Beatles song, “Don’t Let Me Down.”
Annual ‘Sex and the Soul’ Week Continues Dialogue on Faith, Love
The biology of love and attraction distracts our minds from reality, marriage and family counselor John Van Epp told Belmont students at a convocation Tuesday as part of the third annual “Sex and the Soul” week.
“Love is blind partly because of biology but also because people don’t manage their hearts because they do not get to know the right stuff,” said Van Epp, author of How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk: Following Your Heart Without Losing Your Mind.
“When you sit up all night talking, you might know a lot about him, but do you really know him? In a healthy development of a relationship, let how well you know someone determine how much you trust them and do not bring too many needs so that you don’t rely on them,” told students during a Tuesday afternoon convocation.
People should connect first by getting to know each other, followed by trust, relying on the person, commitment and, finally, love. Working backwards is what makes love blind, he said. Couples should discuss conscience and moral compass. Little issues that go unaddressed will add up to become major flaws, which is why people characterize others as jerks. Above all else, people should institute a 90-day probationary period to understand their compatibilities, personalities, values and humor.
