Jim Stamper (Education) has been named by the president of SACS to be part of a seven-member team to review all SACS standards, particularly those which deal with federal requirements. The committee is to make recommendations to the SACS membership as to how the SACS Criteria can include federal requirements so the “feds” will not be sending separate compliance committees to SACS schools. The committee is chaired by Dr. Robin Hoffman, president of DeKalb Technical College, and met once in March and is scheduled to meet once in April and once in May.
Spring Lectures at Pitzer College, Art-o-Matic 419
Ken Spring (Sociology) spoke on March 29 at Pizter College as part of their Sociology Spearker Series. The title of his lecture was “Creating Community: From Here to Anywhere.” Spring also spoke at the Art-o-Matic 419 event held by the Greater Toledo Arts Commission on April 1. The title of his talk was “The Role of Creative Communities in Cities.”
Niedzwiecki Hosts Seminars for Grassmere Zookeepers
John Niedzwiecki (Biology) recently hosted a series of seminars for the zookeepers at The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. The goal of the seminars was to introduce the zookeepers to behavioral research techniques and the basics of experimental design so that they might be able to employ the techniques with the animals they work with at the zoo. The Nashville Zoo is growing and is looking to take on an increasing role in zoo animal research. The zookeepers will be conducting small test projects this spring and summer based on these seminars and hope to soon gear up for larger projects. Dr. Niedzwiecki also uses the zoo animals, with the assistance of their keepers, for research projects in his Animal Behavior Class.
Biology Faculty, Students Take Part in BioBlitz
On April 2, Belmont biology professors John Niedzwiecki and Steve Murphree hosted a BioBlitz at the Beaman Park Nature Center. Beaman Park is one of Metro Nashville’s newest and most natural Parks. Bioblitzs are a chance for the public to go off-trail, turn over rocks and logs and identify the organisms living in the park and also look for new species to the park, especially salamanders and frogs. The staff at The Beaman Park Nature Center benefit by getting an inventory of the natural diversity within the park. Belmont students and others from the Nashville community participated. The activity was coordinated by Linnann Welch (’93) , director of both The Beaman Park and Bell’s Bend Nature Centers.
Chemistry Students Participate in Prescription Drug Take-Back Event
On Saturday, April 2, 11 students in Professor Kim Daus’ Introduction to Medicinal Chemistry class participated in a Prescription Drug Take-Back event in Dickson County. The students participating were Taylor Andrew, Caleb Binkley, Mike Boyle, Brandon Ladage, Vihn Mai, Mydoy Nguyen, Marie Sisco, Emily Smothers, Matthew Turner, Jenny Westbrook and Devon Whalley. Daus and the Belmont students worked with Vanderbilt nursing students and Lipscomb pharmacy students in identifying, counting and cataloguing drugs submitted for disposal by the citizens in Dickson County. Over 3,000 controlled substances were collected as well as several thousand non-controlled drugs and over-the-counter medications. Additionally, Belmont students developed a poster and five brochures for the event that examined the effect of the five most common prescription drugs on the environment.
Biology/Pre-Med Student Featured on Local TV News Program
Azad Karim, a biology/pre-ped student at Belmont, was featured on local station Fox17 on March 30 to tell about his volunteer work with the “Best Buddies” program. Karim has been buddies with Matt Moore for several months, and they get together several times a week. Best Buddies is a non-profit organization that pairs people with intellectual or developmental disabilities with non-disabled people in the community. Best Buddies has been around for years worldwide, but only in Tennessee for less than two years. There are currently eight chapters with five more opening up later this year. The goal is for anyone with an intellectual disability to always have a buddy.
Biology Major Published in Tennessean
Laura Muck, a biology major at Belmont, recently had her letter to the editor published in the Tennessean. Her letter was about calculators being a crutch for students.
Students Present at American Chemical Society National Meeting
Alison Moore and Rachel Rigsby (Chemistry), along with nine students, attended the 241st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Anaheim, CA, March 27-31. In addition to attending research talks, poster sessions and workshops, five students presented research posters: Brandon Ladage, Nicole Smith, Loren Brown, Will Proffitt and Vinh Mai. Four students presented the chapter activity poster: Emily Smothers, Grant Anderson, Jenny Westbrook and Ashley Newsome. This year the Belmont University chapter of SMACS (Student Members of the American Chemical Society) received a Commendable Award at the Undergraduate Awards Ceremony.
Giordano Serves as Member of Editorial Advisory Board
Pete Giordano (Psychological Sciences) has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of a guest editorial advisory board for a special issue of PLAT (Psychology Learning and Teaching). PLAT is an international peer-reviewed journal devoted to the sharing of good and innovative learning, teaching and assessment practices. It is published by the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network in the UK. The special issue will focus on cross-cultural issues related to the teaching of psychology.
History Students Participate in Regional Conference
On April 2, Belmont history students Andrew Broadway, Eli Gibbons and Stephanie Downing traveled to Murray, Kentucky to participate in the 2011 Kentucky Regional Phi Alpha Theta conference held at Murray State University. The students are members of Belmont’s Xi-Alpha Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society. Each of the students presented their research to their peers from other universities. Downing’s paper on the U.S. hockey team’s victory at the 1980 Olympics, “February 22, 1980: The Miracle on Ice,” received second prize for best undergraduate paper. Accompanying the students at the conference were Department of History faculty member Dr. Cynthia Bisson, advisor to the XI Alpha Chapter, and Dr. Douglas Bisson, who also chaired a panel.
