The Belmont Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America received a national chapter award and two national student awards Monday night at the 2010 PRSSA National Conference in Washington, D.C. Belmont’s chapter was one of seven chapters nationally to receive a Star Chapter Award, which recognizes chapter performance in 10 categories including ethics advocacy and community service. This is only the second time this award has been given, and the second time Belmont has received it.
“I was extremely proud of our chapter to be recognized for these prestigious awards during the national conference,” said Katie Siklosi, a sophomore and the vice president of the chapter. “We are continually looking for ways to better our chapter and being here to learn and being commended for our achievements was a great experience.”
Sarah Norton, immediate past president of the Belmont Chapter of PRSSA, received the National President’s Citation and the PRSSA Gold Key award. The National President’s Citation recognizes Norton for her leadership and service to the PRSSA organization at the local and national level. The Gold Key is the highest individual honor given to PRSSA members and recognizes those students who display outstanding academic excellence in public relations and leadership qualities in PRSSA. Belmont graduate Sara Pecchia also received a Gold Key award.
“Belmont students and faculty are leaders in public relations and are gaining national recognition for the program here,” added Dr. Bonnie Riechert, director of the Belmont’s public relations program.
Representing Belmont at the conference were chapter officers Norton, Siklosi and Joseph Norris, as well as junior Allison Durfee, Riechert and instructor Susan Barnes. During the conference, Riechert and Barnes attended the induction dinner for the Public Relations Society of America College of Fellows, where Barnes was recognized for financial sponsorship and professional mentoring.
One of 299 chapters nationally, the Belmont Chapter of PRSSA was chartered in 2005 and has received previous national awards for Ethics Advocacy, Chapter Development and Outstanding Relationship with its sponsoring professional chapter, Nashville PRSA.
Belmont PRSSA Recognized At National Conference
Murphy, Reno Achieve Certified Collegiate Retailer Designation
Catherine Murphy, Manager of the Belmont Bookstore, and Matt Reno, Assistant Store Manager and Textbook Buyer, have become Certified Collegiate Retailers.
According to the National Association of College Stores, “achieving the Certified Collegiate Retailer designation demonstrates to your colleagues, your campus community and yourself that you possess the necessary knowledge to successfully manage a college store and effectively provide expertise on collegiate retailing issues. It shows that you are among the leaders setting the tone and direction for the college store industry.”
To obtain certification, retailers must take a 200-question exam covering all areas of collegiate retail. Catherine and Matt had to read 17 books to prepare. Only 97 people worldwide are Certified Collegiate Retailers. There are only 2 others in Tennessee.
In addition to her CCR designation, Murphy was named Tennessee Association of College Stores’ Store Person of the Year for the second year in a row. Murphy was chosen among all bookstore employees across the state.
Slay Appears on Panel, Publishes Articles
Cheryl L. Slay (CEMB) appeared as a panelist Sept. 30 for the International Black Film Festival of Nashville addressing the topic: “Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of the Film Industry.” She also authored “Meet the New Internet: Cause for Concern or Celebration for the Entertainment Industry?” an article about net neutrality, which was published in the September MEIEA e-zine. Additionally, The Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities has accepted Cheryl L. Slay’s research proposal titled “The Music Business Professional as Artist.” The submission underwent peer review and was selected for presentation during the January conference.
Jairo Prado Community Mural Unveiled
On October 11, the community mural led by artist Jario Prado was unveiled to an audience of eager onlookers. Many of those in attendance had worked on the project either by painting, sketching or supporting the project. The mural will serve as a backdrop for the 2010 School of Humanities Symposium. The 8’ by 16’ collective mural represents the theme of the symposium: Giving Shape to Airy Nothings: Inventing Communities, Creating Identities. The Prado art exhibit and mural project would not be possible without the financial support of the Tennessee Arts Commission and the College of Arts & Sciences at Belmont University. Click here to see more photos from the unveiling.
Riechert Selected as Secretary of PRSA
Belmont faculty member Bonnie Riechert has been selected to serve as secretary in 2011 for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Southeast District. She will succeed Teresa Corlew, vice president of customer care for Nashville Electric Service. Riechert has served on the boards of directors of the Volunteer Chapter (Knoxville) and the Nashville Chapter of PRSA. In the Nashville chapter she currently is accreditation co-chair and national assembly delegate. At Belmont she holds joint faculty appointments in the departments of media studies and communication studies; she is director of the public relations program and faculty advisor to the Belmont chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA).
Murphree Displays Exhibit at Insect Festival
Steve Murphree (Biology) recently attended the annual meeting of the Tennessee Entomological Society in Knoxville. Most years before this meeting begins, some of the entomologists set up an Insect Festival and this year 26 entomologists participated. The 2010 Insect Festival was held on Thursday, October 14, at the Hollingsworth Auditorium of the University of Tennessee Plant Sciences Building. They had 126 home schooled children and parents from Blount County attend the Insect Festival. Dr. Murphree’s interactive exhibit was titled “Termite Trails.”
Parry Appointed to PR Committee
Pam Parry, associate professor of communication studies, recently was appointed to the Public Relations Committee of the American Journalism Historians Association at the organization’s annual meeting in Tucson, Arizona.
College of Law Breaks Ground on Randall and Sadie Baskin Center
Baskins provide $7 million gift in support of new law building, which will feature law library, trial courtroom, five-level parking garage
Belmont University celebrated today the official groundbreaking for the Randall and Sadie Baskin Center, a 71,000 square foot facility which will serve as the home for the new College of Law and state-of-the-art law library. Randall Baskin, the owner of the Randall Baskin Co. and the founder/ former owner of Brentwood-based Continental Life Insurance Co., has served on Belmont University’s Board of Trustees for 19 years.
Known throughout Middle Tennessee for their significant philanthropy and generosity, the Baskins are providing a $7 million leadership gift for the College of Law’s new building. The Baskins already endow a major scholarship fund at Belmont which currently supports five students based on financial need, commitment to work and motivation to succeed. To date more than 100 students have benefited from the scholarship since it was established in 1983. (Click here to see more photos from the groundbreaking.)
Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “Randall Baskin built his company the old-fashioned way, through remarkable hard work and dedication. Now, he and Sadie are investing their resources in the people and projects that will shape the future and impact our world, providing an exceptional example of what it means to give back. Opening this College of Law represents a tremendous step for Belmont University, and I’m so proud this building will bear the name of such extraordinary people. The lawyers educated here will one day be community leaders and change agents in Middle Tennessee and around the world, fulfilling the Belmont mission of ‘engaging and transforming the world’ through their efforts on behalf of justice.”
Click here to see comments from Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher and Mr. Baskin.
Click here to view Mayor Karl Dean’s comments at the groundbreaking.
Click here to view Congressman Cooper’s comments at the groundbreaking.
Click here to view comments from College of Law Dean Jeff Kinsler.
Randall Baskin said, “I’ve been a part of the Belmont family for a long time, watching this university grow and change at an exponential rate. Throughout my time on the Board, the university’s focus on its Christian mission has remained paramount. Sadie and I take great joy in supporting those efforts. We believe this law school can provide many dedicated students a chance to not only build better lives for themselves, but to also impact their community for years to come.”
The Randall and Sadie Baskin Center will be located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Acklen and 15th Avenues and will include a five-level underground parking garage accommodating more than 500 parking spaces. Total cost for the project is estimated at $32 million once the building is completely outfitted. Slated to open in fall 2012, the Baskin Center is being designed and built by locally-owned companies—Earl Swensson Associates and R.C. Mathews—and will create jobs for hundreds in Middle Tennessee.
The Baskin Center will contain more than a dozen classrooms, a 21st Century trial courtroom, an appellate courtroom, a two-story law library, and more than 20 faculty offices. The building is being designed with the needs of law students in mind and will feature numerous amenities including a student commons, wireless Internet access, offices for student organizations, a locker room and food service.
Jeff Kinsler, the founding dean of Belmont’s College of Law, said, “This state-of-the-art building will be the perfect venue for our first-rate students, faculty and staff. We designed the building for student-centered instruction; it is ideal for preparing professional, practice-ready attorneys for today’s global legal market.”
SIFE Takes Third Place in World Cup Competition
Belmont represents U.S. in final round against Egypt, China, India
Belmont University’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team took third place this week in the SIFE World Cup, an international competition in which Belmont SIFE represented the United States and landed among the top four teams worldwide. (SIFE is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders.) The 2010 SIFE World Cup was held Sun., Oct. 10-Tues., Oct. 12 at the Anaheim Convention Center, and Belmont was competing against the national champions from 39 other countries.
Belmont won its opening round Monday and was one of 16 semi-finalists to compete on Tuesday afternoon, with the United States national champion team being awarded third place Tuesday night. Other top four competitors included India (Loyola College), China (University of Nottingham Ningbo) and eventual World Cup champion Egypt (French University).
SIFE members contribute their talents and business skills to projects that improve the lives of people in their community and worldwide, demonstrating that individuals with a knowledge and passion for business can be a powerful force for change. Once a year, the National Champion SIFE teams from around world meet at the SIFE World Cup to present the results of their community outreach projects to a prestigious group of more than 400 international business leaders. Through a written annual report and live audio visual presentation, teams are evaluated based on how successful they were at creating economic opportunity for others.
Dr. Pat Raines, interim provost and dean of the College of Business Administration, said, “The Belmont SIFE team represented the United States in the World Cup competition with tremendous poise and passion. To be selected as the third best team in the world after launching a team only five years ago is unprecedented. These students committed themselves to engaging and transforming the world and were clearly inspirational in their efforts.”
In only its fifth year, the Belmont University SIFE team competed in May against 169 other regional champion student teams from around the country and won its first SIFE USA National Championship. Through SIFE, college students around the world are discovering that “doing well” and “doing good” can be accomplished simultaneously throughout college and career.
Dr. John Gonas, associate professor of finance and SIFE advisor at Belmont, said, “I’m so proud of these students… so many of the sponsor company leaders commented about their poise, passion, and selfless commitment to their projects. I am very humbled and honored to have this opportunity to walk with them.”
Belmont Hosts Screening of Acclaimed Documentary Kimjongilia
Filmmaker N.C. Heikin, Professor Ronnie Littlejohn to lead discussion on North Korea, Kim Jong II immediately following film
On Wed., Oct. 13, Belmont University will host a screening of the award-winning and powerfully revealing feature-length documentary Kimjongilia, an unblinking indictment of life in North Korea under the dictatorship of Kim Jong II. The screening, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 6 p.m. in the Massey Boardroom on the fourth floor of Belmont’s Jack C. Massey Business Center.
Filmmaker N.C. Heikin will be joined by Dr. Ronnie Littlejohn, chair of Belmont’s Philosophy department, to lead a Q&A session a the conclusion of the screening, which occurs less than a week before the exclusive television premiere of the film on Documentary Channel® (DOC) on Sun., Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Executive produced by James Egan and Mike Figgis and presented by Documentary Channel, Kimjongilia is a searing examination of the totalitarian dictatorship established by Kim II-sung and continued today by his son Kim Jong-il. It dispels the illusion of a Worker’s Paradise peddled by the North Korean government and exposes the injustice and oppression of an entire nation over the past 40 years. Director Heikin compiles a series of extraordinary testimonies, and daring escape stories, from concentration camp refugees, defectors and former Korean Army officers. The result is a collage of firsthand witnesses to the unrepentant pain caused by the tyrannical leadership.
All of the interviews featured took place in South Korea, where the defectors now live. Their testimonies are juxtaposed with interpretive dance and a riveting score, indicative of the film’s keen interest in Korean art, both the propagandistic kind sanctioned by the government and the sort of artistic expression that results in execution by the state. This practice of exposing the truth through irony extends to the documentary’s title: Kimjongilia, the name of the rarefied hybrid red begonia flower created to celebrate Kim Jong-il’s 46th birthday.
