CEMB Assistant Professor Dave Tough recently won second place in both the Country and Rock categories in the Indie International Song Contest for his songs “Ride That Train (Ode To Rosie Ruiz)” and “Beatles Without John.” Click here to find out more.
Webb Notches 300th Victory
Volleyball coach Deane Webb, already the program’s winningest head coach, secured the 300th win of his coaching career when the Bruins outlasted Weber State in five sets. His accomplishment was also noted on ESPN.com.
Cusic Interviewed for NPR’s ‘Marketplace’
Professor of Music Business Dr. Don Cusic was recently interviewed for the program “Marketplace” on NPR. His interview will air today, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. on WPLN in a story about country music, the economy and Nashville.
Physical Therapy Students Present at Annual RESNA Conference
Four Belmont physical therapy students recently got the chance to present at the annual Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Their research project titled, “Functional Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction of Client in the Seating and Mobility Clinic,” examined the overall satisfaction of wheelchair users with their product, as well as the patients’ care while in the Vanderbilt Seating and Mobility Clinic.
Betsy Codington, one of the students involved in the project, hopes that the their research would be used by Vanderbilt to “better inform and equip the clinic in serving their clients.” Other students involved included Sarah Jo Lyons, Larry Pemberton and Daniel Rogers. All studies were conducted under the students’ research mentor, Dr. Renee Brown from the Belmont School of Physical Therapy, who also accompanied the students on their trip to the RESNA conference.
RESNA exists as an effort to improve the lives of people with disabilities through the use of different technologies. The foundation’s yearly conference brings together a diverse group of therapists, seating specialists, engineers and end users for this central cause.
Natalie Newbill Competes as Miss Belmont USA 2010
Belmont student Natalie Newbill will be competing in the Miss Tennessee USA pageant under the title Miss Belmont USA. Miss Tennessee USA is a pageant where young women from all over the state compete to represent the state of Tennessee in the Miss USA pageant (and later in the Miss Universe competition). The pageant will be held at Austin Peay State University on Oct. 15 and 16. Each contestant is judged in the following categories: poise and presence in interview, swim suit and evening gown. Additionally, the top five will be judged by their live interviews.
Newbill said, “I truly hope to not only be the young lady to walk away with the crown, but more importantly be the young lady who will be able to make a difference all over Tennessee. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, and I hope to make Belmont proud!”
University Celebrates Opening Convocation
As part of an annual Belmont tradition, the University celebrated a campus-wide opening convocation Wednesday to kick start the academic year and set the tone for the months ahead. Interim Provost Dr. Pat Raines provided the official welcome, noting, “We meet at this time of year to mark a new beginning, a time to re-focus our energy on the tasks at hand… We renew our commitment to seeking new knowledge, and to applying that knowledge to difficult problems.” Click here for the complete text of Dr. Raines’ remarks.
President Bob Fisher presided over the ceremony, which continued with student-led Scripture readings and a beautiful rendition of “Prayer for Grace” from the Belmont Chorale. Dr. Fisher then delivered his annual State of the University address providing students an update on all the campus changes and accomplishments from the recent summer break, including the completion of McWhorter Hall and two residence halls as well as the start of renovations to Rose Park. Though thankful for those improvements, he emphasized “Our students are our greatest point of pride… ultimately, it is the thousands of individual and small group efforts of our students to serve the community that are the most amazing. You students are clearly doing your part in positioning Belmont to be ‘the best in the world’ at engaging in service learning, internships and community service.”
Click here to read the transcript from Dr. Fisher’s address.
Parry to Present Research at Journalism Historians Association Meeting
Pam Parry (Communication Studies) will present “research in progress” on Oct. 9 at the annual meeting of the American Journalism Historians Association in Tucson. She will present “Prescription for News: An Analysis of the Eisenhower Administration’s Medical Disclosure Policy,” which is one chapter of her dissertation. Parry is a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.
Sport Science Instructor Co-Authors Book
Tiffany Breeding, Adjunct instructor with the Sport Science Department, and her husband Stewart Breeding, have written a book titled Limitless: Overcoming Life’s Challenges and Realizing Your Ultimate Potential. Limitless is an exploration of the intricate components of the human experience. The authors present their personal enhancement program, MEPS™, which is a fusion of exercise science, psychological theory, and spiritual tradition that promises to be the program that will lead one to never before reached levels of personal achievement. In Limitless, the principles of sport periodization, which are used by the world’s most elite athletes, are uniquely adapted to help one develop not only physical performance, but also mental, emotional, and spiritual potential.
Scholar Communities Celebration
Scholar Communities is a program in the College of Arts and Sciences in which a faculty member and from four to five students work over the summer on scholarly activities. Students receive six hours of course credit for participation in the scholar community. The communities meet regularly as a research team and hold social activities that are designed to bring about a spirit of community. A celebration dinner was held on August 28th for this year’s participants. The faculty advisors included Lori McGrew (Biology), John Niedzwiecki (Biology), Glenn Acree (Mathematics and Computer Science), and Ken Spring (Sociology). Rachel Risgby (Chemistry) was the Summer Scholars Director through the summer of 2010, and Lori McGrew will be leading the program during the next academic next year.
The research topics pursued by the 2009 Scholar Communities included:
Explorations in Graph Theory: Crossing Numbers and Visigraph
Cameron Behar, Reid Huffman, Joe Hutchinson, David Potter, Dr. Glenn Acree, Department of Mathematics & Computer Science
Characteristics of Learning in Zebrafish
Steven Avers, Taylor Andrew, Taylor Beazley, Katy Parsley, Dr. Lori McGrew, Department of Biology
Behavioral Ecology: Tradeoffs in a Dangerous World
Caleb Binkley, Amy Fehrmann, Mark McFarland, Atinuke Osinusi, Dr. John Niedzwiecki, Department of Biology
Applied Social Theory: Community-Based Research at the Maddox YMCA
Felicia Black, Daniel Chapdelaine, Allison Hurst, Carlin Lawroski, Austin Sauerbrei, Dr. Ken Spring, Department of Sociology
Belmont Teacher Certification Program at GM Spring Hill
The Department of Education under the leadership of Trevor Hutchins started a one-year teacher certification program this week, with 18 students at the Spring Hill Saturn plant. All of the students are displaced General Motors employees or workers displaced from companies that supplied GM. The program is being funded by a federal grant to retrain displaced workers through the South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance. Most of the new Belmont students want to teach math at local high or middle schools. The candidates will complete 21 hours of courses in the fall and 15 hours of student teaching in the spring. Many of these students want to continue beyond the teacher certification level and finish the nine hours required for the Master of Arts in Teaching. All of the students are very excited to be starting a new program that will help them become teachers and provide them access to a graduate degree. Four Belmont faculty members will be delivering the coursework and supervising the practical aspects of the program at the GM Spring Hill Training Facility.
