School of Pharmacy Associate Professor Kelley Kiningham will be attending the University of Utah School of Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies. The School, which is recognized internationally, provides specialized information and techniques for working effectively with substance abuse problems in various disciplines. Kelley’s plan is to focus on current issues and trends in the field of substance abuse education, prevention and treatment.
Marvanova Selected for Parkinson’s Traineeship
School of Pharmacy Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Marketa Marvanova was recently selected for a Parkinson’s Disease Pharmacotherapy Traineeship through the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists Foundation. Marketa was chosen in this very competitive program as one of only 10 pharmacists selected nationally. The traineeship will be conducted at the Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
New Belmont Alumnus Joins ‘World Race’
To say that May 2010 Belmont marketing graduate Joshua Maisner will hit the ground running in his post-college life is a bit of an understatement. In July, Maisner is scheduled to embark on the World Race 2010, a Christian mission trip that travels to 12 countries in 11 months.
Participants live out of a backpack, survive on a limited budget, and find themselves in situations where faith is the only reality to choose from. In partnering with existing missionaries and ministries, World Racers develop relationships with the “least of these” and through acts of service see communities and nations transformed all over the world. Currently, at a training camp in Georgia, Maisner was just named a team leader for the World Race which puts him in charge of six people and their finances. Only 11 out of the 76 participants are chosen as leaders.
Maisner is no stranger to relief work. After starting the United:For Change nonprofit organization on campus last year, he spent the final Spring Break of his Belmont career serving people in Haiti following the devastating earthquake there in January. “I fell in love with the culture and the people.”
Maisner is anxious to return to Haiti, which will be one of his first stops on the World Race before travelling to the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Philippines, Mozambique, Malawi, Pioneer Africa, Turkey and Romania.
“This trip will provide me a better understanding of the very problems and causes I want to dedicate my life to,” Maisner said. “I’m excited to see the diversity in cultures and the different ways countries and communities overcome problems.”
Maisner is still raising funds for his World Race, which typically costs about $15,000 and covers all of his food, lodging and air, land and sea travel. It also covers administrative costs, setup costs, coaching costs, debrief costs, and training prior to and at the start of the Race. To donate, learn more about his trip or follow his blog, visit joshuamaisner.theworldrace.org. The World Race was started by Adventures In Missions (AIM), an interdenominational missions organization that was established in 1989, and has taken more than 80,000 people into the mission field.
Susan Jellissen Named an Academic Fellow in Terrorism Studies
Professor Susan Jellissen of the Political Science Department has been accepted as a 2010-2011 Academic Fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C. As an FDD Fellow, Jellissen will travel to Israel and participate in an educational program that focuses on terrorism’s threat to democracy.
FDD is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., that seeks to educate Americans about the terrorist threat to democracies worldwide. The FDD Academic Fellowship Program takes place at Israel’s Tel Aviv University from May 29 –June 9. The program consists of an intensive series of lectures by academics, diplomats and military officials from India, Israel, Jordan, Turkey and the United States as well as field trips to military, police and immigration facilities throughout Israel.
President Fisher Receives PRSA’s Apollo Award
On May 18, the Nashville chapter of the Public Relations Society of America honored President Bob Fisher with the 2009 Apollo Award for Communications Leadership. The PRSA gives this award annually to a senior Middle Tennessee executive “who demonstrates and exemplifies the public relations and communications function within his or her organization.”
Trey Campbell, president of Nashville’s PRSA, said, “Dr. Fisher has transformed the face of Belmont University. His ability to incorporate Belmont University as part of the Nashville community in addition to raising the national profile of the university is a testament to his communications abilities and the importance he places on public perception in his role as president of the university.”
Previous Apollo award winners include Governor Phil Bredesen, John Seigenthaler and Jeff Fisher.
Biles Published in Journal
Dr. Daniel Biles, Associate Professor, Math & Computer Science Department, recently had a research article accepted for publication, with co-authors Ferhan Atici and Alex Lebedinsky. The paper is titled Calculus of Variation on Multiple Time Scales and will be published in the International Journal of Dynamical Systems and Differential Equations.
Belmont Media Studies Students Produce Video for Nashville Zoo
Belmont students in a broadcast workshop class produced a welcome video for the Nashville Zoo this spring. The project was led by Steven Foust, Instructor of Media Studies, and the voiceover was done by Rich Tiner, Associate Professor of Media Studies. The video is on the Nashville Zoo’s homepage and will be entered in the 2010 Telly Awards, an international professional and student video competition. To view the video, click here.
Skinner Publishes Article in International Educator
Dr.Kathryn Skinner, director of international student services, had an article published this month in International Educator.
‘Green Bag Lady’ Raises Money for Flood Victims
“Green Bag Lady” Teresa Van Hatten-Granath, associate professor of art, partnered with CoolPeopleCare.org to create 500 reusable bags with the “We Are Nashville” logo. The organic materials to make the bags were donated, and 15 volunteers gathered on Belmont’s campus to sew the bags this week.
The bags will now be given away by CoolPeopleCare.org as a gift for people who donate to flood relief. Click here to watch FOX-17’s coverage of this story.
Allison Serves on Alumni Board
Dr. Linda Allison, associate professor in the School of Pharmacy, is continuing a second term as an officer for the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s Alumni Society Board of Governors. Allison is a member of the School’s Class of 1981. The 20-member board represents the interests of the 2,268 graduates of the School and serves as the official vehicle for alumni to maintain personal and professional relationships to the School. The board provides governance of the Alumni Society including oversight of the Distinguished Alumni Award program, Student Resource Fund and the School of Medicine Foundation’s annual alumni fund campaigns as well as advises on continuing medical education programming.
