Jill Robinson, director of Executive Learning Networks for Belmont’s Scarlett Leadership Institute, was recently chosen by the Nashville Business Journal as a 2009 “Forty Under 40” honoree. This is the first year that the Nashville Business Journal has used this program to recognize outstanding professionals in the local community.
Robinson will be honored with a profile in the June 12 issue and a special luncheon recognizing the honorees. Other members of the inaugural class include representatives from Capital Financial Group, the Tennessee Titans, Sherrard & Roe, Allstate Insurance, Ticketmaster and more.
“I am honored to be chosen as one of the inaugural recipients for Nashville Business Journal’s ‘Forty Under 40’ award for 2009. To me, the award is a celebration for all of the organizations I have been honored to be a part of, and the leadership that has given me the opportunity to grow professionally,” said Robinson.
Robinson Selected as a 2009 NBJ ‘Forty Under 40’ Honoree
Belmont Faculty Offer BURS Keynote Address
The 2009 Belmont Undergraduate Research Symposium (BURS) will be held Thurs., April 30, with faculty members from across the university providing the keynote address in Troutt Theater, offering insights into their current research. In addition, student presentations will be held throughout the afternoon and evening at locations across campus. Click here to view the complete BURS schedule.
Assistant Provost Glenn Acree said, “Undergraduate research is at the center of Belmont’s mission to provide an academically challenging education for our students. As students collaborate with faculty members and peers to explore their areas of interest more deeply, they engage their minds as active learners, complementing their classroom experiences. I hope the university as a whole will join together as we celebrate the explorations and discoveries of our students and faculty through their research presentations.”
Dr. Joseph Byrne (Honors), Dr. Mark Schenkel (Entrepreneurship), Dr. Jennifer Thomas (Biology) and Dr. Andy Watts (Religion) will be the speakers at Thursday afternoon’s keynote address, which is held in honor of Dr. Donald Ramage, former dean of the School of Sciences. Their 5:30 p.m. presentation will follow poster presentations and a 4:30 p.m. reception in Troutt Theater.
BURS provides undergraduates an opportunity to conduct independent research and present it to a community of peers. Each spring students at Belmont gather to present their findings, listen to eminent speakers and enjoy the company of fellow researchers.
Curb College Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of Belmont West
Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its Belmont West program in Los Angeles Monday night with an event at 20th Century Fox studios. The celebration brought together Belmont representatives, alumni and industry partners to commemorate the program that provides students with opportunities to learn and work in the L.A. entertainment industry at record labels, television sets and movie studios.
Following the vision of Belmont benefactor and chairman of Curb Records, Mike Curb, Belmont University expanded its music business program from Nashville to Los Angeles with the launch of Belmont West in the spring of 1999. After several years of success in L.A., the Curb College branched out again in 2003, starting the Belmont East program in New York City.
“We all are very proud of the fact that Nashville has joined Hollywood and New York as one of the three major music centers in the United States,” Curb said. “The exciting part of the Curb College Belmont West and Belmont East programs has been opening doors to other music-related areas of the entertainment industry, such as film music, TV music and many other new music opportunities that exist on the East and West Coasts.”
Curb College students who enroll in the Belmont West program spend a semester in L.A. expanding their cultural experiences and career opportunities as they study with local industry professionals and intern in a variety of entertainment companies including 20th Century Fox, Electronic Arts, Disney, Curb Records, Chop Shop Records, New Line Cinema, Rogers and Cowan and many more. To date, 182 students have participated in the Belmont West program, and 196 Belmont alumni reside in the greater Los Angeles area.
Belmont Presents Best of the Best 2009
April 25 event to honor longtime Music City executive Donna Hilley
On Sat., April 25, the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business will present its annual Best of the Best Showcase. The show will honor Donna Hilley, first recipient of the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence, an annual award to be given to an individual who has achieved a level of excellence in the music business and entertainment industries with notable service to Belmont University and the Nashville community. As longtime CEO of Sony/ATV Nashville, Donna established herself as one of the top female executives in Music City, and during her service on Belmont’s Board of Trustees, she introduced Mike Curb to Belmont, sparking the expansion and growth of the music business program into a free standing college.
The Best of the Best Showcase, which begins at 6:30 p.m., will include tribute performances by legendary singer/songwriters Tom Douglas and Leslie Satcher and country music’s Lee Ann Womack as well as an announcement of the establishment of an endowed scholarship in Hilley’s honor. As always, Best of the Best will also highlight some of Belmont’s remarkable student talent with performances from the winners of the CEMB Showcase series—Future (Urban/Pop), Stephen Whitfield (Christian), Jenna Basso (Country) and The Hollywood Ten (Rock)—and from the ASCAP Writers’ Night series–Stephanie Lambring, Brooke Annibale, Matt Wright, Josh Johnson, Chase Foster and Lindley Wolfgram.
Best of the Best is free to the public and is sponsored by ATT The Real Yellow Pages, ASCAP, BMI, Bandit Lites, Clair Audio and Orange Thread Media. For more information on this event, visit www.belmontshowcaseseries.com.
Curb, Turner Inducted into Music City Walk of Fame
Music business executive and long-time Belmont University supporter Mike Curb and alumnus Josh Turner were both inducted into Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame on Sunday. Click here for more on this story.
Belmont to Discontinue Bottled Water Sales
Campus kicks off Earth Week by deepening commitment to sustainable practices
In an effort to deepen its commitment to the ongoing “Belmont Goes Green” campaign, Nashville’s Belmont University announced today that all bottled water sales would be discontinued on campus as of May 16. The announcement, made at the start of the university’s annual celebration of Earth Week, furthers Belmont’s commitment to sustainable practices. Bottled water will no longer be available in the university’s fast food outlets or vending areas, and purifying filters are being added to any water fountains on campus that did not already have them.
Dr. Judy Skeen, professor of religion and head of Belmont’s Environmental Initiative, said, “As we surveyed ways that Belmont could improve its practices, the impracticality of bottled water came up over and over. Bottled water is shockingly expensive to the consumer and the environment. And given what we know about the quality of water from the tap and in the bottle, it’s completely unnecessary. Recycling the bottles doesn’t solve the larger problem of excessive resources needed to produce and transport something that is solely a convenience. We are delighted to move toward more learning and better practices as we care for the planet.”
At the start of the fall 2009 semester, students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to purchase inexpensive, BPA free, reusable containers for obtaining and carrying water on campus. In addition, other beverages—such as juices, sodas and vitamin waters—will still be available in the campus dining venues in their standard packaging. For additional information, visit the Web links at the bottom of this story.
The discontinuation of bottled water is only one part of Belmont University’s Earth Week celebration. From April 20-27, the campus will engage in a variety of activities designed to raise awareness of current environmental issues and to celebrate the desire for a healthy planet.
Ames to Conduct in Carnegie Hall
Jeffery Ames, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities, will have his Carnegie Hall debut next Sun., April 26. He’ll be conducting a National Youth Chorale consisting of choristers from high schools around the country and Canada.
As a choral clinician, Dr. Ames has conducted senior and junior high school mixed and male choirs at the state and regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and the Music Educator’s National Conference, including the inaugural Florida Male All-State Chorus (2005). He has performed internationally in the countries of Italy (2005-2007) and Costa Rica (2005). An accomplished accompanist, he has performed with well-known conductors such as André Thomas, Allen Crowell, Dan Krunnfusz, Lynne Gackle, Bradley Ellingboe and Anton Armstrong.
Four Tennis Players Named A-Sun All Conference
Four Belmont tennis players recently earned Atlantic Sun All-Conference honors. Junior Joao Paoliello was named to the All-Atlantic Sun First Team. The Londrina, Brazil native had an overall singles mark of 18-11, including a 13-7 mark in the spring season while playing mostly at the number one and two positions. In addition, Paoliello and doubles partner Rodrigo Amaral had an 11-7 spring record and 6-3 mark in conference play. He is the fourth Belmont player to earn First Team All-Conference honors and the first since Alex Gillott in 2007.
Also, freshman Rodrigo Amaral was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team. The native of Belo Horizonte, Brazil went 23-7 in singles this season while playing mostly at the number four position. His 23 singles wins set a new single season Division I school record and was most by any Belmont freshman in the Division I era.
In addition, the doubles duo of seniors Whitnie Warren and Tatiana Pozo were named to the All-Atlantic Sun second team. For the season, they had an overall record of 9-10, 6-9 during the spring season while playing at number one doubles.
Student Accepted to Summer Research Experience
Ross Buffington, a May graduate in Computer Science, has been accepted to the Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of Houston. Selected applicants receive a grant through the summer months to pursue research with one of the faculty members of the Computer Science Department of the University of Houston. In addition to conducting research, he will have the chance to attend invited seminars from world-class scholars and participate in extra-curricular activities in one of the most vibrant and booming metropolitan areas of the nation. The NSF REU grant mechanism is designed to promote the careers of students interested in pursuing graduate education.
Pharmacy Faculty to Present at Annual Meeting
The Belmont University School of Pharmacy will be well represented at the 2009 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting and Seminars. Numerous BUSOP faculty abstracts for poster presentations have been accepted, including the following:
• Marilyn Thompson-Odom, (Pharmaceutical Sciences): Pathological Implications of BRCA1 O-β-glycosylation
• Cathy H. Turner, (Pharmaceutical Sciences), ulie S. Rafferty (Pharmacy Practice) and Andrew Webster(Pharmaceutical Sciences): Positioning Students to Shape Practice: A Curricular Concentration in Pharmacy Informatics
• Kelly Kiningham, and Andrew Webster (Pharmaceutical Sciences): Assessment of Attitudes/Perceptions of On-Line Review Materials in Pharmacodynamics: Comparing Methods Used and Scholastic Performance
• Julie S. Rafferty and Philip E. Johnston (Pharmacy Practice): Development and Evaluation of Activity Guidance for Experiential Education Preceptors
• Julie S. Rafferty, Salvatore J. Giorgianni and Mark Chirico (Pharmacy Practice): Developmant of Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience Evaluation Methods
• Eric H. Hobson (Pharmacy Practice): Keys to effective academic advising programs: clear goals, structure, and faculty training
• Linda G. Allison and Mark J. Chirico (Pharmacy Practice): Utilizing games as a teaching methodology to improve pharmacy students’ understanding of patient compliance issues.
Additionally, Marketa Marvanova (Pharmaceutical Sciences) will be co-leading a roundtable discussion on Teaching and Learning using Human Simulation Models, and Eric Hobson (Pharmacy Practice) will act as Session Coordinator and speaker in New Pharmacy Programs.
