Dr. Jeff Cornwall, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and professor of management, was quoted in an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Smart Ways to Cut Prices: Consumers want value these days. Here’s how some companies give it to them — without gutting their brands.” Click here to read the story.
Faculty Librarians Present at Statewide Annual Conference
Faculty librarians Jenny Rushing, Rachel Scott and Judy Williams presented during the 2009 Conference of the Tennessee Library Association, held April 8-10 in Nashville. Rushing participated in a session titled “Connections and Collaborations: Partnerships in K-16 Bibliographic Instruction” with librarians from Lambuth University and the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Her focus was Bunch Library’s contribution to the Conversations@Belmont series, a successful collaboration between local school and academic librarians in order to prepare high school students for the transition to college. The series can serve as a model for other academic libraries to adopt. Rushing, Scott and Williams presented “From 0 to 200! Building an Information Literacy Program from the Ground UP.” The session described the development of Belmont University’s information literacy program, its integration into the General Education curriculum, goals for program growth and recent library upgrades designed to better serve the university community.
NIRSA Recognizes Three Beaman Staff Members with Awards
At the 60th Annual National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Conference & Recreational Sports Exposition, held recently in Charlotte, N.C., Belmont University was well-represented with three award winners: Angie Bryant, director of the Beaman Student Life Center; Caroline Cox, graduate assistant for Fitness Programming; and Daniel Lawrence, graduate assistant for Facilities.
Bryant was honored with the Horace Moody Award, which recognizes professional members who have made significant contributions to student development. Only six individuals across the country are awarded this recognition each year. In addition to serving as the current director for the state of Tennessee, Bryant will now serve as the committee chair responsible for selecting the Region II Student Excellence Grant that will be offered spring 2010.
Cox received the William N. Wasson Student Leadership & Academic Award, which recognizes top students who are employed by the Department of Recreational Sports. This award gives NIRSA an opportunity to honor outstanding student leaders. Nominees must be full-time graduate students, maintain a 3.0 GPA, and demonstrate scholarship and professional development through research, honors, self-improvement, certifications, presentations and involvement in professional organizations. In addition, the recipient must have demonstrated campus and community involvement.
Lawrence received a NIRSA Foundation Scholarship. This award is given to honor students who show commitment to educational and scholarly projects that enhance leadership development within campus programs. This scholarship is provided to allow recipients to attend various NIRSA educational programs.
McDonald Published in Volume on English Studies
Dr. Marcia McDonald has contributed a chapter to a volume titled Transforming English Studies: New Voices in an Emerging Genre. Her essay, “The Purpose of the University and the Definition of English Studies: A Necessary Dialogue,” is one of 14 in the collection edited by Lori Ostergaard, Jeff Ludwig and Jim Nugent, and recently published by Parlor Press. McDonald’s essay grew out of a panel presentation made with Drs. Cynthia Cox and Andrea Stover on Belmont’s innovative English major at the College Composition and Communication Conference in 2004. McDonald, associate provost and professor of English, has recently been named Interim Provost.
Student-Athletes Recognized Nationally for Academic Achievement
Four Belmont University athletic teams were honored by the NCAA Wednesday in its annual Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition Award.
Belmont men’s basketball, men’s soccer, baseball and women’s golf each ranked in the top 10 percent within their respective sports nationwide among NCAA Division-I programs for their academic progress rate as determined by the NCAA. The APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
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From Belmont to Africa, Kabia Fosters Education and Hope
Samuel Kabia, who works as an exterior gardener in Belmont’s landscaping department, recently spoke to a Belmont Entrepreneurship class, sharing stories from his recent trip to Africa and the work of his Rufoindo Education Project in Sierra Leone.
Kabia and his family came to the United States in 2001 after being forced to flee from their village in Sierra Leone because of the bloody civil war occurring in the country. Kabia, a high school economics and geography teacher in Sierra Leone, and his family moved to Nashville, where the Catholic Charities of Tennessee helped him find his current job at Belmont. He started taking classes in business administration in 2002 and graduated in 2005. He is in graduate school at Belmont and will graduate in August with a Master’s of Education degree.
After graduation, Kabia started the non-profit organization Rufoindo Education Project for Orphan Children to help his war-torn village Rufoindo in Sierra Leone. The organization’s major project is the building of a school for the children in the village. “I felt so sorry for them, many of them had lost their parents and other things,” said Kabia. “I wanted to help put them on the right track and open the school for them.”
The school has grown from 15 students to 200 students with six teachers. Funded mostly with gifts from Belmont, Kabia has been able to take 50 computers to the school and thousands of dollars worth of school supplies.
The goals of the Rufoindo Education Project for Orphan Children are to improve the poor health condition of the village community, to equip the children and their community with the knowledge and the skills necessary to create a self-sustaining environment, to create a place in Africa for Belmont students, staff and faculty to visit and to provide the children and the community with a healthy diet, clothing and good education.
Kabia is currently busy working on upcoming projects for the village. The projects include the building of a bridge to connect Rufoindo Village with Freetown, which is the capital of Sierra Leone, as well the building of a toilet system and a library for the school. For information on how to join Kabia’s efforts, contact him at samuelkabia@att.net or 615-554-2356.
Robinson Selected as a 2009 NBJ ‘Forty Under 40’ Honoree
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.
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.
