March is Women’s History Month, and Belmont University is hosting several events throughout the month to address different issues relating to feminism and women in the 21st century.
“Women’s History month is a celebration of the multitude of contributions that women have made in society. It is also meant to foster awareness of the exclusion of women in the mainstream history of our culture,” said Dr. Shelby Longard, assistant professor of sociology. “In short, we spend one month in commemoration in order to bring consciousness of our exclusion from discourse in the other eleven of the year.”
All events are free and open to the public.
Mon., March 2, 10 a.m.
Redefining Feminism: Equal Right’s Advocacy or Male Bashing?
Belmont sociologist Dr. Shelby Longard will discuss, “What does it mean to be a feminist in 2009?”
Beaman A&B
Mon., March 2, 4:30 p.m.
An Extraordinary Woman: Adelicia Acklen and Belle Monte
Dr. Brenda Jackson-Abernathy, from Belmont’s department of History, will analyzeAdelicia Acklen as a strong and determined businesswoman, casting aside the image of her as a frivolous and carefree 19th-century “Southern belle.”
Belmont Mansion
Wed., March 4, 10 a.m.
Women’s Stories in Science
Belmont professors Dr. Darlene Panvini (Biology) and Dr. Rachel Rigsby (Chemistry) will share their stories of how they got interested in science careers and their experiences as women in the sciences. Videoclips of other women scientists will be shown to broaden the discussion.
HSB 408
Wed., March 4, 7 p.m.
Film Series: The Piano
Dr. Caroline Wooldridge, from Belmont’s department of theatre and dance, will offer a viewing and discussion of Jane Campion’s film The Piano.
LCVA 117
Tues., March 17, 5 p.m.
Faith Ringgold’s Slave Rape Story Quilt: Ending the Silence
Dr. Viven Fryd, from Vanderbilt’s department of art and art history, will examine Faith Ringgold’s Slave Rape Story Quilt (1984-85) within the context of the anti-rape crisis movement of the 1970s and 1980s.
LCVA 117
Wed., March 18, 7 p.m.
Film Series: Girls Rock
Dr. Caroline Wooldridge, from Belmont’s department of theatre and dance, will show the documentary Girls Rock: The Movie and lead a discussion on the film.
LCVA 117
Belmont Celebrates Women’s History Month
Belmont Launches PR Management Degree for Adult Students
Belmont University announced today the launch of a new Public Relations Management (PRM) major in its University College/Adult Degree Programs. Classes, which begin in June 2009, will be offered in the evening in eight-week semesters, allowing working adults the flexibility to fulfill educational needs without sacrificing career or professional responsibilities.
The PRM program’s launch is particularly good news for adults impacted by the current recession or for anyone looking for a career change. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 243,000 public relations specialists were employed nationwide in 2006 and predicts an 18 percent increase in employment through 2016. In May 2006, Money magazine ranked public relations as 20th on its list of 50 “best jobs” for employment opportunity and potential salary.
Dr. Jimmy Davis, dean of the University College/Adult Degree Programs, said, “Public Relations Management is an important new program for us and the new students who will enter the program. One of the outcomes of living in the information age is the need for a wide variety of communications professionals. Public Relations is one of the areas that corporations and non-profit institutions rely on for success. The instructors in the PR Management Program have outstanding academic credentials and are exceptional practitioners of Public Relations.”
ATO Chapter Initiates State-wide Community Service Project
On Sat., Feb. 21, Belmont University’s Chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity played host to the inaugural “TN Tau” statewide community service event. “TN Tau” is an event created by an ATO at Belmont University, Klay Kelley, to serve the state and is designed to include brothers from the 10 Tennessee chapters of Alpha Tau Omega.
This year 80 brothers from ATO chapters ranging from Memphis all the way to Austin Peay convened in Nashville to serve Monroe Harding Children’s Home. Activities included painting numerous areas at the home, outside yard work and landscaping, preparing a cottage for new students to move into, organizing clothing closet and updating inventory. Kelley said, “TN Tau proved to be such a memorable event for not only the Belmont Chapter, but the other ATO chapters across the state. This event not only started a tradition which will continue for many years to come, but it also provided us an opportunity to help Monroe Harding in these tough times.”
Belmont University’s Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity has been actively involved in engaging and transforming the world around them since their local founding in 1999. Belmont ATO raised $22,000 for Blood:Water Mission last year through their charity golf tournament. For more information about Belmont University Alpha Tau Omega, visit the group’s Web site at www.belmontato.org.
School of Business Named to BusinessWeek Top 100
For the second year in a row, Belmont University’s undergraduate School of Business achieved a Top 100 national ranking in BusinessWeek’s annual report on “The Best Undergrad B-Schools” in the U.S. Belmont moved up five places in the rankings to No. 84, placed between the University of Arkansas (No. 83) and North Carolina State-Raleigh (No. 85). Belmont and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (No. 82) are the only two Tennessee programs to make the list, and Belmont was one of only six private schools in the South to be included.
Belmont’s College of Business Administration (COBA) Dean J. Patrick Raines said, “It is an honor to be included again in this list of prestigious business programs. Belmont’s ranking reflects the dedication the faculty has to high quality classroom teaching and the attention our staff give to Belmont students.”
Susan Taylor, COBA associate dean of undergraduate business, added, “Given the significance of the student survey in the rankings, it is extremely rewarding to know that our students willingly give their time to participate in the process and take pride in expressing their feelings about the quality of education they are receiving at Belmont.”
BusinessWeek uses a comprehensive methodology for its rankings calculations that includes nine distinct measures. Overall, the magazine surveys around 85,000 business majors and 600 corporate recruiters, in addition to researching the median starting salaries for recent graduates and the number of graduates from each program who go on to attend national top tier MBA programs. BusinessWeek also calculates an academic quality score for the undergraduate schools by combining average SAT scores, faculty-student ratios, average class size, the percentage of students with internships and the number of hours students devote to class work each week. BusinessWeek’s complete rankings of the “Best Undergraduate B-Schools” including the full rankings methodology, interactive tables, in-depth profiles and a discussion forum are available at www.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate.
Garrison Published in Information Systems Journal
Dr. Gary Garrison, assistant professor of Information Systems Management, has been notified that his research note, “A Model of Conflict, Leadership and Performance in Virtual Teams,” has been published in Information Systems Research, a top tier information systems journal. Co-authors are Robin L. Wakefield, associate professor of information systems, and Dorothy E. Leidner, professor of information systems, both at Baylor University. Click here to read the abstract to the article, which is now available in Volume 19, Issue 4, December 2008, pages 434-455.
PT Students, Faculty, Alumni Present and Receive Recognition at National Conference
Recently several of the Belmont University School of Physical Therapy faculty, alumni and students attended the annual American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) in Las Vegas.
Physical therapy graduate student Tara McDonough Domkowski (‘11) and undergraduate alumna (’08) presented a poster they co-authored with Dr. Nancy Darr, Dr. Steven Murphree and Barbara Ward in the Neurobiology – Balance and Falls section titled, “The effects of cellular phone conversations on the gait characteristics in young adults.”
Dr. Nancy Darr, associate professor of physical therapy, presented a platform presentation of research titled, “Pediatric Balance Scale Performance in Children who are Developing Typically and in Children with Mild Developmental Delay.” This was a multi-site study involving faculty members from Belmont, Daemen College and The State University of New York Upstate Medical Center.
Also presenting at CSM was Dr. John Halle, associate dean and professor of physical therapy, along with Dr. David Greathouse, a former associate dean of the School of Physical Therapy who presented “Peripheral Mononeuropathies in the Lower Extremities: An Anatomical, Clinical and Electrophysiological Review.”
Dr. Cathy Hinton is also an associate professor of physical therapy and currently serves as a member of the APTA Ethics and Judicial Committee. She presented “Dialogues on Doing the Right Thing: What Ethical Codes are all about – an Update on Proposed Revision to APTA Core Ethics Documents.”
Belmont PT alumnus John DeWitt (’01) received the 2009 Sports Physical Therapy Section New Horizon Award, which goes to an individual who has shown great potential to be a future leader in the field in their first seven years of practice. Alumnae Amy Grigg Gross (’02) and Dawn Straub (‘04) received their Orthopedic Certification Specialties (OCS).
Basso Wins Country Music Showcase
On Sat., Feb. 21 the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business celebrated the annual Country Showcase with special guest host, Great American Country personality Nan Kelley. This year’s showcase featured student talents The Westbound Rangers, W.C. Marion, Cassidy Lynn, Steven Darden and Jenna Basso. Credits for this years’ performers include the hit television show “American Idol,” GAC, CMT’s “Can You Duet” and the Grand Ole Opry stage. “I sing in hopes of achieving a lifelong dream: taking a place in the spotlight among the leading ladies of country music,” said Jenna Basso, this year’s Country showcase winner.
Basso joins the lineup for the annual Best of the Best Showcase on April 25 at 7 p.m. in the Curb Event Center. She will perform alongside Stephen Whitfield, Future and The Strangers—winners of the Christian, Urban/Pop and Rock Showcases respectively, as well as the six winners of the ASCAP Writers’ Night Series. Continuing a tradition of recognizing music industry greats who are also dedicated to the educational process, the Curb College will name Donna Hilley as the first recipient of the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence at the 2009 Best of the Best Showcase.
Belmont Kennedys Share Musical Legacy, Wisdom
On Wed., Feb. 25, the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business welcomed to the “Insider’s View” stage the talented Kennedy family. Led by father Jerry, an inaugural inductee in the Musician’s Hall of Fame, the Kennedy men have all significantly impacted the music industry, and all three sons attended Belmont.
Jerry Kennedy spent more than three decades successfully playing guitar, producing records and working in A&R. He eventually became vice president of Mercury Records’ Nashville division in 1968 before starting his own company. His career credits include working on projects with such diverse and luminary names as Bob Dylan, Elvis, Joan Baez, The Statler Brothers, Kris Kristofferson, Reba McEntire, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. “Some of the most creative, talented people I worked with later in my career were people who graduated from here,” he said. “Stay here until you get it done, and believe in what you’re doing.”
Eldest brother Gordon is an accomplished guitarist and songwriter with album cuts that include Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” which won the Song of the Year Grammy in 1996. Gordon recounted how the song was first written in 1991 as a demo for a group he was in, but the deal fell through. Wynonna then had the song on hold, but her recording schedule was postponed. It was five years after it was written that the song finally struck Grammy gold with Clapton’s performance. “You step back and say, ‘God what do you have in mind here?'” Gordon noted. “Because God’s plan is so much better than anything I could have dreamed up.”
The younger Kennedy brothers also made their own marks on the music business. Bryan began his industry career plugging songs for his father, before writing several hits for Garth Brooks’ records, including three No. 1 radio songs: “Good Ride Cowboy,” “Beaches of Cheyenne” and “American Honky Tonk Bar Association.” Youngest brother Shelby served as a key A&R man for Lyric Street records, directing the likes of Aaron Tippin, Rascal Flatts and SheDaisy, and later represented Writer Relations at BMI. In addition to serving as an adjunct in the Curb College, Shelby now serves as Sr. VP/COO of Cherry Heart Music.
Homecoming, Fitness Day Receive Local Media Attention
In addition to an overview of Homecoming 2009 events in Sunday’s Tennessean, several campus events this week caught the attention of local media. The “Quote” project by Belmont alumni, along with Monday’s convocation event to support that project (pictured right), was the subject of a lengthy interview on WPLN, Nashville’s local public radio. Click here to listen to the story, which is featured on the station’s home page. Fitness Day also received coverage as FOX-17 sent a crew out to cover the Polar Bear 5K live on the station’s morning show. Click here to view the story. Finally, Belmont’s own Paul Chenoweth conducted an interview with alumna Margaret Elliott, whose artwork is a part of the “Art from Anywhere” Alumni Art Exhibit that is currently in the LCVA gallery. Click here to watch the interview.
Wicke Named to Academic All-America Team
Men’s basketball senior Andy Wicke (Hendersonville, Tenn.) added to his lengthy and distinguished list of accolades Wednesday, as he was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America University Division Men’s Basketball Third Team. “Andy has been a tremendous representative of our basketball program and Belmont University,” Belmont head coach Rick Byrd said. “This is an honor well deserved and celebrates Andy’s sacrifice and dedication to perform at a high level on the court and in the classroom.”
One of only seven players in all of college basketball this season with the opportunity to earn a fourth consecutive automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Wicke has been a leader on and off the court for the Bruin program. The 6-2 guard received Academic All-District honors earlier this month and is one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Wicke is also a four-time member of the Atlantic Sun All-Academic Team. Click here for more on this story.
