Senior outside hitter Cat Mundy added to her career accolades recently as she was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Volleyball Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Mundy was placed on the Third Team in the University Division of District IV – a region made up of Division I institutions in the states of Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. The business and marketing major has earned a 3.81 GPA while being selected to Belmont’s Dean’s List and the Atlantic Sun Academic All-Conference Team three-straight years.
Two Belmont Teams Compete in Regional Programming Contest
Two teams represented Belmont University at the Mid-Central USA programming contest on Nov. 1 at Tennessee Tech University. This contest is part of the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM) International Collegiate Programming Competition. Details about the contest, rules and standings can be found at http://mcpc.cigas.net/.
Pharmacy Faculty Join Review Board, Speak Locally
Dr. Andrew Webster, chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has accepted a consulting editorship invitation for the International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. He will join the internationally-represented review board immediately.
Dr. Sal Giorgianni, director of Experiential Education and Development in the School of Pharmacy, was a recent guest on “Sunday Focus” with Anna Marie Ritter, which airs on Nashville-based 96.3 Jack-FM. He spoke to and answered listeners’ questions about two topics: “How pharmacists can help patients with their medications” and “Issues in men’s health.” Dr. Giorgianni also presented a luncheon session to the Green Hills Rotary Club titled “Belmont University School of Pharmacy and the role of the modern-day pharmacist.”
Warren Named A-Sun Golfer of the Month
Belmont senior Lorie Warren added to her growing résumé during the month of October by winning another individual title in addition to a third place finish to win her second-straight and fifth-career Golfer of the Month award. Warren, a management major Hendersonville, Tenn., posted two top-three finishes in two October tournaments, including winning the Austin Peay Intercollegiate, the sixth title of her Belmont career.
Mills Wins Staff Chili Cookoff
As part of the annual Staff Affairs Halloween Celebration, Campus Security Watch Commander Lou Mills won first place in the Chili Cookoff.
Belmont Women’s Soccer Makes History
Bruins advance to NCAA Tournament for first time in program history
Cinderella is headed to the Big Dance after a heart-stopping performance in the finals of the Atlantic Sun Tournament on Saturday. The third seeded Belmont women’s soccer team (13-6-3) upset top seeded Mercer (11-5-4) in penalty kicks, 2-1, after a 0-0 double overtime draw. The victory sends the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Belmont becomes only the second third seed ever to win the tournament in Atlantic Sun history. Five Bruins were named to the All-Tournament team: Erica Carter, Jessica Rix, Annie Musacchio, Marcela Sanchez and Sari Lin. Lin was also named Tournament MVP. Click here for more on the Bruins’ A-Sun Championship victory.
The NCAA Selection Show Monday night revealed that the Bruins will take on Auburn (11-8-2) in a first round match-up in the 2008 Division I Women’s Soccer Championship. The Bruins will take on the Tigers on Fri., Nov. 14 at Auburn, beginning at 5 p.m. CT. For more information on this story, click here.
Rogers Provides Insights on Religion and Politics
Melissa Rogers, founder and director of Wake Forest University’s Center for Religion and Public Affairs, spoke on campus Nov. 5, the day after the historic U.S. election. Rogers examined the major issues of faith and politics that the new president will be dealing with in the next four years.
As Rogers quoted from Barack Obama’s election-night acceptance speech about “uniting America,” the packed Neely Dining Room broke into spontaneous applause. She went on to discuss how Americans staunchly support the separation of church and state, and yet resoundingly want to participate in conversations about faith and politics. In fact, she noted, “In a country where we ask our candidates if they wear boxers or briefs, it shouldn’t be surprising that we’d care about their thoughts on religion.”
Still, Rogers believes that media crossed inappropriate lines in this election when it came to coverage of the candidates’ faith preferences, finding it particularly troubling when specific churches became political targets and media magnets.
As final exit poll data was being analyzed, Rogers observed how President-Elect Obama secured a wide range of voters, claiming strong majorities among minorities, women, young people and first-time voters. “How does Obama manage this diverse coalition that has brought him to office?,” Rogers asked. “These groups of people will have to be brought together.”
Rogers concluded her presentation with a question-and-answer session. When asked about how she would suggest conversations about religion and politics be handled with friends, family and co-workers, she encouraged attendees to respect all faiths. “We are God’s servant, not God’s spokesperson. We need to approach it with that humility.”
The sister of Belmont Vice President for Administration and University Counsel Jason Rogers, Melissa Rogers is the former executive director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in Washington, D.C. She has appeared on numerous radio and television broadcasts, including “NBC Nightly News,” CNN, Court TV and NPR, and her op-ed pieces have been published by ABC News, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Fort-Worth Star Telegram, Legal Times and Religion News Service. She has written widely about the relationship between religion and public affairs and has testified before the Judiciary Committee to the U.S. Senate on religion’s role in the public square.
Desmond Child Visits ‘Insider’s View’
by Chelsea Wamsley
On Wed., Oct. 29 chart-topping songwriter Desmond Child appeared on Belmont’s “Insider’s View” stage, hosted by Harry Chapman. Child’s creativity in songwriting has resulted in many No. 1 hits including Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and Aerosmith’s “Dude Looks Like a Lady.” His career success includes 70 Top 40 singles and more than 300 million albums sold worldwide as well as his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Child gave advice to students on songwriting and the music business, saying, “Make work your friend and confidant.” Child also reiterated the importance of staying in the moment and being completely focused while writing songs.
Currently, Child is busy with several projects, which include an animated film with Dreamworks titled Swedish Idol and a Broadway musical. However, his most recent project, “Man Up For Kids,” is a charity organization that is using music to help disabled children. Nashville is the pilot city for this organization.
Nursing Students Receive High Honors in ROTC
Two Belmont nursing students participating in Vanderbilt’s ROTC program recently received two of the highest cadet rankings in the nation. The rankings are based on their total experience as cadets, including academics, physical fitness, performance at strategic camp experiences, leadership and more.
Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Shannon Ellrich (above right) is the fifth-ranked nurse in the nation and is the cadet battalion commander. She is the senior ranking cadet in the program. Cadet Major Hannah Bienhoff (below left) is the first-ranked nurse in the nation and holds the position of senior TAC officer. She is charged with the evaluation of all junior cadets.
Out of 4,417 cadets nationally, Ellrich is ranked 249 and Bienhoff is ranked 53 in the national order of merit rank.
Dr. Martha Buckner, associate professor of nursing, said, “These two Belmont nursing students, who came here as freshmen and have progressed in our traditional program, have achieved the highest ranking as ROTC cadets from any major in recent memory at Vanderbilt. This impresses me because they are being compared with students from all majors from across the nation.”
Buckingham to Speak on Campus Monday
Cambridge-educated former Gallup researcher Marcus Buckingham will be speaking to campus and the local community on Monday on the topic of his latest career resource kit, The Truth About You,” which is aimed at young professionals (17-25 years old) but valuable for anyone who wants to take control of their career and performance.
Author of New York Times’ bestsellers First, Break All the Rules and Go Put Your Strengths to Work, among other titles, Buckingham is considered by many to be the world’s leading expert on career success. His organization, the Marcus Buckingham Company, seeks to help individuals express the best of themselves and make their greatest contribution possible at work, at home and in life.
Buckingham’s address will begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Curb Event Center. This is a ticketed event, but most ticket options include both the book and lecture. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com and the Curb Event Center box office.
