Three Belmont public relations majors were honored recently for leadership in promoting ethics in public relations. Paula Lovell, president of Lovell Communications Inc., presented 2008 Ethics Honor Roll certificates to Lona Gray, Allison Hurst and Kati McCarver at the October meeting of the Belmont Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Lovell also presented a $100 prize to McCarver. The students wrote essays on “Ethics in Public Relations” as part of the recent Ethics Week activities sponsored by the Belmont public relations program, Lovell Communications Inc. and PRSSA.
PR Majors Receive Awards for Promoting Ethics
School of Nursing Hosts Simulation Conference
The Belmont University School of Nursing hosted nursing faculty and hospital educators for a special training conference in hands-on simulation Oct. 9-11. The First Annual Simulation Conference: Empowering Nurse Educators in Tennessee was sponsored by a grant from Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN), a national initiative to address the nation’s nursing shortage. The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and The Tennessee Center for Nursing also partnered with Belmont to create the conference.
Dr. Debra Wollaber, Belmont professor of nursing, said, “We know that nursing faculty and hospital staff educators need more hands-on training. Through this grant, we are able to provide training that is vital to educators, allowing them to use available technology to its fullest capacity.”
The conference training ranged from using technology in clinical settings to critical care, including simulation exercises with life-like mannequins that could talk, cough and sneeze. The simulation conference was an important strategy for one of PIN’s main goals, which is to increase the supply of qualified nurse educators and enhance the skills of current faculty to meet the current needs.
The Health Resources and Services Administration predicts that Tennessee will only be able to meet half of the demand for RNs by 2020, and the U.S. Government projects a shortfall of 800,000 nurses in the country by the same year.
Rigsby Participates in ‘GRITS’ Kick-Off Event
Dr. Rachel Rigsby, assistant professor in the Chemistry & Physics Department, attended the GRITS (Girls Raised in Tennessee Science) Kick-Off at MTSU on Sept. 26. She presented a poster called “Belmont Chemistry Outreach: A Combination of Student Demonstrations and Hands-on Activities.” Rigsby is a member of the GRITS Leadership Team, and the goal of GRITS is to disseminate information about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers to young women in middle and high school, parents, teachers and guidance counselors. More information about GRITS can be found at http://frank.mtsu.edu/~grits/index.htm.
Accounting Faculty Selected for Teaching Awards
Associate Professor of Accounting Dr. Lee Warren and Assistant Professor of Accounting Dr. Marilyn Young have been selected once again for honorable mention for the Bea Sanders/AICPA Innovation in Teaching Award. This award recognizes successful innovative practices in the first course sequence in accounting and builds awareness of those practices among other accounting academics. The Task Force was very impressed with the Integrated Accounting Principles course these professors have developed.
In addition, Assistant Professor of Accounting and Information Systems Dr. Del DeVries has been selected for honorable mention for the Mark Chain/Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) Innovation in Graduate Teaching Award. This award recognizes successful innovative practices in the teaching of graduate accounting courses and builds awareness of those practices among other accounting academics. The Task Force was very impressed with his work on Integrating Technology into the Accounting Curriculum Using Real Data and Business Transactions from Agile Machinery Group, Inc.
All three accounting professors have been invited to participate in breakout sessions at the American Accounting Association Conference that will take place next August in New York.
School of Physical Therapy Celebrates National Month with Charity Event
On Sun., Oct. 5, 90 students from Belmont’s School of Physical Therapy participated in the annual Dierks Bentley Celebrity Motorcycle Ride and Jam Session benefitting Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt . Belmont’s PT students, along with Professor Michael Voight, get involved each year with this event as a way to celebrate October as National Physical Therapy Month. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) intends its members to use October as an opportunity to educate communities about who physical therapists are and what they do. APTA designated the theme for this October as “Physical Therapy: It’s All About Movement.” Voight, fellow faculty, staff and Belmont’s PT students serve as volunteers at the annual Music and Miles Ride to increase awareness of physical therapy in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
This year’s charity ride started in Williamson County and wound through downtown Music City, ending at Riverfront Park where gathered crowds were treated to performances by Bentley, Tim McGraw, Jeremy Camp and others. Belmont students were recognized throughout the day as the staff working behind the scenes to help make this event successful. The 2008 Music and Miles ride and concert raised more than $276,000.
Insider’s View Guest Holzman Tells Students to ‘Follow the Music’
The second Insider’s View of the 2008 fall semester featured founder of Elektra Records, Jac Holzman. Belmont’s Insider’s View host Harry Chapman shared the stage with Gavan Daws, co-author of Holzman’s book Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture, as he helped interview the guest of honor.
Holzman shared the wisdom and knowledge he gained during a career that included starting a record company at the age of 19. He said he never followed trends or fashions; he simply recorded what interested him. Holzman also gave advice on artist development, noting, “Pay attention to your peripheral vision and hearing. Look for something odd and interesting.”
Holzman shared details of the contract he developed at Elektra as well as tips on how to avoid being sued, something he avoided in his 23 years at Elektra. His contracts included the “Love and Affection Clause” stating that the label and artist must show love and respect to one another. Holzman also emphasized the importance of a friendly contract with fair terms. Encouraging attendees to “Follow the music,” Holzman left the audience with a generous gift, offering the Belmont community a free digital copy of his book, which will be posted on Belmont’s Web site.
Nashville Scene Awards Theater, Theatre Program Best Of Awards
Belmont University’s Troutt/Black Box Theater and the Belmont Theatre program both won Best of Awards in the 19th Annual “Best of Nashville” issue of the Nashville Scene, on newsstands now. The Scene’s Martin Brady noted, “… for high impact and versatility, the opening of Belmont University’s new facility gets the gold star. Not only is the Troutt a lovely multipurpose venue in a hip part of town, but it also houses a cool alternative space in its Black Box Theater. Maybe more importantly, the university has opened these theaters for use by Naked Stages, Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Actors Bridge Ensemble and other companies in need, thus helping to alleviate Music City’s long-standing crunch for theatrical space.”
For the “Best College Theater Program,” Brady added, “Belmont has been turning out talented actors and musical performers for a good while, including Blue Man Group’s Christopher Brown… and American Idol’s Melinda Doolittle. Energetic theater department head Paul Gattrell has shored up the acting program with the hire of Bill Feehely, and he’s entered into collaborative relationships with local theater entities. Small wonder the young players who pepper every one of the college’s productions seem unusually stage-savvy.”
Baruzzini Presents at Lilly Conference
Dr. Deborah Nunn Baruzzini, director of organizational development, presented at the Lilly Conference in Traverse City, Mich. on Sept. 20. Her session, “Millennial Students: A Faculty’s Response,” reported the results of a qualitative research study of Trevecca Nazarene University’s faculty, co-authored by Dr. Esther Swink, dean of education. The purpose of the session was to generate participant ideas for working effectively with today’s students.
Belmont Ambassadors Win National Award
The Belmont Ambassadors recently won the National Award for “Outstanding Organization Student Ambassadors” at the 2008 Association of Student Advancement Programs (ASAP) conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. ASAP is the student affiliated organization of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), which is the professional organization for advancement professionals at all levels who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising, marketing and other areas. CASE’s membership consists of nearly 3,400 institutions worldwide, which include approximately 300 ASAP student organizations.
The Ambassadors are an elite group of students who serve as the official hosts and hostesses for University and Presidential events and are coordinated out of the Office of Alumni Relations. 2008-2009 Belmont Ambassadors are: Caroline Adams, Hillary Bond, Betsy Bruington, Payten Butler, Stephanie Cantwell, Anna Chatham, Megan Cope, Ameshia Cross, Kristian Gingrich, Kaitlin Guest, Christina Inman, Fatima Karwandyar, Klay Kelley, Cheryl Luquire, Brandon Maxwell, Kate Miller, Mark Noel, Olawale Osinusi, Taylor Payne, Heather Pierce, Shannon Saunders, Tyler Schlandt, Will Shipp, Audra Stratton, Mary Lauren Walden and Emily White. Associate Director of Alumni Relations Kelly Fish serves as the staff advisor for the Ambassadors.
ATO Disco Party Raises $400 for Red Cross
On Sept. 26, Belmont’s Alpha Tau Omega Iota Phi Chapter hosted the 15th Annual Disco is Dead social in the Curb Cafe. The ’70s-themed disco party, the largest on campus social, has become a staple at Belmont, and every year the chapter looks at ways to make the event even better.
This year the brothers of ATO asked participants to donate $1 to the American Red Cross to support the victims of the recent hurricanes, and the event raised more than $400. Senior Phi Mu Taylor Walters said, “We all love coming to ATO’s Disco is Dead. There is no better opportunity than this to dress up and have a good time. It also gives us an opportunity to have fun with our new members.”
Disco is Dead also featured new dance platforms and a red carpet that welcomed guests to the party. The event was sponsored by Vitamin Water, with party goers receiving their choice of Vitamin Water products. To market the event to students, creative banners and signs were hung around campus that played off Belmont’s Debate08 logo, changing it to read Disco08.
