Professor Joe Byrne of Belmont’s Honors Program designed and edited The Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Plagues and Pandemics (2008 Greenwood Press), a two-volume, 850-page, interdisciplinary reference work. Byrne was aided by an editorial board consisting of top scholars and librarians in medical history from Yale, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Indiana University, as well as the former historian of the U.S. Public Health Service, Dr. John Parascandola. Byrne authored 19 of the nearly 300 entries, on subjects including “War, the Military and Epidemic Disease,” “Societal Reactions to Leprosy” and “Measles in the Colonial Americas.” The vast majority of articles, however, were contributed by 100 scholars and professional health practitioners from a dozen countries. Three of these are Belmont faculty: Devon Boan, director of the Honors Program, who wrote on epidemic disease in literature and culture; entomologist Steve Murphree, who covered insects and pesticides; and physiologist Nick Ragsdale, who penned the article on dysentery. Recent Belmont graduates Sarah Bennett and Becky and Beth Repasky also contributed editorially, and Honors student Elizabeth Schriner generated electronic source material for the volumes. This project follows Byrne’s two volumes on medieval plague, also for Greenwood, The Black Death (2004) and Daily Life during the Black Death (2006). Byrne is currently preparing a single-volume, single author Encyclopedia of the Black Death for ABC-CLIO, which is scheduled to appear in 2011.
Hobson Speaks at Faculty Retreats in Virginia, Indiana
Dr. Eric Hobson in the School of Pharmacy was the keynote speaker and workshop facilitator for the Fall Faculty Retreat at Averett University in Danville, Va., and for the Fall Faculty Retreat and the New Faculty Orientation Program at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana. Combined, he worked with approximately 300 faculty (new and experienced) to help these educators augment their existing instructional strategies with best practices from the literature on higher education.
Service Corps’ Skyline Party Gives Back
The Nashville skyline was the backdrop to history in the making Sunday night for Belmont Service Corps, the university’s largest student organization. Approximately 500 people attended Service Corp’s first annual Skyline Party, which was held on the top floor of the Curb Event Center parking garage and raised almost $1,000 in donations for the Nashville Gilda’s Club.
“I am so proud to say that the Skyline Party was one of the greatest accomplishments for Service Corps members the organization has ever seen,” said Bob Foglia, president. “For the first time ever, we were able to take what we have learned over the years through volunteering at entertainment industry events across the nation, to create, plan and successfully implement an event that undoubtedly raised awareness of cancer throughout the Nashville community.”
The Skyline Party, which included musical performances by Madison Hardy, Greg Bates and EMI Publishing’s Brett Mcglaughlin, was the organization’s first independent event dedicated solely to giving back to the community for its consistent support and belief in student education and was aided by contributions from Sony BMG, Universal Music Group Nashville, Rock Solid Security, Red Bull, Subway and country recording artist Luke Bryan. For years, as part of the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, Belmont University’s Service Corps has been known throughout the country as an organization of music industry majors and student leaders who donate their time and talent to volunteering at various events. More information and photos from the Service Corps Skyline Party can be found at www.belmontservicecorps.org.
Magruder to Be Published in Applied Physics Journal
Dr. Robert Magruder, chair of the Chemistry and Physics department, has had the following paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Applied Physics: “The effect of implanting boron on the optical absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of silica” by R. H. Magruder, III, A. Stesmans, R. A. Weeks and R.A. Weller.
Beta Alpha Psi Chapter Receives Recognition
Belmont’s Beta Alpha Psi Lamda Nu chapter has been internationally recognized as a distinguished chapter. Led by Dr. Del DeVries, associate professor of accounting and information systems, the chapter has “far exceeded the minimum requirements of Beta Alpha Psi, and has excelled in the areas of academics, professionalism and leadership,” according to the Beta Alpha Psi board of directors. Membership is open to graduate students in the Massey School of Business as well as to undergraduate accounting, finance and information systems majors who academically qualify.
Belmont Tops 5,000 with Record Fall Enrollment
Belmont University enrollment stands at 5,023 students at the end of the registration period, marking an increase of five percent since last year and a rise of 69 percent since 2000 when the school enrolled 2,976 students. As part of its Vision 2010 plan, the university established a goal to surpass the 5,000 mark in enrollment and has now met that goal two years ahead of schedule. The Belmont student body currently comprises 817 graduate students and 4,206 undergraduates, representing record enrollment in both categories.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “What is unusual about our growth is not just the growing enrollment numbers, but also that the students entering Belmont are better prepared academically and are being successful here and graduating at a significantly higher level. This points to the strength of our programs and the dedication and talents of this university’s faculty and staff.”
Since 2000, Belmont’s full-time undergraduate enrollment has increased by more than 2,000 students, and this year’s incoming class represents 41 states and five foreign countries. The university received a record number of applications—more than 3,000—of which a competitive 63 percent were accepted, down from 79 percent in 2000. The average ACT score for the 2007-08 freshman class is 26. One-third of new freshmen at Belmont were in the top 10 percent of their graduating class and 70 percent were in the top quarter. This year’s freshman class of 932 students held an average cumulative high school GPA of 3.52, with five percent graduating as either valedictorians (31) or salutatorians (17).
In the annual U.S. News & World Report ranking of America’s best colleges and universities, Belmont was cited most as a Top School to Watch and is ranked 11th in the South in the “Best Universities – Masters” category, making Belmont the highest ranked university in Tennessee in this category. The rankings are based on several quality indicators including student retention rates, graduation rates, student-faculty ratios and scores on college entrance exams.
Campolo Delivers Message of ‘Red Letter’ Alternatives to Political Issues
Dr. Tony Campolo, a world-renowned sociologist, author and speaker, visited Belmont on Wednesday to address “Citizenship and Faith,” the first topic in a Speaker Series covering subjects pertinent to Belmont’s hosting of the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate. Campolo admitted that as a Christian he has difficulty falling completely in line with either major political party; rather than claiming a Republican or Democratic party platform, he instead chooses to base his beliefs on the “red letter” words of Jesus as found in the New Testament, the topic of his most recent book, Red Letter Christians: A Citizen’s Guide to Faith and Politics.
Campolo said, “There is this tendency to recast God in the political ideologies to which we’re committed. We’ve got to transcend that. To do that is idolatry. It’s idolatry to turn the God that is into a God that is a projection of our own values.”
In his hour-long lecture, Campolo addressed four hot button issues in the current election season: the war in Iraq, abortion, gay marriage and immigration. While recognizing the positions of the major political parties on each issue, Campolo offered alternative ideas that he believes best represent the heart of the Christian message. At the end of his talk, Campolo then opened the floor to questions from the packed room in MPAC.
Campolo, a professor emeritus of sociology at Pennsylvania’s Eastern University, is the founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education (EAPE) and the author of 35 books. A media commentator on religious, social and political matters, Campolo has appeared on CNN and MSNBC as well as television programs like “Politically Incorrect,” “The Colbert Report,” “Nightline,” “Crossfire” and “Larry King Live.”
Senior Granted Seat on Sodexo’s Student Board of Directors
Sodexo Campus Services recently announced the annual seats on its Student Board of Directors. Belmont senior Adam Winstead was chosen to participate as an active member of the Student Board. A transfer student and Business Administration major, Winstead has worked for Sodexo since 2006 and is now starting his third year at the company.
Winstead’s role with Sodexo at Belmont has been to develop the student promotions, create various marketing initiatives and begin the Belmont Dining Goes Green program. Most recently, Winstead worked to bring exciting renovations to the Curb Café and Corner Court. This new role as SBOD member will involve developing promotions for Sodexo’s national Campus Services division, as well as enhancing effective dining programs and initiatives to make Sodexo more accessible to campus communities across the nation. Now in its fourth year, the SBOD has grown to a 25-member board that is represented by students from each region of the U.S. Every year, more than 1,000 students apply for a position on the Student Board.
Chumney’s Paper Receives National Recognition
Assistant Professor of Business Law Wade M. Chumney recently received the 2008 “Distinguished Paper Award” from the Academy of Legal Studies in Business (ALSB). The paper, “Patents Gone Wild: An Empirical Examination and Policy Analysis of Tax-Related and Tax Strategy Patents,” was co-authored with David Baumer, who heads the Department of Business Management at North Carolina State University, and Roby Sawyers, professor of accounting at North Carolina State University. The Academy of Legal Studies is an international association of nearly 1,000 teachers and scholars from fields outside professional law schools, primarily in schools of business.
Chumney’s paper was also selected for the “Holmes-Cardozo Best Paper Award” by the American Business Law Journal (ABLJ), the academy’s premier journal. The Award was established to recognize significant original legal research within the profession. The primary criterion considered by ABLJ is “excellence in legal scholarship.” The Holmes-Cardozo is the highest award that a business law professor can receive for his/her research in a given year.
Belmont Teams with CMT One Country for Concert Event
As the conclusion to “Welcome Week 2008,” Belmont University and CMT One Country teamed up Wednesday night to host the “Your Voice Your Choice” concert event at the Curb Event Center. The community-wide event, which encouraged voter registration in advance of the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University, featured free food, an opportunity for voter registration and a student Battle of the Bands as well as performances by Eli Young Band and Randy Rogers Band.
Several hundred people attended the concert hosted by CMT’s Allison DeMarcus, a former Miss Tennessee and wife of Rascal Flatt’s band member Jay DeMarcus. HeadCount has registered more than 300 people to vote since students returned to campus.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the local nonprofit partners of CMT One Country, the pro-social initiative of cable network CMT, which include Hands On Nashville, Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee and Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
HeadCount, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization dedicated to voter registration and inspiring participation in democracy through the power of music, was on site at the event with the means of registering voters from all across the country. The last day to register to vote in Tennessee for the presidential election is Oct. 6, the day before the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University. College students are allowed to register and to vote based on either their home address or their school address.
