Dr. Bryce Sullivan, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will be giving the keynote address at the “Erase the Stigma” conference on Aug. 22 in Belleville, Illinois. His talk, titled “Religion, Mental Health and Clinical Practice: Integrating Psychological Treatment with Religious Beliefs and Practice,” will present research and clinical information related to the integration of religion and psychological treatment, arguing that religion and spirituality can provide a strong supportive role in treatment and in overall mental health.
School of Nursing Selected as Site for Research Study
The School of Nursing has been selected as the site for a National League for Nursing/Laerdal/American Heart Association research study on different approaches to learning basic life support and advanced life support. The Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing was one of nine colleges of nursing selected from a pool of 34. Under the coordination of Beth Hallmark, coordinator of simulation in the School of Nursing, the project will begin in January.
DeVries Earns National Award from Accounting Association
Assistant Professor of Accounting Dr. Delwyn “Del” DeVries is the single recipient of the “Information Systems Section 2008 Outstanding Service Award.” The announcement was made last week at the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association (AAA) in Anaheim, California. Dr. DeVries was recognized by the Information Systems section for Distinguished Service in Membership Services, 2005-08, based on his work in analyzing and promoting membership services at both the section and national association levels over the past four years.
DeVries has taught accounting at Belmont University since 2007, having previously taught in the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He earned his Ph.D. in accounting, with an accounting information systems specialization, from Arizona State University. Prior to beginning his academic career, he served as manager-operational control for Citibank from 1989-94 and manager for Deloitte (formerly Deloitte Haskins & Sells) from 1982-89. He is a Certified Public Accountant, as well as a Certified Information Systems Auditor, and in addition to his many other service contributions, he also serves as a member of the audit sub-committee for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Hobson Speaks at Pharmacy Conference
Dr. Eric Hobson, professor of pharmacy practice and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Pharmacy, was a featured speaker this week at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ 2008 National Residency Preceptors Conference in Washington, D.C. More than 300 of the conference’s 600+ attendees participated in his workshop, “Here we go again: Maintaining realistic expectations for new residents.”
Pinter, Stewart Present at Mathfest
At the Mathematical Association of America’s Mathfest in Madison, Wisconsin, July 30-August 2, Dr. Mike Pinter presented a talk titled “Viewing Mathematics as Human Endeavor” as part of the “Incorporating Humanities and the Arts into the Mathematics Classroom (and Vice Versa)” Contributed Paper Session. MathFest is the largest annual summer meeting of mathematicians in the United States. Dr. Pinter offered examples from several courses he teaches at Belmont, including Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning, Analytics and First-Year Seminar.
Also at Mathfest, Dr. Sarah Ann Stewart was invited to be a panel member for the session titled “How to Apply for Jobs.” She also co-organized a new workshop for graduate students. In the workshop, graduate students presented a 20-minute “job talk” aimed at undergraduates and then received feedback from experienced faculty members. Both sessions were well received, and Stewart has been asked to be a part of the two sessions again in the future.
Belmont Teams with CMT One Country for ‘Your Voice Your Choice’ Concert Event
Make a decision. Have it heard. Belmont University and CMT One Country will host the “Your Voice Your Choice” concert event at the Curb Event Center on Wed., Aug. 27, including free food, voter registration and outdoor performances beginning at 5 p.m. The community-wide event, encouraging voter registration in advance of the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont University, will include performances by Eli Young Band and Randy Rogers Band along with a Student Battle of the Bands featuring acts from local universities.
Tickets, which are free to students with a college ID or $5 for the general public, go on sale today at the Curb Event Center box office on Belmont’s campus and all Ticketmaster outlets. In addition to the Curb box office, student tickets will also be distributed at the Sarratt box office at Vanderbilt University, the Office of Student Life & Diversity Initiatives at Volunteer State, at the Student Services office at Tennessee State and at the Student Life office at Nashville State Community College.
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. In addition, students picking up tickets by Aug. 25 will be eligible to enter a sweepstakes offering front row tickets, meet and greet passes and other prizes. Additional details and rules are available at YOURVOICE.CMT.COM.
Belmont Associate Provost and Dean of Students Dr. Andrew Johnston said, “We’re convinced that Belmont’s opportunity to host the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate is also a Nashville opportunity. It presents a valuable and unusual opportunity for colleges and universities in Nashville to draw their students’ attention to the privilege and responsibilities of citizenship. The ‘Your Voice Your Choice’ event kicks-off Belmont’s year-long celebration of debate-related programming under the theme ‘the Art of Being Free,’ and it also marks the beginning of focused student voter registration campaigns and collaborative programming at educational institutions across the city.”
School of Pharmacy Lands First Drug Study
The Belmont University School of Pharmacy (BUSOP) announced recently the launch of the school’s first research study, a project to investigate the stability of liquid forms of several drugs previously only available in solid dosage forms (tablets, capsules). The study contract grant of $157,000 is with Galipot, which manufactures SyrSpend SF™, the sugar-free syrup suspension agent for the drug’s active ingredients. The research project will involve numerous Belmont pharmacy faculty members in evaluating 71 different drugs over the next two years. Liquid forms of drugs are vital to the treatment of infants, children and patients whose illnesses prevent swallowing.
Dr. Phil Johnston, dean of the School of Pharmacy, added, “I’m excited that our first research project as a school will serve patients who are often most in need: young children and patients with cancer, stroke or other devastating conditions who have lost their ability to swallow. BUSOP’s vision involves training competent, compassionate practitioners and serving our profession and patients. This first drug study project incorporates every aspect of our mission.”
Belmont Hosts Computers 4 Kids Event
On Fri., Aug.8 Belmont hosted Computers 4 Kids, an event sponsored by Connected Tennessee. High school foster children from 13 counties in middle Tennessee were given brand new Dell laptop computers valuing more than $100,000.
The event was held in the Gordon E. Inman Center and featured remarks concerning Internet security and safety by Deborah Tate, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission.
Gov. Phil Bredesen was also in attendance and praised the initiative. “Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program is impacting the lives of Tennessee children by placing technology in the hands of deserving young people who would not otherwise have this access,” said Bredesen.
According to its Web site, Connected Tennessee is a non-profit organization that develops and implements effective strategies for technology deployment, use and literacy in Tennessee. For more information, visit www.connectedtennessee.org.
Massey Launches Health Care Management Alliance
The Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business recently entered a national partnership with Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI) and Nashville-based Healthcare Performance Partners (HPP) to offer a certificate program in Toyota Production System (TPS)/Lean-based healthcare process improvement. Courses will be offered on the Belmont University campus four times per year, and participants in the five-day course will utilize new facilities within Belmont’s College of Health Sciences. The first course is set for Nov. 10-14, 2008.
Lean Healthcare for Quality, Safety and Efficiency Certificate Program will include instruction by national health care management experts including Dr. David Munch, chief clinical and quality officer for Lutheran Exempla Medical Center and Charles Hagood, CEO of Healthcare Performance Partners. Each course is limited to 30 registrants, allowing for a decidedly hands-on learning approach within Belmont’s state-of-the-art health care training facilities. A portion of the training will involve use of health science simulation labs designed to mirror the realities of acute care “step down” units, as well as maternity and pediatric nursing units.
Arthritis Foundation Presents Plaque to Pharmacy, PT
On Thursday, members of the Nashville Arthritis Foundation visited Belmont to show their appreciation for the University’s support in the annual Arthritis Walk, which was held on campus in May. The School of Pharmacy and the School of Physical Therapy both had teams that participated in the walk, together raising more than $3,200. The Schools were presented with a plaque and two picture frames to display as a sign of a successful and growing partnership.
Pictured are (r-l) School of Pharmacy Dean Phil Johnston, 2008 Nashville Walk Honoree Ken Brisbane, Associate Professor in Physical Therapy Gail Bursch (Team Captain), Arthritis Foundation President and CEO Len Smith, College of Health Sciences Dean Jack Williams and Assistant Professor in Pharmacy Practice Julie Rafferty (Team Captain).
