The Bert Show is collecting thank you letters for all stationed or deployed soldiers outside the United States can receive a letter of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. Over the past several years, The Bert Show community helped to express a “Big Thank You” with over a million hand written letters sent to every man and woman deployed outside the U.S.
The Belmont Psychology Club and Psi Chi (PC2) hosted an event for Belmont students to make Thanksgiving Cards to send to the troops serving overseas. The group made a total of 124 cards.
Belmont business students again represented the university in this year’s CIBER International Business Case Competition held at the University of Connecticut from October 5 to October 8. The following students participated: Laura Van Eeckhoudt, Emily Weissmann, Andrew Hughes and Caio Niel. The twelve teams in this year competition represented Belmont University, Florida State University, Purdue University, San Diego State University, Southern University of Baton Rouge, The American University in Cairo, University of Connecticut, University of Johannesburg, University of Maryland, Università di Trento (Italy) and University of Vermont.
This year’s case was titled “Uber and the Sharing Economy: Global Market Expansion and Reception” and challenged the students to come up with an market expansion strategy for Uber in the Asian market. In the preliminary round, both Hughes and Weissmann’s teams won and advanced into the final round. In addition, Van Eeckhoudt won an individual award for best Q&A in the preliminary round.
After the final round and judging, Hughes’s team placed first overall in this year’s competition and Weissmann’s team placed second overall.
Drs. Mary Clark, director of Bridges to Belmont and the Office of Multicultural Learning & Experience and Nadi Bishop, Bridges to Belmont coordinator, joined Kenisha Rhone, director of digital media and social strategy for Athletics, on a panel addressing Cultural Appropriation vs. Cultural Appreciation at the 2016 International Black Film Festival of Nashville (IBFF).
The panel was part of the programming celebrating the 10th year of the Festival, which helps to insure culturally accurate depictions in film with special emphasis on the rich creativity and diversity found in communities of color locally, nationally and internationally. Also on the panel were (L-R) writer/director Greg Carter and Reverend Jeff Obafemi Carr.
Did you know that nearly half—43 percent—of dating college women report experiencing violent and abusive dating behaviors? Moreover, college students report that they do not feel equipped to deal with dating abuse–57 percent say it’s difficult to identify and 58 percent say they don’t know how to help someone who’s experiencing it.
These statistics, as reported in a 2012 article in Campus Safety magazine, indicate there’s still plenty of work to do around the nation and here at Belmont to educate men and women about domestic violence. With October serving as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Campus Security is partnering with several departments and student organizations across Belmont to host awareness events over the next several weeks.
Belmont’s Assistant Chief of Programs, Advocacy and Outreach Liz Grubb said, “At Belmont, we believe that violence of any kind should not be tolerated, and the campus community is dedicated to serving and supporting all victims without discrimination. While we offer a number of options to students, faculty and staff throughout the year to educate, inform and equip our community about violence prevention and sexual assault, our goal for awareness is not simply about getting the facts in front of people, but creating an attitude and culture that does not tolerate violence at all.”
Part of creating and fostering that culture begins when students first arrive to campus. This fall hundreds of new Belmont freshmen took the “It’s On Us” pledge to prevent sexual assault as part of Welcome Week programming at the beginning of the semester, signing large posters to publicly show their support. The national “It’s On Us” campaign, which began two years ago, seeks to reframe the conversation surrounding sexual assault in a way that empowers, educates and engages college students to prevent it. Since the launch of the campaign in September 2014, more than 275,000 individuals have taken the It’s On Us pledge, and Belmont is one of more than 480 schools to host It’s On Us events. As part of Belmont’s month-long awareness campaign, the Welcome Week It’s On Us signed posters will be displayed throughout campus in October, beginning for one-week in Bunch Library followed by the Beaman lobby, Harrington Place Dining and the Ayers Academic Center lobby.
In addition, several events are scheduled during the month including a convocation and “It’s On Us” pledge drive on Fri., Oct. 14. The 10 a.m. convo will discuss what it means to be an active bystander and give practical strategies for bystander intervention. In addition to promoting the pledge on ItsOnUs.org at that event, Campus Security, SGA and Student Affairs will partner in that evening’s Live On Fridays programming to provide additional opportunities to sign the pledge. The following week will bring the “One Love Escalation Workshop” about dating and relationship violence on Wed., Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. in McWhorter 109 and a “Basic Self-Defense workshop” on Thurs., Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. in the Vince Gill Room.
The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame inducted its six member, 2016 class at a luncheon and ceremony in Belmont’s Curb Event Center on Monday, October 10. Hosted by President and Chief Executive Officer of the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation Susan Dentzer, the Hall of Fame seeks to recognize and honor the pioneers and current leaders who have formed Tennessee’s health and health care community and encourage future generations of health care professionals.
Created by Belmont University and Belmont’s McWhorter Society with the support of the Nashville Health Care Council, a Founding Partner, the event honored the Hall of Fame’s inductees including:
Jack O. Bovender, Jr.: Retired Chairman and CEO of Hospital Corporation of America, Member of the National Health Care Hall of Fame, Credited with the rescue of patients in an HCA hospital during Hurricane Katrina
Stanley Cohen, Ph.D.: Recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Faculty Member at Washington University and Professor of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt, Completed research on epidermal growth factors that contributed to discoveries for individual cancer and immune system dysfunction therapies
Henry W. Foster, Jr., M.D., FACOG: Professor Emeritus and Former Dean of Meharry College’s School of Medicine, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Vanderbilt University, President Clinton’s Senior Advisor on Teen Pregnancy Reduction and Youth Issues
Frank S. Groner, LL.D.: President Emeritus of Memphis’s Baptist Memorial Hospital, Commissioner of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, Health Consultant to the federal government
Paul E. Stanton, Jr., M.D.: President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Surgery of East Tennessee State University, Served as a member of the Governor’s TennCare Roundtable, Assisted in conducting the first review and recommendation of changes to Tennessee’s Medicaid program
Colleen Conway Welch, Ph.D., CNM, FAAN, FACNM: Dean Emerita of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Past Nashvillian of the Year, Served on President Reagan’s Commission on HIV Epidemic
Evelyn Kisakye speaks at the induction ceremony.
In addition to recognizing the state’s greatest health care legends, the Hall of Fame also exists to raise funds for students interested in pursuing careers in health care. Evelyn Kisakye, a pharmacy student at Belmont and recipient of a McWhorter Society scholarship addressed the crowd. Growing up in Uganda and working alongside her mother, an AIDS nurse, Kisakye said she knew from an early age she was interested in working with overlooked populations. “As a future pharmacist, I want to increase health care access to underserved populations, address healthcare disparities and social determinants in the communities and bridge the gap between developing and developed cities and countries,” she said. “Through this experience, I hope to make difference in the community and walk across this stage again as a Tennessee Health Care Hall of Famer.”
The induction ceremony featured acceptance speeches from a number of inductees, both in person or by video. For more information on the Hall of Fame, click here.
From left to right: Reynolds, Howell, Farkus and Romano
Technology Specialist in User Services for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business Ron Romano recently hosted an event on campus for Focusrite, an audio equipment manufacturer. The event was held in the R. Milton and Denice Johnson Center Large Theater on September 15 and was centered around training the audience on the uses of Focusrite’s audio interface RedNet.
The event began with a training session led by Audinate Senior Technical Sales Engineer Bernie Farkus on the Dante audio networking solution and how RedNet harnesses its power. Farkus’s talk was followed by a presentation on how Belmont utilizes RedNet and Dante, led by Romano. The RedNet product line was then presented by the RedNet National Accounts Manager Kurt Howell. To end the event, the audience heard from guest speaker Phil Reynolds, systems engineer for Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age.
In an article published in Lighting & Sound America, Howell mentioned how fitting Belmont was for this event. “We are happy to share Focusrite’s extensive knowledge on audio-over-IP to the students in the audio program at Belmont University and members of the extended community of audio professionals in Nashville,” said Howell. “Belmont provided the perfect backdrop, as they have recently made RedNet the backbone of their networking infrastructure across their facilities.”
For more coverage of this event, check out the article published on Lighting & Sound America’s website.
Several Belmont students, alumni and faculty showed up among the crowd at the September meeting of the Music City Chapter of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) on September 21. The meeting was held at OmegaLab Studio and centered on the theme, “Cinema Sound.”
Belmont Professors of Audio Engineering Technology Drs. Wesley A. Bulla and Jon Lechner were invited to speak at the meeting. Bulla spoke about the history of sound reproduction leading up to and including the Dolby Atmos, which is a leading-edge surround sound technology. Lechner spoke about sound design. Associate Professor of Physics Dr. Scott Hawley hosted the meeting and is the current president of the Music City ASA Chapter.
The OmegaLab Studio was chosen as the location for the meeting due to its unusual off-the-grid setup. The studio is housed inside a surplus army tent in the woods and runs its array of speakers and lights by the use of car batteries, which are recharged by a current that runs from an adjacent house. The studio’s Owner and Engineer Rob McClain spoke about the unique sound opportunities this setup has due to the lack of sound reflections and other extraneous noises. This idea led way into a discussion between ASA members of what acoustical specifications should be made in mixing rooms to produce the best recordings possible.
For more information on ASA, check out its website.
The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners recently released results from the July 2016 bar exam, and once again, Belmont Law graduates posted strong scores. Overall, Belmont’s first-time test takers achieved an 87 percent pass rate while the first-time pass rate for the Class of 2016 was 88.3 percent. Belmont’s 87 percent bar pass rate surpasses the state average of all ABA law schools, which is 77 percent.
Belmont Law Class of 2016 graduate Rhett Cash, who currently serves as counsel/government affairs with American Coatings Association in Washington, D.C., said, “Belmont University College of Law prepared me so well for the Tennessee Bar Exam and really pushed me towards success. I credit the entire Belmont Law community for their guidance and support through this exciting and nerve-wracking experience. I couldn’t have made it through without each and every one of them. Congrats to my fellow 2016 classmates, and good luck to all future classes.”
Belmont Law graduates have performed well in other states too. The pass rate for Belmont’s first-time takers on the July 2016 Bar Exam in Colorado, Indiana and New Hampshire is 100 percent.
Billboard magazine recently recognized Belmont University’s Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business as one of the top “12 Elite Music Business Schools” in the country. The article noted, “As the challenges facing artists and executives grow in complexity, an increasing number of educational institutions are preparing the next generation of industry leaders… The 12 schools featured here–all nonprofit, degree-granting programs, representing both public and private U.S. universities–are drawing students ready to face the demands of the 21st-century music industry.”
In praising the Curb College program, Billboard pointed out the advantages provided by Belmont’s location in Music City as well as the numerous experiential opportunities students have in Nashville as well as through Belmont East (New York City), Belmont West (Los Angeles), touring with faculty (Mark Volman) and the prestigious Pipeline initiative. Read the full article here, and find out more about Belmont’s entertainment and music business programs on the Curb College website.
For Belmont women’s soccer forward Belicia Mendiola, a love for competition doesn’t just end on the field. On September 6, Mendiola’s competitive spirit transferred straight onto televisions across the U.S. as she hopped onstage to join Drew Carey for a rousing round of “The Price is Right.” The live show was taped over the past summer.
Mendiola was able to guess the closest price on a dirt bike, which allowed her the chance to play a game called “Cover Up” with a new car as the prize. Unfortunately, Mendiola came just two numbers short of winning it.
Mendiola has been a vital part of the Bruins soccer team this year, with her most recent accomplishment being on September 30 when she scored the game-winning goal in overtime against rival SIUE. Mendiola made sure to give her fellow Bruins an on-air shout-out after greeting Carey onstage during the show.
The Bert Show is collecting thank you letters for all stationed or deployed soldiers outside the United States can receive a letter of gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. Over the past several years, The Bert Show community helped to express a “Big Thank You” with over a million hand written letters sent to every man and woman deployed outside the U.S.
