School of Music Lecturer Dr. Virginia Lamothe recently won the SAI International Faculty Fellows grant to spend a month in June living in Rome, Italy. Dr. Lamothe will be conducting research and lecturing in Italy on a project that focuses on the musical festivities in Rome in the 16th and 17th centuries for the Holy Roman Empire and members of the Habsburg family.
Dr. Lamothe’s completed research will then be published in a collection of essays by Brill in the spring of 2017.
Belmont student members of the Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) Premedical Honor Society recently made and served breakfast to guests at the Ronald McDonald House. With a mission to “keep families close” by providing essential resources and a “home away from home” for families of critically ill children receiving medical care at Nashville area hospitals, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Nashville includes a 32-bedroom Ronald McDonald House and the Ronald McDonald Family Room at the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Six AED club members cooked and served eggs, pancakes, toast, bacon and yogurt for breakfast and the leftovers, along with extra food and supplies, were left in the community kitchen fridge for guests to have throughout the week.
The Belmont Psi Chi Chapter, an international psychology honors society led by Faculty Advisor Dr. Linda Jones, recently inducted 20 new undergraduate members. Membership in the organization is by invitation only and includes the payment of a lifetime membership fee. February inductees include Meghan Anderson, Emily Boyd, Kathryn Coffer, Iris Chiang, Lindsey Dennis, Kathryn Dickenson, Haley Nicole Foutch, Lauren Fox, Jacob Huffman, Megan Kibby, Justin Lang, Madlin Lausten, Matthew Maloney, Mallory McDonald, Sydney Omweg, Audrey Owens, Brittany Redd, Seth Schrader, Bethany Strother and Morgan Beth Turner.
Belmont’s Psi Chi chapter has won many awards including Best Regional Chapter. In 2013, student member Samantha Patterson received the Kay Wilson Leadership Award for outstanding leadership, an award given annually to one student leader out of approximately 1100 chapters. In 2013-2014, Dr. Jones received the Psi Chi Southeast Region Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award.
For information on Psi Chi requirements and Belmont’s chapter, click here.
Chair and Associate Professor of Mathematics Dr. Andrew Miller was recently elected to serve as Chair Elect of SIGMAA QL, a special interest group of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) which focuses on Quantitative Literacy (QL). This will be Miller’s second term as Chair. QL is the ability to adequately use elementary mathematical tools to interpret and manipulate quantitative data and ideas that arise in an individual’s private, civic and work life.
Like reading and writing literacy, QL is a habit of mind best formed by exposure in many contexts. SIGMAA QL aims to provide structure within the mathematics community to identify the prerequisite mathematical skills for QL and find innovative ways of developing and implementing QL curricula. The group also assists colleagues in other disciplines to infuse appropriate QL experiences into their courses and stimulate general, national QL dialogue. The leadership of SIGMAA QL coordinates its activities with the many other groups, both internal and external to the MAA.
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, five doctoral nursing students from Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Carrie Harvey’s Health Policy course participated in the Tennessee Action Coalition’s Legislative Boot Camp. Participating students included Robin Hopp, Tracy Wilson, James Winegart, Catherine Evans and Christine Hardesty.
The group of five joined 80 other nurses and students in learning how to successfully communicate with state legislators. Participants had interactive learning opportunities, toured capitol hill and received training on the Full Practice Authority bill being introduced to the Tennessee Legislature this year.
Belmont University announced today that the Bridges to Belmont full scholarship program would be expanded from 30 students entering in fall 2014 to 34 students for fall 2015. The 34 scholarship recipients from four Metro Nashville high schools—Maplewood, Stratford, Whites Creek and Pearl Cohn—were informed of their scholarship offers earlier this month following an extensive application and interview process.
Bridges to Belmont reflects a deliberate step on the part of Belmont’s administration to enhance the University’s cultural and ethnic diversity while also continuing efforts to provide higher education to students in Davidson County. Bridges to Belmont Scholars, many of whom are first-generation college students, each are awarded a full four-year scholarship that covers tuition, room, board, required fees and books (from state and federal grants as well as Belmont scholarship funds.) Throughout their higher education experience, they also are given academic support and peer mentors.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “The Bridges program clearly reflects Belmont’s mission to provide a transformative education to men and women of diverse backgrounds, but it also demonstrates our commitment to serve our city. Nashville gives so much to Belmont – this is our chance to give back by investing in these high-potential young people from our community.”
Belmont University is open and will be operating on a normal schedule today, Thursday, February 26 with classes and activities proceeding as planned.
Because weather and road conditions can vary greatly within our region, students, faculty and staff are urged to use individual discretion when making the decision to travel to campus in snow or icy weather.
With a mission to honor men and women who have made significant and lasting contributions to the health and health care industry, The Tennessee Health Care 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.
The nominations process began on February 20 and will continue until April 10 at www.tnhealthcarehall.com. Created by Belmont University and the McWhorter Society, The Hall of Fame is supported by the Nashville Health Care Council, a Hall of Fame Founding Partner. The inaugural class will be announced at the McWhorter Society’s May 5 luncheon.
In addition to recognizing Tennessee’s most influential health and health care leaders, The Hall of Fame will serve as an on-going educational resource to document the rich history that has contributed to Tennessee’s position as a leader for national health care initiatives.
Chair of the McWhorter Society and Chairman of Medcare Investment Funds Dr. Harry Jacobson said, “The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame will play a unique role in educating, honoring and celebrating the state’s premier health and health care status. The individual leaders honored through its creation are those who have made significant contributions to shaping Tennessee’s healthcare industry into one of the world’s leading health care capitals, and we look forward to bringing well-deserved recognition to the inaugural class.”
Belmont’s President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “It is widely recognized that Tennessee is a central hub for health care in the United States, and with Nashville at the helm, our community has seen many individual men, women and organizations who have taken significant strides to shape and advance the industry. Meanwhile, Belmont University has taken a significant role in undergraduate, graduate and executive health care education. The creation of The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame will help us inspire the next generation of health care leaders while also further promoting Tennessee’s booming success as the nation’s premiere healthcare hub.”
A Selection Committee, comprised of health and health care leaders from across the state, will evaluate nominees for The Hall of Fame.
Nominees can be practitioners, executives, entrepreneurs, mentors, teachers, scientists, researchers, innovators or any person with a connection to the health or health care field. Potential inductees must have:
President of the Nashville Health Care Council Caroline Young said, “The Nashville Health Care Council is honored to be a Founding Partner of The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame. As we move toward the induction of the inaugural class, we look forward to recognizing the significant talent that has come through our state and inspiring future innovators who will drive Tennessee’s heath care success to new levels.”
Associate Dean of the College of Pharmacy Dr. Kelley Kiningham recently published a chapter titled, “Manganese Superoxide Dismutase” in the book “Manganese in Health and Disease.” Kiningham’s chapter summarizes studies from the last 30 years on the antioxidant.
The mitochondrial enzyme is one of three superoxide dismutases in humans; however, it is the only one that is essential for life. The enzyme has been shown to be protective in in vivo models of adriamycin, methamphetamine and taxol toxicity. In addition various researchers, including Dr. Kiningham, have shown that expression of manganese superoxide dismutase is a tumor suppressor.
Clinical trials based on the work of Kiningham and other researchers in the field have lead to the development of synthetic drugs based on the MnSOD enzyme and are currently being tested in a variety of conditions where oxidative stress is known to occur.
Cree Lawson, 1995 Belmont alumnus, was recently featured on Forbes for his success in providing ROI to destination marketing organizations. Lawson is the CEO and founder of Arrivalist, an organization which seeks to measure the way media moves consumers from one destination to the next.
Lawson explained to Forbes that his company wants to “make it easier for marketers to connect people with places and to make marketing more of an invitation and less like an ad.” He continued with, “We feel we can build insights and predictive analytics on the way people travel and the impact that has on local economies.”
Lawson started Arrivalist in 2010, and after designing and patent pending the technology, the company is now fully launched and serving destination markets. The company’s first launch partner was the Atlantic City Conventions and Visitors Authority after hurricane Sandy, which dropped tourism counts in Atlantic City to historic lows. Arrivalist helped measure the impact of digital advertising with the data to prove the value of its investments.
At Belmont, Lawson was an English major and editor of the Belmont Vision, helping make it one of the first five college papers to be published online. Lawson saw great success after graduating: starting Travel Ad Network and turning it into the largest travel information audience in the world, serving in marketing roles for companies such as the Associated Press, Gannett and Time Warner Trade Publisher, as well as being a nationally-recognized investigative reporter.
“Tourism and destination marketers are my heroes. It’s the toughest marketing challenge there is to convince someone to go from one location to another. We have an opportunity to help tourism take its rightful place at the center of economic development and provide tourism marketers with a clear measurement of their digital advertising investments,” Lawson told Forbes.
To read the full article on Forbes, click here.
