Systems and Database Administrator Kevin McClung recently won the Virgin Health Miles “Beat the Treats” Individual Challenge, a challenge for the employee that could walk the most steps in a 10-day period. McClung’s team, “The Great Pumpkins,” made up of fellow Belmont employees Justin Croft and Dennis Chen, also came in first place for the Team Challenge. McClung finished the 10-day period with a total of 295,331 steps. He says he “caught the challenge at the right time,” as he is currently training for a marathon and the 10 days lined up with the heaviest part of his training schedule.
Jerome Selected to Attend Bystander Training Programming
Coordinator of Security Programs Kayla Jerome was recently selected as a part of the Tennessee Coalition’s Training Team to attend the Bringing in the Bystander Training. With 23 applications submitted, Jerome was selected as one of the top participants. The goal of the training is for participants to implement the bystander programming on their campuses in the upcoming semester, spring 2015.
Alumna Named in Travel Agent’s Top 30Under30 List
Belmont alumna and 2013 entertainment industry studies graduate Laura Crafton was recently named as one of Travel Agent‘s Top 30Under30 for 2014, a list of the top travel agents under 3o years old who are making strides in the industry’s development. As a named agent, Crafton was invited to participate in the magazine’s fifth annual Young Travel Leaders Conference in Las Vegas.
Crafton currently works for SmartFlyer as a travel advisor and manager for the office’s Atlanta branch. As an intern for SmartFlyer while at Belmont, Crafton began her career with the organization when they purchased Explorations, an Atlanta-based agency. For the full 30Under30 list, click here.
Wilson Elected to APN Association Board
Director of Health Services Katy Wilson was elected to the board of the Middle Tennessee Advanced Practice Nurses Association (MTAPN) on Nov. 20. Wilson will be in charge of membership for the coming calendar year.
MTAPN is a regional organization that brings advanced practice nurses together including nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, nurse anesthetists and clinical nurse specialists to offer networking opportunities, continuing education and legislative support.
School of Nursing Saves Thousands of Dollars Annually Through Sustainability Efforts
Belmont Director of College Health Science Simulation and Assistant Nursing Professor Dr. Beth Hallmark is committed to the University’s sustainability ideals as she leads the School of Nursing’s (SON) efforts to reuse and recycle simulation equipment.
In a simulation lab, students are given the opportunity to practice nursing skills in a safe environment, complete with set-ups that mimic hospitals in the Nashville area and use the same equipment students will see in their clinical rotations. Although this opportunity is an invaluable educational experience, it can be very costly.
With the popularity of nursing on the rise and Belmont’s School becoming more and more successful, Hallmark said her interest in the School’s sustainability efforts began when she started to notice the increase of nursing students and the sheer volume of supplies needed.
Simply recycling the equipment used by students wouldn’t have been adequate, since a large part of the lab is learning sterile techniques when opening equipment. To reproduce this experience for each student but cut down on cost, Hallmark decided to start the SON’s reuse program. Since simulations utilize state of the art mannequins and no contamination of supplies occurs, the reuse of simulation equipment is sanitary and safe.
Now, a number of student workers are trained to clean equipment once it has been used in a simulation. Using a detailed guide, workers re-package tools so they look the same for the next student who will open them.
Hallmark takes the SON’s program one step further by personally traveling to area hospitals and healthcare organizations to collect unused and expired supplies that would have been thrown away. Since the simulations work only on mannequins, expired equipment can provide training for nursing students. The equipment that the SON cannot use or does not need is donated to a local nonprofit, ProjectCure.
“The SON has been blessed with unbelievable facilities and thanks to Mr. Inman and grants from local organizations like the Memorial Foundation, we continue to have the best facilities; however, it is important that we are good stewards of what we have been given,” Hallmark said. “We truly believe that we are called to honor the verse in Luke that reminds us, ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’”
With the combination of the SON’s reuse program and the unused supplies collected from area organizations, Hallmark estimates than an average $40,000 is saved yearly. With this savings, Hallmark says the program is able to save budgeting for specialty items that might not have otherwise been purchased.
Students Present Undergraduate Research at Tennessee Academy of Science (TAS)
Biology department faculty Drs. Steve Murphree, Darlene Panvini, Nick Ragsdale, John Niedzwiecki and Roger Jackson and 25 undergraduate research students representing Biology, Environmental Science, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Neuroscience majors, attended the 124th Tennessee Academy of Science (TAS) Annual Meeting held Nov. 21 in Morristown, Tennessee.
The Tennessee Academy of Science, founded in 1912, organizes symposia, manages on-going programs in many fields and communicates with the national scientific culture. Belmont students presented posters at the meeting and attended presentations from graduate students and faculty from a wide variety of Tennessee schools. Dr. Steve Murphree, professor of biology, serves as TAS’s Treasurer and Dr. Rachel Rigsby, associate professor of chemistry, serves as the Managing Editor of the Journal.
For a complete listing of the 25 students who presented research posters, click here.
Instructor Receives Commission as Kentucky Colonel
Instructor of Music Business, Dan Keen, recently received a commission as a Kentucky Colonel, a designated given by the Governor of Kentucky. The Colonel designation is given to individuals who have achieved a significant accomplishment or have contributed greatly to the community (city, state or nation).
Commissioned Colonels are members of the The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, an organization that supports the Commonwealth of Kentucky and provides assistance to community members and organizations.
Professor Co-Authors Featured Article
Assistant Professor of Communication, Dr. Nathan Webb, co-authored an article entitled “Student Views of Instructor-Student Rapport in the College Classroom” that was recently featured as a “Resource of the Week” at the Teaching Center at the London School of Economics.
Webb’s article examines research that explains the link between classroom built rapport and positive learning outcomes. By using behaviors that students consider to be positive rapport builders, the article offers tips for teachers looking to strengthen their skills.
For more information, click here.
Students Host Convocation on 22 Day Chinese Research Project
Associate Professor of Asian Studies and Chinese Language, Dr. Qingjun Li and students, Anna Croghan, Samantha Hubner, Joseph Minga and Ryan Pino, hosted a recent convocation event regarding the research project they conducted in China this summer.
The project, entitled “Commodification of Culture in China’s New Cultural Industry,” was generously funded by the ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellows program and took the team to five cities including Beijing, Wuxi, Hangzhou, Hengdian and Wuhan in 22 days.
Their presentation featured their initial video, research report and survey results. The team gave an overview of the results of their interviews with professors and deans at the Institute of Cultural Industry at Beijing University, executives and leaders of the mega-corporation Wanda Group and government officials at the various cities.
Students Elected to Serve on Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature
Belmont students Emily Bukowski, Jesse Bobick, Riley Walters and Skyler Schmanski recently participated in activities of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL), a mock legislature comprised of the top echelon of Tennessee’s collegiate leaders and Tennessee Intercollegiate Supreme Court (TISC), the judicial branch presiding over the Appellate Moot Court Collegiate Challenge (AMC3). Since its conception in 1966, TISL has provided students with a platform to advocate for issues they believe in through the organization’s Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court.
Bukowski, Bobick and Walters served as magistrates for the AMC3 competition, and Schmanski served as both a magistrate and senator in the mock State Legislature.
TISC’s Nominating Commission also selected Walters to serve as one of five 2015 TISC Justices. Schmanski was appointed by TISL to assume the role of Attorney General.
