Dr. Darlene Panvini, professor and chair of the biology department, and Dr. Lauren Lunsford, associate professor of literacy in the education department and associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, were recently awarded a Tennessee Higher Education Commission grant for their proposal “Cooking and Gardening: Strengthening Middle School Math Competencies Across the Disciplines.” Related Belmont faculty who are working on the project include: Dr. Sally Barton-Arwood and Kate McGowan (education), Dr. Kim Daus (chemistry), Dr. Ryan Fox (mathematics) and Dr. Bonnie Smith Whitehouse (English). The grant will fund a week-long institute for teachers during the summer of 2015 as well as books, a cooking kit, a gardening kit and ongoing support during the fall semester.
This is the second year in a row that this team of faculty have been awarded funds to provide professional development to teachers from four area school districts. The workshop that was held in the summer of 2014 is featured in an article in the Earthbox Education Newsletter this month. The Earthbox Gardening System can be used to grow produce virtually anywhere, and it will again be given to the participants in the 2015 workshop hosted by Belmont faculty members. The photo from the 2014 workshop shows Belmont faculty cooking together.
On Sept. 27, Belmont graduate and undergraduate students and chemistry Professor Dr. Kimberlee Daus participated in the Dickson County Drug Take-Back event. This event was held on 
Belmont’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America scored significant acclaim this week with numerous national awards at the parent organization’s national conference, held Oct. 10-14 in Washington, D.C.
Belmont University and Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) announced today that the Middle Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub will be moving to Belmont’s campus, effective immediately, providing a centralized location to support the region’s educational advancement in the academic disciplines of the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). More than 18 percent (or 125,230) of the region’s jobs require STEM skills, and positions are anticipated to continue to grow at a fast pace in STEM industries throughout Middle Tennessee. Further development of STEM programs—along with partnerships among higher education, K-12, nonprofits and businesses—will be crucial to national and regional economic stability and growth in the coming years.
Professor of Biblical Studies Dr. Mark McEntire recently had his essay, “Locating Memory between Story and History,” appear in Marginalia Review of Books, a channel of the Los Angeles Review of Books. The essay is available 
Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business is an outstanding business school, according to education services company The Princeton Review. The company features the school in the new 2015 edition of its annual guidebook, “The Best 296 Business Schools.”
Dr. Steve Murphree, professor of biology and entomologist, has been out in the community recently talking about insects. On Oct. 4 Murphree gave table presentations about “Insects and Disease in the Civil War” at the Civil War Surgeon display of Tom and Nancy Wood in Pioneer Village as part of the Granville, Tennessee Fall Festival event. In late September, he offered an “Insects and Disease in the Civil War” table presentation for elementary school children at The Historic Sam Davis Home and Plantation’s Heritage Days event. On Sept. 13, he led a Tennessee Naturalist Program workshop at Owl’s Hill Nature Center. The session was titled “World of Invertebrates: Pollinators, Predators, Pests and Parasitoids,” and the participants learned about the characteristics and life cycles of insects, the identification of insects using keys, methods of collecting and observing insects and other arthropods, identifying other arthropods (spiders, isopods, mites, etc.), and the ecological roles of arthropods.
A group of students and faculty representing the Belmont University Student Chapter of the Mathematical Association of America and Association for Computing Machinery (MAA/ACM) participated in the 
Jordan Gwaltney, customer service and website specialist for the Campus Store, presented a session at the annual Tennessee Association of College Stores conference in Knoxville on Sept. 30. Gwaltney shared successful techniques to increase traffic, interaction and excitement for college stores through the use of Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest social media posts. The Tennessee Association of College Stores is a group of institutionally owned college/K-12 stores and vendors that serve the state of Tennessee.
Kayla Woodson, a junior entertainment industry studies major and student worker in Athletics, recently won an all inclusive trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republican for a “Lady Antebellum Getaway.” On the first night of the trip, Woodson sang at the welcome party and made some new fans, who mentioned to Lady Antebellum members that they believed Woodson was going to be the next country star. At the concert that night, the country trio called Woodson up on stage to join them in singing their hit “American Honey.” The performance, which can be viewed 