Dr. Ted Peetz, assistant professor of sport administration, has a paper he co-authored with G.K. Nwosu of the University of Nevada Las Vegas featured in Issues in Intercollegiate Athletic Leadership Working Paper Series. The paper is titled “A Machiavellian Analysis of Conference Realignment.” The working paper series is part of the University of Washington’s Center of Leadership in Athletics which highlights topics specific to the intercollegiate athletics setting and the implications of research for athletic leaders.
Peetz Co-Authors Paper
Neuroscience Students Outfit Roboroaches
Associate Professor of Biology Lori McGrew’s neurobiology class used kits available through Backyard Brains to create cybernetic cockroaches. The students attached electrodes to the insects’ antennae. Following the surgery, students outfitted their cyborgs with Bluetooth receiver backpacks and used their phones to control input to the antennae. The stimulus mimicked the antennae touching something and caused the roaches to turn left or right, away from the input. This procedure is similar to deep brain stimulation being used to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease and other motor dysfunctions. By using the roboroach model, students deepened their understanding of the electrical nature of neuronal signaling including the importance of signal strength and frequency. Photos can be found on the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honorary Society’s Serotonin Helix Facebook page. McGrew is the neuroscience program coordinator at Belmont.
Belmont Delegates ‘Live Beyond’ Campus in Haiti
During his recent visit to Thomazeau, Haiti, College of Pharmacy Dean Phil Johnston visited villages with LiveBeyond workers and a Belmont delegation to aid and dispense medications to a woman in postpartum, a father with high blood pressure, a small boy with worms and a man with a hip injury. The most powerful experience of them all was when a man who received medical attention sang a Christian hymn in Creole as his Voodoo-practicing neighbors gathered around and listened.
“It was like watching a Bible story about caring for the least of these,” Johnston said.
He, along with College of Health Sciences & Nursing Dean Cathy Taylor and Nursing Assistant Professor Robin Cobb, visited LiveBeyond’s base in Haiti last week to identify areas of student mission participation and to flush out unique partnerships between the University and the nonprofit organization that would allow Belmont students to provide medical and educational resources as well as business development to the ailing Caribbean country. Founded by retired trauma surgeon David Vanderpool, LiveBeyond moved its headquarters in May into Belmont’s Facilities Management Services building at the corner of 15th and Delmar avenues. The organization’s 64-acre Haitian base encompasses medical care, nutrition, maternal health, orphan care, education development, community development and infrastructure, agriculture and demonstration farms, clean water projects and community outreach visits to those with special needs and disabilities in a region 25 miles northeast of Port Au Prince, Haiti.
“We certainly were able to get a great flavor for the compound and the vision for what is there now and the vision for what is planned,” said Taylor, who co-hosted a convocation-credit forum to share more about the team’s experiences at noon Feb. 19 in McWhorter Hall room 114.
Belmont’s Guenther Named Technology Student of the Year
The Nashville Technology Council named Lauren Guenther, a senior Information Systems Management major, as Technology Student of the Year for 2013. The award is presented to a student who demonstrated academic excellence in a technology-related field of study. Nominees must represent next generation technology leaders who have the ability to make a difference in Tennessee’s technology community. Finalists were evaluated by a panel of independent judges on academic excellence and community and campus service.
North Carolina Jazz Group Has Phillips as Guest Conductor
Dr. Jeff Phillips, an adjunct trombone instructor in the School of Music, was the guest conductor the North Carolina Western Region Jazz Clinic at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. The clinic featured a concert with Phillips, Rick Simerly of Tusculum University and Benjy Springs of Greensboro College. Phillips also will be the guest conductor for the Robertson County High School Honor Band in April and will assume the duties of Tennessee Music Education Association president this summer. Click here to view his recent interview for the Mel Bay video series.
Songwriting Alumnus Signed to Catch This Music Record Label
Belmont alumnus Jared Mitchell (’10) has been signed as the first artist to new record label Catch This Music (CTM). Mitchell is one of the first graduates of Belmont’s songwriting curriculum.
“Jared is a gifted singer, songwriter and musician,” said Eddie Robba, CTM owner and CEO. “The first time I met him, I knew I wanted to sign him. We will focus on his artist career, which places him a little left of center, but I know as a writer he will have hits on mainstream country radio.”
Mitchell is signed for management and booking to Bigfoot Music and Outdoors. Among the upcoming dates booked for the artist is a 13-city tour of the Tin Roof restaurant chain.
Dr. Cathy Taylor Named to 2014 Nashville Health Care Council Fellows Class
Dr. Cathy Taylor, dean of the College of Health Sciences & Nursing, was recently selected as a member of the 2014 class of the Nashville Health Care Council Fellows. The Fellows initiative engages industry leaders in clearly defining health care’s greatest challenges and exploring new strategies to meet these issues facing the U.S. health care system.
“It is an honor to be selected as a 2014 Council Fellow, and I am eager to expand my knowledge and network with others in the health care field,” Taylor said. “The Fellows class is an elite group of industry leaders, and I consider it a privilege to learn from and alongside each of them.”
The 2014 class, selected by the Council Fellows Advisory Committee led by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., includes 32 of the nation’s top health care executives.
The Council launched Fellows in 2013 as the next step in continuing Nashville’s rich health care legacy of leadership, innovation and creativity. The initiative engages key professionals to better implement business strategies, create value, drive industry growth and effect change.
The eight day-long sessions, held between January and June, will leverage the expertise of the industry’s founding experts in Nashville, as well as nationally-known figures and leading academic institutions. The integrated curriculum will include topics such as health care policy reform, shifts in reimbursement systems, disruptive innovation in technology, population health, advancements in personalized medicine, consumerism, integrated delivery networks, population health management and health care analytics.
Lott Advocates for Story Over Genre
The author of Oprah Book Club selection, Jewel, Bret Lott visited Belmont on Wednesday for a Christian Faith Development convocation sponsored by the School of Religion, the English department and the Office of Spiritual Development.
After noting “I only understand what I mean if I write it out,” Lott read to the audience his thoughts on the roles of story, genres and faith in a person’s life. “Why do people buy the same novel again and again and again” he asked, noting his belief that in those tales readers find a glimpse of the light and meaning they seek. Alluding to C.S. Lewis, he continued, “Those books have delivered a story that has brought them to the brink of their own far-off country.”
But Lott argued that genre is not the same as story; rather, genre is but a shadow of the real story everyone seeks, a story that is found in the person of Christ. “I ask you not ‘what is your story’ but who is your story?”
Equestrian Club Wins Ribbons at MTSU-Hosted Horse Show
The Belmont Equestrian Club competed in the hunter/jumper discipline of horseback riding at the Intercollegiate Horse Show in Murfreesboro, Tenn., recently against schools such as Vanderbilt, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University and Murray State. The eight Belmont competitors brought home a variety of ribbons including two first place finishes.
Junior Caitlyn Marsh won first place in Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter, and sophomore Mary Ritchea won first place in Novice Over Fences.
“I feel really accomplished that I actually saw every distance and hit the fences exactly how I wanted to, and only one of those was a little off. The horse I rode was 16 hands, had a large stride and was a little difficult to turn, but I feel like I did a good job with that,” said Ritchea.
The Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competitions challenge the members to compete against other riders on many horses they have never ridden before. This requires the riders to use their skills to learn about their horse within the few minutes they have on them in the ring.
“I think getting to ride new horses is an amazing opportunity. Usually, riders ride one horse for a long period of time, but IHSA gives us a chance to ride horses we never would have been able to. I learn something new on every horse I ride so I am constantly learning new things to work on that I wouldn’t have noticed if I was riding the same horse,” said Courtney O’Connor.
Other ribbon winners included:
Aubrie Grimes, fourth place, Beginner Walk, Trot, Canter
Morgan Wilters, third place, Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter
Julie Anderson, fourth place, Novice Over Fences and fifth place, Novice Flat
Allison Harpole, sixth place, Advanced Walk, Trot, Canter
Courtney O’Connor, fifth place, Novice Flat and sixth, Novice Over Fences
The Equestrian Club is open to all Belmont students who express a passion for horses. In addition to competing at two competitions per semester, the club holds monthly meetings, attends weekly lessons at Hunters Court Stables and has aspirations to volunteer for SaddleUp therapeutic riding program. For further information on the Belmont Equestrian Club, contact belmontequestrian@gmail.com.
Pharmacy Students Learn About Medication Adherence First-hand
Second and third-year pharmacy students enrolled in the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Elective spent the past month learning about the difficulties of medication adherence first-hand. Nineteen students were given a pillbox and 15 candies representing medications with various schedules of administration. Students were required to fill their pillbox according to their medication list. At the midpoint, students were given two medication changes mimicking real-life scenarios. Following the four-week project, students submitted a focused reflection and discussed the experience with their classmates. Students consistently deemed the pillbox experience a positive one.
Second-year pharmacy student Erin Todd said, “Beyond getting to enjoy my favorite candy (Juicy Pear Jelly Belly®) twice a day, I enjoyed having the experience to put myself in a patient’s position. This project was highly effective in increasing my awareness of the difficulty of medication adherence and the complications of pill burdens. We have the advantage of missing medications that are only sugar, while the consequences of our patients missing a dose is much more serious.”
Chris Conkling, another second-year pharmacy student, said, “It has given me a greater sense of perspective for what some of our patients have to deal with. And, if nothing else, it has made me more conscious about my own health, as I have no desire to have to go through this experience with actual prescriptions. I really enjoyed how this project truly immersed me into a patient’s daily routine. I feel that I got a real sense of how their day would go along with all the struggles of balancing a life outside of the medications.”
Third-year pharmacy student Sara Rower, who will begin her Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences in May, said, “From the very first day of the project, I was already having difficulties remembering to take my doses consistently. One day and I was already having trouble- and most patients are on this many medications their whole lives. That was a real ‘ah-ha’ moment. Adherence and compliance are always concepts that we stress and emphasize to our patients but, up to this point, I could never really relate. Even though this was just a simulation, I have much more sympathy for patients taking multiple medications.”
Dr. Ashton Beggs, the course coordinator of the elective, was pleased with the students’ response to the assignment
“When patients are not adherent to their medication regimen, it can lead to adverse and costly health outcomes,” Beggs said. “Completion of this assignment allows students to empathize and identify with patients leading to better patient relationships and ultimately improved healthcare for the patient.”
Students enrolled in the Ambulatory Care Pharmacy elective spend the spring semester focusing on topics pertinent to primary care, including financial considerations, patient education, health literacy, technology available to patients and health care providers, and medication adherence. Common primary care disease states, such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma, and pharmacists’ impact on the treatment and understanding of these conditions have been addressed in the course as well.
