Music Business adjunct Charles Van Dyke is Internet famous for belting his rendition of Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” during the Belmont v. UNC basketball on Nov. 17. Click here to watch the video of him distracting a Ram shooting free throws.
Students Present Colors on Veterans Day
Belmont students Nicole Smart and Lisa Rybaczuk presented the colors before the women’s basketball game versus Mercer University on Nov. 11 in recognition of Veterans Day. Smart is studying public relations management, and Rybaczuk is studying accounting.
Belmont Club Tennis Beats UTC, Georgia State
On Nov. 16, nine Belmont club tennis players traveled to the Champion’s Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. to compete in the team’s first tournament. Schools from all over the south came to compete in the USTA Tennis on Campus Southern Championship in hopes to win a bid to the USTA Tennis on Campus National Championship.
Belmont Team A beat Georgia State University and Belmont Team B beat University of Tennessee Chattanooga. There were also several other matches that Belmont came very close to winning. Each member of the club team greatly enjoyed being able to get back out on the courts to compete in a truly competitive match. It was an opportunity for the team to get to know each other outside of practice and build friendships while also playing a sport they all have a passion for. Now knowing what the competition is like and having learned the unique rules of the Tennis on Campus program, the team is ready to focus harder in practice to be prepared to compete again in the spring.
The Belmont Club Tennis team was approved in September, and players have been practicing hard to prepare for competition. The club practices twice a week by drilling, working on match play, and playing other tennis games at Centennial Sportsplex.
Honors Hosts Lewis/Tolkien Discussion Group, Finishes Narnia Series
The Honors Program hosted a C. S. Lewis/ J. R. R. Tolkien reading group and discussion series this fall on the Chronicles of Narnia and finished the last book on Thursday night, Nov. 21, the day before the 50th anniversary of the death of C. S. Lewis in 1963. Beginning on October 10, the Belmont Narnia group met one afternoon a week at 6:30-7:30 p.m. for tea and cookies, fellowship and fun reflection on Lewis’ great Christian fantasy series. Each member of the group led discussion on one Narnia book and brought food and some questions. “The Narnia books are part of the enduring legacy of C. S. Lewis,” said Professor and Honors Chair Dr. Jonathan Thorndike noted. “Very few authors have instant recognition by name only 50 years following their death. The fact that people are still buying and reading books by C. S. Lewis shows that he gave us words of wisdom and engaging stories that have the power to transform lives.”
Thorndike will be teaching a special course on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien next summer at King’s College-London through CCSA.
Oglesby-Pitts on Talk Show
Dr. Myron Oglesby-Pitts will be featured on Steve Harvey’s talk show in an episode scheduled to air on Nov. 25. During the taping that took place in Chicago in September, Oglesby-Pitts discussed her book, To Teach Like Mary: Getting It Right at First, and educational issues with Harvey, an actor, television and radio personality. The show airs at noon on WZTV and 4 p.m. on WNAB.
“It is an emotional story with a surprise ending,” she said. “If teachers have ever questioned their work, then they won’t question it when they see this episode.”
Oglesby-Pitts teaches classes in Diverse Learners, Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education at Belmont University. For more than 25 years, she served Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools a teacher, assistant principal and as principal as well as opened the first public Montessori School.
Southern Baptist Convention President Speaks at Belmont
The Rev. Fred Luter Jr., the Southern Baptist Convention’s first African-American president, shared the importance of having a renewed mind with Belmont students, faculty and staff during the University’s Nov. 20 chapel service.
“Every decision you make in life is going to lead to a consequence. And that consequence leads to a blessing or a burden,” said Luter, who shared the story of how his involvement in gangs led to his hospitalization before he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.
“Boy, obedience is better than sacrifice,” he recalled a deacon telling him as he lie on a hospital bed with a broken leg and hole in his head.
Referencing Philippians 2:5-8, Luter told students they can maintain focus by focusing their minds on Christ to lead them to make the right decisions.
“There is not a day when your mind is not being tempted by the devil, whether it is something you watch on TV or see on the Internet. The enemy will do all that he can to attack the minds of the sons and daughters of God,” he said.
Luter also serves as senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, La.
“Our Baptist connections are strong as we host the largest Mission Fuge in the country, have missionaries-in-residence from Venezuela for the 2014-15 academic year and have a Baptist Campus Ministries led by Tennessee Baptist Convention-provided staff member Ninette Smith,” said Vice President for Spiritual Development Todd Lake.
Belmont is the largest ecumenical Christian university in the country. Belmont’s faculty, staff and administration uphold Jesus as the Christ and the measure for all things. As part of a Christian community of learning and service, students encounter Christian values relevant to personal growth, service and spiritual maturity and are expected to commit themselves to high moral standards. Belmont’s goal is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents so they can meet the world’s needs with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and faith.
McBride Leads Home School Science Workshop
Krista McBride, assistant professor of physics, led a Home School Science Discoveries session entitled “Mechanics” on Nov. 18. There were about 15 children, grades fourth through eighth that participated, along with parents who stayed to assist. Home School Science Discoveries is a program for area home-schooled children and has been offered through the School of Sciences since 2008 in Hitch Science Building labs and classrooms.
McGrew, Neuroscience Students Present at Conference
Dr. Lori McGrew, associate professor of biology, and two of her research students, Katie Farrell and Jordan Gann, attended the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) in San Diego, Calif. on Nov. 9-12. The international conference draws more than 30,000 neuroscientists who share the latest research in the field and is the world’s largest meeting focused on scientific discovery related to the brain and nervous system.
McGrew presented a poster in the “History and Teaching of Neuroscience” theme. Her poster was titled “How to Design Group Projects that Successfully Foster Collaborative Learning.” Farrell and Gann presented posters describing their undergraduate research projects during the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience chapter meeting and poster session. Gann’s poster was titled “Effects of Glyphosate Exposure on Anxiety-Like Behavior in Danio rerio” and Farrell’s poster was titled “Does Bacopa monniera Play a Significant Role in Improving Cognitive Function and Memory in Zebrafish?”
In addition to these presentations, McGrew and the students were able to meet other neuroscience researchers and learn about their current research. The group was able to attend a number of lectures concerning key events in neuroscience this year. One such lecture series focused on implementation of President Obama’s BRAIN initiative. In an address in April 2013, the president outlined why now is the ideal time to revolutionize our understanding of the mind and make real strides in curing brain disorders. The SfN lecture series included leaders from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency who discussed the plan for implementation of the BRAIN initiative. Other special lectures included “Behavioral Sciences in the Courtroom” and “Adjusting Brain Circuits for Learning and Memory.” Overall, McGrew and the students learned a great deal about current advances in neuroscience, shared some of their own discoveries, and returned to Nashville, Tenn. with a plethora of new ideas
Digital Citizenship Class Proposes Apps for Google Glass
When Google selected Belmont media studies professor Dr. Sybril Bennett as one of its 8,000 Google Glass Explorers in June, the company likely didn’t expect that this single, beta sample of its new wearable computer would jump start the digital creativity of nearly 60 college students. But thanks to Bennett’s desire for her students to embrace and respect innovation, she set aside concerns for the risks (her glasses cost $1,500) and introduced both sections of her “Digital Citizenship & Society” class to the futuristic technology.
“It’s incredible, and it’s a beast,” said student Kristoff Hart. “Having this piece of technology sit right above your eyes is weird, but there are so many ways to use it.”
The students’ hands-on experience with Google Glass allowed them to better understand how the technology works. Students in each class were then split into five groups and asked to create a proposal for a new software application, or app, for the product. In presenting their ideas, each group had to examine the benefits, economics, marketing and potential competitors as well as weigh the pros and cons of their “creation.”
Forbes Highlights Cornwall’s Blog
Forbes business magazine recently named Dr. Jeff Cornwall’s blog, The Entrepreneurial Mind, as one of the 100 Best Websites For Entrepreneurs. Cornwall is a professor of entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration. His blog features video interviews with entrepreneurs and a range of downloadable resources.
