IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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School of Science Students Win Awards for Poster Presentations

Paul Chenoweth
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TAS_Awards

Twenty-nine students from biology, environmental science, and biochemistry and molecular biology presented their senior research projects at the 123rd Meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Science held at Motlow State Community College in Tullahoma, Tenn.  The goal of the Tennessee Academy of Science is to promote scientific research, communication between researchers and the diffusion of knowledge concerning science in Tennessee.  Students had the opportunity to share their work with fellow students and professors at colleges and universities throughout Tennessee.

Biology professors Dr. Bob Grammer, Dr. Steve Murphree, Dr. Nick Ragsdale, Dr. Jennifer Thomas, Dr. Darlene Panvini, Dr. Chris Barton and Dr. Roger Jackson also attended the meeting.  Ragsdale and Thomas were section chairmen for the Health and Medical Sciences and Microbiology sections, respectively.  Panvini gave a presentation entitled, “Teaching Biology in the Prep Room: Co-curricular Science Education for Student Workers” in the Science and Math Teaching section.  Barton presented in the same section with a talk entitled, “Learning Community Courses: “Linking” Science with Diverse Academic Disciplines.” Murphree serves as treasure for the Tennessee Academy of Science.

Five Belmont students received recognition for the quality of their poster presentations. Winners from Belmont were:

Haley Ellison, under the direction of Julian Hillyer (Vanderbilt University) and Murphree, received first place in the Zoology section for her work, “Effect of Starvation on Heart Physiology of Anopheles gambiae.”

Kari Morse, under the direction of Panvini, received second place in the Zoology section for her work, “Community Analysis of Exotic and Native Worms at Shelby Bottoms Greenway and Nature Park”.

Crystal LeBlanc, under the direction of Thomas, received second place in the Health and Medical Sciences section for her work, “The Evaluation of Type I Interferons in HPV-Positive Cervical Cancer Cells and the Influence of Infection with Candida albicans”.

Megan Swaine, under the direction of Dr. Darlene Panvini, received second place in the Botany section for her work, “Influence of Invasive Exotic Plants on Earthworm Diversity”.

Ashley Allen, under the direction of Murphree, received third place in the Botany section for her work, “A Comparison of Algae and Chemical/Physical Water Quality Assessments in a Spring Fed, Open Field Stream in Davidson County, Tennessee”.

 

Belmont Joins ‘Penny Drive’ for Second Harvest Food Bank

Paul Chenoweth
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Mary Hance
Photo courtesy of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee

Belmont University will join the “Ms. Cheap Penny Drive for Second Harvest” this month with an on campus promotion to allow students to donate to the drive via their Belmont IDs. Ms. Cheap, also known as Tennessean reporter Mary Hance, has been writing about frugal living for more than 20 years. Five years ago, she partnered with Nashville’s Second Harvest Food Bank to raise money for the nonprofit organization by asking readers and community members to donate their pennies and other loose change to the cause. Since then, the Penny Drive, which runs annually from Nov. 10-Jan. 31, has raised more than $110,000 for the food bank with the support of countless area businesses, churches and individuals who donate their change, cash or even checks to the cause.

Since college students rely on their IDs for on campus payments and often don’t carry cash or change, students, faculty and staff can donate “100 pennies” to the cause at cash registers across campus by adding a $1 fee to their purchase and paying with Bruin Bucks via their BUID. Official Penny Drive cans and jars will also be available for individuals to donate cash or loose change. At the end of the campaign on Jan. 31, Belmont’s Dining Services (provided by Sodexo), will donate to Second Harvest the full amount of all Penny Drive contributions received on campus.

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Belmont University Open Today, Monday, January 6

Paul Chenoweth
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As of 5 a.m., the Tennessee Department of Transportation reports no icy conditions on any of the major roadways in Davidson and surrounding counties. Campus sidewalks, roads and garages are also in good condition.  While it is extremely cold and will remain so all day, Belmont will be able to open today for the first day of classes to proceed as scheduled.  As always, 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.

As a reminder, today’s high temperature is currently expected to be 9 degrees with wind chills making it feel much colder. In addition, the winter storm has caused travel delays for many students attempting to return to Nashville following the holiday break. Students and faculty are asked to work together to address any class time missed due to weather-related absences.

Treybig Published in International Trumpet Guild Journal

Paul Chenoweth
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International-Trumpet-Guild-JournalAssociate Professor of Music Joel Treybig’s seventh article, The Cornet in Wind Band and Orchestra: A Valuable, Viable Instrument, has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the January 2014 International Trumpet Guild Journal (circulated to more than 5,000 members in 56 countries). Treybig’s article delves into the history and design of the cornet, composers’ use of the instrument, the cornet’s subsequent use in wind bands and orchestras, and the viability of the instrument in the present day.

Riechert Published in New SAGE Reference

Paul Chenoweth
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bonnie_reichertDr. Bonnie Riechert, chairwoman of the Department of Public Relations, is the author of three articles in the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Public Relations, published recently by SAGE Publications Inc. These include the entries on “Accreditation,” “Information Integration Theory” and “J. Carroll Bateman.”  The articles discuss the Accreditation in Public Relations credential, the process of how information affects attitudes and the leadership in ethics advocacy of a leading public relations educator. The two-volume, 1,094-page set is edited by Robert L. Heath. Riechert also authored several articles in the first edition, which was published in 2005.

Faculty Present at 2013 Lilly Conference

Paul Chenoweth
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Faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Religion and associated with the Teaching Center and the Office of General Education recently contributed four presentations at the 33rd Annual International Lilly Conference on College Teaching.  Each of the four presentations is associated with research that flows from ongoing Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) projects and collaborations.

Computer Science Professor Joyce Crowell, Psychological Science Professor Pete Giordano and Religion Professor Steve Simpler presented “Taming the Professor: How Students Manage Professors.”  They are members of the Belmont Faculty Improvement Group (FIG) that has worked on a variety of SoTL projects for more than two decades and has presented at several other Lilly conferences. Their 2013 presentation focused on how students try to manipulate such things as course assignments, grading, or due dates. Participants discussed ways to create hospitable classrooms that diminish adversarial relationships while upholding academic standards.

In an interactive panel presentation entitled “Getting Students to Care in the Common Core Classroom: Service Learning as an Engagement Strategy,”  English Department faculty members Jason Lovvorn, Linda Holt and Charmion Gustke examined how service learning can be an effective student engagement strategy, particularly for core-curriculum classes. All three faculty members have multi-year scholarly research experiences with service learning pedagogy. As a conference panel, they each offered reflections on how service learning promotes student engagement in the classroom. The presentation provided conclusions and evidence regarding how service-learning outcomes square well with the goals of most core curricula.

Alison Moore and Rachel Rigsby, both chemistry faculty members and general education leaders, presented “How the BELL Core Does Multi-Disciplinary Learning Communities as the First Part of a Sophomore Year Experience.” Their presentation included recent observations from collaborative research that combined administrative and teaching experiences for both faculty members. In addition to laying out the basic framework and signature courses of the BELL Core at Belmont, they identified how learning communities have been incorporated as part of Belmont’s larger Sophomore Year Experience. This session explored both the logistical details of including learning communities in the core curriculum and the pedagogical pieces that make them successful academic experiences.

“Some Effective Activities and Strategies for Ending a Course,” presented by Mathematics and Teaching Center Professor Mike Pinter and Giordano, was designed so that participants would be able to implement ideas immediately as they conclude their fall semester courses. As output from their collaboration on SoTL topics that developed during service for each as Belmont’s Teaching Center director, they have presented regularly at the Lilly Conference over the last decade. To outline the significance of a good course ending, their 2013 presentation included pedagogical, cognitive, emotional and practical considerations for ending a course in ways that promote student learning. After hearing about approaches and activities used in some Belmont mathematics and psychology courses, participants had time to generate their specific course-ending ideas.

At the Lilly Conference, faculty scholars of teaching and learning from across the United States and several international educational institutions share innovative pedagogies and have vibrant discussions about questions and challenges associated with teaching and learning. The theme for the 2013 conference, held Nov. 21-24 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, was “Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning.”

$75K Grant Awarded to Fund Educational ‘Food and Gardening’ Project

Paul Chenoweth
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lauren_lunsford
darlene_panviniDr. Lauren Lunsford, associate professor of education, and Dr. Darlene Panvini, professor of biology, are serving as co-principal investigators for a project, “Food and Gardening: Growing Partnerships between Science Teachers and English Teachers to Support Instruction,” that was awarded a $75,000 grant from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC). They will work with other Belmont faculty members, including Dr. Sally Barton-Arwood of education, Dr. Kim Daus of chemistry, Dr. Bonnie Smith-Whitehouse of English and Kate McGowan of education to unite English and science teachers to help their students explore text in interactive and fun ways. The project will provide teachers with the professional development and time to plan lessons that utilize hands-on activities like community gardens and classroom kitchens to support the teaching of informational texts.  Teachers from Bedford County, Davidson County, Dickerson County, Montgomery County and Franklin City Schools will have the opportunity to participate in workshops this summer and receive continued support in the fall.

West Leads Nashville Chamber’s Education Report Card

Paul Chenoweth
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Susan WestBelmont Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Susan West was appointed co-chairwoman of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education Report Card Committee. The Education Report Card Committee provides a community perspective on specific issues and challenges facing Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the Chamber in this capacity.  This appointment reaffirms my commitment to creating the best possible education system that we can envision for our youth and our community,” West said.

The committee reports on overall school system performance as well as a topic selected annually. Most recently, the chamber’s focus area was chartered schools.

The committee, comprised of  business and community leaders, conducts interviews, collects data and visits schools before developing findings and recommendations for improvement. The MNPS School Board and administration consider the committee’s findings each year and report specific outcomes of implementing the recommendations.

Urban League President and Chief Executive Officer Patricia Stokes served as co-chairwoman with West. In their roles, West and Stokes played an integral leadership role in the report card process, leading each meeting and ensuring that the committee stays on task to produce the report.

In its 2013 Education Report Card for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools released on Dec. 16, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Education Report Card Committee issued five recommendations in the areas of school system performance and Common Core State Standards. The final report was presented to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the MNPS School Board and administration, the mayor, the Metropolitan Council.

“The committee believes the district is taking the right course in its commitment to teacher quality, lead principals, school autonomy, quality school choices, and the ambitious goal of being the highest-performing urban district in the country by 2018,” West said in a press release. “When looking at the 2012-2013 school year, however, we find the academic results are mixed.”

Click here to read the recommendations. Click here to read the full report.

Honors, Theatre Students Perform One-Act Plays

Paul Chenoweth
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Honors Theatre Students
Pictured (l-r) are students Amanda Bell, Dallas Woods and Brittany Reese.

Honors students Dallas Woods, Amanda Bell and Brittany Reese performed “When Shakespeare’s Ladies Meet” in the Belmont Theatre and Dance program’s one-act plays directed by junior directing majors last weekend. Woods was the director of the play by Charles George. Bell took the roll of Desdemona from Shakespeare’s Othello, and Reese performed Juliet from the Bard’s famous tragedy Romeo and Juliet.  In the play, all of the major heroines from Shakespeare’s tragedies meet in one rollicking stand-off including Portia, Katherine, Ophelia and Cleopatra.  The leading ladies give Juliet advice on romantic relationships and her impending marriage to Romeo in a hilarious romp through some of Shakespeare’s most famous lines.   Ashley Joye played the roll of Portia from Merchant of Venice, Lauren Knoop played Katherine from The Taming of the Shrew, Morgan Conder played Ophelia from Hamlet, and Grace Kelly Mason played Cleopatra from Antony and Cleopatra.

Junior theatre major John Michael Joiner also directed “Melancholy Play” by Sarah Ruhl.

More Than 400 Students Graduate in Winter Commencement Ceremony

Paul Chenoweth
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winter commencement 2013-258Belmont University held its winter 2013 commencement ceremony for graduate and undergraduate students at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 in the Curb Event Center.

Belmont celebrated the graduation of a total of 421 students. During the graduation ceremony, 319 undergraduate and 102 master’s degrees were conferred.

Dr. Robert C. Fisher, president of the University, presided over the event. Dr. Ronnie Littlejohn, professor, director of Belmont’s Asian Studies program and chair of the Department of Philosophy, presented the commencement address. In May Littlejohn was named Belmont’s 2013-14 Chaney Distinguished Professor. The Chaney Distinguished Professor Award, determined on the basis of superior teaching, is presented each year to a faculty member who best represents the vision of the university to be a “premier teaching institution.”

Student Commencement Speaker Jennifer Rutter, who studied political science and Christian ethics, shared her thoughts on pursuing a higher education at a Christian university as well as on studying abroad and going on mission trips through Belmont.

“It has shaped my faith, my thought process, and my worldview in ways I could not have imagined,” Rutter said. “Belmont never forced me to choose either faith or works but instead provided me opportunities to do both faith and works. I got to hear world class speakers in Chapel. I also became part of an evening worship service on campus.”

Additional photos from Winter Commencement as well as a video of the ceremony can be found online.

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