Belmont University has achieved Gold in the Green area of Mayor Karl Dean’s Workplace Challenge for being a local environmental hero for its leadership in reducing the environmental impacts of its operations and buildings. Belmont also achieved Gold in the Involved area of the Mayor’s Workplace Challenge for being a local community champion for its leadership in actively promoting volunteer service inside and outside the workplace.

The Mayor’s Workplace Challenge is a new city initiative to recognize and encourage healthy living in the workplace. Its aim is to improve in the areas that most contribute to a high quality of life and healthy living including being green, involved in the community and being healthy. The inaugural Workplace Challenge is part of the city’s efforts to move Nashville toward a greener, healthier and more involved future.

“Through the Workplace Challenge, I am asking businesses and organizations throughout Nashville to step up and show just how big an impact they can make on the livability of our city,” Mayor Karl Dean said.

Through these achievements, Belmont is considered a champion in making the workplace better for employees, students and the surrounding community. This actively reflects Belmont’s mission to be a student-centered Christian community providing an academically challenging education that empowers men and women of diverse backgrounds to engage and transform the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and faith.

Assistant Professor of Social Work Julie Hunt recently co-presented at the annual convention of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work held in Atlanta, Ga.   The presentation was entitled, “Help! How Do I Do This? Developing Spiritually Sensitive Social Work”.  Co-presenting with Hunt were Ali Hearon, a senior social work major, and recent alumna Katie Cross.

Associate Professor and Chairwoman of the Social Work Department Sabrina Sullenberger also made a recent presentation at the annual program meeting in Dallas, Texas of the Council on Social Work Education.  Her session was entitled “Waiting to Be Cinderella’d? Constructions of social class and gender.”

As part of a service-learning project in Introduction to Environmental Science, five students adopted a section of Richland Creek in Nashville and organized a stream clean-up day on Oct. 19. The Belmont students organizing the clean-up were Megan Brady, Walter Burn, Luke Castle, Katie Keast and Jessie Wynn. Six additional students and Dr. Darlene Panvini, professor of the course, assisted in the clean-up event. Richland Creek is an urban watershed with five major tributaries: Sugartree, Unnamed Tributary, Jocelyn Hollow, Vaughn’s Gap and Belle Meade, along with many smaller branches that feed the system.

The Adopt-A-Stream program, part of the Nashville Metro Water Services, lasts for a period of two years and requires at least one stream clean-up per year and the stenciling of storm drains leading to the adopted stream segment. Metro Water Services provides a sign acknowledging the adopting group and stream. Belmont’s official sign is posted at England Park between the walking trail and Richland Creek

Belmont public relations majors received national accolades at the recent Public Relations Student Society of America National Conference in Philadelphia. Belmont PRSSA received a Star Chapter Award, recognizing excellence in 10 areas including community service, ethics advocacy and leadership.

Two Belmont students received individual awards. Andy Cole, immediate past president of Belmont PRSSA, received a PRSSA National Gold Key Award for outstanding leadership and professional promise. Cole and Katie Mulrain, Belmont PRSSA vice president, received a PRSSA President’s Citation for contributions to the local student chapter.

Eight student leaders and two faculty members from the department of public relations attended the conference. Students attending were Cole, Mulrain, Makenzie Albracht, Arielle Schrader, Catie Benenson, Mary Anna Davis, Alex Heavner and Victoria Lewis. Faculty attending were Dr. Bonnie Riechert, associate professor and chair of the department of public relations, and Dr. Kevin Trowbridge, assistant professor in the department.

Riechert and Cole spoke on a panel on hosting regional conferences, sharing experiences from the PRSSA Region 5 Conference hosted here in March 2012, for which the chapter received the 2012 Outstanding Regional Conference Award.

“Our public relations students are engaged in cutting-edge trends and developments in the industry,” said Riechert, who has served as PRSSA faculty advisor since 2006. “Our student leaders are carrying on the standard of excellent student leadership that is a tradition in our department.”

PRSSA is made up of more than 10,000 students and advisers organized into 332 chapters in the United States and one in Argentina.  It is the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. PRSSA is supported by parent organization, the Public Relations Society of America, which offers professional development, networking opportunities and leadership in ethics. The Belmont Chapter of PRSSA is sponsored by Nashville PRSA. (image – PRSSA_2013_award.jpg)