Jill Robinson, director of executive learning and marketing for the Center for Executive Education at Belmont, has been named the 2013 Young Leader of the Year by Young Leaders Council.
Young Leaders Council (YLC) is a Nashville-based nonprofit organization that trains more than 2,000 men and women to effectively participate on the boards of nonprofit agencies. The Young Leader of the Year award is presented annually to a graduate of the YLC training program from the past 28 years who has made significant contributions to the fulfillment of the YLC mission, as well as demonstrated a commitment to ongoing community service and board leadership to local nonprofit organizations.
In addition to her role at the Center for Executive Education at Belmont University supplying the keynote speakers for the past six YLC Fall Leadership Luncheons, Robinson was key to the expansion of the YLC nonprofit board training program into Williamson County in 2013 due to the partnership created with Williamson County Young Professionals. A graduate of YLC Class 26, she currently serves as the chair of the YLC board of directors and is a member of the advisory boards for Tennessee Repertory Theatre and OZ Nashville, a contemporary art space and event venue. She is active in both the Williamson County and Nashville Chambers of Commerce, including serving on the Nashville Chamber’s Midtown Leadership Team and previously as chair for YP Nashville, which connects young professionals to networking, professional development and community involvement.
The Jack C. Massey Graduate School’s graduating Professional Master of Business Administration students for fall 2013 performed in the top 10 percent of students nationally on the MBA Major Field Test produced by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) of Princeton, N.J. The exam has been administered to more than 25,000 students at 260 graduate business programs across the U.S. since 2009.
Communication Studies Assistant Professor Nathan Webb attended the National Communication Association annual conference, where he made four competitively selected academic presentations. Each of the talks related to Webb’s research on and practice of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. He presented research on the effects of utilizing service leaning on small group pedagogy, the use of instructor self-disclosure in the classroom and how millennial professors gain credibility with students. He also was selected to share teaching practices in the Great Ideas for Teaching Students division.
Belmont students Mackenzie Watson, Ashley Miller, Maren Richards, Hallie Cunningham, Emma Price, Jessica Porreca, Mikaela Sensley and Brittney Hampshire and Dr. Kimberlee Daus, professor of chemistry, recently participated in the Dickson County Drug Take-Back event. This event was held on National Prescription Drug Take Back Day and was coordinated by Vanderbilt University and the Dickson County Police Department. Working alongside faculty and students from Vanderbilt and Lipscomb universities, Belmont students and faculty cataloged and counted more than 60 pounds of medication. The National Drug Take-Back Day, set by the Drug Enforcement Agency, provides a service to community through safe and responsible disposal of unused medication. Additionally, these events help to educate the public about the potential of drug abuse associated with these medications.
Dr. John Niedzwiecki, associate professor of biology, recently presented an invited Departmental Seminar at Middle Tennessee State University. His talk was titled “Comparative Landscape Genetics of Darwin’s Finches.” He also met with graduate students in MTSU’s Molecular Bio-Sciences doctoral program to discuss his and their research programs. (image – john_ niedzwiecki.jpg)
The Fifth Annual 
Biology Department faculty members Bob Grammer, Steve Murphree, Darlene Panvini, Nick Ragsdale, Jennifer Thomas and Chris Barton attended the 123rd 
