Dr. Michael Voight, professor of physical therapy in the College of Health Sciences at Belmont, recently presented at the annual meeting of the National Athletic Trainers Association in Las Vegas, Nev. His presentation, attended by over 400 conference delegates, was on assessing and developing rotational speed in athletes. Voight shared his work in assessing fundamental movement and in turn correcting the impairments discovered. Examples were given utilizing several of the PGA tour players with whom he works.
Voight Speaks at National Athletic Trainers Meeting
Trowbridge Analyzes Paula Deen’s Crisis Communication Strategy
Can three simple words really crumble an empire? “Yes, of course.”
Belmont University’s Dr. Kevin S. Trowbridge, assistant professor of public relations, was the featured speaker during the July 10 professional development luncheon for the Memphis chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
Around 100 public relations and communication professionals gathered at the University Club to hear Trowbridge analyze and discuss the communication strategies used by celebrity chef Paula Deen. Trowbridge analyzed the Southern chef’s public relations crisis that resulted from Deen’s three-word admission to having used a racial slur that ignited a public firestorm.
Trowbridge’s presentation was titled, “When the Kitchen Gets Too Hot: Public Relations Lessons from Paula Deen’s Crisis Cookbook.” He reminded attendees of the power of local new media and that social media have empowered individual consumers as important participants in the court of public opinion. Further, he concluded that the principles of public relations remain steadfast and more important than ever during times of crisis.
Trowbridge advises Tower Creative Consultants, the student-run public relations firm of Belmont’s award-winning chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America. He is the chair-elect for the PRSA Southeast District.
Belmont Alumnae Awarded Fulbright, TAPIF Grants for Overseas Teaching
Recent graduates to serve in Ukraine, France
May 2013 Belmont University graduates Katie Godwin and Jill Barrett were recently awarded program grants for overseas teaching in Ukraine and France, respectively.
Godwin, an English and honors major and Russian minor from Huntsville, Ala., received an English Teaching Assistantship Fulbright grant to Ukraine to assist in teaching English in a university for the 2013-2014 academic year. Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program provides funding for students, scholars, teachers and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching and teaching in elementary and secondary schools.
In addition to aiding with classroom lessons and activities, Godwin will be responsible for other English language-oriented projects, such as language labs or American culture seminars, for students and those in the community. In addition to receiving the Fulbright, Godwin has participated in the U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (for Russian) in Kazan, Russia, volunteered as an English language instructor in Moscow with the Institute of Humanitarian Development and served as an English language teaching assistant in a bilingual primary school in Madrid, Spain.
Godwin said, “I applied for an ETA Fulbright grant because I am interested in pursuing a career in education research. I’m particularly interested in teaching abroad because participating in and observing foreign education systems will allow me to better understand the many methods and tools that can be used to approach the current issues facing our school systems. Furthermore, the Fulbright is an opportunity to promote cross-cultural understanding, which is an essential part of international education.”
Jill Barrett, a French/English double major, will be working with the Teaching Assistantship Program In France (TAPIF), a sister program to the Fulbright administered by the French Ministry of Education. A native of Franklin, Tenn., Barrett will be teaching English from late August through next May to middle and high schoolers in Excideuil, a small town in the south of France.
Barrett—who studied abroad in Angers, France during the spring semester of her sophomore year— said, “Basically, I get to serve as a sort of conversational guide and language facilitator. I have always had an affinity for the French culture, language and people… When I came home [from studying abroad in 2011], I knew that my time in France wasn’t quite over, and I started looking for ways to go back when I graduated. The TAPIF program was a great option, and thankfully, I was selected! In the long run, I’d love to get my master’s in French and teach it in some capacity. This experience will hopefully solidify my French language skills, while also giving me a little bit of insight into the culture and lifestyle.”
CCSA Celebrates 30th Anniversary
The Cooperative Center for Study Abroad (CCSA), the study abroad organization for which Belmont currently serves as host institution, celebrated its 30th anniversary Sunday, July 14, with an afternoon tea on the lawn of King’s College, Hampstead Campus in London, CCSA’s summer residence. The celebratory tea was hosted by Dr. Maggie Monteverde, professor of English at Belmont and executive director of CCSA. Also enjoying the festivities from Belmont were faculty members Dr. Don Cusic, Dr. Rich Tiner, Dr. Marcia McDonald and Dr. Doug Murray, who are all teaching on CCSA’s London Summer program this year. Dr. Mimi Barnard, assistant provost of interdisciplinary studies and global education, was also there to represent Belmont at the event.
Perhaps the best time, however, was had by the more than 30 Belmont students who are participating in the program this summer, studying everything from British Comedy to British Media, European Music Business to the Sociology of Haunted Britain, Downtown Abbey to Harry Potter! Belmont has been a member of CCSA for more than 20 years, and several of the professors present on this program have been calling London home with CCSA since the mid-1990s.
Bennett Selected as Google Glass Explorer
Dr. Syb Bennett, professor of journalism, has been selected as one of the 8,000 Google Glass Explorers testing the wearable computer while it is in beta. She was selected as part of the “If I Had Glass” Twitter competition. She said she’d use Glass to promote public interest, necessity and convenience like broadcast outlets. Specifically, she is experimenting on how it can best be used in journalism and in the classroom. She is chronicling her experience at http://drsyb.tumblr.com. She also created an iMovie trailer documenting her experience.
Bennett was featured on FOX17 News Thursday for her work with Google Glass. Glass is expected to be available for consumers to purchase later this year.
Chmieleski to Publish Second Book, Article
University Minister Guy Chmieleski has signed a deal to publish his second book, Campus gods: Exposing the Idols that Can Derail Your Present and Destroy Your Future, this fall with Seedbed Publishing. Despite boldly foraying into the seductive minefield of what the he calls “campus gods,” the book maintains a conversational and even invitational tone.
“The university campus may be the most strategic soil in the kingdom of God and we must work together to cultivate it for the twenty-first-century world,” Chmieleski said in a news release. “With the dual trends of the college years as an extended period of adolescence and the rise of a highly genericized version of the Christian faith, it is imperative to creatively and compellingly infuse the whole gospel of grace and truth into the spiritual life of the campus.”
Chmieleski’s first book Shaping Their Future: Mentoring College Students Through Their Formative Years, was written for people who would mentor college students. He shared lessons from the book and his personal experiences with Belmont students during a spring convocation.
“One of Seedbed’s core commitments is to the college campus. We have a tremendous interest and energy for publishing a rich theological vision for life, faith, and future vocation geared for college students and the campus ministries who serve them,” said J. D. Walt, Seedbed’s sower-in-chief. “Guy has the pulse of today’s college campus. He understands the unique challenge of pastoring a generation of students whose sophistication far outdistances their maturity. We are honored to work with him in this crucial calling.”
Chmieleski also has been invited to write a feature article on this new title for the spring 2014 issue of Collegiate Magazine.
Education Majors Work with Students at Rose Park Community Center
Associate Professor of Education Lauren Lunsford’s human development teacher candidates worked with a group of 12 through 14-year-old students at the Rose Park Community Center this summer to promote their leadership skills. The topics were aligned with the seventh grade Common Core Standards and included identifying personal style, team building and working together to solve real-world problems. The students said they “learned a lot about responsibility, working together, having a good time, and communicating.” One Easley student summed the experience as “about having a good time while learning.”
Student Creates Podcast on Philosophical Topics
Belmont student Ben McKeown has produced Resonance, a philosophy-related audio podcast “that explores the way things in our world are connected.” Episode One features an interview with Dr. Scott Hawley, associate professor of physics, describing the physics of resonance as taught in his physics for audio engineering classes. In addition Dr. Pete Giordano, professor of psychology, relates his biographical experience with “the power of interpersonal resonance” on college campuses. Resonance is available for free download here and in the iTunes store.
Murphree Gives Insect Talk at Library
On July 2, Dr. Steve Murphree, professor of biology and entomologist, gave an Insect/Arachnid program to 100 children and parents at the Spring Hill Public Library as part of their summer reading program.
Recent Graduate Selected for Cambridge Fellowship, Peace Corps
Heart of Belmont award winner Rami Nofal lives out University mission to ‘engage and transform world’ with new appointments
Belmont University alumnus Rami Nofal (’13) was recently selected for two distinguished, international opportunities: a fellowship at prestigious Cambridge University and a stint in Ghana serving with the Peace Corps.
Nofal—who graduated in May earning degrees in international business (marketing and Arabic), finance and economics with a minor in political science—won one of Belmont University’s highest honors in April when he was selected to receive the John Williams Heart of Belmont award. The Heart of Belmont award recognizes a student who demonstrates commitment to service, initiative, innovation, persistence, advocacy, and maturity, among other qualities. He also was actively involved with the two-time National Champion and 2012 World Cup-winning Enactus team.
A 2009 graduate of Nashville’s Overton High School, Nofal will next participate Aug. 18-30 in the Ariane de Rothschild Fellowship at Cambridge University in England. This Fellowship is the premier gold standard of social entrepreneurship intersected with cross-cultural exchange for global minded change agents. Nofal’s acceptance letter noted, “Your selection as a Fellow reflects the careful judgment of prominent scholars that you meet the Fellowship’s rigorous criteria for admission, emphasizing both excellence in the quality of your civic engagement and your serious contribution to social enterprise.”
