Registered Nurse Krystal Huesmann recently returned from the Dominican Republic, where she and her daughter, Olivia, taught classes at a local school through “Food for the Hungry.” They also met the child their family sponsors there.
Belmont Nurse Teaches Classes in Dominican Republic
Scholl Leads Breast Cancer Group
Nurse Practitioner Lisa Scholl led Team Belmont in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer annual walk for American Cancer Society. There were about 80 participants, and $555 was raised for breast cancer research.
Belmont Celebrates Naming of Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics
Gift from Helen Kennedy announced at event featuring author/financial analyst Harry Markopolos
Belmont University’s College of Business Administration (COBA) celebrated today a generous endowment received from civic leader and Belmont Trustee Helen Kennedy by naming its Center for Business Ethics in honor of her late husband, Edward Creasman Kennedy, a local businessman who exemplified the values the Center promotes. A graduate of Hume Fogg High School and lifetime deacon of Judson Baptist Church, Mr. Kennedy co-founded Ed’s Supply Company and was actively involved in many organizations related to the heating, cooling and refrigeration industry. Mr. Kennedy also served 12 years as a Belmont University Trustee.
“This naming allows a new tune to be hymned throughout Belmont,” said Mrs. Kennedy. “The Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics can provide a strong foundation on professional ethics for every University program.”
Tom Connor, a personal friend and former business partner of Ed Kennedy, attended the naming ceremony and shared his thoughts on Ed’s staunch ethical conduct in business matters. “Ed loved Belmont. I don’t think there’s a way he could be better honored than to have a center on this campus named for him and for it to be connected to ethics. And, I don’t believe Belmont could have selected a better or more ethical person to name this center after than Ed Kennedy.”
Mills Presents Paper at Library Assessment Conference
Research Librarian Jenny Rushing Mills presented a paper and poster at the Library Assessment Conference in Charlottesville, VA, Oct. 29-31, titled “Project RAILS: Rubrics, Results, & Recommendations.” Along with librarians from Syracuse, Towson and the Universities of Washington and West Virginia, Mills presented the initial results of Project RAILS (Rubric Assessment of Information Literacy Skills). The purpose of the project is to help librarians assess student information literacy skills exhibited in “artifacts of student learning” like research papers, worksheets or portfolios. At Belmont, rubric assessment of information literacy skills has been conducted in nursing and pharmacy courses and in First Year Writing.
Thorndike Offers Lecture on Kyoto in MTSU Honors College Series
On Oct. 22, Dr. Jonathan Thorndike of the Belmont University Honors Program delivered a lecture in the MTSU Honors College series on “The City.” Thorndike’s presentation was titled “Kyoto: Saved by the Americans but ‘Destroyed’ by the Japanese.” Thorndike discussed Kyoto history and architecture and how the US targeted the ancient capital as a potential target city for the atomic bomb at the end of the Second World War. However, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson had visited Kyoto and was a student of traditional Japanese culture. He argued that Kyoto should be spared from bombing because of its architectural significance. Thus, Kyoto is one of the few Japanese cities today that still has many pre-war buildings including 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Kyoto is a place of famous temples, shrines, festivals and gardens coexisting uneasily in the same city that boasts of post-modern buildings like the JR train station and the corporate headquarters of Nintendo, Kyocera and Rohm Semiconductors. In that sense, people say that Kyoto was saved by the Americans but “destroyed” by the Japanese economic miracle.
Biology Students Present Research at Clemson
Biology Assistant Professor John Niedzwiecki and six biology majors traveled to Clemson, S.C. during fall break to present their research at the 2012 Southeast Population Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics (SEPEEG) meeting, held at the Clemson University Outdoor Lab from October 12 to 14. The Belmont seniors attending were Parth Majmudar, Rachel Chandler, Amy Nesius, Janet Steen, Bellamy Hawkins and Breanna Poore. During the weekend the students attended talks by graduate students and faculty from universities across the southeast, and they presented their research in the poster session on Saturday night. SEPEEG brings together scientists from institutions in the Southeastern United States to discuss their research on ecology, population biology, evolution and genetics. This is the fifth consecutive year Belmont students have participated in the SEPEEG meeting.
Pharmacy Students Assist Dispensary of Hope
Belmont pharmacy students recently assisted the Dispensary of Hope in sorting donated medications at their Nashville distribution center. The students are members of Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, a worldwide ministry of individuals working in all areas of pharmaceutical service and practice to serve Christ and the world through pharmacy. Director of Experiential Education Mark Chirico is faculty adviser for the group. The students assisted Dispensary of Hope in providing close to $100,000 worth of prescription medication to uninsured individuals across the United States.
Physical Therapy Students Help Coordinate Race for the Cure
Physical therapy students from Belmont University helped coordinate Nashville’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Oct. 27. Over 100 student volunteers assisted with course set-up and take-down, served as course marshals throughout the course including the start/finish line, provided water at course stations and managed the crowd . The event drew over 26,000 participants and spectators. The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is a nationwide effort to raise funds to help end breast cancer forever.
Physical Therapy Professor Michael Voight was co-chairman of this year’s race. Voight is a longtime supporter of the organization and for years has brought physical therapy students to help coordinate the annual race.
“I chose to support Komen because 75 percent of every dollar raised in the region stays in Middle Tennessee and provides grants to other area non‐profits. These local organizations are working on the front lines to battle breast cancer, educating all of us on the value of early detection and promoting awareness to low‐income and non‐insured individuals. To date Komen Greater Nashville has provided more than $3 million in screening, treatment and educational services to the women of Middle Tennessee,” he said.
Seigenthaler Begins College of Law Speaker Series
Award-winning journalist and First Amendment advocate John Seigenthaler began the College of Law Speaker Series by leading the discussion “First Amendment Challenges Posed by New Media Technology” on Oct. 30 in the Massey Performing Arts Center.
“We look upon technology as the enemy that has served as the end of newspapers, but it is a simple, different way of delivery,” he said. “If newspapers can make online content as attractive as in the blogosphere, then readers seeking credible information will follow … and advertisers will follow.”
Seigenthaler read “Blessed are the Cursored,” his tongue-in-cheek forecast of technology’s impact on journalism. He recalled the evolution of media from his first day as a cops reporter to serving as publisher of The Tennessean, including hiatuses that made him part of the John F. Kennedy administration and the founding editorial director of USA Today.
He also shared his personal experience with the dark side of the First Amendment, anonymity and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which prohibits information service providers from being treated as publishers or broadcasters as it relates to defamation. Anonymously posted libelous statements about Seigenthaler appeared on Wikipedia in 2005. His editorial that publicly condemned the website as a non-credible source led to the website revising its policies.
Baskin Center Awarded Gold-Level LEED Certification
College of Law building is largest LEED-certified university academic building in Middle Tennessee
The U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Belmont University’s Randall and Sadie Baskin Center with LEED certification at the Gold level, making the building the largest LEED-certified university academic building in Middle Tennessee as well as the first LEED-certified law school building in the state, according to information provided by the USGBC. The 75,000-square-foot Baskin Center sits atop a five-level underground garage and houses Belmont University’s College of Law, a program starting its second year of classes.
The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a feature-oriented rating system that awards buildings points for satisfying specified green building criteria. The six major environmental categories of review are Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation and Design.
“In the design, construction, maintenance and operations of the Baskin Center, we sought to use less energy, reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a healthier environment for students, employees and the larger community,” said Belmont President Bob Fisher. “Our hope is that this environmentally-conscious building inspires Belmont College of Law students to become the greatest legal minds of their generation while being cognizant of their footprints on the world.”
“The Baskin Center’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said U.S. Green Building Council President Rick Fedrizzi. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and Belmont University serves as a prime example of just how much we can accomplish.”
