Director of Community Relations Joyce Searcy was appointed to the Nashville Public Library Board by Mayor Karl Dean and confirmed by Metro Council on Sept. 4. Her term will end April 6, 2017. The Public Library Board create rules governing the use of Nashville libraries by the public.
Japan Fukushima Hero Chuck Casto Speaks to Students
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regional Administrator Chuck Casto spoke to Belmont students on Monday to share lessons he learned on overcoming cultural differences during an international disaster.
Casto narrated his experience of dealing with the Japan Fukushima nuclear disaster following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 16,000 people, left much of the Asian country in ruins and wiped out six nuclear power plants.
“When you think about a disaster like that, people come together to support their friends. That is what we Americans do as a nation,” he said of Operation Tomodachi, the mission of U.S. Armed Forces to support Japan with disaster relief. “America shares its best and brightest minds with its friends.”
Casto said he was filling his truck with gas at an Atlanta-area Wal-Mart on March 11, 2011 when he received a phone call instructing him that he had three hours to catch a flight at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport to lead nuclear power accident recovery efforts in Japan.
While on the 14-hour flight, an attendant noticed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission logo on his shirt and moved him from coach to business class. There Casto planned to review protocol and reference materials and learn Japanese cultural nuisances; instead he spent the time answering questions of the concerned flight crew as they flew into a nuclear plume.
Students Finalists in Snagajob’s Music Video Submission Contest
Two Belmont students have been selected as finalists for Snagajob’s national The Hourly Gig contest.
Ben Gallaher and Emma White were selected from over 600 video submissions from across the country. Hourly employees were encouraged to send in videos of themsleves performing their own original songs. Gallaher submitted a video of his live performance of his song “Hold on to Me,” and White submitted the music video for her song “Nashville.” The winner will decided through a week of public voting, and will open for country music star Brantley Gilbert on Sept.19 in Richmond, Va.
Public voting is open from Sept. 5 to Sept 12. Click here to watch the videos and cast votes.
Public Relations Student Among Finalists for Tech Student of the Year
Senior public relations major Michelle Ward has been named among three finalists for the Nashville Technology Council’s Technology Student of the Year. A winner will be announced at the NTC’s Technology Awards Gala on Oct. 23. The Technology Student of the Year Award is given to an outstanding college student who embraces new technologies both inside and outside of the classroom.
Ward has held a number of jobs and internships and become involved in several organizations since coming to Belmont. She manages blogs Student FYI and Life Under the Tower, works in the Fitness and Recreation Center and is involved the Public Relations Student Society of America, all while maintaining a GPA that has kept her on the Dean’s List since her freshman year. Ward said she would like to “use technology to make a difference in the lives of others.”
For more information on the Nashville Technology Council and its upcoming Awards Gala, click here.
Biles Has Paper Accepted for Publication
Mathematics Professor Daniel Biles recently had a paper accepted for publication in the Journal of Differential Equations & Applications. The paper is titled “Existence of Positive Solutions for a Fourth Order Differential Inclusion” and is c0-authored with John S. Spraker. The Journal of Abstract Differential Equations and Applications (JADEA) is a mathematical journal of high level research articles in all areas and sub-areas covering abstract differential equations and their applications. In particular, it encourages interdisciplinary papers that cut across sub-disciplines of differential equations and to neighboring fields.
Parry to Present at American Journalism Historians Association
Pam Parry, chairman of the Communication Studies Department, will present a research-in-progress paper at the American Journalism Historians Association annual meeting on Oct. 13 in Raleigh, N.C. The paper is titled, “Madison Avenue Meets Pennsylvania Avenue: How the 1952 Campaign Transformed Presidential Elections.” Parry also was recently elected to a one-year term as Teaching Co-Chair of the Small Programs Interest Group of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Murphree Has Article Published on Tennessee Scorpions
Biology Professor Steve Murphree has an article published in the September/October 2012 issue of the Tennessee Conservationist magazine entitled “Tennessee Scorpions.” This is the 19th article Murphree has authored or coauthored for this publication. The Tennessee Conservationist is dedicated to promoting the mission of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to preserve, protect and wisely use the state’s natural and cultural resources.
Ham Published in American Journal of Pathology
Assistant Professor Amy Ham of the Department of Pharmaceutical, Social & Administrative Sciences has published “Proteomic Profiling of Paraffin-Embedded Samples Identifies Metaplasia-Specific and Early-Stage Gastric Cancer Biomarkers” in The American Journal of Pathology.
Early diagnosis and curative resection are the predominant factors associated with increased survival in patients with gastric cancer, yet most gastric cancers are detected in late stage disease. In this paper, the authors analyzed formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) stomach tissues of Korean patients from intestinal-type gastric cancer, metaplasia and normal mucosa using proteomic technologies to look at protein expression differences with the goal of finding potential protein biomarkers for the early detection of gastric cancer. Selected proteins were analyzed first using peptide isoelectric focusing and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis to generate proteomic profiles. Selected proteins were subsequently analyzed by immunostaining in larger tissue array cohorts in an effort to verify the findings. The authors detected 60 proteins up-regulated and 87 proteins down-regulated during the progression from normal mucosa to metaplasia to gastric cancer. These studies led to the identification of two novel markers for stomach metaplasias and gastric cancer prognosis.
Nashville’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration Begins at Belmont
Belmont University hosted the Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off event for the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 14 in the Vince Gill Room of the Curb Event Center. Click here to view photos from the event.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a nation-wide celebration that coincides with the anniversary of independence for several Latin American countries. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Chile all achieved independence between Sept. 15 and 18.
To learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month, visit hispanicheritagemonth.gov. For more information about Hispanic Heritage Month events in Nashville, visit www.nashvillehispanicchamber.com.
Belmont University Remains in Top 10 in Annual U.S. News College Rankings
University lauded for commitment to undergraduate teaching
Belmont University remained at No. 7 on U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of America’s Best Colleges. Announced today, Belmont placed in the Top 10 of the Regional Universities-South listing for the fourth consecutive year and was also lauded for the fifth year in a row as a top “Up-and-Comer.” Belmont was ranked second in the southern region in that category, indicating the university has made “the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus or facilities.” Moreover, Belmont was praised by its peers for its “unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching,” placing second in a regional ranking in that area.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “These annual rankings confirm what we already know: that Belmont University continues to be a highly desired destination for the best qualified students as well as for faculty devoted to student-centered learning. I’m proud that our commitment remains strong and that our peers recognize both our innovative approach to higher education and our dedication to teaching and service.”
In the Best Regional Universities-South category, Belmont is again the highest-ranked university of the 15 ranked Tennessee institutions and in the top seven of the 128 schools included from the South. Belmont has improved over the previous year in a number of areas including in its graduation rate, percentage of full-time faculty, alumni giving and freshman selectivity (percentage in the top quarter of their high school graduating class). Other regional institutions in the Top 10 include Rollins College, Elon University, Stetson University, Samford University, The Citadel and James Madison University.
At the start of the semester Belmont reached a record-breaking enrollment number for the twelfth consecutive year with approximately 6,650 students on campus. Moreover, the incoming freshmen’s credentials continue to increase in strength with an average ACT score of 26.4 for the Class of 2016. In addition, 35 percent of new freshmen at Belmont were in the top 10 percent of their graduating class, and 62 percent were in the top quarter.
