Pam Parry, chair of the Communication Studies Department, signed Jan. 18 a deed of gift to the Dwight Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, donating an oral history interview. The interview with Richard C. Snyder, the son of President Eisenhower’s personal physician, will be added to the holdings of the library for use by future researchers. The president’s doctor — Dr. Howard Snyder — was a key figure in the administration because Eisenhower had three illnesses while in office, including a heart attack, stroke and ileitis (Crohn’s disease). Parry interviewed Richard Snyder for her dissertation, titled “The PR President: How Ike Transformed Political Communication.” The Eisenhower Library is one of 13 presidential libraries in the nation.
Belmont’s Chinese Program Expands with Study Abroad Trip, Book Donation Award
Belmont University’s Chinese program is growing this year with a Chinese Language Summer Institute and a book donation award to immerse students in Chinese language and culture.
“More Chinese language speakers will be required to facilitate and support future commercial and political relationships, both in China and in the U.S. The professional opportunities for Americans who speak Chinese are on a skyrocketing scale,” said Qingjun Li, assistant professor of Asian Studies and Chinese Language.
Twenty students have registered for the Chinese Language Summer Institute, a six-week program to begin in May, Li said. Students will take elementary Chinese for two weeks at Belmont, followed by a month-long study abroad trip to mainland China and Hong Kong. The institute offers students up to 12 credit hours, with two Chinese courses and a choice from four electives: Third Tear Writing, Asian Humanities, Junior Cornerstone and International Business. The classes will be taught by Belmont and Zhengzhou University professors.
Li said Mandarin, the first language of more than 20 percent of the world’s population, is becoming an increasingly important language because of China’s growing economy. The country has the world’s second largest economy and is predicted to take the No. 1 spot from the United States in the next two decades. Business Week has said that learning Chinese is a “resume-builder,” calling it “the most advantageous foreign language for business persons to acquire.”
“Over 35 million people worldwide are learning Chinese, and over 2,500 universities in 100 countries are teaching Chinese. Just about everyone knows that China is one of the largest trading partners of the United States, but few people may realize that over 16,000 U.S. companies do business in China and have long-term investments there. It might be a surprise to learn that China is also the second largest export destination for Tennessee merchandise,” Li said.
U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper Joins Belmont, TSU, Lipscomb Students for Joint Service Project
More than 200 university students carried on the legacies of Martin Luther King Jr. and other Civil Rights Movement workers when they spent five hours volunteering at Red Cross and Feed the Children, U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper told the group.
“(King) visited Nashville not to give inspiration but to gain inspiration. That is the single greatest compliment that any community ever could be paid,” U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper said before they began their service projects. His brief speech highlighted the works of King, U.S. Rep. John Lewis and other Nashville students who marched throughout town and held sit-ins during the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. “Thank you for carrying on Dr. King’s dream, even though we have not reached it today.”
The students from Belmont, Tennessee State and Lipscomb Universities gathered Jan. 14 at the American Red Cross of Middle Tennessee to celebrate and honor King through a day of community service. The MLK Day of Service is a nationally recognized event intended to empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, create solutions to social problems and move individuals closer to Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community.
“Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent most of his time serving others. Belmont, TSU and Lipscomb University are collaborating together once again to bring together people in the community as well as students who might not ordinarily meet or work together to honor his legacy,” said Summer Elliott, community partnership resource coordinator for Belmont’s Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Service-Learning.
Alumnus Tad Wilson Honored with Curtain Call Award
School of Music alumnus Tad Wilson (’92) received the Curtain Call Award Tuesday night at a concert in his honor. The award is presented annually to a School of Music alumnus in honor of achievement in the field of commercial and popular music.
Sandra Dudley, assistant professor of commercial voice and coordinator of the Curtain Call Award Concert, said, “Tad Wilson is most deserving of this award. His accomplishments since graduation are plentiful and exceptional. He represents the kind of excellence in singing and musicianship that we are promoting here at Belmont.”
A native of Augusta, Ga., Wilson’s Broadway credits include Bonnie and Clyde, Rock of Ages and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He graduated from Belmont’s School of Music with a degree in Commercial Music Vocal Performance and secured his first professional job as a performer at Opryland USA. Since his professional debut, Wilson has appeared on stages around the country. He has been featured on ABC, TNN, and has performed twice for U.S. Presidents. As an original cast member of the Broadway and Off-Broadway productions of Rock of Ages, he was a part of the 2009 Tony Awards, and has appeared on “The View” and “The Today Show” concert series. He has worked with personalities such as Frank Wildhorn, and Richard Maltby, Jr., sharing the stage with Constantine Maroulis, Trisha Yearwood, Clay Aiken, Larry Gatlin, Hal Holbrook and Maya Angelou, among others.
Previous Curtain Call Award winners include Tim Lauer, Josh Turner, Ginny Owens, Chester Thompson, Jill Phillips, Will Denton, Fleming McWilliams, Melodie Crittenden, Jozef Nuyens, Gordon Mote, Tammy Rogers King, Bernie Herms and Chris Rodriguez.
Acuff Details ‘5 Lies’ Entrepreneurs Should Ignore for Success
Jon Acuff, best-selling author of Stuff Christians Like, spoke Wednesday in the Massey Board Room about the five lies every entrepreneur must ignore in order to succeed. An experienced speaker and the creator of StuffChristiansLike.net, a blog read by more than two million people in 97 percent of the countries in the world, Acuff has worked with companies like Home Depot, Chick-fil-A, Bose and Staples on their brand positioning and marketing.
In a talk sponsored by Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Acuff spoke on “5 Lies Every Entrepreneur Must Ignore to Succeed,” captivating a completely packed room of hopeful Belmont students and faculty by delivering his powerful message with a lighthearted and slightly comical spin.
He began by emphasizing the fact that technology and social media have completely redefined our generation’s standards and opportunities among the business realm. Acuff claimed that “consumer behavior has changed” because “our generation is the most over-marketed” generation in comparison to ever before.
The exorbitant amount of information that technology offers allows consumers to research and become aware of nearly anything, and they desire truth in marketing. Acuff brought up an example of change in comparing Nike’s marketing slogan years ago versus now to illustrate this point of truth in marketing. At one point, Nike’s marketing campaign was “Be Like Mike” which inferred to the consumer that by wearing Air Jordan shoes one could be like Michael Jordan. Now Nike’s marketing campaign is “Our shoes work if you do.” This pointed example prefaced Acuff’s message of entrepreneurs being mindful of the lies that can often detour one’s success.
Acuff defined the first lie that many in the entrepreneurial world face to be stressing over “finding the next big thing.” He claimed that many look for the “Eureka moments” when often times the most successful ideas can develop from the “hinge moments,” the small changes or ideas that can have a meaningful impact on business ventures. He went on to show the “hinge moment” of Chick-Fil-A as being the addition of the spicy chicken sandwich. This was not a brand new or innovative idea, but this decision profoundly impacted the profits of the Chick-Fil-A franchise.
Mathematics Faculty Present at Joint Mathematics Meeting
Mathematics faculty Dr. Sharon Crumpton, Dr. Sarah Ann Fleming, Dr. Robin Lovgren and Dr. Maria Neophytou recently attended the Joint Mathematics Meetings. These meetings are sponsored by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and encompass the meetings of these organizations as well as several others. The conference was held in Boston, Mass., Jan. 4-7, and approximately 7,200 people were in attendance.
Crumpton presented a talk at the conference titled Using Models to Help Students Understand Calculus Topics. Neophytou gave a talk titled On the Point Spectrum of the Adjoints of Some Composition Operators and Weighted Composition Operators.
Fair to Share Wellness, Health Information with Community
Belmont University will host a Community Health Fair from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Sat., Jan. 28 in the Maddox Grand Atrium of the Curb Event Center in conjunction with the men’s and women’s basketball games against Jacksonville.
The fair, which is free and open to the public, will feature 30 booths with information and health screenings available.
“Belmont has always been supportive of the community and has done a lot of partnering and programming in the area surrounding campus. This is a continuation of those services to share information,” said Director of Health Services Katy Wilson. “Students from all of the health sciences programs, athletics department and fitness and recreation center will be heavily involved in the fair.”
The Community Health Fair is intended to put wellness and preventive health resources within reach of Belmont’s neighbors and fans with screenings, pamphlets and prizes. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Renfrew Center, Edgehill Community Garden, Edgehill Family Resource Center, YMCA and Real Food Farms also will have booths. Opportunities throughout the day include blood pressure, body composition and bone density screenings; CPR demonstrations; and information on tobacco cessation, breast cancer awareness, diabetes, healthy eating, self defense and recreation.
CEMB’s Copyright Forum Discusses ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’
On Tues., Jan. 10, the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business in association with the Nashville Songwriters Association International presented the third installment of the Copyright Forum at Belmont University. This well attended panel discussion offered insightful dialogue on the pros and cons of House Bill 3261 ‘Stop Online Piracy Act’ (SOPA). Panelists included Congressman Howard Berman (CA), Mitch Glazier (senior executive vice president, Recording Industry Association of America), Fred von Lohmann (senior copyright counsel, Google, Inc.) and Mark Montgomery (serial entrepreneur and founder of FLO thinkery). Several Belmont faculty, staff, and students attended the event, which was video recorded and will be utilized in classes this semester as well.
Sarah Cates, senior director of Curb College Initiatives, said, “Belmont is excited to host the Copyright Forum to start a new narrative joining together the music community and growing tech community in Nashville. In an evolving industry, discussions like this one help keep our students and faculty, as well as local music and tech professionals, current on legislative developments that affect us all. We are proud to provide a venue for dissemination of such cutting edge information.”
Moderator Ken Paulson (CEO of the First Amendment Center) kicked off the conversation with a reminder that the U.S. Constitution, which ensures protection of creative works, and the Bill of Rights, which provides for freedom of speech, can conflict when people claim the right to free speech while “speaking” the words or ideas of others who deserve to be rewarded for their creative output.
Julseth Has Paper Published by Hispanet
Dr. David Julseth (Foreign Language) presented at the International Hispanic Conference of the Day of the Dead that was held in Miami at Florida International University Oct. 31 – Nov. 1. His research paper was on literary and artistic representations of the traditional Mexican food prepared and used during the celebration. After the conference, a selective process led to his paper being chosen by the peer-reviewed Hispanet for publication. The article, “¡Buen provecho! Cultural Representations of Food for the Day of the Dead” will appear in Hispanet Journal, Volume 4, ISSN: 1937-8920, 2012.
Belmont Students Participate in American Model United Nations Conference
Belmont University Model UN students Jerel Henderson, Tara Clance, Brooke Yaiser, Holly Morgan, Stefanie Faull, Megan Duthie, Emily Cox, Patrick Futrell, Melinda Price and Kap Sum were enthusiastic delegates to the American Model United Nations conference held in Chicago from Nov. 19-22, 2011. Dr. Susan Jellissen (Political Science)) accompanied them. As delegates representing South Korea, the students tackled pressing issues, such as renewable energy, microcredit, protecting human rights in the context of countering terrorism, and human trafficking. After researching their respective topics for several months, the students spent an intensive three days caucusing and deliberating with 1,500 students from over 150 other schools — thus gaining an almost unmatched “experiential” insight into the workings of the actual United Nations. Belmont’s Model UN club is excited to represent China at the 2012 AMUN conference in Chicago.
