Sister Mary Sarah Galbraith, 1992 Belmont alumna, was named President of Aquinas College, the only four-year Catholic liberal arts college in middle and east Tennessee.
Sister Mary Sarah returned to Nashville in January to teach history at Aquinas and to prepare for her responsibilities as the school’s newest president. Former Aquinas president, Sister Mary Peter, O.P, is leaving to pursue graduate education at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colo.
Sister Mary Sarah, of Kansas City, Mo., became a part of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in 1988 before beginning her undergraduate education at Belmont and graduating in 1992. With a degree in biology and double minors in history and secondary education, Sister Mary Sarah spent the next few years teaching in schools all over the country including Nashville, Denver and Birmingham, among others.
From 1999-2003 Sister Mary Sarah served as the principal for Chicago’s Our Lady of Victory School and was then named principal of St. Cecilia Academy in Nashville until 2005. From 2005 – 2007 she served as assistant principal and academic dean of Bishop Machebeuf High School in Denver, Colo.
Throughout her years in administrative positions, Sister Mary Sarah continued her own education, believing in the importance of learning. In May 2005, Sister earned a Master of Arts degree in Education Administration (M.A.Ed.) from Dominican University in Chicago and in December 2008, she earned a second master’s degree in medieval History from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Belmont Alumna Named President of Aquinas College
PT Scholarship Established to Honor Dr. David G. Greathouse
The inaugural award of the David G. Greathouse Physical Therapy Scholarship occurred during the 2010-11 academic year. The $1900 scholarship was awarded to Ashley Campbell, a third-year student in the School of Physical Therapy. The award is designated for a third-year PT student who demonstrates leadership, scholarship and exemplary clinical performance within the program and who has a minimum grade point average of 3.7.
From 1996-2005, Dr. Greathouse served as the founding chair and associate dean of the Belmont University School of Physical Therapy. During this time, he was also an adjunct professor in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Currently, Dr. Greathouse is the Director of Clinical Electrophysiology Services at Texas Physical Therapy Specialists in New Braunfels, TX. He holds a BA in biology and physical education from Marshall University, a Certificate in Physical Therapy from the D.T. Watson School of Physiatrics and a MS (Education/Physical Therapy) and PhD (Anatomy) from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Greathouse has published over 45 manuscripts and 7 book chapters/monologues and has given over 100 professional presentations. He was named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the APTA in 2006, the organization’s most prestigious recognition.
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As she nears graduation in August, Ashley commented on her award: “I am both honored and thankful to be the first recipient of the David G. Greathouse scholarship. To be recognized and associated with a luminary in our profession and of course the founding Chair of Belmont’s PT program, is a privilege that I will not soon forget. My greatest thanks go out to all that contributed to this award.”
The deadline for submitting an application letter for the scholarship is in May each year. A new scholarship recipient will be announced in August.
Belmont Alumnus Signs With Florida Marlins
Belmont graduate Nate Woods (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) has signed a Major League Baseball contract to play with the Florida Marlins organization. The pitcher, designated hitter and first baseman is one of the most decorated players to come out of the BU baseball program in recent years and follows in a long line of Bruin alums to sign with a professional club.
“We are so proud of Nate and what he has accomplished while here at Belmont,” Head Coach Dave Jarvis said. “He certainly deserves this opportunity to continue his passion for the game of baseball at the next level, and I am excited for him.”
Woods leaves Belmont breaking both single-season records and annals records. He also helped lead Belmont into the A-Sun Tournament, as well as wins in both the A-Sun and NCAA Championships.
Woods graduated from Belmont University May 2011 with a degree in Information Systems Management.
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Keiper Participates in AIDS LifeCycle Ride
Kristin Keiper, internship coordinator in the College of Business Administration, recently participated in the AIDS LifeCycle Ride as the team captain of Music City Queens of Country; her team raised more than $9,000. AIDS LifeCycle 10 raised more than $13 million for HIV/AIDS outreach, the largest amount in the history of HIV/AIDS. ALC is a seven-day, 545 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles; 2,350 riders and 600 roadies participated in ALC 10, and the riders represented 40 states and 11 countries.
Athletics Earns Unprecedented Eighth A-Sun All-Academic Trophy
Bruins set new standard for athletic, academic excellence
For the eighth time in its 10-year conference history, Belmont University has claimed the Atlantic Sun All-Academic Trophy, the league office announced Thursday. All told, 174 out of 228 in-season Belmont student-athletes earned academic honors, giving the university the greatest percentage of All-Academic honorees at 76.3 percent. That figure represents a new single-year program standard for Belmont University Athletics.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “I’m always proud of the strong performance of our student-athletes both in the classroom and in their chosen sports. But it’s particularly meaningful to win this award eight out of the past 10 years in a conference as academically competitive as the Atlantic Sun. To be awarded this trophy on the heels of conference championships in men’s basketball and baseball makes it all the more special.”
Belmont posted a 3.318 grade-point average in the 2011 spring semester – the highest department GPA since Belmont became an NCAA Division I member institution in 1997 and marking the 27th consecutive semester in which the departmental GPA has exceeded 3.0.
Last month, four Belmont teams – men’s basketball, men’s soccer, women’s golf, and women’s soccer – made the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Public Recognition List, signifying each program ranking in the top 10 percent within their respective sports nationwide for their academic progress rate as determined by the NCAA. In fact, Belmont men’s basketball and men’s soccer have made the list every year since the APR program’s inception in 2006.
Pam Parry to Participate in Teaching Excellence Panel
Chair of the Communication Studies Department, Pam Parry, will participate Aug. 9 on a panel addressing teaching excellence as part of the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in St. Louis.
The panel, titled “A Decade of Excellence: Panel Discussion with Past Teachers of the Year,” will feature four recipients of the annual teaching award given by the Small Programs Interest Group of AEJMC. Parry won the national teaching award in 2009, and she has been serving as the group’s Teaching Co-Chair since then. The Teaching Co-Chair is an elected officer who promotes teaching within the organization.
Dr. Michael Voight Receives APTA’s Most Prestigious Recognition
Dr. Michael Voight, Professor of Physical Therapy at Belmont University, has been selected as a 2011 Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the most prestigious recognition granted by the organization. Voight was officially bestowed the honor at a ceremony in National Harbor, Maryland on June 9 as part of the association’s annual conference.
Fewer than 150 of the association’s 77,000 members serve as Worthingham fellows. The fellowship recognizes those who have made lasting and significant advances in the science, education and practice of the profession of physical therapy, sustained over a period of at least 15 years. It honors practitioners who have attained the highest level of professional excellence and impact in terms of advancing the profession.
The fellowship is named for Catherine Worthingham, who served on the APTA’s board intermittently from 1932 to 1965, was APTA president from 1940 to ’44, and was the first physical therapist to earn a doctoral degree. Worthingham passed away in 1997.
“Dr. Voight’s election as a Catherine Worthingham Fellow speaks volumes about the recognized contributions that he has made as an expert clinician, and nationally and internationally recognized educator,” said Associate Dean of the School of Physical Therapy, Dr. John Halle. “Belmont University is fortunate to have faculty with the talent and energy demonstrated by Dr. Voight. This is a high honor and it is well deserved.”
Voight has had a distinguished career as both an educator and clinical physical therapist for over 25 years. Throughout his career he has become one of the leading authorities in the rehabilitation of orthopedic and sports injuries and he has worked to advance the knowledge of others as a clinician and educator.
Belmont Covers Tuition for Eligible Veterans Through Yellow Ribbon Program
Agreement with Department of Veterans Affairs significantly reduces tuition for service members
Belmont University and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have signed a voluntary agreement to significantly reduce the out-of-pocket expenses for qualified veterans, their spouses and dependents to earn college degrees.
Through Belmont’s enhanced Yellow Ribbon Program, which takes effect Aug. 1, the University and the federal government each will pay 50 percent of tuition and mandatory fees for eligible recipients as deemed by the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The program allows qualified students to attend school at little-to-no tuition and fee costs.
Per academic year, Belmont University is providing equitable contributions for students according to the costs of their academic programs: law students up to $17,000; pharmacy students up to $14,000; graduate business students up to $9,000; students in traditional undergraduate programs up to $8,000; and students enrolled in University College adult degree programs up to $5,000. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will match Belmont’s giving. The federal department also pays a monthly housing allowance according to the institution’s zip code and annual book stipend up to $1,000.
“Our Yellow Ribbon Program is the most comprehensive tuition assistance program a private university can offer service members who have fought in wars, been stationed overseas and labored in other forms of active duty,” said Associate Registrar La Kiesha Armstrong, who is heading Belmont’s Yellow Ribbon Program. “This new agreement will offer increased resources to members of the military and their family members to make higher education affordable and obtainable.”
Since the program’s inception in 2009, Belmont’s Yellow Ribbon participant enrollment has increased 113 percent. Degree-seeking students previously received a 20 percent waiver of traditional tuition costs. Belmont University and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs entered an agreement May 23 to increase each institution’s contribution to 50 percent of tuition and fees per qualified student.
Professor Publishes Performance Review in Theatre Journal
Dr. James Al-Shamma, Department of Theatre and Dance, has published a performance review in the May 2011 issue of Theatre Journal. He reviewed Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play, which was staged by Epic Theatre Ensemble in Brooklyn in May 2010.
Murray Chairs Session at Composing Spaces Conference
Douglas Murray (English) chaired a session titled “Sacred, Emotional and Capitalist Spaces in Jordan, Lahiri and Austen” at the “Composing Spaces” Conference at the University of Cincinnati, May 13.
