Azad Karim, a biology/pre-ped student at Belmont, was featured on local station Fox17 on March 30 to tell about his volunteer work with the “Best Buddies” program. Karim has been buddies with Matt Moore for several months, and they get together several times a week. Best Buddies is a non-profit organization that pairs people with intellectual or developmental disabilities with non-disabled people in the community. Best Buddies has been around for years worldwide, but only in Tennessee for less than two years. There are currently eight chapters with five more opening up later this year. The goal is for anyone with an intellectual disability to always have a buddy.
Biology Major Published in Tennessean
Laura Muck, a biology major at Belmont, recently had her letter to the editor published in the Tennessean. Her letter was about calculators being a crutch for students.
Students Present at American Chemical Society National Meeting
Alison Moore and Rachel Rigsby (Chemistry), along with nine students, attended the 241st American Chemical Society National Meeting in Anaheim, CA, March 27-31. In addition to attending research talks, poster sessions and workshops, five students presented research posters: Brandon Ladage, Nicole Smith, Loren Brown, Will Proffitt and Vinh Mai. Four students presented the chapter activity poster: Emily Smothers, Grant Anderson, Jenny Westbrook and Ashley Newsome. This year the Belmont University chapter of SMACS (Student Members of the American Chemical Society) received a Commendable Award at the Undergraduate Awards Ceremony.
Giordano Serves as Member of Editorial Advisory Board
Pete Giordano (Psychological Sciences) has accepted an invitation to serve as a member of a guest editorial advisory board for a special issue of PLAT (Psychology Learning and Teaching). PLAT is an international peer-reviewed journal devoted to the sharing of good and innovative learning, teaching and assessment practices. It is published by the Higher Education Academy Psychology Network in the UK. The special issue will focus on cross-cultural issues related to the teaching of psychology.
History Students Participate in Regional Conference
On April 2, Belmont history students Andrew Broadway, Eli Gibbons and Stephanie Downing traveled to Murray, Kentucky to participate in the 2011 Kentucky Regional Phi Alpha Theta conference held at Murray State University. The students are members of Belmont’s Xi-Alpha Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society. Each of the students presented their research to their peers from other universities. Downing’s paper on the U.S. hockey team’s victory at the 1980 Olympics, “February 22, 1980: The Miracle on Ice,” received second prize for best undergraduate paper. Accompanying the students at the conference were Department of History faculty member Dr. Cynthia Bisson, advisor to the XI Alpha Chapter, and Dr. Douglas Bisson, who also chaired a panel.
Lawyer Advocates for Students to Engage in ‘Strategic Whimsy’
Lawyer Bob Goff, the founder and CEO of Restore International who also teaches a law class at Pepperdine University, spoke at Belmont on Wednesday in a convocation co-sponsored by the Office of Spiritual Development and the College of Law.
The nonprofit Restore International exists to address atrocities and injustices committed against children. With a passion for finding ways to restore justice to children and the poorest of the poor, Restore makes a difference on behalf of those who do not otherwise have a voice. Restore has worked with Uganda’s judiciary in bringing to trial over 200 cases, including cases involving children who were languishing in jail without trial. Goff now serves as the Hon. Consul for the Republic of Uganda to the United States.
Though passionate about the work of Restore, Goff is not as enthusiastic about organizations, red tape or anything considered the “typical” way of accomplishing a mission.
“The thing that struck me in college,” Goff said, “was that I wanted to make a difference in the world, and I kept hitting invisible fences.”
Encouraging students with the idea to be “secretly incredible,” Goff challenged attendees to move past the impediments that stand between them and their passion for service in order to get to the “do” part. “Bring your whimsy. If there are tapes playing in your head about what you can’t do, ignore them. You serve a huge God.”
Goff is currently writing a book that is scheduled to release in 2012 on Thomas Nelson Publishers. Click here to view additional photos from Wednesday’s event.
Belmont Launches Mobile Web Site
Starting today, prospective Belmont students will be able to find out more about Belmont University via a more convenient device: their smart phones. The mobile site will automatically load when individuals enter www.belmont.edu – or the mobile address, m.belmont.edu – on an internet capable phone. While the mobile site is primarily targeted to prospective students, it will also be useful for current students, faculty and staff.
Users will be able to view brief information on each academic program, important contact numbers and an interactive campus map as well as connect to Belmont Athletics. This mobile site will be an ongoing project for the Office of University Marketing and Special Initiatives and will continue to grow to be a more robust site in the coming months.
Highlights of the mobile site include:
• Built with the latest mobile technology to work on most modern smart phones
• A Go Here button on the homepage allows users to provide feedback about the site
• The mobile site provides direct links to the University’s social media pages
• Important numbers can be called directly from the site, just by pushing the desired destination
• Users can donate to Development and/or the Bruin Club (Athletics Annual Fund) by clicking the ‘donate’ button
• The site can be added to smart phone home screens for easy access.
Alpha Chi Students Present at National Convention
Brandon Ladage awarded prestigious Alpha Chi Sledge/Benedict Scholarship
![Alpha_Chi_Group_Pic[1].jpg](http://forum.belmont.edu/achievers/archives/Alpha_Chi_Group_Pic%5B1%5D.jpg)
Seven Belmont students presented research papers at the Alpha Chi National Honor Society Convention at the Mission Valley Marriott Hotel in San Diego on April 2-3. Faculty advisors Sarah Ann Stewart and Jonathan Thorndike also attended. The annual Alpha Chi convention is organized around student presentations by junior and seniors from their respective chapters. At the conference, Belmont student Brandon Ladage was announced as one of the 2011 winners of the prestigious Alpha Chi Sledge/Benedict Scholarship.
Membership in Alpha Chi is the highest academic honor awarded by Belmont University. Its members are invited based on their academic standing in the top 10 percent of the junior and senior classes within any academic major. Belmont has had an active chapter of Alpha Chi for over 25 years. Dr. Sarah Ann Stewart, associate professor of mathematics, is the current sponsor. Dr. Jonathan Thorndike, professor in the honors program, is Region III Secretary-Treasurer. Alpha Chi Region III includes the colleges and universities with chapters in Alabama, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The convention’s keynote speaker was Heather Triplett Biehl, distinguished alumna of Alpha Chi. Biehl worked for 10 years at the Central Intelligence Agency, serving as a senior political analyst for the Office of Near East and South Asian Analysis, as a Senior Iraqi Analyst and on Iranian and counterterrorism issues. She received four awards for exceptional performance. After leaving the CIA, Biehl has continued to focus on intelligence issues through her work with BAE Systems-Advanced Information Technologies and BBN Technologies.
Belmont student presentations included:
• In the Health Sciences section, Cara Anderson presented her findings on “Competent Nursing: More than Tubes in Holes.”
• In the Art section, Lizzie Davis presented her research on “The Whistling Boy: Discovering Character.”
• In Anthropology and Sociology, Zach O’Brien discussed “The Evolution of Methology.”
• In the Music section, Anny Knight presented findings on “Music in Germany Under Nazi Power.”
• In Religion, Heather Anvik discussed “Islam: Clarifying the Conflict.”
• In the Mathematics Section, Stephanie Bobo presented her research on “Scheduling Prison Guards and Faculty: Examples Using Linear Programming.”
• In Molecular/Cellular Biology, Julie Malkowski presented her research on “The Effects of Rotenone on Chemotaxis in Caenorhabditis elegans.”
Boardroom Dedicated in Honor of Jack Bovender
Noted community and healthcare leader Jack O. Bovender, Jr. was honored Wednesday in a ceremony at Belmont University for his impact on the school’s health sciences facilities and programs. The Jack O. Bovender, Jr. Boardroom, located on the fourth floor of Belmont’s Gordon E. Inman Center, was dedicated at an event attended by Mr. Bovender, his wife Barbara, son Richard and daughter-in-law Sara.
A founding member of the Nashville Healthcare Council, Bovender served as chairman and CEO of HCA until his retirement in 2009. He helped champion the dream of a premier Health Sciences program at Belmont and helped secure the first major gift for the facilities that now support the program. At the Bovender Boardroom dedication ceremony, Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “This is a place where decisions are made to guide the future of Belmont. I can’t think of a better name to have here than one of the greatest visionaries I know.”
Click here to see additional photos from the event.
Graduate Student Wins Gospel Album of the Year
Anna Grace Kimbrough, a graduate student in the School of Music, won the National Traditional Country Music Association’s 2010 Gospel Album of the Year Award with her band, High Road. In addition to the award, Kimbrough’s latest solo album, In Your Hands, was released on iTunes on Monday.
