Belmont alumnus Andrew DeVoe has been hired as Chief Financial Officer at Physiotherapy Associates, the nation’s foremost provider of outpatient rehabilitation services. In his new role, DeVoe will refine the processes of the revenue cycle and oversee corporate financial matters. DeVoe graduated from Belmont in 1991 with a degree in finance.
DeVoe has more than 20 years of healthcare financial and operational experience in rural and urban investor-owned and not-for-profit hospital providers across the country. Most recently, DeVoe served as president and chief executive officer of Apollo Health Street. DeVoe also spent time as CEO, COO and CFO at Health Management Associates, Hospital Corporation of America and Tenet Healthcare.
“I am thrilled to have Andrew come on board as our chief financial officer. He has seen virtually every aspect of healthcare, from both a finance and management perspective,” said Dan Connors, CEO of Physiotherapy Associates. “I believe he will be a strong leader as we continue our dynamic growth initiative in 2011, and provide our leading-edge physical therapy services nationwide.”
DeVoe is a four-time recipient of Tenet’s Outstanding CFO award and was honored by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a member of the Top 40 Under 40 list of business professionals in 2006.
Belmont Alum Named CFO at Physiotherapy Associates
Halle Receives Outstanding Alumni Award
Dr. John Halle, professor and chair of the School of Physical Therapy at Belmont University, was recently honored with the Outstanding Alumni Award from the U.S. Army Physical Therapy Alumni Association at Baylor University.
Established in 1989, the Outstanding Alumni Award is presented annually and recognizes the graduates who have made significant contributions to the profession and who are furthering the health and quality of life for members of the military and/or civilian communities. Dr. Halle is the 22nd recipient of the award, which was first presented in 1989.
Physical therapy education in the United States Army has a long and proud tradition of excellence beginning as physiotherapy Reconstruction Aides during World War I. Prior to the early 1970s, physical therapists worked in a prescriptive environment. However, after the Vietnam War, due to a physician shortage, Army Physical Therapists took on the role of “physician extender” or direct access and were credentialed to evaluate and treat patients with neuro-musculoskeletal conditions without physician referral. Army physical therapists have been functioning in a direct access setting since that time.
The program at Baylor University transitioned to a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree in 2003. The program has Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Corps students.
Smith Wins Mail Manager of the Year
Mail Services Coordinator and Supervisor of the Mail Center Veronica Smith recently won the Connie Lawson Mail Manager of the year award from the College and University Mail Services Association. The award is given once a year. CUMSA represents nearly 60 colleges and universities in the southeastern region of the United States.
Belmont Hosts Society of Student Pharmacists
In February, Belmont hosted approximately 120 student pharmacists from Tennessee’s five schools of pharmacy (Belmont, East Tennessee State University, Lipscomb University, Union University, and the University of Tennessee) for the third annual Tennessee Society of Student Pharmacists meeting. TSSP is the student branch of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association. At the meeting, Shanna Harris, a third-year pharmacy student at Belmont, assumed the presidency of the TSSP.
“TSSP provides student pharmacists opportunities including leadership, community service and networking with fellow students and pharmacist across the state,” said Dr. Cathy Ficzere, assistant professor of pharmacy and director of Drug Information Services. “Whether our students remain in Tennessee after graduation or not, these skills will go with our students ‘From Here to Anywhere.’”
The TSSP meeting included a full day of programming with keynote address from U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, M.D., workshops on medication therapy management and the family model of addiction recovery and a legislative update from the executive director of TPA, Baeteena Black.
Speech and Debate Team Wins National Christian College Forensics Invitational
The Belmont University Speech and Debate team won first place Sunday at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational (NCCFI). This is the second year in a row Belmont has taken first place as the top team at this national tournament.
The 14th annual NCCFI tournament was held on the campus of Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California with 25 Universities competing. Other universities included fellow Tennessee schools Carson-Newman College and Bryan College as well as outside universities including Wheaton, Pepperdine, John Brown and Point Loma Nazarene. Coach Jason Stahl said, “It’s a tremendous honor to be named the top school among so many great teams. To receive this honor two years in a row is truly astounding. Our students should feel very proud.”
Not only was Belmont named first overall, but also was named the second place school in individual events. Assistant coach Ryan Greenawalt commented, “All the trophies that the students won are great, but their hard work goes much further. The skills these students are learning doing speech and debate not only make them critical thinkers while at Belmont but also will help them in their future careers and will make them more socially conscientious citizens for the years to come.”
Individually, of the 168 debaters competing over the weekend, Belmont’s Holly McKee placed 5th overall in the novice division and debaters Tim Smith and Eric Schoen placed 3rd and 2nd respectively in the varsity division. In individual events novices Nick Yacksich and Matthew Roberts placed 5th and 2nd in the novice division as well as Eric Schoen and Nicole Bright placing 5th and 1st in the open division.
The Belmont University speech and debate team is a group of students who debate global issues, perform speeches over complex topics, as well as present literature presentations centered on social causes.
Belmont Voted Third Smartest Team in March Madness
Online news outlet TheDailyBeast.com recently ranked the 68 teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in terms of how the student-athletes fared academically, and Belmont University landed at third on the list behind only Princeton and Brigham Young. Rounding out the top five were Notre Dame and Villanova. Rankings were calculated based on each team’s graduation success rate (GSR), Academic Progress Rate (APR) for both the most recent year available as well as the multi-year, four-year average score and the head coach’s career APR. All four metrics, calculated and provided by the NCAA, were weighted equally. Click here to see the story and complete list.
Belmont was also one of only seven schools nationwide to be praised by CBSMoneyWatch.com for having perfect graduation rates for men’s basketball student athletes. Click here for more on that story.
Meanwhile, InsideHigherEd.com released today its own picks for the Tournament Bracket based on classroom outcomes. Winners of each game in their bracket were determined using only the NCAA’s multi-year Academic Progress Rate, a nationally comparable score that gives points to teams whose players stay in good academic standing and remain enrolled from semester to semester. In this bracket Belmont falls in the Regional Semifinals to eventual tournament champion Butler. In 2008, the site selected Belmont University to make it all the way to the Championship Game. Click here to read more on this story.
Belmont Men’s Basketball will face Wisconsin in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament this Thurs., March 17 in Tucson, Ariz., as part of the Southeast Regional bracket. Tip-off time is 6:27 p.m. Central, and the game will be carried live on TruTV.
Occupational Therapy Students Present at National Seating Symposium
On March 3, occupational therapy students Rebecca Anderson, Reagan Bergstresser-Simpson and Kristi Jarrett presented their thesis poster at the 27th International Seating Symposium held at the Opryland Hotel. The title of the presentation was “Examining the Quality of Life of Children with Physical Disabilities Who Participate in a Community-Based Recreation Program: A Mixed Method Design.”
The study examined the relationship between participation in organized, community-based recreation and perceived quality of life for children with physical disabilities. A mixed-method, cross-sectional design was used with thirteen participants recruited from ABLE Youth in Tennessee. All participants used a wheelchair as their primary mode of mobility. Quantitative data was collected using the Pediatric Quality of Life Instrument (PedsQL™), which measures perceived quality of life, and the qualitative data used a phenomenological approach with individual interviews. The results of the PedsQL™ suggested that the majority of the participants had a moderately high quality of life. The investigators identified six major themes in the qualitative information that described the children’s perspectives on what contributed to their quality of life and how their participation in recreational activities contributed to this life satisfaction. These themes included: health benefits of physical activity, opportunity for socialization, having a choice, identity as a wheelchair user, having a positive attitude and empowerment by abilities & future goals. The researchers believe participation in ABLE Youth contributed to a positive perception of quality of life for the participants.
ACPE Visits School of Pharmacy
On March 9-10, the Belmont University School of Pharmacy underwent a successful Monitoring Visit by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The visit is another step in the multi-year review process that the school is undergoing as it moves toward eligibility for full accreditation in 2012. During the visit, the review team toured McWhorter Hall and other campus facilities, met with faculty and students, as well as with area health care providers.
Dean Phil Johnston said, “It’s gratifying when your professional peers are so complimentary about the thing into which our faculty have invested such effort over the past four years.”
Belmont Ranked Top Undergraduate Business School in Tennessee by BusinessWeek
For the third year, Belmont University’s undergraduate School of Business achieved a Top 100 national ranking in Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s annual report on “The Best Undergrad B-Schools” in the U.S. Belmont is now the highest ranked business school in the state of Tennessee. Ranked at No. 99, Belmont placed ahead of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, the University of Arkansas, Louisiana State University and the University of Kentucky.
Belmont’s College of Business Administration (COBA) Dean J. Patrick Raines said, “Once again, we are thrilled that Belmont University’s College of Business Administration is ranked among the elite business programs in the country by Bloomberg Businessweek. We are proud of the academic quality of our faculty and the innovative programs that we offer. We are honored to be selected as the top undergraduate business program in the State of Tennessee.”
BusinessWeek uses a comprehensive methodology for its rankings calculations that includes nine distinct measures. Overall, the magazine surveys around 85,000 business majors, who describe the quality of teaching, and 600 corporate recruiters, who report which business schools produce the best graduates. The magazine also researches the median starting salaries for recent graduates and the number of graduates from each program who go on to attend national top tier MBA programs. BusinessWeek then calculates an academic quality score for the undergraduate schools by combining average SAT scores, faculty-student ratios, average class size, the percentage of students with internships and the number of hours students devote to class work each week.
BusinessWeek’s complete rankings of the “Best Undergraduate B-Schools” including the full rankings methodology, interactive tables, in-depth profiles and a discussion forum are available at www.businessweek.com/bschools/undergraduate.
Bruins Headed to the Big Dance and March Madness
Selection Sunday Party Set for March 13
The Belmont men’s basketball team won the 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Saturday night with a convincing 87-46 win over North Florida and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins (30-4) are the first team in the nation to 30 victories in NCAA Division-I basketball and will appear in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six years.
This weekend Belmont University Athletics will host a ‘Selection Sunday’ watch party as the men’s basketball team awaits its opponent and site of play for the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Join the Bruins and the Belmont Community as we celebrate the program’s fourth NCAA Tournament automatic berth and 30-4 campaign.
Belmont head coach Rick Byrd and the entire Bruin team will be on hand. Voice of the Bruins Kevin Ingram will again serve as emcee for the event.
Schedule of Events
Sunday, March 13: Beaman Student Life Center (adjacent to Curb Event Center)
4 p.m. – FREE food & refreshments served
4:30 p.m. – team introduction
5 p.m. – Selection Show airs live on CBS
There is no charge for admission, and parking is available in the Curb Event Center garage.
Belmont Men’s Basketball Highlights
• Four NCAA Tournament Appearances (2006, 2007, 2008, 2011)
• Eight Atlantic Sun Conference Championships (four regular season, four tournament) since 2006
• First NCAA program to reach 30-win plateau this season
• NCAA-leading 18 road/neutral court victories this season
• Undefeated 12-0 record at Curb Event Center this season
• 25 of 30 victories this season by double figures
• No. 1 in the nation in scoring margin this season
• Most productive bench in NCAA Division-I men’s basketball this season
• Six postseason appearances in the last eight years
• Received Associated Press and/or ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ national poll votes eight consecutive weeks
• No. 2 in national Mid-Major Top 25 Poll on CollegeInsider.com
• NCAA-best Nine Academic All-America selections since 2001
• One of only 12 programs in nation with NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) Honor Distinction every year of existence
• Six of last nine Atlantic Sun Conference Male Student-Athletes of the Year recipients from Belmont men’s basketball
Head Coach Rick Byrd Highlights
• 610 career victories – one of only 12 active head coaches with 600+ career victories
• 518 career victories at Belmont – one of only five active head coaches with 500+victories at current school
For more information on Belmont Men’s Basketball, visit www.BelmontBruins.com.
