Belmont journalism students won several major awards at the Southeast Journalism Conference’s Best of the South competition held Feb. 17-19 at Troy University in Alabama. The SEJC named belmontvision.com the best Web site, and Connect, a magazine produced by Belmont students to distribute to incoming freshmen and transfer students, was named the top college magazine.
“BelmontVision.com recognizes the immediacy of the world college students live in — a continually evolving tech savvy world,” said editor Erin Carson. “Being college students ourselves, we know how to report on the topics that mean the most to Belmont students and get that information out to them.”
Several Belmont students won individual awards as well. Journalism students Erin Carson and Dustin Stout placed in onsite competitions, in which students competed on deadlines in individual and group categories.
In addition to the student awards, Linda Quigley, instructor in journalism and faculty adviser for The Vision, was named Journalism Educator of the Year. “This award acknowledges all our efforts in SEJC and in our own Department of Media Studies to teach solid journalistic values as well as new media skills,” said Quigley. “Journalism is undergoing constant change, and we have to meet the challenge of preparing students not only for current jobs, but also for job tracks that don’t even exist yet.”
Belmont Students, Faculty Win Major Awards at SEJC
Belmont Adds Chapter of Delta Chi Professional Pharmacy Fraternity
The Gamma Xi Chapter at Belmont University was recently inducted into Phi Delta Chi Professional Pharmacy Fraternity. Gamma Xi is the 86th Chapter chartered since the founding of the Fraternity on November 2, 1883. The Phi Delta Chi Fraternity develops leaders to advance the profession of pharmacy and its allied interests. It is a lifelong experience, promoting scholastic, professional and social growth in its Brothers. Over 25 Brothers from 13 different chapters across the United States were present to initiate 23 founding Brothers from Belmont University School of Pharmacy. The Gamma Xi Chapter of Phi Delta Chi looks forward to working with the other fraternities and organizations on campus to help develop a healthy culture for students, faculty, administration and community residents.
Greek Community Raises Money During Homecoming
The Greek community is proud to announce another crowning achievement following Saturday’s homecoming festivities: $321.06 was collectively raised through donations between fraternities and sororities at their 2nd annual chili and dessert cookoff. Winning the tasty competition were members of Phi Delta Theta and Phi Mu, who each raised $112.05 and $101.31, respectively. The money raised from this event will be donated to the 2011 Greek Week philanthropy, which is yet to be determined. Congratulations to all chapters who participated in the event and the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council for continuing to sponsor this new homecoming tradition for Greek Life.
Belmont Achieves Success at TN State Speech/Debate Tournament
On Feb. 19-20, the Belmont Speech and Debate team traveled to the Tennessee State Speech and Debate tournament on the campus of ETSU at Kingsport. Overall the team placed second in debate, third in individual events and second overall. Awards received were as follows:
Novice Debate: Sash Blevins & Emily Lico – Semi-Finalists
Open Debate:Tim Smith & Eric Schoen – Quarter-Finalists; Bethany Miller & Matthew Roberts – Semi-Finalists
Extemporaneous Speaking: Matthew Roberts – 6th place and 1st place novice competitor; Tim Smith – 5th place; Bethany Miller – 2nd place
Poetry Interpretation: Keayana Robinson – 5th place and 1st place novice competitor; Eric Schoen – 1st place
Dramatic Interpretation: Nicole Bright – 2nd place
After Dinner Speaking: Nick Yaksich – 5th place and 1st place novice competitor
Impromptu Speaking: Matthew Roberts – 6th place and 1st place novice competitor; Bethany Miller – 3rd place
Informative Speaking: Jaclyn Torrento – 1st place and 1st place novice competitor
Programmed Oral Interpretation: Matthew Roberts – 6th place and 1st place novice competitor; Eric Schoen – 3rd place
Communication Analysis: Tim Smith – 5th place; Matthew Roberts – 2nd place and 1st place novice competitor
Duo Interpretation: Eric Schoen & Sash Blevins – 6th; Nicole Bright & Nick Yaksich – 4th
Pentathlon (Top Overall Competitors): Eric Schoen – 6th place
Trebuchet Built by Society of Physics Students
Society of Physics Students (SPS) Phil Feurtado, Clark Shell and Stewart Brenegar recently built a trebuchet which is a medieval siege device similar to a catapult. It uses the potential energy of a heavy weight set to launch a smaller projectile to great distances. Dr. Scott Hawley is the faculty advisor for the Society of Physics Students club.
Woods Named Candidate for Lowe’s Senior Class Award
Belmont senior Nate Woods (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was honored as one of 30 NCAA baseball student-athletes to be named candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, as announced on Thursday. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The 2011 candidate class includes 15 student-athletes with cumulative grade point averages of better than a 3.5, including three with perfect 4.0 GPAs. Seven are from teams ranked in the Collegiate Baseball preseason top 35 poll.
Woods maintains a 3.58 GPA in information systems management. He has been a Dean’s List honoree five times and was named Atlantic Sun Conference All-Academic twice. Read more….
Giancarlo Guerrero Shares Music Passion with Belmont Students
Giancarlo Guerrero, acclaimed music director for the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, spoke in the Massey Performing Arts Center at Belmont University this morning in a convocation titled “A Life Shaped by Music,” sharing personal stories of his own music education and development.
“It’s a great privilege for me to be speaking with you this morning,” Guerrero began. “I am always looking for excuses to hang out with students.”
Born in Managua, Nicaragua, Guerrero and his family moved when he was 10 to Costa Rica, where his parents signed him up for the youth symphony as a way to keep their young son busy and out of trouble. “My introduction to music was accidental. In my immediate family no one knows how to read music, except now my two daughters do because they are learning piano.”
Guerrero originally dreamt of playing violin, but when he arrived to take the required aptitude test in his second year with the youth symphony, there were 50 students and parents in front of him. Rather than waiting, he decided to stand in another line with only two people: percussion. “The instructor handed me sticks and said ‘Go like this… click click.’ And I went ‘click click.’ ‘Good, you’re in!’ And I never looked back.”
While on a percussion performance scholarship at Baylor, Guerrero was encouraged to pursue conducting and fell in love with scores. “I am a medium for dead people–that is my job, to get into a composer’s head… [Your career] has to move you; otherwise it’s not worth doing. That’s not just true of music; it’s true of anything.”
Now in his second season with the Nashville Symphony, Guerrero continues to flourish as the orchestra’s music director. A fervent advocate of new music and contemporary composers, Guerrero has collaborated with and championed the works of several of America’s most respected composers, including John Adams, John Corigliano, Osvaldo Golijov, Jennifer Higdon, Michael Daugherty and Roberto Sierra. In the fall of 2009, Naxos released a recording of Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony performing works by Michael Daugherty, which earned three GRAMMY® Awards, including one for Best Orchestral Performance. Guerrero’s latest recording with the orchestra features the music of Argentine legend Astor Piazzolla. In June 2004, Guerrero was awarded the Helen M. Thompson Award by the American Symphony Orchestra League, which recognizes outstanding achievement among young conductors nationwide. He holds degrees from Baylor and Northwestern universities.
Click here to see additional photos from the event.
CEMB Honors ‘Hap’ Peebles with Mulloy Award
Continuing a tradition of recognizing music industry greats who are also dedicated to the educational process, Belmont’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business will name the International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA) and founder Harry “Hap” Peebles the 2011 recipient of the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence at the Best of the Best Showcase at Belmont’s Curb Event Center on March 26 at 7 p.m. Established in memory of program founder Bob Mulloy, the annual Award of Excellence recognizes an individual or organization that has achieved a level of excellence in the music business and entertainment industries with notable service to Belmont University and the Nashville community; previous recipients include Donna Hilley and Vince Gill.
Harry “Hap” Peebles was country before Barbara Mandrell was born. Peebles served the country music industry for more than 60 years. Booking artists from the age of 18, he worked with Miss Mandrell when she was 11 years old! Hap is a founder of IEBA, originally known as the International Country Music Buyers Association, as well as the Country Music Association (CMA). IEBA was founded in 1970 as a non-profit trade organization for talent buyers, concert promoters, agents, managers, artists and other related entertainment professionals. IEBA provides networking, showcasing and educational opportunities to strengthen relationships, foster growth and increase revenue for the live entertainment industry. IEBA is known for showcasing the best and brightest talent in all genres of music and all fields of entertainment—exposing buyers to the freshest acts for the buying season.
IEBA has invested in the success of Belmont students by establishing four endowed scholarships in honor of two of IEBA’s founders and legendary talent buyers, Harry “Hap” Peebles and Don Romeo, in addition to industry giants J.P. Williams and George Moffett. Collectively, these endowments represent a $300,000 investment in Belmont University.
To give to the Hap Peebles scholarship fund, make a secure gift online at www.belmont.edu/give. Be sure to clarify the gift designation to the Harry Peebles Entertainment Endowed Scholarship. If you have questions or would like more information about the Hap Peebles Endowed Scholarship, please e-mail Harry Chapman at Willie Young .
McCrickard Publishes Article, Receives Award
Matthew McCrickard, Associate Registrar, received the 2011 “Margaret Ruthven Perry Distinguished Journalism Award” from the Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (SACRAO) at its annual meeting in Atlanta. The award recognizes McCrickard for his article “Accentuate the Positive: Identifying Opportunities in Enrollment Services through Appreciative Inquiry,” which appears in the current edition of the organization’s refereed journal. McCrickard also received the Perry award in 2007, making him the first member of SACRAO to receive the honor more than once.
Parry to Present Paper at Graduate Student Symposium
Pam Parry, associate professor of communication studies, will present a paper March 18 at the Graduate Student Research Symposium at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Her research-in-progress paper, titled “Prescription for News: An Analysis of the Eisenhower Administration’s Medical Disclosure Policy,” was selected to represent the School of Mass Communication and Journalism at the annual graduate competition.
