Pam Parry, associate professor of journalism, won a $100 award for presenting the top paper in her department at the 2010 Graduate Student Research Symposium at the University of Southern Mississippi on March 26. She presented a paper titled, “Second Fiddle, Not Second Rate: Associate Role Obscures Anne Wheaton’s Contributions to Public Relations.” Parry was one of 120 graduate students who presented papers at the annual symposium.
Belmont University Celebrates Earth Hour
A special event, Belmont Goes Dark: An Earth Hour Celebration, was held on campus Sat., March 27 as part of a global project to raise awareness of climate change. During Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people, organizations and governments around the world come together to make a bold statement about their concern for climate change by doing something quite simple – turning off their lights for one hour.
The Belmont celebration included acoustic performances by student artists and light only from bonfires. In addition, recycling stations were available for trash and electronics, and old cellular phones were collected for “Cell Phones for Soldiers,” a program that encourages proper recycling of unwanted phones with proceeds going to pre-paid calling cards for troops.
To see more pictures of Belmont’s Earth Hour celebration, click here.
‘Diagnosing Our Future’ Speaker Series Tackles Community Health
Harvard professor joins local industry leaders to discuss issues
The Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing hosted “A Dialogue to Build a Healthier Community” yesterday with featured speaker Dr. David Williams, Harvard University professor and staff director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America. Williams joined with numerous leaders in the Nashville healthcare community to discuss topics including: How Our Neighborhood Affects our Health, A Community Perspective on Disparities Research, Partnering Together for a Healthier Community and Beyond Health Care: Building a Healthier Community. The day-long event was part of the college’s ongoing “Diagnosing Our Future” Speaker Series.
Other participants in the dialogue included Tom Cigarran, Co-founder and Chairman of Healthways, Inc.; Dr. Stephanie Bailey, CDC Chief for the Office of Public Health Practice; Juan Canedo, Executive Director of Progresso Community Center and Chair of the Nashville Latino Health Commission; Helen Moore, TennCare Director of Non-discrimination Compliance/Health Disparities; Jackie Akbari, Chairperson of the Middle Tennessee Diversity Forum; Dr. Eleanor Bright Fleming, Edgehill Dental Collaborations and Policy; Dr. Alisa Haushalter, Director of the Bureau of Population Health Programs for Metro Public Health Department; Yvonne Joosten, Executive Director of the Office of Community Engagement at Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health; Winona Yellowhammer, Spokesperson for the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee; and Ann Hatcher, and Vice President of Executive and Workforce Development Programs at Hospital Corporation of America.
Co-sponsoring the Dialogue with the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing was the University’s Center for Community Health & Health Equity. Presentation partners included the Nashville Health Disparity Coalition, Meharry Medical College and Metro Public Health Department. The Diagnosing Our Future Speaker Series is financially assisted by the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee.
Catholic Charities Hosts Poverty Summit in Curb Event Center
Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc. hosted a Centennial Summit of Catholic Charities USA event on Thurs., March 25 in Belmont University’s Curb Event Center. The day-long event brought together civic, business, religious, community and nonprofit agency leaders through the Southeast region. Fr. Larry Snyder, president of CCUSA, John Seigenthaler, Sr., Dan Cornfield, and other notable presenters focused on the issue of poverty and its devastating effects on America for the purpose of identifying specific methods and programs that work effectively to help the poorest people move toward economic independence.
The Nashville Summit was one of seven regional summits that will be held in 2010 to mark the 100th anniversary of Catholic Charities USA, a national human services organization committed to cutting poverty in half by 2020. The Nashville Summit is part of a nationwide series of meetings that will culminate in Washington, D.C., on September 26, 2010. The summits provide a forum for thought as community leaders, major influencers and citizens-at-large come together and act on poverty.
Renfroe Named Baltic Basketball League MVP
Former Belmont men’s basketball standout Alex Renfroe has been named the MasterCard Baltic Basketball League (BBL) Most Valuable Player for the 2009-10 regular season as a member of the VEF Riga basketball club. Renfroe finished the regular season ranked in the top-eight in five different league statistical categories. He was seventh in scoring (15.2 average), fifth in rebounding (7.4 average), second in steals (2.1 average), first in assists (7.1 average), and eighth in field goal percentage (56.2 percent). He also posted a league-best seven double-doubles and had a league-high two triple-doubles.
His team, VEF Riga, reached the final four of the MasterCard BBL League playoffs, but fell to Ventspils 75-66 Wednesday night in the semifinals. Renfroe led the team with 16 points in the semifinal loss. A local product from Hume-Fogg High School, Renfroe was named 2008-09 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year after averaging 16.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game during his senior season at Belmont. His postseason accolades included: Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, All-District by the NABC and Basketball Times, Mid Major All-American by CollegeInsider.com and CollegeHoops.net.
Furthermore, Renfroe led the Bruins in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocked shots and field goal percentage – believed to be the first college basketball player since Tim Duncan in 1997 to lead his team in all five categories.
Jackson-Abernathy Speaks at Event Hosted by First Lady of Tennessee
Associate Professor of History Dr. Brenda Jackson-Abernathy was the featured presenter Tuesday night at the March installment of a free series of events held at the Governor’s residence and hosted by Tennessee First Lady Andrea Conte.
Conte hosted this presentation in observance of Women’s History Month, and Jackson-Abernathy gave a talk titled “Courage in a Corset: Civil War Nashville through Women’s Eyes.” “This is the second in a series of events we’ve designed to both entertain and enlighten participants,” Conte said. “We rarely hear an account of this chapter in our history from a woman’s perspective, and Dr. Jackson-Abernathy’s discussion of the Civil War as seen through the eyes of women living right here in Nashville was particularly interesting and moving.”
“Women in Civil War Nashville, though often absent from the wartime conversation, played important roles, faced significant challenges and persevered to maintain some sense of normalcy through a difficult time in the city’s history, and it is a pleasure to have this opportunity to share some of their stories and experiences this evening,” said Dr. Jackson-Abernathy.
Student-Run Public Relations Firm Achieves National Recognition with PRSSA
Tower Creative Consultants, the student-run public relations firm, has been accepted as a nationally affiliated student-run firm by Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), indicating that the firm has reached a new level of professionalism and status among PRSSA student-run firms by meeting specific, official standards. Fewer than a dozen student-run firms are affiliated nationwide. Affiliation also means that Tower Creative Consultants will be listed on the Public Relations Society of America Web site to enable us to recruit national clients. Bethany Nelson is the manager of the student firm.
Magruder Has Paper Published
Dr. Robert Magruder, professor and chair of the Chemistry & Physics Department, recently had a paper accepted for publication. The paper is titled “New Intrinsic Oxygen Related Defect Bands in Oxygen Implanted Silica” and will be published in the Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, a journal on the chemical, electronic, optical and mechanical properties of glasses, amorphous semiconductors and metals, sol-gel materials, the liquid state of these solids and the processes by which they are formed.
Alumnae Organize Twestival Nashville to Raise Money and Awareness for Education
On March 25, Nashville will join more than 175 cities around the world in demonstrating social media’s power for social good through the second annual Twestival. The global event is a worldwide fundraising initiative that uses social media, particularly Twitter, to focus participants’ talent and resources to benefit one cause for one day. All proceeds generated from the 2010 Twestival will support education and be donated to Concern Worldwide, a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization that since 1968 has dedicated itself to reducing suffering and eliminating poverty.
Belmont alumnae Christy Frink (’08, Social Work) and Morgan Levy (’06, Music Business) organized the first “Twestival” in Nashville in 2009 and are doing so again this year at Avenue 9 from 6-9 p.m. Thursday. At last year’s Twestival Nashville, more than 200 participants gathered at the Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar in downtown Nashville and raised nearly $2,500 to provide clean and safe drinking water through Charity: Water. For more information on this year’s event, visit www.twestivalnashville.com.
Frink and Levy also operate a blog about Nashville life and culture at www.nashvillest.com.
Students Organize Concert Event to Benefit Haiti Relief Efforts
Recording Artist Taylor Swift Attends Fundraiser
Belmont University students Chloe Williams and Lindsy Anton organized a successful “Belmont Supports Haiti” benefit showcase Sunday night March 21 in Neely Dining Hall. The event was held to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.
Christian recording artist and Belmont songwriting adjunct instructor Ginny Owens kicked off the evening by performing two songs, and Belmont artists including Miss B, Christina Morris, Kierra Norman, Jessica Anderson, Rayvon, David Davis, Jimmy Saiz, Lazrmnstre and the dance crew B.O.W. also performed. The concert featured several donation opportunities, and the performers sold CDs, EPs and demos for the relief efforts as well.
The showcase attracted an audience of more than 100 people, including recording artist Taylor Swift. The showcase raised about $691, and the proceeds will be split between the Clinton/Bush Foundation and World Vision.
Anton said, “The experience was absolutely amazing. I’ve never been on the producing end of a concert before and watching the way people pulled together to reach out to Haiti and make a difference was incredible to see. I loved what we accomplished last night and hope to continue helping Belmont make a difference.”
