Teresa Van Hatten-Granath, associate professor in the Art Department, has been awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission. The amount of the Individual Artist Fellowship-Media is $5,000 and is one of the highest honors that can come to a Tennessee artist.
Teresa is becoming well-known for her “Green Bag Lady” project. She started making fabric bags to use in place of plastic and set up a Web site to give the fabric bags away to anyone who promised to use them. Her goal was to inspire artists to think about the ecological impact of their art as well as to produce work that has a direct, positive impact on the environment. This project was recently featured in Her magazine. To read the article, click here.
Van Hatten-Granath Awarded Artist Fellowship
Belmont in Japan 2009 Returns
The third Belmont in Japan Travel-Study Abroad group returned to the U.S. earlier this month after three weeks of exploring Japan’s history, culture, society and economy both in class and out. The three weeks also provided an opportunity for all participants to get outside their comfort zones as they navigated their way around places such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Osaka. They visited historic sites such as Japan’s first capital at Nara and modern ones like the Shinjuku district in Tokyo. They saw Zen gardens at various temples and a Toyota assembly line. The students kept a blog and slideshow detailing their experiences which can be viewed at forum.belmont.edu/japan.
This year’s trip, directed by Dr. Cynthia Bisson (History) and Dr. Marieta Velikova (COBA), emphasized Japan’s history and economy with a special focus on women’s roles in Japan. Drawn from a variety of majors, the 10 students who went were Annalise Emerick, Shannon St-Clair, Ryan McFadden, Aaron Phipps, Brenda Jones, Taylor Martin, Gabrielle Facey, Hunter Wilkinson, James Ruehlmann and James Richard.
Human Resources Staff Accepts Excellence Award
Belmont University’s Office of Human Resources won the 2009 HR Excellence Award in the eighth annual HR Excellence Program hosted by the Middle Tennessee Society of Human Resource Management (MT|SHRM) and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Belmont’s Human Resources staff was recognized at a luncheon last week at the Cool Springs Embassy Suites. Accepting on behalf of Belmont were (pictured l-r) Mandy Hodge, Donna Gwaltney, Deborah Nunn Baruzzini, Sally McKay and Susan Saunders.
Launched in 2002, the HR Excellence Program recognizes organizations in Middle Tennessee with outstanding human resources programs. Businesses are invited to self-nominate for the honor each year and are evaluated on proficiency in five areas: strategy; management practices; employee education, training and development; performance measurement; and employee well-being and engagement. Click here for more on this story.
Student Documentary Featured at Nashville Historical Symposium
Defending Nashville: The Story of Fort Negley, a video documentary produced entirely by Belmont journalism and music students, was the featured presentation at a June 18-20 Civil War symposium at the Fort Negley Visitors Center. Along with the general public, an audience of 135 historians from around the state viewed the 20-minute documentary, giving it high marks for its accuracy and creativity.
“It’s as good as many films that I’ve seen at visitors’ centers in other parks,” said Fort Negley archeologist and doctorial candidate Zada Law. “It’s clear that [the students] did their research.”
The Belmont student team, led by executive producer Melody Drushal and chief writer Erin Carson, also included journalism majors Dena Adams, Amber Garner, Cassidy Hodges and Savannah Packard. The students did all of the research, photography, interviewing, writing and editing in producing the documentary. Music major Tony Steiner, with the assistance of fellow music major Alejandro Medina, performed, composed and/or arranged all music used in the piece.
“I was so impressed in how these students went about doing their respective tasks,” said Fort Negley museum specialist Krista Castillo. “They were always prepared and always professional, and I was amazed at how quickly they grasped the subject and the concept.”
Defending Nashville: The Story of Fort Negley was the 2009 spring semester project for Media Studies instructor Stephan Foust’s Journalism Practicum II class. The Belmont student team partnered with Nashville Metro Parks and the Fort Negley Visitors Center for the project, in cooperation with Franklin’s Charge, the Williamson County historic preservation group that organized the June multi-site symposium.
The documentary can now be seen daily at Fort Negley Park. To see an excerpt of the documentary, visit the BelmontVision.com YouTube Web site.
Inman Center Hosts HOSA Conference Competition Events
On Fri., Jun 26, Belmont University is serving as the primary clinical skills site for the 2009 Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) National Leadership Conference. HOSA is a national student organization with nearly 90,000 members, and its mission is to promote career opportunities in health care. The conference attracts more than 6,000 of the best and brightest HOSA members to attend workshops, meet HOSA members from across the country, and participate in the HOSA competitive events program. Belmont will host several competitive events for conference participants using the health simulation laboratories of the Gordon E. Inman Center. In addition, Dr. Chris Algren, associate dean for the School of Nursing, will present a workshop at the conference for students interested in learning more about the nursing profession.
Music Faculty to Present Papers at September Conference
Dr. Rick Hoffman, theory coordinator in the School of Music, along with adjunct music faculty Todd Kemp and Margie Yankeelov, were recently informed that their papers were accepted for “The Musical Ear Conference” to be held at Indiana University in September. Hoffman and Kemp have co-authored a paper, and Yankeelov is presenting a solo project.
Nursing Faculty Present Poster at Annual Meeting
Assistant Professor Kathy Jordan and Associate Professor Dr. Ruby Dunlap (Nursing) recently made a poster presentation about online teaching strategies at the 2009 Annual Institute of the Association of Community Health Nurse Educators in Chicago. The annual meeting attracts public and community health nurses and educators from across the U.S. to enhance their education through use of innovative, effective, evidence-based teaching methodologies in the classroom and clinical practicum.
Rives Qualifies for USA National Track and Field Championships
On the heels of her outstanding performance at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Lynette Rives (Clarksville, Tenn.) has qualified for the USA National Track and Field Championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon. She is one of only 32 sprinters to compete in the 200m and one of only nine running representing their undergraduate institutions.
Rounding out her career of firsts, Rives will become the first Belmont track and field athlete, male or female, to compete at the annual gathering of the nation’s best. She also holds the distinction of being only the second Belmont track and field athlete to be named All-American. Last month, the Clarksville, Tenn., native, who already holds seven school records, became the first Belmont athlete to compete at back-to-back NCAA Championships in any event. Click here for more on this story.
Journalism Camp Convenes on Belmont’s Campus
The fourth annual New Century Journalism High School Journalism Camp was held on campus this week with several dozen high school students representing seven states. The students were given opportunities to do real world reporting for print and broadcast in conjunction with workshops on such topics as reporting and writing, video shooting and editing, and media ethics.
In addition, the young journalists reported on a simulated crime on campus and took part in a mock press conference with Belmont officials and Metro Nashville police. Partial funding for this year’s camp was provided by a grant from the Tennessee Press Association Foundation.
King Awarded Teacher Residency
Merrie King (Education) has been awarded a one-week Teacher Residency by the Nancy M. and Douglas M. Yeager Family Foundation in partnership with the Fetzer Institute and in cooperation with the GilChrist Retreat Center. The dates of residency are July 2-9.
