Joshua DuBois, who serves as special assistant to the President and executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, spoke in Belmont’s Massey Performing Arts Center Wednesday as part of the Fall 2009 Spiritual Development speaker series.
A native of Nashville, DuBois noted that he was pleased to be in his hometown and laughed about the “family reunion” he was having in MPAC as the audience was populated with siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents and DuBois’ mother and stepfather, who serves as senior pastor of St. John’s AME in Nashville.
The bulk of his conversation centered on his work with the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships as he commented that the Obama administration seeks to partner with community-serving institutions. “We in the government must connect with the real change agents,” he said, adding that churches, temples, mosques, nonprofits and schools are leading the way in impacting needs on the local level.
DuBois said that his office focuses on four “Ps”: Partnerships, Perspective, Philadelphia (as in the Constitutional separation of church and state) and Profiles (Facebook and other social media sites’ impact). “You can bring your knowledge, innovations and networks to bear for those who need it most… to find new solutions to old problems.” He concluded his talk by reminding students of a quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
One of President Barack Obama’s longest serving aides, DuBois previously served as the director of religious affairs for the Obama for America campaign, as well as the Presidential Inauguration Committee. Prior to his involvement with the campaign, DuBois was a legislative aide to then-Senator Obama. He also spent time working for Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) and served as an associate pastor at a small, Pentecostal church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received a Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University.
White House Staffer Shares Insights on Faith-Based, Neighborhood Partnerships
Belmont Speech and Debate Team Shows Early Success
The Belmont University speech and debate team won several awards at a tournament held at Tennessee State University last week. It was the first tournament the team has attended. The debate team placed first in the tournament with 122 points, 63 points higher than the second place team. In the debate division Belmont students held four of the top eight positions in the quarter- final round of competition. Awards were as follows:
Quarter-finalist teams:
• Wesley Rainer (senior) and Tyler Kimbro (sophomore)
• Alexandra Haas (sophomore) and Haley Wilson (freshman)
Semi-finalist team:
• Eric Schoen (sophomore) and Bethany Miller (freshman)
Second place team:
• Mike White (freshman) and Andrew Bishop (freshman)
Tyler Kimbro was also ranked as the fifth place individual speaker at the tournament.
Individual awards:
• Eric Schoen (sophomore) placed sixth in poetry interpretation.
• Nicole Bright (freshman) placed sixth in programmed oral interpretation.
Hallquist Publishes Book on ‘Building Cultural Bridges’
Tom Hallquist, an adjunct instructor of ommunications, just published a book title Building Cultural Bridges: Developing Cultural Awareness Programs for Colleges and Universities. The project concentrates on the expectations and cultural shock of international graduate students at Bethel College and Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., and examines cultural assistance programs at 13colleges and universities in the Christian College Consortium. The premises of the project are to establish a foundation of interpersonal interactions to develop an empathic understanding of varying cultural values, customs and expectations and the development of communication channels for international graduate students to enhance the educational, spiritual and financial stability of the institution.
Alumna Joins TV News Team
Sarah Snyder (’07) recently joined NewsWest 9 (a new channel in West Texas) as a graduate of Belmont’s New Century Journalism program.
During college, Snyder interned at the CBS and NBC affiliates in Nashville, attended and worked at professional conferences, and served as the first news director and primary anchor/reporter for Belmont’s television station. Click here for more on this story.
Professor, Senior Speak at Conference
Dr. Annette Little, assistant professor of education, and Joshua McCoy, Belmont senior in business, spoke at the Tennessee Chapter of the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed (TN-NADD) on Sept. 24. The title of their presentation was “Autism Treatments Across Disciplines.”
Belmont Opens Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Service-Learning
Belmont University opened today the Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Service-Learning as the home base for its new undergraduate major in social entrepreneurship, the first of its kind nationwide.
Led by Dr. Bernard Turner, an educator with extensive experience with nonprofit organizations, Belmont’s new major centers on the emerging business field that tackles social problems and unmet community needs via entrepreneurial principles. “We will prepare students to be change makers and to go out and transform the world by addressing or helping to alleviate social problems through sound business efforts,” Turner said. “Students will also gain experiential learning through a 225-hour internship during their junior year with a nonprofit or social entrepreneur, further preparing them to pursue their passions regarding a social venture.”
Kris Prendergast, president & CEO of Social Enterprise Alliance, provided the keynote talk at a Town Hall Meeting held on campus to celebrate the launch of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Service-Learning. She was joined by CEOs from Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Goodwill Industries and Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity to discuss social enterprise and the future of the nonprofit sector. The Social Enterprise Alliance is the chief national advocate for the field of social entrepreneurship, serving as a hub of information and education and builder of a vibrant and growing community of social enterprises.
Wrights Kicks Off 2009-10 Belmont and Beyond Series
Rev. Cliff Wright, senior pastor of Brentwood United Methodist Church, kicked off Belmont and Beyond this week, a convocation series meant to inspire and prepare Belmont students for the transition from college. More than 250 students were in attendance.
The presentation, titled “Journey to a Meaningful Life,” focused on the topic of finding a life of purpose and meaning. Wright discussed his own personal journey to find his purpose and gave the audience five questions that students should ask themselves as they are making life-planning decisions: 1) What are you passionate about? 2) What do you avoid like the plague? 3) Is money sidetracking you? 4) What do you want to be remembered for? 5) Who is your audience (i.e. if it is not God, you are playing to the wrong crowd).
Additional Belmont and Beyond convocations this year will address topics such as resume and interview prep, grad school prep, money management and life planning. Click here for more information.
Alumni Showcase Supports Worthy Cause
On Sat., Sept. 19, Belmont University’s Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business held its first showcase of the year. The Alumni Showcase featured performances by Ricky Braddy (pictured above), Brittini Black and Shirock and raised awareness for Everything Burns, a charity founded by the band and main act of the night, Shirock. The non-profit organization works to encourage people around the world to get involved in making a difference.
Black told the crowd, “I knew I was coming to Belmont when I was in sixth grade. I’ve never met so many talented people in one clump like I did at Belmont.”
Kazakhstan Ambassador Speaks at Belmont
Erlan A. Idrissov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan, presented information about the history and goals of his country Friday morning in a convocation titled “Kazakhstan-The Heart of Eurasia.” His talk spanned the earliest days of Kazakhstan’s history to its present-day ambitions and situation.
Idrissov was joined by the Kazakhstani embassy’s First Secretary, Zhanbolat Ussenov, as well as two representatives of the Tennessee World Affairs Council. Idrissov has worked for the Kazakhstani government since 1981 and has served as Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Ireland.
Parry to Present Papers at the American Journalism Historians’ Association Conference
Pam Parry, associate professor of journalism, will present a paper Oct. 9 at the American Journalism Historians’ Association Conference in Birmingham. Her paper titled, “Second Fiddle, Not Second Rate: Associate Role Obscures Anne Wheaton’s Contributions to Public Relations,” explores the career of the first woman appointed as an associate press secretary to a U.S. president. Wheaton served as an associate press secretary to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Additionally, Parry will present a research-in-progress paper the next day at the same conference. This project investigates Anne Wheaton’s role in helping Margaret Sanger publicize the need for birth control information in the United States.
