Belmont’s men’s and women’s basketball teams earned big wins going into their respective Atlantic Sun conference tournaments for a potential bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament.
The Belmont women’s basketball team picked up its third Atlantic Sun regular season title in four years and extended its home win streak to 23 games with its come-from-behind win against Gardner-Webb Saturday night. The Bruins knocked off the Bulldogs 54-51 and improved to 15-1 in the conference. Belmont wraps up its regualar season with two away games. The Bruins will take on Jacksonville on March 1 and North Florida on March 3.
Belmont’s men’s basketball team wrapped up the regular season with a 74-54 win at North Florida Saturday afternoon. Belmont has now won 20 games for the third time in the last four seasons. The Bruins will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and will play No. 7 Gardner-Webb Thursday at noon CST in Johnson City, Tenn.
For the latest information on Belmont basketball, visit BelmontBruins.com.
Men’s and Women’s Basketball Enter Tournament Play With Big Wins
Valentine Receives Competitive Internship
Shandus Valentine, junior psychology major, was selected for a highly competitive internship at the University of Alberta, Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. She will be in their Housing Internship program, which offers valuable opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students interested in a profession in housing. Interns gain experience and insight at another institution and gain a better appreciation about the housing profession. The University of Alberta only offers one position a summer and is one of Canada’s largest universities with one of the most unique residence facilities in the country.
Belmont Celebrates Fitness Day
The Beaman Student Life Center at Belmont University celebrated National Recreational Sports and Fitness Day Wednesday with a full slate of events throughout the day for students, faculty and staff to promote health and wellness. A 5k walk/run, climbing wall competitions and group fitness classes were held throughout the day as well as special sessions from professional athletes and trainers. Greg Zanon, Jerrod Smithson and Dan Hambuis from the Nashville Predators hockey team spoke about their daily routines and lives as professional hockey players. This is the second year Belmont has taken part in Fitness Day.
Civil Rights Leader Lawson Speaks At Belmont
The Rev. James Lawson spoke at Belmont University in conjunction with the sociology department’s Living Sociology Speaker Series. Lawson was expelled from Vanderbilt University in 1960 for training black and white students how to organize sit-ins and engage in other forms of social action to end segregation.
Lawson came to Nashville at the request of Martin Luther King, Jr., who called him “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” Lawson’s passion for justice and nonviolence for all subjected him to imprisonment and threats of violence. Lawson, a retired ministor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, is currently teaching for one year as a visiting professor and fellow at Vanderbilt’s Center for the Study of Religion and Culture.
Wicke Named Atlantic Sun Player Of the Week
Behind torrid three-point shooting, sophomore Andy Wicke was named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week as announced by the league Monday.
Wicke scored a career-high 31 points on 10-for-12 three-point shooting in Belmont’s 87-55 victory over Gardner-Webb last Thursday night. All told, Wicke helped set five Curb Event Center records.
The Hendersonville, Tenn., native then added 13 points and a career-high six assists in the Bruins’ 92-68 win over Campbell Saturday afternoon. For the week, Wicke shot an astounding 13-for-19 (.684) from three-point range as Belmont wrapped up its home schedule with a record of 9-2.
Wicke leads the Atlantic Sun and ranks 29th nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.460). The 2006 Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team member is third on the Bruins in scoring at 8.8 points per game.
Wicke, who shared the honor with Stetson point guard Gabe McMillen, joins Justin Hare as Belmont players to have received Player of the Week recognition this season.
Belmont (18-9, 12-4 Atlantic Sun) next plays at Jacksonville Thursday night.
Sullivan Presents Research
Dr. Michael Sullivan, Assistant Professor of Psychology, presented research at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual conference in January. Dr. Sullivan’s research was also recently featured on the New York Times Web site. The research was conducted at Graceland during Elvis Week in August.
Myron Oglesby Educational Advancement Award Established
An award was recently established in honor of Dr. Myron Oglesby Pitts, Assistant Professor in the Education Department. The Myron Oglesby Educational Advancement Award is offered through the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, where Oglesby-Pitts served as a charter member of the Eta Beta Chapter at Vanderbilt University. The award will be offered annually to two high school seniors planning to major in math, science or technology and to another student majoring in the Liberal Arts, education or human development. Each award is $500 and is presented during the Eta Beta Chapter’s annual AKA Week.
Student Life Fellows Program
This semester marked the establishment of the Student Life Fellows Program in the Division of Student Affairs. Dr. Darrell Gwaltney, Dean of the School of Religion, was appointed the first Faculty Fellow in New Student Programs. The Fellow informs and engages collaborative academic efforts with new student programs and the first year experience within the Division of Student Affairs. This weekend, Dr. Gwaltney and Matt Burchett, Coordinator of New Student Programs, will co-present at the 26th Annual Conference on the First Year Experience and Students in Transitions in Dallas, TX. The presentation topic is Teaching the Art of New Parent Transitions.
Former Reagan Adviser Speaks at Belmont
The Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University hosted Dr. Arthur Laffer as a part of the Moench Entrepreneurship Lecture Series on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Laffer is a famed economist, creator of the “Laffer Curve” and a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board from 1981-1989.
Belmont University Names New Dean of Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing
Jack Williams, Ph.D., M.Ed., has been named dean of the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing at Belmont University. Williams currently serves as dean of the Division of Health Sciences at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. He will begin his new position at Belmont on June 1, 2007, following the decision of Dean Debra Wollaber to step down and return to the teaching faculty.
“With the needs for health care education rapidly growing, there are many career opportunities available,” Williams said. “For me, Belmont was an obvious choice because of its special warmth and energy and the enthusiasm of the people at the university and in the community to embrace society’s health care challenges.”
Williams has served the University of South Dakota as dean since 2000 while continuing to teach in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Williams’ professional career has spanned a variety of positions in high schools and the undergraduate and graduate levels in traditional classroom settings as well as field experiences and five years of postdoctoral research training.
“Though we are sad to see Dr. Wollaber step down, we are thrilled Dr. Williams is joining the Belmont community,” Belmont Provost Dan McAlexander said. “With the opening of the Gordon E. Inman Center last summer and our growing reputation for the quality of our health care programs, we are making a lasting impact on health care in the Nashville community, the region and the nation. Dr. Williams’ experience and years of service to health care education make him the perfect candidate to lead Belmont through an exciting new phase of development and expansion, as we continue to strengthen existing programs and envision new ones.”
Outside of his experiences leading in the classroom and as an administrator, Williams has also made substantial contributions to his community. He has been active for 14 years as a leader of the American Heart Association, has served the American Red Cross for 20 years as a volunteer or professional, and has been involved with Boy Scouts of America for over 25 years. Recently, he has collaborated in grants with Native American community partners in South Dakota that both served the community and provided students with service-learning opportunities.
The Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing is home to Belmont’s nursing, social work, occupational therapy and physical therapy programs. Belmont is a founding member of the Partners in Nursing consortium with three other area colleges and universities – Volunteer State Community College, Trevecca Nazarene University and Nashville State Technical Community College. Through the consortium, students at these area schools divide their time between their respective schools and Belmont, where they will complete their nursing education. Since the opening of the Inman Center, Belmont is able to increase its enrollment of nursing students from 250 to 600, giving access and opportunity to the next generations of health care leaders.
