The Belmont Career Services Team was recently featured in Spotlight Online, the newsletter for the National Association of Colleges and Employers for Career Services Professionals. Belmont’s Career Services department has created a new program called the “Career Exploration Series” that targets the “changing student” by connecting them with HR professionals from healthcare, technology, communications, government, transportation, banking, biomedical, entertainment, non-profit and financial services organizations to help explore various career opportunities. This program was recognized in the October 27 issue.
Student Affairs Recognized by NODA/Presents at National Conferences
Belmont University won a sixth consecutive “Excellence in Publication” award at the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) National Conference for outstanding welcome week publications, produced by Student Affairs and University Marketing and Communications. Additionally, Dane Anthony, Associate Dean of Students, and Matt Burchett, Coordinator of New Student Programs, will present this weekend at two national conferences on Parent & Family Programs. Earlier this year the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) recognized the Belmont University New Parent & Family Programs as a “Promising Practices Featured Program”. The presentations will take place at the 13th Annual Conference for Students in Transition (National Resource Center for the Study of the First Year Experience and Students in Transition) in St. Louis, MO, and the Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA) in Jacksonville, FL.
Dr. Coker visits Macedonia as part of International Informational Program
Belmont history professor Dr. Jeff Coker visited Macedonia October 16-20 as part of the U.S. State Department’s International Informational Program. Coker held presentations and discussions with faculty and administrators at universities throughout the country. He addressed a range of topics on U.S. History and U.S. Foreign Policy with a focus on university administration and development.
Belmont Sorority Receives National Awards
Belmont’s Delta Eta chapter of Alpha Sigma Tau received numerous awards at the sorority’s national convention at Walt Disney World. Five delegates from Belmont’s chapter attended the convention. The chapter won 2nd place for its Chapter Excellence reports and were awarded the 1st place Scholarship Award for having the highest cumulative chapter GPA (3.4) of all chapters in the nation. Additionally, the chapter won the Founder’s Award which is given to the over-all best chapter in the nation and is the highest award a chapter can achieve.
Student to Present at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
This year, Belmont students and faculty will attend the Annual Meeting of The Society for Neuroscience. Students from several majors will present thier findings at this meeting. Students include biology majors Stacey Apple, Ananta Bhatt, Trisha Siewnarine and Corey Winfree, biochemistry and molecular biology major Adam Militana and psychology major Eileen Marks.
Belmont Volunteers for El Dia de los Muertos
Belmont students and faculty volunteered at the annual Cheekwood celebration of El Dia de los Muertos. They organized a scavenger hunt, gave bilingual tours of the art museum in the Cheekwood Mansion, led the Dia de los Muertos Bingo game and helped hundreds of people make their own paper cuttings.
Belmont University First Nashville Employer to Offer Free Train Transportation
Belmont University has partnered with the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to offer free train transportation to all university employees and students, becoming the first and only school and employer in Nashville to offer this benefit. Any Belmont student or employee is eligible to ride the new Music City Star, Nashville’s commuter rail system, and Belmont will pick up the cost.
“The Regional Transportation Authority is thrilled to work with Belmont University to provide transportation on the Music City Star to the school’s employees and students,” Teresa McKissick, RTA marketing director, said. “Belmont has always been a leader in our community and the fact that the institution is the first to come aboard and provide rides on the state’s first commuter rail for their employees and students is phenomenal, and also shows a real commitment not only to transportation but also to the people who work and attend school at Belmont.”
Belmont’s partnership with RTA follows an already successful partnership with the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The university partnered with MTA last year to offer students and staff free transportation to campus and became the only university in Nashville to offer free transportation to students. During the last school year, the total boarding number of Belmont employees and students on MTA buses totaled nearly 12,000.
“We’re pleased to be not only the first university but also the first employer in Nashville to extend our commuter benefits to include the Music City Star rail system,” Belmont University President Robert Fisher said. “The commuter benefits program helps lower students’ out-of-pocket expenses associated with attending Belmont and provides a significant new tax-free benefit to our employees. In addition, this partnership will continue to reduce the number of cars coming to campus and help the surrounding neighborhood and our environment.”
Belmont University’s commuter benefits program gives Belmont students, faculty and staff an opportunity to save on gasoline, help reduce traffic congestion and improve the environment, while also providing relief for campus parking. Belmont was named one of “Nashville’s Best Commuter-Friendly Workplaces” by MTA after offering free transportation to campus for the 2005-06 school year.
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“Belmont to pay for Music City Star rides” – The Tennessean, October 31, 2006
Belmont Nursing In the News
The Tennessean ran a story in Saturday’s paper about Belmont and other area colleges and universities making efforts to decrease the nursing shortage in Tennessee. Click here to read the article.
Fisher Quoted in USA Today
Belmont University President Dr. Robert Fisher was quoted in USA Today in a story concerning the NCAA allowing Canadian college and universities to become members. Fisher is heading the NCAA panel examining the issue.
Click here to read the article.
Belmont Receives Grant From Christy-Houston Foundation
Belmont University recently received a grant of $194,555 from the Christy-Houston Foundation for Physical Therapy (PT) and Occupational Therapy (OT) equipment. The equipment will have positive impacts on all students in the PT and OT programs at Belmont as well as patients, both in clinical education and after graduation for practice in health care.
Belmont University has the only private doctorate level physical therapy degree and the only doctorate level occupational therapy degree in Tennessee. In the past year, approximately 4,654 Rutherford County residents were served by Belmont PT and OT students. Well over 1,000 Middle Tennessee residents are served daily by Belmont University PT and OT students and alumni.
One piece of equipment that will be purchased through the grant for physical therapy is the SMART Equitest, by Neurocom International, Inc. The Equitest provides objective assessment of balance control and postural stability under dynamic test conditions to reflect the challenges of daily life. The system provides assessment and retraining capabilities with visual biofeedback on either a stable or unstable support surface and in a stable or dynamic visual environment. It is an evaluative tool for patients with balance problems and is also being used to evaluate Parkinson’s patients’ appropriateness for the cutting edge technology of deep brain stimulation. While the deep brain stimulation is performed by the Neurological Surgery Team at Vanderbilt University, an evaluation done before and after the surgery can be a key component to assessing clinical effectiveness. The Vanderbilt regional center of excellence for deep brain stimulation is working to educate physicians in out-lying areas on which patients are most appropriate for this surgical approach. It is hoped that over time, and with additional research, that this service will be provided to more patients and physicians in Middle Tennessee.
The equipment grant will also be used to purchase other items for physical therapy and occupational therapy, including a driving simulator that is instrumental for research pertaining to driving needs for an aging population. In addition, low vision equipment will be used for classroom training. Sewing machines will enable students to learn how to fabricate orthotics, slings and other adaptive equipment to restore function. With an impending shortage of physical therapists and occupational therapists, Belmont University is actively recruiting more students interested in allied health. The new equipment will provide essential tools for educating highly-competent, doctoral prepared PTs and master or doctoral prepared OTs.
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“Belmont receives grant for therapy” – The Daily News Journal, October 28, 2006
