Achievers

Alumna Named AP Bureau Chief for South Atlantic Region

Michelle Williams, a 1989 graduate of Belmont and current Advisory Board member for New Century Journalism, has been named chief of bureau for the South Atlantic region of the Associated Press (AP). The former chief of bureau for AP in Arizona and New Mexico, Williams will now oversee AP's news and business operations for Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. She will be based in Atlanta.

Williams, 43, began her AP career in 1989 as an editorial assistant in Nashville, Tenn. She later became a reporter in Milwaukee, where she covered serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. She later served as correspondent in Chattanooga, Tenn.; supervisory correspondent in San Diego; Tennessee news editor; and news editor and assistant bureau chief for Texas before becoming bureau chief for Arizona and New Mexico in 2007.

Before joining the AP, Williams, who grew up in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., worked as a reporter at The Lebanon Democrat >(Tenn.) and The Tennessean in Nashville.

Daus and Riechert Present at Gulf-South Summit on Service Learning and Civic Engagement

Two CAS faculty members were among presenters at the March 3-5 Gulf-South Summit on Service Learning and Civic Engagement held on the campus of the University of Georgia. Kim Daus, chemistry, and Bonnie Riechert, public relations, each gave competitive poster presentations. Daus was a co-presenter with John Gonas, finance, of “Breaking Out of Silos: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Developing and Coordinating an Integrated Service-Learning Project.” Riechert’s presentation was “Learning by Doing: Bringing Service-Learning into Public Relations Campaigns Classes.” Also attending from Belmont were Marcia McDonald, Jimmy Davis, Tim Stewart, Bernard Turner, Joyce Searcy, and students Josh Maisner and Tim Harms. Stewart and Turner were presenters in concurrent sessions. The theme for the conference was “People, Place, & Partners: Building and Sustaining Engagement in Critical Times.”

Computer Science Student Presents Paper

Jordan Williams, a Belmont senior and computer science major, will present a paper at the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Mid-South Conference (CCSC-MS) in Searcy, Arkansas on March 26-27. The purpose of this conference is to provide a forum for the exchange of information on computing and computing education. Jordan's paper, "Information Retrieval Optimization In A Large Full-Text Index," summarizes some lessons learned building an online web search engine in Ruby. Jordan's interest in web programming will come in handy when he begins a full-time job with Amazon.com after graduation this May.

Sowers Named President of Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association

Dr. Jeanne Sowers, assistant professor of Occupational Therapy, was recently elected as the 2010 President of the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association (TOTA). The statewide association supports and encourages the provision and availability of quality occupational therapy services to enhance the occupational performance of consumers in Tennessee through communication, education, professional development, advocacy and legislative involvement. TOTA aims to be a model for state occupational therapy associations in enhancing occupational performance among consumers. There are more than 2300 licensed practitioners of occupational therapy in the state of Tennessee.

Dr. Sowers has practiced as an occupational therapist for more than 20 years and has served in diverse roles within the profession. As a practicing clinician, Dr. Sowers' experience is in the area of adult physical rehabilitation. She has published and lectured at local, state and national conferences on various subjects including the provision of occupational therapy in the hospital intensive care unit, ergonomics and rotator cuff dysfunction. In addition to her new role as President of TOTA, Dr. Sowers serves the Nashville community as a board member for Homeplace, Inc., a group home sponsored by Belmont United Methodist Church.

Parry Receives Honorable Mention

Pam Parry, associate professor of journalism, has received an "honorable mention" in the graduate category of the 2010 Kathanne W. Greene Award, an annual essay competition sponsored by the Committee on Services and Resources for Women at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. The award is for her paper titled "Second Fiddle, Not Second Rate: Associate Role Obscures Anne Williams Wheaton's Contributions to Public Relations." She will be recognized at the university's Women's History Month awards ceremony on March 31. Parry is working on her doctor of philosophy degree from Southern Miss, and her research on Wheaton is a part of her dissertation on the public relations strategy of the Eisenhower administration. Wheaton was the first woman to be appointed an associate press secretary to a sitting U.S. president.

Clark Honored by Sporting News

Belmont University men’s basketball freshman Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) was named Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year by Sporting News. This comes a week after Clark was named Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year, Second Team All-Atlantic Sun and a unanimous selection to the Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team by the league office. Click here for more on this story.

Philosophy Students Publish Papers, Present at Conferences

Philosophy major Alyssa Hennig recently published her paper, “What Really Happened in Plato’s Lysis,” in Kennesaw State University’s OtherWise, an online Philosophy journal (2009 Issue, available at the following address: http://otherwisejournal.net/contents.html). Three other Philosophy majors were accepted to Undergraduate Philosophy conferences. Brian York presented “Plato and Vedanta: The Necessary Bond Between Metaphysics and Ethics” at the Midsouth Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, hosted by The University of Memphis (March 5-6). Bethany Somma also attended this conference with her paper, “A Phenomenological Critique of the Frege-Russell Theory of Language.” Bethany will deliver this paper again at the SUNY-Oneonta Undergraduate Philosophy Conference in Oneonta, New York (April 15-17). Also at SUNY-Oneonta, Keith Johnson will present his paper, “Music and Philosophy.”

Voight Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Mike Voight, professor of physical therapy at Belmont, has been honored by the American Physical Therapy Association as a recipient of the Turner A Blackburn Lifetime Achievement Award from its Sports Physical Therapy Section. The award signifies a lifetime of positive contribution to education at both the university and continuing education levels. Voight received the award at the recent APTA Combined Sections Meeting in San Diego. In addition, Voight was inducted into APTA's Sports Physical Therapy Hall of Fame, recognizing his positive impact on the profession of physical therapy for over 25 years.

Dr. Voight is a full-time tenured professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Belmont. He has spent most of his clinical practice working directly in the field of sports physical therapy, including time with many professional leagues, teams and athletes. In 1996, he served as a staff physical therapist at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Outside of the classroom, Voight maintains a clinical practice specializing in athletic performance and orthopedic and sports related injuries. He also teaches the advanced Medical Tracks for the TPI Certification Program.

Biology Department Hosts Dan Funk

The Department of Biology recently hosted Dr. Dan Funk, an associate professor from the Department of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt. Funk gave a talk titled "Ecological Adaptation, Specialization, and Speciation: Causal Connections?" on March 2 in the Massey Boardroom. A reception followed the talk.

Stewart, Rabalais Present at Housing Officers Conference

Rebekah Stewart, assistant director of Residence Life, and Nicole Rabalais, residence director of Maple Hall, presented at the regional Southeastern Association of Housing Officers conference in Williamsburg, Virginia on Feb. 25 to a group of 60 colleagues. Focusing on a part of Resident Assistant training called Behind Closed Doors, the women shared with colleagues some changes that the Office of Residence Life has made to this training for the August 2009 RA training. Behind Closed Doors (BCD) is a common tool used by many Residence Life programs to train new resident assistants in how to address a combination of serious and common issues they will face during their first month on the job. BCD can often be very dramatic and far-fetched, emphasizing only serious resident issues. The 2009 version created by Residence Life instead focuses on keeping RAs alert to smaller, less serious issues that make up the majority of the RA job and not just the serious issues. Stewart and Rabalais were very well received by fellow Housing professionals and were encouraged that Belmont’s innovative way of revamping this commonly used training tool for Resident Assistants will prompt other Residence Life programs to do the same.

Parry Published in Journalism Journal

Pam Parry, associate professor of journalism, recently published a book review in Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, which is published by Sage. She reviewed Joyce Hoffmann's On Their Own: Women Journalists and the American Experience in Vietnam. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism describes itself as "a major international, peer-reviewed journal that provides a dedicated forum for articles from the growing community of academic researchers and critical practitioners with an interest in journalism."

Belmont Alumni Nominated for ACM Awards

Nominations were announced this week for the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, a star-studded event which will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sun., April 18 at 7 p.m. Central on CBS. Belmont alumni who received nominations this year are listed below.

Entertainer of the Year – Brad Paisley
Top Male Vocalist of the Year – Brad Paisley
Top Female Vocalist of the Year – Lee Ann Womack
Top New Solo Vocalist – Chris Young
Album of the Year – American Saturday Night, Brad Paisley [Produced by Chris Dubois & alumnus Frank Rogers]
Album of the Year – Play On, Produced by alumnus Mark Bright
Video of the Year – "Welcome to the Future," Brad Paisley
Vocal Event of the Year – "I Told You So," Produced by alumnus Mark Bright
Producer of the Year – Dann Huff
Producer of the Year – Frank Rogers
Top Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year – Tim Akers

Robinson Provides Expert Analysis on 'Fit Shoes'

Belmont physical therapy professor, Dr. Kevin Robinson, recently provided expert analysis for an investigative report by WLKY in Louisville, KY about 'fit shoes.' Click here to watch the broadcast.

Ames Guest Conducts Two Prestigious Choral Events

Jeffery L. Ames, director of choral activities, was selected to guest conduct at two prestigious choral events. Ames will conduct the 2010 Western Division American Choral Directors Association Mixed Honor Choir in Tucson, Arizona March 3-6. The choir will consist of 150 high school singers from the states of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. The Honor Choir will conclude with a concert performance and will feature one of his compositions, titled "In Remembrance."

Ames will also return to the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York for a second appearance with the National Youth Chorale March 11-14. This ensemble will consist of 150 high school singers from strong choral programs from Alabama, California and North Carolina. Furthermore, he will have the distinct honor of sharing the Carnegie stage with his friend, mentor and famed conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, Anton Armstrong. The National Youth Chorale will conclude with a concert performance and will feature two of his compositions, "The World of Our Dreams" and "Rejoice!"

Belmont University Wins First Place at State Debate Tournament

On Feb. 20-21, the Belmont University Speech and Debate team travelled to Morristown, Tenn. to compete at the Tennessee Intercollegiate Forensics Association (TIFA) annual tournament. As a team, the students were ranked the No. 1 debate team in Tennessee. Their success was evident as Belmont held three of the top four debate teams in the novice division, eventually closing-out the final round for a guaranteed Belmont win. Belmont also received team awards ranking third in individual events and placing second overall for the weekend.

Click on the more button below to see a complete list of awards.

]]> Debate Awards:
Novice Debate (23 students competing)
Jessica Plowman & Logan Lowder, and Nicole Bright & Kate Tully (Belmont close-out in Semi-finals)
Andrew Bishop and Meghan McKechnie (Belmont close-out in finals)
Nicole Bright, 3rd place speaker
Jessica Plowman, 4th place speaker
Meghan McKechnie, 6th place speaker
Andrew Bishop, 7th place speaker
Kate Tully, 8th place speaker
Logan Lowder, 11th place speaker

Varsity Debate (33 students competing)
Eric Schoen & Bethany Miller, Quarter-finalists
Tim Smith & Alex Jones, Semi-finalists
Tyler Kimbro, 7th place speaker
Alex Jones, 8th place speaker
Tim Smith, 10th place speaker
Bethany Miller, 11th place speaker

Individual Events:
Top Overall IE Competitors (Pentathlon)
Nicole Bright: 4th place
Kate Tully: 3rd place

Public Speaking Events
Extemporaneous: Jessica Plowman, 6th place; Andrew Bishop, 5th place
Persuasive: Meghan McKechnie, 5th place; Jessica Plowman, 4th place, Jaiden Phelps, 2nd place
After Dinner: Kate Tully, 6th place
Impromptu: Kate Tully, 1st place
Informative: Nicole Bright, 4th place
Communication Analysis: 1st place

Interpretation Events
Poetry: Nicole Bright, 2nd place
Prose: Jaiden Phelps, 6th place, Bethany Miller, 5th place
Dramatic Interpretation: Eric Schoen, 4th place
Programmed Oral Interpretation: Jaiden Phelps, 6th; Nicole Bright, 4th; Kate Tully, 3rd

Team Awards
Debate Team Sweepstakes: 1st place
IE Team Sweepstakes: 3rd place
Overall Team Sweepstakes: 2nd place