Belmont University | FYI


March 20, 2008

ACHIEVERS


Entrepreneurship Student Presents Venture to Investor Panel
clip_image002.jpgAndy Tabar, an Entrepreneurship student, presented a business plan for his web development company—Bizooki—to a panel of some of the best and most experienced new venture investors in the U.S.A. on Fri., March 14. Tabar’s plan was selected as one of 10 top collegiate entrepreneurial ventures invited to the Fifth Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) National Collegiate Venture Forum held in Santa Barbara, California.

Over a two day period, experts in the SEED forum provide feedback on various venture aspects, including the assessment of feasibility, long-term sustainability and identification of potential funding opportunities. In addition, participants garner a rare opportunity for budding ventures to network as they seek early stage funding. Upon completing the intensive two-day experience, Tabar noted, “The timing was right for the development of my venture. The feedback from Silicon Valley investors and fellow venture presenters and the relationships established have already had a positive impact on my thinking and venturing efforts. I plan to stay connected to SEED and its outstanding network of investors.”

Dr. Mark Schenkel, assistant professor of Entrepreneurship, added, “Andy earned an amazing opportunity to present his venture at this year’s SEED forum. It is a reflection of Andy’s talent, personal drive and prospects for his venture. He was presenting among an elite group whose founding venture teams included individuals with advanced degrees (Ph.D. and MBA) from some of the most prestigious academic institutions in the country. We are extremely proud of Andy’s accomplishments in the two and one half short years since he joined our Entrepreneurship Program.”

CNN has will be hosting Dr. David Newton, founder of the SEED forum, on April 14 to discuss the ventures presented at this year’s SEED competition.

Student Audio Mixers Win Competition
AES Belmont Mix Team 2008.jpgCongratulations to Belmont students Chris Diener, Garrett Miller and Nick Spezia, who were winners of the 2008 Audio Engineering Society (AES) Nashville Spring Mixer competition. The Belmont mix trio beat participating teams from Middle Tennessee State University, Nashville State Technical Institute, the School of Audio Engineering and the International Academy of Design and Technology. Their mix of Faith Hill’s “Sunday Night Football” was chosen as the best mix in the competition by a panel of five industry judges: Dan Rudin, Mike Poston, Todd Robbins, Steve Bishir and Bob Olhsson.

The AES Spring Mix Competition is an annual event sponsored by Nashville's local AES Chapter. Schools with student chapters enter one team representing their school. Each team is given eight hours to mix the same song in an identically equipped studio at CMT's 330 Post Studios located in downtown Nashville. Mixes are judged and scored by leading industry professional engineers and producers. Winners receive a variety of prizes donated by manufacturers and local music stores.

Belmont has won the trophy three out of the last five years since the competition’s inception. This year’s win brings the trophy back home after a two-year residence at MTSU. Second-time senior participant Garrett Miller notes, "The competition was a lot of fun, and it was great opportunity to hear what industry professionals have to say about mixes, especially our own mixes."

University College Wins Marketing Awards
University College recently won several awards from the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) for its 2008 Marketing & Publications and Strategic Marketing efforts. The "Unfinished Business" postcard took home a gold medal while the billboard for the same campaign won a bronze. The "Unfinished Business" Garage TV ad also won a bronze award.

Alexander Serves as Keynote Speaker at Business Ethics Conference
Joe Alexander, associate dean of the Massey Graduate Business School, served as a keynote speaker for the Greater Greenville (SC) Chamber of Commerce Ethics in Business and Education conference on March 14. His presentation focused on the use of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award criteria for creating an organizational framework for ethical behavior. Don McCabe, a Rutgers University professor of management, served as the other keynote speaker and presented the results of his national research on the ethical/unethical behaviors of K-12 and college students over the last decade. Other speakers included Debra Clements, general counsel for Milliken & Company, and Michele Brinn, vice president for workforce development and education at the Greenville Chamber. The program was sponsored by the Greenville Chamber Foundation, in partnership with Clemson University’s Robert J. Rutland Institute for Ethics, USC Upstate’s George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics and the Capital Corporation.

Psychology Alumnus Wins Research Award
JessicaPoster.jpgJessica Niesner, a recent Belmont Psychology major graduate (Dec. 2007), was awarded a Psi Chi Regional Research Award at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association held in Boston on March 13-16. Supervised by Dr. Michael Sullivan, the research was titled "The Effect of Relevant Information on Mindlessness." In recognition for her work, Niesner received a certificate and check for $300. Out of 180 research posters with Psi Chi members as first authors, Niesner's research was one of the few recognized with this award.

In addition, eight other Belmont students and recent graduates attended and presented their work at the Eastern Psychological Association meeting. Students presenting research were: Afton Cole, Luke Lancaster, Sarah Lashley, Layne Murphy, Kurt Niesner, Renease Perkins, Shandus Valentine and Ashley Wilkins. Psi Chi is the National Honor Society in Psychology, founded for the purpose of encouraging, stimulating and maintaining excellence in scholarship, and advancing the science of psychology. The Eastern Region of the organization includes chapters at such schools as Trinity College, Mount St. Mary's, Colby College, NYU and Yale.

Belmont Preserves Lead in All-Sports Race
As the winter sports seasons have come to a close, the Belmont Bruins have held onto their lead in the 2007-2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Bill Bibb Trophy Standings. The Bruins have 235.5 points following the winter seasons and are trailed by ETSU with 199.5. Belmont also leads the men’s and women’s all-sports races. In the Jesse C. Fletcher Trophy Standings for the men’s all-sports race, Belmont sits in first with 97.5 points; the Belmont women have 138 points to lead the Sherman Day Trophy Standings for the women’s all-sports race.

Belmont has the most combined team titles of any other institution, a big reason why it leads the pack in the combined all-sports race. The Bruins most recently added a men’s basketball title to a championship list that already included men’s and women’s cross country. Belmont scored 93 points during the winter seasons, the second most in the conference. They own a 36-point lead over second-place ETSU (199.5).


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