Belmont University | FYI


November 21, 2008

BELMONT NEWS


Gonas Named 2008 Tennessee Professor of the Year
Belmont professors selected four times since 2000 for statewide honor

JohnGonas2.jpgBelmont University’s Dr. John Gonas, an assistant professor of Finance in the Undergraduate and Massey School of Business, was named Thursday as the 2008 Tennessee Professor of the Year, an award selection determined by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). This represents the second year in a row that a Belmont University professor has received this honor, with Psychology Chair Dr. Pete Giordano selected as the 2007 Tennessee Professor of the Year.

Dr. Gonas, who is currently in Washington, D.C. for special ceremonies to receive his award, was selected from nearly 300 top professors in the United States. Belmont will be holding its own celebration to honor Dr. Gonas on Thurs., Dec. 4 at 3:30 p.m.

“More than me, this award should be credited to the Belmont student,” Gonas said. “Over the past 10 years I have been blessed to teach and mentor some amazing students – many who possess what I find to be the ideal balance of a strong intellect, a disciplined work ethic, a solid character and a selfless commitment to community service.”

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Leadership Expert Lencioni Offers Advice to Business Executives
lencioni.jpgNamed by The Wall Street Journal as one of the most in-demand business speakers, leadership guru Patrick Lencioni spoke this week to an assembly of business executives in the Curb Event Center. Belmont’s Scarlett Leadership Institute brought Lencioni to campus for this special event.

The founder and president of The Table Group, Inc., a specialized management-consulting firm focused on organizational health, Lencioni has been described by The One-Minute Manager’s Ken Blanchard as “fast defining the next generation of leadership thinkers.” He is the author of eight best-selling books with over 2.5 million copies sold. His talk Wednesday focused primarily on thoughts from his best-selling work, The Five Temptations of a CEO.

IMG_2757.JPGLencioni outlined the five temptations as the desire to protect a career, the desire to be popular, the need to make right decisions, the avoidance of conflict and the desire for invulnerability. In commenting on CEOs desire to appear invincible, Lencioni said, “To be a great leader, you have to build trust with your team… We have to demonstrate that we are in touch with our humanity. People already see us for what we are. We need to come clean about it.”

In concluding his session at Belmont, Lencioni also touched on the topic from another book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job. He pointed out that the significant factors that determine employees’ work satisfaction are rarely tied to job duties or pay. Rather, feelings of anonymity or being ignored by management, a sense of irrelevance and an inability to assess personal contribution to the greater good contribute most often to creating a miserable job atmosphere.

Women's Soccer Team Ends Enchanted Season
The best season in Belmont women's soccer history came to a close as Auburn defeated the Bruins 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division I Soccer Championships on Friday night. It was Belmont's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"The girls had a great Atlantic Sun Tournament to get to this point," Head Coach Lisa Howe said. "I thought that we prepared well and were prepared for Auburn. Overall, I thought that our play was fine for a young team. I thought that we were composed, and we played within our game plan." Click here for more on this story.


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