November 21, 2008

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

ATO Wins President’s Spirit Award for Second Year in a Row
The Belmont Bruins men’s basketball team opened its season with a 78-60 home win against Samford last Friday night. The team played in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, thanks in part to the Second Annual President’s Spirit Award contest. For the second year in a row, ATO took home the trophy for displaying creativity and volume in their support of the team during the game and in the tailgate party in the Beaman.

BELMONT NEWS

Gonas Named 2008 Tennessee Professor of the Year
Belmont professors selected four times since 2000 for statewide honor
Belmont 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.”
Click here for more on this story.
Leadership Expert Lencioni Offers Advice to Business Executives
Named 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.
Lencioni 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.

ACHIEVERS

Junior Competes in CMT ‘Music City Madness’ Video Contest
Junior Cassidy Alexander, who goes by Cassidy Lynn, recently entered CMT’s “Music City Madness” contest along with 7,000 other videos. CMT picked 64 to begin the contest and then left the results up to viewer votes. With each weekly round, CMT has cut the number of video contestants. Cassidy Lynn and her video “Down by the Bonfire” are still in the running in the round of Elite 8, which ends Monday at midnight. Log onto www.madness.cmt.com to watch Cassidy’s video and to vote for her to make it to the Final Four. There are no limits to how often an individual can vote. CMT’s “Music City Madness” winner will receive a meeting with the A&R department at Warner Brothers Records, mentoring sessions with Randy Travis and their own “Unplugged” session on CMT.

Service Corp Featured in Who’s Who
Belmont Service Corp, the university’s largest student organization, will be highlighted in an upcoming issue of Who’s Who magazine. The article focuses on the group’s recent, successful Skyline Party event, which raised $700 for Nashville Gilda’s Club and Mario Lemieux Foundation. Click here to read the full story.
Physics Students Attend Conference, Lead Convo
Students from the newly-formed Society of Physics Students (SPS) went on a trip to Fermilab, the Fermi National Accelerator Facility, outside of Chicago Nov. 7-9. Students Caitlin Smith, Kayla LaFrance, Sarah-Ann Claiborne, Caleb Kinch and Stephen Murphree, along with Physics faculty Christian Thomas, Stephen Robinson and Scott Hawley, attended the Quadrennial Congress of Sigma Pi Sigma, the national honor society for physics students. As this was the first trip for this new SPS group, and the first involvement in the congress, the trip was significant as a way of connecting students with the greater physics community. The group attended talks and workshops on the topic of “scientific citizenship,” including a keynote address by Nobel laureate Leon Lederman.
After returning from their trip, SPS members put the finishing touches on their planned convocation event, “Belmont Mythbusters: The Dark Knight Edition,” in which they described the physics behind stunts in the popular movie. The academic lecture convocation was presented on Nov. 17 to a crowd of more than 80 people.
Debate Team Garners Awards at Campus Tournaments
This past weekend Belmont’s Speech and Debate team hosted its annual tournament, the Tennessee Porch Swing, on campus. This “swing” tournament was comprised of two individual events tournaments (one hosted by Belmont and another by Carson-Newman College) as well as a debate tournament. Twenty universities were in attendance stretching from Texas and Florida to Pennsylvania. Team successes during the weekend were as follows:
Debate Open Division: George Shifflett & Caroline Tenenbaum, Quarter-Finalists; Tim Smith & Tyler Kimbro, Quarter-Finalists
Debate Novice Division: Sara Page & Paxton Williams, Quarter-Finalists; Sara Page, 3rd place overall speaker
Belmont Sponsored Individual Events Tournament
Extemporaneous Speaking: Sara Page, Top Novice
Prose Interpretation: Eric Schoen, 1st place & Top Novice
Informative Speaking: Chris Taylor, 6th place
Duo Interpretation: Meredith Day/Eric Schoen, 3rd place & Top Novice
Carson-Newman Sponsored Individual Events Tournament
Informative Speaking: Sara Page, 6th place
Duo Interpretation: Meredith Day/Eric Schoen, 1st place & Top Novice
Extemporaneous Speaking: Sara Page, 3rd place & Top Novice
Poetry Interpretation: Eric Schoen, 1st place & Top Novice
Prose Interpretation: Meredith Day, 4th place; Eric Schoen, 2nd place & Top Novice
Health Services, Nursing Give Flu Shots in Edgehill
Belmont University Health Services and the School of Nursing teamed up again this year to offer free flu shots at a clinic in Edgehill. Students, faculty and staff all volunteered their time to give shots at the clinic at Greater Bethel Church and the I.W. Gernert Towers. Those clinics, combined with the number of vaccines given on campus, made for a record year for Health Services with approximately 750 individuals receiving a flu shot from Belmont.
Five Bruin Volleyball Players Listed in Postseason Awards
Channing Salava received Freshman of the Year honors, and Cat Mundy was a First Team All-Conference selection for the second season in a row in the annual Atlantic Sun Awards and Honors list released this week.
Senior middle hitter Emily Cahill was named to the Second Team All-Conference team for the third season in a row, joining middle hitter Jenny Gray and Salava. Salava rounded out her honors with an appearance on the All-Freshman team with outside hitter Maggie Johnson. Click here for more on this story.
Voight Gives Keynote at Golf Fitness Summit
Dr. Mike Voight in the School of Physical Therapy was one of the keynote speakers at the World Golf Fitness Summit held in Anaheim, Calif. last month. More than 600 health care and fitness professionals from 27 countries working within the sport of golf were in attendance. Dr. Voight’s topic was Hip Pathology and its role in the golf swing.
Currans Land Roles in Florence Musical
Two married Belmont students studying abroad this semester are taking part in an Italian musical. The students, Noah and Daira Curran, have received a leading role and a directing job in the musical in Florence, Italy.
Born in Ohio, Noah is a senior international business major, and Daira is a junior commercial voice major originally from Massachusetts.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Each day, 18,000 children die of starvation or starvation-related causes. This December you can do something about it. On Dec.10 in the Curb Event Center, we are taking on hunger in a big way. Belmont University’s Student Affairs Division in partnership with Feed My Starving Children, Word Entertainment, EMI Christian Music Group and Provident Records offers you an opportunity to make the difference between life and death for children around the world.
Over 1000 Volunteers will prepare and pack 400,000 meals, providing food for 1,100 children for an entire year! Please join us. With no special preparation and only two hours of your time, combining ingredients, sealing bags and packing boxes to the sound of Christmas music, you can save a child’s life. Visit http://www.belmont.edu/promo/wow for more information and to sign-up.
This is the largest event ever sponsored by Feed My Starving Children and a powerful way to live out the university’s mission of “engaging and transforming the world.” Join us, and start your Christmas season with gratitude and giving back.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Needs Volunteers
Would you like to make a difference in the life of a child? Big Brothers Big Sisters needs you! You only need to spend one hour each week with your little brother or little sister. You can meet with your little brother or little sister during or after school at some of the local youth centers and schools: Youth Life Learning Center on Tennessee Avenue, West End Middle School on West End Avenue, Sylvan Park Elementary on Utah Avenue, Napier Elementary on Fairfield Avenue and several other locations. For more information, contact Anne Gallo at Big Brothers Big Sisters 522-5658 or anne.gallo@bbbs.org.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Road Closures to Continue on Monday
Due to work Metro Water needs to do on a new water line that will serve the campus, portions of 15th Ave. and Acklen Ave. will be closed on Fri., Nov. 21 and Mon., Nov. 24. 15th Ave. will be blocked from Wedgewood to Caldwell. Acklen will be closed from 12th Ave. just past the intersection at 15th Avenue. Both streets will be closed to thru traffic, but residents living along the closed stretch will have access to their homes. Access to the Inman garage will be limited to the alley entrance from Wedgewood and the entrance and exit from E. Belmont Circle.

IT’S ALL BELMONT TO ME – Belmont FYI Feature Profile of the Month

Take Responsibility and Follow Through
Brian Fuller, known to most on campus as BL, works as the Assistant Setup Tech, Auxiliary Services Sound Guy and all-around Technical Concierge for Conference Services. He has been a part of the Belmont community for six years and was nominated for the second guiding principle in “It’s All Belmont to Me,” Take Responsibility and Follow Through.
In addition to working all over campus assisting with events, BL appreciates the diversity of individuals he comes in contact with on a day-to-day basis. “I enjoy the interaction with a broad range of people. You never know who I might deal with in the course of a day, hobos to billionaires.”
BL notes that for him, it’s important to make sure every event is a success, even if that means trying to put out fires that he didn’t start. “This morning, a client came in with a laptop but didn’t have a power cord, and her battery was dead. Since the success of her event is my responsibility, I made sure it was a successful event. I found her a power cable.
“Mom always said, ‘If you ain’t gonna do it right, don’t do it,’” BL adds. “I think I was nominated because I care about my job. I try to make sure that my duties are covered, plus tax. I get pleasure from a job done well.”

Do you know a Belmont employee who embodies one of the five Guiding Principles? Nominate them for a Belmont FYI Feature Profile of the Month! Click here for more information on this program and to download the nomination form.
To read more about Belmont’s service initiative, click here to view the “It’s All Belmont to Me” Web site. This Web site will explain the history, training and other elements of this program.

COMING UP

Friday, November 21, 7:30 p.m.
Musical Theatre Presents Ragtime
Tickets are $5 for Belmont faculty and staff. Additional performances will be held Nov. 22-23. Check the BIC calendar for more details.
Massey Concert Hall
Friday, November 21, 8 p.m.
As It Is in Heaven
A moving portrayal of upheaval caused when the utopian existence of an 1830s Shaker community in Kentucky is threatened by the arrival of ‘newcomers’ claiming to see angels. Tickets are $3 for Belmont faculty and staff. Additional performances will be held Nov. 22-23. Check the BIC calendar for more details.
Black Box Theater
Saturday, November 22, 7 p.m.
Women’s Basketball vs. Tennessee Tech
Curb Event Center
Monday, November 24, 7:30 p.m.
Wind Ensemble
Massey Concert Hall
Thursday and Friday, November 27-28
Thanksgiving Holiday
Wednesday, December 3, 10 a.m.
Southern Culture Research Fair
Sociology students will present their research on various elements of the Southern identity. These will include contested and highly debated aspects of Southern Culture such as the confederate flag, country music, and other media of popular (but often maligned) Southern culture.
Neely
Wednesday, December 3, 7:30 p.m.
Bloblive
Ideablob.com, the place for ideas, is hitting the road. Bloblive is a free, face-to-face event that gives entrepreneurs and big thinkers the chance to bounce their business ideas off each other. Hosted by Advanta’s Chief Innovation Officer, Ami Kassar, inspiration is guaranteed. Space is limited; only 100 seats are available.
Beaman A/B
Thursday, December 4, 4 p.m.
Science Undergraduate Research Symposium
The fifth annual Science Undergraduate Research Symposium (SURS) will begin with Dr. Sandra Rosenthal giving the keynote address, “White Light Emitting Nanocrystals and the Coming Revolution in Energy Efficient Solid State Lighting.” Following the talk, there will be a reception along with a student poster session and presentations of student papers.
Beaman A
Friday, December 5, 7 p.m.
Nashville Children’s Choir
Belmont Heights Baptist Church

BIRTHDAYS

If you notice an incorrect or missing birthday, please e-mail the update to communication@mail.belmont.edu.
Happy Belated Birthday to Steve Lasley and Sharon Hiett in Finance and Operations, who celebrated birthdays on Nov. 15.
November 21
Kenisha Rhone, Athletics
November 22
Gregory Faulk, Business
Richard Hoffman, Music
Benita Walker, Spiritual Development
November 23
Renee Schultz, Athletics
November 25
Mike Awalt, Philosophy
November 27
Vernona Elliott, Philosophy
Pamela Johnson, Strategic Marketing
Debbie Simpler, Social Work
November 28
Kevin Robinson, Physical Therapy
November 30
Kris Elsberry, Music
December 1
April Hefner, Office of Communications
John Paine, Literature and Languages
Natalia Pelaz, Foreign Languages
December 3
Ronnie Littlejohn, Philosophy
December 4
Jennifer Baker, Pharmacy
December 5
Karen Bennett, Social Sciences
Pam Parry, Media Studies
December 6
Josh Wilkerson, Office of Communications