May 11, 2012

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

2012 Spring Commencement
Belmont held its largest commencement to date on Saturday, celebrating the graduation of more than 1,000 students in two ceremonies. The processional was led by 2012 Presidential Faculty Achievement Award recipient Dr. Leslie Folds and 2012 Chaney Distinguished Professor Dr. Rich Tiner.

Belmont Auxiliary Partners Spring Luncheon
The 2012 Belmont University Auxiliary Partners Spring Luncheon occurred on Monday, May 7, in the Maddox Grand Atrium with guest speaker Tamera Alexander, the best-selling author of A Lasting Impression. The novel is the first of three Southern historical books Alexander is writing that are deeply rooted in the history of the Belmont Mansion and Adelicia Acklen. Alexander (right) is pictured above with Linda Patrick, who dressed in a period costume for the occasion. The Auxiliary was established in 1954 to promote interest in the University and to assist the administration, Board of Trustees, faculty and staff in providing scholarships for students.

BELMONT NEWS

Rose Park Students Return to Belmont for ‘Edgehill’s Best’
For the third consecutive year, seventh and eighth grade students from Rose Park Magnet Middle School sought advice from Belmont students, received  instruction from a Belmont instructor and used the University’s journalism lab to produce its newspaper Edgehill’s Best.

The students, hand selected by their teachers, received weekly tutorials from Belmont Vision newspaper adviser and journalism instructor Linda Quigley throughout the spring semester, learning how to develop story ideas, interview sources and write leads.

“The idea is that they provide information that is valuable to the community,” Quigley said. “Having been in journalism for 30 years, it is exciting to see students appreciate [newspapers] as [they]  are getting a bad wrap.”

On May 2, the middle school students worked in Belmont’s journalism lab to write their articles with the help of several Belmont students and Vision reporters, including managing editor Autumn Allision.

“It is a neat experience to help them focus their stories and work as a copy editor for these younger students,” said Allison, a junior from Watertown, Tenn. Read more

Storyline Conference Encourages Registrants to Live a Meaningful Narrative
Donald Miller
, New York Times best-selling author of Blue Like Jazz, brought his Storyline Conference to Belmont University’s campus this week. Based on another best-selling book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Storyline is a two-day event that walks registrants through the steps of writing a life-plan using the elements of story.

More than 500 people attended the conference, including more than a dozen Belmont students and staff members. Miller guided participants through five sessions and accompanying modules to help them map their life story.

Belmont senior Daniel Warner said, “The Storyline conference caused me to see the evident connectedness between my daily actions and the progression of my life’s overarching narrative…  The content of the conference laid an important framework for future reflection. The notebook exercises were well-designed in a way that made it easy to categorize life events and see the path my life has been taking.” Read more

CEMB Class Hits the Road in June with The Turtles Featuring Flo & Eddie
10 students to gain experiential education on ‘Happy Together Tour’
This June, 10 Belmont University juniors and seniors will join professor and legendary musician Mark Volman, a founding member of the band The Turtles, on the road for an East Coast run of the “Happy Together Tour.” The tour’s “classroom” and schedule looks something like this: one tour bus, a precious few hotel rooms, long hours and many stages—for two and a half weeks and a grade.

Under the guidance of faculty advisor Mark Volman and staff advisor Lucas Boto, students will work with touring artists and crew professionals in the areas of tour management, stage management, audio engineering, tour accounting and merchandise sales. These duties will be in addition to their continued learning each day during the process of load-in, setup, tear-down and load-out. These hands-on educational avenues outside of the classroom provide networking opportunities with all of the supporting organizations while gaining an understanding of the revenue flow from music consumer to touring performer. Read more

Belmont Launches New MBA for Healthcare Professionals
Innovative weeknight, part-time program targets Nashville’s working healthcare leaders
Admissions recently opened for Belmont University’s MBA for Healthcare Professionals, a new graduate program that integrates cutting-edge business practice with the latest approaches to managing excellence in patient-centered healthcare. According to the Nashville Chamber of Commerce website, healthcare makes up 10 percent of the Nashville economic market, with three of the top five employers in the city focusing on health services and more than 65,000 individuals in a healthcare-related occupation. As a result, the part-time evening program has been designed specifically to fit the needs of these working professionals.

Dr. Joe Alexander, associate dean of Belmont’s Massey Graduate School of Business, said,Belmont is committed to engage with and serve the Nashville community, and an MBA for Healthcare Professionals offers a unique opportunity for those in this region to pursue an industry-specific MBA degree without interrupting their healthcare careers.” Read more

Center for Executive Education Hosts Spring Leadership Breakfast with Author Dan Heath
The Center for Executive Education at Belmont University will host Dan Heath as the keynote speaker during its Spring Leadership Breakfast on Wednesday, May 16 at 7 a.m. in the Curb Event Center arena. Presented in partnership with the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, the event will explore the patterns executives should follow to make important changes, whether it’s changing the world, a business or a personal goal.

Heath is a noted speaker/author/business columnist and co-author of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard and Made to Stick. He also serves as a senior fellow at Duke University’s CASE Center for Social Entrepreneurs. Read more

ACHIEVERS

Click here for stories on the recent accomplishments of Belmont’s students, faculty, staff and alumni. This week highlights include Lynne Shores, Jeff Cornwall, Tracy Silverman and additional School of Music faculty, Duane Hatch, Rachel Rigsby, Alison Moore, SMACS students and Amy Ham.

COMING UP

Tuesday, May 15, 5 p.m.
Baseball Hosts Austin Peay
Rose Park

Wednesday, May 16, 7 a.m.
Center for Executive Education Spring Leadership Breakfast
Featured speaker is author/business columnist Dan Heath. Click here to register.
Curb Event Center

Thursday, May 17, 5 p.m.
Battle of the Boulevard: Baseball
Belmont Bruins baseball takes on Lipscomb. Additional games on Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.
Rose Park

Saturday, May 19, 11 a.m.
Connecting Disciplines: ” Mutation: Nature’s Creative Force”
A lecture and gallery talk by Dr. John Niedzwiecki, assistant professor of biology. Dr. Niedzwiecki specializes in population genetics, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary biology and will present a gallery talk in response to the exhibit  Fairy Tales, Monsters, and the Genetic Imagination.
Frist Center for the Visual Arts

Check the University calendar for other upcoming community and convocation events.
Visit the Belmont Athletics website for information about upcoming athletic events.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Director of Event Services David Graham and his wife Racheal on the April 28 birth of their first child, a son, John James Graham III, 6 lb. and 18 inches long.

BIRTHDAYS

If you notice an incorrect or missing birthday, please e-mail the update to communication@belmont.edu.

Saturday, May 12
Madeline Bridges, Music
Bob Fisher, President
Matthew McCrickard, Registrar’s Office

Sunday, May 13
Lisa Scholl, Health Services

Monday, May 14
Ken Duncan, Maintenance Services
Misty Wellman, CAS

Wednesday, May 16
Mary Bates George, Music

Thursday, May 17
Doug Bisson, History
David Herrera, CEMB
Elisabeth Small, Music

Friday, May 18
Ann Baldwin, Education

SPECIAL PROMOTIONS

Preferred Rental Car Suppliers
National Car Rental and Enterprise Rent-A-Car are the preferred rental car suppliers for Belmont University. Click here for The Emerald Club to bypass the counter and choose your own car. Once you have created your membership profile, follow the online activation steps below to begin taking advantage of the member benefits.

  1. Locate your Emerald Club number, driver’s license and credit card.
  2. Go to www.emeraldclub.com
  3. Click on the “Create Login” link located in the Emerald Club box about half way down the page on the right side.
  4. Complete the create login screen and click on “submit.”  You should now receive a confirmation of your login name and password.
  5. Return to the Emerald Club homepage and login to your profile using your new login name and password.
  6. Once you have accessed your profile, you will see links along the top and far left of the page.  Click on the “Profile Update” link.
  7. You should go through each profile section and update or add the appropriate information (be sure to click on the “save” button after you complete each section).

Click here to make reservations. If you have any questions regarding the Belmont University car rental program provided through National Car Rental or Enterprise Rent-A-Car, please contact Belmont’s Account Manager Josh York at (615) 309-9660 or Joshua.d.york@erac.com.

Special Discount Performances at TPAC
The Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) is offering $5 off tickets to Little Shop of Horrors to Belmont students, faculty and staff for select performances through May19. Click here to purchase discounted tickets for these productions. Choose the “Promo code? Click here” link and enter the password “belmont.” Hit “Apply” and select which of the discounted performance dates you’d like to attend. Make sure to select a performance that says “eligible for promotion” to receive the corporate saver discount.

May 4, 2012

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

(left to right) Belmont Board of Trustees Chairman Marty Dickens, School of Religion Dean Darrell Gwaltney and CAS Dean Bryce Sullivan unveil an artist rendering of the new Wedgewood Academic Center at a groundbreaking ceremony on May 4.

The Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville recently donated a Japanese cherry blossom tree to Belmont University to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the gift of cherry blossom trees from Japan to the United States. The tree was one of 20 trees donated this year in Tennessee to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the first cherry tree gifts. Those trees were planted on the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. They are a symbol of the continued close relationship between the two countries. The tree donated to Belmont and planted near the Leu Visual Arts building is a direct offspring of the Yoshino cherry trees.