Belmont University | FYI


September 11, 2009

BELMONT NEWS


Belmont Chancellor, Former President Dr. Herbert C. Gabhart Passes Away
‘Heart and soul’ of Belmont leaves 50-year legacy of leadership

DrGabhartforBN.jpgDr. Herbert C. Gabhart, 95, chancellor and retired president of Belmont University, passed away Thursday in Nashville. Dr. Gabhart served Belmont University for 50 years, leading as president of Belmont College from 1959-1982 and inspiring the campus as chancellor for the past 26 years.

“On behalf of the entire Belmont University community, I want to express my sincere condolences to the Gabhart family,” said Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher. “Dr. Gabhart represented the heart and soul of Belmont for the past 50 years, and we will miss him deeply. However, his legacy of love for this institution and the people here will live on. We all recognize that Belmont’s successes today come from standing atop his shoulders and building on all that he first achieved. His words, his life and his vision will continue to inspire and guide Belmont into the future.”

Dr. Gabhart served as president of Belmont College from 1959 until he retired in 1982 and began his term as chancellor of Belmont, a position he held for 27 years. During his tenure as president, Belmont experienced phenomenal growth in enrollment and physical space. When he arrived at Belmont College in 1959, the school’s enrollment was 360 students. When he retired as president in 1982, Belmont’s student population had grown by 500 percent to more than 2,000. He oversaw a budget increase from $480,000 to $8 million, and the campus also saw physical expansion with the addition of nine new buildings, including the Massey Performing Arts Center, Wheeler Humanities building, Hitch Science building, the library, and more. Belmont also expanded academically by adding many majors and degrees, including music, nursing, business and more. Click here for more on this story.

Eighth Annual Humanities Symposium Tackles Theme of 'Nature and the Human Spirit'
Featured lecturers to include Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver
hum_sym09.jpgBelmont University announced today the theme and program schedule for its Eighth Annual Humanities Symposium, which this year will feature talks by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver. Centered on the concept “Nature and the Human Spirit,” this year’s Humanities Symposium occurs Sept. 13-21 and parallels the overall university 2009-10 academic concentration on “A Paradise Lost? Environment, Ecology and Sustainability.”

The Humanities Symposium seeks to fulfill the classical definition of what a symposium should be: a gathering of friends for the purpose of intellectually stimulating conversation on a matter important to humanity, time and place. More than 25 academic lectures and special events will be held during this year’s eight-day symposium, including Oliver’s appearances, student readings, nature walks, art exhibits and the viewing and discussion of Sean Penn-directed film Into the Wild.

Dr. Annette Sisson, professor in Belmont’s English department and an organizer of this year’s event, said, “This year’s topic is very timely and highly relevant as it addresses the environment, ecology and sustainability, which raises the question of how humanity and nature relate to one another. But it also encourages us to explore how human beings can live more fully and richly when they have a keen awareness of their own place within the natural order of things… Mary Oliver has devoted her entire career to writing poetry and essays about this very topic, so her contribution to this year’s symposium will be a tremendous highlight of the program. However, once other writers and scholars learned that she would be participating, they were eager to sign on—so our symposium this year has more range, depth and texture than ever before.”

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