Bruins Return to Campus for Homecoming 2012

Homecoming 2012 was a success with alumni returning to campus to make their “Destination: Belmont.”

The annual spirit fire was lit Friday night by representatives for the faculty, staff, alumni and current students.

The week-long celebration began Feb. 13 and featured several concerts, a residence hall banner competition for students, a campus-wide pep rally and bonfire and concluded with a basketball doubleheader.

Hope Cooper, a senior studying public relations and education, and Taylor Dillon, a junior studying management, were elected Homecoming Queen and King. Also on the Homecoming Court were Bianca Edwards, Katie Hudson, Shirah Foy, Shai Wilkins, Johnathan Butler, Kevin Deschler, Jordan Kirkdorffer and Rami Nofal.

A highlight of Belmont’s Homecoming 2012 week was the Fourth Annual Alumni Art Exhibit, which opened Jan. 23 and runs through Feb. 24. The exhibit showcases the artwork of several esteemed alumni and is being held in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts in Gallery 121. The exhibit features multiple mediums to depict this year’s University theme of “Wealth and Poverty.” The alumni whose works are represented–L.A. Bachman (’06), Matt Chenoweth (’07), Paul Chenoweth (’08), Bethany Taylor (’07), Leah Tumerman (’05), Laura Amstutz Weibezahn (’08), and Ron York (’75)–responded to an open call to all Belmont graduates.

Belmont 2002 graduate Eric McLaughlin returned to campus Feb. 15 for the Homecoming Chapel to discuss the work he, his family and others doctors are doing in Africa. Dr. Peter Kuryla, professor of history, gave the Simmons Distinguished Lecture this year with a presentation titled “A Prosthetic Aesthetic: William and Henry James, The Father Problem and the Case of the Cork Leg.”

Julie Thomas, director of constituency programs in the Office of Alumni Relations, said, “Belmont alumni are such an important part of this institution.  Homecoming is the perfect time for us to honor and celebrate our alums and welcome them back to campus.”

Click here to view photos from Homecoming 2012.

Belmont to Host Phase 1 of ‘Spotlight on Turkey’ Program

The Tennessee World Affairs Council, housed at Belmont, and the Turkish Cultural Foundation are partnering with Belmont’s Center for International Business to bring “Spotlight on Turkey” to campus, a program put on by the Council and Foundation.

The three-phase program begins with a day-long workshop Saturday, March 24 for Tennessee teachers to learn about Turkish culture. In phase two, several teachers will be selected to take a tour of Turkey in order to get a first hand account of the area. The final phase, a “Portrait of Turkey” program, will be held in the fall of 2012 and will allow the teachers who participated in the Study Tour of Turkey to share the experience with other teachers, students and the general community through a workshop, program, speakers and/or cultural event.

Overall, the Tennessee World Affairs Council seeks to bring resources to Tennessee as opportunities for educators to increase their knowledge of Turkish culture and history. “In general, our purpose is to provide programs. Our goal is to learn more about the world,” said Patrick Ryan, the Council’s president.

The first workshop will take place at Belmont University and will include 30 to 50 participants. Belmont faculty and staff interested in speaking about Turkish culture or assisting in the workshop are encouraged to contact Patrick Ryan or Jeff Overby. For more information, click here.

Alumnus Gives Homecoming Chapel Lecture

Belmont 2002 graduate Eric McLaughlin returned to campus for Belmont’s Homecoming Chapel Feb. 15 to discuss the work he, his family and others doctors are doing in Africa.

Committed to missions, McLaughlin and his family, along with several friends who are also physicians, moved to Kenya in 2009 to provide health care for residents and to teach young Kenyan doctors. The group is spending a year in the United States visiting friends and family before its members leave to spend 10 months in France. There they will learn French to prepare for a mission trip in Burundi, a country in Eastern Africa.

McLaughlin said his years in Kenya taught him he has limitations and God’s goodness is stronger than he realized.  When his human limitations come into play, God’s goodness has the power to overcome.

“Limitations are very real, but the goodness of God in the world is that much more real,” he said.

McLaughlin concluded his lecture by encouraging the students to reflect on their limits and remind themselves God is goodness and limitless.

He said, “Do not fear the darkness, but rather celebrate the light. And know that, by his goodness, God’s strength is made person in our weakness.”

Alumni Art Exhibit Examines ‘Wealth and Poverty’

Laura Amstutz Weibezahn, a 2008 graduate, has artwork on display in the Homecoming 2012 Alumni Exhibit.

A highlight of Belmont’s Homecoming 2012 week is the Fourth Annual Alumni Art Exhibit, which opened Jan. 23 and runs through next Friday, Feb. 24. The exhibit showcases the artwork of several esteemed alumni and is being held in the Leu Center for the Visual Arts in Gallery 121.

The exhibit features multiple mediums to depict this year’s University theme of “Wealth and Poverty.” The alumni whose works are represented–L.A. Bachman (’06), Matt Chenoweth (’07), Paul Chenoweth (’08), Bethany Taylor (’07), Leah Tumerman (’05), Laura Amstutz Weibezahn (’08), and Ron York (’75)–responded to an open call to all Belmont graduates. 

While most of the programs scheduled around Belmont’s “Wealth and Poverty” theme have focused on a literal, economic interpretation of financial condition, artists in this year’s Alumni Art Exhibit were asked to explore a broader interpretation. The exhibit challenges the visitor to look at the subject matter not only as a polarizing condition but also as a process, a continuum that includes nothing, and everything.

Paul Chenoweth, an alumnus who works in Belmont’s Information Technology Services, curated the exhibit and is displaying some of his own ceramic art as well. He said, “You might imagine that a literal, visual translation of the polar opposites of wealth and poverty would not be terribly difficult… we live in a society where we can see wealthy people as well as poor people in our cities and towns. Expanding the interpretation to include more than financial differences to include mental, spiritual, psychological, environmental and even political wealth and poverty opens up opportunities for artists to challenge preconceptions and encourage personal reflection.” (more…)

Kuryla Delivers ‘Simmons Distinguished Lecture’

Dr. Peter Kuryla offers his thoughts on Henry James, Sr.

On Wednesday Feb. 15, Dr. Peter Kuryla, professor of history, gave an academic lecture titled “A Prosthetic Aesthetic: William and Henry James, The Father Problem and the Case of the Cork Leg.” Part of Belmont’s Homecoming 2012 celebration, the lecture was held in the Massey Board Room.

Dr. Kuryla was selected as the College of Arts and Sciences 2012 Robert E. Simmons Distinguished Lecturer. This lectureship was created by Dean Robert Simmons in 1988 to honor the research and scholarly work of the faculty in the humanities, education, arts, sciences and social sciences and has continued to award esteemed faculty of Belmont University for years.

Kuryla prefaced his lecture by giving insight into the title and content of his topic. He explained that he had attended a series of academic conferences in which he and some of his colleagues presented papers on philosopher William James and his brother, novelist Henry James. Kuryla noted that he was intrigued as to how the family background played roles in William and Henry’s writings, and upon some research he discovered that “William and Henry’s childhood experiences with their father affected their mature writing.”

Henry James, Sr. was a philosopher who published several volumes of theology during the middle 19^th century. However, unlike his two sons, none of his works were recognized or experienced much success, though Kuryla theorized that he did influence themes in his sons’ works. A boyhood accident from a game of “fireball” resulted in bad burns which eventually led to the amputation of the elder Henry James’ leg. Dr. Kuryla expressed his belief that their father’s prosthetic limb may have indirectly affected William and Henry James’ writings. Henry Sr. was responsible for the boys having a transatlantic childhood, as he moved them frequently from cities in the United States and then to Europe and back again, which surely presented obstacles for him given his disability.

During his lecture, Dr. Kuryla suggested that the sons recapitulated the father’s trauma over the loss of his leg in their own ways, through experiences of spiritual crisis or in their use of language. Henry James, Sr. and the suffering that accompanied his “leg must have figured prominently in the experiences of the two eldest boys, such that one might read it later in a peculiar type of filial aesthetic language concerned with death, morbidity and suffering, meant to signal the difficulty and potential falsehood of efforts to represent the world or experience.” Upon completing his lecture, Dr. Kuryla took questions from the audience.

Author Encourages Students’ Entrepreneurial ‘Secret Sauce’

Many of the secret ingredients required to be a successful entrepreneur, college students already have, author and journalist Donna Fenn said Feb. 6 during her lecture on “The Secret Sauce of Entrepreneurs.”

“Entrepreneurs are really the people who are holding our economic future in the palm of their hands,” she said. “You are the first generation to grow up with true entrepreneur role models. Starting a business is cheaper, easier and faster than it has ever been before.”

Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation, is more social and values collaboration in a way that previous generations have not, which allows its members to better network with each other to create new businesses. Generation Y also a understands how to connect old economy businesses with new economy people, Fenn said, such as a student who started a dry cleaning business geared to restoring garments damaged by smoke, water and mold. He realized insurance companies covered the cost for such restoration, and he only needed to bring that to the attention of consumers.

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20th Annual Commercial Music Showcase Features Students, Alumni

Rayvon Owen

Monday night Belmont’s School of Music presented the 20th annual Commercial Music Showcase in the Massey Performing Arts Center (MPAC). The annual concert features some of the School of Music’s top commercial performers, and this year’s showcase offered 15-minute mini-concerts from senior Nate Faulkner, junior Sarah Margaret Huff, junior Rayvon Owen and senior Cody Fry.

In honor of the showcase’s 20th anniversary, the evening opened with a special performance of “The Living Proof” with appearances by numerous School of Music alumni including C.T. Blackmore (’07), Kory Caudill (’09), Becki Corcoran Ryan (’01), Melinda Doolittle (’99), Chris Gregg (’02 and ’09) and Master of Ceremonies Frank Rains, Jr. (’92). In addition, current students from the commercial music program were involved as arrangers, instrumentalists, background vocalists and crew members for the showcase.

Click here for additional photos from the 2012 Commercial Music Showcase.

CVPA, Nashville Ballet Bring ‘Aesop’s Fables’ to MPAC

The College of Visual and Performing Arts and Nashville Ballet hosted a free performance of Aesop’s Fables in the Massey Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Jan. 29. The event brought hundreds of children and their parents to campus for the interactive show. 

“The Tortoise and the Hare,” “The Fox and the Crow,” “The Wind and the Sun” and “The Ants and the Grasshopper” tales were woven together with an original narrative. These stories creatively depict Aesop winning his freedom from slavery through his cautionary storytelling.

The children’s ballet was performed by the Nashville Ballet’s pre-professional company to live music composed by Belmont University School of Music Professor Emeritus Paul Godwin. The music was performed by School of Music students and faculty.

“This is great for kids to learn about music, to learn about dance at an early age,” explained Nashville Ballet’s Jan Morrison to NewsChannel5. “These performances that we do for children are perfect because they’re narrated, so they can really learn what’s happening. They can really learn to associate movement, dance, body coordination and music.”

Click here to view photos from Aesop’s Fables.

Belmont Welcomes Neighbors to Campus for Community Days

As a show of gratitude to the University’s friends, Belmont invited its neighbors and the general public to the women’s basketball game against North Florida on Jan. 26. The event was free and included hot dogs, popcorn, drinks, a balloon artist and face painting.

“This day was a continuation of an annual event for Belmont to welcome the community to campus. We make an effort year-round to improve the dynamics between neighbors and the University,” said Joyce Searcy, director of community relations. Click here to view photos from Community Day 2012.

Belmont opened its arms again Jan. 28 with the Community Health Fair in the Maddox Grand Atrium of the Curb Event Center in conjunction with the men’s and women’s basketball games against Jacksonville. The free fair featured 30 booths with blood pressure, body composition and bone density screenings; CPR demonstrations; and information on tobacco cessation, breast cancer awareness, diabetes, healthy eating, self defense and recreation. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Renfrew Center, Edgehill Community Garden, Edgehill Family Resource Center, YMCA and Real Food Farms had booths.

“Belmont has always been supportive of the community and has done a lot of partnering and programming in the area surrounding campus. This (was) a continuation of those services to share information,” said Director of Health Services Katy Wilson. “Students from all of the health sciences programs, athletics department and fitness and recreation center (were) heavily involved in the fair.” Click here to view photos from the Community Health Fair.

The fair was intended to put wellness and preventive health resources within reach of Belmont’s neighbors and fans with screenings, pamphlets and prizes. Although the event marked the first Community Health Fair at Belmont, it was an extension of the annual Pink Zone through an initiative with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Susan G. Komen for the Cure to promote breast cancer awareness. The women’s basketball team wore pink uniforms. Fans received free pink T-shirts and pom poms.

“We have been fortunate to have a long-standing relationship with Susan G. Komen’s Nashville office. They set up a table in the hope of interacting with fans on game day,” Director of Athletics Marketing Jimmy Frush said. “We chose this doubleheader to reach a wide variety of people, ages and genders and to feature the College of Health Sciences’ many different programs and departments. Hopefully, it (delivered) a valuable service to the fans coming to the game.”

Student Athletes Take Talent Show Stage in ‘Battle of the Bruins’

Athletics event to benefit Nashville Special Olympics

Student athletes will compete off court and away from fields in Battle of the Bruins, the first student-athlete talent show, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7 in the Curb Event Center. All 11 of Belmont’s athletic teams will be represented on stage.

“This is also something fun for the athletes to get us all together because we are traveling a lot so we don’t always get to interact across teams. And it also will allow other students to know who we are when we aren’t playing sports,” said Jennifer Newnan, a senior on the women’s golf team, who will dance during Battle of the Bruins.

The talent show is presented by Belmont’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Among the performances are skits, dance routines and musical acts. Judges are three members from Diamond Rio, Golden Tate of the Seattle Seahawks, alumna Melinda Doolittle, Allison Demarcus and Special Olympic Star Josh Putnam. The athletes are competing for Bruins Supporting Bruins points, an initiative to get athletes to attend each other’s sporting events. At the end of the year, the most supportive team is rewarded with a dinner.

“Belmont is such a unique place with so many people that are musically talented. This talent show will give athletes a chance to show their natural talent, like singing or dancing or playing an instrument, that they usually cannot show off because they are busy with practice and games. Athletes are naturally talented and competitive, so this is a good fit,” said Morgan Gilman, a graduate student studying sport administration, who has been instrumental in the planning of Battle of the Bruins. While a swimmer at the University of Illinois, she and teammates hosted a similar talent show as a philanthropy event. She translated that event into Battle of the Bruins.

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Belmont Announces Schedule for Homecoming 2012 Feb. 13-18

Belmont University invites alumni, friends and family to make their “Destination Belmont” Feb. 13 – 18 for a week’s worth of special Homecoming 2012 events. The week-long celebration will feature an alumni art exhibit, a basketball doubleheader, a residence hall banner competition for students and a campus-wide pep rally and bonfire. For a complete list of all Belmont Homecoming 2012 events and an opportunity to register, visit http://alumni.belmont.edu/.

Julie Thomas, director of constituency programs in the Office of Alumni Relations, said, “Belmont alumni are such an important part of this institution.  Homecoming is the perfect time for us to honor and celebrate our alums and welcome them back to campus.”

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‘Music City Roots’ Takes on Distinctly Belmont Flavor

“Music City Roots at the Loveless Cafe” lured plenty of leather boots, flannel shirts and facial hair Wednesday night as the weekly, two-hour concert and live radio show often does. This week, however, the performance offered a uniquely Belmont-related theme. The Westbound Rangers, Leah Korbin, Shirock, Kopecky Family Band and the Apache Relay–all bands consisting of Belmont alumni or current students–pumped out bright and lively tones all night.

All the bands return to stage for the closing number at "Music City Roots" Jan. 25.

The audience reciprocated the school spirit with a large serving of Belmont students and faculty in attendance, including Curb College faculty members Dan Keen and Clyde Rolston, who helped organize the event. Click here to view the concert in its entirety. 

“Music City Roots” aims to revive the historic legacy of live musical radio production in Nashville. Broadcast on Wednesday nights from 7 to 9 p.m. on WRLT-Lightning 100, “Music City Roots: Live From the Loveless Cafe” showcases Nashville’s astonishing music scene. Host Jim Lauderdale and the bands closed the show Wednesday night with the weekly Loveless Jam tradition, this time gathering all the artists on stage for a final group performance of classic Beatles song, “Don’t Let Me Down.”

Annual ‘Sex and the Soul’ Week Continues Dialogue on Faith, Love

The biology of love and attraction distracts our minds from reality, marriage and family counselor John Van Epp told Belmont students at a convocation Tuesday as part of the third annual “Sex and the Soul” week.

“Love is blind partly because of biology but also because people don’t manage their hearts because they do not get to know the right stuff,” said Van Epp, author of How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk: Following Your Heart Without Losing Your Mind.

“When you sit up all night talking, you might know a lot about him, but do you really know him? In a healthy development of a relationship, let how well you know someone determine how much you trust them and do not bring too many needs so that you don’t rely on them,” told students during a Tuesday afternoon convocation.

People should connect first by getting to know each other, followed by trust, relying on the person, commitment and, finally, love. Working backwards is what makes love blind, he said. Couples should discuss conscience and moral compass. Little issues that go unaddressed will add up to become major flaws, which is  why people characterize others as jerks. Above all else, people should institute a 90-day probationary period to understand their compatibilities, personalities, values and humor.

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Alumna Shares Stories from India Mission

Belmont alumna Megan Stephens (’09) returned to campus on Jan. 20 as part of the “Alumni on Mission” series in an event sponsored by the Belmont Ambassadors and the Office of Alumni Relations. Alumni on Mission is an ongoing speaker series featuring Belmont alumni who incorporate mission and ministry in their everyday lives.

Shortly after graduating from college, Stephens said she felt God called her to two things: missions and teaching.

“I felt like God wanted me to do missions, but I didn’t know when, where or how,” said Stephens, who studied middle school teaching.

Overcoming safety concerns from her family and the daunting task of raising $12,000, she moved to Siliguri, India in 2009 to home school the 17-year-old daughter of missionaries while looking for opportunities to do mission work herself. She has since become a Young Life representative, working with high school students in the small town, and an English teacher at a local seminary. Stephens continues homeschooling other children in exchange for her rent.

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Belmont University Adds Spring 2012 Session of the Executive Leadership Experience

Belmont University’s Center for Executive Education announces the addition of a spring class for the Executive Leadership Experience program, beginning March 25, 2012. This will be the second cohort of the 10-month senior executive development program, open to both business and not-for-profit senior leaders.

Executive Director Gene Mage said, “The feedback on our first program was very strong, so we decided to add a spring cohort to accommodate client requests. We are keeping the class sizes small to maintain an active, experiential learning environment.”

Participants from the fall program offered high praise for the new experiential program. Rick Martin, senior director at Asurion Corporation, noted, “The Belmont Executive Leadership Experience has given me advanced and exclusive insight into the leadership behaviors of successful leaders and their companies. More importantly, it has provided me the opportunity to develop and enhance those same behaviors through mentorship, executive guidance, projects and access to some of the leading company executives and behavioral researchers throughout the country.”

The speaker line-up for the spring program features national experts including Jason Jennings, best-selling author of It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small… It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow; Cam Marston, one of the country’s leading authorities on leadership across the generations and author of Generational Insights; Scott Schwertley, CEO of Ethos3 and author of How to Be a Presentation God; and fitness and nutrition guru Cynthia Heroux.

Participants receive individual assessment and feedback on their leadership behaviors and styles, and 1:1 executive coaching throughout the program. They receive in-depth training in topics such as executive presence and presentation skills, strategic thinking, inclusive leadership, dealing with conflict, negotiation skills and performance excellence, and apply the learning to real projects in the Nashville community.

There are a limited number of openings available for the spring program by application only. For more information on the Executive Leadership Experience, contact Gene Mage at 615-460-6614 or visit: http://www.belmontleadership.com/c-suite.