Belmont Helps Paint ‘A Brush with Kindness’
For the second consecutive year, Belmont University partnered with area churches, businesses and Habitat for Humanity to renovate the home of someone in need.

Belmont Church, Greater Christ Temple, John Wesley United Methodist Church, Kayne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church, Mount Gilead Missionary Baptist Church, Southside Community Church, Tabernacle of Glory Baptist Church, Fifth Third Bank, Energizer and baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. contributed to the project. Belmont University donated $7,500 to the project and plans to have its students renovate another house in South Nashville in the fall.

Together volunteers from the organizations renovated the East Nashville home of William Montgomery over four days, adding new siding, caulking holes, sealing the home against water, removing peeling paint, painting the house blue with beige columns, working on landscaping and fencing and replacing wood framing. They celebrated the project’s completion with a block party on June 2 and a home dedication on June 3. Read more.

Belmont University Announces New Program in Motion Pictures
Belmont University announced this week the opening of a new undergraduate degree program in motion pictures, the study of cinematography, screenwriting, film production, etc. The curriculum for this interdisciplinary studies program is being developed under the expertise of Will Akers, Belmont’s new assistant professor and chair of the program. Motion Pictures classes will begin in fall 2013.

In addition to having 25 years experience as a screenwriter, Akers’ background includes 19 years of teaching at Vanderbilt University in film studies, theater and communication studies. He is also the author of an industry-standard text, Your Screenplay Sucks!, 100 Ways To Make It Great. A Nashville native, graduate of Vanderbilt, with a master’s degree in cinema production from the University of Southern California, Akers is a fixture in the Nashville film community. He has had three feature films produced from his screenplays and wrote for the network television series “Strange Luck,” “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and “Eerie, Indiana.”

The new program intends to encompass all areas of the modern motion picture world. “Today motion pictures can be found in all kinds of media including television, cell phones and computers; it’s not simply film-in-a-theater anymore,” Akers said. “Belmont’s new program will capitalize on the growing diversity of motion pictures, teaching students all aspects of the craft from script development, through production, to marketing and distribution. We’ll combine our classroom curriculum with the hands-on experiential learning that is a consistently distinguishing factor of a Belmont education.

Belmont Provost Thomas Burns added, “This new undergraduate major is a natural extension of Belmont’s strong liberal arts curriculum and our commitment to high-quality professional programs related to the management and development of the entertainment industry. Moreover, motion pictures will prepare students to succeed in a dynamic marketplace that is currently experiencing immense development and growth.” Read more.

Belmont Students Complete Study Abroad to Geneva
Twelve students from Belmont recently spent three weeks in Geneva, Switzerland and the area around the city in a unique study abroad experience full of firsts. It was Belmont’s first study abroad to the city of Geneva, the first for a nursing clinical course, and the first for a shared educational experience with some students enrolled in community health nursing and others in a humanities course. The courses included a shared study of the book Frankenstein as Geneva is the setting for much of this classic’s action.  The students had a first-hand opportunity to explore the book from literary, philosophical, historical, psychological and public health points of view.  The courses were taught by Professor of English and French John Paine and Associate Professor of Nursing Ruby Dunlap.

The group visited the International Federation of the Red Cross, which focuses on humanitarian, disaster and health initiatives, where they listened to presentations on the health implications of safe water and sanitation, and on training and education in public health.  Later, the class spent a couple of hours at the World Health Organization, listening to presentations on the global efforts to reduce hospital acquired infections and on issues related to the global shortage of nurses and midwives. Read more.

Mick Hedgepeth Earns Conference’s Highest Academic Honor
Belmont University men’s basketball senior Mick Hedgepeth, of Crossville, Ala., was named Atlantic Sun Conference Male Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced at its 2012 Spring Meetings in Daytona Beach, Fla.

This marks the seventh time in the Bruins’ 11-year Atlantic Sun Conference history that a Belmont men’s basketball player has been named Male Student-Athlete of the Year. For perspective, no other school-sport combination in the history of the A-Sun has more than two awards.

Hedgepeth joins Wes Burtner (2002), Justin Hare (2007, 2008), Adam Mark (2003, 2004), and Andy Wicke (2009) in this exclusive fraternity.

Hedgepeth’s academic, athletic, and civic contributions to Belmont University have been far-reaching. The Crossville, Ala. native is a two-time Capital One Academic All-District selection, and received postgraduate scholarships from the NCAA and the Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association (DI-AAA ADA). Moreover, the 6-9 forward represented Belmont University at the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans, La. as one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Hedgepeth was also one of just six student-athletes named to the inaugural Atlantic Sun Academic All-Conference Team for men’s basketball in 2012. Read more.