Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher was nominated this week for 2008 Tennessean of the Year by The Tennessean.
The newspaper pointed to the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate and how the event brought a national spotlight to Nashville as part of the reasoning behind his nomination. In addition, the article noted, “Fisher has raised Belmont’s profile since his arrival in 2000, increasing enrollment from 3,000 to 5,000 students, launching nursing and pharmacy programs, and working with recording-industry mogul Mike Curb to build the state-of-the-art Curb Event Center, site of the debate.”
Other nominees include the Fisk Jubilee Singers, which was awarded a National Medal of Arts this year; Dr. James Hildreth, a Meharry faculty member who announced a potential breakthrough in the battle against AIDS; Jennifer A. Pietenpol, the director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center who was recently appointed to a six-year term on the National Cancer Advisory Board; and Pat Summit, head coach of the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team who led the Lady Vols to a second consecutive national championship in the 2007-08 season.
Click here to read the article. To support a nominee, readers are encouraged to email their selection and reasons why to letters@tennessean.com. The winner will be announced in the paper’s Issues section on Dec. 28.
