Event management class project combines experiential learning, service
Students in a Belmont University Event Management class are presenting a free community event this Saturday, March 17 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Belmont Mansion in honor of Adelicia Acklen’s 195th birthday. The celebration will feature face painting, birthday card and mask making, scavenger hunts, self-guided tours of the mansion, music, popcorn and other great refreshments.
Senior Alex L Quattlebaum, a double major in music business and marketing, said, “I thought this would be a great class to take as an elective because in both of my chosen industries there are always different events. I wanted to be able to tell my boss that I had planned an event and I would be prepared if in the future I needed to plan again. Through this project I have also learned that you can never be over prepared because you never know what may come up.”
The three-credit hour undergraduate course focuses on best practices in modern event management. Topics covered include the administration, coordination, marketing and legal, ethical and risk management issues of managing events. The class is divided into groups, and each group is encouraged to produce an event that will be of benefit to the community or a non-profit organization or one that will foster personal/professional growth among fellow students.
Class instructor Cathy Hill said, “By integrating experiential learning with community service, I have observed a prominent sense of accomplishment, as well as improved academic performance. If students are actively involved in their learning experience, they tend to view the course material and their project as relevant. This, in turn, leads to a greater sense of competence as they prepare for future endeavors.”
One of the wealthiest and most interesting women of the antebellum South, Adelicia Acklen was born March 15, 1817, the daughter of Oliver Bliss Hayes, a prominent Nashville lawyer, judge and Presbyterian minister. The Belmont Mansion was built from 1849-53 as a summer residence for Adelicia and her second husband, Joseph A. S. Acklen. The Belmont Mansion was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is considered to be the second largest antebellum home in the South.
In partnership with the Belmont Mansion, the celebration of Adelicia Acklen’s 195th birthday has been made possible by Tennsco and Belmont’s College of Business Administration. In addition to offering Event Management as an undergraduate course, the college also offers a Meeting and Event Planning Certificate program through its Center for Executive Education in partnership with Meeting Professionals International Tennessee Chapter.
The Belmont Mansion is building No. 3 on the University’s Campus Map. Parking is available in the lot next to the Mansion as well as in the Curb Event Center parking garage (No. 17) and the North Garage (No. 9) beneath the Gordon E. Inman Center and McWhorter Hall.
About the Belmont Mansion
A National Historic Site since 1971, Belmont Mansion currently operates as a house museum, maintained by the Belmont Mansion Association. Belmont Mansion is open daily for guided tours, Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
