Starting in January, Belmont will be giving students a more powerful learning environment based on a new generation of software and solutions from Avid® (NASDAQ: AVID). The University’s strategy to augment its facilities for media and entertainment studies will ensure that students can stay on track and accelerate toward their degree goals, whether attending on campus, remotely or in a hybrid model.
The centerpiece of the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business strategy is its adoption of a five-year software subscription agreement for several hundred seats of Avid’s editing and creation tools, Media Composer® and Pro Tools®, and the open MediaCentral® platform that will enable students to work on their stories and productions from any location on their laptop or mobile device. With this upgrade, students will also be able to edit and manage projects collaboratively in real time with access to more than a petabyte of Avid NEXIS® media storage.
As part of this commitment, the college will also upgrade the current Avid S5™ Fusion console in its state-of-the-art Johnson Center Dolby Atmos theater to a new dual-operator Avid S6™ audio control surface. The Johnson Center, which opened in 2015, includes the world’s first Dolby Atmos® mix stage at a higher education institution, giving Belmont students a unique opportunity to learn how to deliver immersive Dolby Atmos theater experiences.
The Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business is a powerful magnet for aspiring creative professionals and is consistently ranked among the top U.S. institutions for media and entertainment studies. For more than 20 years the college has applied Avid technologies to help prepare thousands of students for professional careers in television, film and music. The school is now an Avid Media Campus program partner, which guarantees volume pricing that enables it to grow its infrastructure with optimal cost efficiency. This special designation, combined with continuous releases of new product enhancements and capabilities through Avid software subscription, ensures Belmont students can enter their chosen profession with up-to-the-moment expertise in the emerging technologies shaping how media is created, presented and experienced.
“Belmont University’s strategic priorities are ready to adapt to change and embrace new technology so we can innovate—and this approach has prepared us for today’s very challenging environment,” said Technology Specialist Ron Romano in the Curb College. “Our new agreement with Avid plugs right into this philosophy and gives our programs a technical foundation to evolve and thrive over the long run. In the end, we’ll be able to do an even better job of helping our students stay focused on strengthening their creativity and storytelling expertise and then get into the workforce with confidence.”
Avid collaborated with longstanding certified channel partner Marshall Graphics Systems, the iconic media technology supplier to the creative community throughout Nashville, and the southeastern U.S. Marshall Graphics Systems specified, designed and deployed the Avid solution at Belmont University.
“Belmont University and Avid share a commitment not only to bring forward new generations of media professionals, but also to ensure their full command of technology that will advance the impact and reach of their ideas and stories,” said Jeff Rosica, CEO and President of Avid. “Today the school is moving fast on its exciting vision to create an even more extraordinary professional-grade environment for its students, and the Avid team is thrilled that our products and programs will provide the flexibility to evolve and grow.”
About Avid Media Campus
With exclusive education discounts and flexible solutions specifically tailored to the needs of educational institutions, the Avid Media Campus program prepares students for the distinct career advantage of industry-recognized Avid certification. It facilitates a deeper engagement with Avid across its comprehensive creative tools and workflow solutions—spanning film/video/TV, sports, graphics, journalism, music/audio production, live sound and theater.
About Avid
Avid delivers the most open and efficient media platform, connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution and consumption. Avid’s preeminent customer community uses Avid’s comprehensive tools and workflow solutions to create, distribute and monetize the most watched, loved and listened to media in the world—from prestigious and award-winning feature films to popular television shows, news programs and televised sporting events, and celebrated music recordings and live concerts. With the most flexible deployment and pricing options, Avid’s industry-leading solutions include Media Composer®, Pro Tools®, Avid NEXIS®, MediaCentral®, iNEWS®, AirSpeed®, Sibelius®, Avid VENUE™, FastServe® and Maestro™. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com.
