Belmont University Singers, the largest mixed choir on campus, performs a spring concert every year as the culmination of the year’s academic work. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s concert was cancelled. Disappointed but not to be thwarted, University Singers decided to collaborate on a ‘virtual choir’ performance. Their rendition of the Belmont University “Alma Mater” was shared on social media and will be played during the University’s virtual commencement ceremony on May 2.
Dr. Jane Warren, University Singers conductor, thought the Belmont “Alma Mater” would be the perfect song to bring the singers together in spirit in a time when they are physically separated. “An Alma Mater is something unique to every university and part of college traditions, nationwide. I hope it brings some joy to everyone at this challenging time,” she said. “It was a true labor of love for University Singers and Belmont, but I think the result was worth it.”
The group is a non-auditioned choir available to any student who enjoys singing with others. Freshmen vocal principals in the College of Music and Performing Arts make up the nucleus of the 100-voice ensemble, with the remainder of the membership coming from a variety of majors and class rank. Most recently, the group performed “I am Changed” by Will Todd on the 2019 “Christmas at Belmont” production that aired on PBS.
Each student sent a video of themselves singing their voice part. Haley Tidd, a soprano in the group and an audio engineering technology major, volunteered to undertake the enormous task of mixing the audio from each submission. Dr. Warren helped Tidd and her outstanding work to produce the final video product.
Andrew Miller and Robin Lovgren, faculty members of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department, attended the first ever Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Southeastern Section’s virtual annual meeting hosted by High Point University March 13-14.
Miller organized the entire program for the conference for on-site presentation, then worked quickly to create a new adjusted program based on shifting presentations to an online format.
Dr. Robin Lovgren
Lovgren presented “Creating and Using Automatically Graded Excel Worksheets” in the special session on Online and Web-Enhanced Teaching.
The publication’s annual review of the top music and entertainment business schools highlighted 28 institutions around the country that can help students earn a dream career in the music business. The authors particularly noted how the recent COVID-19 health crisis has demonstrated the advantages a liberal arts education, like what Belmont provides, can aid aspiring music business leaders in their long-term goals. “While online, skills-focused music education programs have proliferated during the pandemic, for this report Billboard chose programs that are primarily campus-based, offering a broader, deeper education and bestowing a bachelor’s or associate’s degree. It’s worth noting that among the highest-achieving young executives in the music business, as profiled in Billboard’s 2019 ‘40 Under 40’ feature, nearly 40% said they were graduates of a liberal arts program.”
Doug Howard, dean of the Curb College, said “We celebrate being selected by Billboard to be included in their truly elite list of music business and entertainment programs. We are extremely proud of Belmont’s Curb College graduates who have become successful recording artists in numerous genres, but it is also important to recognize the many graduates who are award-winning producers, engineers, songwriters, label heads, publishing executives, talent agents, managers and entertainment attorneys. Curb College is the place to come experience industry-professional faculty in the classroom, world-class studios and technology and incredible internship opportunities, all on the path to a student’s dream career.”
The Billboard profile focused on Belmont’s new course in live-venue management and how it reflects the industry’s shift in recent years to the touring sector as a primary revenue generator. “Likewise,” authors Thom Duffy and Danica Caniel note, “a class titled Inside a Booking Agency brings in Creative Artists Agency Nashville agents with different specialties to work with students each week.” Other points of note were a new partnership struck between Belmont’s highly successful songwriting program and Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville as well as alumna Trisha Yearwood’s return to her alma mater last fall to host the 10th annual “CMA Country Christmas” show, which was filmed on campus.
About the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business In 1971, Belmont first established a music business program designed to prepare students for operational, administrative, creative and technical careers in the music industry. The program grew in both size and reputation, leading to the advent of the full Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business in 2003. Currently home to more than 2,500 undergraduates with majors in music business, audio engineering technology, entertainment industry studies, songwriting, media studies and motion pictures, Curb College boasts an impressive faculty of academic scholars and authors, entrepreneurs, songwriters, producers, journalists, filmmakers and sound and recording engineers. The college serves as a world leader in music business and entertainment industry education and is the only freestanding college of its kind.
Jason Hardy, Belmont University alumnus Class of 2009 with a degree in English, was recently promoted to vice president of operations at Affinity Technology Partners. Hardy has been working at the firm for 13 years, served as director of strategic operations and communications and managed the IT services provider.
In his new role, Hardy will ensure a superior client experience through operational excellence and supervising a high-performance team. He will oversee special projects for the firm and assist in creating annual goals, objectives, strategies, operation plans, policies and procedures in collaboration with the leadership team.
“At Affinity, one of our core values is ‘continuous improvement,’ and Jason has been a key asset in helping us achieve continuous improvement for 13 years,” said Partner and VP of Business Development Betsy Wright. “We are delighted for him to step into this new role and to lead the charge as we continue to strengthen Affinity’s processes and the service we provide our valued clients.”
Founded in 2002, Affinity Technology Partners is one of the most trusted providers of managed IT services in Middle Tennessee. The company specializes in comprehensive outsourced IT services, including network management, systems administration, cyber security, proactive maintenance, end-user support and CIO-level strategy for small and mid-size businesses.
Director of Belmont University Honors and Professor of English Dr. Bonnie Smith Whitehouse was awarded a Nautilus Award for her book Afoot and Lighthearted: A Journal for Mindful Walking(Clarkson Potter, 2019). Nautilus Awards honor “Better Books for a Better World,” and the core mission of the Nautilus Awards is to celebrate and honor books that support conscious living and green values, high-level wellness, positive social change and social justice, and spiritual growth.
Other Nautilus Award winners include Barbara Kingsolver, Barbara Brown Taylor, Anne Lamott, Louise Erdrich, Desmond Tutu and Thich Nhat Hanh.
Afoot and Lighthearted teaches readers how to harness the power of walking to cultivate and nourish attention, inspiration and determination, as well as to combat distraction, anxiety and the dreaded creative block.
Organized around thematic prompts designed to help makers take a break from digital life and tap into the transformational magic of journaling, Afoot and Lighthearted introduces readers to innovative walkers throughout literature, art, philosophy and history. Supported by light illustrations and evidence from recent research on the compelling connection between walking and well-being, Afoot and Lighthearted offers a fresh perspective every step of the way, much like a walk itself.
To keep hope rising during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Belmont alumni participated in a benefit concert to raise money for Samaritan’s Purse, a nonprofit organization that opened an emergency field hospital in the beginning of April located in Central Park.
Alumnus Bernie Herms and his wife, Natalie Grant, performed at the live virtual “Hope Rising” Benefit Concert. Alumni Melinda Doolittle and Songwriting Instructor Drew Ramsey performed a song with Gloria Gaynor that Gaynor wrote for her last album called “Joy Comes in the Morning.”
During this time of the COVID-19 crisis, the Belmont community continues to serve others. Students, faculty, staff and alumni alike have gone above and beyond to use their passions and skills to fill the needs that arise. Nursing, social work and O’More alumnae, faculty, staff and students are contributing their time, money and talent to create face masks during the COVID-19 crisis.
Lynne Shores, professor of nursing, belongs to a quilt group at Christ Presbyterian Church that was asked to make masks for two outpatient settings int he Nashville area. The quilt group recently delivered 75 masks to a large daycare center in East Nashville that is hoping to re-open soon to serve its children. Shores explained, “The idea was to have fabric masks available for non-COVID-19 cases, so PPE supplies could be saved for current or potential COVID-19 cases.”
Soon enough, Sandy Dowling, assistant to the dean of nursing, asked how she could help. Dowling started sewing to contribute to the hundreds of masks Shores and her quilt group were collecting. The group sent 100 masks to Johns Hopkins pediatric residents in Baltimore, Maryland, and more than 100 masks were sent to nurses at Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Last week, the group worked with Margaret Shores Pedicini, social work alumna and 2012 recipient of the Heart of Belmont Award, to provide 100 masks for her workplace, Shriners Rehabilitation Hospital for Children in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pedicini is married to fellow Belmont alumnus Wes Pedicini, a third-year emergency medicine resident at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
During this time, alumnus Wes Pedicini has been corresponding with his friends from medical school to encourage and update one another each week. These phone calls resulted in the creation of more masks by Margaret and her friends in conjunction with Shores’ quilt group. 60 masks were sent to a pediatric hospital in Orlando, Florida, where one of Wes’s friends had requested masks for the residents in his program.
“In this time when we are so concerned about our health care providers on the front lines, it is truly a blessing to be able to contribute in a small way by sending masks,” Shores shared. “I received such a kind thank you card from one of Margaret and Wes’ friends, the pediatrician in Orlando, Florida, yesterday. It said, ‘Thoughtful gifts like these not only help keep us safe, but also make us feel that we are not alone in this fight.’”
Alumna Bobbi Hemmen, O’More College of Design Class of 2006, has partnered with Salley Cheney to create masks for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. O’More Program Assistant Emily Kynerd and current students Emily Ferguson, Chloe Baur and Jamie Poethke are volunteering to assist Hemmen and Cheney along with a number of O’More alumni.
Jenny Kemala, fashion design faculty lecturer, is creating masks for healthcare heroes during this time, as well. O’More alumnae Heather Glasglow, Van Hoang and Emily James are also contributing their time and talent by creating masks and donating to nonprofit organizations.
Hemmen and Cheney are seeking volunteers to assist with the effort, and anyone can help. They are looking for cutters, sewers, markers and finishers, as well as pick up and delivery volunteers. Mass production quickly is the main goal, and the first iteration of this process will be to have one person wash and cut, one person hem and mark, and one pleat and finish. As the abilities of volunteers is assessed, this process may change. If you are interested, please view the videos posted below and text Bobbi Hemmen at 615-351-4661.
The list brags on Belmont’s motion pictures department and the fact that students will shoot and edit their first film immediately after the semester starts. “The school boasts a 250-seat theater and sound mixing stage and it’s one of those rare film school programs in which students have access to cutting-edge Dolby Atmos sound-mixing equipment,” it says. “Classes are offered in directing, writing, creative producing, screenplay analysis, cinematography, set management, film history and genre studies, among others.”
Chair of the Motion Pictures Department Will Akers is thrilled Variety has again recognized Motion Pictures with this honor. “After only seven years, to find ourselves on a list with the University of Southern California, La Fémis and the Beijing Film Academy is nothing short of extraordinary,” he said. “The surpassing quality of our facilities and equipment combined with the skill of our industry professional teachers make our students some of the most fortunate, anywhere.”
Variety’s article discusses the COVID-19 crisis and how it affects film and digital arts programs globally. Now more than ever is a time for artistry to thrive and for aspiring filmmakers to draft the “blockbusters, TV series and indie films of tomorrow.” These film schools and their faculty are not only preparing students for successful careers in the entertainment business, they are also guiding them with structure, encouragement and artistic expertise through one of the most turbulent eras in modern-day society.
The set of Ben Sherrill’s Capstone film at Belmont.
Dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business Doug Howard said, “Will Akers and his faculty team are student-centered and focused on instilling the quality of excellence in story telling while offering opportunities to learn the technical skills of film making. The program seeks to provide students with a professional education and to convey the importance of developing a mature and collaborative attitude needed to succeed in an extremely competitive, creative industry.”
Akers added, “I’m proud to be at the helm of such a talented, hard-working team. Along with our staff, our teachers and students have worked incredibly hard to build a department that can be recognized with the finest film schools, anywhere.”
Belmont University’s College of Health Sciences & Nursing recently unveiled two exciting new options for high-achieving students interested in pursuing health care doctorate degrees in physical therapy or occupational therapy. Through new 3 + 3 programs, students successfully majoring at Belmont in exercise science who have met entry requirements will be granted guaranteed early admission to Belmont’s nationally recognized DPT or OTD programs. Courses taken in the student’s fourth year will complete the bachelor’s program and serve as the first year of the doctoral program, thus achieving the full doctorate in six rather than the traditional seven years required for such programs.
College of Health Sciences & Nursing Dean Dr. Cathy Taylor said, “Students who take on these 3+3 programs will receive distinct advantages academically, financially and professionally. The challenging and thorough curriculum is designed to provide students intense focus in their chosen field and move these future healthcare leaders into their professions quickly, saving a full year of time and tuition costs.”
The 3+3 program allows students who achieve specific academic benchmarks to receive guaranteed early admission to the OTD or DPT program. Those benchmarks include successful completion of specified prerequisite courses for the doctoral programs as well as general education requirements. Students with a 3.7 or above GPA who meet all other application requirements will be granted automatic admission to the doctoral programs (those with a GPA below 3.7 will still be considered for Early Decision but on a competitive basis with other applicants).
“We are confident that undergraduate coursework completed at Belmont provides exceptional preparation for future physical therapy and occupational therapy students,” said Bill Nichols, Belmont’s director of admissions for graduate health science programs. “As with all of Belmont’s health science programs, these students will be well prepared to enter a workforce in need of their skills.”
Accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) and the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) respectively, Belmont’s School of Occupational Therapy and School of Physical Therapy each boast 2021 U.S. News & World Report rankings in the top third of all such programs in the country. Located in the nation’s health care capital, the programs provide access to clinical sites down the street and around the world, allowing Belmont students to build upon their work in the classroom with real life experience tailored to their interest.
In recognizing Earth Day 2020, Belmont University announces it was once again honored with the 2019 Tree Campus USA recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its efforts and commitment to effective urban forest management.
Tree Campus USA is a national Arbor Day Foundation program dedicated to honoring colleges and universities, as well as their leaders, for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. In order to achieve this title, Belmont met the program’s five standards including maintenance of a tree advisory committee, implementation of a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for campus tree programming, an Arbor Day observance and student engagement in a related service-learning project.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said Belmont is committed to its campus-wide sustainability efforts and a number of green initiatives that contribute to campus conservation, including LEED certified buildings, educational and sustainable green roofs, geothermal heating and cooling systems and its Tennessee arboretum designation. “We are incredibly proud to receive the honorable recognition of Tree Campus USA ® for the sixth consecutive year,” he said. “We also continue to celebrate our campus-wide Conservation Covenant, which recognizes our existing sustainability efforts and challenges our campus to take the covenant even further accepting our responsibility to care for God’s creation.”
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $51 million in campus forest management last year. This work directly supports the Arbor Day Foundation’s Time for Trees initiative — an unprecedented effort to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities and inspire 5 million tree planters by 2022. Last year, Tree Campus USA schools have collectively planted 34,515 trees and engaged 33,432 tree planters — helping us work toward these critical goals. The Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA ® program is celebrating its 12th anniversary this year.
“Tree Campuses and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but the surrounding communities showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Because of Belmont University’s participation air will be purer, water cleaner and students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty the trees provide.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Belmont students, faculty and staff were not able to celebrate Sustainability Week on campus this year with the planned creek cleanup, arboretum tour and tree planting. However, Belmont University continues to push forward in sustainability initiatives through a partnership with Metro Transit Authority (MTA), tracking electricity uses in all dorms with meter installation, the Graduation Pledge Alliance (GPA) and a multi-pronged approach for recycling, among others. Learn more on Belmont’s Sustainability website.
