Library faculty Jenny Mills and Claire Wiley, along with recently retired library faculty Judy Williams, published an article in portal: Libraries and the Academy. Their article, “This is What Learning Looks Like! Backward Design and the Framework in First Year Writing,” reports on an information literacy lesson for First Year Writing developed using a backward design model that focuses on teaching “enduring understandings” with assessments that provide evidence of student learning.
Dr. Fisher Featured Among Top 50 College Presidents
In a recent article put out by Great Value Colleges, the website feature Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher in its listing of “U.S. Colleges With The Best Presidents: These 50 Current College Presidents Are Outstanding!” Dr. Fisher came in at No. 48 on the list citing the growth he has helped Belmont achieve. The article also discusses Dr. Fisher’s encouragement of students and the University at large to be involved with the community.
The ranking was made based on research from articles of similar nature and topic that looked at U.S. college presidents. Great Value Colleges also ranked the presidents based on overall level of achievement, innovative leadership approach, commitment to their college and evidence of having a positive impact on their college.
Alumnus Brian Baker Named USTA National Coach
Brian Baker, a Belmont alumnus and former assistant coach of men’s tennis, was recently named a United States Tennis Association (USTA) national men’s tennis coach. After playing professionally for many years, Baker suffered injuries that led him to step down from playing professionally and take up the assistant coach position at Belmont.
After bouncing back and forth between playing professionally and coaching at Belmont, Baker is taking on a new role with USTA as a national men’s tennis coach. During his time at Belmont, Baker also pursued a degree in business administration and graduated in May 2015.
Belmont Alumna Molly Shehan Made Partner at Music Row Law Firm
Belmont alumna Molly Shehan was recently made partner at the award-winning and highly regarded Music Row law firm Milom Horsnell Crow Kelly Beckett Shehan PLC (MHCKBS).
MHCKBS attorneys serve many A-list clients including Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Brett Eldridge, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams, Jr. and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, among others.
In an article by Music Row Magazine, Mike Milom, founding partner of MHCKBS, shared that adding Shehan to the team assures the firm can continue to provide the highly personalized counsel and quick response that clients expect.
Shehan graduated in the first class of Belmont’s College of Law and received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Music Business. While at Belmont, she was the 2009 Copyright Society of the South scholarship recipient and received the John Williams Heart of Belmont Award for her community involvement.
Her experience includes interning for the Nashville Music Council for two years, interning for Congressman Jim Cooper in Washington D.C., interning at Loeb & Loeb, LLP and working as a research assistant for Belmont Professor Don Cusic.
Shehan served as the 2017/2018 Chair of the Entertainment and Sports Law Section of the Tennessee Bar Association and is a voting member of the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). She is also a member of the Recording Academy, 2018 Grammy Next Class and has served as a panelist at the Music Biz Conference.
Van Hoang: Nashville Fashion Forward Award Recipient
O’More College of Design 2009 alumna Van Hoang was named the Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Award Recipient of 2018.
The Nashville Fashion Forward Fund Award is an endowed fund that provides an annual financial award and resources to the next generation of fashion industry professionals with ties to Middle Tennessee. Funds are raised for the award through Nashville Fashion Week, a five-day celebration that spotlights Nashville’s growing fashion community.
Hoang showed her work at Nashville Fashion Week in 2015 and at Charleston Fashion Week in 2011. She received her B.F.A. in fashion design and merchandising from O’More School of Design.
“O’More was really instrumental in providing me with a solid foundation of skills I needed in the fashion industry,” said Hoang. “O’More provided me a network of people who want to support me and see me succeed, which is amazing.”
Hoang continued her education by earning her M.A. in Design for Sustainability from Savannah College of Art and Design.
Sustainability is at the core of Hoang’s design philosophy. She wants to be a part of the change that ensures there is a healthy planet for others that come after us to thrive. Her triple bottom line is people, planet, product.
Through her work, she wants to change how people perceive sustainable fashion, understanding that the two are not mutually exclusive. Hoang’s mission is to give the customer an alternative to what has become the traditional fashion system.
Hoang recently applied to attend the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, a global conference on sustainability in the fashion industry where world leaders, innovators and designers meet to share new ideas and processes of sustainability in fashion. If she has the opportunity to attend, Hoang hopes to network and discover innovative solutions.
Anna Vaus receives Music Row Magazine DISCovery Award
Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business alumna Anna Vaus recently won the DISCovery Award in Music Row’s January 3 issue.
Vaus was the first-ever recipient of the “Women Creators” scholarship, established in 2015 by reigning Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert. The scholarship awards a female singer/songwriter a scholarship to attend Belmont.
While at Belmont, Vaus was featured in Belmont’s Best of the Best Showcase and signed a publishing deal with Black River Entertainment.
In 2018, she was chosen as one of six up-and-coming songwriters in Association of Independent Music Publishers’s Class of 2018 and CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2019.
She is now signed with CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and performs at various venues around Nashville in songwriter rounds and opening for LeAnn Womack, Hunter Hayes, Old Dominion, Lonestar and more.
Department of Math and Computer Science Partners with National Center for Women & Information Technology
The Belmont Department of Math and Computer Science recently became a member of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Academic Alliance (AA).
NCWIT is a national nonprofit organization that works to increase the participation of girls and women in computing.
Assistant Professor of Computer Science Dr. Tisha Brown-Gaines serves as the faculty representative for this partnership. Through this role, she will engage with students, faculty and administrators at Belmont to help promote and increase participation of girls and women in computing. This includes providing mentorship to students who are interested in computing and contributing to the NCWIT goals of improving diversity and inclusion in computing.
“The NCWIT organization and Belmont are both aligned in their vision statements which focus on a common set of goals: to provide students with resources and opportunities to enrich their learning experiences and promote diversity and service through community engagement,” she said.
In addition to partnering with Belmont, Gaines will engage within the community to provide resources that will assist in changing the local conditions that create barriers to attracting and graduating women in post-secondary computing.
Belmont Alumni Nominated for Upcoming Grammy Awards
The 61st annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live Sunday night, Feb. 10, beginning at 7 p.m. CT on CBS, and a number of Belmont alumni may have the opportunity to hear their names called.
A number of Belmont alumni contributed to many of the songs and albums that were nominated for Grammy Awards this year. Belmont highlights from the nominations include the following:
ALUMNI NOMINEES
- John Osborne, of Brothers Osborne, is nominated for “Best Country Duo/Group Performance” and for “Best Country Album”
- Florida Georgia Line, which consists of Belmont alums Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, are also nominated in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Meant to Be”
- Alumni Jon Nite, Ashley Gorley, Nicolle Galyon, Hillary Lindsey and Jordan Reynolds are all nominees in the Best Country Song category for co-writing on different tracks
- Lee Ann Womack wrote and performed on Best American Roots Song nominee “All the Trouble” and is also nominated for Best Americana Album “The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone”
- Tina Adair Dishman, an alumna as well as a current Belmont staff member, is nominated with her band Sister Sadie for Best Bluegrass Album
- Frank & Deane, both of whom are Belmont alums, are nominated for Best Children’s Album for “The Nation of Imagine”
- Ian Fitchuk produced and wrote on Album of the Year nominee Golden Hour (Kacey Musgraves). Fitchuk also worked on the Maren Morris’ “Best Country Solo Performance” track “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” as well as her song “Dear Hate,” which is nominated for Best Country Duo/Group performance
ALUMNI CONNECTIONS TO NOMINATED SONGS/ALBUMS
- Also in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance category are two other songs that were co-written by Belmont alumni: Nicolle Galyon and Jordan Reynolds ( “Tequila,” which was recorded by Dan+Shay) and Hillary Lindsey (“When Someone Stops Loving You,” recorded by Little Big Town)
- Jonathan Smith wrote on multiple songs for the Grammy-nominated Best Contemporary Christian Music Album by Zach Williams, “Survivor: Live from Harding Prison”
- Natalie Hemby co-wrote the Kacey Musgraves’ song “Butterflies,” which is nominated for Best Country Solo Performance
German Pop Star Visits Songwriting Capstone Class
German pop-star Vanessa Mai recently visited Professor James Elliott’s Songwriting Senior Capstone class to listen to students’ songs.
She was accompanied by International Music Executive Stefan Dabruck and Chelsea Kent, an SNG graduate, who is the General Manager of the SDM Management office in Nashville.
Mai was in Nashville meeting with songwriters and producers preparing for her next album.
Physical Therapy Students Complete International Clinical Affiliations
Belmont physical therapy students have the opportunity to complete international clinical affiliations including alongside seven Italian facilities that are coordinated by Eduglobal Associates, founded by Michael Arnall, PT, MS, MBA. Following his tenure as Chair of the DPT program at Saint Francis University in 2006, Michael began collaborating with American PT schools to provide internships at Italian rehabilitation facilities, including Fondazione Turati in Tuscany, where he worked as a staff PT in 1981-82. Eduglobal Associates currently contracts with over 50 PT schools and Belmont has been an affiliate since 2012. A group of 34 Belmont PT students has been mentored by Italian clinical instructors through the past seven years.
Gail Bursch, PT, MSEd, CWS, director of clinical education and Belmont adjunct faculty member Janet Szczepanski, PT, MHS both serve on the advisory board of Eduglobal Associates. In Pistoia, Italy last September, they provided clinical instructor training for 45 Italian clinical instructors mentoring PT students.
The course included eight hours of content and case study activities based on the pilot course taught to 10 of the Italian PT managers during the October 2016 APTA National Student Conclave Meeting in Miami. Therefore, the majority of the clinical instructors at the Italian clinical sites have been trained. They mentor a total of 90 students each year from programs across the US on clinical affiliations that span from 8 – 12 weeks.
