Belmont’s Intercollegiate State Legislature Team recently attended a Mock Legislative Session and competed with teams from across the country. The group brought home a number of awards including Best Senator, Grace Friedman; Best Representative, Gavin Mummert and Best Lobbyist (Healthcare Firm), Kristin Callahan.
The Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature is a forum for the top echelon of the state’s campus leaders to exchange ideas, express their opinions and learn how government works. TISL’s Senate and House of Representatives, which first convened in 1966, meet in the legislative chambers of the State Capitol each November.
Haskell Murray, associate professor of management and business law in the Jack C. Massey College of Business, has been installed as the president of the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business (SEALSB) for 2018-2019 year. SEALSB in the preeminent academic organization for legal scholars who teach in business schools in the southeastern United States.
The organization covers colleges and universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Recent past SEALSB presidents include professors from Florida State University, Georgia State University, Elon University and University of Georgia.
Cheryl Carr, associate dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, recently presented “Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right? Rigor and Copyright Law in the Undergraduate Music Business Curriculum” to the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference in Chattanooga, TN.
Carr also participated as a panelist presenting on associate dean networks for the AACSB Associate Deans Annual Conference in Phoenix, AZ.
Dr. Susan Jellissen, associate professor of political science, led a team of students to the 2018 American Model United Nations Conference, recently held in Chicago. Belmont students represented New Zealand and engaged in debate and discussion with students from across the country.
Simulating the actual United Nations, these students were able to pass resolutions on issues ranging from the stockpiling of biological weapons to women in the developing world.
Belmont University commercial music major Caroline Kasay was recently selected to provide background vocals (BGVs) on Katy Perry’s Christmas single, “Cozy Little Christmas,” an opportunity she received from a Belmont connection. This fall, the School of Music received two student scholarships for TenTwoSix Music Group’s InSession Class from the organization. Kasay received one of those scholarships, and thanks to the connections made there, she was asked to sing on Perry’s single.
For Kasay, the opportunity to continue learning her craft in this way was incredibly significant. “It was an absolute blast,” she said. “Everyone was so kind, focused and welcoming that we still meet up for fun sometimes just to spend time together. It’s a job, so we never wasted time, and everyone came prepared, making it a remarkable experience.”
Longterm, Kasay hopes to make music that changes people’s lives. “I would love to someday be the voice of a Disney princess or perform on Broadway while writing and recording my own music,” she said. “More than anything, I want to be a light for Jesus Christ in everything that I do.”
Looking towards the Christmas season, she is excited to hear the song in her car and with her family. “I smile every time I hear it,” she said. “I can’t help but dance along when it comes on. I thank God every time I hear it for the incredible gifts He has blessed me with in Nashville and the amazing people that He has brought into my life.”
Co-Founder of TenTwoSix Music Group Laura Cooksey spoke highly of Kasay and her talents, calling her a “gem.” “She’s incredibly gifted, she has a very strong work ethic and her willing, warm spirit is really the icing on the cake,” Cooksey said. “Our goal in offering scholarships for our In Session class to local college students was really two fold. It was a way for us to invest in students pursuing a professional singing career, but it was also, in part, for the purpose of identifying great singers and she is certainly that…We look forward to working with her more in the future. She has an incredibly bright future ahead of her.”
On November 24 and 26, students from Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Matthew Heard’s Introduction to Environmental Science classes participated in a volunteer service event at Owl’s Hill Nature Sanctuary.
During their time working at Owl’s Hill, the students helped to remove invasive species and clean up the native plant education gardens. In total, 42 students volunteered over the two days.
Belmont represents only entrepreneurship program in Tennessee to be recognized by Princeton Review, Entrepreneur Magazine
Belmont University offers one of the best programs for students aspiring to launch their own businesses according to The Princeton Review. The education services company named the school No. 24 on its list of “Top 25 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship of 2019.” Belmont represented the only school in Tennessee, and one of only three colleges in the Southeast, to be named to the list.
2015 music business graduate Joseph Pillatsch displays his Nashville Sound Panels at the 2018 Entrepreneurship Village event on campus.
Dr. Pat Raines, dean of Belmont’s Jack C. Massey College of Business, said, “For Belmont’s program to be listed among the top entrepreneurship programs in the country is outstanding, and the fact that we were ranked for the eighth time definitely establishes our credibility as one of the nation’s best entrepreneurship studies programs. Having a majority of the 264 businesses that were started in the Massey College of Business still in operation after 10 years demonstrates our exceptional commitment to educating aspiring entrepreneurs.”
Belmont’s entrepreneurship major provides opportunities for all students to acquire hands-on experience and benefit from innovative programming. In addition, numerous industry experts and extracurricular groups and events are available to aid them in launching a business even while still in college. These stats tell the story of what Belmont Entrepreneurship offers those aspiring to launch their own start ups:
In the last decade, alumni have started 264 businesses in 36 cities around the world—67 percent of those businesses are still active
These start-ups have raised nearly $152 million in funding
Approximately 3,500 square feet of prime campus retail space is reserved for Belmont students to use to develop and manage a small businesses
The Hatchery provides an office environment containing basic resources and support to help students as they develop their own entrepreneurial ventures
Students are advised by faculty, staff and local entrepreneurs, who are part of the Belmont Entrepreneur Network
Other resources available to students include free legal clinics, accounting clinics and practicing entrepreneur roundtables
Typically, around a third of the Belmont students concentrating in entrepreneurship create businesses that are their main or sole source of income immediately following graduation. In recent years alumni have created a variety of different businesses, including Internet marketing, photography and design, audio/video production, catering/food service and fashion. One example is 2013 entrepreneurship graduate Jonathan Murrell who started the Escape Game, a business which can now be found in eight cities around the country with plans to expand into 14 more. Sarah Worley, another local success story, received her B.S. and MAcc from Belmont’s Massey College of Business before starting Biscuit Love, a popular destination with three locations in the Nashville area.
Senior Austin Sellinger showcased an app he co-founded, Style12, which matches users with freelance hairstylists in their area.
Princeton Review tallied its lists of top 25 undergraduate and top 25 graduate schools based on a survey it conducted from June through August 2018. Out of more than 300 schools offering entrepreneurship studies that The Princeton Review surveyed, 38 institutions’ undergraduate and/or graduate programs made the roster of top schools for 2019.
The 60-question survey asked schools to report on levels of their commitment to entrepreneurship studies inside and outside the classroom. More than 40 data points were analyzed for the tally to determine the rankings.
Information about The Princeton Review’s survey methodology and criteria for the rankings, plus its detailed profiles of the schools are also accessible at www.princetonreview.com/best-business-schools.
The Princeton Review has reported its lists of top schools for entrepreneurship programs annually since 2006 in partnership with Entrepreneur Media Inc., publisher of Entrepreneur magazine. Entrepreneur posted an online feature on the lists at www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges. An article on the lists will publish in the magazine’s December issue, available on newsstands November 27.
“These colleges and business schools have truly superb entrepreneurship programs,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s Editor-in-Chief. “Their faculties are genuinely engaged in entrepreneurism. Their courses are rich with in-class and out-of-class experiential components, and the financial and networking support their students receive via donors and alumni is extraordinary.”
“This annual ranking in partnership with the The Princeton Review is an excellent resource for future founders with entrepreneurial goals,” says Jason Feifer, Editor-in-Chief of Entrepreneur magazine. “Each of the entrepreneurship programs on the list offers valuable opportunities for business-minded students to become knowledgeable leaders and pursue their passions.”
The Princeton Review also reports MBA rankings in eighteen categories as part of its annual project Best Business Schools 2019. Belmont’s Jack C. Massey College of Business’s MBA program is also profiled in that project.” The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.
Professor Dave Tough has a new song on Don Amero’s recent Christmas album, “Amero Little Christmas” which was released November 12 on all major outlets.
“Sometimes A Whisper” was written by Tough, Adam Crossley and Bill Dilugi.
Mélanie Walton, associate professor of philosophy, recently presented at two conferences: a commentary on Belmont’s Honors Adjunct Aaron Stauffer’s philosophy of religion essay at the Tennessee Philosophical Association’s Annual Conference October 2 and a paper entitled “Explorer/ing: Using Lugones’ ‘Pluralist’ as a Map” for the Society for Women in Philosophy’s Annual Conference. Both were hosted by Vanderbilt.
The latter read the current work of Argentinian feminist philosopher María Lugones to propose interpreting an author’s methodology as her presentation of self and using this model as a way of navigating the ‘problem of difference’ in philosophical writing.
Graduate and undergraduate students currently taking Belmont’s Science Elementary Education and Science in Elementary School courses recently hosted a Family Science Night for family members of faculty and staff. The students worked in small groups to lead hands-on science activities and interactive demos designed for children in grades K-5.
“Developing these activities has been an integral part of their course-work this fall,” said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Education Dr. Danielle Garrett. “In-part, this event was designed to help future teachers develop and fine-tune their teaching skills. Student-centered learning is truly the core of Belmont University, and hands-on opportunities and real-world engagement are at the heart of student-centered learning. This event not only put Belmont students in an authentic student-centered learning environment, but it also challenged our students to develop and implement the same learning environment for children in the community.”
More than 65 attendees participated in the event where the Janet Ayers Conference Room was transformed into a classroom with seven different science stations. Station themes included echolocation and bats, pumpkins and making predictions, comparing living and non-living things, the planets and their properties, Earth and planetary rotation, energy transformations and forces.
One attendee parent said, “This was a very fun and engaging event…Your students were entertaining, outgoing and showed excellent skills in explanation. They asked guiding questions to shy kids and got them involved in discovery.”
Cheryl Carr, associate dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, recently presented “Too Much, Too Little, or Just Right? Rigor and Copyright Law in the Undergraduate Music Business Curriculum” to the Southeastern Academy of Legal Studies in Business Conference in Chattanooga, TN.
