Belmont University served as the site for the Metropolitan Minority Caucus’s 13th Anniversary Reception on Monday, February 12 where government officials, local business owners and community leaders celebrated the event’s honorees. The event’s Keynote Speaker was Miramar, Florida Mayor Wayne M. Messam, President of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.
This year’s event recognized State Senator Thelma Harper and Former Metro Councilwoman Lois Jordan. Awards were presented by Councilmember Jacobia Dowell.
Belmont students enrolled in Dr. Mitch McCoy’s Spanish class served as event hosts.
Belmont University was given a shout-out in the latest edition of Seventeen Magazine as Best College for Business Majors. The article reads, “Getting ready to make your mark on the world? Consider your passion, then check out these schools that can help you reach your goals.” It then goes into detail about this year’s student-run shops House Of and Boulevard Record Shop and this year’s Entrepreneur-in-residence, Victoria Kopyar.
Indeed, Seventeen Magazine was right to call Belmont’s entrepreneurship program a Best College for Business. The program has been named one of the Top 25 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Programs in the country by “The Princeton Review” and has also been recognized as a National Model Undergraduate Program for Entrepreneurship Education by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). In 2010, the program was featured as one of five schools to consider when studying entrepreneurship by “Fortune” magazine.
Belmont also offers its students The Hatchery, an office environment providing resources and support to help students develop their own entrepreneurial ventures. These resources also include free legal clinics, accounting clinics and practicing entrepreneur roundtables. Students are advised by faculty, staff and local entrepreneurs, as well as the school’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
This year’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Victoria Kopyar, is the founder of women’s golf and activewear clothing brand VK Sport, LLC. She offers one-on-one advising and support and acts as a bridge between Belmont students and the larger Nashville community by bringing in speakers, setting up students with mentors and engaging students through other events in the area.
To learn more about Belmont’s Entrepreneurship program, click here.
Gold-medal winning Olympian and former WNBA player Chamique Holdsclaw visited campus last week, speaking to students in a convo co-sponsored with Athletics and the Counseling Center and participating in a luncheon focused on women in sports. The University of Tennessee graduate and former Lady Vol discussed her journey from a broken home to basketball super-stardom, offering insights on her struggles with mental illness and often-difficult path to recovery.
Following her parents’ separation, Holdsclaw grew up in New York City and was raised by her grandmother in the inner city. Though she was teased for being the only girl playing with the boys, Holdsclaw embraced basketball as an outlet and began attracting the attention of college coaches and recruiters.
While she selected a handful of schools that were of interest, it was legendary Tennessee Coach Pat Summit who made the biggest impression. “Other coaches promised I would start, but she promised that I would graduate because she wanted to keep her 100 percent graduation rate!” Holdsclaw recalled with a laugh. “That’s when my grandmother said, ‘You’re going to Tennessee!”
Growing up in the city and moving to middle Tennessee brought a tremendous amount of culture shock, particularly the lack of diversity she encountered. But Coach Summit emphasized, “This is a family. This is a sisterhood. When I told your grandmother that I was going to take care of you, I meant I was going to take care of you.”
The close relationship Holdsclaw held with Summit, who died in 2016, was evident throughout her remarks, particularly as she recounted her personal difficulties and the constant wise presence her coach consistently offered. Still, she realized in college that the depression and anxiety that first arose in her as a child was becoming a problem beyond what she could manage on her own. Though it took years–and many wrong steps along the way–Holdsclaw has now been correctly diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder. Her recovery is ongoing, and it’s led her to a new career as a passionate advocate for others battling the same issues. She now openly and discusses her journey, despite frequent pressure to return to the game as a coach or broadcaster.
“I know who I am and I am confident in that… I worked my butt off for athletics. It’s applying that attitude to my life, my wellness. No one should make you feel bad for working to be the best you you can be.”
Holdsclaw will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in June.
Holdsclaw was in Nashville to do a screening of her documentary, “Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw,” followed by discussion and Q&A as part of the 2018 Play Like a Girl Summit, which was held on Belmont’s campus. Since 2004, Play Like a Girl has built a network of clubs and events that has served more than 100,000 girls nationwide. The organization seeks to help girls aged 9-13 find the courage to do things beyond the field of play that they never thought they could. Play Like a Girl operates on the belief that when girls are given the opportunity to play on a team, they become women who have the confidence to stand on their own.
Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC and the Association of Corporate Counsel – Middle Tennessee recently hosted a panel discussion entitled “Managing Risk and Creating Opportunity” at Belmont University College of Law. Panelists discussed 2018 changes to tax law, and the resulting implications for business, IT compliance, insurance, cross border considerations and crisis management. Belmont Law Dean Alberto Gonzales gave a warm welcome address to begin the session. Event sponsors also included the Association of Corporate Counsel – International Legal Affairs Committee, the International Society of Primerus Law Firms Client Resource Institute and Belmont Law.
(Pictured above back row L-R: Caroline Lafourcade (Gordon Arata Montgomery Barnett), Brian Wagner (Mateer & Harbert, P.A.), David Keil (Century II) & LaBella Alvis (Christian & Small LLP), front row L-R: Jeff Horst (Krevolin & Horst, LLC), Horace Green (Buchman Provine Brothers Smith LLP), Brent Usery (Spicer Rudstrom, PLLC) & Randy Bennett (Technicolor Group), not pictured Devin Buford (First Tennessee Bank) & Mike Baas (Van Meter Insurance Group))
Tickets go on sale Feb. 23 for three-day international Davis Cup quarterfinal competition in April
The USTA today announced that Belmont University has been selected as the host site for the 2018 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Quarterfinal between the United States and Belgium, April 6-8. The matchup between the U.S. and Belgium will be played at the Curb Event Center.
“The Davis Cup is to tennis what the World Cup is to Soccer—it’s the biggest world-wide team competition in the sport,” said Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher. “To be able to host this event at Belmont University and in Nashville is an opportunity to put our university and our city on the world stage. This quarterfinal event with Belgium, the No. 2 seed, will be one of the highlights of the tennis year. We can’t wait to show Belmont’s and Nashville’s hospitality to the world.”
Davis Cup will come to Nashville for the first time in 40 years, with a U.S. versus South Africa tie held in the city in 1978. Founded in 1900, Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual international team competition in sport with approximately 135 nations competing each year.
The best-of-five match series between the U.S. and Belgium begins on Friday, April 6, with two singles matches featuring each country’s No. 1 player against the other country’s No. 2 player. Saturday’s schedule features the pivotal doubles match. And the final day of play on Sunday features the two “reverse singles” matches, when the No. 1 players square off, followed by the No. 2 players meeting each other in the final match. All matches are best-of-five tiebreak sets; the first country to win three matches wins the tie. A revised schedule for Sunday may take place if a team clinches in the third or fourth match.
“The USTA is excited to bring the next U.S. Davis Cup tie to Nashville, a city with a strong passion for the sport, a region that has a vibrant tennis community, and an area with an incredibly diverse fan base,” said Katrina Adams, chairman of the board and president, USTA. “We are lucky enough to have a host site in Belmont University that has been home to numerous high-profile events and will truly embrace the international spectacle that is Davis Cup tennis.”
Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m. Three-day ticket packages for Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be sold at prices ranging from $240 to $750 ($80 to $250 per day), representing the greatest initial ticket value. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.usta.com/daviscup.
USTA members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets in advance through a special USTA member-only presale beginning Tuesday, Feb, 20, and running through Thursday, Feb. 22 (or while supplies last).
Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp remarked, “The Davis Cup event gives us an opportunity to showcase Belmont and Nashville to a new audience. We are honored to have been selected and will do our best to deliver a first class experience to the players and fans, while we further enhance our event resume.”
The U.S. comes to Nashville after defeating Serbia in the World Group First Round earlier this month, 3-1, in Nis, Serbia. The winner of this tie advances to the World Group Semifinal, Sept. 14-16.
U.S. Davis Cup Team Captain Jim Courier will select the team to represent the United States no later than ten days prior to the event.
The site selection is subject to final approval by the International Tennis Federation.
Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage of the World Group Quarterfinal.
The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles. Overall, Team USA holds a 218-71 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989. For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com.
About USTA The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
Dr. Tim Schoenfeld, assistant professor of psychology, recently had an article published in Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, the official journal of the International Neuroendocrine Federation. The article, titled “Behavioral and structural adaptations to stress,” can be found here.
Schoenfeld said, “In the review, we talk about how stressful experiences affect both behavior and the structure and plasticity of the brain. Although we normally consider the effects of stress to be ‘negative,’ these changes in behavior and brain are adaptive for the organism. What we talk about then is how adult-born neurons in the hippocampus might mediate these adaptive changes, and without them both, behavior and the brain might be less adaptable to the environment.”
Mayor Megan Barry signed Executive Order No. 40 on Urban Forestry today on Belmont’s campus — an order that recognizes trees as a public utility, establishes new guidelines to govern Metro’s planning and maintenance of trees and appoints a new Urban Forestry Program Manager to lead and coordinate all Metro tree-related activities.
Many key Metro individuals were in attendance at the event including District Councilmember Burkley Allen, Metro’s new Urban Forestry Program Manager Naomi Rotramel and appointed members of both Mayor Barry’s Livable Nashville Committee and the Metro Tree Advisory Committee.
“Think about all the good those trees will do for future generations,” Mayor Barry said. “Belmont University knows what we’re talking about. Again, thank you to President Fisher and Belmont for doing right by our trees. That’s the kind of approach we need to see more and more of throughout our great city. Belmont is a wonderful example, and Metro plans to be another one.”
The event occurred just outside The Belmont Store, the University’s newly opened campus store, as Belmont went to great lengths to both protect and enhance the survival of a 60-70′ historic elm tree on its property. It is the University’s policy to work to preserve existing trees during any construction-related activities on campus.
The Livable Nashville sustainability plan has set an umbrella goal of 50 percent countrywide tree-canopy coverage by the year 2050, an approximate addition of 300,000 net new trees planted by 2030, or 500,000 net new trees by 2050. This executive order seeks to help Nashville achieve its long-term sustainability goals: protecting air and water quality, improving public health, and saving public dollars on heavy infrastructure to mitigate stormwater impacts.
On the heels of their success with high school and community outreach, the College of Sciences and Mathematics (CSM) also routinely hosts speakers and events to benefit Belmont students, faculty, staff and the community. This week, Sarah Updegraff, an Environmental Science alumna (’11), visited campus and gave a presentation on “Coral Bleaching and the Great Barrier Reef.” Updegraff was in Australia working with an ecotourism company during a coral bleaching event in 2016.
In her presentation, Updegraff talked about coral biology, the impact of global climate change on coral reefs and causes of bleaching. Since graduating, Updegraff has worked and traveled in New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia. She is currently back in the United States, preparing for a graduate program in holistic health care.
English faculty members Drs. Marcia McDonald, Joel Overall and Jayme Yeo were recently featured in the New American Colleges & Universities Newsletter for their creation of “Shakespeare in Nashville,” an online archive of local productions of Shakespearean plays. Students in McDonald’s Shakespeare class collect interviews, photos and videos from local performances, while students in Overall’s class use the data to build the website.
The website is hosted by Belmont’s Bunch Library and was made possible by a grant from the Folger Shakespeare Library in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Humanities. See the full article here.
Union promises world-class design education in thriving Nashville market
In a timely move that enhances Belmont University’s academic and professional offerings in design while extending the strong legacy and reach of O’More College of Design, the two institutions announced today that they are combining efforts to serve the next generation of designers. The governing boards for both Belmont and O’More have agreed that Belmont will acquire O’More College of Design and all of its assets and then move O’More’s programs in fashion, interior and graphic design as well as fashion merchandising to Belmont’s campus. The new O’More School of Design at Belmont University will open its doors this fall in Nashville.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “This is an incredibly exciting moment in Belmont’s history as we join forces with O’More to cultivate world-class design in all its forms. The possibilities for interdisciplinary collaborations are endless as O’More’s programs inspire natural partnerships with countless academic areas in which Belmont’s a proven leader. In addition, Nashville is already positioned as a rising star in the fashion world, and the O’More School of Design at Belmont will elevate that status as we anticipate our programs will quickly make a significant impact on our city and the design industry at large.”
The news is all the more fitting as O’More’s roots lie with a Belmont alumna. O’More College of Design was founded in 1970 by Eloise Pitts O’More, a Ward-Belmont graduate who also trained in Paris and New York for interior design. Her goal was to establish a school that would foster and preserve her passion for design and design principles. With an aim to provide a student-centered environment that cultivates the power of design to transform, O’More has been recognized by Fashion-Schools.org as one of the top 10 fashion programs in the South and the only Tennessee program that is nationally ranked.
“This is a monumental day for O’More as we join Belmont University,” said Shari Fox, president of O’More College of Design. “Belmont’s creative spirit and impressive growth have captured the attention of our nation, and we are delighted to now be part of that energy. O’More students will be able to explore new opportunities and take advantage of resources that will further propel their design education and training. Mrs. O’More would be so proud to know that her legacy has come full circle, and I cannot wait to see what our students achieve as part of this wonderful university.”
Beyond the immediate benefits to Belmont and O’More, this announcement heralds even more growth for the already booming fashion and real estate industries in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. An April 2017 article in the Business of Fashion noted “…the city of Nashville is betting that fashion can become not only a major driver of culture in the region, but also a significant driver of employment and industry.”
Fashion businesses in Nashville contribute $5.9 billion and 16,200 jobs to the area’s economy.
The report suggests those numbers could reach $9.5 billion and 25,000 jobs by 2025.
Nashville now boasts the largest per capita concentration of fashion companies in the nation outside of Los Angeles and New York (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Beyond the new programs in fashion design and merchandising, Belmont will also expand its Design Communications program with the influx of O’More graphic designers, and the University will embark for the first time into interior design. With an excellent reputation in the industry, O’More has long boasted a strong placement rate of graduates working within their field locally, regionally and nationally:
O’More offers the only BFA Interior Design program in Middle Tennessee to be fully accredited by the international Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA).
O’More’s Interior Design department boasts nine winner of the Angelo Donghia Foundation Scholarship, the nation’s most prestigious interior design scholarship.
As consumers’ expectations increase for homes and offices that are environmentally friendly and more easily accessible, Belmont programs in areas like health and environmental sciences will offer timely collaborations.
The creative climates fostered at both schools, along with kindred missions focused on transformative and service-minded education, translates to a powerful pairing. In addition to the financial stability, resources and expanded reach Belmont offers, the union provides O’More students with an array of opportunities not currently available, including campus housing, study abroad possibilities, dedicated career development staff and increased options for general education courses.
Students at both institutions will benefit from immense cross-discipline collaborations as fashion designers work with musicians on stage outfits or interior designers meet with the theatre department to discuss set scenery. Other programs at Belmont—like law, entrepreneurship, marketing, health sciences and many more—will all quickly discover mutually helpful connections with students in O’More’s programs.
The O’More School of Design at Belmont University will be housed within the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
