IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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Morris Higham Management’s Clint Higham Speaks to Students

Hope Buckner
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Morris Higham Management’s Clint Higham Speaks to Students

On Friday, September 30, Belmont hosted a Morris Family Mentor/Lecture Series in the Johnson Theater featuring Clint Higham from Morris Higham Management. Higham shared his philosophy on artist management, his experiences as manager for country music star Kenny Chesney and the importance of being a self-starter in the music business. Higham is a 1995 music business alumnus who has recently supported a scholarship fund as part of Belmont’s We Believe campaign.

Higham shared that his philosophy for being an artist manager is to be behind the curtain, protecting the brand and franchise of the artist. He stated that if he believes in the act enough, he will help the artist realize their dreams.  In the “art business,” Higham said, doing it for the money isn’t enough.

He also shared his experiences managing Chesney saying that “Kenny was the least likely star of his time,” but today he is one of the only ones still standing. He shared that while Chesney didn’t have a door open for him, he honed his craft while the spotlight wasn’t on. The work Chesney did, Higham said, built and sustained his career bit by bit. Higham then shared with students how to become a go-getter in the business. He advised listened to be loyal, have a good work ethic and be self-starters. He shared that the worst traits to could possess in the business is entitlement and laziness; because the music business is emotion-created, it must be approached with passion, hard work and a go-getter attitude.

Higham concluded his time on campus saying “it’s a great time to be at Belmont” and that getting a degree is a definite seal of approval when applying for jobs. He advised students to continue working towards getting their degree, be authentic and know their brand. He was introduced by Harry Chapman, Belmont’s director of special projects and major gifts.

 

Alumnus Carter Creates Anti-Ransomware Software

Hope Buckner
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Alumnus Carter Creates Anti-Ransomware Software

copy-of-img_3051Henry (Hank) Carter graduated from Belmont in 2010 with a degree in computer science before moving on to attend Georgia Tech where he finished his masters in 2012 and his Ph.D in computer science in 2015. Carter began a faculty position at Villanova University this fall.

Recently, Carter joined researchers from the University of Florida to develop CryptoDrop, an early-warning monitoring system designed to catch and stop ransomware before it encrypts the majority of a user’s files. Ransomware, a type of malicious software, renders files useless for a user until payment is made to the ransomware authors in exchange for a decryption key which reserves the encryption and recovers the original files. This technological epidemic has caused millions of dollars of loss annually and has been used to attack public services including police station records and hospital databases. CryptoDrop was created to combat the use of this software.

Rather than examining programs for malicious characteristics like typical antivirus software, CryptoDrop monitors the user’s important documents and files and notifies the user if a program attempts to make sweeping changes.

Since the mass encryption operations used by ransomware are not common in everyday computing, CyrptoDrop is able to accurately identify and stop ransomware programs that exhibit this unusual behavior. Carter’s team’s experimental evaluation showed that CryptoDrop was able to identify and stop 100 percent of the nearly 500 different ransomware variants tested.

Carter has been involved with the project since its inception a year and a half ago. During his PhD work, he and his lab partner Nolen Scaife created the idea for an early-detection system for stopping ransomware. As a senior graduate student, Carter said he had the opportunity to help Nolen “develop and formalize the idea into a scientifically rigorous system that ended up being extremely accurate and quick to detect ransomware.”

Since Carter and his team’s work was published this summer at the IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems, they have received coverage from many major news outlets including Forbes, BBC and Huffington Post, among others.

Recently, Carter finished a postdoctoral research appointment at the University of Florida before beginning his career as a professor of computer science at Villanova University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was at Belmont that Carter said his dreams of teaching were fueled. “The attention and commitment to teaching I witnessed in my professors at Belmont was a huge inspiration,” Carter said. “I am excited to be following their example and bringing their passion for learning to my new position at Villanova. My motivating hope is that I’ll be able to inspire my own students the way I was inspired at Belmont.”

*Featured image (above) taken by Caroline Foley, Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Office of External Communications*

Belmont Celebrates Parent and Family Weekend, Sees Record Attendance

Hope Buckner
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Belmont Celebrates Parent and Family Weekend, Sees Record Attendance

Belmont’s Family and Parent Program hosted its annual Parent  and Family Weekend on campus September 30 – October 2 and welcomed more than 1500 guests to campus, nearly doubling last year’s event attendance. Led by Program Director Debbie Sprang and Ryan Holt, director of new student orientation programs, the weekend included a number of events that provide opportunities for parents and families to get involved in meaningful ways across campus.

The weekend began with a Concert Band Performance in the Massey Performing Arts Center and featured a number of additional events including movie screenings, theatre performances, sporting events, a fun run, opportunities to meet regional neighbors, worship services, meet and greets with key faculty members, Nashville excursions and a tailgate picnic, among others. All events were centered around three main objectives—providing parents and families with the opportunity to experience Belmont, get connected and explore Nashville.

Sprang  and Holt focused the efforts of their team this year on allowing attendees to experience life at Belmont the way their students do each day. “Our goal for Parent and Family Weekend was to provide a glimpse of what students experience on a daily basis for parents,” Sprang said. “Watching your son or daughter adjust to college life from afar can be difficult for some parents. Throughout Parent and Family Weekend, we saw a sense of joy and comfort in parents as they witnessed their young adult children settle in, make friends and get involved. This creates a true sense of happiness in both parents and students—they’re able to reconnect and celebrate the opportunity to be together for the weekend in the midst of the Belmont community.”

With record attendance behind them, Sprang and her team have more events planned for parents and families this semester. Those interested are encouraged to attend an Alumni & Parent Night at the Curb on November 19 to cheer on the Belmont Bruins Men’s Basketball team in their season home-opener against Western Kentucky University (Belmont will treat each family to a pre-game dinner). For those who aren’t local, the University is hosting an opportunity for Belmont families and alumni to gather in Tampa on November 21 when the Bruins take on the University of Florida at Amalie Arena.

College of Pharmacy Raises $2,450 for Nashville AIDS Walk

April Hefner
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College of Pharmacy Raises $2,450 for Nashville AIDS Walk

Belmont University College of Pharmacy raised thousands of dollars for Nashville AIDS Walk for the fifth consecutive year, sponsored by Nashville Cares on October 1. The team raised $2,450 for the local non-profit organization, which currently partners with the College of Pharmacy to certify students in HIV prevention testing and counseling. The 40-person team included deans, faculty and pharmacy students who joined hundreds of community participants to benefit thousands of individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Middle Tennessee. Team captain Dr. Edgar S. Diaz-Cruz pointed out that, “Belmont students and faculty continue to unite with the community to reach out and support a cause that touches our society. It is great to see how we continue to change the future of HIV/AIDS and break down the stigma one ‘WALK’ at a time.” He added, “I’m so proud of our newly certified students for volunteering their time to conduct HIV tests and educate the community about HIV prevention at the event.”

Classical Pianist Joyce Yang Gives Students Feedback During Master Class

Staff Writer
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Yang shares tips with junior piano performance major Anna Unterreiner
Yang shares tips with junior piano performance major Anna Unterreiner

Internationally renowned classical concert pianist Joyce Yang recently visited Belmont to perform in the annual Woods Piano Concert Series on September 28 in McAfee Concert Hall. The day after, Yang came back to campus to lead a master class of piano students, offering the chance to individually play a piece of music and receive her comments and suggestions for improvement. The master class was also held in McAfee Concert Hall.

Yang is well-known locally and throughout the world for her achievements as a classical concert pianist. She received the silver medal award in the Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2005 and plays roughly 100 concerts each year all over the world. Yang has played several piano concertos with the Nashville Symphony and will be returning to Nashville to play with them again in 2017.

The Woods Piano Concert Series began in 2010 and has allowed Belmont to host a significant classical concert pianist each year since. The pianist comes to campus to perform a solo concert and also teaches a master class with piano students in the School of Music. The series aims to honor the legacy of Merrydale Woods, who was a piano teacher, long-time Nashville resident and the benefactor behind Belmont’s becoming an “All-Steinway School” in 2008.

Band Featuring Two Alumni Plays First Grand Ole Opry Show

Staff Writer
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Contemporary Christian band “Selah,” consisting of Belmont alumni Todd Smith and Allan Hall along with their third member Amy Perry, graced the Grand Ole Opry stage for the first time in their 20-year career on September 23. The line-up included other well-known artists such as Cassadee Pope, Chris Lane, Ricky Skaggs, Striking Matches, Lindsay Ell, The Whites, Connie Smith, Mike Snider and John Conlee. Skaggs introduced Selah to the audience before the band performed songs “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” and “Amazing Grace.”

Over the course of their musical journey, Selah has been awarded eight Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, including five “Inspirational Album of the Year” trophies. The title track of their 2014 album “You Amaze Me” also became the first song to debut at #1 on the Christian Soft AC chart that began archiving in 2006. The trio has sold over 4 million album and single units total. They will be on tour in the U.S. between October 7 and November 19.

Smith said, “Belmont gave me 4 years to understand the music industry while I was pursuing my degree. It was a place where you were encouraged to dream big dreams, a place where you were surrounded by like-minded students who understood your passion and goals. Those years helped prepare me for what I am doing 20 years later.”

To view coverage of Selah’s Grand Ole Opry appearance by MusicRow Magazine, click here.

Pharmacy Students Appointed to American Society of Pharmacists Student Advisory Groups

Hope Buckner
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Fourth year pharmacy students Destin Lenz and Kelsie Graham were appointed to American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists Pharmacy Student Advisory Groups for the 2016 – 2017 year. The Forum has six advisory groups that provide advice and guidance to the forum pertaining to the needs of student members and how to address these needs using ASHP programs and resources.

Lenz is serving on the Community and eCommunication Advisory Group and Graham is serving on the Policy and Legislative Advisory Group.

Kelsie Graham
Kelsie Graham
Destin Lenz
Destin Lenz

Student Gives College Prep Advice to Middle & High School Dancers

Staff Writer
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Student Gives College Prep Advice to Middle & High School Dancers

Shack speaking to ballet studentsBridges to Belmont scholar Summer Shack recently spoke to a local class of middle and high school ballet dancers about getting the most out of both their high school and college experience. Shack spoke at Rejoice School of Ballet, a non-profit dance school that aims to nurture and celebrate dancers from diverse racial, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds.

Shack was invited to speak as part of the school’s “4 Pillars Program,” which aims to promote the well-being of the whole dancer and focuses on the areas of Diversity, Spiritual Formation, Health & Nutrition and Life Skills. She was invited by Belmont alumna and adjunct faculty member Ashlyn Hall, who also works as a faculty member at Rejoice. Shack spoke in the Life Skills area of the program and encouraged students to take advantage of opportunities they are presented with while in high school. She also shared tips on how to prepare for college.

“It was an honor to have Summer at Rejoice,” said Patricia Cross, Executive Director at Rejoice School of Ballet. “At Rejoice, we are telling our dancers that they can achieve their dreams.  We want to help them develop the life skills they need to make the best decisions they can as they grow into empowered young women. Summer and her success embody the message we want our dancers to hear. Our dancers loved spending time with her. She is an inspiring young woman.”

Ramsey Records New Projects

Hope Buckner
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Ramsey Records New Projects

Drew Ramsey, instructor of songwriting, had a busy summer as he spent the majority of his time in California writing, producing and recording the new Jonny Lang project. More recently, Ramsey and his team (including Belmont’s Ocean Way’s Pat McMakin and Ramsey’s production partner Shannon Sanders) created a video with artist Robert Randolph.

Additionally, a song Ramsey co-wrote and co-produced, “Get There,” is being used for the 7th year at New York Knicks home games in Madison Square Garden. Another one of Ramsey’s song, “Take the Party,” is being used by the SEC Network for the 3rd year as the theme song for their show “SEC Nation.” Ramsey and Shannon are in the video for the show’s opening.

Seals Wins Sandra Hutchins Humanities Symposium Writing Contest Poetry Award

Hope Buckner
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Seals Wins Sandra Hutchins Humanities Symposium Writing Contest Poetry Award

img_2763Gabriel Seals, office manager/receptionist for Belmont’s Health Services, recently received first place in poetry in the Sandra Hutchins Humanities Symposium Writing Contest. This award is given to six students each year, two in poetry, two in fiction and two in creative nonfiction, in accordance with Belmont’s Humanities Symposium.

Judges for the event included Dr. Gary McDowell for poetry, Dr. Susan Finch for fiction and Dr. Andrea Stover for creative nonfiction–all faculty members from the English Department. Winners are invited to read their works at a celebratory panel during the Symposium, hosted each fall by the Humanities Departments (English, philosophy and foreign languages). The award is named after Belmont’s retired colleague, Dr. Sandra Hutchins.

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