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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Shekinah McLaughlin Graduates from Nursing Program as a Local Hero

Nursing major Shekinah McLaughlin graduated from Belmont on Saturday just days after saving a local woman’s life. While at a hair appointment last Wednesday, McLaughlin noticed another client becoming weak and short of breath. After being asked by her stylist if she could help, McLaughlin stepped in to assess the woman as her condition worsened. While others in the building called 911, McLaughlin initiated and continued CPR until emergency responders arrived to transport the woman to a local hospital.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Shekinah,” said professor and dean of nursing, Cathy Taylor. “By all reports, she did everything right, and it was a powerful message for our graduates at the nursing pinning ceremony this afternoon. We tell them they are prepared, but hearing it from her was remarkably moving. I am equally proud of Shekinah and our nursing team for guiding and mentoring her (and hundreds of other students) to this exceptional level of performance and service.”

During National Nurses Week and specifically on National Student Nurse Day, Belmont honors McLaughlin for her incredible act of service in the community as she prepares to enter the nursing field.

Honors Scholars’ Collaborative Wraps Community Projects with The Branch

A year of work for a section of the Honors Scholars’ Collaborative culminated April 26 with a “Night of Thanks” where students made final presentations to local nonprofit The Branch—a community resource center in Antioch that provides English language classes and emergency food support—about the projects they implemented over the past year.  

The Honors Scholars’ Collaborative is the Belmont Honors program’s culminating curriculum where students look at complex problems within the community, develop a proposal and spend the spring executing the project. This year, the class came alongside the University’s existing relationship with The Branch to develop projects to support The Branch’s mission: to build a community where everyone can thrive by nourishing, educating and equipping our neighbors.  

students filming training video

Belmont Finance Professor Dr. John Gonas began working with the Branch three years ago and learned that many families who rely on the center for assistance were looking for a more holistic approach to the resources available. Through a Belmont BASIC grant, Gonas and other faculty decided to categorically tackle some of the obstacles the immigrant and refugee communities face by offering education in finance, career development, health care and more.  

“What I want for our students is to understand the complexity of these systemic problems and struggle with them a bit; there are no easy fixes. And I think this opportunity allowed the students to see our tendency to prescribe,” Gonas explained. “When we commit to working with a nonprofit, we are their guest. We must first volunteer and build relationships of trust – taking the time to really listen and learn. Thereafter, we were striving to come back to the table with a posture of adequately responding and offering resources (curricula, social enterprise development, etc.) that can help this community partner expand and sustain its programming.”  

The 15 students in the class started their fall semester by volunteering at the Branch, getting to know the staff and taking time to listen and understand where gaps existed that students could fill. They all started with individual project ideas but ultimately found connective tissues. The students met with The Branch Executive Director Melissa Thomas to propose three group projects in December.  

Students then spent the spring implementing the projects they proposed, designed in ways that will allow their work to continue on. As Assistant Professor Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel explained, the presentations at the Night of Thanks were more of a “handoff” and less of a final deliverable.  

The projects included: 

  • Creating an online directory of external resources in Nashville – a live, editable document the Branch can update as needed;
  • enhancing the volunteer experience by creating training videos the Branch can use to train future volunteers, as well as a promotional video highlighting the center’s ESL program and community through the life of Branch Volunteer Coordinator Deicira Torres, an immigrant from Venezuela who discovered the Branch through the ESL program;  
  • building community gardens at Mill Ridge in partnership with Belmont Enactus and Belmont alumnus Jonathan West that will provide produce for the Center’s food pantry which is always short on fresh vegetables. The raised garden bed group also interviewed immigrant and refugee clients of the Branch to gather recipes and the stories behind them to compile into an online recipe book. 

Junior music business major Anna Catherine Markham worked on the volunteer experience project with several of her classmates, benefiting from the varying strengths and talents of each student as the class was made up of majors from across University disciplines. She took on more of a communication role for the training videos, where emerging media major Isaac Wetzel utilized his skills in videography. By the end, she said the students became incredibly invested in how their talents were making a difference. 

“I hope that through our project The Branch will be able to see an uptick in repeat volunteers and there will be less confusion among new volunteers about the tasks that are expected of them during their shift,” Markham said. “I also hope that the promotional video is able to bring in a new donor base to The Branch. It has been such an honor to work hand in hand with all the wonderful volunteers and employees of The Branch – these people are the epitome of what it means to have a servant’s heart, and their stories inspire me to continue to give back to my community in any way I can.” 

students present at The Branch

Pethel added that this class represents a new era in scholarship.

“This type of study is different than what our students have done in the past, in that they are deeply embedded in the community rather than writing a thesis,” said Pethel. “Even though sometimes these project-based classes might be more challenging, there’s no substitute for what the students get out of it, what the University is able to learn from it and, most importantly, how we are able to contribute and connect to our neighbors.” 

Belmont Faculty Amy Hodges Hamilton Receives 2023 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award  

Belmont University Professor of English Dr. Amy Hodges Hamilton was recently named a recipient of the 2023 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award, a yearly recognition presented by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission acknowledging individuals in higher education who provide exceptional public service to their communities.

“Receiving this award is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Hodges Hamilton said. “I completely believe in the power of this work and for it to be recognized on a state-wide level is both humbling and affirming. I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in the community and honor these stories, these reminders to pay attention, to reach out, and to listen.” 

Hodges Hamilton’s passionate commitment to service and advocacy permeates her work as a teacher and scholar, beautifully exemplifying Belmont’s service-oriented values. She serves as Belmont’s Title IX Faculty Liaison and Victim’s Advocate and coordinates the annual Women’s History Month celebration on campus. She focuses on using writing as a tool for healing trauma in courses like Writing in the Community and Reading & Writing Social Justice.  

Rarely keeping her expertise within the walls of the classroom alone, the mother of a cancer survivor pushes herself and her students to transcend academic boundaries and collaborate with community members as they move theory into practice. One such collaboration led Hodges Hamilton to facilitate a Healing Trauma through Writing workshop at Healing House, a Nashville nonprofit residential recovery community. In her workshop, residents coming out of addiction and complex trauma are invited on a healing journey through writing prompts that evoke introspection.  

“The gifts of the Healing Trauma through Writing program continue to emerge,” Healing Housing Executive Director Tracey Levine said. “In recovery, we say that ‘our secrets make us sick.’ Amy’s workshop has provided the evidence that our residents have long needed regarding the freedom of releasing the weight of their secrets.” 

Hodges Hamilton’s service also includes her work as a Board Member at New Hope Girls and MERCY Workshop in the Dominican Republic, coordinating students from her classes with volunteer organizations including Healing Housing and a range of volunteer work with a long list of organizations including The Branch, Morningside at Belmont, Rest Stop Ministries, Thistle Farms and Tennessee Women’s Prison.    

Five students and five faculty/staff recipients are selected each year for the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Awards and receive a $1000 honorarium for continued dedication to outstanding community service. 

Belmont University Board of Trustees Issues Meeting Summary of April 2023 Meeting

The Belmont University Board of Trustees held its quarterly Board Meeting on April 21 where updates were shared on a variety of key University initiatives.   

The day began with a session between President Dr. Greg Jones and the full Board, followed by Board Committee Meetings led by each Committee’s Chairperson. After lunch, Dr. Jones provided a University update for all Trustees, their spouses and University leadership who were present and shared a tribute to Steve Horrell. Horrell, an alumnus and long-time Belmont trustee, was a beloved member of the Belmont community who passed away the week prior following a recurrence of cancer. From his days as a Belmont undergraduate student until the very end of his life, Steve demonstrated love for and strong commitment to Belmont. 

Immediately following Dr. Jones’s remarks, Belmont’s Chorale—under the direction of Dr. Jeffery Ames—shared a performance with attendees. 

The meeting’s Business Session was called to order at 1 p.m. by Chair Milton Johnson and began with a Chair’s Report, immediately followed by remarks from Dr. Erin Shankel, Chair of Faculty Senate. In her remarks, Dr. Shankel focused on faculty wellbeing and shared new campus-wide resources that have been put in place to support faculty across all Colleges, opportunities for additional faculty support and innovative collaborations across disciplines. She described a new partnership with Music Therapy and School of Music ensemble Jazzmin that is working to better understand how NICUs can effectively use music to support the growth and development of babies in the unit. 

Approvals of previous meeting minutes, faculty emeriti and the 2023-24 Fiscal Year budget followed. As part of the budget discussion, Trustees heard presentations from Vice President of Finance and Operations Steve Lasley and General Counsel & Executive Vice President Jason Rogers on key financial updates including the approval of three resolutions relating to on-campus housing and bond financing.  

Chair Milton Johnson also recognized Trustees Dan Foutch, Steve Hewlett, Cynthia Leu, Ben Rechter and Jim Wright who are rolling off the Board, as well as Gordon Inman who is stepping down and has been named Trustee Emeritus. Because Mr. Inman is vacating his role as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, the group held a vote and unanimously named alumnus Harry Allen as Vice Chair effective June 1, when Mr. Inman steps down. 

Following these votes, Dr. Anderson Spickard, newly named Dean of the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine, shared an update on the College. Dr. Spickard began his tenure at Belmont in the fall of 2021 as Associate Dean for Spiritual Growth and Development and was named Interim Dean in the summer of 2022. His appointment as Dean of the College was announced earlier in April. 

Dr. Spickard shared his excitement for the College’s progress and an update on Accreditation as the leadership team submitted its Data Collection Instrument (DCI) to its accrediting body, LCME, earlier that same day. The submission of Frist’s DCI is the next step in the accreditation process, and the College will welcome LCME members this summer for a site visit. Pending accreditation, the College plans to welcome its inaugural class in Fall 2024.

Spickard went on to share an overview of the College’s approach—one that considers the whole person in care, where curriculum is focused on sculpting a student’s head & heart and a commitment to hope taking shape in both the person and the system. His presentation ended with a description of the College’s newly created Seal which is illustrated around their three biggest commitments: hospitality, the College’s Christ-centered identity and a dedication to the fierce work of medicine. 

The Business Session ended with Dr. Jones’ President’s Report where he discussed what he calls Belmont 4.0—the Belmont of the future that is committed to developing new capabilities to accomplish the God-sized dreams that are part of the University’s Aspirational Aim. Two years into his tenure as President, Jones highlighted the focus of his first two years—setting a common vision, creating shared mission & culture and building systems and habits that support such large goals. In Year 3, Jones and his leadership team will focus on aligning the Aspirational Aim with systems and habits that will lead to successful execution.  

He went on to highlight the year’s incredible accomplishments, organized around the institution’s focus on: forming diverse leaders of character, equipping people to solve complex problems and developing radical champions that will actively pursue flourishing for those around them. Looking ahead, Jones concluded his remarks with a grateful nod to the incredible work happening every day across campus and his continued desire to lead Belmont toward reimagining how a higher education institution can play a significant role in helping people around the world thrive. 

Belmont’s Pitchmen A Capella Group Wins International Championship  

Belmont’s Pitchmen a capella group won first place at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) April 29. The ICCA is a bracket system competition that takes place annually beginning in January and concluding in April.  

“Pitchmen has been my favorite thing about Belmont since I joined as a freshman,” said Sean Murphy, senior commercial voice major from Buffalo NY. “To see this group grow over the years and to have a chance to help lead us to a championship has been a dream come true. This group is full of the hardest workers I’ve ever met, and it’s truly amazing to see our hard work paying off. We’ve cemented ourselves as one of the best all-male identifying a capella groups in the history of the competition. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to my college career and my time in Pitchmen.” 

In addition to winning the championship by an 80-point margin, the Pitchmen’s specialty awards included Outstanding Soloist to Elijah Morman, Jared Pruzan, Rob Montano and Chris Wiper and Outstanding Choreography to Sean Dean and Mason Bates for the entire set. 

ICCA was founded in a college dorm room in 1996 and has since grown to include 450 groups competing in nine regions in the U.S. and Europe, with finals being held in New York City each year. 

Belmont University Names Jamie Lee Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations

Jamie Lee has been named Senior Director of Corporate and Foundational Relations within Belmont’s Advancement team.  

In her new role, Lee will support the University’s Advancement team leading corporate and foundation development activities, directly supporting Belmont’s Strategic Path to 2030 by helping expand revenue sources to propel the University forward.  

Lee earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Tennessee Tech University and has held various roles at the Nashville Health Care Council for nearly 15 years. Most recently, she served as the organization’s chief operating officer where she led the organization’s internal processes, events and sponsorships, partnerships and international activities 

“I am honored to be a part of the forward-thinking team at Belmont and excited to bring my experience in corporate and foundation relations to support the University’s strategic path,” said Lee. “By leveraging my extensive network, I am eager to collaborate with the University’s leadership and staff to develop and present impactful proposals to our corporate and foundation partners. I look forward to contributing to Belmont’s growth and success in this new role.” 

Prior to Nashville Health Care Council, Lee served as the public relations and marketing manager at Cross Country Education, a national continuing education company for health care professionals. She was also vice president of sales and marketing for Envision, Inc., a company that produces educational video content for the health care industry.   

“We are thrilled to have Jamie join our advancement team,” said Associate Vice President of Development Kyle McGowan. “Her track record of success, both with the Nashville Health Care Council and beyond, speaks volumes about her expertise and network. With her invaluable knowledge and exceptional people skills, we’re confident that Jamie will build powerful relationships to drive our fundraising goals to new levels of success.”  

Removing Barriers: Belmont Professor Launches an Entrepreneurship Podcast Fully in Spanish for Latino Entrepreneurs  

Professor of Entrepreneurship at Belmont University Dr. Jose Gonzalez recently launched Latino Emprendedor — a fully Spanish podcast designed for Latino entrepreneurs. Gonzalez recognizes that “there’s never been a better time to be a Latino entrepreneur in the United States.” Nearly one in four new businesses are Latino-owned, and Latino entrepreneurs have started small businesses at a rate 10 times faster than their non-Latino counterparts over the last decade.  

With a multitude of business and entrepreneurship podcasts in existence, the Latino Emprendedor podcast brings a resource to Latino entrepreneurs in their dominant language of Spanish– a modality that isn’t readily available. “I think it establishes trust,” Gonzalez said. “The fact that people will not have to listen to the information in English is hopefully an automatic trust builder.” 

Gonzalez has over 20 years of experience serving the Latino community of Middle Tennessee and was instrumental in establishing Negocio Prospero, the most prominent Spanish language entrepreneurial training program in Nashville. He is also a co-founder of Conexión Américas, a Nashville-based nonprofit that assists more than 9,000 Latino families each year through programs that focus on social, economic and civic integration. 

At Belmont, Gonzalez is a leader of the school’s “Latino strategy,” a phrase that refers to the work being done from the University perspective to better connect and engage the Latino community at all levels. In 2022, he brought Mesa Komal Café, a culinary incubator for food entrepreneurs in the city, to Belmont’s campus as a partnership between the University and Conexión Américas. Latino Emprendedor is one of his newest ventures.  

The professor is joined by co-host Frank Gonzalez, the Managing Director of Crown Solutions Spanish at the global financial literacy ministry Crown Financial.   

“Frank was the catalyst that made it happen,” Jose acknowledged. “We got to talking and he was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’ve wanted to do that for a long time and you’re the perfect person to partner with.’” 

Latino Emprendedor brings joyful energy to the airwaves, encouraging listeners through lighthearted rapport between two industry experts who share the same surname. The two hosts discuss how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset, the difference between an idea and an opportunity and much more.  

“First and foremost, it will have kind of a cheerleading and empowerment theme around encouraging people that have become entrepreneurs and convey the message that it can be done,” Dr. Gonzalez said. “We want to laugh and make it fresh, not using any fancy words or sounding too academic, but accessible.” 

Latino Emprendedor launched Tuesday, April 25. Four episodes of the first season are available on all podcast channels. Listeners can anticipate guest appearances from industry experts and conversations that delve into the deeper aspects of entrepreneurship like payroll, insurance and licensing for future seasons. 

Buntin Initiative Competition Brings Additional Support to Student Entrepreneurs  

Belmont University’s Thomas F. Cone Sr. Center for Entrepreneurship recently launched  The Buntin Initiative — a new program implementation funded by the Buntin Family featuring a series of workshops culminating in a spring business pitch competition. Seven students showcased their creative business ideas and competed in the inaugural Buntin Initiative Competition on April 12. The competition provided students the opportunity to network with the Buntin family, present their ideas and receive feedback from a panel of judges for the chance to win cash awards. 

“The Jeffrey Buntin Sr. Award for Creative Ventures provides us an amazing new opportunity to support our creative and entrepreneurially minded students,” Executive Director of the Cone Center Elizabeth Gortmaker said. “At this year’s competition, we had students from seven different majors pitching their business ideas. We were thrilled to be able to support students from all across campus with this new initiative, and we are so grateful for the support of the Buntin family to make it happen.” 

Abby Kay Griffith (Music Therapy ’26) pitched a business concept for a music therapy app that helps disrupt destructive listening patterns, winning the first-place award of $2,500. Griffith has been working with professors in her major to explore research related to the idea. 

Delaney Kelly (Experiential Design ’26) received the second-place award of $1,500 for delanely.design, a design business that helps small businesses with graphic design, web development, social media marketing and other growth tools. 

Hamilton Nichols (Design Communications ‘W23) presented the athleisure fashion brand Butterbear and earned the third-place award of $500.  
 
Additional student participants included Kayla Kirkland (Entrepreneurship ’25), Alisa Brown (Creative & Entertainment Industries ’23), Baxter Brown (Computer Science ’24) and Hannah Novakovich (Entrepreneurship ‘W23). All students receive one-on-one mentoring with an Entrepreneur-in-residence leading up to the competition.

The Buntin Program provides resources for student entrepreneurs launching creative ideas. This spring semester, the Buntin Initiative sponsored a workshop led by Kristin Sweeting, Entrepreneur-in-Residence and founder of Kristin Sweeting Photography and Danger School, and a talk about starting a business in a creative industry by Sarah Moseley, founder of Songbird City.  The following events were also sponsored during the fall semester:

  • Turning your Passion into Sustainable Income – Kristin Sweeting
  • Eco-Architect and Owner of Maypop Building – Betsy Littrell 
  • Design-Thinking Workshop led by Mitch Baron, Cone Center Project Coordinator

The Buntin Initiative and Buntin Initiative Competition add to the Cone Center’s extensive catalog of programs and resources that continue to support student entrepreneurs across campus. On-campus partners for the Buntin Initiative include the Curb College of Music Businessthe O’More School of Architecture and Design, and the Watkins College of Art.

The Fisher Center at Belmont University Announces Inaugural Artist-In-Residence, Cece Winans

Best-selling and most-awarded female gospel artist of all time CeCe Winans will partner with The Fisher Center of Performing Arts at Belmont University as an Artist in Residence in the fall of 2023. As part of her residency, Winans will perform at Belmont’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on September 15 on her Believe For It Tour. In addition to the concert, select Belmont students will have the opportunity to attend soundcheck and participate in a Q&A session with the world-renowned artist who has sold more than 17 million albums worldwide. Winan’s residency at Belmont also includes a Chapel Service and other unique and meaningful opportunities for interactions with students. 

The third single released from Winans’ 2021 “Believe For It” live album, “Goodness of God,” has topped 200 million U.S. streams, 148 million video views, 110 million TikTok views and is #1 on CCLI’s Top 100 chart measured from over 250,000 church worship services.  

Belmont President Dr. Greg Jones said, “Cece Winans is a former trustee, a parent of two Belmont alumni and longstanding friend of Belmont University. She has always been committed to pouring into the lives of our students and informing their journeys here at Belmont and beyond. I am thrilled at the opportunity this residency presents to our campus community to lean into her knowledge and experience as an award-winning artist, but also her kindness and integrity as an individual.”  

As a part of the residency, Winans will also spend time engaging with members of the Belmont community at campus events and other special opportunities throughout the Fall.  

Chaz Corzine, executive director of the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, added, “Cece’s upcoming in-residence status is such a meaningful opportunity for students — to learn from and interact with an artist of her distinction. She has inspired millions with her inspirational performances. It’s a tremendous honor that this artist who has performed for world leaders will be using her gifting to pour into students here at Belmont. We often refer to the Fisher Center as the largest classroom on campus, and we are honored to host such an industry giant.”  

Her mantel today holds a staggering 15 Grammy Awards, 23 Dove Awards and 15 Stellar Awards. Her accolades include being inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and receiving stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Nashville Music City Walk of Fame. In addition to being named a Trailblazer of Soul by BMI and garnering multiple NAACP Image Awards, Soul Train Awards and ESSENCE Awards, this music pioneer continues to break through barriers.  

During Belmont’s Commencement on Saturday, May 6, University President Dr. Greg Jones will award Winans with an honorary Doctor of University degree for her impact on both Belmont and the Nashville Community. Honorary degrees have been presented by American colleges and universities since 1962 in recognition of scholarly and creative attainments, as well as for meritorious humanitarian service. Belmont is selective in bestowing this award as the highest honor presented by the University. 

Tickets to the Sept. 15 concert event can be purchased at thefishercenter.com.   

Advocacy Matters: Chronic Illness and Finding Community at Belmont

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 in 10 U.S. adults are living with a chronic illness, and 4 in 10 adults are living with two or more. The CDC goes on to define chronic illness broadly as “conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.”

As college campuses across the nation continue to become more diverse, there are a growing number of students with one or more chronic conditions living on campus, earning their degrees and managing their illnesses simultaneously.

Being a Belmont student with multiple chronic health conditions, I have struggled to manage the stress and responsibilities of school while also maintaining my health.

Managing a chronic illness can be lonely and isolating. I have often wondered about other students like me but have struggled to find resources. As a third-year student, I was determined that this would be the semester to find a community to share my life experiences with. And if I couldn’t find one, I’d organize one myself.

As it turns out, third year student Jessie Lang had the same idea. Earlier this semester, I saw an ad for a new chronic illness support group on campus, organized by Jessie in partnership with Accessibility Services and University Ministries. I immediately knew that I needed to become involved with this group, and already it has been life-changing for me.

From hearing others’ experiences—which are remarkably similar to mine—making friends and having a safe space to vent about the burdens of chronic illness, our group is fast becoming one of my favorite parts of being a student at Belmont. It has made me realize how important it is for schools to provide resources for students with chronic health conditions and emboldened me to advocate for myself and others. Community is life giving and having spaces to share and brainstorm matters.

Jessie is a friend and classmate, but I never knew she also lived with chronic illness until she organized our support group. After sitting down to chat with Jessie further, it became even more clear that my experiences are not singular.

“I was diagnosed with POTS—postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome—freshman year,” Jessie said. “I didn’t feel like I could really talk to anyone about it. It was hard to meet people.”

After meeting with Counseling Services, it was clear that a student support group was needed for students to share stories from their experiences. With encouragement from her mom, Jessie reached out to University Ministries for help in starting the group.

Within group meetings we share stories of what it means to be a student with chronic illness, from needing to take time off, to struggling financially, experiencing isolation and needing to ask for special accommodations.

Jessie shared her story of needing to change her music performance major due to physical demands. I’ve learned valuable lessons through my chronic illness and have been given the chance to get to know some wonderful people. Through our group, one idea is clear: though oftentimes invisible to the outside world, chronic illness has the power to derail plans and force us to pivot.

On changing majors, Jessie said, “The constant pain I felt while practicing wasn’t worth it, and it was a big deal. I didn’t have many people to talk about it with.”

While guitar was what brought Jessie to Belmont, she was faced with a tough decision, ultimately choosing what was best for her health. “Guitar was a big part of why I was here, and unless I explain it to people, they don’t understand why I changed.”

Now a publishing student, her experience is one story, similar to many students who manage their own chronic illness while in college. I am forever grateful for the opportunity at Belmont to connect with other students like me who are living with chronic conditions and for the space to share our stories. Nothing is too big to overcome when we know we aren’t alone.

For more information on the chronic illness support group, students can contact University Ministries