Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel’s Making the Modern City class traveled to the downtown library on Jan. 20 for an off-campus lecture by Metro Archivist Ken Feith.
Feith’s lecture served two purposes: explaining the evolution of Nashville as a city, as well as exposing students to the multitude of primary sources preserved and available for student and community use. Students were also given a tour of the library’s Nashville Room, Civil Rights exhibit and a small exhibit curated by Dr. Pethel focusing on the history of the West End Home Foundation. The Metro Archives maintains a collection of all primary source documentation, photographs, newspapers and maps related to Nashville and Davidson County.
The class has continued its exploration of cities through a variety of interdisciplinary lenses including urban planning, the science of cities, gender, commercialized leisure, economics, class, race, public policy, transportation, ethnicity and urban history. After discussing Philadelphia, Detroit and Boston, among others, the class has turned to Nashville as an Urban Laboratory. As part of the class, students will likely return to the Metro Archives and Nashville Room for a primary source assignment as well as a larger final project.
Rayvon Owen, a recent Belmont alumnus from the University’s School of Music, is competing on this season of American Idol and since his 
Associate Dean and Professor of the College of Pharmacy Dr. Kinsley Kelley Kiningham has served the College since 2009 and since then has acquired a number of accolades including the Presidential Faculty Achievement Award in 2013 and the Most Influential Faculty Member designation by the class of 2013.
College of Law Dean Judge Alberto Gonzales was named on the Lawyers Of Color’s Fourth Annual Power List, a comprehensive catalog of the nation’s most influential minority attorneys and non-minority diversity advocates. Gonzales will be featured in the 2015 “Lawyers of Color’s Power Issue” and will be recognized at a reception at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Belmont Physical Therapy students attended the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association (TPTA) Day on the Hill on Feb. 11. TPTA President Scott Newton and TPTA Legislative Chair Joe Newton provided an orientation to the legislative process and highlighted a particular bill of interest to physical therapists.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, the Student Members of the American Chemical Society and Chemistry Professor Dr. Kimberlee Daus hosted a convocation event on the chemistry elements of Chocolate. Nutrition researcher Michael Levine, among others, has described chocolate as being the world’s perfect food—chemically speaking.
Students Hannah Cintron and Pierce Riddick are currently enrolled in Belmont’s Location Recording Techniques class as part of the university’s semester-long Belmont East program in New York City.
Through the Morris Family Mentor and Lecture Series at Belmont, Creative Artist Agency’s (CAA) Rod Essig received the Curb College’s Distinguished Lecturer honor on Friday, Jan. 30. Belmont’s Mentor and Lecture Series brings industry professionals to campus who continue to inspire others through their work in the entertainment and music industry.