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

Home Blog Page 453

‘In Tune’ Names Belmont a Best Music School

christmas at belmont-413In Tune Magazine has released their Best Music Schools for 2015 and Belmont University’s School of Music is on the list.

In Tune’s Best Music Schools special feature was included in the October 2014 edition of the magazine.  In this special report, high school students receive advice from music professors and students who majored in Music on picking a college or university music program that is just right for them.

Belmont alum, Rayvon Owen, is highlighted in the article and shares his thoughts on what makes Belmont a top music program.  Owen credits Belmont for enhancing his leadership skills and teaching him how to be prepared and perform (musically and non-musically) in high pressure situations.

“We are incredibly honored to be recognized as one of America’s best schools of music and excited that Belmont University continues to receive applause for the many good things that happen on this campus,” said Cynthia Curtis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts

In Tune is a classroom magazine for music students, grades 7-12.

 

Economic Futurist Lowell Catlett speaks on Imagining the World of 2020

0

image001Economic futurist Dr. Lowell Catlett spoke to students, faculty and staff about the future of economy, technology, healthcare, energy, education, finance and agriculture during a convocation event entitled “Imaging the World of 2020” on Wednesday in Massey Boardroom.

“Creativity, technology and wealth are driving new industries and business development opportunities unlike any period in history. Healthcare, energy, education, finance and agriculture are changing at the fastest pace ever recorded as the new creative economy dominates both the service and manufacturing sectors,” Catlett said. “Get ready for a world that is increasingly borderless and un-tethered and driven by the fastest rate of change ever recorded in history.”

Catlett is dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at New Mexico State University where he teaches agricultural economics and business and extension economics.

Catlett is the author of numerous books and articles and works nationally and internationally with corporations and organizations doing futuristic planning concerning the impacts of technology on careers, lifestyles and the economy.

Catlett also works with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Labor, Interior, Defense, Education, Energy and the World Bank.  He has been a visiting professor or delivered invited presentations at over 50 universities including Harvard, MIT, Cornell and the University of Illinois.

Belmont School of Nursing Recognized for Their Work with Freedom’s Promise

Taplin pictured here with her husband, Chaz, and Cambodian leaders.
Taplin pictured here with her husband, Chaz, and Cambodian leaders.

Belmont School of Nursing students and faculty were featured in a recent edition of the Freedom’s Promise newsletter for their work during this summer’s study abroad trip to Cambodia. The nursing program has long partnered with Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE in Cambodia but is now working more and more with Freedom’s Promise to help with their efforts.

Freedom’s Promise’s mission is to prevent human trafficking and child exploitation in Cambodia through individualized community development programs resulting in trafficking-free safe zones.  Through one of their programs, Belmont students interacted with villagers on a daily basis and taught them life-saving hand washing techniques. They also increased the quality of community health by providing education sessions focused on nutrition and disease prevention.

Dr. Susan Taplin, assistant professor of nursing and 2014 DNP graduate, leads the program’s efforts in Cambodia and has traveled there with students for more than 10 years.

“If you don’t take care of the illness first, you’re not going to get anywhere else. Teaching them something as simple as hand washing can increase their life expectancy and quality of life. You and I have always known to wash our hands, and we don’t know what it’s like to not have that education,” Talpin says.

Belmont Sophomore Competes on The Voice

0

Jessie Pitts - The VoiceBelmont student Jessie Pitts has been selected to compete on season seven of NBC’s The Voice which premiered on Monday after she auditioned for the show in Nashville earlier this year.

Pitts competed in the “blind auditions” which aired on Wednesday. Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Pharrell all gave her the opportunity to compete on their individual teams. In the end, Pitts chose Team Blake for the competition.  Pitts is a sophomore in Belmont’s College of Entertainment and Music Business.

View her blind audition here.

Belmont BSA Members Featured in ‘The Huffington Post’

0
image001
Left to right: Hart, Robinson and Bryant.

Belmont University’s Black Student Association members Keayana Robinson, Cameron Bryant and Kristoff Hart have been featured in The Huffington Post for their song and video “I Dig the Skin I’m In,” an empowering testament to their refusal to be anything less than comfortable in their own skin despite the things that have been said to them.

The article entitled “MC Shakes Off Being Told She’s ‘Too Dark’ With Funk and Grace” discusses the message behind the song that addresses modern racism and bullying.

Robinson told The Huffington Post that it took time for her to become confident enough to speak out about her experiences. Part of the journey, she said, was simply “being able to sit down and say those words aloud.”

“I’m not hearing your lies. I look great in my eyes. This may be a surprise, but I’m cool with me,” she sings in part of the song’s chorus.

The song and its message came about pretty organically, according to Robinson.

“We were sitting around and we just stumbled upon a beat and we started listening and Kristoff and I started singing and we decided to write to it,” she told The Huffington Post. “Once we got the message that we wanted, we just took off from there.”

The trio’s collaboration has been met with what Robinson describes as a “nice, welcoming response” from the Belmont community.

“We’re all about embracing differences. … I think that it’s definitely extremely important for members of the African-American community to embrace their differences and their skin and their flaws, because they’re beautiful,” Robinson said.

Read the full article here. View the “I Dig the Skin I’m In” music video here.

Belmont Junior Competes on Reality Game Show

0

Baylor WilsonBelmont junior Baylor Wilson competed on this season of CBS’s Survivor: Blood vs. Water which took place in San Juan Del Sur. Wilson made it to the top five contestants in this season’s competition.

Wilson was once a cheerleader for Belmont and is currently enrolled in the Entertainment Industry Studies program. She is competing on the reality game show alongside her mother.

“I wanted to get involved to be with my mom first and foremost, but also to share an experience with her that not many other mother and daughters get to share.  It has been the best and worst experience of my life,” Wilson said.

An interview with Wilson and her mom can be seen here.

Former Men’s Basketball Standout Kerron Johnson Signs Deal in Germany

0

image004Former Belmont University men’s basketball star Kerron Johnson has signed a professional contract with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Bundesliga for the 2014-15 season.

Johnson took the Belmont program to new heights, leading the Bruins to 102 victories, four regular season conference championships, three conference tournament championships and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Moreover, Johnson helped Belmont earn national Top 25 poll votes three straight seasons and the program’s best NCAA Tournament seed – No. 11 – in 2013.

Among Johnson’s many career accomplishments was being named all-conference four straight years, 2012 NABC All-District and back-to-back conference tournament Most Valuable Player honors in 2012 and 2013. Johnson also ranks among the program leaders in assists, steals and free throws made and attempted.

He played for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL in 2013-14.

Billboard Recognizes Curb College a Top Music Business Education School

recording studio-110-LBelmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business continues to be recognized as one of the world’s top colleges and universities to learn about the music industry according to a recent survey on music business education conducted by Billboard Magazine.

The survey highlights universities and other educational institutions giving students the opportunity to learn about the music business with hands-on experience and classes taught by teachers from the industry.  Those schools are increasingly responding to the changes shaping both education and the music business, according to the survey.

Established with guidance from the Recording Academy and local industry executives, including its namesake, record company executive Mike Curb, owner of Curb Records and former president of MGM Records, “the Curb College takes full advantage of its strategic location in Music City to build world-wide opportunities for our students,” says dean and professor of audio engineering, Dr. Wesley Bulla.

According to Lecturer of Music Business, Dr. David Schreiber, the college readily embraces the changing demands of the music and entertainment industry but recognizes that things such as critical thinking and problem solving remain constant.  “A lot of the faculty, including myself, do our best to incorporate experiential learning, getting students to replicate what happens out in the field, while still in a safe [academic] environment,” Schreiber says.

 

Law Presents ‘Champion for Justice’ Award to Bryan Stevenson

Bryan StevensonDuring Monday’s Chapel, the Belmont College of Law presented the 2014 Champions for Justice Award to Bryan A. Stevenson, the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a private, non-profit organization headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. His work, and that of the team of lawyers he leads, furthers prison and sentencing reform, with a focus on the death penalty and the mass incarceration of people of color.

Stevenson said, “Faith is connected to struggle; that is…we are called to build the Kingdom of God. We can’t celebrate it and then protect our own comfortable environment.”

The Belmont University College of Law Champions for Justice Award is presented to a person whose life’s work exemplifies Belmont’s mission to uphold Jesus as the Christ and the measure for all things, and has lived this out by engaging and transforming the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage and faith. Stevenson graduated from Eastern University (where he led the gospel choir), Harvard Law School and the Harvard School of Government.

Oct. 2 Event Marks Official Launch of Campus Theme for 2014-15

Campus Theme WordmarkAre you prepared for “Living in a Global Community?”

That may be a common question in classrooms across campus this semester as Belmont embraces its new theme for 2014-15. And it will certainly be a topic of conversation on Oct. 2, at the official theme kick-off event, when the Curb Event Center hosts Dr. Pang Rhodes (assistant professor of marriage and family therapy at Argosy University-Twin Cities, Minnesota) and Wayne Yang (‎CEO/President at Hmong Village). These special guests will discuss this year’s common book, “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down,” with Belmont’s own Assistant Professor/ Ministry Program Advisor Dr. Martha Minardi and Associate Professor of Philosophy/Director of First Year Seminar Dr. Noel Boyle.

Associate Provost Dr. Beverly Schneller, who oversees the campus theme, said, “Though an emotionally and intellectually challenging book to read, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down provides an insightful introduction to the concept of ‘Living in a Global Community.’ Goals of the campus theme include evaluating ethical and social choices and raising complex questions about global systems. The Oct. 2 conversation about the common book will offer students and other attendees an opportunity to thoughtfully examine those issues.”

This marks the seventh year in a row that the entire Belmont community is being invited to participate in conversations focused on a campus theme, a single subject examined throughout the academic year via common readings in First Year Seminar courses, lectures, arts performances and other events.