Students begin college with Summer Academy, community service projects and leadership development
Belmont University has appointed Mary Clark as director of Bridges to Belmont. In her new position, Clark oversees the program designed to enroll students from Metro Nashville Public Schools who previously may have not considered Belmont as an option.
“We are delighted to welcome Mary Clark to the Belmont community and look forward to her leadership as the program continues to evolve, building on our strengths in delivering a high quality and robust education to all students enrolled at Belmont. Her personality, past experience in similar programs and commitment to student success will propel us to the next levels of excellence as we move forward,” said Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Beverly Schneller.
Bridges to Belmont reflects a deliberate stride on the part of Belmont’s administration to enhance the cultural and ethnic diversity within the campus community while also continuing efforts to provide higher education to students in Davidson County. Bridges to Belmont students, many of whom are first-generation college students, each are given a four-year scholarship to cover tuition, room, board, required fees and books from state and federal grants as well as Belmont scholarship funds. Throughout their higher education experience, they also are given academic support and mentors. There are 52 students in the program from Maplewood, Stratford, Whites Creek and Pearl Cohn high schools.
The students were thrilled with Duriez’s narration during the walking tour of Oxford. They had many good questions about his book The Gift of Friendship, which he said is being optioned for a movie script based on the life of J. R. R Tolkien. Duriez has a new book on the Inklings scheduled to be released in spring 2015, and he discussed his new book with the Belmont students. The walking tour ended at Blackwell’s Bookshop, where students were able to get books signed by the author himself.
As part of their summer transition into Belmont’s culture of service-learning and spirit of volunteerism, 30 Bridges to Belmont students are volunteering across Nashville each Friday. This is the first time a group service project has been added to their summer orientation program. On July 18, the students split their time building a fence for Music City Hounds Unbound, playing games with homeless and helping with a garden at Room in the Inn and sorting donated medical supplies for shipment to developing countries around the world at Project C.U.R.E. The Bridges to Belmont program provides Metro Nashville Public Schools students, many of whom are first generation college students, each with a four-year scholarship to cover tuition, room, board, required fees and books. The students will volunteer again on July 25 and Aug. 1.
Belmont alumna Emily Reid (’13) is featured on the cover of School Ties, the alumni magazine of St. Michaels University School (SMUS) in Saanich, Canada. The photo shows Reid singing “West Coast Waters” in a farewell concert to her band teacher last year. 
Dr. Steve Murphree, professor of biology, participated in 
Dr. Dennis C. Chen, assistant professor of management, has been appointed by the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE) to the 2014 Board of Examiners. Each year, the TNCPE award program recognizes local, regional and statewide organizations that demonstrate excellence in business operations and results.
Dr. David Tough, associate professor, and Curb College students Andrew Christenberry and Jake Minnes recently recorded the 17-piece musical ensemble El Guamo from the country of Columbia at Belmont’s Quonset Hut studio. The group traveled to Nashville, Tennessee on a state department grant and were hosted in collaboration with the Music Without Borders program at Tennessee State University.
Belmont alumni Benji (’96) and Jenna (’95) Cowart made headlines and national TV this week with their music video response to the popular “Rude” single by Canadian reggae band Magic! The creative cover is in response to “Rude,” a song in which the singer asks a father’s permission to marry his daughter and then questions the father’s refusal, noting “Why you gotta be so rude?… I’m gonna marry her anyway.”
