Robert Montano, a freshman at Belmont, played teenage Artie Bucco in the newly released film “Many Saints of Newark.”
The film is a prequel to “The Sopranos,” an HBO hit television series that aired for six seasons from 1999-2007 and is one of the network’s most successful shows.
Montano began acting at 14-years-old when he was featured in the Radio City Musical Hall Christmas Spectacular. From there he says he, “caught the bug for acting.” From his involvement in the Christmas Spectacular, Montano secured a manager and agent who supported the launch of his acting career.
The new film was set to be released in the Fall of 2020, but the timeline was pushed back to the Fall of 2021 primarily as a result of COVID. Thinking back to his audition process, Montano recalls the ongoing call backs–“I was super excited to be getting called back,” he said. “I had no idea what role they wanted me for at the time since all of them were under secret, alternate names.”
Montano began filming for the movie when he was a freshman in high school. He recalled the wait thinking it felt like a long time until the film’s release. Montano laughed, “I didn’t think I would be watching it in theaters in Nashville with my roommates and suite mates.”
In addition to acting, Montano is pursuing a music career. He started playing piano and singing as a young child and fell in love with songwriting. Throughout his acting career, Montano says he has continued to write music and released his first EP, “Tearing Through The Deep,” earlier this year.
The college process brought Montano to a fork in his journey: should he pursue music or acting? Although Montano chose to study commercial voice in pursuit of his dream to be a recording artist, he hopes to continue music performance, songwriting and acting in his journey at Belmont.
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame members Brett James and Kent Blazy recently spoke to Belmont songwriting majors in Columbia Studio A. The night was hosted by fellow Hall of Fame member Pat Alger.
James is best known for “Jesus Take The Wheel” (Carrie Underwood), “When The Sun Goes Down” (Kenny Chesney) and “It’s America” (Rodney Atkins). Blazy is best known for the Garth Brook hits “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” “Ain’t Going Down (‘Til the Sun Come Up)” and “Somewhere Other Than The Night.”
Mark Ford (Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame), Thomm Jutz (SNG Instructor), Pat Alger, Brett James, Kent Blazy, James I. Elliott (SNG Chair), Jodi Marr (SNG Instructor), Drew Ramsey (SNG Instructor) and Victoria Banks (SNG Instructor)
Last weekend, as fall reached its prime in Nashville and the leaves on the trees presented bold shades of red, 132 Belmont students made their way to the Nelson Andrews Leadership Center at Camp Widjiwagan for the annual PULSE Student Leadership Advance, presented by the Belmont Office of Leadership Development (BOLD).
PULSE gives students the opportunity to learn and practice the leadership behavior learned in “Encourage the Heart” from “The Student Leadership Challenge” by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. When the retreat began at 9 a.m., students were served breakfast and volunteers played music while participants made connections with one another. Student leaders dove head first into activities and leadership workshops to fill their minds with ways to show appreciation for individual excellence and create a sense of community for all.
Student leaders also participated in breakout sessions throughout the day facilitated by graduate students in the GOLD – Graduate Opportunities in Leadership Development – program and other campus partners from Residence Life and Fitness & Recreation. Undergraduate students at the third and fourth levels and BOLD leaders facilitated sessions for students as well.
All facilitators at this character-forming leadership retreat truly made an impact on students and encouraged the hearts of many. One student stated, “One of the biggest things I’ve learned is to be more appreciative of others! I always love encouraging people but sometimes don’t know how to, and BOLD helped me find new ways to be an encourager through the process.” Another student particularly enjoyed participating in interactive leadership workshops where students were “not just sitting and listening to someone talk. It was awesome!”
While PULSE was the final BOLD event of the Fall semester, there are many leadership opportunities for students to look forward to in the Spring. Students will continue to sharpen their leadership skills and experience character development through experiential programs like Social Change & Me and the Belmont Is Global (B.I.G) Leadership Exchange.
Each year, Belmont University offers a number of free concerts during the Christmas season, open to the Nashville community, in addition to the annual televised airing of the holiday spectacular, “Christmas at Belmont.”
The celebration kicks off with the Nashville Children’s Choir performance on Saturday, December 11 at 3 p.m. in Belmont’s McAfee Concert Hall, featuring the premiere youth choir’s renditions of traditional Christmas music. The Nashville Children’s Choir serves young singers in residence at Belmont and is part of Belmont Academy, a pre-college music program.
The Belmont Camerata, Belmont’s resident faculty chamber ensemble, will offer its annual presentation of “A Camerata Christmas” on Monday, December 13 at 7:30 p.m. in McAfee Concert Hall. Individual members of the ensemble are well-known to the area as soloists in opera, recitals and with orchestra and many are familiar as principal players and members of the Nashville Symphony.
The University’s Christmas concert series will conclude with the annual Christmas Eve Carillon Concert, held on Friday, December 24 at 1 p.m. at the campus Bell Tower, located just off the corner of Belmont Blvd and Portland Ave. Continuing a tradition begun during the Ward-Belmont days, the concert features traditional Christmas music played by longtime campus carillionneur Richard Shadinger on the tower’s 42-bell carillon, one of five carillons in Tennessee.
Of course, the holiday wouldn’t be complete without the annual “Christmas at Belmont” special. A presentation of this year’s performance will premiere Monday, December 20, at 8 p.m. on NPT and PBS stations across the country, with encore broadcasts on NPT Christmas night (Saturday, December 25) at 9:30 p.m. Check local listings for additional broadcast times.
This is the 19th consecutive year “Christmas at Belmont” will be seen by a national audience on PBS. This year’s performance of “Christmas at Belmont” promises an array of traditional carols, classical masterworks and seasonal favorites, taped live for the first time in the newly opened Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on campus. The invitation-only concert performance features nearly 650 student musicians and School of Music faculty.
Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine have again partnered to decide the top programs for studying entrepreneurship and have aptly ranked Belmont University’s Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program as no. 30 overall on its 16th annual “Top 50 Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship” List. Belmont was also ranked no. 6 in the Southeast and continues to be the only program in Tennessee to be included in the Top 50 recognized schools.
“Entrepreneurship at Belmont University has an incredibly strong history and only continues to get better,” said Dean of Belmont’s Massey College of Business Dr. Sarah Gardial. “The Massey College of Business and the Thomas F. Cone Center for Entrepreneurship have established a stellar record for success in Nashville and across the country, and our program’s graduates are a perfect illustration of that success. With Dr. Greg Jones’ leadership and his emphasis on encouraging an entrepreneurship mindset within all disciplines across campus, I am eager to see how our programs continue to flourish moving forward.”
Belmont provides entrepreneurship students with a comprehensive ecosystem that creates hands-on, experiential learning opportunities, and real-time entrepreneurial activities through the on-campus Hatchery and Accelerator, student-run businesses, clinics, speakers, mentorship and advising. Entrepreneurship majors at Belmont and other students who are interested in starting their own businesses can receive guidance and support from the Cone Center for Entrepreneurship, which provides a clear path to equip students through the entire entrepreneurship process and provides robust co-curricular offerings along with an emphasis on experiential learning.
Scott Rouse speaks about Body Language and “Your Short Pitch” in the Accelerator Program at Belmont University on March 2, 2020. (photo taken prior to COVID-19 pandemic)
Belmont faculty are actively engaged in the Nashville community and have fostered a network of successful entrepreneurs who mentor students. Students are connected to the resources in the city through partnerships with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Social Enterprise Alliance and Nashville Tech Council.
With these resources in place, Belmont Entrepreneurship has been able to achieve the following stats:
Belmont entrepreneurs represent 724 businesses in 87 cities and six countries around the world
These start-ups have raised more than $325 million in funding
Roughly 70 percent of Belmont alumni businesses are still in business 10 years down the road, indicating the program is preparing students to start and sustain new businesses
Approximately 3,500 square feet of prime campus retail space is reserved for Belmont students to use to develop and manage small businesses
The Hatchery, on campus co-working space, provides an office environment containing basic resources to help students develop their own entrepreneurial ventures
Students are advised by faculty, staff and local entrepreneurs, who are part of the Belmont Entrepreneur Network and can learn first-hand from this year’s three alumni Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
Other resources available to students include free legal clinics, accounting clinics and practicing entrepreneur roundtables
“Our program continues growing each year as our unique model aims to support students’ entire entrepreneurial journey – from ideation to business development. It is an honor to be ranked this year for our success, despite the challenges of the past year,” said Elizabeth Gortmaker, director of the Cone Center for Entrepreneurship. “We are excited about the future of our program alongside the energy of our growing alumni network. It’s amazing to watch our alumni become successful and want to pour back into their Belmont community, such as the three alumni serving as Entrepreneurs-in-Residence this year. I know that mindset will continue to grow as our alumni go out and find their own success.”
The Cone Center is scheduled to hold its third annual Belmont Entrepreneur Awards event on December 13, honoring Belmont’s Top 100 alumni founders for their excellence in entrepreneurship and business. The event, which will be held at 6 p.m. in the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, will honor alumni located in 31 cities and who graduated from 37 majors across campus. Additional details on the event and how to attend will be released soon.
Based on data Princeton Review collected from its summer 2021 survey of more than 300 schools with offerings in entrepreneurship studies, this year’s list names 50 undergraduate and 50 graduate schools as outstanding choices for students aspiring to become entrepreneurs. The company tallied its lists based on analyses of more than 40 data points from the survey.
“The value of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial thinking continues to grow in our daily lives,” said Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine. “We’re now seeing Americans start businesses at the fastest rate in a decade. By sharing this list, we want to continue to provide the much-needed information that people are looking for to forge their path to entrepreneurship. This list is a valuable reference tool for where future leaders can attain the knowledge, community and training grounds to succeed on that path.”
The Princeton Review has reported its lists of top schools for entrepreneurship programs annually since 2006 in partnership with Entrepreneur Media Inc., publisher of Entrepreneur magazine. An article on the lists will be published in Entrepreneur’s December issue.
Dr. James (Jim) P. McIntyre, Jr., current director of the Center for Educational Leadership and assistant professor of practice at University of Tennessee – Knoxville, was announced today as the new dean of Belmont University’s College of Education. McIntyre brings more than 20 years of educational leadership to the position, including eight years serving as superintendent of Knox County Schools, which earned an Exemplary School District status from the state during his tenure. He will begin his new role at Belmont on January 10, 2022.
Belmont Provost Dr. Thomas Burns said, “Jim McIntyre has demonstrated excellence and achieved successful outcomes in every role he’s tackled, setting himself apart as a leader among educators. His expertise, collaborative approach, teaching philosophy and desire to put students first make him an excellent fit for Belmont University and for the future students he will attract to our programs. We are delighted to welcome him to our campus, and we look forward to the many ways he and fellow Belmont College of Education faculty, alumni and students will continue to shape the teaching vocation in Tennessee and beyond.”
As assistant professor of practice at the University of Tennessee, McIntyre currently manages the Center for Educational Leadership, a highly regarded hub for school and district leadership development and support. In this role, he has forged strong relationships with school district leaders across the state; maintained critical partnerships with state policy, legislative and advocacy leaders; raised millions of dollars; and provided high-quality professional learning opportunities to hundreds of aspiring and current school and district leaders. He also brings extensive experience in K-12 public education leadership. From 2008 until 2016, he served as the superintendent of the Knox County Schools, which educates approximately 60,000 students in 90 schools and was named an Exemplary School District by the state in 2015. The school system was one of only 12 districts (out of 146) awarded this recognition, and the only large metropolitan school district to ever earn this distinction in Tennessee. Prior to coming to Tennessee, McIntyre served for more than a decade in Boston Public Schools (MA), ultimately rising to chief operating officer in that system.
McIntyre said, “I am deeply honored to be named the Dean of the College of Education, and delighted to be joining the extraordinary Belmont University community. I have been inspired by the University’s mission to empower young people to engage and transform the world, and look forward to embracing that compelling ambition in the important work being done within the College of Education. As we continue to grow and develop the next generation of outstanding educators and instructional leaders, we will aspire to cultivate the knowledge, skills, and virtues they will need to create a brighter future for their schoolchildren, and indeed to transform the world.”
In his new position as dean, McIntyre will be responsible for developing and delivering world-class programs designed to educate teachers who will serve as the next generation of compassionate, confident and committed leaders in the classroom and beyond. Duties will include overseeing the undergraduate and graduate admissions process; developing, implementing and assessing academic programs; recruiting faculty and maintaining accreditation. McIntyre received a B.A. in English from Boston College, a M.S. in Education Administration from Canisius College, a Master’s of Urban Affairs from Boston University and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts.
The Faculty Senate subcommittee that organized Belmont University’s efforts to dedicate the area surrounding the campus’ iconic fountain and name it Freedom Plaza in early 2021 recently met at the space to recognize the initiative’s impact and commit to further action. The four faculty members were tasked by the Senate in July 2020 to create a monument or marker to address “the relationship between the land on which Belmont sits — along with all the institutions that have been on it — to the practices of slavery, white supremacy and racism.”
The memorial, now known as Freedom Plaza, was erected to honor the lives of the enslaved individuals who are known to have labored on the estate owned by Joseph and Adelicia Acklen more than 170 years ago, prior to the establishment of Belmont College. The entire Belmont community was instrumental in the creation of the plaza, surpassing the $10,000 goal initially set by the Faculty Senate and raising close to $30,000 for the Plaza’s creation.
“This past year I’ve learned what it truly means to put words into action, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with these three outstanding colleagues on a project that I pray teaches all of us to acknowledge the past in order to move forward in hope and humility,” said Associate Professor of Theatre Jessica Mueller.
In addition to sponsoring the memorial, the 2020 Faculty Senate also led a number of new and expanded initiatives related to educational efforts around diversity and inclusion, including the creation of a diversity and inclusion resource guide to assist faculty with course development; partnering with the Teaching Center to provide diversity, equity and inclusion workshops; and prompting initiatives to encourage first-year and other courses to discuss and write about racism and anti-racism efforts, among other projects.
“In the 33 years I’ve been part of Belmont University, this project is the most significant I’ve seen—because it’s not simply about looking forward as Belmont has been inclined to do. It’s about looking back to acknowledge and reckon with the enslaved people whose sacrifices have been foundational to this institution’s progress. By facing the history out of which Belmont University has emerged and embracing those who forged the place that has nurtured us, we are all enlightened and enriched—and Belmont’s identity is deepened, refined, and authenticated,” said Dr. Annette Sisson, professor of English.
Picture caption: Faculty Senate Memorial subcommittee members from left: Dr. Annette Sisson, professor of English; Jessica Mueller, associate professor of theatre; Dr. Anthony Blash, associate professor of pharmacy and Dr. Andy Watts, professor of religion.
For the past eight years, through the American Chemical Society (ACS) Science Coaches program, Dr. Danielle Garrett, associate professor of chemistry education, has partnered with Ellen Deathridge, 4th grade teacher at Donelson Christian Academy (DCA), to engage DCA 4th graders in hands-on science experiences. Earlier this fall, Garrett Zoomed with each of the three 4th grade classes, giving them the opportunity to ask her questions about chemistry and being a chemist.
“The fourth grade students had some wonderful and thoughtful questions for me,” Garrett said. “They wanted to know everything from who encouraged and inspired me to pursue a career in chemistry as a professor to how chemistry helps our world.”
Garrett also developed and filmed a one-hour science lesson, where students got to learn about reaction rates. In this video lesson, students were introduced to the ideas of collision theory and factors that affect the speed of a reaction. During the lesson, students were given the opportunity to make predictions, observations and record data for demonstrations exploring the effect of both surface area and temperature on the rate of the reaction between vinegar and antacid tablets. After the video lesson, Deathridge led her students through a live demonstration to further explore the effects of temperature on reaction rate.
“There is a lot that has to happen that we can’t see in order for a reaction to take place, and I think this lesson and these demonstrations served as a good stepping stone in the students’ physical science and chemistry learning progression,” Garrett said.
Deathridge commented, “They enjoyed the labs, and I think it was a great learning experience using the scientific method and recording data and comparing it. Many of them understood better what a variable was through these experiments which is a hard concept.”
Professor of Religion in the College of Theology and Christian Ministry Dr. Andy Watts gave a “Virtual Wednesday Lecture” to health care professionals at Baltimore’s Sheppard Pratt psychiatric hospital on November 10. His topic was the “ecotone” of the prison and the ethical challenges of mental health care encountered in this system.
“Within the walls of the prison, the ongoing experiences of trauma, degradation and deprivation are affected by institutional-level and individual-level factors. Understanding the inter-relationality of these factors is paramount for the ethical delivery of mental health to the incarcerated,” Watts said.
Professor of Physics Dr. Scott Hawley was recently published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Hawley’s article “ConvNets for counting: Object detection of transient phenomena in steelpan drums,” which was co-written with Andrew Morrison, was published in the special issue of The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, which focuses on machine learning in acoustics.
