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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Belmont Nationally Recognized for Service to Community

Paul Chenoweth
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The Corporation for National and Community Service and the U.S. Department of Education today announced Belmont University is among the nation’s leading colleges, universities, students, faculty and staff for its commitment to bettering Nashville through service.

Belmont University was admitted to the Honor Roll with Distinction for its students’ and employees’ support of volunteering, service learning and civic engagement.

“Being recognized now on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for a third consecutive time now is very affirming of the great work that so many folks at Belmont are doing with the community. The honor recognizes not only the breadth of our work, but the depth of it, and the fact that we’ve sustained our efforts over a number of years,” said Belmont University Director of Service-Learning Tim Stewart.

A total of 690 higher education institutions were named to the 2013 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Belmont is among the 113 institutions that earned the recognition of Honor Roll with Distinction.

Inspired by the thousands of college students who traveled across the country to support relief efforts along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, CNCS has administered the award since 2006.

“Communities are strengthened when we all come together, and we are encouraged that these institutions and their students have made service a priority,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a news release. “Civic engagement should be a key component of every student’s education experience. Through reaching out to meet the needs of their neighbors, these students are deepening their impact, strengthening our democracy and ultimately preparing themselves to be successful citizens.”

More information on eligibility and the full list of Honor Roll awardees, can be found at nationalservice.gov.

The President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll honors the nation’s leading higher education institutions and their students, faculty and staff for their commitment to bettering their communities through service. These are institutions that reflect the values of exemplary community service and achieve meaningful outcomes in their communities.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. Through the agency’s Segal AmeriCorps Education Award Matching Program, CNCS gives education institutions access to tens of thousands of AmeriCorps alumni with millions of dollars in Segal Education Awards for tuitions and fees. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

Ranked No. 7 in the Regional Universities South category and named for the fifth consecutive year as one of the top “Up-and-Comer” universities by U.S. News & World Report, Belmont University consists of approximately 6,650 students who come from every state and 25 countries. Committed to being a leader among teaching universities, Belmont brings together the best of liberal arts and professional education in a Christian community of learning and service. The university’s purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs, a fact made evident in the University’s hometown, Nashville, where students served more than 60,000 hours of community service (valued at $450,000) during the last academic year. Belmont is also home to the World Cup champion Enactus team, a group of 42 student leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. With more than 80 areas of study, 23 master’s programs and five doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual’s horizon. For more information, visit www.belmont.edu.

Speech and Debate Team Defends State Champions Title

Paul Chenoweth
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The Speech and Debate Team defended its state championship title when Belmont University hosted the Tennessee Intercollegiate Forensics State Tournament. Eight teams participated in the competition on Feb. 16 and 17. Belmont placed first in the tournament overall for the second year in a row. Belmont students won several individual event categories, including Rhetorical Criticism and Impromptu Speaking. Their success was a product of weeks of preparation.

Each week, students meet both for individual and team practices. During the practices, varsity students returning to the team mentored novice students. Communication studies instructor and the team’s adviser Jason Stahl said the team used rehearsals and strategy to achieve its success the team

Each competition day, the team assembled in gravel lot behind Kennedy Hall and danced around a car to energize themselves for the day of competition ahead. After the dance party, students split up for their individual events before reconvening at the awards ceremony.

This year, there was even more pressure on the team to be gracious hosts while beating their competition. They succeeded in both endeavors. Following the competition, a number of universities emailed Stahl and praised the quality of the tournament, he said.

Several Speech and Debate students are preparing for the American Forensics Association National Tournament. In order to qualify for entry into the national competition, students must qualify in  a certain number of tournaments each year. This year, Belmont will send four students to the national tournament.

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Belmont Hosts Minority Caucus’ Recognition of Metro’s 50th Anniversary

Paul Chenoweth
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For the second consecutive year, Belmont hosted Metro government officials, local business owners and community leaders as part of the Metropolitan Minority Caucus anniversary celebration. This year’s program honored the 50th anniversary of Nashville-Davidson’s County’s consolidated government. More than 100 people attended the reception in the Frist Lecture Hall on Feb. 28.

“It is great to have on our campus people who have been a part of making Nashville such a great city,” said Belmont President Bob Fisher, welcoming the guests.

Harriette Bias-Insignares, the first poet laureate of Nashville, read a commemorative poem from Tennessee’s bicentennial celebration in 1976. Lois Jordan, Metro’s first African-American Councilwoman, shared stories from her election campaign and working on Metro Council with 39 men. She urged current council members to make their constituents feel important. Former Councilman Ludye Wallace, a strong advocate for Belmont’s shared use of E.S. Rose Park, also spoke on the founding of the Metropolitan Black Caucus. It was later renamed to include all minority council members.

“Thank you for paving the way so we could walk down the road more easily,” said caucus Vice President Fabian Bedne, Metro’s first Latin-American councilman.

The caucus presented special awards to current and former minority council members. Belmont junior Chelsea Stratton accepted an award on behalf of her late grandfather, James Hawkins, the first African-American councilman to be a committee chairman.

Heron Hall Renovations Build ‘Sense of Community’

Paul Chenoweth
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For the 107 women who call Heron Hall home, the basement is no longer just a dark, damp place where laundry facilities are located.

Renovations took place last fall in the basement lobby of the all-women freshman residence hall to transform an underutilized area with water damage into a community gathering place.

“It has really become a much more dynamic place for students to gather and programming to take place,” said Residence Life Director Anthony Donovan. “These are things as simple as students now being able to use a projector to practice presentations and also to hang out and have a movie night.”

The basement has new carpet, paint, furniture, kitchen cabinetry and appliances as well as a projector and sound system; in the common area track lighting illuminates art work of six residents. The renovations cost the University about $14,000, and maintenance facility staff did some of the work to keep costs down.

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Students Featured on FOX-17 for Unique Internship Opportunity

Paul Chenoweth
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FOX-17 profiled Belmont students this week who participating in a unique, hands-on internship opportunity. In a special collaboration between the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, the School of Music and Red Light Management, student instrumentalists auditioned for the chance to be the backing band for new Big Machine Records’ artist Ella Mae Bowen.

When presented with the opportunity by Red Light Management’s Tracy Gershon, the Curb College and School of Music recognized the value of the idea for students in both areas.  CEMB Internship Coordinator Jamie L. Stamey said, “Today’s professional musicians must be equipped with knowledge of management, marketing, booking and various other aspects of touring, so we see many students focusing their studies on both the performance and business sides.  This has been an excellent opportunity for them to develop their skills in both areas.”

Four students were chosen, including junior songwriting major Bryce Cain (guitar), who is interviewed for the piece, as well as junior commercial music major with MBU emphasis Andrew Galucki (guitar), junior commercial music major with MBU emphasis Erik Coveney (bass) and senior music business major Cameron De Fur (drums). Click here to watch the story.

Spring Break Trips Provide Unique Service Opportunities

Paul Chenoweth
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Approximately 100 Belmont students, faculty and staff are spending their Spring Breaks next week on University-sponsored missions and service trips to sites across the U.S. and overseas. More than half of that number will be participating in Immersion 2013, a variety of Spring Break trips coordinated by University Ministries.

Immersion Trip to San Francisco Spring Break 2011
Spring Break 2011 Immersion trip to San Francisco

Director of Outreach Micah Weedman said, “University Ministries hopes to expose students, first, to the variety of injustices people of all backgrounds face in our country, and alongside that, the kind of work God is doing to combat that injustice in particular places.  This means that students have the opportunities to be immersed in local cultures and places, and to be immersed in the struggles and joys of particular peoples’ lives—hopefully, then, spending their Spring Breaks immersed in love, of God and neighbor.”

This year groups of students, faculty and staff will be traveling all over the country, exploring border issues in Las Cruces, examining creation in Cumberland Island, Ga., assisting with disaster aftermath in New Orleans and working in the inner cities of Chicago, New York and San Francisco, among other excursions. To follow blog entries from al of this semester’s immersion trips, click here.

In addition, the Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing will be sending two teams of students overseas next week to practice their healthcare skills in areas of great need. Assistant Professor of Nursing Robin Cobb and another faculty member will be leading eight students to provide nursing care to the people of Grand Goave, Haiti. Also, a team of about 20 physical therapy and occupational therapy students and faculty will head for the seventh year to Guatemala for a Christian service project. Click here to read the blog entries from these two trips next week.

Finally, the Office of Residence Life is again offering a service trip over Spring Break as well, this time taking five students to family-owned Agata Mountain Organic Ranch (A.M.O.R.) in Tellico Plains, Tenn.,  to learn about organic and simple living.  Maddox Hall Resident Director and team co-leader Alex Snow said, “Students will have the opportunity to live in community with the family, eat and learn about self-sustainable/organic living, and go out into the community to help where needed.  Projects will range from helping at local farms, doing arts and crafts that will be sold to raise funds for a battered women’s shelter and helping develop the farm’s ability to support groups.”

Faculty, Staff Present at Gulf South Summitt

Paul Chenoweth
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Several Belmont faculty and staff presented at the Gulf South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement in Louisville, Ky. on Feb. 27 through March 1.


  • Alumna Hillary Bond co-presented with Public Relations Department Chairman Bonnie Riechert at the conference.

    Dr. Bonnie Riechert, associate professor and chairman of the Department of Public Relations, presented “Begin by Listening: Bringing Service-Learning to the Classroom in Public Relations Campaigns.”  Service-learning “learning by doing” may be implemented in a number of disciplines including public relations. Students majoring in public relations at Belmont University take Campaigns as their capstone course in the PR major. In this service-learning class, students work in teams of three to seven members and collaborate to research, plan implement, and evaluate a public relations campaign on behalf of a local client organization. Students “begin by listening” to the client organization’s situation and priorities.

  • Dr. Bernard Turner, assistant professor and director of the Center for Social Entrepreneurship, presented “Utilizing Service-Learning as an Effective Pedagogy for teaching Social Entrepreneurship.” Experiential learning is integrated throughout the undergraduate social entrepreneurship curriculum. Turner was a teaching fellow for three years on a collaborative grant with Wagner College funded by The Teagle Foundation. The grant was “Learning by Doing: Assessing the Relationship between Liberal Learning and Experiential Learning.” Lessons learned as well as conclusions from the resulting case study will be presented. The data collected answered the question, “Is service-learning an effective pedagogy for teaching social entrepreneurship?”
  • Dr. Sammy V. Swor, director of the Homework Hotline at Belmont University, Nashville Homework Hotline Executive Director Wendy Kurland and Service-Learning Director Tim Stewart presented “Getting it together: A Tutoring Partnership that Works for College Students and the Community.”  Community Service can benefit all participants. When Homework Hotline, a free telephone tutoring program was overwhelmed with demand, Belmont University stepped up to meet the need. This partnership demonstrates that everyone benefits: K-12 students from all of Tennessee, Homework Hotline, Belmont University and University students. This panel presentation provided lessons learned and guidance when establishing a community/university partnership.
  • Dr. Amy Hodges Hamilton, associate professor of English, and Dr. Sarah Blomeley, assistant professor of English, presented “Service Learning and the Democratic English Major.”  Belmont University’s mission statement concludes with the clause that students should leave the university with the abilities to “engage and transform the world.”  English majors are required to complete at least two experiential learning courses for graduation. In this presentation, they examined the effectiveness of courses where students are connected with service learning initiatives and analyze how the engagement leads students to become more democratic, civic-minded writers and thinkers.

In addition, Dr. Jason Lovvorn, Dr. Linda Holt and Dr. Charmion Gustke from the Department of English, will present “This Isn’t Your Mother’s English Class:  Using Service-Learning Experiences To Improve Writing in the Composition Classroom” at the Tennessee Conference on Volunteerism and Service-Learning in Franklin, Tenn. from March 3 through 5.

Belmont Wins Chartered Financial Analyst Research Competition

Paul Chenoweth
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Belmont University finance students won the Nashville/East Tennessee CFA Research Challenge competition on Feb. 22. The teams consisted of finance majors Andrew Cryer, Eugen Ghiletchi, Tucker Moore, Dan Webber and Annie Worthman. The competition included nine universities, including East Tennessee State, Vanderbilt and Lipscomb, and most of the team included only master’s level business students. Belmont’s team prepared an equity research report on Brentwood-based oil refiner and retailer Delek US, which was presented to a group of Chartered Financial Analyst judges. The team will compete again in the Americas regional competition in Toronto on March 20 and 21. Belmont alumnus Jay McCanless served as the team’s industry mentor.

Biology Students Conduct Research at Nashville Zoo

Paul Chenoweth
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Fifteen Belmont students in Dr. John Niedzwiecki’s Biology 3300 Animal Behavior class have been conducting research projects at The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere since February. Students are gathering data to test scientific hypotheses about the behavior of zoo animals. Each group met with a zookeeper to learn a little about their focal animals, such as how to tell them apart and what type of behaviors they are likely to observe. Some of the groups have designed their projects to help the zookeepers answer questions related to improving animal care at the zoo, while others are testing basic animal behavior principles. Students will present their research to the Nashville Zoo staff and the general public in April.

Pathways Scholars Visit Arnold Air Force Base

Paul Chenoweth
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Dr. Glenn Acree and Dr. Danny Biles (Mathematics and Computer Science) and Dr. Steve Robinson (Chemistry and Physics) took 13 Pathways Scholars for a tour of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base in Tullahoma, Tenn. on Feb. 22. The complex is the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world and operates 43 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels, rocket and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges and other specialized units. The Pathways group enjoyed inspections and technical descriptions of test facilities ranging from large wind tunnels and altitude jet and rocket test cells to space chambers, ballistic ranges, arc heaters (for simulating the high temperature generated reentering the Earth’s atmosphere) to small research test cells. The Pathways Program is an NSF funded scholarship and mentoring program for students in mathematics, science and computer science.

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