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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Harris Wins Annual Business Plan Competition

Paul Chenoweth
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Five teams of undergraduate students competed in the annual Belmont Student Business Plan Competition sponsored by Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC.  The event was held on March 16 in the Massey Boardroom.  Senior Jerell Harris won first place and earned $5,000 and the title of “Outstanding Student Entrepreneur of the Year” for his business plan for QuickMed, a medical waste management company whose primary service consists of collecting, transporting, and processing medical waste.

“The entrepreneurship program has helped me tremendously. I have learned how to listen to complaints within a market and develop products or services based on those criticisms. In addition, the course has taught me how to make necessary pivotal steps that will help my reach my growth targets. Above all, I have learned how to manage my company as it goes through various life cycles,” said Harris, who is studying entrepreneurship.

Jonathan Murrell and Moriah Nogoy took second place and $2,000 for their Candy Galaxy business plan. Julia Cecere earned $1,000 for Cool Candy & Beverage Company. Other finalists included George Livingston and Ian Raffalovich for Sweet Meat Jerky, Seth Whiting for Map My Views and Michelle Keil for Nava Salon. Each of the entries was for a real business venture that is currently operating or that is in the planning stages to be launched.  Numerous students submitted written plans and the top six were given the opportunity to present their ideas to a committee of judges consisting of Belmont Entrepreneurship Alums and business leaders from the Nashville community.

“This was by far the most competitive group of applications and finalists for the presentation that we have ever had in this event.  The outside judges were blown away by the work our students are doing,” said Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship Jeff Cornwall.

Belmont University Presents ‘Best of the Best’ Showcase Honoring Mike Curb

Paul Chenoweth
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Students plan, produce, star in concert for 2,000+ guests

On Saturday, April 14, at 7 p.m. Belmont University’s Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business (CEMB) will present its annual Best of the Best Showcase.  The show will honor the college’s benefactor and namesake Mike Curb, 2012 recipient of the Robert E. Mulloy Award of Excellence, an annual award given to an individual who has achieved a level of excellence in the music business and entertainment industries with notable service to Belmont University and the Nashville community. 

During a distinguished career spanning almost five decades, Mike Curb has earned multi-faceted success as a songwriter, producer and record company owner, covering a wide range of musical styles. As an individual, he has written more than 400 songs and received countless music industry awards, including the prestigious Overall Producer of the Year Award from Billboard magazine in 1972. Curb Records, which Mike Curb founded and where he currently serves as chairman, has produced more than 300 No. 1 records and been honored by Billboard magazine as 2001 Country Music Label of the Year and Radio & Records magazine as 2005 Overall Gold Label of the Year. Curb also serves as chairman of gospel music powerhouse Word Entertainment, which was Billboard magazine’s Overall Top Imprint in that genre for 2006. In 2006, he received the lifetime achievement award at the annual Los Angeles Music Awards. In 2007, Curb was honored as Nashvillian of the Year and has received his stars on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame and on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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College of Business Administration Maintains Prestigious AACSB Accreditation

Paul Chenoweth
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The College of Business Administration at Belmont University is proud to announce maintenance of business and specialized accounting accreditation by AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees in business and accounting.

Dean of the College of Business Administration Dr. Pat Raines said, “Belmont’s AACSB International accreditation sends a message to students, parents, faculty, employers and other schools that Belmont has one of the best business schools in the world. Only 178 institutions worldwide have earned AACSB accreditation for both their business and accounting programs. Maintaining this accreditation demonstrates that Belmont’s business and accounting programs are performing at the highest levels of quality, rigor and relevance.”

Belmont is part of an elite group of institutions—less than five percent of the world’s business schools—to have achieved business accreditation from AACSB International. Even more impressive, less than one percent of institutions have achieved both business and accounting accreditation. To realize accounting accreditation an institution must first earn or maintain AACSB Business Accreditation, which requires an institution to undergo a meticulous internal review and evaluation process. In addition to developing and implementing a mission-driven plan to satisfy the 21 business quality standards, AACSB Accounting Accreditation requires the satisfaction of an additional set of 15 standards that are specific to the discipline and profession of accounting. (For information on the global distribution of accredited programs, visit www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/accreditedmembers.asp)

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OT Students Take Class to the Community

Paul Chenoweth
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Occupational therapy students enrolled in the course,  Human Development for an Aging Population, recently attended two community aquatic programs with aging adults to learn about health promotion and wellness.

The class, along with Associate Professor Dr. Ruth Ford, engaged in aquatic exercises at Baptist Hospital Fitness Center and an arthritis aquatic program at the Dayani Center at Vanderbilt Medical center. Students identified water exercises as being a meaningful occupation for seniors and were able to distinguish the variance in demands on body structure and function in the water while experimenting with the adaptive aquatic equipment.

The older adult swimmers, the oldest of which was 96 years old, shared their rationales for participating regularly in aquatic exercises to maintain strength, range of motion, control pain and to stimulate overall well being and emotional health. Several of the women stated they had been attending regularly 3-5 times a year for up to 10 years.

The class experience helped students identify community resources, provide intergenerational activity and develop awareness of value of aquatic therapy.

Spring Back Recycling, SIFE Students Celebrate Milestone

Paul Chenoweth
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Students and employees celebrate Spring Back’s first year of business.

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall joined students and faculty from Belmont University’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team and staff from Belmont Church Wednesday to celebrate the latest milestone of one-year-old business, Spring Back Recycling, which recently surpassed 5,000 recycled mattresses.

A partnership between the church’s Isaiah 58 ministry and Belmont University, Spring Back began with a business concept and plan developed by the SIFE students, who are seeking to create a better, more sustainable world through the positive power of business. In addition to helping the environment, Spring Back employs workers from Isaiah 58 who were formerly homeless or incarcerated, giving them an opportunity for a new life.

Dr. John Gonas, associate professor of finance and SIFE advisor at Belmont, said, “I’ve been working in the business model development with a social justice bent for about seven years now. I’ve noticed that it’s incredibly difficult to match the expectations and needs of a community partner with the skill sets and time constraints of college students and faculty. But this business model can lead to sustainable social change and profitability.”

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean joined the celebration of Spring Back’s first year and praised the business for being both innovative and impactful. “Social innovation begins by identifying a problem.  This, of course, is the easy part.  The hard part, however, is finding and effectively executing a solution to this problem. This is exactly what Spring Back has done… May its success be the ‘springboard’ of new ideas and innovations that will continue to make Nashville, and in fact the world, a better place for all.”

The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Services Division provides inmate work crews to do some of the delivery of donated mattresses as well as weekly debris pick-up and haul away for Spring Back. In addition, the business has hired a few low risk inmates through the work release program.

Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall admits he’s a fan of the Spring Back model and how it impacts the community. “I absolutely love this program and thought it was a fantastic idea from the first time I heard about it. There aren’t many programs we can participate in that gets us cleaning up the community, works towards a greener environment by recycling materials that otherwise would be discarded, and hires inmate workers to help them develop a skill.  It really is a win-win for everyone.”

Bryan King, an Isaiah 58 member and the manager at Spring Back, noted about himself and the men he works with at the warehouse, “We’ve come from the bottom and are trying to get back up. Spring Back is good for the environment, and it’s good for everyone.”

Another Spring Back employee Ron Harness, who is now attending college, added, “The students are an amazing help. These young people come in and look at you as someone with possibility, not as someone who just got out of jail. They are a big part of my recovery.”

Alumna Melinda Doolittle Shares ‘Insider’s View’ of ‘American Idol’ Experience

Paul Chenoweth
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Supporters establish Melinda Doolittle Endowed Scholarship

Harry Chapman interviews Melinda Doolittle April 4 during "The Insider's View."

Belmont alumna Melinda Doolittle, a commercial voice major who graduated in 1999, returned to campus Wednesday to be interviewed by Director of Development and Major Gifts Harry Chapman as part of the ongoing series, “The Insider’s View.” Following her Belmont years, Doolittle launched her professional career as a backup singer and then experienced an incredibly successful run on the sixth season of TV juggernaut “American Idol,” where she ultimately placed in the top three.

“I loved singing background and being the support system for artists,” Doolittle said of her time working with a long list of talent that included BeBe and CeCe Winans, Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Alabama and Jonny Lang. “I got to sing with so many different artists, and it really stretched me.”

Those opportunities and her Belmont education helped prepare her for her stint on “American Idol” where she developed as an artist in her own right. “I was finding my own voice on stage every single week… ‘American Idol’ is like boot camp for singers, and it teaches you how to accept criticism. You have to get tough skin to work in this business. ‘American Idol’ put that fire in me that I didn’t know that I had, fire to be the front person, fire to be an artist.”

Since her time on ‘Idol,’ Doolittle has released her debut CD, Coming Back to You (2009), to rave reviews as well as her first book, Beyond Me (2010), in addition to performing at events everywhere from the White House to the Musicians Hall of Fame to the Kennedy Center to Carnegie Hall.  Her love of music and performing is eclipsed only by her love of giving back, as she dedicates much of her time to working with numerous charities, including the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and Malaria No More.

In addition, Doolittle just announced that her supporters, Melinda’s Backups, have been raising money for several years to establish a scholarship fund at her alma mater to continue the singer’s legacy of giving back. Commercial music majors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts will be eligible for the Melinda Doolittle Endowed Scholarship.

Doolittle noted, “My main goal is to make sure my career is a marathon and not a sprint. I want to foster longevity and build my career to have a platform to make a difference.”

The singer concluded her session in the Massey Performing Arts Center with a few words of wisdom for the students in attendance: “You never know when the door to opportunity is going to open for you. The catch is whether or not you’re prepared for it when it does… My motto is dream big, pray hard and be prepared, and I challenge everyone to do that.”

Students Use Spring Break to Fulfill Service

Paul Chenoweth
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Belmont students represented the University through service in March when they used their spring breaks to take mission trips across the country.

Mandy Newman (right) screens for diabetes during spring break.

For its annual spring break Immersion trips, University Ministries put eight groups with over 70 students directly into a variety of cultures that included El Paso, New Orleans, New York City and Appalachia. The program seeks to immerse students into the work God is already doing.

The Detroit trip’s student coordinator Diana Rogut said the trip was life changing for her and that serving the homeless population of Detroit was eye opening. Building relationships with the people the team was serving revealed the common misconceptions of homelessness across the nation and beyond that, the truths of the people who are suffering from it.

Rogut spoke about her newly formed relationship with a homeless man named Derrick, noting, “The best part of my trip was getting a Facebook notification… and it said, ‘thanks for the friendship and pray that God moves us in His will so never forget you have friends in the (313) Detroit… know that you’re at home when you’re in the D. Be blessed.’”

Residence Life also participated in a trip to Gulf Port, Miss., to serve a mission that works with poverty stricken families and the homeless population, specifically those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Spending the week doing yard work, sorting donations, cleaning the mission and working in the office, the group was able to assist the mission in many ways.

“With the large volume of stories we hear daily about the problems with the world, it was a great sight to see our students interacting as part of a larger group that still believes in doing the right thing,” said group leader and Residence Director Chris DeLisle.

Belmont’s Pharmacy School as well as Occupational and Physical Therapy Schools took trips to the Guatemala City area in partnership with The Shalom Foundation to serve residents of the communities in many ways. The Pharmacy students provided screenings and general medical care to the residents while the OT/PT groups did assessments for disabled residents and home visits, among other things. Although the groups did not travel together, their service projects worked alongside each other and saw some of the same patients.

Pharmacy student and trip participant Mandy Newman said, “They taught me more about life than I could ever teach them about health. My life is forever changed because of them, and I hope to return next year.”

SIFE Team Wins Seventh Regional Title

Paul Chenoweth
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For the seventh year in a row, Belmont Students in Free Enterprise team won the regional competition in its league and will be moving on to the National Exposition in Kansas City May 22-24. The event was one of 11 throughout the United States held in March and April.

Students Katherine Richardson, Eric Taft, Hilary Hambrick, Ayesha Ghaffar, Brennon Mobley, Michael Kattman, Andrew Bishop, Kelsey Bright and Rami Nofal played instrumental roles as presenters and/or project leaders this year in the fashionABLE, Spring Back, Be a Blessing and Philanthroteach projects.

SIFE is an international organization that mobilizes students around the world to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders.

English Faculty Present at Service Learning Conference

Paul Chenoweth
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Dr. Jason Lovvorn (English) and Dr. Charmion Gustke (English) delivered a panel presentation entitled “Transforming Voices through Service Learning: Personal Narrative, Community Partnership, and Student Citizenship” at the Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement in Higher Education, held March 21-23 in Hattiesburg, Miss. Lovvorn and Gustke discussed ways in which they and fellow faculty member Dr. Linda Holt (English) incorporate service learning and writing into their classes. Their community outreach involves partnerships with Nashville Adult Literacy Council (Lovvorn), Dismas House Nashville (Gustke) and Carter-Lawrence Elementary School (Holt).

Belmont PRSSA Hosts Regional Conference

Paul Chenoweth
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The Belmont Public Relations Student Society of America Chapter hosted the PRSSA Region 5 Conference, March 30-31 on the Belmont campus, attracting 125 students from 14 different university chapters from several states. The conference centered on the theme “Southern Hospitality” and was planned and organized by Belmont Public Relations students and faculty advisers Dr. Bonnie Riechert and Dr. Susan Barnes. Speakers at the conference included Brandi Boatner of IBM, Gary McCormick of Scripps Networks, Krista Dial of Dial Krista Media, Rich Dalrymple of the Dallas Cowboy’s PR department, Ashley Capps of Bonnaroo, and Julie Davis of Cracker Barrel.

A concert Friday night featured Half Priced Hearts. A YouTube video and website were developed by the students to promote the event. Students involved in planning the conference gained real-world experience in public relations and event planning. Allison Durfee chaired the conference committee. Katie Siklosi is president of Belmont PRSSA.

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