The Office of New Student & Parents Programs in collaboration with the Office of Development launched the inaugural Belmont Parent Association June 1. The initiative began on Parent & Family Weekend 2007 with the establishment of the Belmont Parent Online Community. The Web site for the online community, now with more than 725 members, features the parent event calendar, Belmont news and opportunities to connect parents and families to Belmont and each other.
To date, the Parent Association, in conjunction with the online community, has raised $14,000 in its first month of operation to support the Association and the Belmont Annual Fund. Upcoming Parent & Family Events include Welcome Week (new parents) and Parent & Family Weekend.
The Parent Association (http://parents.belmont.edu) is open to all parents of current students or parents of alumni through the established membership process. The Belmont University Parent Association serves as an opportunity for parents to promote and support the educational mission of the university by acting as advocates for students, parents and the university. One half of the Parent Association annual membership fee is used for programming purposes while the remaining amount becomes a designated tax-deductible gift to the Belmont Annual Fund.
Belmont Launches Parent Association
Alumna and Prize Winner Williams Publishes New Book
Belmont alumna Lisa Williams, who received a B.A. in English in 1989, recently published a new book of poetry, Woman Reading to the Sea, which was selected by Joyce Carol Oates for the 2007 Barnard Women Poets Prize. In 2004, Williams was awarded the Rome Prize in Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is currently associate professor of English at Centre College in Danville, Ky., and a Centre Scholar. The Tennessean recently did an interview with the Nashville native, which can be read here. Williams will return to her hometown in mid-October to participate in the Southern Festival of Books.
Slay Interviewed on Local Television Show
Cheryl L. Slay, assistant professor of music business, was recently featured on the Nashville television show “Mind Your Music Business,” hosted by Jesse Goldberg on CATV. Slay’s interview covered copyright law and common business and legal mistakes of music industry participants, a perspective shaped by her work with clients of her law firm. The interview also covered the subjects she teaches for Belmont, which include Intellectual Property and Survey of Music Business.
King Participates in Summer Residency
Dr. Merrie King, associate professor in education and Montessori Program Director, received a Summer Teacher Residency from the Fetzer Institute and Nancy M. and Douglas M. Yeager Family Foundation. The summer residency recognizes King’s contribution to education in early childhood and is held in early July at the GilChrist Retreat Center in Three Rivers, Michigan.
Women’s Golfers Win State, National Honors
Belmont’s Lorie Warren capped off a week of great golf by capturing the Tennessee Women’s Amateur Golf Championship last Friday afternoon at The Honors Course in Ootlewah, Tennessee. Her victory caps a great golf season for the rising senior. In addition to winning this championship, Warren was honored as the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year, led the conference in scoring average and posted seven top-five finishes, including winning one individual title. For more on this story, click here.
In addition, two Belmont women’s golfers, Lauren Oeser and Laura Dyson, have been named to the 2007-2008 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) All-American Scholar Team. The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent of all college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50 and student-athletes must have competed in at least 50 percent (Division I) or 66 percent (Division II & III) of the college’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year. Oeser and Dyson are the only two Atlantic Sun Conference golfers to be given this honor for the 2007-2008 season. Click here for more on this story.
McAlexander Selected for Leadership Nashville
Provost Dan McAlexander will join 43 other community leaders to take part in Leadership Nashville’s 33rd class, starting this fall. The nine-month program is designed to aid community decision-makers in executive level leadership. More than 240 individuals applied to be a part of this fall’s class.
Cusic Speaks at Christian Scholars Conference
Professor of Music Business Don Cusic spoke last week at the Christian Scholars Conference held at David Lipscomb University June 26-28. Cusic’s topic was “Christianity and Country Music.” Also speaking at the conference were former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Jim Wallis of Sojourners magazine, Shaun Casey, senior adviser for religious affairs to the Barack Obama campaign, and noted author and professor emeritus of political science at Pepperdine University Stephen Monsma.
Belmont Receives Community Health Charities’ Sunshine Award
Community Health Charities of Tennessee presented the 2007-2008 Sunshine Award to Belmont University in recognition of supporting health education, medical research and patient services in our communities through the Belmont Cares Charity Campaign. The ’07-’08 Belmont Cares Charity Campaign Committee members were Betsy Caffey, Colette Keyser, Patsy Peach, Claudia Myrick and Michael Sullivan. Claudia Myrick accepted this award on behalf of Belmont University.
Mayor’s Project for Student Success Releases Final Report
The Mayor’s Project for Student Success, a 40-member group co-chaired by Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher, concluded its term yesterday with a presentation to Mayor Karl Dean in the university’s Frist Lecture Hall. Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors (pictured at right with Dean, center, and Fisher, right) served as the project’s other co-chair.
The project was convened to develop action steps to reduce the dropout rate of students in area public schools, and it included parents, students, education professionals from all levels, government officials, and members of neighborhood groups, faith-based organizations, non profits and the business community.
“A student doesn’t just wake up one day and decide not to go back to school,” Dean said. “It’s clear from the work of the task force and other research in this area that the path to dropping out can start as early as elementary and middle school.”
In response, Dean announced that his office is leading the charge to develop a coordinated system of afterschool programs for middle school students in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Dean said coordinating afterschool programs is one recommendation from Project for Student Success out of several that have led to or confirmed initiatives already underway.
Click here for more on this story.
Click here to view the task force’s presentation.
Troutt Theater Honored by Historical Commission
The Bill and Carole Troutt Theater recently received honorable mention in the educational/institutional category of the 2008 Metro Historical Commission Preservation awards. Judges this year were James A. Hoobler, curator at the Tennessee State Museum and Metropolitan Historical Commission board member; Sheila Dial, associate architect with Everton Oglesby Associates; and Elizabeth Moore of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University.
