Distinguished Guests Ken Burns and David McCullough to Speak; Other Major Programming Planned to Explore Historical and Current Democratic Issues
With less than six months before the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate on Oct. 7, Belmont University is busy planning special debate-related programming for the 2008-09 academic year for Belmont students and the Nashville community. Most notably, award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns (right) and historian, New York Times bestselling author and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough (below left) will appear on campus as special guests during this momentous year at Belmont. Burns will speak on Sept. 30, 2008, and McCullough will follow up in the spring semester on March 30, 2009.
Belmont is also launching a new Web site specifically for the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate, located at www.belmontdebate08.com. The site, which will launch the week of May 1, will feature news, programming information and campus updates for the Belmont community, neighbors and up-to-3,000 media expected on campus for the debate.
“The opportunity to host the Town Hall Presidential Debate provides an invaluable educational experience to our students, allowing them to observe firsthand our nation’s political process and to be participants in American history,” said Belmont Provost Dan McAlexander. “Bringing such distinguished guests as Ken Burns and David McCullough on campus is just one component of the debate experience we plan to offer our students.”
A task force of faculty and staff from Belmont, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee State University, Volunteer State Community College, Trevecca University and Nashville State Technical Community College has formed to create several opportunities for city-wide learning centered on Belmont’s role as Town Hall Presidential Debate host site. While Belmont is in the unique role of host site for the debate, this consortium with other schools celebrates the opportunity this debate offers Nashville and Tennessee – an occasion never before experienced in the city or state that has produced three American presidents (Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson).
A variety of speaker series, visual and performing arts programs, and activities and events designed specifically for students at Belmont and city-wide are slated for the 2008-09 school year. The Key Issues Speaker Series will bring an array of experts to campus to discuss issues of importance to voters in this election year: energy, the environment, entrepreneurship, health care, media and religion. Speakers will include Belmont faculty and special guests distinguished in their respective fields.
Belmont Plans Innovative, Debate-Related Programming for 2008-09
James Loewen to Provide BURS Keynote Address
The 2008 Belmont Undergraduate Research Symposium (BURS) will be held this Thurs., April 24, with keynote speaker author James Loewen providing his address at 5:30 p.m. in Troutt Theater. Student presentations will be held throughout the afternoon and evening at locations across campus. Click here to view the complete BURS schedule.
BURS provides undergraduates an opportunity to conduct independent research and present it to a community of peers. Each spring students at Belmont gather to present their findings, listen to eminent speakers and enjoy the company of fellow researchers.
Loewen’s gripping retelling of American history as it should, and could, be taught, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong, has sold more than 800,000 copies and continues to inspire K-16 teachers to get students to challenge, rather than memorize, their textbooks. The book has been chosen as the common book for the 2008-09 First Year Seminar at Belmont. Loewen taught race relations for 20 years at the University of Vermont. He now lives in Washington, D.C., continuing his research on how Americans remember their past.
Belmont University to Become ‘All Steinway School’ Thanks to $2 Million Merrydale Woods Bequest
Steinway & Sons to receive Applause Award at President’s Concert
On Sat., April 26, Belmont University President Bob Fisher will present the 2008 Applause Award to Steinway & Sons, an occasion which will also officially announce Belmont’s intent to become an “All-Steinway School” with the purchase of approximately 70 additional pianos from Steinway. The new pianos will be used in Belmont 
performance venues, practice rooms and faculty studios. The funds to replace older instruments and to purchase the new Steinway additions represent a gift of more than $2 million from the Merrydale Woods estate, a bequest which will also provide new endowed scholarships for future piano students.
Belmont is one of only 88 colleges, universities, conservatories or schools world-wide to have the distinction of being an All-Steinway School. Other All-Steinway representatives include Julliard and the Yale School of Music. All-Steinway Schools must demonstrate a commitment to excellence by providing their students and faculties with the best equipment possible for the study of music. With the purchase of new pianos, Belmont’s highly acclaimed School of Music will boast only Steinway-designed pianos throughout campus.
Dr. Cynthia Curtis, Dean of Belmont’s School of Music, said, “The School of Music is proud to join the distinguished list of institutions that are All-Steinway. With this decision we provide our students with the finest pianos for both practice and performance. The generous and greatly appreciated gift of Merrydale Woods will live on in the education of Belmont music students.”
University Honors Students, Faculty at Annual Scholarship and Awards Day
Belmont University recognized students and faculty at Monday’s annual Scholarship and Awards Day ceremony. Students honored in the ceremony included:
Ben Sanfilippo,Calvin Webster – Recipients, The Williams-Murray First Year Writing Awards
Nora McCook,William Peters – The Alfred Leland Crabb Awards
Cody Badaracca, Nora McCook, James McLendon – The Stacy Awalt Writing Awards
Liz Komoromi – The Annette Sisson First Year Seminar Writing Award
Kayla Lyftogt (pictured right) – The John Williams Heart of Belmont Award
Raychel McKelvy – The First Year Award, Leadership
Timothy Harms – The Second Year Award, Leadership
Amy L. Valentine – The Third Year Award, Leadership
Jennifer L. Stepaniuk – The Fourth Year Award, Leadership
Retiring faculty member Dr. Stephen Campbell (Mathematics) was also recognized for 37 years of service to Belmont.
Creative Services Wins Three Graphic Design Awards
The Creative Services team for the Belmont Office of Communications was recently notified that it received three 2008 American Inhouse Design Awards, which are presented by Graphic Design USA and sponsored by The Creative Group. Belmont won awards for the 2006 President’s Report, the invitation for the Troutt Theater Grand Opening and the Student Activities Calendar. The American Inhouse Design Award is the original and premier showcase for first rate work being done by corporate, non-profit and institutional inhouse departments. There were more than 5,000 entries for this year’s awards.
ATO Crosses Half-way Mark on Fundraising Goal
The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity is setting out to make university history this year by raising $20,000 in the First Annual ATO Golf & Walk Classic, a benefit for Blood:Water Mission, which is a local charity dedicated to providing clean water and eradicating HIV in Africa. The brothers, along with other members of the campus and local community, are gathering sponsors as they either golf or walk at Nashville’s Harpeth Hills Golf Course on April 30 to support this mission. To date, ATO has already received $11,500 and looks to exceed its original goal. For more information on the Blood:Water Mission, visit www.bloodwatermission.com. For more information on how to participate in the Golf/Walk event, contact ATO’s Brian Dunn at dunnb@pop.belmont.edu. To donate to this event, send a check to ATO Golf and Walk Classic, Alpha Tau Omega, P.O. Box 120742, Nashville, TN 37212.
Students Participate in History Conference
On April 5, Belmont history majors Leslie McClure, Ash Johnson and Tara Hamlin presented papers at the regional conference of Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society. The event was held on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin. Hamlin’s paper, “Castro’s Cuba: the Search for an Ideology,” was chosen as the best paper in the area of Regional History. The students were accompanied by Belmont faculty members Dr. Brenda Jackson-Abernathy, chair of the History Department, and Dr. Cynthia Bisson, faculty advisor to the Xi-Alpha Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta.
Nashville’s Largest Latin Street Fair Returns to Campus May 3
Belmont University presents the fourth annual “Fiesta Belmont: Nashville’s Latin Music Street Fair” on Sat., May 3 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., celebrating the traditions of Latin culture. Made possible through the generous contribution of Sam’s Club, the street fair features a day-long schedule of Latin music performances, Latin food vendors, activities for children and Latin dance groups. Admission to the event on the Belmont University campus is free.
The event features family and local business vendors who will be supplying Columbian, South American, Caribbean and Hispanic food. Entertainment includes traditional folkloric dancers, along with a wide variety of Latin music such as mariachi, conjunto/cumbias and salsa from Nashville’s top professional Latin local bands. Kids can enjoy activities like piñatas, face painting and inflatable slides.
“This event celebrates the diversity that is becoming Nashville. It mirrors the authentic Latin Street Fairs of my childhood in New Mexico, showcasing local music and incredible food. This event has become a major annual activity for Belmont University, providing a positive showcase for culture, food and interaction within the community,” said Dr. David Herrera, Fiesta Belmont event director and instructor in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business.
Lind Awarded Grant for Math Research Project
Dr. Joan Lind, assistant professor of mathematics, was recently awarded a mini-grant for the 2008-09 academic year from the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM). The $13,150 CURM mini-grant will provide funds for her to work with two undergraduates as they refine a computer program that simulates the stochastic process called SLE. Lind’s specific research goals for the coming year include the following: (1) Improve the current computer program to get accurate simulations of SLE for large values of kappa; (2) Explore what happens when we let kappa be a complex number; (3) Modify the computer program to simulate SLE with a complex value for kappa; (4) Create a computer program that will back-bite and explore the back-biting operation with an eye to answering the back-biting question.
McGrew Selected for Travel Fellowship to Attend Neuroscience Meeting
Dr. Lori McGrew, assistant professor of biology, was recently selected as one of the recipients of an Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs (ANDP) Travel Fellowship to assist her with attending the Annual Spring Meeting in Bethesda, Md. May 3-4. The award will cover up to $500 in travel expenses as well as provide her with free registration for the meeting.
