Senior Kathryn (Katie) Elizabeth Allen of Louisville was recently chosen by the Kentucky Derby Festival as one of five Princesses who will serve during the 2008 Kentucky Derby Festival. One of the five Princesses will be crowned the Derby Festival Queen randomly by a spin-of-the-wheel at the annual Fillies’ Derby Ball on April 18. Each woman receives a $2000 scholarship and will act as an ambassador for the 2008 Derby Festival, attending nearly 70 events over a three-week period. Allen is majoring in management and is a Phi Mu Presidential Award Recipient, a member of the dean’s list since 2004 and a Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital intern.
Volman Appears on New Richie Furay Recording
Former Turtles member Mark Volman, who serves as a CEMB assistant professor and Program Coordinator of Entertainment Industry Studies, recently contributed to a new recording by Richie Furay, founding member of country rock bands Buffalo Springfield, Poco and the Souther-Hillman-Furay band. The new CD, The Heartbeat of Love, was recorded in Nashville and is currently available on Furay’s Web site or Amazon.com. Other all-stars who contributed to the CD include Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Nashville bassist Michael Rhodes, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Jeff Hanna, Timothy Schmit, sax player Jim Horn, Kenny Loggins, Sam Bush, Al Perkins and others.
Scarlett Leadership Institute Hires Executive Director
Belmont University recently announced that long-time retail executive Jerry Brase has been named Executive Director of the Scarlett Leadership Institute. Brase comes to Belmont after a 32-year career in retailing, including the last 10 years at Tractor Supply Company where he served as Executive Vice President of Merchandising. During his tenure with Tractor Supply, the company grew to be a $2.7 billion retailer operating more than 700 stores nationally.
Pat Raines, dean of the College of Business Administration at Belmont, said, “Jerry’s passion for executive education and leadership will help us achieve our goal of becoming the premier leadership institute in middle Tennessee. We are excited about hiring a prominent business leader to further enhance our partnership with the Nashville business community.”
Brase graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management, and he has been an active supporter of the National FFA Organization as a member and past Chairman of the National Sponsors Board. Jerry and his wife of 29 years, Michele, have two grown daughters and two grandchildren. Michele is very active in the equine community raising horses and riding competitively throughout the Southeast.
The Scarlett Leadership Institute at Belmont University offers a wide range of executive education and leadership programs including the Certificate in Financial Planning, MiniMBA™ , Corporate Leadership Development, Peer Learning and Peer Exchange Networks and the Signature Executive Program.
Belmont Grads Gain Momentum for Philanthropic Web Site
Sam Davidson and Stephen Moseley (Belmont class of 1998) met working in the nonprofit sector in Nashville. Seeing first-hand how community needs were changing and being affected by technology, the two joined forces to launch philanthropic Web site CoolPeopleCare.org.
“We wanted to provide a place where individuals wanting to make a difference could meet the organizations actively doing so,” says Moseley. “We also wanted to show people that it was easier than they thought to make a difference. We wanted to prove that it is possible to change the world in less than five minutes a day.”
The key concept behind the site is a daily, 99-word article titled, “5 Minutes of Caring.” These motivational and informative articles provide concrete steps and suggestions on how to make an impact in a small amount of time. Supplementing the content is CoolPeopleCare’s very own “Act Locally” events calendar that lists any event that makes the world a better place. Since its launch less than 18 months ago, the site now offers listings for 43 cities across the U.S. Malinda Moseley (Belmont class of 1997) oversees management of the calendar listings. She says, “It’s both inspiring and overwhelming to see just how many opportunities are available for anyone to change their local community.”
In November, Davidson and Moseley teamed up with Xyzzy Press to release their first book, New Day Revolution: How to Save the World in 24 Hours. The books offers more than 100 ideas on how to make a big impact in a little amount of time, all as a part of one’s daily routine.
The site has also recently launched its first spin-off, CoolMomsCare.org, managed by Michelle Wright Andrade (Belmont class of 2003). CoolMomsCare mirrors the format of CoolPeopleCare, but the “5 Minutes of Caring” content is modified to offer ideas and suggestions for ways parents can teach their children to make a difference. Says Andrade, “As a new mom, I’ve immediately seen the need to know how to begin to instill values of caring and giving in my daughter. I want to help other parents do the same.”
For more information, visit www.CoolPeopleCare.org or www.CoolMomsCare.org.
Sturgis Interviewed on Work on Tolkien
Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, a Belmont Interdisciplinary Studies adjunct faculty member, was interviewed on Woodland Star Net Radio on Jan. 6 on “An afternoon of wandering with Frodo and Dr. Amy Sturgis through Mirkwood Forest,” a conversation regarding Sturgis’ work on Tolkien. Sturgis is an author, speaker and scholar of Native American Studies and Science Fiction/Fantasy Studies. Her newest book, Tecumseh: A Biography, will be available from Greenwood Press in Spring 2008. Sturgis lives in Granite Falls, N.C. with her husband, Dr. Larry M. Hall, who is Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College at Lenoir-Rhyne College and the former Dean of Belmont’s College of Arts and Sciences.
Austin Named to Top Three of National Video Contest
Freshman finance major Landon Austin has been selected as one of three finalists from 352 video entries for the MySpace/Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” Music Video contest.
All three finalists will receive a trip to a Super Bowl XLII viewing party in Phoenix, Ariz., as well as a $10,000 cash prize and a limited distribution deal with Interscope Records. The Grand Prize winner will have 60 seconds of their music video aired as part of a Doritos commercial during the Feb. 3 Super Bowl XLII live telecast as well as receive a $5,000 advance pursuant to the terms of a recording contract with Interscope.
The contest’s Grand Prize winner will be chosen from the three finalists via fans who are allowed to vote once per day from Jan. 7-27 at www.myspace.com/doritoscrashthesuperbowl. Fans must be a MySpace member to vote, but registration takes less than a minute. For more information, visit http://landonaustin.com.
Austin’s original performance video for his song “Waitin’” was filmed in his Pembroke dorm room, but he will be in Los Angeles this week filming a new music video for the song. Last Friday, a camera crew joined Austin at Belmont to film footage of the freshman in Pembroke, the Curb Cafe and around campus.
Hobson Speaks at Faculty Retreat in Texas
Dr. Eric H. Hobson, associate dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Pharmacy, was the featured speaker at the Jan. 3 Winter Faculty Retreat for the University of the Incarnate Word School of Pharmacy in San Antonio, Texas. He led three multi-hour workshops: “Active learning in large classes,” “Classroom Assessment Techniques: Monitoring the Pulse of Student Learning” and “Summative assessment: crafting higher-level tests.”
Paisley Credits Belmont in New Magazine Feature
In a recent article in ASCAP’s Playback magazine, country artist and Belmont alumnus Brad Paisley credits Belmont for helping him establish connections in the music business that led to his current success. To read the full article, click here.
Alumni Finish Strong on ‘Next Great American Band’
Two bands with Belmont connections finished in the Top 3 on FOX TV’s “Next Great American Band” reality competition. Most of the members of Denver & the Mile High Orchestra, which came in third place, are Belmont School of Music alumni, and sax player Chris Gregg is the son of School of Music’s Robert and Sharon Gregg. Also, Robb Houston, frontman for Nashville-based band Sixwire, which won second place in the competition, is a 1985 Music Business grad. Congratulations to both bands! For more information, visit http://www.denvermho.com and www.sixwire.com.
Cornwall Quoted in US News and World Report
Jeff Cornwall, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, was recently quoted in the December issue of Entrepreneur magazine in an article titled “Breaking the Fall: Is your industry in big trouble? Don’t despair—just look for new ways to grow.” The article was also picked up by US News and World Report. Click here to read the full story.
