Lauren Winner, critically acclaimed author and assistant professor of Christian Spirituality at Duke Divinity School, spoke today in a standing-room only lecture in Neely Dining Hall. Speaking on the theme from her latest book, Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity, Winner drew a total of 387 students for the convocation program in addition to a large faculty/staff/community turnout.
Winner—who holds degrees from Columbia, Cambridge and Duke—published Real Sex in 2005, securing a Publishers Weekly review that noted the book “helpfully and perhaps even radically reframes both the Christian and cultural discussion of chastity and sexuality.” Highlighting the myths the church teaches about sex, especially the emotional scare tactics given to adult singles and teenagers, Winner countered with a theological perspective based on the Christian’s understanding of sin. “I think we fear talking about forgiveness for sexual sin in the church because we fear that to preach forgiveness is to give license… But to preach forgiveness is to preach the gospel.”
She also highlighted that chastity is far from an easy spiritual discipline to follow but noted that Christians shouldn’t be surprised at its difficulty. “Our bodies are bound up in lives of suffering in a world in which redemption is not complete.”
Acclaimed Author Lauren Winner Speaks on ‘Real Sex’
Belmont Launches Emergency Instant Alert System
Belmont University recently launched an Instant Alert System that allows students, faculty and staff to receive immediate notification in the event of an on-campus emergency or unscheduled university closing due to, for instance, severe weather. Dobie Mobile—a locally-owned company that provides the software, technology and maintenance for organizations to send out text alerts—is providing the service to the Belmont campus.
The university has been exploring options for instant alert notification for more than a year, and since its launch in mid-August the system has received a strong response. After only one-week of classes, more than 20 percent of the 5,000 students and employees on campus have already signed up for Instant Alert.
Signing up for the system is quick and easy. After signing into the bic.belmont.edu Web site, look for a “Sign Up Now” for instant alert link that sits at the top of the page beneath the “My Campus and Academic Department Messages” subheading. Clicking on the link will take users immediately to the instant alert Web site where they can fill out the short sign-up form. The other sign-up option requires texting the word Belmont to the number 27538 from the user’s cell phone.
To view an in-depth report of the Instant Alert system from local TV station WKRN/News 2, click here.
For further assistance or additional information, contact the Office of Communications at communication@mail.belmont.edu.
Belmont Announces Record Fall Enrollment
Belmont University announced its total Fall 2007 enrollment today at 4,765 students at the end of the registration period, marking an increase of 6.3 percent since last year and a rise of just over 60 percent since 2000 when the school enrolled 2,976 students. The Belmont student body currently comprises 726 graduate students and 4,039 undergraduates, representing record enrollment in both categories.
“Belmont is growing in remarkable ways, both in the number of students enrolling in our programs and the academic qualifications they’re bringing to this campus,” said Belmont President Dr. Robert Fisher. “This marks our seventh consecutive year of record enrollment even though our acceptance rate has become much more selective. To me, this proves that our talented faculty and staff are attracting top-notch students, students who embrace our mission to engage and transform the world.”
Since 2000, Belmont’s full-time undergraduate enrollment has increased by more than 1,500 students, and this year’s incoming class represents 43 states and seven foreign countries. The university received a record number of applications of which a competitive 62 percent were accepted, down from 72 percent in 2005. The average ACT score for the 2007-08 freshman class is 26. One-third of new freshmen at Belmont were in the top 10 percent of their graduating class, including 30 valedictorians and 12 salutatorians, and they held an average cumulative high school GPA of 3.5.
In the annual U.S. News & World Report ranking of America’s best colleges and universities, Belmont is now ranked 11th in the South in the “Best Universities – Masters” category, making Belmont the highest ranked university in Tennessee in this category. The rankings are based on several quality indicators including student retention rates, graduation rates, student-faculty ratios and scores on college entrance exams.
Beaman Launches Campus-Wide Fitness Campaign, ‘B FIT•BU’
The Beaman Student Life Center on the campus of Belmont University played host yesterday to former Tennessee Titan Eddie George and his wife Tamara along with Tennessee Commissioner of Health Susan Cooper and the rest of the GetFitTN team for a special presentation and the unveiling of a new, campus-wide fitness campaign.
Cooper, noting a report released Monday in which Tennessee ranked fifth in the nation in obesity, said, “Almost 28 percent of our adults are classified as obese. If you add overweight adults to that, the number is close to 64 percent… This is just unacceptable. As commissioner, my job is to protect, promote and improve the health of all Tennesseans. So I’m here today to challenge each one of you to make a personal commitment to your health, your family’s health, your friends’ health, your school’s health and your community’s health.”
Music Business Alumni Honored by Billboard Magazine
Three Belmont alumni—Jason L. Turner, John Zarling and Matt Burns—are honored in this week’s issue of Billboard magazine, listed in the publication’s annual “30 Under 30” special feature to highlight rising young music business executives. The article, which is unavailable on the publication’s Web site, appears in the issue dated Aug. 25 that is on newsstands now.
UNITE Concert Raises Funds for Compassion International
Wednesday night’s “Welcome Week” UNITE concert with recording artists Shane & Shane, Bebo Norman, Monk & Neagle and Belmont alumni Mikeschair brought more than 2,000 people to the Curb Event Center for a nearly four-hour performance. The tour stop, designated to benefit Compassion International, raised $3,500 in donations and saw 54 children receive child sponsorships from attendees.
Compassion, a child development organization dedicated to releasing children from poverty, was founded in 1952 and works with 800,000 children in 24 countries. Donations from the concert will be used to purchase mosquito nets as part of Compassion’s Malaria Intervention Fund. Malaria kills one million people per year but is a preventable and treatable disease. 
The $3,500 raised will provide 350 mosquito nets for use in needed areas around the world. The $32 monthly child sponsorships allow for health care, education and Christian programming for needy children as well as foster cross-cultural relationships via letters between sponsors and children.
The “UNITE: Local Involvement…Global Perspective” event seeks to engage and challenge new and current college students to broaden their perspective on global needs and injustices while creating opportunities for local involvement in the Nashville community.
Nashville Mayoral Candidates Debate at Belmont
The Massey Performing Arts Center played host Mon., Aug. 20 to a run-off debate between Nashville mayoral candidates Bob Clement and Karl Dean, who are campaigning after each received 24 percent of the votes cast on Aug. 2. The debate was carried live on local NBC affiliate, WSMV-TV Channel 4, and moderated by WSMV anchors Dan Miller and Demetria Kalodimos. Belmont President Dr. Robert Fisher welcomed the crowd and the candidates to the university before the debate began. Clement and Dean discussed a variety of issues during the hour-long debate including education, property taxes, crime rates and what it would take to turn Nashville into a “world-class city.” Early voting begins Aug. 22 with the run-off election being held Sept. 11.
Class of 2011 Starts College Career with SERVE Project
After moving onto campus Saturday, Belmont University’s incoming freshman class volunteered their time this morning to a number of local charity and ministry organizations as part of the school’s annual “Welcome Week.” In groups ranging from 25 to 100 students, most of Belmont’s new freshman class participated in SERVE.
SERVE was begun as part of Belmont’s ongoing commitment to engage students in their community and encourage the values of service on both a local and global level. Matt Burchett, Belmont’s Director of New Student and Parent Programs, said, “Our identity as an institution is most clearly defined when we serve others. We are committed to encouraging our students to find the places of need wherein their energy, talent and enthusiasm can be used for a significant purpose.”
Tennessean Honors Belmont Student-Athletes
Four Belmont University student-athletes have been named to the The Tennessean’s inaugural ‘Brains and Brawn’ first team. Senior Justin Hare of the men’s basketball team, along with fellow seniors Elizabeth Smothers, Lauren Williams and sophomore Brittany Thune of the women’s cross country & track program, were named to the exclusive list of 25 student-athletes. In addition, Belmont had 20 student-athletes receive honorable mention recognition–the most of any area school. For more on this story, click here.
School of Nursing Receives Share in Foundation Grant, Inman Hosts Press Conference
Belmont University’s School of Nursing recently received $30,000 of a health care grant secured by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and The Tennessee Center for Nursing from the Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN). PIN is a national initiative led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation to develop solutions to America’s nursing shortage.
Together with Vanderbilt University, Belmont will be using the funds to implement a Teaching Institute to assist nursing faculty across the state to develop informatics and simulation technology skills. In addition, the School of Nursing will be recruiting expert clinical nurses to become “faculty extenders” for students.
In related news, Belmont’s Inman Center, home to the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing, served as the site of a press conference Aug. 17 to announce that funds have been raised to support Gov. Phil Bredesen’s campaign, The Graduate Nursing Loan Forgiveness Program. The campaign initially kicked off in January with a goal to direct $1.4 million into a scholarship program that would help current registered nurses (RNs) pay the costs of earning graduate teaching degrees in nursing.
