Belmont student, Caroline Cox, will receive the Star Trac NIRSA Region 2 Student Excellence Award at the NIRSA annual conference in Minneapolis next month. This is the highest award Region 2 bestows upon students for their engagement in recreational sports. The award was created in 2006 to recognize top undergraduate and graduate students who are participants of and/or employed in their respective campus recreational sports program. This award gives the professional members of Region 2 an opportunity to honor outstanding student leaders. In addition to the award, Caroline will receive a grant in the amount of $200.00 for travel expenses to the conference.
Belmont University To Host 2007 CMT Music Awards
Belmont University will host the 2007 CMT Music Awards Monday, April 16, 2007, in the Curb Event Center. This is the second year in a row Belmont will host the annual award show. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy will return as host for the third consecutive year.
UPDATE: Feb., 23, 2007
Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Sugarland and Dierks Bentley are the first round of artists scheduled to perform at the 2007 CMT Music Awards. Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 3, available at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 255-9600 or online at CMT.com and ticketmaster.com. Belmont students receive a $10 discount by using the code BELMONT. Additional information can be found online at CMT.com.
UPDATE: March 23, 2007
CMT announced Toby Keith, Bon Jovi, and a special performance from Australia by Keith Urban have been added to the growing list of performers that includes Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland and Tim McGraw.
UPDATE: March 29, 2007
CMT announces additional stars to the line-up for the 2007 CMT Music Awards airing live from Nashville’s Curb Event Center at Belmont University on Monday, April 16. Barbara Mandrell, Jason Aldean, Josh Turner, Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Taylor Swift will present at CMT’s sixth annual awards show.
Tennessee College Presidents Commit to the Environment at Ceremony at Belmont
College and university presidents from across the state of Tennessee gathered at Belmont University Wednesday, March 28, 2007, to sign the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders For a Sustainable Future (USLF) and commit to lead their respective institutions to achieve global environmental literacy and sustainability. Dr. Bob Fisher (Belmont University) will be joined by Dr. Hazel O’Leary (Fisk University) and Dr. Wayne Riley (Meharry Medical College) to sign the declaration. Dr. Loren Crabtree (University of Tennessee at Knoxville), Dr. George Van Allen (Nashville State Technological Community College) and Dr. Forrest Harris (American Baptist College) have sent electronic signatures for the declaration but were not able to attend the signing in person. Many presidents from the Tennessee Board of Regents lent their support but could not attend due to a previously scheduled Board of Regents meeting.
In signing the Talloires Declaration, these presidents agreed to increase awareness of environmentally sustainable development, create an institutional culture of sustainability, educate for environmentally responsible citizenship, foster environmental literacy for all, practice institutional ecology and involve all stakeholders, collaborate for interdisciplinary approaches, enhance capacity of primary and secondary schools, broaden service and outreach nationally and internationally and maintain the movement.
“Signing this declaration is a great example of how universities should work,” Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said. “Our faculties and students are excited. This is exactly what our universities want to do.”
The Talloires Declaration signing at Belmont was held in conjunction with Belmont Goes Green Week March 26-30 and the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, a conference to explore and advance environmental stewardship within the state’s institutions of higher education, hosted by the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable Committee on Higher Education.
Belmont Goes Green, Invites Other Tennessee Colleges To Join the Cause
College and university presidents from across the state of Tennessee are gathering at Belmont University Wednesday, March 28, 2007, to sign the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders For a Sustainable Future (USLF) and commit to lead their respective institutions to achieve global environmental literacy and sustainability. Dr. Bob Fisher (Belmont University) will be joined by Dr. Hazel O’Leary (Fisk University), Dr. Wayne Riley (Meharry Medical College) and Dr. Forrest Harris (American Baptist College) to sign the declaration. Dr. Loren Crabtree (University of Tennessee at Knoxville) and Dr. George Van Allen (Nashville State Technological Community College) have sent electronic signatures for the declaration but cannot attend the signing in person. Many presidents from the Tennessee Board of Regents lent their support but cannot attend due to a previously scheduled Board of Regents meeting.
In signing the Talloires Declaration, these presidents agree to increase awareness of environmentally sustainable development, create an institutional culture of sustainability, educate for environmentally responsible citizenship, foster environmental literacy for all, practice institutional ecology and involve all stakeholders, collaborate for interdisciplinary approaches, enhance capacity of primary and secondary schools, broaden service and outreach nationally and internationally and maintain the movement.
The Talloires Declaration signing at Belmont is being held in conjunction with Belmont Goes Green Week March 26-30 and the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, a conference to explore and advance environmental stewardship within the state’s institutions of higher education, hosted by the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable Committee on Higher Education.
Belmont Goes Green will host several events to inform the campus community of several ways to create a more environmentally sustainable campus. The schedule of events includes:
Monday, March 26, 10 a.m. – Food and the Environment – Eating at Belmont, Local Purchasing Power, Feeding the World – Fidelity Hall 412
Tuesday, March 27, 4 p.m. – The Sacred Planet – Film and Discussion – Fidelity Hall 412
7 p.m. – An Inconvenient Truth – Film and Discussion – Lila D. Bunch Multimedia Hall
Wednesday, March 28, 10 a.m. – Darfur, Sudan: Genocide and Hope For God’s Creation – Jack C. Massey Business Center Boardroom
Friday, March 30, 10 a.m. – Where Do We Go From Here? How Belmont Gets Green – Neely Dining Room
For information on the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, visit http://campus.belmont.edu/greencampus. For more information about any Belmont Goes Green events and initiatives contact Dr. Judy Skeen, associate professor in the School of Religion at 460-6273 or skeenj@mail.belmont.edu
MORE
“Tennessee colleges and universities go green” – Nashville Business Journal, Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Belmont SIFE Team Wins First Place In Regional Competition Second Year In a Row
For the second year in a row, Belmont University’s Students in Free Enterprise Team (SIFE) won first place in the southeast regional SIFE competition at Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn., and $4,500 in prize money and is again invited to compete in the national competition in Dallas May 5-6.
The 29 students on Belmont’s SIFE team managed 16 high-impact community projects that served over 3,500 Nashville residents. Additionally, an anti-piracy commercial that was developed by team members aired as a public service announcement and was seen by more than two million viewers. Some of the community organizations and non-profits that were served by the SIFE team included: Thistle Farms, Our Kids, Conexion Americas, Nashville’s 100 Kings program and Catholic Charities.
In addition to the team’s victory at the regional competition, Belmont received three national awards for their essays describing the scope and impact of their projects. Belmont will compete against 19 SIFE teams selected in the categories of Market Economics, Business Ethics and Project Sustainability for recognition as the best SIFE team in each of the project areas. Last year’s project with Mama Turney’s Bakery was selected as the first runner-up in the nation for the entrepreneurship category.
“Our SIFE chapter was founded only last year, and we ended that year with a regional championship and ‘Rookie of the Year’ honors,” Dr. Pat Raines, Dean of the College of Business and professor of economics, said. “At this most recent competition, the team gave a flawless presentation that described real-world projects that significantly improved the lives of thousands of residents in our community. SIFE is adding value through the experiential learning opportunities it provides and the students are really enjoying themselves when they see the results of their work.”
Dr. John Gonas is the Sam Walton Fellow responsible for coordinating the projects and preparing the students for the regional and national competition. The team members that presented the SIFE projects to the panel of business executives that served as judges included: Katie Sluka (Hospitality Management), Anna Stergas (History), Renee Reyle (Political Science), Dan Ebinger (Finance) and Brian VanderMey (Entrepreneurship).
SIFE is an international, non-profit organization active on over 1,000 college and university campuses in more than 40 countries. SIFE students form teams that serve their communities by developing projects that take what they are learning in their classrooms about business and use it to solve real world problems for real people. The SIFE program concentrates on five areas: entrepreneurship, market economics, success skills, financial literacy and business ethics. Each year, the teams present their projects at competition where they are judged on creativity, innovation and effectiveness.
Belmont Alumna Rachel Smith Wins Miss USA 2007 Crown
Rachel Smith, a 2006 graduate of Belmont University, was named Miss USA 2007 Friday night. Smith, a Clarksville, Tenn., native, served as managing editor of The Belmont Vision, Belmont’s student newspaper, interned for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” for eight months and traveled to South Africa to work with students at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy.
Smith was an Ingram Scholar while a student at Belmont, a scholarship supported by Orrin Ingram and the Ingram family. Students named Ingram Scholars receive a scholarship to attend Belmont; in return, each student must perform a set number of volunteer hours at the Boys and Girls Club each month, although many Ingram Scholars (including Smith) spend much more time volunteering than required. This unique service-learning scholarship allows Belmont to give a quality education to well-deserving students while they give back to the greater community. Smith was one of the first Ingram Scholars to graduate from Belmont.
Click here to read Smith’s official bio.
Click here to read The Tennessean article about Smith’s win in the pageant.
Rudy Kalis Speaks to Belmont Students About Faith in the Workplace
More than 100 students packed the Lila D. Bunch Library Multimedia Hall to listen to veteran broadcaster, Rudy Kalis, the sports director at WSMV, the NBC affiliate in Nashville.
When Kalis was 5 years old, he and his family emigrated with his family from Germany. He couldn’t speak any English when they moved to Wisconsin. He didn’t do well in high school, ranking in the lower fourth of his class. He fared even worse in college, earning a 0.94 grade point average. In his own words, up until that point, he spent most of his life “trying to beat the system.”
It took a stint in the US military to change his life.
“When bullets are flying, you don’t find an atheist in a foxhole, ” Kalis said.
After serving four years, he was admitted to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Kalis told the students, “sit in the front of the class, you’ll hear more. Take notes, you will actually remember more.” He was so driven, he finished four years of college in three years. He majored in broadcast production and landed his first job in Green Bay,Wis., working as an associate producer for television news. That was in 1973 and his salary was $8,000. When the sports reporter quit, Kalis went on air. Consultants for the station told Kalis that he would never make it in sports.
In July of 1974, WSMV in Nashville hired him as a sports reporter. Early on in his career, he was passed over when the sports director position was available. During that same period, he met a man at a restaurant who encouraged Kalis to give his life to Christ. Kalis followed the man’s advice.
In the end, Kalis wanted the students to know that his steps were ordered. He believes God has a plan for everyone and that his life is an example of a greater power at work. With age comes wisdom and Kalis, who will turn 60 this year, seems to have blended his time and experience well.
“Who you are, you bring wherever you are,” said Kalis.
Speech & Debate Team Results At National Christian College Forensics Invitational
The Belmont University Speech & Debate Team competed March 2-4 in the National Christian College Forensics Inivitational (NCCFI) tournament in Riverside, Calif.
Belmont’s results included:
Parliamentary Debate Awards:
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Meghan Gwaltney & Melissa Gradel: JV Debate Semi-finalists
Renee Reyle (with partner from California Baptist): JV Quarter-
finalists
Meghan Gwaltney: 7th place overall JV debater
Renee Reyle: 1st place overall JV debater
Melanie Bengtson: 6th place overall varsity debater
Team: 1st place in Division II.
Individual Event Awards:
Novice Informative: Meghan Gwaltney-1st
Varsity Informative: Melanie Bengtson-6th
Novice Impromptu: Meghan Gwaltney-4th
Varsity Impromptu: Tabitha Metcalf-Semi-finalist, Cortni Woodard-6th
Novice Duo: Brock Parman/Anwesa Chakrabarti-3rd, Brock Parman/Meghan
Gwaltney-5th
Novice Persuasion: Melissa Gradel-3rd
Novice Poetry: Anwesa Chakrabarti-2nd
Novice ADS: Brock Parman-6th
Novice Extemporaneous Speaking: Melanie Bengtson-6th
Novice Communication Analysis: Melissa Gradel-5th, Anwesa Chakrabarti-
4th,
Meghan Gwaltney-1st
Varsity Communication Analysis: Meghan Gwaltney-3rd
Novice Programmed Oral Interpretation: Brock Parman-1st
Reader’s Theater: Brock Parman/Cory Carter/Tabitha Metcalf/Anwesa
Chakrabarti-1st
Individual Sweepstakes Awards:
– Novice: Anwesa Chakrabarti-3rd
– Novice: Brock Parman-2nd
– Novice: Meghan Gwaltney-1st
– Open: Tabitha Metcalf-9th
Team: 2nd place overall
Team Debate & Individual Events Combined: 3rd place overall
Student Takes First Place in SEA Conference
Music Business major Bryan Vaughan recently attended the 2007 Self-Employment in the Arts Conference in Naperville, Ill., after being selected as one of the three finalists in the scholarship competition. Bryan gave a five minute “elevator pitch” of his business, Paper Garden Records, to a number of judges and fellow students, resulting in a first place finish and a $1,000 prize.
Cornwall, Entrepreneurship In the News
Dr. Jeff Cornwall, director of Belmont University’s Center for Entrepreneurship and author of the popular weblog “The Entrepreneurial Mind”, has begun writing a regular column for The Tennessean, Nashville’s daily newspaper. Cornwall’s column focuses on issues facing new buisness owners and would-be owners. Click here to read Cornwall’s inaugural column that ran Sunday.
The Center For Entrepreneurship was recently featured in an article in the Wall Street Journal. The article addressed the growing number of entrepreneurship programs in colleges and universities nationwide. Cornwall was quoted in the story and Belmont’s “hatchery” program was highlighted for its innovative approach to teaching and supporting young entrepreneurs. Click here to read the article.
