CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT airs nationally on PBS Thursday, December 22 at 9:00 p.m. EST
Rising country music star and Belmont University graduate Josh Turner will host this year’s Christmas at Belmont concert, which will be made available to viewers through a nationwide broadcast on PBS. Turner, whose soulful voice has helped make him one of country music’s newest stars, is a Belmont University graduate. The Hannah, S.C., native’s first album, Long Black Train, has sold more than a million copies, and his radio hits include the single “Long Black Train” and “Your Man.”
Country Music Star Josh Turner To Host This Year’s Christmas At Belmont Show
Adjunct Instructor Landis Honored at Alma Mater
Belmont University adjunct professor in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business, Barry Landis, received a Medallion Award from Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) in Mount Vernon, Ohio, in a special Homecoming chapel service on Fri., November 11.
Landis earned his associate degree from MVNU in 1973. He went on to complete a bachelor’s at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville and a master’s in communications from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Ky. He is a member of the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS).
Landis is currently the executive director of the Entertainment and Media Summit at Vanderbilt University’s Innovation Center, a think-tank for Christians interested in impacting popular culture. Previously, he was president of Word Records, a division of the Warner Music Group, VP and general manager of Atlantic Records Christian Division and VP of Marketing & Promotions for Warner Alliance.
Faculty Make Four Presentations at Prestigious Conference
Belmont faculty members made four presentations at the 25th annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching, Nov. 17-20. The conference, held each year at Miami University of Ohio, is considered the nation’s premier conference on teaching in colleges and universities, and presentations at this conference are a signal of exceptional achievement and national leadership in the scholarship of effective teaching and learning.
King Honored at Peabody
Dr. Merrie King, associate professor in the education department at Belmont University, was honored at the Peabody College Educator Honoree Roundtable at Vanderbilt University on November 17 with the “Outstanding Educator Honoree of Peabody College.”
King joined the faculty at Belmont in 2001. She teaches classes in Child Development, Human Development and Instructional Programs for Young Children. She is also the Montessori program director. King has over 30 years experience in education at the pre K-12, university and adult levels. Prior to coming to Belmont , she served as Director of Ithaka Montessori, a preschool in Franklin, Tenn., for ages 2 ½ – 6. She founded the school in 1985. Dr. King completed her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership at Vanderbilt in 2003, her Masters of Arts in Teaching in Linguistics – Teaching English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education from Georgetown University and a B.S. in English Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In addition, she has earned three Montessori Diplomas: AMI Ages 0-3, AMI Ages 2 ½ – 7 and AMS Ages 6-9. King is also a national facilitator through the Center for Teacher Formation for Parker Palmer’s Courage to Teach Work.
Two-Week Focus on Sudan Wraps Up with Thanksgiving Service
Over the past two weeks, the Office of Spiritual Development at Belmont University has led a campus-wide focus on Africa by looking intently at the needs of Sudan. One initiative over the past two weeks has been a challenge for the Belmont community to drink only water and donating the money saved from not buying coffee, soft drinks and other beverages to well-drilling projects in Sudan led by Blood:Water Mission, an organization whose mission is to reduce the impact of the African HIV/AIDS pandemic and to promote clean blood and water in Africa by giving Africans the tools they need to improve health and sanitation in their communities.
Biology Hosts Middle Tennessee High School Teachers
As a part of its Conversations @ Belmont series, the Biology Department and Office of Academic Outreach, hosted “Let’s Talk about…Biology” on Mon., November 7. Belmont biology faculty and staff hosted dinner for high school teachers in Middle Tennessee, offering conversation and lab explorations for the teachers.
BU Students Compete in Programming Competition
Belmont students Sergei Temkin, Ben Tate and David Ells won second place site honors at the 30th annual ACM International Collegiate Programming Competition, held on November 5, 2005. The trio bested 14 teams from seven schools, bested only by one of the three teams from Vanderbilt University. A second Belmont team consisting of Jake Eichenberger, Nathan Davis and Stuart Childs placed ninth at the site.
This is Belmont’s second year in a row to win site honors. Last year, a Belmont team won first place at the TTU Site, out of 14 teams competing.
Speech & Debate Team Successful at Recent Competition
The Belmont University Speech & Debate team recently traveled to Berea, Ky., to compete against 22 other colleges and universities at Berea College. Belmont’s team won several awards, listed below:
DEBATE
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Individual Novice Awards:
Price Rainer – 4th place
Melanie Bengtson – 3rd place
Team Awards:
Melanie Bengtson & Sarah Friederich – Octafinalists
Will Cromer & Price Rainer – Octafinalists
INDIVIDUAL EVENTS
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CUMBERLAND COLLEGE HALF
Poetry Interpretation:
Kristen Taylor – 1st
Programmed Oral Interpretation:
Tabitha Metcalf: 4th
Communication Analysis:
McKinley Belcher – 6th
Dramatic Interpretation:
McKinley Belcher – 3rd
Duo Interpretation:
McKinley Belcher & Kristen Taylor – 1st
Pentathalon Award:
McKinley Belcher – 5th
Kristen Taylor – 4th
Team Award:
Overall Small School – 2nd place (tied for 1st, broken on # of 2’s in finals)
BEREA COLLEGE HALF
Informative Speaking:
Melanie Bengtson – 3rd
Poetry Interpretation:
Kristen Taylor – 5th
Programmed Oral Interp.:
McKinley Belcher – 4th
Communication Analysis:
McKinley Belcher – 4th
Extemporaneous Speaking:
Melanie Bengtson – “outstanding novice”
Prose Interpretation:
Kristen Taylor – Semi-Finalist
Duo Interpretation:
McKinley Belcher & Kristen Taylor – 5th
Pentathalon Speaker:
McKinley Belcher – 6th
Biology Students Present Posters at Conference
Belmont biology students will present posters at the 115th meeting of the Tennessee Academy of Science. The annual meeting will be held November 17-18 at The University of Tennessee at Martin in Martin, Tenn.
Billboard Interviews Belmont Benefactor Mike Curb
Billboard magazine has an interview with Curb Records chairman Mike Curb, one of Belmont University’s biggest supporters and benefactors in recent years.
