Caterpiller Financial, a client of Belmont University’s Center for Professional Development, has become the first Nashville company to win the Malcom Baldrige National Quality Award from the National Institute of Standards & Technology. Belmont management professor Dr. Susan Williams comments on the award in this story from today’s Tennessean.

USA Today has a profile of new and fast-rising country music singer Josh Turner, an alumnus of Belmont University’s music program.

Turner’s single Long Black Train, a country-gospel throwback written after listening to all 10 CDs in a Hank Williams box set, has spent six months chugging up Billboard’s country singles chart. (It’s now No. 28.) … Turner made his public debut at age 5, singing Arky Arky at his home church. He began singing country in his teens and later enrolled in the music program at Belmont University in Nashville. … Turner’s ultra-traditional approach has made him a favorite at the Grand Ole Opry, where he has made some three dozen appearances.

You can watch Turner’s video for “Long Black Train” here. You’ll need RealPlayer or Windows Media Player and a broadband connection.

Belmont University School of Music voice instructor Kathy Chiavola is the subject of an interview in the November/December issue of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. The article is not online, but here is the Flatpicking Guitar web site. The bi-monthly magazine is available at music stores and record stores.

The Tennessean, writing about the first men’s basketball game at Belmont’s new Curb Event Center, tonight:

The CEC has a completely different feel than Striplin, an old barn where the fans were practically on top of the players. The new on-campus facility features state-of-the-art amenities, private suites, cherry-stained wood, a seven-story parking garage and, oh yeah, a pretty nice basketball court. ”It’s as nice as any arena in the country,” Bruins Coach Rick Byrd said. ”It’s first class in every way, and we’re looking forward to showing it to people who haven’t seen it yet because it’s something to really be proud of.”

You can read the whole story here. There’s also an online “slide show” of photos from the CEC and the adjacent Beaman Student Life Center.
The Nashville City Paper has a preview of the game between the Belmont Bruins and the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Here’s coverage of the selection of Belmont’s Betty Wiseman, founding coach of the Belmont women’s basketball program, to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, in the Knoxville News Sentinel via the AP. You can read more about Wiseman and the Hall of Fame honor here.