Belmont students often face a range of challenges affecting their financial and mental health. All students may now apply for assistance from the Bruin Emergency Grant upon demonstrating financial need due to unforeseen circumstances, such as medical and housing emergencies.
“The purpose of the Bruin Emergency Grant is to enable students who have already made a significant commitment to their Belmont education to persist through extraordinary financial challenges to graduation,” Carshonda H. Martin, Assistant Provost for Student Success and Flourishing, said. “We acknowledge that some students are facing issues of affordability during this post-pandemic world and microgrants are more important than ever. We are so excited to provide this opportunity for our students to aid in removing some barriers they may face and help them persist and flourish during their time at Belmont University.”
Here are some examples of how donors’ generosity makes a direct difference:
Recently, a Bruin Emergency Grant supported one student close to graduation who was struggling with rent, in order for her to focus more on her studies and remove herself from an unhealthy situation she was in. To ease the burden, Belmont provided help towards rent payments and continues to meet with the student regularly to provide emotional and academic support.
The Bruin Emergency Grant provided a grant to a first-generation, independent nursing student for medical shoes. The student had no family support and was supporting herself. She suffered from a medical condition that required her to have a certain type of shoe that cost a few hundred dollars. The Bruin Emergency Grant was able to supply her with the shoes she needed to continue her education.
The Bruin Emergency Grant was also able to support one of our first-year, non-traditional students recently. This student had faced housing security problems and was staying two hours away from Nashville. The grant covered part of their rent and gave them the security and stability they needed.
“I’m so excited about the Bruin Emergency Grant because It gives us an opportunity to support the whole student beyond academic needs,” said Luke LePage, Assistant Director of Annual Giving. “We get to support the student’s whole-person formation. As a Belmont alum, it makes me so proud to say this is how we continue to take care of our students and go above and beyond. We’re inviting our alumni, parents, friends and entire campus community to support those students in an intentional and tangible way.”
Bruins For Life is March 20-22, and Belmont is immensely grateful for the commitment of alumni, employees, parents, students, businesses, churches and friends who support by:
Being a mentor…
Being a fan…
Being a supporter…
Donors can support any specific need, whether it’s scholarships, student support, missions, academics or athletics.
Belmont’s University Ministries provided another opportunity for Belmont students, faculty and staff to gain exposure and be immersed in the local culture of different communities during Spring Break, March 6-10.
Mission trip teams traveled to Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Washington D.C. and Seattle for the week. Each trip had a focus on poverty engagement, immigration, community development, rural poverty or restorative justice.
Brazil
Biology faculty member Chris Barton and Traci Hardin in the Office of the Provost led a group of 22 students who spent the week in Brazil on the Amazon River. The team traveled with Justice & Mercy International (JMI), a Nashville-based non-profit ministry that serves the Amazon and Moldova.
“The most impactful thing for me was seeing how the students really jumped in and worked so hard during the week,” Barton said. “The trip is not for everyone – you’re hot, nasty and tired most of the time, but the students were just awesome.”
Vast in size and need, the State of the Amazonas has a population of 3.5 million people and a land area equal to France, Spain, Sweden and Greece combined. Yearly floods displace upwards of 70,000 families from their homes and only half of the villages on the Amazon River have access to clean water.
The JMI Amazon boat trip equipped Belmont travelers to visit numerous villages, with the purpose of educating, encouraging and caring for people living along the Amazon’s endless banks. They also helped set up medical and dental clinics, organized games and crafts for kids in the villages and helped build a house in one of the villages.
“For one of the villages, we were the first group that has ever visited them from the outside,” Barton said. “So, providing medical and dental care for them was really special, and it was even more special to have the opportunity to do it with Belmont students.”
A Belmont mission trip team spent the week on a Justice & Mercy International Amazon boat.
Belmont students and faculty prepare to fly to Costa Rica to serve on a mission trip.
Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, Belmont partnered with a local church to distribute food to the small community of Vasconia in Parrita and serve in other church ministries. They also connected with children and teachers at a local school and participated in minor building projects. Dr. Marnie Vanden Noven and David Schreiber led a group of nine honors students.
Student-athletes travel to Costa Rica for Spring Break mission trip.
A group of 15 student-athletes from Belmont’s Cross Country, Women and Men’s Soccer and Volleyball programs also traveled to Costa Rica on a mission trip. Director of Student-Athlete Formation Ryan Neises and Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer Grace Kunesh traveled with the students to partner with Young Life and worked on several projects at their El Chante Retreat Center. During the evenings, they were able to go into San Jose to connect with local teens in Young Life through sports.
“Our whole group was impacted by working alongside the people of Young Life Costa Rica and partnering with them in their amazing ministry,” Neises said. “During the week, we did the things that God desires for our lives: serve, pray, worship, laugh, play and share life together, among other things. I can’t wait to continue this beautiful partnership between YLCR and Belmont Athletics and to see the long-term impact it has on our student-athletes.”
Jamaica
Although Jamaica is well-known for tourism and is considered a tropical paradise, many communities lack basic necessities. A team of seven students along with two Massey College of Business faculty Drs. Elaine Tontoh and Colin Cannonier traveled to Salt March in Montego Bay, Jamaica to work with Jacob’s Well Church and Basic School.
“It was impactful to work side by side with construction workers who were also church members,” Tontoh said. “They had so little in terms of material things but were always grateful to God and filled with joy. We learned a lesson to be thankful always and be grateful for the abundance of things we enjoy within the United States. Joy does not flow from material things. Joy comes from God.”
The team assisted in a construction project to lay the foundation for an extra classroom by toting buckets of sand, stone and mortar to the building site. The additional classroom will accommodate the 62 schoolchildren at Jacob’s Well Basic School. The Belmont group also helped teachers in the classroom, read Bible stories, played with children and taught Bible songs like “His Banner over Me is Love” to the pre-kindergarten children.
Jamaica was junior international politics major Nebiu Ermias’s first mission trip. It was a first for the other students on his team as well.
“I think the trip affected me more than I feel like I affected the people in that community,” Ermias said. “Just seeing the type of lifestyle that they were living, and they were so happy with the little they had. That was so motivating to me. It very much humbled me. They were so grateful for even the little bit of work we did for them. That makes me want to be better in my spiritual life and not take everything that I have for granted.”
A small team of Belmont students and faculty served on a mission trip in Salt Marsh located in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Washington D.C.
Belmont worked with Hughes Methodist Church in Washington D.C. on an immersive Spring Break mission trip.
A seven-person mission team partnered with Hughes Methodist Church and helped with the church’s food distribution program that serves 800 families each week in Washington D.C. The team also helped set up a space at the church where a recently immigrated Columbian seamstress will teach sewing classes to community members in an effort to equip them with an income-earning trade.
“We also had the opportunity to serve at Martha’s Table, another food distribution program that serves families in the D.C. area,” Belmont staff co-leader Madeleine Fossler said. “I was impacted by our conversations with community members who came regularly to the food distribution. It was a reminder of the need within our own cities for food access programs and services to make this possible.”
Fossler works in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and was accompanied by Belmont security guard Justin Click as a co-leader.
“The most impactful thing for me was on a personal level,” Click said. “I lost my dad in October 2021, and I used to work with him all the time. The things we did at the church were the same things we used to do. I felt a connection with him that I have lost over the last couple of years. I was also able to share things that my dad taught me with the students and the workers of the church. It was humbling for me to be able to feel that connection again.”
Seattle
The Pacific Northwest is one of the most unchurched regions in the U.S. Six Belmont students and two faculty served alongside two area church plants in Seattle, Coastline Church and First Free Methodist Church. They spent the last few days working with an organization that assists Seattle’s homeless population called Union Mission Gospel. Belmont admissions coordinators Elise Haines and Abigail Martin led the group.
“Seattle is ranked No. 1 with the percentage of adults having feelings of depression, which means this is a city desperate for hope,” Martin said. “Everyday interactions we had with people who live in the Belltown Neighborhood and the conversations we had opened our eyes to see that despite the loneliness in the city, God is using the desperation for hope as a vessel for him to move in people’s lives and show them that they can find lasting joy, hope and peace in him.”
In Seattle, the group performed a variety of tasks including trash pickup, gardening and graffiti cover-up in the Bell Town area, cleaning and speaking to the youth and church members at First Free Methodist.
A group of students and admissions counselors from Belmont traveled to Seattle, Washington for Spring Break to serve alongside Coastline Chruch, First Free Methodist Chruch and the nonprofit Union Mission Gospel.
Guatemala
An interdisciplinary team of 36 Belmont students, faculty and clinicians worked with Belmont partner Kafes Guatemala in Antigua, Guatemala. Kafes Guatemala is a Guatemalan coffee company that created a program called CoffeeMed. The program focuses on ensuring coffee plantation workers have access to medical attention from medical teams who provide free services. Belmont’s College of Health Sciences and Nursing has been involved with CoffeeMed for years. The team provided health screenings and patient teaching programs and helped distribute medications and vitamins to citizens in Antigua.
Mission trips at Belmont exist to inspire and equip students for faithful participation in God’s mission in the world. The diverse range of immersive experiences offered over Spring Break allows travelers to grow in understanding the cares and concerns of communities in the U.S. and in Central American and Caribbean countries.
Drs. Carmine Miranda and Robert Marler of Belmont’s School of Music released their album from Navona Records – “Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff: Sonatas for Cello and Piano” – on March 3, which was met with international acclaim.
According to Miranda, assistant professor of cello and director of chamber music for strings in the School of Music, this album represents several years of hard work, countless hours of practice and a network of dedicated Belmont alumni and faculty.
A true Belmont collaboration, “Sonatas for Cello and Piano” was co-produced by Miranda and Alan Shacklock, lecturer of audio engineering technology in Belmont’s Curb College, and engineered by Tommy Dorsey, Belmont alumnus and former student of Dr. Marler.
Despite its recent release, the album has already received rave reviews internationally, with Marler and Miranda being depicted on the February cover of Spain’s leading source on classical music news, RITMO magazine. Additionally, the CD was featured on Spotify with more than 20,000 streams on release day, and one of the album’s singles reached no. 11 in Amazon’s classical bestsellers during pre-release.
Gramophone magazine wrote, “Miranda and Marler catch the music’s mercurial, passionate nature as well as any pair have done, their momentum providing an immediacy – especially in Navona’s clear sound – that gives even Rostropovich and the composer a run for their money.”
Echoing these positive sentiments, The Whole Note declared, “Shostakovich Rachmaninoff Sonatas for Cello & Piano” finds cellist Carmine Miranda and pianist Robert Marler in superb form in two of the great cello sonatas… It’s hard to imagine a more gorgeous performance than this one.”
Miranda discussed how he and Marler deliberated over the best way to record the album to convey their vision. In the end, they decided to go an untraditional route in the world of classical music and record it in a commercial style where the two musicians were in separate rooms and only relied on earpieces to hear what the other was playing. “We were relying on a pair of headphones to record intonation, pacing and musicality,” said Miranda. “It was very challenging for both of us. However, the end result is that it granted us the opportunity to do some very careful mixing and mastering to be able to recreate what it would sound like in a live setting.”
Both Miranda and Marler view this classical music project and its success in a commercial music-based scene as a testament to the fact that great music is great music, regardless of genre or style. Miranda believes that listeners can gain the same amount of musical fulfillment from listening to Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff as they could from the latest pop song release. “I think that the key for classical music to be able to survive is to make it current and to provide great interpretations where people can create an emotional connection with it,” he said.
For this reason, he doesn’t limit himself to a classical music audience when creating a record. “I think one of the remarkable things about this project is that it was accepted rather well in Nashville, and it’s a classical album! It just shows that classical music can be just as fun.”
Expressing a deep appreciation for the Belmont faculty and affiliates who aided in making this project a reality, Miranda stated that he hopes this album serves as a reflection of the music program at Belmont and generates a feeling of communal pride on campus and beyond. He views this album as a step to opening doors for students and for the larger Belmont community and is excited about the future of the music program at Belmont.
Belmont’s College of Law was listed as one of the Top 20 Law Schools for Women based on a report by Enjuris, compiling data from the American Bar Association.
More than 60% of the entering class for Belmont’s College of Law is female, aligning with the national upward trend in the attendance of women in law school over the years. Until 2016, men held the majority of students enrolling in juris doctor programs.
“We are excited and proud to be one of the top law schools for women,” Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Law Deborah Farringer said. “This is our third year in a row in the top 20 for female enrollment and we hope that we are creating a proud tradition of attracting strong, smart women and training them to be amazing future lawyers.”
The rigorous academics, accomplished faculty and alumni base and gender-diverse cohorts continue to distinguish the College of Law at Belmont from competitor institutions.
“I am hopeful that Belmont University College of Law is playing its part in training capable and accomplished female attorneys who will start making greater headway into the roles of senior partners of law firms and general counsel for major corporations,” Farringer said. “We are excited to be a part of the trend of increased females in the legal profession.”
Belmont University announced today that it has earned the 2023-2024 Silver Military Friendly® School designation.
As of Fall 2022, there were 316 veteran and military affiliated students at Belmont University. This is the ninth consecutive year Belmont has been selected as a Military Friendly® School.
Assistant Provost of Academic Excellence Dr. Jim McIntyre, who coordinates Belmont’s Veteran Success Team, said, “Belmont is dedicated to supporting all of our veteran and military affiliated students. Their unique skills and life experiences are a tremendous asset, and we welcome them into Belmont’s community of learners. We are deeply committed to the success and flourishing of all our military affiliated and veteran students, both during their time here at Belmont and after they graduate.”
Among the 1,800 institutions that participated in the survey, 665 schools received the designation for going above the standard, which serves as a resource for current military service members, veterans and military spouses. Being designated as a Military Friendly® School indicates greater support and better outcomes for veterans who attend these schools.
“It is an honor to again be recognized as a Military Friendly® School,” said Daina Hunter, assistant registrar and VA School certifying official. “Belmont University will continue to be committed to cultivating a culture where the contributions of our military-affiliated students are deeply valued.”
Institutions earning the Military Friendly® School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. The list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I. Jobs magazine and can be found here.
“Military Friendly® is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process,” said Kayla Lopez, Military Friendly®national director of military partnerships. “Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the Military Community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools who achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard.”
Methodology, criteria and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly® Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institution’s survey scores with the assessment of the institution’s ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, Persistence (Degree Advancement or Transfer) and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.
For more information about Belmont University’s student veteran programs, visit Belmont University’s Veterans website.
Growing up in a rural and impoverished Ohio town fueled Sheyanne S. Smith’s decision to pursue education but not just for herself – as a tool of opportunity for underprivileged students and help break generational cycles. “Most days, I was too worried about if the lights would be on or where the next meal would come from to focus on school,” Smith said. “I was one of three students in my graduating class who went out of state for college.”
But desire was not enough. Navigating college admissions and financial aid as a first-gen student would prove difficult. And making it to graduation? Even tougher.
She landed at Belmont, which helped by investing in her to stay in school when times got tough. “The reason I was able to stay at Belmont and graduate was because of the support I received from the University,” Smith said. “I remember a specific example–I had filled out the paperwork to withdraw due to the inability to pay for tuition and living expenses. In a last-ditch effort, I went to one of the offices and explained my situation. Within a week, Belmont had crafted a solution to work with me and allow me to continue my education. Not only staying in school but the willingness to invest in me had a profound impact.”
Smith at the Nebraska State Capitol
Smith graduated in 2018 with a degree in English and a minor in Education. She continued in the College of Education and graduated in 2019 with a Master’s of Arts in Teaching and is now the High Ability Learning Specialist for the Office of Teaching, Learning, & Assessment for the Nebraska Department of Education. “In a funny way, my lack of positive experiences in school drew me to education,” she said. “I saw so much unmet potential and systemic disservice to students, and I wanted to change it. So much of student development is chance, and I wanted to be the person I needed when I was in school.”
She had quite a road to travel to get there. Belmont was pivotal in her journey. “Being a student at Belmont University undoubtedly changed my life in a way that is hard to put into words,” she said. “When I chose to go to college at Belmont, I had to go it alone. Moving to a big city alone as a first-generation college student was terrifying, but I immediately felt at home at Belmont. I found my passion, my people and myself. I finally felt like I belonged and that I was heard.”
“The experiences I had at Belmont allowed me to come into my own and gain confidence to pursue my dreams,” she said. “The professors, faculty, staff and everyone on campus truly believe in the mission and support students not only academically but emotionally and spiritually as well. It was so much more than just the classes that contributed to my success. I felt like people believed in me, and that made all of the difference. The commitment to students is truly extraordinary.”
While life after graduation has had its challenges, Smith said the College of Education prepared her academically and equipped her with the skills necessary to thrive in the professional world of education. “Learning to handle my professional and personal life has been simultaneously one of the easiest and most challenging things I have done,” Smith said. “I took a state-level administrator position in a state I had never been to and started remotely in the midst of a pandemic–enough said, right? In all seriousness, I am lucky to have an army of supporters in my corner.”
Smith with Dr. Amy Hodges-Hamilton
Smith attributes her successes to those who have “walked alongside me in this incredible journey.” And there are many, beginning with her “chosen parents, my friends who became family, and my husband.” Impactful people like Dr. Amy Hodges-Hamilton (English) gave Sheyanne the courage to embrace all parts of herself, while professors in the College of Education provided guidance and support while allowing exploration outside of course content. “[Hodges-Hamilton] emphasized the importance of telling stories and inspired me to tell mine. She helped me find my voice and inspire others with my story. She believed in me as a writer and me as a person. Without her guidance, I would have never had the courage to embrace all things that make up me—even the parts I didn’t want.”
Smith with husband, Brandon Smith, in 2022
While she is grateful for all of the professors she had, the professors in the College of Education have made and continue to make a difference for Smith. “Although Belmont does not have a program to study gifted education, my professors worked hard to help me integrate gifted into course content, designed independent studies, and allowed me to follow my passion even if it was out of their scope of the class.”
She’s also grateful to Drs. Rachel Flynn-Hopper, Sally Barton-Arwood, Joy Kimmons and Mona Ivey-Soto for “allowing me to explore outside opportunities and for their flexibility which allowed me to enter the field prepared,” Smith said. “Outside of class, their kind words, encouragement and fierce devotion to student success were key to my development as an educator and a leader. Even after graduating, the Belmont College of Education faculty and staff are always there to support their alumni in any way they can.”
Smith playing semi-pro women’s tackle football
Smith also has a passion for women’s sports. “I played softball at Belmont and have played female sports my whole life, so I am a huge advocate for girls in sports and breaking gender barriers. As one of my hobbies, I play semi-pro women’s tackle football. Football has been a historically male sport, with females occasionally playing in lingerie leagues. We play ‘real’ football—pads, tackling, uniforms, rules, the whole thing!”
If you’d like information on how to support scholarships for students in need, visit bruinsforlife.com during March 20-22 during our giving days.
For more information about the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, click here. For the College of Education, click here.
Belmont University announced today the appointment of Brittany Schaffer, Spotify’s head of artist & label partnerships Nashville, as the new dean for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, effective May 1. Consistently recognized by Billboard and Variety as one of the top schools in the country for music business and film studies, the Curb College is internationally known for developing entertainment industry leaders. The College’s prominent music business program will celebrate its 50th anniversary during the 2023-24 academic year.
Belmont President Dr. Greg Jones said, “Belmont’s Curb College has long been recognized for developing artists and executives who bring innovative leadership and creative storytelling to their roles throughout the entertainment industry. We are delighted Brittany Schaffer has accepted the role of dean, and I am confident that she will elevate our programs even further, deepening our connections within music, motion pictures and media while establishing new partnerships in Nashville, across the U.S. and around the globe. Her significant achievements and the tremendous respect she’s earned as a leader signal a bold and bright future ahead for Curb College and our students.”
At Spotify Nashville, Schaffer co-leads Spotify’s Music Team in Nashville, with responsibility for setting the vision of the team, cultivating and nurturing industry partnerships across the greater Nashville market and leading the development and execution of Spotify’s global strategy to grow the Country, Christian/Gospel and Americana genres. Her tenure spurred the era-defining shift in country music consumption habits, increasing country music consumption from 39 percent to more than 80 percent and growing country music listening on Spotify by double digits annually.
Brittany has also been instrumental in strategically acquiring and retaining an impressive team to meaningfully bolster Spotify’s presence in the Nashville market and has built a culture of teamwork and collaboration that fuels Spotify’s partnerships across Nashville. Prior to Spotify, Schaffer held the role of senior counsel for Nashville-based Loeb & Loeb, LLP, where she counseled established and emerging artists, songwriters and producers in contract negotiations and assisted with the development of legal and business strategies for music and entertainment content management and amplification.
Schaffer said, “My career has focused on being a champion of people, ideas and innovations that bring the music and the broader entertainment industry together to fuel growth for the future of the business and to bring joy to those who enjoy the creativity and stories we share. My career has also centered around my love of Nashville and its potential to be the creative center of the music business and a major player in the larger entertainment industry. Belmont – and the Curb College in particular – offer a unique opportunity to align these passions and be part of the legacy Belmont is leaving on its students and ultimately the global entertainment business as a whole. I am honored to help steward the Curb College into its next chapter, focusing on how we continue to be radical champions for our campus community, city and industry as we look toward, plan for and create the future we want for the global music and entertainment business.”
“I’m also forever grateful to Spotify for their incredible support of me and the Nashville music industry, which was beyond anything I ever imagined when I joined the company over five years ago. I will continue to be a champion of the company and the incredible Nashville team and look forward to partnering with them in the future as we shape the leaders of tomorrow.”
A magna cum laude graduate of both Vanderbilt University and Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, Schaffer has been named among Billboard’s Country Power Players for the past four years and was noted in 2018 as one of “Six Emerging Executives Shaping Music’s Future.” She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Country Music Association and Country Radio Broadcasters as well as the St. Jude Country Cares Advisory Board. Schaffer is a Class of 2022 Leadership Music graduate.
Belmont Provost Dr. David Gregory noted, “Brittany will bring extraordinary passion, faith and experience to her new role as dean of Curb College. Her legal background and familiarity advocating for artists, writers, producers and more within the industry provide a unique perspective on the holistic education our students need to be successful in a variety of entertainment fields. Plus, through her time with Spotify, she has been on the leading edge of where these content rich fields are heading and is well prepared to ensure Curb College stays at the forefront of modern storytelling.”
In her new role, Schaffer will serve approximately 100 faculty and staff and more than 2,700 students in Curb College programs. Reporting directly to the Provost/EVP of Academic Excellence, she will serve as the leader of the largest college of the university with responsibilities for all of its academic programs and student enrichment initiatives. Her new role involves providing leadership and guidance across campus related to Curb College efforts while also seeking industry collaboration, cultivating new partnership opportunities and nurturing positive, philanthropic support to further enhance the vitality of a Curb College education.
Thanks to the generous support of longtime industry executive and college namesake Mike Curb, students within the Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business have opportunities to learn on the world-renowned Music Row in facilities responsible for birthing some of the greatest songs and albums of our time. The historic Columbia Studio A and Quonset Hut were home to recordings sessions with such renowned artists as Buddy Holly, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Bob Dylan, among others. In addition, Curb students learn alongside professionals in the Belmont-owned Ocean Way Nashville recording studio, and they can participate in semester-long internship and curricular experiences in both New York City (Belmont East) and Los Angeles (Belmont West and Belmont in Hollywood).
On the main campus, most Curb College courses are set in the $87 million Milton & Denice Johnson Center, which opened in 2015 and features state-of-the-art screening theaters, computer labs, mixing suites, digital production and animation studios, motion picture sound stages and research laboratories along with ample student meeting spaces and classrooms. The building boasts $3.6 million in technology resources and specialized equipment to serve students majoring in Curb College fields: audio engineering technology, creative & entertainment industries, emerging media, film & TV writing, journalism, media production, music business, songwriting, motion pictures and publishing.
Of particular note, the facility is equipped with Dolby Atmos Rendering Unit (Dolby RMU) that allows faculty to teach the process of creating and compiling movies in full Dolby Digital, 7.1 and the Atmos DCP formats. Belmont’s Motion Pictures program was the first university-based film program in the country capable of not only showing commercial films, but also teaching the process of developing and producing theater-ready films in the Atmos format.
Schaffer fills a position held for seven years by Belmont alumnus and longtime music executive Doug Howard, who retired last fall. Dr. Sarita Stewart, associate professor of creative & entertainment industries who served as interim dean for this academic year, will assume a new role as Senior Associate Dean for Curb College, where she will play a key role working alongside Schaffer on programming and curriculum.
QUOTES OF SUPPORT
“We are thrilled to see Brittany appointed to this important position. Her background in the digital world, particularly with Spotify, will allow our students to learn about the future of the music business. Linda and I are excited about this next era for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.” —Mike Curb | Curb Records Founder/Chairman | Curb College namesake
“Brittany Shaffer is a student of the music industry, and she lives to meet the next challenge. From her entrance in the business as an entertainment lawyer to her time as a global leader at Spotify, Brittany has championed artists and their music. She’s keenly aware of the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead of our industry while at the same time remaining a champion of our music, our creators and our storytellers. She has a deep love and conviction for Nashville, Tennessee as the epicenter of the music world. There could be no better leader to take Belmont University and the future leaders of the music business to the next level because she understands fully that we live on the corner of art and commerce in an ever-changing marketplace. I am grateful to know that my alma mater is making an effort in joining forces with the Nashville creative community by bringing in one of our own to grow their influence and reach, and to take a seat at the table as a stakeholder in our music industry.” —Cindy Mabe | Chair & CEO, Universal Music Group Nashville (effective April 1) | Belmont University Class of 1995
“This is an exciting time for the Curb College. Brittany Schaffer stands tall in her faith, she leads with support and encouragement, and she has a vision that will lead this program far into the future.” —Rusty Gaston | CEO, Sony/ATV Music Publishing | Belmont University Class of 1998
“As a Belmont graduate, a Curb College Advisory Board member and someone who cares deeply for Music City and the creative talent that is birthed and developed here, I’m thrilled with the appointment of Brittany Schaffer to lead the Curb College. She has a lengthy history of advocating for creators and working to ensure their gifts are shared with as broad and diverse of an audience as possible. I’m excited to watch her bring that passion for music and entertainment into this new role where she can actively shape the industry’s future.” —Ben Vaughn | President & CEO, Warner Chappell Nashville | Belmont University, Class of 2000
Inspired by a free grocery store in California called Unity Shoppe, Belmont alumnus Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley, a Belmont Trustee, set out three years ago to create a place where food insecure individuals and families in Nashville could receive assistance while maintaining the dignity of the shopping experience.
The Store’s philosophy of community empowerment is on the nonprofit’s website. “Most people don’t want handouts,” Paisley said. “They want dignity and respect. Most people want to become self-sufficient.”
The Paisleys worked with several partners including Belmont to open The Store in March 2020. The nonprofit had an early opening to offer aid to the elderly during the onset of COVID-19. On March 12, The Store will celebrate its third year of operation. Within that time, the nonprofit has served over 2 million meals.
Deliberately positioned on Belmont’s campus next to the Belmont Ministry Center, The Store serves the nearby Edgehill community and families in Davidson County. Belmont continues to support The Store and the Ministry Center provides wraparound services for patrons including financial planning, music therapy and mental health counseling, among others.
In the initial model, The Store was intended to serve 100 families twice a month who would also participate next door at the Ministry Center through the Family Wellness Program, but the pandemic created a much higher need for those services.
“That’s what helped us expand the number of families that we’re serving and the referral agencies that we’re working with,” executive director of The Store Courtney Vrablik said. “We’re up to about 25 referral agencies. On top of that, we have cultivated referral agencies that we can have a reciprocal relationship with.”
Today, The Store offers aid to 350 families and in a year, can aid up to 450 households. 120 of the families receive services from Belmont’s Family Wellness Program and an additional 25 families in an emergency 90-day program can receive services from The Store quarterly.
A robust referral partner group has allowed The Store to become a hub that connects people with the services they need even when the grocery store itself has reached its capacity. The full list of referral partners can be found on The Store’s website.
“We can now refer out families that don’t necessarily qualify for services next door [in the Family Wellness Program] to the agencies who are also referring families to us,” Vrablik said. “That allows us to continue to focus on building a support network under these families. We’ve been able to bring on some case managers and extra staffing to really be intentional in the way we provide information for these families so that they are getting more information and food at the same time.”
The Store also provides an opportunity for volunteer-minded college students in Nashville to serve the community. Since March 2020, students have volunteered 1030.67 hours, with 125 Belmont students volunteering to greet customers, stock shelves, run the registers, bag groceries and assist customers to their cars.
“Volunteering at The Store has made me feel much more connected to the community of Nashville,” sophomore music business and film acting major Nikki Wildy said. “Sometimes college can feel a bit like a bubble, but volunteering has allowed me to meet so many people from around the area, in both the other volunteers and the patrons. You feel like you’re really making a tangible impact in people’s lives through this incredible organization.”
The Store is more than a place to get groceries. It is a hub that connects individuals to the resources they need. The nonprofit is tuned into community needs so that it can continue finding new solutions to the question of how to address the core root causes of poverty in the community.
There is never a shortage of exciting shows around Nashville. Belmont University has two family-friendly shows scheduled this March at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, including the College of Music and Performing Arts’s production of “Beauty and The Beast” and Marc Martel’s tribute show “One Vision of QUEEN.”
“We’ve got a special set of shows coming through our beautiful venue this Spring, and we would love to have you join us to see the magic of the space,” said Executive Director of the Fisher Center Chaz Corzine.
“The experience at the Fisher Center is so unique – from the moment you arrive at the beautiful fountains to the Grand Foyer and into the theater itself – all are unique and inspiring spaces. The old-world beauty of the Fisher Center enhances the impact of every show we get to host. We’re especially excited to be showcasing Belmont’s Musical Theatre students in their production of Beauty and the Beast. We hope to see you here soon!”
Beauty and the Beast
Belmont University’s Musical Theatre program’s “Beauty and the Beast” runs Friday, March 24 – Sunday, March 26.
Beauty and the Beast tells the story of an unkind prince who has been magically transformed into an unsightly creature as punishment for his selfish ways. To revert into his true human form, the Beast must learn to love a bright, beautiful young lady who he has imprisoned in his enchanted castle before it is too late. The show premiered on Broadway in 1994 and has been produced in regional and educational theaters all over the world. This classic tale is sure to entertain the whole family.
One vision of Queen feat. Marc Martel will stop at the Fisher Center on Friday, March 31, at 7 p.m.
Marc Martel has forged a unique and diverse career from lending his voice to the Canadian band DOWNHERE to capturing a global market with his ULTIMATE QUEEN CELEBRATION. Martel’s uncanny ability to sing the tunes Freddie Mercury made famous with the legendary band QUEEN has captured the attention of the fans around the world – including surviving members of QUEEN whom he has performed with on “American Idol.” Viral videos of Martel performing classic QUEEN songs have garnered hundreds of millions of views. And there’s nothing like seeing and hearing him LIVE.
A Nashville native, there will be a VIP opportunity and after party 30 minutes after Martel plays his first One Vision of Queen concert in his hometown of Nashville. VIP access includes a photo with Martel, refreshments and a limited edition signed and numbered poster.
Biology Professor Dr. Becky Adams has the perfect illustration to help explain concepts in her genetics class at Belmont. During a recent lecture, she was covering the differences between monozygotic versus dizygotic twins (commonly called identical and fraternal twins) and how identical twins were once the same cell. She likes to jokingly call them “real and fake twins.”
If Becky wanted to illustrate her point further, she could walk her class down the hall of the Janet Ayers Academic Building and introduce them to her very own “real” twin: Dr. Beth Bowman, who is also employed in Belmont’s College of Sciences and Mathematics as the pre-health advisor and summer undergraduate research director.
Students (and even fellow faculty, on occasion) mix the twins up all the time, with both women recounting embarrassing moments in elevators or the hallways where they admit they aren’t who the person greeting them thinks they are.
This is something they are used to, however, as the twins have been correcting peers at Belmont on their identities for a while now. Before working at Belmont, Beth and Becky attended Belmont as students, graduating in 2008 with their bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology, respectively.
Student Life
Growing up in Nashville, the twins did everything together and set ambitious goals for their lives.
The decision to attend Belmont was instantaneous when they arrived for their campus tour. Beth said they both felt the unmistakable Belmont culture the minute they stepped on campus.
One of their favorite parts of attending Belmont was getting involved in student life, like Becky serving as the president of the Tri Beta Club (for which she currently serves as the faculty advisor) and both joining the Pep Band to indulge in their love for Belmont Basketball.
The twins feel they had a phenomenal undergraduate experience because of the marriage of the warm Belmont culture with rigorous teaching. “And it’s so cool to see that that is still what it is here: it’s still a delightful place to be, but also truly thoughtful about serious education for students,” said Beth.
Many of the faculty from their time as students, whether having them in class or as an advisor in the Chemistry club, are still at Belmont and are now their colleagues.
Beth and Becky loved Belmont Basketball as undergrad students (and now as faculty/staff!)
Despite having followed in one another’s footsteps their whole lives, the sisters said their college experience was the first time their paths started to diverge, and they began focusing on their individual goals. Aside from the enjoyable student experience, Beth and Becky felt academically prepared for their next steps after graduation due to excellent faculty instruction, research opportunities and the collaborative student environment. Beth said because Belmont was such a safe place, they were set up well to learn to thrive on their own.
Beth quickly knew she was headed for the Ph.D. route and enrolled at Emory University, but Becky decided to explore more options before she ultimately decided to pursue her doctorate at Vanderbilt University. “Beth’s always right,” Becky chuckled.
Becky did her post-doctorate at Yale University, and Beth was at Duke University before taking a job back in Nashville at Vanderbilt.
Coming Home to Belmont
Becky was fortunate to participate in cutting-edge research during her time at Yale, but she realized her heart didn’t want to pursue research full-time. “The part I enjoyed most in the lab was helping teach others what I had learned,” she said. “My post-doc included a lot of individual learning that was challenging for me, and I thought about how great it would be to help students learn that kind of challenging thing. So that’s what made me realize that teaching is what I really love.”
Becky was living in Connecticut while her husband and Beth were both in Nashville. In 2019, she was thrilled to see a position open at Belmont that would both allow her to move back home to be with her family but that was also perfect for her background and felt like “home” academically, as well.
“I was like, ‘I have to get this job; I have to get this job!’ I’m so fortunate that my colleagues selected me for this position because it truly ties in everything I love,” Becky said. “I love Belmont and coming back has been such an honor. I love Belmont students, I love teaching, I love research and getting to do that with undergrads. It’s not the pressure of full-time research; but I get the joy of helping others discover. It’s so fulfilling to every aspect of what I love about being a scientist.”
Meanwhile, Beth was working at Vanderbilt and Becky kept telling her, “You gotta come over to Belmont.” It didn’t take too much convincing. Beth felt the institutional culture at the other places she had been since Belmont did not match her values or her priorities the way that Belmont did from the beginning.
“That is an intentional choice that Belmont makes to support its students from the top and from the faculty. Faculty choose to be here because they care about students, student support and student-focused activities. Everything here is about giving them the best education and the best support,” Beth explained. “That thing I loved as a student is the thing I aspire to be as an administrator. I feel grateful that my experience as a student is a genuine part of who Belmont is.”
Making their Own Impact
Beth and Becky in the lab as students.
Both are grateful for the experiences they gained at other institutions so they feel qualified to help students prepare for their next steps outside of the “Belmont bubble,” but couldn’t be happier to be back home with one another, the school they love and working alongside some of their favorite faculty who inspired them to be the professionals they are today.
In a long list of influential professors both women listed that cared about them, Becky pointed out that Biology Professor Dr. Jennifer Thomas was one of those teachers who “changed her life.” “She challenged me to think about what I was learning and ask myself if I had a true understanding of the material, but she also impacted my personal life in the way she showed me care about what was happening in my life and my future,” she said. “The fact that I get to work with her now and am still perpetually trying to make her proud of me – that’s never going to go away. She’s a very, very special person to me.”
Both women now get to work directly with students and want to have similar impacts on their lives in their own ways.
Becky said she can also feel a new prioritization at Belmont of helping the community. Last summer she started a summer program with Beth’s administrative help called “VISIBL,” which was designed to help students from local, public high schools to learn about microbiology and environmental microbiology, but more so, to help them begin to see themselves as scientists.
The twins benefited from a similar program when they were in high school that helped them say, “We want to be scientists; we are scientists; we want to major in science.” Being able to do something similar for the community is a priority for them now in their own lives and careers.
As an administrator, Beth feels lucky to be able to help students with their diverse interests by putting all the pieces of their education together to make the most meaningful opportunities for them. She meets with students one-on-one and provides broader programming strategy, complementing the excellent education that already exists by showing students new opportunities they didn’t know about. “To get to hold a mirror up for them to see how amazing they are and how high they should seek or what diverse experiences they could be getting,” Beth gushed. “To help them understand who they are and what all is available to them.”
Becky echoed that Beth’s role is hugely important because it gives students someone who has their best interest at heart outside of the classroom. “Our students are incredibly bright and talented, and I’m often shocked at how powerful it can be for them to hear that,” Becky explained. “The fact that I might get to be the one to say those things that help change the way they think about themselves – I can’t believe that’s what I get to do. Beth gets to do that to help them realize their potential, and I get to do that in the classroom. It’s fun.”
Sister Collaboration
The sisters argue all the time over which one of them has the “best job,” each of them genuinely believing they hold the title. Beth mentioned they felt sorry for their “poor husbands” for having to listen to them talk about how great their jobs are non-stop, even outside of the Belmont setting.
And a lot of that outside talk leads to further collaboration. Becky said just the other night Beth called her to discuss an idea to get multiple perspectives on it, knowing Becky would give an honest answer and not be too concerned with hurting her feelings. Having that connection is a real asset.
“We are both problem solvers, and it’s fun being able to approach something from different angles. I take the teaching angle, and she has the professional development angle, and we love to come up with solutions that satisfy what is best for the students overall,” Becky explained.
Belmont’s new focus on whole-person formation lines up perfectly with how the women view their roles in education. “You can’t be this academic robot without realizing the entirety of who an individual is – their backstory, their growth, all that they’re going through in all aspects of who they are,” Beth said.
“Belmont is the place where we can focus on that individual support and where we can say ‘What do you want as a person? Because you are valued and you are important, so let’s figure out your personal, individual life. And not all schools are places to do that.”
