Avid Connect Live Nashville kicked off Thursday with a Welcome & Spotlight Session on at Belmont’s Johnson Center. Noteworthy musicians and music producers shared their craft, the tools they use and the trends driving music creation. The event also showcased the value of Avid’s latest audio products and innovations. The get-together was hosted by Greg “Stryke” Chin, Avid’s audio product evangelist and a Miami-based recording artist, producer and DJ.
The event was part of a three-day celebration of the music community that uses Avid creative tools and solutions and occurred in conjunction with Summer National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) conference, which was held in Nashville this week.
Assistant Professor of Computer Science Dr. Tisha Brown Gaines coauthored “Traffic Aware Wireless Visual Sensor Network Deployment for 3D Indoor Monitoring,” a paper presented by her colleague, Dr. Feng Wang, this summer at the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC) in Shanghai, China. The ICC is the top international conference of the IEEE Communications Society, and IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization. Over 2,400 papers are submitted to the conference in a typical year, of which less than 40% are accepted.
On the heels of Belmont’s recent launch
of a new hospitality
program, the University announced today the initiation
of two additional new majors designed to meet the growing tech and business
sectors both in Nashville and throughout the U.S. New programs in Business
Systems and Analytics and Data Science
will feed trending data-driven fields by preparing students for careers that
blend a strong business acumen with information systems and data analytics. Both
programs are currently accepting students for Fall 2019.
According to a May 2019 article on CNBC.com, the field of data science leads the rankings of the “Best Jobs of 2019” with positive forecasts related to job growth, work environments and position stress levels. Recent studies reported on by the Nashville Technology Council indicated robust regional potential as well with median salaries around $70,000 for business and information analysts. Salary estimators from such sites as Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and PayScale suggest median salaries in the mid-80s for entry level Data Scientists in the Nashville area. Moreover, the launch of these programs at Belmont comes as Middle Tennessee welcomes an array of new global businesses, including the impending arrivals of Amazon, AllianceBernstein and Oracle, among others.
Both majors
represent collaborative efforts that have incorporated input from numerous
industry partners representing major companies headquartered locally including Nissan
North America, HCA, Cat Financial, Tractor Supply, Asurion and Meharry Medical
College along with leading Data Scientists from Eventbrite, Digital Reasoning,
Axial Healthcare, Perception Health, and GitLab among others. That
input—combined with information gathered from Belmont alumni and a
cross-section of business, science, mathematics and computer science faculty—led
to the development of programs that prepare students for the growing demand for
IT professionals and data analysts.
Belmont
Provost Dr. Thomas Burns said, “The world is changing at an incredibly rapid
pace, and Belmont is committed to anticipating market needs to assure our
graduates stay in high demand. It’s our responsibility to provide the education
students need to succeed in the present and future workforce. By collaborating
with leading Nashville companies, we’re ensuring our curriculum is equipping
students with the right skills while also forging partnerships that give
Belmont graduates better access to internships and careers.”
These programs
provide students with numerous entry points for internships and employment that
span all industries and functional areas. Both programs prepare graduates to manage and transform data to explain trends,
predict future performance and explain solutions to drive business strategy,
which are skills coveted by employers. The differences in the two programs come
primarily with the students’ desired coursework path to achieve the optimal
result for their individual career goals.
The Data Science major, housed in Belmont’s
College of Science and
Mathematics, will engage students with
industry and academic communities through guest lecturers, internships, data
projects, industry office hours and a Data Scientist in Residence from the
student’s first class through to a successful career and/or graduate school.
The Data Science program prepares students for career paths including data
analyst, data engineer, data scientist, and many others that are open to
candidates with strong analytical, problem-solving, technical and communication
abilities.
The Business Systems and Analytics
major, which is housed in the Massey
College of Business, allows students to
choose from one of three tracks depending on their desired career path. The
Business Systems track is designed for students who desire to serve as the
“bridge” between business leaders and IT specialists while the
Business Analytics track is designed for students who want to analyze data to
solve business problems. A multi-disciplinary track is designed for students
who want to pursue a career that combines data analytics and information
systems with other business courses.
Click
here for additional information on
the Business Systems and Analytics program.
Click here for additional information on the Data
Science program.
Dr. Paulo Oliveira, assistant professor in the School of Music, gave a lecture-recital at the International Guitar Research Center Conference in Hong Kong. His presentation was titled “Incorporating the Practice of Jazz Improvisation in the Technical Routine of Classical Guitarists.”
Dr. Oliveira said there were speakers from all over the globe at the conference. “I am glad to share that my presentation was very well received, and I am making lots of good connections,” he said. “I am happy to be representing Belmont in this prestigious conference, and I am grateful for the support!
Dr. Oliveira will also play concerts in Singapore and Malaysia before returning home.
Associate Professor of Audio Engineering Technology Dr. Dave Tough’s song “Go Where It Takes Us,” co-written and co-produced with Justin Busch and mixed by Chris Sernel, is featured in the new movie “Stuber.” The movie opened July 12 in theaters nationwide.
Lucian Dervan, associate professor of law and director of criminal justice studies for Belmont Law, presented this week at The International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law’s conference in Brisbane, Australia. The conference’s theme this year focused on bribery and corruption, and Dervan presented a session sharing his research regarding plea bargaining. Dervan also serves as the chair of the American Bar Association Global White Collar Crime Institute and a member of the International Criminal Justice Standards Task Force.
Dervan said, “It seems fitting that one of my last acts as the Australian born chair of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section is to return to Australia for this event. It’s been a fast and fun year as Chair.”
He continued, “I enjoyed the opportunity to attend the conference. We heard a lot during the event about the pressing problem that corruption poses to the global community. Plea bargaining is a tool that offers the possibility of not only moving cases through the system swiftly, but is also a means of creating significant incentives for cooperation that might lead to more investigations and successful prosecutions. In addition to discussing the positive aspects of plea bargaining during my presentation, I also warned the audience about the risks associated with plea bargaining, including the significant problem of false pleas by innocent defendants. As those attending the conference consider the use of plea bargaining in their countries as a tool to assist in the global fight against corruption, I hope they will pause to consider the power of the incentives inherent in the bargain, consider at what point efficiency jeopardizes reliability, and work to create balanced systems that harness the power of plea bargaining, without jeopardizing the fundamental principles of the criminal justice systems we all work to protect for the future.”
Dr. Cheryl Slay Carr, associate dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, and April Hefner, editorial and news content director for the Office of Communications, were selected to participate in the recent “Advancing Leaders Summit.” The event is sponsored by the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association (TICUA) and was held July 10-11 at Cumberland University.
Designed for aspiring campus officials seeking to advance to a more senior role within their institution, the TICUA Advancing Leaders is a two-day intensive summer workshop that helps advancing leaders to evaluate their own skills, gifts and calling against the primary leadership skills needed in today’s private higher education environment.
Professor of Religion Dr. Judy Skeen helped plan the “Heart of Higher Education: Living Between What Is and What Could Be” conference this summer. Held at Goshen College (Indiana) in late June, the conference brought together more than 75 faculty and administrators from across the country and drew on the work of teacher, author and activist Parker J. Palmer, who participated in a keynote conversation.
In addition to helping to organize the event, Skeen also spoke at a plenary session. Click here to read more about the conference.
While some may be relaxing by the pool or working at a
summer job, nearly 800 Belmont students started their summer off by participating
in one of 45 faculty-led Maymester and Summer Study Abroad programs.
With programs based in Australia, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Israel, N. Ireland, Morocco, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania and more, students have the opportunity to learn in a non-traditional classroom by visiting historical sites and experiencing new cultures first-hand.
These short-term programs, lasting anywhere from a week to a
month, are led and designed by Belmont faculty to explore one or two certain
areas of study, while giving students the opportunity to travel to and discover
a new place.
Belmont students enjoy a study abroad trip to the Mediterranean
Director of Study Abroad Thandi Dinani said Belmont’s culturally enriching study abroad programs enhance a student’s academic experience. “Classrooms come to life as faculty take students to visit places where history took place,” she said. “Whether visiting Nelson Mandela’s prison cell in South Africa, walking streets where Jesus walked in Israel or studying chemistry while taking a cooking class in Italy, students see how countries, concepts and cultures have shaped history and impact their world.”
Belmont Students learn audio engineering on a trip to Germany and France
Belmont’s catalog of study abroad opportunities grows every
year, thanks to the Office of Study Abroad and the dedication of more than 100
faculty who lead the programs and work to keep up with the increasing demand
for unique learning experiences.
This summer, new programs include studying cruise industry
entertainment operations by sailing to the Bahamas, learning about island
entertainment, food, music and sports in Jamaica, experiencing one of the
happiest countries on Earth by examining folk culture, music and nature in
Norway, and even touring iconic civil rights locations right here in the U.S.
Other new-to-2019 programs will take students to Ghana, Czech Republic, France
and Germany, among others.
Senior Anna Pearson said her trip to Norway has been the hightlight of her Belmont experience so far. “Studying abroad gave me a perspective of the country that I never would have gotten from a simple vacation. I loved studying about Norway’s history and culture and seeing it unfold right in front of me,” she said. “What I loved most about the Maymester to Norway was that our leaders fit in as much as possible, jam-packing our schedule with a variety of awesome events. From visiting Edvard Grieg’s house to learning about Viking ships to marching in the Constitution Day parade to hiking in the Aurland mountains, there was always something exciting to see, do and learn.”
Belmont students marching in the Norweigan Constitution Day Parade
Belmont senior Tommy Gotsch took three courses on his trip to the Bahamas: third year writing, cruise ship operations and artist management. “My favorite part of the trip was visiting Puerto Rico, going out to dinner at the restaurant, and seeing all of the performances,” he said. “The trip really made me think how unique Belmont is in its learning and teaching, mostly in the real world experience I got in cruise ship entertainment.”
Popular programs among students returning for the 2019 year
include the Hawaii Maymester month-long program, Belmont in South Africa and
Tanzania, as well as the return of the Belmont
at Bonnaroo program.
“We’re able to offer programs that accommodate a wide variety of students from different majors with different program preferences,” said Dinani, who credits strong faculty support for the growing interest in and diversity of study abroad experiences.
Belmont in Italy
Although the Maymester programs have wrapped up, many students are still participating in summer study abroad programs. Follow along with #BelmontAbroad as students and faculty document their summer 2019 travels on social media.
Alec Shirer, senior composition major (percussion principal), will intern with Luray Carillon Park in Luray, Virginia. He will play a series of carillon concerts at the park late in July.
Shirer studies carillon at Belmont with Dr. Richard Shadinger.
