The Quonset Hut and Columbia studios along with Curb College Facility Manager Mike Porter were featured recently in an hour-long podcast by “This Week in Radio Tech.” Porter showed the microphones used in recording some of the most familiar and popular songs in history as well as provided a tour of Columbia Studio A and Studio B – the Quonset Hut – on Nashville’s Music Square. The podcast can be viewed here.
Carr Recognized With Women of Influence Award
Cheryl Slay Carr, associate dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, has been recognized as a Women of Influence Award winner for 2019. The Nashville Business Journal honors women in nine categories who lead and make it a priority to give back, to encourage and to inspire. Carr has been selected to receive the award in the Trailblazer category.
Two Alumni, One Student Make It to ‘American Idol’ Top 40 Round
Three Belmont Bruins survived Hollywood Week and are moving on to the “American Idol” Showcase round in Hawaii. Whittled down from the 175 Hollywood contestants, the Showcase Round will feature the show’s Top 40 with performances airing on ABC Sunday, March 31.
Sophomore music education major Walker Burroughs again impressed the judges in Hollywood with solo performances of Stevie Wonder’s “Whereabouts” and Elton John’s “Your Song.” Hometown website AL.com confirmed the singer was chosen for the Hawaii round, which will cut the contestant pool down to 20.
Though her performances during Hollywood Week didn’t air on the broadcast, December 2018 commercial voice graduate Emma Kleinberg was seen with fellow Beltones member Burroughs in the room in which Idol judge Katy Perry informed contestants they had made it through to the next round. She also acknowledged her joy at moving forward in the competition on an Instagram post.
And according to the Wilson Post, music business alumnus Kason Lester also was selected for the Showcase Round following his participation on The Mamas and Papas’s song “California Dreamin‘” in the Hollywood group round.
Tune in to ABC Sunday to see alumni Kason Lester and Emma Kleinberg as well as current student Walker Burroughs compete in the Top 40 round of “American Idol.”
Dr. Susan West Speaks at Cable Leadership Luncheon
Belmont Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Susan West recently participated in a panel discussion at the Nashville Cable ATHENA Awards Leadership Luncheon. The topic of the luncheon was “Fearless Girl: Conquering Your Bull.”
West was featured as a panelist along with Meg Harris, senior vice president and head of strategic initiatives at AllianceBernstein. The discussion was moderated by Nancy Corley, attorney at Lyle, Levy & Langford PLC.
Dr. Lakisha Simmons, associate professor of management information systems, is nominated for the Nashville Cable 2019 ATHENA Award in the Young Professionals category.
Alumna Jenna Clare Publishes First Book ‘Water Runs Red’
Jenna Clare, Belmont audio & video production alumna, recently published her first book “Water Runs Red,” a narrative poetry collection. “Water Runs Red” explores ruined friendships, self-exploration and the battle between good and evil.
Clare also manages her own freelance photography business and a YouTube channel where she talks about books, music and her life.
Her book can be purchased on Amazon here.
Belmont Hosts Metro Council’s Annual Minority Caucus Reception
Belmont University recently hosted Metro Council’s Annual Minority Caucus Reception on campus March 14. The event featured many noted guests, including Nashville Mayor David Briley, Vice-Mayor Jim Shulman and Police Chief Steve Anderson.
The event kicked-off with a welcome from Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher and was emceed by council member Sharon Hurt, a graduate of Belmont’s masters program in nonprofit leadership. The keynote speaker for the event was Rodney Strong, chairman and CEO of Griffin and Strong, PC in Atlanta, GA. He currently serves as the principle for projects dealing with public policy consulting. Strong conducted a disparity study for the Metro Nashville government that looked at the status of Metro utilizing female- and minority-owned companies.
Belmont hosts the Metro Council Minority Caucus each year.
Belmont Basketball Teams Turn in Championship Performances on Academic Brackets
InsideHigherEd.com—an online trade publication for higher education—recently released its picks for both men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Brackets based solely on academic standards, and the Belmont Bruins of Nashville, Tennessee topped both brackets. The men’s team beat Yale University, as well as Maryland, Temple and Baylor, on their way to securing the NCAA bracket academic championship as published by InsideHigherEd. This marks the third time Belmont has claimed the InsideHigherEd Academic Bracket Championship, previously winning in 2013 and 2015.
Meanwhile for the women, Belmont made it all the way to the Championship game, “defeating” some fellow academic powerhouses, including first round opponent South Carolina, as well as North Carolina, Bucknell, Kentucky and Texas. Belmont’s only loss was in the title game to Stanford University.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “On two consecutive days Belmont student-athletes have appeared at the top of a national bracket based on academic prowess. This is the ultimate victory for me in March Madness, recognizing our teams are giving their all on the court and in the classroom. I am so proud of all our student athletes have accomplished and grateful to see Belmont so well represented on a national stage.”
The Inside Higher Ed website annually completes an NCAA bracket based on each team’s academic performance, with teams in the bracket “competing” based on Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, the N.C.A.A.’s multiyear measure of a team’s classroom performance. If teams tie on APR, Inside Higher Ed then moves to Graduation Success Rate, which measures the proportion of athletes on track to graduate within six years. Belmont’s men’s basketball currently boasts a perfect 1000-point APR as well as a 100 percent graduation success rate.
The Belmont basketball teams demonstrate amazingly consistent talent on the court as well. The Belmont men secured an at-large NCAA tournament bid and participated in their eighth NCAA Tournament of the past 14 years. The Belmont women recently won their fourth straight OVC tournament championship, leading to their fourth consecutive trip to the Big Dance.
The Inside Higher Ed academic bracket is just the beginning of a phenomenal story in college basketball. Here are a few stats to consider:
In the Classroom and the Community
- Belmont women’s basketball has been named a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Honor Roll Team in each of the past five years with team cumulative GPAs above 3.4 each year.
- Belmont WBB had a team 3.595 GPA in 2017-18, its highest cumulative GPA in that stretch, which ranked 13th among WBB teams nationally at the NCAA Division I level.
- Belmont WBB is led by senior Jenny Roy, a 2018-19 CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree and OVC Academic Medal of Honor recipient.
- Belmont men’s basketball has 18 straight years with 3.0 or higher team GPA
- Belmont MBB is also home to 17 Academic All-American selections since 2001 (leads NCAA), including senior Dylan Windler this season
- Belmont MBB is one of only three NCAA Division I programs to make the Academic Progress rate Honor Roll every year
- Members of both teams serve in the community every year and participate in annual overseas mission trips, among other activities
Women’s Basketball Stats
- Belmont has won four straight Ohio Valley Conference championships and joins perennial national power UConn as the only teams in the nation to have won their past four conference tournament titles.
- Belmont has won four straight conference tournament championships for the first time in the program’s NCAA era.
- The Bruins rank fourth in the nation in made 3-pointers with 10.4 per game.
- The Bruins have won at least 26 games in three consecutive seasons and have at least 24 wins in each of the past four seasons.
Men’s Basketball Stats
- Belmont men’s basketball has won 17 NCAA Division I Conference Titles since 2006 — Only Kansas and Gonzaga have won more conference championships over that span
- Belmont has earned postseason invitations 13 of the last 14 years, including eight automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament.
- The Bruins rank top 25 nationally in 12 statistical categories, including first in assists per game and total assists, second in scoring offense and assist to turnover ratio, fifth in field goal percentage, and sixth in offensive efficiency and defensive rebounding.
Men’s Basketball Head Coach Rick Byrd
- Coach Byrd is in his 33rd season at Belmont University
- Ranks 5th among all active NCAA Div. I head coaches in career wins with 804
- Recognized this year as a candidate for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019
- Named a finalist this year for both the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award and Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award
- Received the NCAA Bob Frederick Award in 2013 for his lifelong commitment to sportsmanship, ethical conduct and fair play
- Inducted into both the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame
Student Overcomes Obstacles to Pursue Her Passion for Performing
Mackenna Swann has overcome many obstacles in her life, but none of them have slowed her down or stopped her from pursuing her passions. Originally from California, Swann now studies at Belmont and focuses on learning and growing as an artist.
Growing up, Swann was an active kid and involved in several different sports like track and soccer, but her interests didn’t stop there. Swann says she always had an interest in singing but was too shy to pursue it. But it was because of her involvement in sports specifically that Swann began to realize something was wrong with her knees. “When I was 11, I started to experience pain and swelling in my knees after track meets and soccer games,” she said. “My parents took me to an orthopedist, and I was later diagnosed with a rare bone condition.”
After being diagnosed, Swann went through three different surgeries. These surgeries had long periods of recovery, leaving her non-weight bearing for three years. But Swann did not let that slow her down. She focused on keeping her physical strength up for when she could walk again.
“I wanted to walk more than anything,” she said, “but I knew that it would require a lot of strength, both physically and mentally. While in bed, I did sit-ups and leg raises to strengthen my muscles to the best of my ability. Part of what helped me look on the bright side during my recovery process was my faith in God that was strengthened through putting my trust in Him.”
A middle school student when all of this happened, Swann saw other patients in the hospitals that were also going through struggles, giving her inspiration and a special outlook on life at a young age. “I had a very strong appreciation for life,” Swann commented. “In the hospitals, I saw other patients who didn’t have legs or who had 13 surgeries instead of three. I am honored to meet people like them; they inspire me every day.”
Swann never thought she would be an artist when she got older, but soon she realized she had a passion for the visual and performing arts. At home in her wheelchair, Swann began to fall in love with music and art. Her teachers would come to her house and help her cultivate this new found passion. It was moments like these that led her to be an artist, and thus to Belmont.
It was also during her recovery period after her knee surgeries that Swann began to write songs. She says that she, “wrote many songs during that time that came from a very deep place and are the foundation of the songs I write as an artist today. The pain that I went through during that time has made me want to be an artist of substance, to give inspiration to those who go through pain of their own.”
Possessing a strong passion for singing, songwriting and art, during her senior year of high school Swann began to look for a school that would allow her to explore and grow in these areas. Ultimately, she decided Belmont was the place to pursue her passions even more.
“I chose Belmont University because of its encouraging community, popular music program, religious affiliation and opportunities to pursue visual arts,” Swann said. “This school is paradise for me, and I am having the time of my life growing as an artist and person.”
A freshman commercial music major planning to switch to songwriting, Swann had the honor of performing at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) fundraising gala earlier this year. This opportunity included sharing her story and getting to open for singer Kelly Clarkson. When Swann got the call about the chance to perform at the event, she could not believe it. “I was so in shock,” she said. “I had been in and out of CHOC my whole childhood, and it was humbling to be chosen to represent a community that is so close to home.”
At the gala, which took place on February 2, Swann shared her story of her rare bone disease and performed along side Voices of Hope Children’s Choir from “America’s Got Talent.” The event ended up raising almost $4 million dollars for the hospital.
“The experience of opening for Kelly Clarkson has opened my eyes to an infinite world of possibilities about how I can use my talent to inspire others,” Swann commented. “I am very excited to continue to pursue my passion at Belmont University, and I am looking forward to the adventures to come.”
Holt Speaks to Dell Visionary Leadership Academy
Assistant Professor of Music Business Eric Holt, J.D., recently spoke to the Dell Visionary Leadership Academy.
The Visionary Leadership Academy is an intensive and expansive course which meets weekly to hear from Dell executives about their leadership stories. The goal of AVL is to empower people to be “everyday leaders.” The course helps participants develop skills to prepare them to lead in challenging times and in different ways.
Holt spoke to the Visionary Leadership Academy as a representative of Belmont University and Lovenoise, a live music and poetry event he co-founded which takes place at BB Kings in Nashville.
Holt spoke to students about the impact people can make on their city, businesses, neighbors and beyond. He shared the value of “pivoting” to use challenges as opportunities.
He emphasized the importance of making sure to have clear and honest goals, of being aware of options in order to be adaptable and of moving forward and not letting obstacles get in the way of success.
Interior Design, Occupational Therapy Students Partner to Improve Local Family’s Home
Students in the O’More School of Design’s Interior Design program may be used to frequent client meetings and conversations surrounding the most effective layouts of homes, but this semester they have found themselves doing different work, entirely. Thanks to a collaboration with the School of Occupational Therapy, students in both programs have joined efforts to work alongside the Trotters, a local family whose 9-year-old daughter Joy has a number of disabilities that limit her mobility and access throughout the home.
Sydni Claunch, a sophomore in Interior Design, said, “As an interior design student, we usually deal with a lot of hypothetical projects. The opportunity to work with Trotters’ house and OT made our project have a heart behind it. It allowed us to connect with an actual family and with an actual story, and it taught me the importance of interaction. Design constantly interacts with people, so I think it was pivotal for our group to be able to interact with a wonderfully bright little girl and design something to comfort and aid her through the help of OT.”
After a series of combined sessions where both groups had the chance to learn from each other’s disciplines and begin their collaboration, designers traveled to the Trotter house and began their work. They spoke with Donna, Joy’s mother, who serves as a physical therapist at Vanderbilt and learned more about Joy’s specific preferences – standing when watching TV, seeing her reflection on shiny surfaces and playing in her room, uninterrupted by the sounds of guests in the home’s living room.
From there, the design teams began dreaming for Joy and her family. Thinking through every detail from the best flooring to accommodate her love for spending playtime on the ground, to the need to eliminate unnecessary hallways but still keep acoustical treatment surrounding Joy’s bedroom, students began thinking through what elements to add and which ones to remove. From ensuring enough space for wheelchair clearance to evaluating the easiest way to unload groceries from the car, essential elements were key.
That’s the beauty of successful design work, at least according to Interior Design Lecturer and the faculty member over this project’s design students Jayme Jacobson. “Design, as a discipline, is inherently collaborative,” she said. “Professional designers work with clients, architects, engineers and other specialists throughout the design process. Good design is a result of considering all details and responding thoughtfully to challenges, constraints and needs specific to a particular project.”
And at their core, interior designers and occupational therapists share inherent goals, making this collaborative experience a perfect fit. “They both seek to meet the client’s needs as they are,” Jacobson said. “To improve the environment to accommodate the person; as opposed to a person needing to adapt to his or her mismatched environment.”
After reviewing the designs, there were a few key pieces that stuck out to Donna as the most significant. One team’s creation of a living room sensory station provided an opportunity for Joy to play in common areas and an accompanying renovation of Donna’s office gave her a door, while providing sight lines through an additional window. Another group re-did the bathroom layout, providing better accessibility and an intentional focus on Joybug’s needs, as Donna lovingly calls her.
“The entire process was wonderful to be part of,” Donna said. “I truly enjoyed sharing with the students about Joy’s abilities and areas where she needs help to be safe and more independent at home. I love sharing my sweet miracle girl with anyone who is interested, and I am always seeking opportunities to educate others about those with different abilities and how to include everyone, regardless of their ability.
Moving forward, this is not the final opportunity for OT students to partner with O’More designers, or other schools across campus. Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy Dr. Teresa Plummer said the opportunity to work with professionals outside your field is essential to student success. “Teaching interdisciplinary collaboration at a university level is paramount, foundational and essential to help students understand the importance of gathering input from all stakeholders. Asking the right questions comes from opportunities to hear multiple answers from a diverse group of people.”
And for interior design student Claunch, this assignment provided new ways for her to pursue her craft with an interdisciplinary approach. “There is a way to mingle aesthetics and creativity with function,” she said. “This experience, specifically getting to meet Joy, made an impression on how I view the impact of design. Collaboration is so important, and I am very excited it is happening in our earlier studios so we will be able to influence more of our projects with what we learn from other departments.”
