Dr. Tisha Gaines, who joined the Mathematics & Computer Science Department at Belmont this fall, was one of 40 professors nationwide accepted to the New Computing Faculty Workshop held August 5-10 in San Diego. The goal of the workshop, funded by the National Science Foundation, is to help new computing faculty become better and more efficient teachers.
The workshops were described in an article entitled “Preparing Tomorrow’s Faculty to Address Challenges in Teaching Computer Science,” published in the May 2017 issue of Communications of the ACM.
Site features beautiful new water feature, sculpture by acclaimed artist Sandy Scott, stunning view of downtown Nashville
Visible from countless spots around the city, Belmont University’s newest residence hall officially opened its doors today to welcome the 610 residents who will live in the building this year. Dubbed “Tall Hall,” the facility includes a basement and 10 floors and sits atop a hilly area between 12 South and 15thAvenue. The structure’s top floor, based on overall elevation, represents one of the highest points in Nashville, offering tremendous birds-eye views of downtown. Moreover, a new picturesque scene on the campus’ southeast quadrant was unveiled with Tall Hall’s dedication today, as the building is bordered by large green space and a babbling “Bear Creek” that features a bronzed bear sculpture, “Chum Run,” crafted by acclaimed Wyoming visual artist Sandy Scott.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “We have been working for several years to create a residential village on the south end of campus for our upperclassmen, and Tall Hall is truly the pinnacle of those efforts. Not only does this residence offer incredible views of downtown Nashville, but it’s surrounded by one of the most beautiful scenes on campus with the addition of a large new lawn, Bear Creek and Chum Run. This entire area has been transformed, providing a peaceful park-like setting for our residential students to enjoy right in the middle of the city.”
The dedication of Tall Hall and Chum Run on Bear Creek at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, August 18, 2018.
Congressman Jim Cooper added, “We are here today witnessing yet another Belmont miracle… This is awesome. This quadrangle would do credit to any university in the world. This is such a fabulous addition to not only Belmont but to the Nashville community. It is so representative of the quality, the ambition and the bright future that we have here at Belmont and in this great city.”
The area surrounding Tall Hall is enhanced by the unveiling today of Chum Run, a large bear sculpture that provides a clever nod to the University’s athletics nickname, the Bruins. Chum Run was created by Sandy Scott, who received her formal art training at the Kansas City Art Institute and later worked as an animation background artist for the motion picture industry before taking up sculpting in the 1980s. She has received awards for sculpture and etching from the Allied Artists, Pen and Brush Club, American Artists Professional League, Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Club, National Academy of Western Art, Society of Animal Artists and the National Academy of Design. Headquartered in Lander, Wyoming, Scott is an avid outdoorswoman who loves to hunt and fish, and she believes wildlife artists should be in the field to accurately present their subject to the viewer.
At 243,000 square feet, Tall Hall represents Belmont’s largest residential building to date. The $78 million complex includes a fitness studio on the ground level to provide workout opportunities close to students’ homes. The new facility features suite and apartment-style options, including many single room opportunities that were attractive to returning students. Moreover, Tall Hall features innovative new modular furniture that gives students countless choices for how they set up their spaces.
Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life Dr. Anthony Donovan said, “We were excited to work with our long time furniture partner, RT London, to introduce several unique furniture concepts to our newest residential community. Like the building itself, our furniture choices offer bold, modern looks and innovative features, while emphasizing variety and flexibility, allowing each student to make their room a home away from home.”
Approximately 55 percent of Belmont’s undergraduate population currently lives on campus, and the new hall increases the University’s residential spaces to more than 3,900 spots this fall. According to President Fisher, “Once again Belmont has teamed with Nashville-based R.C. Mathews as contractor and ESa as architect, along with first-time partner Siteworks, to create something out of the ordinary – I guess that means extraordinary –for our students.”
Belmont continues its commitment to sustainable buildings with this project, as this is expected to be the fourth campus building to achieve LEED certification. Occupancy sensors, nearby material sourcing, variable refrigerant flow (VRF) HVAC system and low VOC paints are just a few of the features that contribute to ensuring less impact on the environment from this new construction.
Lucian E. Dervan, associate professor of law and director of criminal justice studies at Belmont University College of Law, was named the 68th Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Criminal Justice Section on August 5.
Founded in 1920, the ABA Criminal Justice Section membership is comprised of prosecutors, defense counsel, appellate and trial judges, law professors, correctional and law enforcement personnel, law students and other criminal justice professionals from around the country and across the globe. In addition to hosting conferences and other educational trainings, such as the National, Southeastern, London and Global White-Collar Crime Institutes, the ABA Criminal Justice Section has primary responsibility for the ABA’s work on solutions to issues involving crime, criminal law and the administration of criminal and juvenile justice.
To accomplish this work, the Section initiates studies and research; publishes reports, articles and other widely-disseminated materials; reviews and makes recommendations concerning legislative, administrative and judicial proposals relating to the criminal law and the administration of criminal justice; and authors amicus curiae briefs filed with the United States Supreme Court. As the primary voice on criminal justice issues within the ABA, the Section identifies emerging criminal justice issues that necessitate an appropriate response and coordinates the ABA’s response.
Dervan said of his new role, “One of the greatest strengths of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section is the collaborative spirit created by bringing together members of the criminal justice community with diverse and differing perspectives and roles yet with a collective commitment to justice and fairness. I am incredibly humbled and honored to assume the position of Chair of the Section, and I take very seriously my responsibilities to ensure that the Section continues being a national and international leader in the field of criminal justice.”
As Chair, Dervan will lead the Section’s various works throughout the bar year. This includes launching task forces to examine pressing issues in the field of criminal justice. While some of these task forces will be created as new issues arise, he has also pledged to create task forces related to issues that are not new, but which have concerned the criminal justice community for many years. “As one of my first acts as Chair,” he said, “I was privileged to launch two new task forces examining the unique concerns and challenges faced by women in the criminal justice community and examining the role of plea bargaining in our current system of criminal justice. As these task forces begin their work, I look forward to our Section focusing on these important issues and adding our voices and expertise regarding the best path forward.”
Another major aspect of the Chair’s role is organizing the Section’s spring meeting and conference. “I am looking forward to bringing the spring 2019 meeting of the ABA Criminal Justice Section to Nashville,” Dervan said. The event, scheduled for April 4-5, 2019 at the Hilton Downtown Nashville will include a white collar crime town hall discussion and a day-long CLE event comprised of various panel discussions led by national and international experts. “I am excited to show off Nashville and create a dynamic conference event.” Details regarding the spring meeting and registration will be available on the ABA Criminal Justice Section web page later this year.
Dervan focuses on domestic and international criminal law and is the recipient of numerous awards for his teaching and scholarship. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Davidson College and graduated with High Honors from Emory University School of Law, where he was an Emory Scholar, served as an Articles Editor for the Emory Law Journal and was elected member of the Order of the Coif. Prior to beginning his teaching career in 2009, Dervan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He also practiced law with King & Spalding LLP and Ford & Harrison LLP. In addition to serving as Chair of the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section, he is Chair of the ABA Global White Collar Crime Institute and a member of the International Criminal Justice Standards Task Force. He is the author of two books and dozens of book chapters and articles. He is also the founder and author of The Plea Bargaining Blog and a contributing editor to the White Collar Crime Prof Blog.
Belmont’s new Assistant Professor in Asian Studies and Japanese Dr. Chris Born has received a grant from The Japan Foundation to present “Alternative History’s Challenge to Nostalgia: Speculative Futurist Texts from Postwar Japan” at the 7th biennial Japan Studies Association-ASEAN conference to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia December 6 & 7. In keeping with the theme of the conference, “Global Dynamics Impact to JAPAN-ASEAN Relations,” the conference aims to create new trans-disciplinary conversations and foster intellectual exchange between scholars of Japan in Southeast Asia, Japan and beyond.
Assistant Professor of English Dr. Charmion Gustke presented “’Our Flowery Pagoda”: My Ántonia as Ecofeminist Manifesto” at the Willa Cather Spring Symposium in Red Cloud, Nebraska in May. A digital collage inspired by the research Gustke did for this project will appear in the Winter edition of The Willa Cather Review, celebrating the centennial publication of My Ántonia.
In July, Gustke presented “Stop the Machine: Civil Disobedience and Maria Alyokhina’s Riot Days” at the Annual Thoreau Gathering in Concord, Massachusetts. This paper is forthcoming in the next issue of the Concord Saunterer.
Dr. Susan Finch, assistant professor of English, was selected as a finalist for Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Literary Award. Her story, “Nothing Less Than 20,000 Watts,” was selected from over 4,500 entries as one of four finalists. In the past, this award has recognized Louise Erdrich and Stuart Dybek, and the selection process for the finalists involves the Tribune’s literary editorial staff as well as three other well-established fiction writers including Rabih Alameddine, this year’s Harold Washington Award winner; Carmen Maria Machado, National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize winner and Akhil Sharma, Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winner.
Finch teaches creative writing and specializes in fiction. Her work has appeared in numerous literary magazines, and currently, she is at work on a novel and a collection of short stories. Her award-winning story can be seen in the Chicago Tribune online.
Associate Professor of Asian Studies and Chinese Language Dr. Qingjun (Joan) Li presented, “The Silence of the Grandfathers: Chinese Perspectives on China Men,” at the 29th Annual Conference of the American Literature Association held in San Francisco earlier this summer. The paper was an extension of Li’s ongoing research into the interpretations by Chinese literary scholars of Maxine Hong Kingston’s work.
Kingston is one of America’s most respected Chinese-American authors, having received a National Book Award, the 2011 F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Award and the 2013 National Medal of Arts and Humanities, which she received from President Barack Obama in 2014. Li’s paper was presented at the by-invitation only panel, “Not Just the In-betweens: Politics, Art, and Transnationalism in the Work of Maxine Hong Kingston,” organized by the Maxine Hong Kingston Society.
Erica Waters Orzechowski, a 2013 alumna of Belmont’s Masters of Arts in English program, is finding tremendous success as a writer. Her debut young adult contemporary fantasy, Ghost Wood Song, was recently acquired at auction, in a six-figure deal, by HarperTeen. In the story, a girl must use her family’s ghost-raising fiddle to conjure the one spirit who can prove her brother is innocent of murder, while choosing between the banjo-playing girl of her dreams and the rodeo boy trying to swagger his way into her heart. Publication is scheduled for summer 2020.
The newly instituted Master of Science in Audio Engineering degree conducted the program’s inaugural hooding ceremony on Thursday, August 9. Owen Bolig, Morgan Matyjevich and Paul Mayo were presented with their Master’s hoods by Drs. Wesley Bulla and Eric Tarr.
Bolig’s thesis, “The Effects of Multiple Parameters in Equalizer Processors on Decision-Making,” studied how equipment design influences audio engineer decision making. Bolig designed and coded his own software equalizers for use in the study. Matyjevich’s thesis, “Listener Detection and Categorization of Microtiming Deviation Around the Central Musical Pulse,” studied how time shifts in musical instruments affect listeners sense of “groove.” Based on the famous Muscle Shoals back-beat rhythm, she altered the instruments in a segment of Wilson Picket’s “Mustang Sally” to see how listeners would react.
Mayo’s thesis, “A Perceptual Comparison Of ‘Black Box’ Modeling Algorithms for Non-Linear Audio Systems,” investigated software modeling of audio hardware. Bolig and Matyjevich are pursuing careers in R&D and production respectively while Mayo was awarded a Ph.D. research assistantship at University of Maryland’s Hearing Science program for Fall 2018.
The first graduate program housed in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, the Master of Science in Audio Engineering is designed to prepare individuals for advanced professional work in sound recording, music production, acoustics and signal processing and for continued academic study in a doctoral degree program. After two years of development, the degree’s first cohort enrolled in the Fall 2016 semester, and expects to double the number of students in Fall 2018.
Featured Photo: (Back Row L to R) Mr. Michael Janas, Dr. Eric Tarr, Dr. Wesley Bulla, Dr. Doyuen Ko and Dean Doug Howard; (Front Row L to R) Paul Mayo, Owen Bolig and Morgan Matyjevich
Director of Career and Professional Development Mary Claire Dismukes recently served as a panelist for the Southern Association of Colleges & Employers program, “Assessment from the Director’s Chair: A Panel Discussion on Using Data to Advocate for Resources & Tell the Story of Career Services.” Dismukes was also selected to participate in the inaugural class of Mastermind, which is a national advanced leadership training and community for career services leaders.
Visible from countless spots around the city, Belmont University’s newest residence hall officially opened its doors today to welcome the 610 residents who will live in the building this year. Dubbed “Tall Hall,” the facility includes a basement and 10 floors and sits atop a hilly area between 12 South and 15thAvenue. The structure’s top floor, based on overall elevation, represents one of the highest points in Nashville, offering tremendous birds-eye views of downtown. Moreover, a new picturesque scene on the campus’ southeast quadrant was unveiled with Tall Hall’s dedication today, as the building is bordered by large green space and a babbling “Bear Creek” that features a bronzed bear sculpture, “Chum Run,” crafted by acclaimed Wyoming visual artist 
Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life Dr. Anthony Donovan said, “We were excited to work with our long time furniture partner, RT London, to introduce several unique furniture concepts to our newest residential community. Like the building itself, our furniture choices offer bold, modern looks and innovative features, while emphasizing variety and flexibility, allowing each student to make their room a home away from home.”
Director of Career and Professional Development Mary Claire Dismukes recently served as a panelist for the Southern Association of Colleges & Employers program, “Assessment from the Director’s Chair: A Panel Discussion on Using Data to Advocate for Resources & Tell the Story of Career Services.” Dismukes was also selected to participate in the inaugural class of 