Student members of the Belmont University Beta Chi Club volunteered and participated in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night 5k on Friday, October 20 at Nissan Stadium. Participants carried a “Belmont Beta Chi” sign while they walked in the event.
The Beta Chi student organization exists to promote research in the area of biochemistry and molecular biology through seminars and laboratory opportunities, while providing a social setting for networking and volunteering.
Yihao Hong, a senior accounting major, was recently named the recipient of the Vaco Accounting Student Scholarship Award. Vaco provided a $1,000 scholarship to a deserving undergraduate student in the region, and Hong was recognized on stage at the Nashville Business Journal’s Chief Financial Officer Awards on Oct. 18. He will also be included in the Oct. 27 issue of NBJ.
Hong has already been accepted into the Belmont University’s Master of Accountancy program where he plans to pursue CPA eligibility.
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry signed a 2016 proclamation declaring Creatives’ Day in Nashville, launching an initiative to support and celebrate artists by uniting them with community leaders. The Creatives Day Committee is led by Brian Sexton and supported by the Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville, which is located on Belmont’s campus. Dr. Cheryl Carr, associate dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, serves as an advisor to the committee and represented Belmont at this year’s event, which was held on Sat., Oct. 21. Congressman Jim Cooper kicked off the celebration with remarks at the Nashville Public Library.
Belmont students and faculty from the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business and the College of Sciences and Mathematics attended the 143rd meeting of the Audio Engineering Society in New York from Oct 18-21. They spoke regarding their research on auditory perception, sound-mapping and education practices, as well as staffing a recruitment table for the Education & Career Fair portion of the conference. Alumnus Kerrick Crace (back row, center) won second place in the mixing competition in the Sound for Picture category.
Dr. Ted Peetz, assistant professor in sport administration, recently received the 2017 Journal of Global Sport Management Best Paper Award for his work on the article, “Sport fan evaluations of a Major League Baseball season: Key predictors and influence on future evaluations and consumption behaviors.” Focusing on theory, empirical research and methodology, the Journal of Global Sport Management intends to serve as an interdisciplinary and global communications vehicle for the study of sport management around the world.
Belmont recently was recognized with the Century Award from Cheekwood Estate and Gardens for more than 100 hours of volunteer service by students. Dr. David C. Julseth, chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and professor of Spanish, attended the Volunteer Appreciation Day on Sat., Oct 21. to receive the award on behalf of the many students and faculty from Belmont’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) who have worked to support the annual celebration of the Hispanic holiday “El Día de los Muertos” (the Day of the Dead).
Julseth served on the original “El Día” advisory board at Cheekwood 17 years ago, and he continues in that role this year. On Fri., Oct. 20, Julseth and 20 Belmont Spanish students spent the afternoon making over 1,400 sugar skulls in preparation for the actual celebration of “El Día de los Muertos” that will be held this Sat., Oct 28 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at Cheekwood. Last year the event was attended by more than 5,700 guests who enjoyed the vendors, food trucks, Mariachi band, Aztec dancers and “ofrenda” displays to remember deceased loved ones in positive ways. Guests will also be able to enjoy a wide variety of arts and crafts including the opportunity to decorate the sugar skulls made by the Belmont students.
On Oct. 6, Belmont hosted the Brazilian Study Group for talks about university education of financial planners and how to develop ethics in a profession. These talks were led by Brad Childs, associate professor of accounting, and Barry Padgett, professor of business ethics. Fred Kendall, who serves in the Development Office, helped participate in these discussions as well.
The group was escorted around Nashville during the week by Michael Wallin, task force chair for the Annual Conference of the Financial Planning Association. Wallin is a graduate of the financial planning program provided by the Center for Executive Education in Belmont’s Massey College of Business. The Brazilian Study Group’s purpose is to develop a financial planning profession that is on par with the profession that is practiced in the United States. Tobias Maag is the founder and leader of the Brazilian Study Group, and he was one of the task force members for this year’s annual conference that was held in Nashville. Tobias is an international wealth expert, and he has organized other Study Groups for family business owners and heirs in both the United States and Europe.
Maag said, “A very big thank you from all of us to you all and the Belmont team, for the time and resources allocated, the experience and insights shared, and your hospitality, making this experience even more unique to us! It was very interesting for the group to have the perspective of professionals who also know the academic reality.”
Nashville cookie dough sensation No Baked Cookie Dough, founded by alumna Megan Beaven (music business, 2015), opened its first brick and mortar location this week at 117 28 Ave. South, adjacent to Centennial Park.
No Baked began setting up at pop-ups around the Nashville area in April of this year. Customers were able to keep up with No Baked’s locations through Instagram and Facebook, and cookie dough lovers around the city lined up for the trendy dessert while online orders came in from around the Southeast. After seeing success all year, the company made the decision to expand to a physical location that would embrace both residents and tourists alike.
Of the store’s grand opening, No Baked Owner Megan Beaven said, “Opening this first No Baked storefront really is my dream come true. I’ve been envisioning the shop since the very start of the company and to see it come to life is the best thing I have ever experienced. I can’t wait for everyone else to experience it, too!”
No Baked’s eggless cookie dough is made with heat treated flour and is safe to eat as served. Its staple flavors include Classic Chocolate Chip, Confetti Sugar, and Double Chocolate Chip. The new storefront–which offers additional flavors, toppings, coffee and other cookie dough desserts–was featured Monday on NewsChannel5.
Well-established as a community leader for hosting important civic conversations, Belmont University will once again step to the forefront in 2018 as the site for a Tennessee gubernatorial forum and several debates. The campus previously hosted the 2015 and 2011 Nashville mayoral debates, the 2010 gubernatorial debates and, most memorably, the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate between then Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. Belmont also served as the alternate site for last year’s presidential debate series from the Commission on Presidential Debates. All of the 2018 gubernatorial events at Belmont will be co-sponsored with The Tennessean.
The series at Belmont will begin in January with a candidate forum focused on education in partnership with the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE). Primary debates will be held on Belmont’s campus next June as the Republican and Democratic party candidates gather separately to discuss topics relevant to the state. Once final candidates have been selected in next August’s primaries, Belmont will host one of three general election debates in the fall. While Belmont will host the Nashville/middle Tennessee debate, University of Tennessee-Knoxville will host an east Tennessee debate while University of Memphis will host one for the western portion of the state.
Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “As an institution of higher education, promoting civic involvement and community responsibility are central tenets of Belmont’s mission to ‘empower students to engage and transform the world.’ This University has shown that commitment through the hosting of numerous political debates and forums on a local, state and national level, including a 2008 Presidential debate, and we are honored to once again be a gathering space for critical conversations that impact the future of every Tennessean. I am excited to welcome the gubernatorial candidates to our campus, and I look forward to joining with our colleagues at University of Tennessee–Knoxville and the University of Memphis to host insightful discussions on the issues affecting our state.”
In announcing the debates, Tennessean Editor/VP of News for the USA Today Network-Tennessee Michael Anastasi wrote, “The coming 12 months will be among the most important in this state’s long and storied political history… Through all of these [events], we will be encouraging rigorous discussion and debate while insisting on civil discourse, which we believe to be the truest test of leadership.”
The election to select Tennessee’s next governor will occur on November 6, 2018.
Belmont songwriting alumna Katie Pruitt (2016) recently signed a co-publishing deal with creative music company Round Hill Music, which has offices in Nashville, New York and Los Angeles. The singer-songwriter won the BMI Foundation’s inaugural Nashville Songwriting Scholarship last year, and she was also recognized by the Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year with the Holly Prize, which honors “a new ‘all-in-one songwriter’— an exceptionally talented and inspired young musician/singer/songwriter whose work exhibits the qualities of [Buddy] Holly’s music: true, great and original.”
According to her website, Pruitt’s music is “best described by the interaction of human relationships with a musical focus on simple but evocative melodies and sung in a voice that reflects the mysteries of life. Influenced by Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt and Amy Winehouse, her music is a combination of all the elements that make music great.”
