Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Susan West was recently appointed to St. Thomas Health’s Board of Directors. Her appointment, which began on January 1, will last until June 30, 2019.
St. Thomas’s Board is made up of 16 members who represent various disciplines including business, medicine, education, banking, religion and more. The Board meets quarterly.
Belmont University faculty, staff and students recently had the opportunity to hear from Rev. Dr. Chris Williamson, founder of Strong Tower Bible Church, as part of last week’s series of events celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Williamson reflected on how Dr. King turned to God amidst the despair he often felt and the violence that surrounded him.
Williamson began his discussion by referring to the story in 2 Kings 20, when Hezekiah, the 13th King of Judah, became deathly ill and turned to God for hope. Williamson made the point that even people who seem to have everything together need God during times of darkness, including Dr. King. Dr. King relied on his faith to give him the power to change the hearts and minds of many citizens, despite the fact that he was receiving an average of 40 death threats per day. He prayed for strength and bravery during his most difficult times.
“We like to think of people like [Dr. King] as super heroes. They’re not,” Williamson said. “They’re normal people who are dependent on God. So, if something good happens, it’s because of God working through them.”
Williamson’s speech wrapped up with a reminder that, regardless of race or other demographics, we all experience similar emotions and pain. “When each of us gets knocked down, it all feels the same. And we have the same God who will help us: black, white, male, female, rich, poor. He will be good to us as a Father.”
The discussion ended with a viewing of a clip from Dr. King’s “A Knock at Midnight” sermon and prayer through song.
Student-athletes are used to the limelight that comes with being on the court, field or diamond–but what about being on the stage? Eleven of Belmont’s athletic teams took to the stage on Sunday, January 22 to show off their skills at the University’s 6th annual Battle of the Bruins, a talent show supporting Special Olympics. Belmont’s Athletics Department raised more than $3,400 at this year’s event.
Dance, lip sync, rap battles, sign language and more were part of Sunday’s show as student-athletes competed for the coveted first place trophy. Throughout the athlete’s acts, Nashville’s Metro Parks Disability Group signed and sang “Amazing Grace” and the Music City Miracle Choir performed ‘True Colors.’
At the end of the night, it was the women’s basketball team who took home the championship with their dance to a mash-up of Disney favorites. Second place was shared between men’s and women’s golf who participated together and volleyball.
This year’s event included the newly created People’s Choice Award, a designation decided by calculating which team had the most dollars in their basket by the end of the night. Event attendees were encouraged to drop money into the corresponding basket of their favorite performance, and the inaugural award went to the softball team.
Assistant Athletics Director for Budget and Finance and event organizer Amy McGinnis said, “Although this event moves our student-athletes out of their comfort zone, they rise to the occasion for a reason bigger than themselves. We look forward to a continued partnership with the great people at Special Olympics and hope that our efforts will make an impact.”
The Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame, an initiative to honor Tennessee’s finest health care leaders, is accepting nominations for its 2017 class via the organization’s website, www.tnhealthcarehall.com. Submissions will be accepted until March 10.
With a mission to honor men and women who have made significant and lasting contributions to the health care industry, the Hall of Fame seeks to recognize the pioneers who have formed Tennessee’s health care community and encourage future generations of innovators and leaders.
Created by Belmont University and The McWhorter Society and supported by the Nashville Health Care Council, a Hall of Fame Founding Partner, the Hall of Fame inducted its six-member 2016 class at a luncheon last year. Inductees included:
Submitted nominees will be evaluated by the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee, comprised of health care leaders across the state.
Potential inductees must have:
More information, as well as all previous Hall of Fame inductees, can be found here.
In a new edition of the “Career Conversations: Bruin to Bruin” series being sponsored by Alumni Relations and Career and Professional Development, 2004 Belmont alumna Taj George returned to campus Wednesday to offer advice and insight to a group of students and alumni.
“I’m an alumna so we’re all family here,” said George as she opened the table to discussion. “I want to hear your questions and be helpful.”
Born and raised in New York, George’s career path took numerous twists and turns, all of which she embraced with the unbridled energy she still possesses. One-third of the multi-platinum singing R&B group Sisters With Voices (SWV), George has found tremendous success in the music business and has toured the world. In addition to being a wife and mom, she also has modeled through the years, starred in a reality TV show with her husband–former Tennessee Titan Eddie George–and authored two books. But it was a surprising role that challenged her the most and still brings her a great sense of pride: her participation in the 2009 season of Survivor.
“In that show you are stripped down to the bare bones. It’s humbling, and you come back appreciating everything. I always tell people, ‘You will be surprised what you can do when you don’t have a choice.’ I cannot believe to this day that I was able to do some of the things I did on Survivor… When I decide to do something, I have no regrets.”
George also offered advice for students contemplating the music business, or any other career, emphasizing the importance of building strong personal and professional communities. “You become what you surround yourself with. You don’t want to be the smartest person in the room because you won’t learn anything. You’ll be too busy teaching all the time.”
The “Career Conversations: Bruin to Bruin” series began in Fall 2016 as a joint endeavor from the Office of Alumni Relations and the Office of Career and Professional Development. The program aims to gather alumni and current students for an intimate conversation about career life. Although alumni often speak on campus at convocations and large lectures, there was no existing program that allowed conversation to take place in a small and interactive setting. The sponsoring offices hope this new program will provide a more engaging opportunity for alumni to share their experiences with students who are studying their industries.
Belmont’s International Center for Business partnered Tuesday night with the Tennessee World Affairs Council and the Nashville Chamber’s International Business Council in association with the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute to present a timely conversation on “Russian-American Relations: From Obama to Trump.”
With the tempestuous ties between Russia and the United States dominating the news, a standing room only audience was treated to a briefing on Russian-American relations by distinguished scholar Dr. Mark Katz on Tuesday evening in Belmont’s Janet Ayers Academic Center. Katz is a professor of government and politics at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government and a non-resident fellow at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. The town hall meeting was organized by the Tennessee World Affairs Council and moderated by David Plazas, opinion engagement editor at The Tennessean.
Katz provided an overview of how the relationship evolved through the Cold-War period up to the latest confrontations and the rise of Putin and his imprint on the government and society in Russia. Dr. Katz set the scene for understanding the path ahead for Russian-American relations as new President Donald Trump and his team begin to shape the next chapter. Katz advised those watching global developments to pay close attention to the new administration’s actions, especially as Russia may challenge Trump in the early days to test his mettle.
The town hall was presented by the Tennessee World Affairs Council (TNWAC) in cooperation with Belmont, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce International Business Council and the Kennan Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington. The World Affairs Council, which is housed on Belmont’s campus, and the University frequently partner to bring global affairs awareness programs to campus and the community. The next Belmont/TNWAC town hall is set for Feb. 28 and will feature Ambassadors Charles Bowers and Ronald Schlicher in an assessment of the new President’s first 30 days of handling foreign affairs. The event is free, but registration at this link is requested.
On January 11, the Belmont Law Review hosted Justice Roger A. Page of the Tennessee Supreme Court as a part of its annual Judicial Perspectives series. Page was the first justice to go through the nominating and approval process for the Tennessee Supreme Court since the state’s constitution was amended in 2014. He spoke about his experience in the position and advised the law students on working as a law clerk. He also advised the attorneys in attendance on practicing before the Tennessee Supreme Court. The event was moderated by Belmont College of Law Professor Jeffrey Usman.
The Belmont Law Review is a student-managed, student-edited scholarly journal published annually in the College of Law. Each issue contains articles from law professors and practitioners as well as notes from current law students. The group also hosts an annual symposium on a topic significantly impacting the legal community.
On January 18, Belmont’s School of Music presented its Curtain Call Award to 2001 commercial music alumnus Akil Thompson. The award is presented annually to a School of Music alumnus in honor of achievement in the field of commercial and popular music.
Thompson studied composition and arranging with Dr. Jeffrey Kirk, Belmont’s current associate dean for performance studies and his principal instrument, drums, with his father Chester Thompson. Chester is an adjunct instructor in the School of Music and also the recipient of the 2010 Curtain Call Award.
Since graduation, Akil has performed with many artists including Kelly Clarkson, Jonny Lang, LeAnn Rimes, Joss Stone, Jewel and Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys. He has recorded with a number of producers and artists such as Mark Hammond, Michael Omartian, Frank Black of The Pixies, Tommy Sims, CeCe Winans, Donna Summer, Michael Bolton and Melinda Doolittle. Additionally, Akil has produced records for several independent artists including The Myers Brothers, Danny Chambers, Quimi, Kurtis Parks and Rachael Lampa as well as for National Community Church.
Dr. Vaughn May, professor and chair of Belmont’s Political Science Department, recently wrote an article on how types of media voters use to gather information on political candidates has drastically changed over the last 30 years. The article, published by the Tennessean as part of a Roundtable Discussion series on the media, compares the differences between the roles that media played in the presidential elections of 1984 and 2016.
May argues that new media covering politics, such as talk shows and social media activists as opposed to just the “Big 3” networks, ultimately give a more honest representation of the race as a whole. “While traditional media were taking turns calculating the magnitude of Clinton’s Electoral College victory, new media on the ideological edges were correctly assessing Trump’s appeal and offering far more optimistic predictions of his chances,” May wrote.
To view May’s article and thoughts, click here.
Associate Provost of Interdisciplinary Studies and Global Education Dr. Mimi Barnard spoke last week at Regent University’s London International Partners Conference.
Barnard’s presentation, “Leading and Growing Study Abroad During Times of Increased International Unrest and Threat,” addressed best practices to encourage increased access to and growth in study abroad while ensuring that faculty and students have current, relevant information regarding safety and security while abroad.
