IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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Johnson Center Awarded Outstanding Project from Learning by Design

The newly constructed R. Milton and Denice Johnson Center won a 2016 Outstanding Project Award in the magazine, Learning By Design. The building was blindly judged by a nationally appointed panel of architects and educational facility specialists. Earl Swensson Associates of Nashville, Tennessee was the primary architectural firm for the building.

Award submissions are judged on six criteria including innovation, community need, interior design, sustainability, functional design and 21st century learning. Projects that exemplify contemporary standards and contain design attributes one might emulate in a new space design are recognized as Outstanding. Comments from the judges for the Johnson Center included, “Varied use of high-quality materials and significant depth of structure makes this building look substantial. Good research, like the use of the facade to block the south sun, good natural lighting and transparency.”

Learning by Design is published biannually and recognizes the nation’s preeminent architectural firms by featuring outstanding pre-K to 12 and college or university projects. The magazine circulates to more than 50,000 leaders in all levels of education across the country.

Belmont History Students Present at Regional Conference, Heykoop wins First Prize

Members of Belmont’s Xi-Alpha Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta (History Honor Society) presented papers at the society’s 2016 Tennessee Regional Conference held at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee on April 2.  Participating students, including Jordan Heykoop, Rita Brown and Storm Sloan, presented their original historical research on topics in American and European History.

At the conference luncheon, Heykoop was presented with first prize in the competition for best paper in U.S. History. His topic was “Freedom’s Cause: Early Jazz and the White Critic (1917-1920).” The team was accompanied by the Xi-Alpha Chapter faculty advisor, Dr. Cynthia Bisson and Dr. Douglas Bisson.

Murray Presents Papers at American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Meeting

Murray_DouglasDr. Douglas Murray, professor of English, recently attended the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he presented papers on three roundtables.

In a session on “Becoming Generalists at the Teaching-Centered College,” Murray spoke on “Jane Austen in the Composition Classroom.” In a roundtable on “Austen’s Scale,” his paper was entitled “Austen and Global Displacement.” In a session on Enlightenment Pedestrianism, Murray presented “‘Nothing to Recommend Her but Being an Excellent Walker:  The Case of Pride and Prejudice.”

Baldridge Celebrates Second No. 1

baldridge.joe1Lecturer of Audio Engineering Technology Joe Baldridge recently enjoyed his second No. 1 with Keith Urban’s “Break on Me” from the album, “ripCORD,” set to release May 6.

“Break On Me” was produced by Nathan Chapman and Keith Urban, written by Ross Copperman and Jon Nite and recorded at Sound Emporium B in August. This is the second single “ripCORD.”

Mulraine Named to GMA Foundation Board

loren-mulraineLoren Mulraine, associate professor of law, was recently elected to a two-year term as a director of the Gospel Music Association Foundation Board.

The GMA Foundation seeks to recognize and preserve the history and legacy of all forms of gospel music and to provide educational resources that encourage participation and appreciation by the general public.  The Foundation oversees the rights to the GMA Dove Awards, IMMERSE and the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Carter Serves as Mentor for Preston Taylor Ministries

Tracy CarterDr. Tracey Carter, assistant professor in the College of Law, recently served as a mentor during Preston Taylor Ministries’s “Spring Break in the Marketplace.” The program provides job shadowing experiences for the youth of Preston Taylor Ministries over their spring break each year.

Volunteer mentors spend a few hours showing a student their workplace, discussing their day-to-day schedule, introducing students to new careers and encouraging students to meet their goals. Carter discussed her legal career and position at Belmont with her mentee, encouraged her to continue to excel academically and introduced her to various faculty, staff and administrators within the College of Law during her recent campus visit.

Wilkins Featured in Minority Nurse Magazine

LaQuitta Wilkins, a 2012 Belmont alumna and past member of the Women’s Basketball Team, was recently featured as an “In the Spotlight” of Minority Nurse, a magazine, career resource for nurses and the largest dedicated diversity nursing jobs board, according to the organization’s website.

In the spotlight, Wilkins said her time in nursing school was especially challenging as she was also a member of the basketball team. But she stuck to the task and found time to study between games. Wilkins is quoted as saying, “Even when people told me I couldn’t do nursing school and basketball, I did. You can do it even if you face adversity. If you have a positive mindset you can achieve anything.”

Wilkins is a traveling pediatric RN and was recently named Miss Black Alabama 2016.

 

Hubner Interviews Karen AbuZayd of Middle East Policy Council Board

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Senior Samantha Hubner recently published her interview with Karen AbuZayd of the Middle East Policy Council Board in Belmont’s Kappa Alpha Theta Chapter Blog. In the post, AbuZayd discusses her career and expertise of the Syrian refugee crisis.

After AbuZayd was featured as a Leading Woman spotlight in February by Kappa Alpha Theta Headquarters, Hubner wanted to learn more and contacted her with little hope of getting through. To her surprise, AbuZayd was willing to chat and did so that same afternoon.

“Her career and experience is just so timely with the heightened tensions of the resettlement controversy in America, making her story one I feel is increasingly important to tell. She fully embodies the values that Theta instills within its members, so I thought her story of becoming a strong leader in the international community could inspire my sisters,” said Hubner. “But I also felt that her story was one that was accessible enough to reach beyond my sorority chapter. Diversity is a hot topic both on Belmont’s campus and in universities across the nation, so it was my hope that in introducing the perspective of an established professional of the UN, Belmont students could continue to conceptualize what it means to truly fight for diversity.”

Hubner is looking to pursue the fields of diplomacy and foreign policy after graduation. She said any opportunity to encourage her peers away from being apathetic about what is happening outside the United States is a chance to build a more engaged and informed population.

“Foreign affairs can be intimidating, so I think that when people start to demonstrate an interest, it’s the responsibility of people who study or work in the field to help contribute resources to help it make more sense,” she said. “While this refugee crisis has been an ongoing issue for many years now, it recently seems to have caught the interest and attention of more than just your average foreign policy enthusiast. I’m seeing more and more of my friends wanting to not only understand what’s going on overseas, but find ways to help. That’s why I made sure to talk about how state governments (specifically referencing legislature in Tennessee) are reacting to the federal government’s mandates on resettlement in an attempt to help bring the issue closer to home.”

Belmont Student’s ‘Flat Dalton’ Prank Goes Viral

While Belmont video production major Dalton Ross is currently studying abroad in London, a much thinner, immobile version of him is making numerous appearances at home in the States and attracting a lot of attention in the process. Ross thought it would be funny to send his mother a cardboard cutout of himself during his semester overseas. But much to his surprise, his mom took his new gift to heart–and everywhere else–leading the story to going viral after it was covered in an article in The Huffington Post.

Dalton Ross 2Ross said, “I sent my mom the cutout after I had gotten settled in here in London and realized I hadn’t talked to her in a while. I thought it would give her a big laugh if she got a large mysterious package, and it turned out to be a life-size version of me with a big goofy smile. You know, I am usually rather introverted and quiet in public or class, but with friends, I’m usually pretty ridiculous and am always making absurd jokes. Usually puns.”

The prank has now traveled across the world, with the cutout’s own Facebook page, CNN story and the latest feature on Nashville WSMV’s Bulger’s Beat, showing off Ross’s mother’s hilarious approach to snapping pictures of “Dalton” across Belmont’s campus.

Belmont Hosts Fourth Annual Entrepreneurship Village

When entrepreneurship major Laura Schuemann made a bowl of quinoa macaroni and cheese for her mom, an idea was born. The versatile nature of mac and cheese allowed Schuemann to take a classic crowd pleaser and turn it into a healthy alternative by using quinoa as the base instead of noodles. Now, Schuemann is in the recipe development stage of her new venture, Quinoa Kitchen, as a food truck serving something different than traditional fast food.

Schuemann and her team set up a booth at the Fourth Annual Entrepreneurship Village on Wednesday, sponsored by Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship, to hand out samples of the “Quack and Cheese” and a more recent compilation: the Thai-Riffic quinoa salad. “The mission of Quinoa Kitchen is to give a healthy alternative to fast food by offering the feeling of indulgence by using the same yummy ingredients, but you’re not indulging,” she said. Schuemann hopes to launch the truck within a few years after she graduates this December.

entrepreneurship village-128-X2The concept has already become a favorite of Professor of Entrepreneurship Jeff Cornwall. “Quinoa Kitchen is a great example of the diversity of businesses Belmont students and alumni launch,” he said. “I can’t wait to visit Quinoa Kitchen once they launch!”

Quinoa Kitchen was one of 33 student-owned businesses that participated in this year’s event. This will be the first year the event featured current student-only ventures, dedicated to showcasing the innovation, creativity and success of Belmont’s entrepreneurship students. Businesses in the idea, start-up and revenue generating phases were in attendance, and industries included design and photography, music business, restaurant, high-tech, fashion and apparel and various social ventures. Students discussed their business ideas, experiences with their ventures and how they forecast business growth.

entrepreneurship village-147-X2Elizabeth Gortmaker, director of Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship, said the event is a great avenue to showcase students innovation, creativity and success. “We had more than 600 students walk through the village to shop, learn and discuss each business with the student entrepreneurs. Not only does the village provide an opportunity for students to advertise their business, but it also gives them an outlet to gain valuable feedback and build connections with other students,” she said.

Belmont’s Center for Entrepreneurship has been recognized as a Top 25 nationally ranked program by Princeton Review.

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