Vice President and Chief of Staff Dr. Susan West was recently appointed to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville’s Board of Directors.
West is joined by a number of other Nashville leaders including Jumpstart Foundry’s Marcus Whitney, Pinnacle Financial Partners’ Nancy Zoretic and Jarron Springer, Greater Nashville Association of Realtors.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope.
New hire advances Center’s mission to further innovative strategies in education
Belmont University announced today that Dr. Alan Coverstone, the current executive director of innovation with Metro Nashville Public Schools, has been appointed as a tenure-track assistant professor in Belmont’s School of Education with additional duties as Director of Special Initiatives in Education. Coverstone joins Dr. Jesse Register, former superintendent of Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and current Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership at Belmont, in managing Belmont’s new Center for Improvement of Educational Systems, a think-tank, a training institute site and an incubator to discover ways to restructure schools at the district level using collaborative, community-based approaches. Coverstone will begin his new position at Belmont on Feb. 1.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “Alan is a perfect fit for Belmont in that he’s well known for being a student-centered innovator who is relentless in his pursuit of improving education and striving for excellence in creating top-quality schools. I am elated to have him join Dr. Register in our new Center, as we partner with the community to discover how to best improve educational systems regionally and beyond.”
Coverstone said, “Great teaching is the key to building strong schools. I am excited about this opportunity to be a part of Belmont’s commitment to prepare teachers to meet the needs of students here in Nashville.”
Coverstone has served in a variety of positions for the District, first as a School Board Member, then as executive director of charter schools and as the executive director of innovation, where he oversaw a portfolio of turnaround schools.
Register said, “I am delighted that Alan Coverstone is joining the faculty at Belmont. His experience heading up the Innovation Zone for MNPS and his work in turn around strategies for low performing urban schools is very valuable. I have great respect for his knowledge, skills and personal integrity. He will be a great addition to our faculty.”
Belmont Provost Dr. Thomas Burns added, “Nearly three years ago, Belmont made a strategic decision to find new ways to work with our K-12 educational partners. Our first step was hiring Dr. Mark Hogan in 2014 to serve as the chair of the Department of Education. Since that time, we’ve been very intentional at focusing on developing our institutional resources to create innovative educational programs that will serve Nashville well. Adding Dr. Register and Dr. Coverstone brings enormous experience in K-12 education, innovative thinking about teacher preparation programs and new opportunities that help us realize significant steps in achieving our goals.”
As an MNPS board member, Coverstone led a study group that evaluated school policies and practices and established what has become the heart of the District’s portfolio approach today. He has built relationships with and successfully advocated for stronger policy oversight of the District’s charter schools. In 2010, Coverstone played a key role in earning Nashville a spot as one of nine cities nationwide to participate in the Gates Foundation District-Charter Collaboration Compact. That same year, Coverstone was selected to administer the $12 million Magnet School Assistance Grant awarded to MNPS. Under his direction, six district schools have been converted into thematic magnet schools: two museum magnets, three STEM magnets, and Nashville’s first entertainment industry magnet school.
Chair of Belmont’s education department Dr. Mark Hogan said, “Dr. Coverstone’s addition to the teacher education program at Belmont will allow us to provide our students with first hand experiences in public, private and charter school environments. As both a teaching faculty member and Director of Innovative Programs in Education, Dr. Coverstone will also add to the rich experiences our existing faculty.”
Prior to joining MNPS, Coverstone spent 14 years at Montgomery Bell Academy as a teacher, debate coach and academic dean. He received a B.A. in speech communication and rhetoric from Wake Forest University, an MAED in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix and a doctorate in education leadership, policy and organizations from Vanderbilt University.
Belmont University turned 125 years old this year and in honor of its birthday, the University commissioned local artist James Threalkill to create a mosaic art piece celebrating diversity on campus. As part of the University’s first Diversity Week, members of the Belmont community were encouraged to decorate tiles made of foam board with anything that illustrated their place at Belmont or what they love about the institution.
As he collected the completed tiles, Threalkill said a number of themes stuck out. “The pride that is universal with this community and the concern participants have for social equality, fairness, diversity and inclusion were evident in the art they made,” Threalkill said. From there, he said choosing the piece’s overall theme was easy as he arranged the tiles into a larger image and brought the piece to life.
The mosaic was unveiled on Monday, Jan. 25 at the university’s 125th birthday party, one of many events held throughout the year to celebrate Belmont’s anniversary. With Threalkill at the lead, Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher joined faculty members and student leaders in presenting the piece to the Belmont community, all to the tune of “Happy Birthday” played on the university’s historic carillon bells.
The opportunity to celebrate Belmont’s 125th anniversary with a piece that commemorates its diversity and overall spirit was powerful for Threalkill. “I continue to be impressed with Belmont’s efforts to create an inclusive environment for its campus community and the greater community. It was an honor for me as a native of Nashville to be involved with what I consider a very significant contribution to the spirit of collaboration and the appreciation of the creative process,” he said.
Across campus, the Bell Tower is seen as Belmont’s symbol of strength, determination and what it means to be a Bruin. Freshmen gather beneath its bricks the night before classes begin each semester, and it’s the last place seniors sit the night before graduation. For Threalkill, it was an obvious choice to depict Belmont’s diversity, community collaboration and belief in something greater. After all, when Ward-Belmont founders Ida Hood and Susan Heron first stepped on Belmont’s property to select the site for their future school, it was “the old tower that did it.”
Healthcare MBA student Rob “Veggies” Horton is currently competing in the KIND Cause Competition for his urban farming initiative, Trap Garden, which increases availability and access to healthy foods in food deserts, creates safe spaces for community interaction and educates the public on nutrition, the environment, diversity and civic responsibility. The competition seeks to motivate and inspire others to start something that matters in their communities and not depend on a major grocery store or business to provide them with their daily needs.
Located in North Nashville on the campus of Tennessee State University, The Trap Garden has the power to add value to communities in Nashville that are deemed food deserts, urban areas that Horton said typically lack full-service grocery stores. These food deserts may contribute to rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases among residents. Despite Nashville’s growing population, many communities are underserved, and residents have to travel long distances to purchase foods necessary to maintain a healthy diet.
Horton’s motivation to become an urban farmer stemmed from his personal experiences growing up in St. Louis, Missouri in a neighborhood with very few fresh, healthy food items. He said he saw a similar problem after his move to Nashville. Horton decided to take action and alleviate the problem by growing his own vegetables and herbs through urban farming. As for the name of his project? Horton explained, “The word Trap originally had a negative cultural connotation, but I want to give it a more positive meaning. I wanted something that I could truly be involved in and be myself; be free,” he said. “To me, the Trap Garden means putting in hard work and labor to produce the best possible product (fruit, vegetables and herbs) to put into the community.”
Through Belmont’s Healthcare MBA program, Horton said he has been able to sharpen his skills and add necessary tools to his toolbox. “The courses I have already completed have greatly assisted me in building the foundation of the organization,” he said. “Professors have assisted me in my approach to marketing, staying true to my mission and forecasting for the future. I have been welcomed with open arms to discuss and present my passion project and receive feedback to push the initiative forward.”
The Trap Garden initiative is currently second in the polls in the KIND competition. Winning would mean a $10K prize to move the initiative forward, funding programs and acquiring more space to extend the garden. Horton said he has always been fascinated by the KIND Company. “I read KindSnacks Founder Daniel Lubetzky’s book ‘Do the KIND Thing’ a little over a year ago. I thought that his dedication and passion for KIND and people were amazing,” he said. “After reading the book, I found out about KIND Causes and knew it would be a perfect competition for the Trap Garden to start the year off.”
The garden’s team seeks to partner with local schools, organizations and chefs to create educational programming. Horton remembers talking with a friend about a neighbor needing assistance to buy food for her family. Once at the grocery store, Horton’s friend purchased fresh produce for the family, but the mother did not know how to prepare any meals with the produce. “She expected him to buy frozen pizzas and other premade items-not produce. It is so important to connect, educate and train both parents and youth at an early age to expose them to fresh and healthy items and show them how to prepare healthy meals with the produce,” said Horton. “This is why local chefs and nutritionists are a crucial piece to the puzzle.”
The garden distributes all surplus items to people in the community. Right now, the focus is on seasonal vegetables and herbs, but the team plans to begin growing fruit once it establishes a dedicated space. Trap Garden is open to volunteers, but due to limited space, it is important to coordinate specific times and dates to serve. For those wanting to volunteer, connect with the Trap Garden team through their website.
Help Horton’s urban gardening initiative win this month’s KIND Cause Competition by voting online and committing to do a KIND act.
The application deadlines for upcoming study abroad programs are rapidly approaching. May 2016 programs have a Feb. 1 deadline, while summer programs carry a Feb. 15 deadline. Director of the Office of Study Abroad Shelley Jewell said each trip is a truly transformative experience that pushes students outside of their comfort zones. “We see students return to Belmont with increased intellectual maturity, improved self-confidence, increased flexibility and adaptability and a greater appreciation for their culture, as well as that of others,” she said. “Study abroad teaches students to appreciate diversity and recognize or dismiss stereotypes of different cultures, resulting in an expanded world view and the development of new perspectives on domestic issues in turn.”
Aside from personal take-aways, studying abroad also enhances and unlocks career and international networking opportunities.
Belmont recently ranked No. 18 in on The Institute of International Education’s “Open Doors Report” for the number of students studying abroad; since 2008, student participation in study abroad has tripled. Among the diverse programs taking place this summer, the three listed below illustrate a glimpse of what’s available.
“Belmont in Haiti and the Dominican Republic: One Island, Two Cultures,” taking place in May, will allow students to explore issues of poverty and justice. The classroom experience will be combined with volunteer work in Haiti through Heartline Ministries to help promote global health. Students will also explore the work of the International Justice Mission in the Dominican Republic.
June will welcome the university’s first “Belmont in Sweden: Learning ‘Lagom’ in Social Justice, Culture and Communication.” As the program description explains, “‘Lagom,” is a Swedish word meaning “just the right amount,” which sums up this trip—just the right amount of rich and diverse culture paired with vibrant scholarly experiences. Students will explore the cities of Uppsala and Stockholm to study their heritage and examine how the community maintains social justice. Highlights include a tour of the royal palace, a day trip to Sweden’s earlies Viking settlement and a culinary tour of the famous market, Östermalms Saluhall.
Another new trip, “Belmont in Austria and Germany: Music Product Design, Development and Marketing,” includes visits to top German Audio Research Institutes, audio equipment companies and acoustic performance spaces. The general science portion of the class festures an introductory survey of topics including electromagnetism, mechanics and physical acoustics. The marketing portion of the class will highlight the music marketing process. Additionally, students will have time to explore both cities during free time activities..
Jewell attributed Belmont’s study abroad success to the more than 70 faculty members involved in the process, allowing the programs to span academic majors and give students the opportunity to explore the globe in an academically meaningful way. “We live in an increasingly interconnected world that demands students have awareness not only of our nation but of other cultures around the world in order to be successful,” she said. “It is our job as higher education professionals to prepare students for our global marketplace and study abroad is a crucial piece of this preparation.”
Consider the benefits, both personally and academically, as the deadlines approach to apply for one of these transformative experiences. As Jewell said, “We want study abroad to be a part of Belmont’s institutional culture–we do not want students to wonder if they will go abroad, but wonder when they will go!”
For more information on Study Abroad through Belmont, visit www.belmont.edu/studyabroad.
Professor of Sociology Andi Stepnick’s book (with Kris de Welde), Disrupting the Culture of Silence: Confronting Gender Inequality and Making Change in Higher Education, was recently named an Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) for 2015 by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. Choice noted that “this prestigious list reflects the best in scholarly titles…and brings with it the extraordinary recognition of the academic library community.”
In 2015, Choice received approximately 25,000 submissions and approximately 7,000 were accepted for review. This year’s OAT list contains 606 titles representing 54 disciplines. Stepnick’s book is one of 14 in the social and behavioral sciences to receive the designation. Selection criteria include:
Stepnick’s text combines current research, case studies, suggestion action steps and hundreds of resources for information, advocacy and support. Stepnick said, “It’s not enough just to document the challenges facing women academics. We need to create diverse, equitable university communities. I hope that this recognition will get our book into the hands of people who need it. Not just women academics working in hostile or challenging workplaces who are looking for advice, but faculty and administrators who want to understand the issues in order to make positive changes within their campus communities.”
Choice calls the book “engagingly written and rich in formal data and telling anecdote…giv[ing] strong representation to women of color, disabled women, and lesbians in defining how ‘women’ experience (and overcome) diverse challenges. Variation among disciplines and between institutions is also highlighted. The beauty of the volume emerges most in its telling details.”
Gayle Sulik (The Society Pages) called the book “an engaging, evidence-based toolkit for building gender equity in higher education.” Penny A. Pasque, who wrote the book’s forward, said it “walk[s] readers through the complexities of gender inequity in higher education including the intersectionality of gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, motherhood, eldercare, academic jobs, contra-power harassment, trauma, mobbing, action strategies, and numerous other issues. [This] is an important book that contains the various components a facilitator, administrator, or faculty member might intentionally combine to use in provost and dean training seminars, faculty workshops, courses, reading circles, and multiple venues across campuses and professional associations.”
For more information, click here. To purchase the book, click here.
Alumna Lauren Wilkerson Baker was named Elementary School Teacher of the Year for Williamson County Schools. Baker is the music teacher at Clovercroft Elementary School.
Sponsored by Belmont’s Honors Program and the Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Writer-in-Residence and Director at Center for Faith at Culture at Aquinas College Joseph Pearce recently presented at Belmont on Shakespeare’s King Lear. The Nashville Shakespeare Festival is performing the play at Belmont’s Troutt Theater this month, the first professional production of the play to be seen in Nashville in more than 100 years.
From Pearce’s talk, Shakespeare’s existentialist masterpiece explores filial relationships and mental illness, while illustrating the full range of human behaviors from wretched cruelty to perfect love. King Lear tells the story of the madness of an ancient British king who abdicated his throne and gave away his land to his scheming daughters. According to Pearce, Lear had to learn the difference between “worldly wisdom” and “unworldly wisdom.”
An England native, Pearce is editor of the “St. Austin Review,” series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions and executive director of Catholic Courses. Pearce is the author of many books including “The Quest for Shakespeare,” “Tolkien: Man and Myth,” “The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde,” “C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church,” “Literary Converts,” “Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton,” “Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile” and “Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc.” His books have been published and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Mandarin and Polish. Pearce has hosted two 13-part television series about Shakespeare on EWTN and has also written and presented documentaries on EWTN on the Catholicism of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.”
Music, athletic, academic camps offered for students of all ages
Consistent with its mission to provide challenging academic opportunities for students and serve the community, Belmont University will host a number of music, athletic and academic-based camps this summer to serve elementary, middle and high school students as well as music educators. A complete listing of summer camps and websites for additional information can be found in the listing below:
SUMMER 2016 ACADEMIC CAMPS
Youth approaching junior high and high school age are beginning to think more seriously about how to respond to the query, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Belmont is offering camps this summer to help clarify those issues and expose students to a wide array of career options in healthcare and science professions. Summaries for two academic-based campus can be found below and more information is available at www.belmont.edu/summer-camps/.
Health Academy: Introduction to Careers in Health Care
June 6-10 for Grades 5-8
This week-long day camp will allow students to explore the different careers available in the health sciences fields and expose them to issues healthcare professionals deal with on a daily basis. Students will explore a real-world example of how different health professionals (pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing, occupational therapy, social work) collaborate and work inter-professionally to take care of a patient.
Skills in Sciences Summer Camp
June 13-17 for Grades 10-12
Doing science is not just about learning things, it is about doing things. Even in the most basic science laboratory experience, a student should walk away with having learned a skill. Most do not realize that these skills have market value and can be leveraged for a position in a multitude of areas. From big picture skills such as problem solving and handling big sets of data to more specific skills related to a particular discipline, Skills in Science can be applied to many academic disciplines as well as serve as gateway experiences for many careers.
SUMMER 2016 MUSIC CAMPS
Belmont’s College of Visual and Performing Arts provides a number of opportunities for high school students and music educators to study and perform on Belmont’s beautiful urban campus in Nashville while meeting peers from around the country. Students will experience personalized and group instruction with outstanding faculty artists as well as enjoy faculty recitals, performances, and guest artists. For more information on the music camps, visit http://www.belmont.edu/music/ and select “Summer Programs”—brief overviews are provided below.
String Crossings Camp
June 12-17 for Grades 9-12
Summer Winds Band Camp
June 19-25 for Grades 9-12
Belmont Piano Camp
June 19-24 for Grades 9-12
Summer Vocal Arts Intensive
June 26 – July 2 for Grades 9 -12
Music Education Workshops: Orff Schulwerk Teacher Training Level I & II
June 6-17 for music educators
Targeted for music educators, the initial level draws from the three components of Orff-Schulwerk teacher training: experiential, conceptual and pedagogical. Skills necessary to plan and implement a variety of Orff-Schulwerk music and movement activities are learned working with the materials and procedures of the Orff-Schulwerk instructional model. Initial level provides substantial experience-based learning that develops basic skills in movement, recorder, and the synthesis of music and movement through elemental styles/literature of global cultures. The intermediate level continues the study of experiential, conceptual and pedagogical components of Orff Schulwerk teacher training. Music and movement elements and skills needed for their implementation are developed. The role of teacher as facilitator is examined.
SUMMER 2016 SPORTS CAMPS
Belmont Athletics offers a number of day-camp options for individuals and teams in a variety of sports including men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer, softball and track and field. Details for many of these campus are still being finalized for summer 2016. Click here for more information on sports camps with additional details being posted soon.
The funeral service for Clayton McWhorter will be held Thurs., Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. at Belmont University’s McAfee Concert Hall. Due to anticipated large attendance, individuals attending the funeral are encouraged to arrive early to park in the nearby Curb Garage, which is an easy 10-minute walk to McAfee. Belmont staff will assist in directing guests to the proper location. Parking adjacent to and behind McAfee will be reserved for family and mobility-impaired attendees.
