The Tennessee World Affairs Council recently held its inaugural distinguished visiting speaker program for 2015-2016 in partnership with Belmont’s Interdisciplinary Studies and Global Education program.
LtGen. Keith M. Huber, a 38-year Army veteran, addressed questions about the United States’s Operation “Enduring Freedom” and conflict in Afghanistan. The standing room only audience included community members and students from Belmont and surrounding universities. General Huber served in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2013 as commanding general of an international task force. During his presentation, Huber discussed his experiences and offered insight into Afghanistan and its people.
Council president Patrick Ryan said the organization, newly launched in Nashville after operating from Cookeville for several years, was a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational group that worked to educate and inspire people to better understand world events. “We have an ambitious program calendar that includes speaker events like General Huber’s presentation at Belmont, small group discussion sessions around town, and youth programs like our WorldQuest high school competition to encourage people, especially students, to embrace a better understanding of a very challenging global environment.” More programs will be added as the Council becomes more established.
The Council welcomed the community, he said, to become a part of their work by becoming members, volunteering or making a donation. “We’re all volunteers,” Ryan said. “We rely on support from the community to provide these important programs and resources.”
Ryan noted that the association with Belmont is appreciated and important in hosting community-wide events. “The Council has partnerships with many groups that share an international focus, but our work with Belmont Assistant Provost Dr. Mimi Barnard, has been especially important to what we’ve been able to accomplish.”
Belmont Professor of Philosophy and Director of Asian Studies Ronnie Littlejohn was recently named “Concurrent Professor” in the School of Foreign Languages of Zhengzhou University in Henan Province.
Zhengzhou is the flagship university of Henan Province with over 50,000 students and is the only one of China’s national “100 key universities” in Henan. Littlejohn has given lectures several times at the university and Belmont’s China trip itineraries have included the campus and opportunities for engagement with its students and faculties since 2010.
The “Concurrent Professor” appointment is an honorary recognition of the university awarded to distinguished foreign professors of international reputation. In expression of his appointment, Littlejohn offered the invited lecture, “Confucianism in America” to a plenary session of Zhengzhou faculty and students.
Salwa Saba, senior international politics major with minors in Chinese and economics, received a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State under its program to help students master critical foreign languages. Salwa joined 120 American students who were placed in four cities in China including Xi’an, Beijing, Suzhou and Dalian from June to August, 2015. Saba, along with 29 others, was placed in Xi’an, Shaanxi province where she attended Shaanxi Normal University and lived in international dorms. Saba participated in a group-based language and cultural immersion program and had two meetings a week with a language partner.
“CLS was a wonderful opportunity to not only greatly improve my Chinese language abilities, but also immerse myself in the Chinese culture,” Saba said. “For many of the people I met, my peers and I were the first Americans they had ever encountered or spoken to. In some ways we had to remember that we were like ambassadors for the United States in our host country.”
Of the foreign languages taught at Belmont, both Chinese and Japanese are considered critical by the State Department Scholarship program. Interested students should contact Dr. Qingjun Li (Chinese) or Dr. Kimiyo Murata-Soraci (Japanese). Saba will be sharing about the CLS program and its applications at “Live and Study in China for FREE,” an on-campus convocation scheduled on October 21 at 10 a.m. in Massey, Room 100.
“It can be difficult to live and study abroad, but the memories and friendships you will make are invaluable. It gave me a tremendous sense of satisfaction to communicate with these new friends and my teachers in their native language,” Saba said.
The Belmont community is known for its passion to serve the city it calls home. From the first week students move to campus, they begin their journey of making connections in the community, serving others and developing meaningful relationships with the people who make Nashville great. To further these important opportunities, Belmont has launched Get Connected 2.0, a website for students, faculty and staff to match their individual interests with needs in the area and help local agencies connect with volunteers.
Getting started on Get Connected 2.0 is easy!
Director of Service-Learning Tim Stewart says the platform is a great way for new campus-community relationships to be fostered. “Get Connected gives an additional, exciting tool for reaching out to our community and for them to reach out to us. We hope it will make it easier for our students, faculty and staff to find ways to share their passion for the world and for our community to share their wealth of opportunities with us.”
The website can either be accessed through the green icon on the Launchpad of MyBelmont, which will automatically create a Get Connected account the first time you log in, or by visiting the main site and logging in through the red “Students and Faculty Login Here” link using your MyBelmont username and password. By clicking on the My Profile tab at the top of the Get Connected home page, volunteers can select personal ‘Causes and Interests’ and become a fan of agencies so the website can suggest additional service opportunities.
Students can easily check their hours and “impact value.”
Although the new and improved version is new to most of the Belmont student body, some have been privy to the system as they used it to serve last semester. During the winter months, Belmont students run a homeless shelter twice a week, partnering with Room In The Inn, where volunteers prepare and serve food to build community with residents. It is quite unheard of for students to be running a homeless shelter alone and on a school campus, and it is unusual for any site participating with Room In the Inn to host multiple nights a week. Senior psychology major Iris Chiang, last year’s volunteer coordinator and part time operations and campus outreach lead, could not say enough about the benefits of the website and the meaningful volunteer experience she has had.
“When I first had to learn the website, it was all new and took time to develop, but I was able to see it grow, and I learned to really appreciate the way it simplifies my role with RITI. Now, I don’t need to make my own spread sheets and individually input emails and names,” she said. “Not only has it become user-friendly for the people organizing volunteer events, it is also user-friendly for volunteers. You can search for almost anything you are interested in in the greater Nashville area, which is what I love most about it. I can expand my horizons to serve my neighbors’ and my larger community’s needs.”
The ease of connection is not the only benefit of the system. Belmont’s Ingram Scholars are required to serve 60 hours a semester at the Boys and Girls Club and previously completed individual documentation for verification purposes. With Get Connected, the process is much simpler. Ingram scholar Robin Weyman explained the new online process saying, “I volunteer, go home, input the hours, Boys & Girls Club directors verify the hours at a time that is convenient for them and then Belmont can check my hours when it’s necessary. There are no chances of papers or hours getting lost in the shuffle,” she said. “It’s much easier to keep track of my hours, as well. With Get Connected, I know exactly how many hours I have completed, and it’s all organized neatly by date. This is extraordinarily nice to have when filling out school applications.”
Check the events page for upcoming volunteer opportunities!
From the agency perspective, there has never been a better way to find the hands they depend on. Preston Taylor Ministries, an organization devoted to empowering youth in the Preston Taylor neighborhood, has used Get Connected as a sole resource for getting the help they need. Volunteer Coordinator Martha Willis said other organizations should take note at the success they have had through the system.
“We are immensely grateful for the Get Connected system that Belmont’s service-learning department has introduced as a practical and efficient means for scheduling and tracking students’ service learning hours. Preston Taylor Ministries has found that this system has streamlined, and overall made much simpler, the process of both receiving communication from students regarding their service requirements, as well as clearly tracking and approving those hours for the purpose of both their classes and our agency. We have nothing but positive things to say about the Get Connected system and look forward to using it to help further engage Belmont students with Preston Taylor again this school year,” she said.
The hope is that this tool will not only continue to keep students actively involved in the community, but that it will also inspire some, who may have never before had the opportunity, to strive to find a meaningful way to spend their spare time. Chiang, for example, said her role with Room in the Inn has been one of the most rewarding things she has done in college.
“I am more patient and organized. I know how to manage events and people better. I worked closely with a different group of diverse and interesting students from all over the world every week and dined with such cool people who are just dying to tell you about these unbelievable stories! I couldn’t have experienced any of that without volunteering with Room in the Inn,” she said. “Specifically from my perspective, fostering community and relationships is what Room in the Inn is all about, and GetConnected is just making that a more convenient thing to do.”
As the Belmont celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, the community is taking pride in its belief in something greater. Service, learning and relationships are a few of the many ways to experience this belief.
Belmont alumnus Joel Johnson graduated with the highest GPA in the University of Virginia School of Law’s Class of 2015, earning him the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence.
In a recent University of Virginia article, Johnson offered insight on his new role, as well as advice on how to excel in law school and obtain a clerkship. Johnson has been clerking for Judge T.S. Ellis III at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and he will clerk in New York City the following term for Judge Robert D. Sack on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Belmont is one of twelve colleges and universities that have signed up for the Music Business Association’s (Music Biz) Academic Partnership Program that provides support and exclusive opportunities for schools, students and faculty members who are fostering the future of the music industry through music business, technology and entertainment law education.
Dean of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business Doug Howard spoke about his excitement for the partnership. “The students, faculty and staff of the Mike Curb College are extremely grateful for the many benefits, scholarships and real-world opportunities that are made available through the Academic Partnership Program. In addition, we applaud the Music Business Association for providing access to a variety of industry resources that support student and faculty research and compliment our academic mission of developing graduates with the critical thinking skills needed to lead and succeed in our unique and dynamic profession,” he said.
All students and faculty members at affiliated schools who are involved in a music business, technology or entertainment law program automatically become Music Biz members, giving them exclusive benefits including access to research, whitepapers and infographics, complimentary registration to the Common Ground Webinar Series, discounts to the annual Music Biz convention and other conference events and eligibility to apply for scholarships.
Last year, more than $50,000 in financial scholarships and prizes were awarded to 24 students, 11 of whom were from Academic Partnership Program members including Belmont University, Berklee College of Music, Ferris State University, New Jersey City University, University of Miami and William Paterson University.
Music Biz is once again inviting students from the Academic Partnership Program to volunteer at Music Biz 2016. Last year, 15 students from Belmont and MTSU participated and learned valuable music industry lessons and skills while connecting with top executives at all three major labels, top publishers, managers, artists, entrepreneurs and startups.
During Thursday night’s election coverage, the Tennessean’s newsroom was busting with activity from reporters, photographers, videographers and a team of four Belmont students selected to join Opinion and Engagement Editor David Plazas on the night’s activity.
Juniors McLean Pillon, Kirk Bado and Hayden Rutledge and senior Jonathan Joyce wrote candidate profiles, participated in Belmont’s Nashforward debate series (the city’s premier mayoral debates co-sponsored by the Tennessean and WSMV-TV ) and rounded out their election experience with live coverage of the city’s race.
As polls were coming in, the team sat with Plazas individually, on a Tennessean.com live stream, to discuss campaign strategy, the city’s growth, areas of focus for millennial residents and which candidate earned their vote for mayor. In between interviews, the team collectively participated in a podcast that covered their desires to stay in Music City, as long as Nashville can adapt to its exponential growth.
Junior politics and public law major, journalism minor and editor of the Belmont Vision Kirk Bado said the opportunity to work with Plazas and the Nashforward team engaged his passions in a new and powerful way. As an aspiring journalist and political science student, Bado said there was no better place to be on Nashville’s election night than the Tennessean’s newsroom.
“Experiencing election night at the Tennessean has grown me so much as a journalist and as an engaged member of the community. As a journalist, being in that live setting and watching how they manage all levels of media really changed the way I’ll be doing stuff at the Vision,” Bado said. “But in a wider sense, the whole experience with the Tennessean, from all the way back in March, has really plugged me into the Nashville community. After it, I am better equipped to engage and transform my community through writing and civic participation.”
Plazas said he and his colleagues were interested in the students’ involvement in election coverage because of Nashville’s growing millennial demographic. Representing such a large portion of the community’s residents, the panel of students were able to speak to top of mind issues for voters and learn something about journalism along the way.
“The students’ youthful energy, curiosity and elation at spending election night in a newsroom was a joy to watch. They could view the results in real time as our journalists frantically checked the Davidson County Election Commission website constantly, made phone calls to candidates and updated readers on mobile and desktop so the phones were abuzz with push alerts and tweets,” Plazas said. “They demonstrated poise and professionalism in their video interviews and podcast conversation. In the end, they did solid journalism.”
Three Belmont alumni recently traveled to Lund, Sweden to begin a new ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) at Lund University. Ryan Combs, Lizz Rickert and Kelly Vogel recently graduated from Belmont and joined a team, with other recent college graduates, for eight months that was led by two Cru staff members.
While in Lund, the students were immersed in Swedish culture and engaged students in genuine spiritual life formation. The movement they launched while there continues today and two other Belmont students, Hannah Struck and Nick Fisher, will be living in Lund this year to help build the ministry.
Saltwater taffy, Bob Goff impressions and a large “snake” were all part of Michael W. Smith’s chapel presentation on September 9 on Belmont University’s campus. Smith, a Christian songwriter, has sold more than 15 million albums, scored 28 No. 1 hits, earned three GRAMMYs and more than 40 Dove Awards.
Opening the service by throwing fistfuls of taffy into the crowd, Smith invited the audience to sing “Woah, Oh, Oh!” throughout his performance of “Sky Spills Over.” After talking about his rough past and the way God turned his life around, he performed “I am a Miracle.”
“I am free! I am clean! When Jesus sees me, all he sees is white,” said Smith, telling the story of a recent trip to Malibu Lodge in Canada. A group traveled together, taking a lengthy route with ferries and water taxis, something Smith said is different than his normal routine. These opportunities, when one is out of his or her comfort zone, are when Smith said that God speaks the loudest. It was not until Smith was dropped off by himself in the middle of nowhere that he said he heard a loud, yet non-audible voice telling him to baptise himself.
Repeating over and over, Smith followed the instructions and lowered himself into the water. When he came up, he saw what appeared to be a long snake floating toward him, all the way to his feet. The ‘snake’ turned out to be a stick, and when he picked it up, Smith said he realized it symbolized a weapon saying, “I have everything I need. If we lean on God, we have everything we need to fight off the enemy.” With the stick on stage with him, Smith said it would forever serve as a reminder of a day God renewed him.
With a renewed sense of faith and a desire to hear what God wanted to tell him, Smith provided the audience with words of wisdom for the future. “Don’t be typical. Be alive! Go do something for someone. Change the world. It’s what we’re called to do,” he said. “Take what makes you who you are, and leave it behind. Let God define you instead.”
The Tennessee World Affairs Council recently held its inaugural distinguished visiting speaker program for 2015-2016 in partnership with Belmont’s Interdisciplinary Studies and Global Education program.
Belmont Professor of Philosophy and Director of Asian Studies Ronnie Littlejohn was recently named “Concurrent Professor” in the School of Foreign Languages of Zhengzhou University in Henan Province.
Salwa Saba, senior international politics major with minors in Chinese and economics, received a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State under its program to help students master critical foreign languages. Salwa joined 120 American students who were placed in four cities in China including Xi’an, Beijing, Suzhou and Dalian from June to August, 2015. Saba, along with 29 others, was placed in Xi’an, Shaanxi province where she attended Shaanxi Normal University and lived in international dorms. Saba participated in a group-based language and cultural immersion program and had two meetings a week with a language partner.
Judge and Dean of Belmont’s College of Law Alberto Gonzales recently published two opinion articles.
Junior politics and public law major, journalism minor and editor of the 
