The Belmont University School of Music presented the 2014 Encore Award Thursday evening to actor/singer/songwriter Greg Walter during a concert in his honor. The Encore Award was created in 2008 to honor a Belmont University School of Music alumnus for achievement in the field of classical music. Walter graduated from the Belmont School of Music in 1987 as a Presser Scholar. While at Belmont, he studied classical voice under Associate Professor of Voice Marjorie Halbert.
Walter was an original cast member of Chicago’s company of “Forever Plaid” for which he received a Joseph Jefferson award in the best ensemble category. He was also nominated for a Jeff award, which celebrates excellence in Chicago theatre, for best actor in Frank McCourt’s The Irish and How They Got That Way, for which he also music directed. His voice can also be heard in commercial jingles for Michelob and Trac Auto. His songs have been recorded by various cabaret singers in Chicago, and his vocal arrangement of “Down in the River to Pray,” performed by the Chicago Chamber Choir, can be found on the disc recording At the River.
Walter is currently a professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he teaches voice and serves as musical director.
Previous Encore Award honorees include Clifton Forbis (2008), Daniel Weeks (2009), Drs. Daniel and Sharon Lawhon (2010), Maestra Teresa Cheung (2011), Dr. Alfredo Colman (2012) and Travis Cottrell (2013).
Dr. Jamie Adam, assistant professor of nursing, presented her work on innovative teaching to the Healthcare Educators Networking Conference in Cambridge, United Kingdom, Sept. 2. Her presentation was titled “The flipped classroom approach: Evaluating student and faculty experiences.” The conference provided a unique experience for attendees from various healthcare disciplines to participate in sessions related to educational innovation, clinical practice, interprofessional learning and simulation. Attendees included educators from nursing, OT, PT, allied health, psychology and others representing both inpatient and outpatient settings. Participants remained within their chosen theme for the day to enjoy continuity of discussion and debate among faculty from all over the world. Dr. Martha Buckner, associate dean of nursing, said, “Dr. Adam’s work with the flipped classroom allows her to engage students more actively, encouraging them to clarify and apply knowledge. I am so pleased she is receiving both national and international attention to her work.”
Belmont University hosted the Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off event for the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Monday in the Vince Gill Room.
Steven Kotler, New York Times best-selling author, innovation leader, Peak Performance Expert and co-founder and director of research for the Flow Genome Project, is set to speak at the Center for Executive Education’s annual Fall Leadership Breakfast Dec. 4 in Belmont’s Curb Event Center. Following a time of networking and breakfast, Kotler’s program will begin at 7:30 a.m. and be followed at 9 a.m. by a book signing. The $45 admission includes breakfast, the program and Kotler’s most recent book, The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance.
Two Belmont alumnae and one current Belmont student were recently contestants on the game show “Family Feud.” Sarah Morgan is a School of Nursing alumna, and Bethany Thomas graduated from Belmont’s physical therapy program. Lindsey Thomas is currently enrolled in the pharmacy program at Belmont. All three women are also related to Professor of Media Studies Dr. Rich Tiner.
Associate Dean and Senior Professor of Performance Excellence of the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business Dr. Joe Alexander has been appointed to the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE) Panel of Judges.
Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Dr. Nathan Webb has been published in the latest edition of Teaching and Learning Inquiry. His article, “Instructor-Student Rapport in Taiwan ESL Classrooms,” examines how English teachers from the West navigate cultural differences to build effective relationships with “English as a second language” students in Taiwan. To complete his research, Webb conducted interviews and classroom observations in Taipei, Taiwan. Teaching and Learning Inquiry is the academic journal of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Department of Philosophy professor Clancy Smith recently published a chapter titled “Days of Future Past: Segregation, Oppression, and Technology in X-men and America” in the edited volume Ages of the X-men: Essays on the Children of the Atom in Changing Times from McFarland Publishing.
Belmont alumnus, Ben Vaughn, has been named to Billboard’s “
The Belmont and Beyond Kickoff event Monday offered an inspirational program and speaker, David Ssebulime, a native of Uganda and the ninth of 14 children. Ssebulime’s childhood was deeply shaped by Sunday school and playing drums in his father’s church. When his father passed away, he was taken to a village orphanage, and at the age of 9, he joined the African Children’s Choir and toured Europe and North America. Feeling called to service and Christian ministry, Ssebulime dedicated his life to the many African orphaned and at-risk children. He is the founder and development director of Raise the Roof, Inc., a non-profit organization whose goal is to establish, outfit and resource permanent village schools that will educate and nurture leaders to shape Africa and the world.