Twenty Belmont students and three faculty spent the first summer session traveling and studying in China from June 11 to July 2. During their stay in the city of Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, students enjoyed a homestay with faculty members from Zhengzhou University’s School of Foreign Languages and their families. Zhengzhou University is the largest university in Henan Province with over 50,000 students, and it is one of Belmont’s partner institutions in China. Belmont’s Dr. Qingjun Joan Li, assistant professor of Chinese language and Asian studies, set up the home stays, coordinating with Professor Victor Wang Shengli, dean of the School of Foreign Languages. Wang will teach at Belmont this Fall Semester as a Visiting Scholar. Belmont students were assigned in pairs, two persons to each Chinese family. They enjoyed a wide variety of activities while staying with their Chinese families including making Chinese dumplings called jiaozi, boating on the Yellow River, joining their little Chinese siblings in birthday parties, learning calligraphy from their Chinese parents, teaming up with their Chinese families to sing Chinese and American songs in karoke, fan dancing and doing taiji quan with their families in the park in the evening as well as visiting with Chinese senior citizens who had never met any Westerners.
Belmont Delegation Spends Month in China
Belmont Celebrates Grand Opening of Wedgewood Academic Center, Largest Campus Building to Date
Center to house multiple colleges, labs, chapel, conference space
After 27 months of construction, Belmont University administrators, trustees and student representatives officially cut the ribbon today to signify the grand opening of the Wedgewood Academic Center, a 186,000 square foot structure plus 159,500 square feet for parking located on the corner of Wedgewood and 15th Avenues. From the five-level underground garage fit to hold 430 vehicles to the Fifth Floor Conference Room offering a perfect bird’s eye view of Nashville’s skyline, the building stands as a new cornerstone for the University that seeks to serve both its growing student body and its dynamic hometown.
President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “This building is designed for daily interdisciplinary collaborations, and it provides classrooms and laboratories that not only represent the latest thinking in academic spaces but will also greatly enhance hands-on experiential learning.”
The largest campus building to date, the Wedgewood Academic Center will house three colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS), the College of Sciences and Mathematics (CSM) and the College of Theology and Christian Ministry (CTCM)—and every undergraduate student will take courses in the building as part of the University’s general education curriculum. The new facility more than doubles the physical space these colleges—which consist of more than 50 undergraduate programs—occupied previously. In addition, the structure also houses Belmont’s new 300-seat chapel, which will host services every Monday, Wednesday and Friday as well as special events throughout the year.
“The Wedgewood Academic Center provides a perfect visual testimony of just what a unique and challenging education Belmont offers,” said Dr. Fisher. “Where else can science, liberal arts and religion students and faculty interact so easily? I believe the building itself will quickly become a Nashville icon—it is spectacular.”
Thirty classrooms that vary in capacity from 24-72 seats allow flexibility of use, while numerous smaller seminar and group study rooms enable more in-depth and focused discussions among students and faculty, a fact for which Belmont is well-known (U.S. News & World Report has lauded the University numerous times for its commitment to undergraduate teaching). In addition, the building houses 20 science labs outfitted with more than $2 million dollars in equipment, including state of the art spectrometers, a microwave reaction chamber, a cold room and incubators for biological studies, a state-of-the-art laser laboratory and an acoustics laboratory. A student-centered service area on the first floor allows for personal assistance via a Writing Center, Math Lab, Computer Science Lab, Language Learning Lab and a centrally located Service Learning and International Education office. Also on the first floor, the campus community can enjoy a dining option featuring Sandella’s Flatbread sandwiches and a We Proudly Brew Starbucks outlet.
Belmont Opens First-Ever Intentionally Designed Chapel Space in 124-Year History
300-seat ecumenical Christian sanctuary allows for bold mix of faith, academics
Today Belmont University unveiled its new campus Chapel, the first space on the ecumenical Christian university’s campus intentionally designed for worship services. Located on the ground floor of the new Wedgewood Academic Center at the corner of 15th and Wedgewood Avenues, the Chapel sits as a focal point within a larger structure that will house three of the University’s Colleges: Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Sciences & Mathematics and Theology & Christian Ministry. The Chapel will host services three times a week during the fall and spring semesters, as well as special services of worship throughout the year. Click here to view the Chapel dedication in its entirety.
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “A guiding principle in Belmont’s strategic Vision 2020 is to embed strong Christian character in everything we do. By housing Belmont’s Chapel in the University’s largest building—in an academic structure where every undergraduate student will have classes—we are both living out our mission and providing a much-needed gathering space for corporate worship opportunities.”
Belmont students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to attend services in the new Chapel on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 a.m. where, in addition to participating in student-led worship music, they can listen to nationally acclaimed scholars address a myriad of topics through the lens of faith. Guests this fall include MIT-trained physicist Dr. Deborah Haarsma, Harvard Law School graduate Bryan Stevenson, trauma surgeon Dr. David Vanderpool and Grand Ole Opry member and Belmont alumnus Josh Turner, among others.
Akers Presents Paper at Film, Video Conference
On Aug. 7, Motion Pictures Chairman and Assistant Professor Will Akers presented a paper at the University Film & Video Association annual conference at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana. On the panel “Narrative Trends in 2014: Enhanced Content, Expendable Characters, Anime Undertones, Creative License,” Akers spoke on his paper topic “Turning Real Life into Drama: The Joys and Pitfalls of Discovering a Story in the Past.”
New York Times Quotes Byrne as Expert
The New York Times cited Belmont Honors Professor Joseph Byrne in an article published Tuesday about a government quarantine of cities in Liberia and Sierra Leone to stop the spread of Ebola. Their method, “cordon sanitaire,” keeps people from entering or exiting the infected area and was common during the Black Death. Byrne is a historian who teaches the medieval and early modern sections of the Honors interdisciplinary humanities curriculum and in the article discussed a voluntary cordon in Eyam, England in 1665. Click here to read the article.
Sells Lends Expertise in Nashville Medical New Article
Dr. Pat Sells, associate professor of physical therapy, lent his expertise to a recent story posted in Nashville Medical News about a new Tennessee law designed to reduce youth sports concussions. Click here to read the article, in which the exercise physiologist says getting athletes to actually fess up to possible injury is the toughest part.
“Kids are hesitant to tell you if they took a blow to head because they know what the ramifications are and how long they could be out of the game,” Sells told the Nashville Medical News. “I’ve seen kids go head-to-head or head-to-ground with no headache reported and find out later on they were afraid of the repercussions. That’s the competitive spirit of an athlete – they don’t want to quit because of injury … so as a parent, coach or doctor, you have to take measures to get kids to buy into this.”
School of Music Professors Perform in Chicago
Drs. Carolyn Treybig, Joel Treybig and Gregg Bunn performed by invitation at the 2014 National Flute Association Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The concert, which took place on Aug. 9, centered upon a variety of music for flute, trumpet and organ and featured baroque pieces by William Corbett and Maurizio Cazzati, virtuoso salon works by Ernesto Köhler and Rudolph Speil and modern works by Ellen Given, William Presser and Anthony Plog. Plog’s piece was written specifically for the group and premiered by Carolyn Treybig, Joel Treybig and Andrew Risinger in Nashville in 2010 with the composer attending.
Giordano Publishes Research Article
Dr. Pete Giordano, in the Department of Psychological Science, has published a research article called “Undergraduate Consent Form Reading in Relation to Conscientiousness, Procrastination, and the Point-of-Time Effect” in the Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics. Co-authors are three Belmont Psychology major alumni: Justin Theiss (May, 2013), Will Hobbs (Dec 2012), and Olivia Brunson (May 2013). Click here to read the abstract.
We Proudly Brew Starbucks, Chick-fil-A Among New Additions to Campus Dining
Belmont Dining Services has added three new campus eateries this semester as part of the University’s mission to enhance student centeredness and campus life.
An express version of Chick-fil-A had a soft opening in the Curb Café on Thursday. The popular fast food restaurant known for its chicken sandwiches will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and serve its traditional fried chicken and grilled sandwiches as well as salads, waffle fries, chicken nuggets, special sauces, fruit cups, sweet tea and lemonade. Director of Dining Services Kyle Grover said he hopes to add breakfast to Belmont’s Chick-fil-A in the spring semester.
Both Sandella’s Flatbread Café and a We Proudly Brew Starbucks outlet open on Aug. 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. respectively, when the University celebrates the grand opening of the Wedgewood Academic Center, where many freshmen students will take their general education sciences, mathematics and liberal arts classes.
Sandella’s Flatbread Café brings pizzas, sandwiches and quesadillas to the north end of campus and will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
We Proudly Brew Starbucks serves assorted coffee and tea beverages as well as pastries. The franchise accepts Bruin Bucks but is unable to take Starbucks gift cards or redeem loyalty stars. It will be open from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Belmont University Named a College of Distinction
Belmont University was again named among the nation’s Colleges of Distinction for providing innovative, teacher-centered undergraduate education and preparing graduates for real-world success. Based on the opinions of guidance counselors, educators and admissions professionals, the website and college guide profiles more than 220 of America’s best bets in higher education honors colleges that excel in four areas of undergraduate education: student engagement in the educational process, great teaching, vibrant learning communities and successful outcomes.
Aside from the academic experience offered at the institutions selected, Colleges of Distinction are also chosen based on their first year program and experimental components of the curriculum. The organization believes institutions should be judged on what they are doing now and the development of their strategic plan, instead of their prestige historically.
Belmont will be profiled on the Colleges of Distinction website and in the official Colleges of Distinction eGuidebook, which will be available via online retailers and distributed free-of-charge to over 40,000 high school and community college counselors.
