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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Belmont University Celebrates Grand Opening of Randall and Sadie Baskin Center

Paul Chenoweth
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College of Law moves into stunning new home; Architectural design,  commissioned statue reflect themes of justice

Congressman Jim Cooper speaks to the crowd at the Baskin Center ribbon cutting.

Following 22 months of excavation and construction, the new Randall and Sadie Baskin Center officially opened this morning in a ribbon cutting celebration attended by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, Congressman Jim Cooper, members of the Belmont University campus and other special guests. Click here to view photos from this morning’s celebration.

The 75,000 square foot, three-story brick and limestone building sits atop a five-level underground garage and houses Belmont University’s College of Law, a program starting its second year of classes. Building namesakes Randall and Sadie Baskin were also in attendance to celebrate the building’s grand opening ceremony, which was followed by self-guided tours of the Center and a moot court event held in the structure’s Anne Lowry Russell Appellate Courtroom.

Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “If environments inspire performance, then there’s no question that future Belmont College of Law graduates will represent the greatest legal minds of their generation. This building is beautiful. Even better, it unites classroom space with rooms that can provide hands-on legal experience. Belmont lawyers will not only know the law inside and out; they will also know how to represent their cases in real courtrooms.”

Sadie and Randall Baskin

Randall Baskin, the owner of the Randall Baskin Co. and the founder/ former owner of Brentwood-based Continental Life Insurance Co., first served on Belmont University’s Board of Trustees in 1982. Known throughout Middle Tennessee for their significant philanthropy and generosity, Randall and his wife Sadie provided a $7 million leadership gift for the College of Law’s new home. The Baskins also endow a major scholarship fund at Belmont which currently supports seven students based on financial need, commitment to work and motivation to succeed. To date more than 100 students have benefited from the scholarship since it was established in 1983.

The Baskin Center’s copper-roofed dome features a skylight at the top, which appropriately represents the “eye of God” guiding human law, and the building offers four different porticos to represent the four types of law: local, state, federal and God’s. Inside, the Baskin Center contains more than a dozen classrooms, a 21st Century trial courtroom, an appellate courtroom, a two-story law library and more than 20 faculty offices.

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Students Receive ‘Year’s Worth of Nursing in a Week’ in Haiti

Paul Chenoweth
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Last month a group of Belmont faculty, staff and students took the opportunity to bring their skills and expertise “from here to Haiti.” On July 18, the group left Nashville for a week-long mission trip to Grand Goave, one of Haiti’s oldest cities, which suffered significant damage in the 2010 earthquake in that region. The trip evolved out of a task force created by the provost; Belmont has recently developed a partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which has a mission project in Haiti. This nursing trip was the first to take advantage of this partnership. In the future, the interdisciplinary task force hopes to organize trips for students in several other programs. One education-based trip is already slated for later this month.

Senior Nursing students Charly Hood (right) and Reiley Heaberlin (left) tend to a baby at one of the mobile clinics.
Each day, the group was woken up by a rooster—lovingly nicknamed “El Diablo”—at approximately 3:30 a.m. “That bird was the bane of our existence,” claimed Assistant Professor of Nursing Sara Camp. They would then—after languishing in the heat for several more hours—meet with their contact, Judy, who is also a registered nurse and represents the Christian Baptist Fellowship.

The nursing students volunteered at a number of mobile clinics, which provided basic services such as vital sign checks and general diagnoses. Each clinic was able to see up to 50 people a day, and each day the staff and students quickly met their capacity. “This is their healthcare,” said Nursing Instructor Martha Ezell. “They can’t just go into Port Au Prince to see a doctor.”At the mobile clinics, the students checked vitals and compiled patients’ medical histories—a difficult task since many patients did not even know their own birthdays. The Belmont students were also able to assist Ezell and Camp with general assessments and distribute what medications were available. “[The Belmont students] got about a year’s worth of nursing in a week,” stated Ezell.

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Belmont Celebrates Opening of New 300-Bed Residence Hall

Paul Chenoweth
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Belmont held the official ribbon cutting celebration for Dickens Hall Aug. 17. Pictured (left to right) are Director of Residence Life Anthony Donovan; Mayor Karl Dean; Betty and Marty Dickens: Belmont President Bob Fisher; Dickens Hall Resident Assistant and Belmont senior religion & the arts major Larkin Briley; and Dickens Hall Residence Director Jason Kistler.

Long-time Belmont University Board of Trustees Chair Marty Dickens and his wife Betty joined University employees and students this morning at a grand opening celebration for a new residence named in their honor. Dickens Hall, located near the intersection of 15th and Bernard Avenues, provides approximately 300 beds for Belmont upperclassmen as well as a 562-car underground parking garage. Designed by EOA Architects with construction by R.C. Mathews, the suite-style residence hall opens for students to move into on Sunday.

Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “With a perfect view of the Nashville skyline from its top floors, it only makes sense to name this building in honor of Marty Dickens, a man who has invested so much time and energy in the betterment of both this University and the city at large. We’re thrilled to be able to provide more living and learning space for our students.”

A beautiful view of the Nashville skyline is visible from the top floors of Dickens Hall.

Dickens Hall serves as a 110,000 square foot residence above a three-level underground parking garage. The underground garage actually stretches nearly twice the length of Dickens Hall; construction on a second residence (Phase Two) providing an additional 190 beds is currently underway with an anticipated completion of January.

The need for additional residence space comes as a result of significant enrollment expansion from 2,976 students in 2000 to what is anticipated to be more than 6,700 this fall. Dickens said, “Belmont University is attracting students from all over the country and around the world, and one of my hopes is that these students would one day have the opportunity to live all four years on campus. It’s an honor for Betty and me to be a part of Belmont University, and it is beyond any dreams to have our family name on a residential building.”

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Alumna Lands Role in TPAC Musical

Paul Chenoweth
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Meghan Glogower (’12), who studied musical theater and dance has been cast in the roles of Kimberley and Dot in The Nutty Professor, as directed by Jerry Lewis. The show opened in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) on July 31 and will run until Aug. 18.

While at Belmont, Glogower performed in several campus productions, including Hairspray, Anything Goes and Urinetown.

She said those experiences prepared her to take on the musical.

“(The professors) helped me. They taught me how to prepare and how to do well,” she said. They gave her the confidence to try out for the open dance casting call, where she was asked to sing and read for several parts.

Critics have been nearly unanimous in their praise, leading many to believe that the show will make its way to Broadway following its run in Nashville. Glogower said she thinks the move the Broadway is  “very likely.”

Murphree Hosts Students From Friends Life Program

Paul Chenoweth
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Steve Murphree, of the Biology Department, hosted 11 students and two leaders from the Friends Life program of Nashville on Aug. 9 in the Hitch Science Building. Murphree presented a lab about using the microscope entitled “Life at a Small Scale.” Friends Life is a certified 501(c)3 non-profit organization  dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities. They seek to create opportunities to develop socially, grow personally and enjoy community. Click here to read a Facebook post about the trip to Belmont and a photo of one of the participants.

 

Pinter and Miller Present at MathFest

Paul Chenoweth
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Mike Pinter and Andrew Miller, of the Mathematics & Computer Science Department, attended and made presentations at the Annual Mathematical Association of America MathFest in Madison, Wisconsin on Aug. 2-4, 2012. Pinter presented Mathematics and Psychology: A Linked Learning Community as part of a Contributed Paper Session entitled Interdisciplinary Topics in Mathematics.  All freshmen at Belmont University take two courses from different disciplines linked together as a learning community experience for them and the course instructors. Pinter’s presentation detailed his linked cohort class, Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning, that is linked with an Introduction to Psychological Sciences course.

Miller participated in a panel discussion titled Effective Strategies for Teaching Classes for Non-Majors. Mathematics departments across the country serve non-majors in a variety of courses ranging from calculus for non-math majors to “math for liberal arts” courses to quantitative literacy courses. This panel brought together an eclectic selection of mathematicians with diverse perspectives on these courses to try and answer the urgent question: How do we teach non-majors successfully? Miller specifically spoke about Belmont’s assessment study of MTH 1080 and how the results of that study led him to change the way he teaches the course and what topics he introduces.

Mathematics Major Awarded Two Actuarial Scholarships

Paul Chenoweth
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Senior mathematics major Li “Mary” Yang was awarded two actuarial scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year: The Southeastern Actuaries Conference (SEAC) Scholarship and The Casualty Actuaries of the Southeast (CASE) Scholarship.  These are both competitive scholarships awarded to students at southeastern U.S. universities who plan to pursue a career as an actuary. Typically only five SEAC scholarships and only two CASE scholarships are awarded per year.

Yang is completing the Mathematics Actuarial Career Track in preparation for becoming a certified actuary. Students completing the Actuarial Track will earn a minor in Business Administration. The actuarial profession is usually ranked in the top five of career choices.  Actuaries work in the insurance and financial sectors and specialize in analyzing the financial impact of risk and uncertainty.

Psychology Professor and Students Present Posters in South Africa

Paul Chenoweth
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Psychology majors Alyssa Thanasack (’12) and Jasmine Jarupat, a junior, and psychology professor Pete Giordano presented research in an electronic poster session at the 30th International Congress of Psychology held July 22-27, 2012 in Cape Town, South Africa. This Congress was the first to be held in Africa and was organized by the National Research Foundation of South Africa and the Psychological Society of South Africa in Partnership with key South African Universities and the Psychological Associations of neighboring countries. The theme of the Congress was “Psychology Serving Humanity.”

Thanasack collected data from Laotian American adolescents at two Buddhist temples in the Nashville area and investigated the relationships among acculturation, academic achievement, health risk behaviors, and parenting styles. Giordano supervised the project. The title of their poster was “Laotian American Adolescents: The Psychological Correlates of Merging Cultures” which was based on Thanasack ‘s honors thesis, for which Jarupat served as a research assistant. The innovative electronic poster format allowed presenters to submit proposals online and then, if accepted, present the poster electronically without actually attending the conference.  Click here to view their poster.

Alexson Wins Jazz Piano Competition

Paul Chenoweth
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Bill Alexson competed in the first annual Jazz Piano Competition at West Virginia University on July 2 and 3. He made the finals and earned first place.

Alexson is a junior studying commercial music with a performance piano emphasis.

 

Students’ Band Recognized for Performance

Paul Chenoweth
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Composed of Belmont students, the Luke Preston Band won the Road to Country Stampede band competition in June that put them on the main stage with with J.T. Hodges, Jerrod Niemann, Brantley Gilbert and Toby Keith. The Kansas concert was part of one of the biggest country music festivals in the country.

Band members are guitarist and lead vocalist Luke Preston, lead guitarist Luke Enyeart, bassist Jared Chapman and drummer Jeremy Gold, studying music business and entrepreneurship.

Some 19 bands entered the competition through digital submissions on Sonicbids.com, and The BIG 94.5 Country Radio selected nine to compete in online listener voting. The top two  acts traveled to Manhattan, Kan. for a battle of the bands, and the Luke Preston Band earned a spot on the main stage at Country Stampede Festival 2012,

The band has receive much media attention this summer and was feature on the front page of  Kansas newspaper Manhattan with the Zac Brown Band. Preston, who is studying music business, also was featured on Tampa’s WQYK radio station, Academy of Country Music’s 2012 Radio Station of the Year.

The band released its debut extended play “When You’re Lost” on April 28, and it can be streaming for free here.

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