Amber Alverson, an occupational therapy doctoral student (class of 2012), was chosen as a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities 2011 Long Term Trainee recipient and will be awarded a $10,000 scholarship. Each Long Term Trainee must serve a minimum of 300 hours in activities to promote advocacy, leadership, and development of culturally competent care.
Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities focuses on preparing health professionals to assume leadership roles and develop interdisciplinary team skills, advanced clinical skills and research skills, in order to meet the complex needs of children with neuro-developmental related disabilities. The program is federally funded by the Department of Health and Human Services through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau LEND Grant. It is administered through Vanderbilt University’s Kennedy Center which collaborates with Belmont University (faculty advisor Lorry Liotta-Kleinfeld), Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, Tennessee Disabilities Coalition and the University of Tennessee, Nashville campus.
Numerous volunteers assisted new students during the 2010 Move In Days.
Campus has sprung back into action with incoming freshmen and transfer students beginning their Welcome Week.
New students moved into residence halls Aug. 19. During the five days before classes begin, incoming freshmen and transfer students worked in Tower Teams with upperclassmen guidance to learn “to explore, embrace and engage all that Belmont has to offer.”
“It is that idea of exploring, engaging and embracing the University,” said Director of New Student and Parent Programs Ben Lion. “Hey, now you are a Bruin and you are really part of this community. The charge going out of Welcome Week is how can they engage in their community and make the most of their Belmont experience.”
Belmont University began Welcome Week in the 1990s to acclimate new students to their collegiate experiences. This year’s incoming class of approximately 1,185 freshmen is the largest class in Belmont’s history. Some 136 upperclassmen have dedicated a semester to help freshmen and transfers transition into the university through their roles as Tower Team leaders.
Belmont alumna Ashley Robertson (’06) has been named European Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year for the second time. Robertson, a Canada native, resides in Nashville but tours internationally, performing most recently in Australia.
Robertson’s first award was won in 2005 when she was still an undergraduate at Belmont. She is working on her third album to follow up the success of her previous release Woman in the White Dress. For more information about Ashley and her music, click here.
Belmont Professor of Philosophy Mark Anderson was recently published in The Journal of Nietzsche Studies. Anderson’s article, “Telling the Same Story of Nietzsche’s Life” contends that author Julian Young misappropriated material in his 2010 book Friedrich Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography.
Anderson goes on to support his argument by juxtaposing Young’s words alongside Curtis Cate’s words in his 2005 book titled Friedrich Nietzsche. Anderson argues Young paraphrased and borrowed text without quotation or proper attribution; he cites several examples and demonstrates by citing all other possible sources that the only explanation for the many similarities between the two books is that Young relied on Cate without properly citing his source. Anderson’s full article can be read here.
Forbes Magazine recently included Belmont University in the rankings for its 2011 Best Colleges List.
These rankings of 650 schools – the top 20 percent of all undergraduate institutions nationwide – are exclusively prepared for Forbes by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP), a Washington D.C. think tank.
Belmont was listed at No. 523 overall as well No. 370 in private colleges and No. 150 in the South.
Associated Professor Anthony Belfiglio performed with faculty members from the Beijing Academy of Contemporary Music while in China this summer. Belfiglio, who specializes in piano, also met with the academy’s Jazz Program Director to discuss ideas about curriculum and sat with local jazz musicians at East Shore Jazz Cafe. View photos.
Belmont’s Pipeline project, an entertainment industry solutions think tank, celebrated its final summer event Monday night at an industry gathering at Regions bank where the nine-member team summarized their progress to date. In addition to publicly thanking supporters and mentors from the music industry and Belmont–including Assistant Professor of Entertainment Industry Studies Sarita Stewart, who oversaw the project–the Pipeline team also presented a five-minute video of their findings
An initiative of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business (CEMB), the Pipeline project indentified Belmont’s best and brightest students and charged them with developing cutting edge concepts and solutions to influence the entertainment and music industries through their creative capital.
The team was faced with exploring and researching the music industry to identify the biggest need and from there find a solution. Pipeline participant Ross Hill, a sophomore music business and entrepreneurship double major, said, “We were challenged from the very beginning of the summer to think outside the box – we weren’t looking for band-aids, we were looking for fixes.”
Pipeline Team 2011
Thanks to the Country Music Association and CMA CEO Steve Moore, the students began their Pipeline experience attending the Billboard Country Music Summit on June 6-7 where they learned more about the important issues facing music industry professionals. In mid-June, author and music producer Reed Arvin, one of Belmont’s adjunct faculty members, led the group through a Creativity Bootcamp, challenging them to get “outside the box” and to consciously think about their creativity. Continuing to encourage their creative thought processes, the group then met with Mark Montgomery, former CEO of echomusic, with whom they discussed audience engagement.
Further exploring the impact of audience engagement, the Pipeline team hosted an event on Fri., July 22 at Nashville’s Club Roar. With performances by artists Mackenzie Scott, Natalie Royal and Foxes Have Foxholes, the evening introduced a recording format that is more affordable for up-and-coming artists and provided a unique live experience for fans.
The performance, complete with a catered meal, showcased the three artists as they performed live in the studio for an exclusive audience of 50. The event was put on for less than $3,000, including the expenses of studio time, catering, audio-engineers, video and photography. Each artist walked away from the event with a six-song EP, video footage and press pictures for use in their ongoing marketing efforts. The estimated cost for each artist had they pursued these items individually would be a minimum of $5,000, so the savings per artist could be as much as $4,000Performer Mackenzie Scott, said of the event, “The stillness and attentiveness I received from the audience was a complete gift and, honestly, every musician’s dream. I hope they felt as moved by the intimacy of the music as I did.”
Belmont University held its summer 2011 commencement ceremony for 223 graduate and undergraduate students on Aug. 12 in the Curb Event Center. During the graduation ceremony, 73undergraduate, 116 master’s and 34doctoral degrees were conferred.
Pamela Simpson, 52, delivered the student reflection for the summer 2011 graduating class. Motivated by Belmont’s “Finish What You Started” campaign, she returned to the University after a three decade hiatus to become the first in her family to earn a college diploma.
Simpson enrolled at Belmont College in 1976 while juggling a fulltime job to pay tuition, and her grades suffered. Despite her completing all of the necessary coursework in four years, Simpson’s GPA was too low for her to graduate and she was told she would have make better grades to earn her degree. Frustrated, she left Belmont, continued working and began a family. She again enrolled in 2010 to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Studies.
Dr. Robert C. Fisher, president of the university, presided over the event and presented the commencement address.
Belmont University’s bachelor’s degree program in Audio Engineering Technology has been accredited by the Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET, Inc.), the recognized accreditor of college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology. ABET accreditation demonstrates a program’s commitment to providing its students with a quality education.
This is the first program focused specifically on audio engineering to be fully accredited under ABET standards, marking a significant accomplishment for the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business (CEMB) and Belmont University as well as the audio profession.
“Most importantly,” said CEMB Dean Wesley Bulla, “this is a significant achievement for our students as accreditation ensures that our program is dedicated to the quality standards set by our constituents and demonstrates our continuing commitment to building a preeminent Audio Engineering Technology program that will open doors for our students whether they are going into the profession or on to graduate school.”
Accreditation is a voluntary, peer-review process that requires programs to undergo comprehensive, periodic evaluations. The evaluations—conducted by teams of volunteer professionals working in industry, government, academe and private practice within the ABET disciplines—focus on program curricula, faculty, facilities, institutional support and other important areas.
Dr. Joe Alexander of Belmont University’s Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business has been appointed by the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE) to the 2011 Board of Examiners. Alexander serves as associate dean and senior professor of performance excellence for The Massey School.
Every year, the TNCPE award program recognizes organizations in the State of Tennessee demonstrating excellence in business operations and results.
As an examiner Alexander is responsible for reviewing and evaluating organizations that apply for a TNCPE Award. The Board of Examiners is composed of experts from all sectors of the regional economy, including business, industry, education and health care organizations, professional and trade associations and government. Examiners meet the highest standards of achievement and peer recognition in their fields. All members of the board must complete extensive training in the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.
Established in 1993, TNCPE promotes economic development by helping companies grow more competitive in today’s global marketplace. The program is patterned after the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, recognized as the national standard. Over the years, more than 1,100 organizations have participated in the award program.
