With the start of basketball season only weeks away, Belmont University has launched the most extensive marketing campaign in Athletics history to promote men’s and women’s basketball and sell season tickets. Numerous efforts are underway in the “Be a Fan” campaign to raise awareness of Belmont basketball. For the first time, all season ticket buyers will receive the “Bruin Edge,” a coupon book with an estimated $250 value, double the price of the ticket itself. Deals include discounts to numerous local hotels and restaurants as well as to entertainment venues like the Nashville Zoo and TPAC.
“While the ‘Bruin Edge’ certainly adds extraordinary value, it’s only one of a number of reasons fans should consider purchasing a season ticket to Bruin basketball,” said Pamela Johnson, director of university marketing and special initiatives. “Most importantly, the proceeds the university receives from season tickets go toward athletic scholarships, making those tickets an easy, affordable way to support Belmont’s fine student-athletes. Plus, anyone who’s ever attended a Bruins game will tell you that it’s hard to find a better night of competitive sports and family-oriented fun.”
In addition to the “Bruin Edge” coupon book, the “Be a Fan” basketball campaign includes 10 billboards placed around Nashville, all featuring Belmont mascot Bruiser holding a mask of his own face. Similarly themed ads will soon begin running in Nashville’s City Paper and on the Belmont.edu Web site with numerous celebrities appearing with their own Bruiser masks as part of a season-long contest. Individuals will be asked to guess who is behind the mask in each monthly advertisement, Nov.-Feb. They can then turn in the official form with their guess at any Belmont home basketball game for a chance to win a getaway weekend for two to anywhere in the continental United States. The prize will be given away at the Bruins’ last home game on Feb. 27, 2010.
Belmont Launches Extensive ‘Be a Fan’ Campaign to Promote Basketball Season Ticket Sales
Avila Receives Leadership in Diversity Award
Social work alumnus Claudia Avila (’03) was recently named the recipient of the 2009 Multicultural Council Award for Leadership in Diversity. It comes from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). She will go to Washington D.C. on Nov. 10 to accept the award.
Biles Presents at Math Conference
Dr. Daniel Biles, associate professor of mathematics, gave a presentation at the 29th Annual Southeastern-Atlantic Regional Conference on Differential Equations at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia on Oct. 17. The title of his talk was “Existence of Solutions for Singular Functional Differential Equations with Upper and Lower Solutions.”
CEMB Holds First Entertainment Law Clinic
On Oct. 7 the College of Entertainment and Music Business successfully held its first Entertainment Law Clinic in partnership with the Tennessee Bar Association and Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts. The clinic was held to teach professionalism and the importance of receiving legal counsel in the arts, while providing cost-free legal help for Belmont students. Nearly 20students had the opportunity to meet with volunteer attorneys who answered arts/entertainment business related legal questions. Pictured from left to right: Casey Gill Summar, director of TN Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts; Chris Vlahos, chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Entertainment & Sports Law Section; Cheryl L. Slay, faculty advisor for the clinic; and Provost Marcia McDonald.
Public Relations Student Writes for National Blog
Junior public relations major Sarah Norton is the author of a blog featured on the home page of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSSA). The blog discusses support of the Belmont PRSSA Chapter by the Nashville professional chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). October is celebrated in the society as PRSA/PRSSA Relationship Month. Nashville PRSA and Belmont PRSSA are recipients of a national award for Outstanding PRSA/PRSSA Relationship. Click here to read Norton’s blog.
Student-Created Web Site Successfully Supports Local Artists
IndieBandHub.com, 
a site created by students in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, recently completed its first project by supporting artist Rafeal Vasquez with everything from recording to manufacturing his new album.
Created as a class project in MBU 3630 (Record Company Operations), the site serves to encourage the local Nashville music scene and create opportunities for bands to communicate, share and assist each other’s efforts.
Rafeal Vasquez, an artist member of Indie Band Hub, performed Oct. 17 with the Mariachi Vargas at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Vasquez performed works from his upcoming CD produced by Indie Band Hub/Acklen Records. The album was recorded in Nashville’s historic RCA Studio B and ranges from flamenco guitar to classic Latin rock.
Belmont Tops Out New Health Science Building, Home for Schools of Pharmacy and Physical Therapy
Ceremony celebrates completion of $30 million building’s frame
Nearly one year after breaking ground, Belmont University today celebrated the “topping out” its new $30 million health sciences building, which will serve as the future home for the School of Pharmacy, a Belmont program which welcomed its second class this fall. The building, which has an anticipated completion date of June 2010, will also house the School of Physical Therapy and will include expansion space for the Schools of Nursing and Occupational Therapy as well as the Social Work and Psychology programs. (Click here to view a photo of gallery of today’s event.)
Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “In addition to providing a time to celebrate and thank all the workers behind this immense project, a topping out is also a time to look forward to when this structure is complete. This building will be a model, 21st century academic facility, providing a venue where our students and faculty resources can intersect in service to help meet the medical needs of our community and our world.”
Designed by Earl Swensson Associates with construction by R.C. Mathews, the 90,000-square-foot building will continue the innovation for which Belmont University has become known, containing top-notch laboratories. The facility will emphasize integrated, “hands on” experiential learning components including a licensed, state-of-the-art campus pharmacy which will provide services to students, faculty and staff while also serving as a training site for student pharmacists. Of special note are the simulation labs, where students and community clinicians can practice skills either on actors who simulate patients or on high tech manikins; this simulation suite is interdisciplinary, and programs will be encouraged to work in simulated scenarios that involve several health disciplines. In addition, faculty will have sophisticated research labs set aside for research studies, and students will be able to assist in these studies.
Dr. Jack Williams, dean of Belmont’s College of Health Sciences and Nursing, said, “Together with the Gordon E. Inman Center, this new structure will unite Belmont’s health science studies in one strategic location on campus. By completing and enhancing our health sciences complex, the university is providing inter-professional education opportunities for all of our health science students and preparing them to be both competent and compassionate practitioners.”
Belmont Speech/Debate Team Wins Tournament
The Belmont University Speech and Debate team won 1st place overall in a tournament held Oct. 18 at Walters State University. Team members competed individually and every member made it to the finals in at least one event. Individual awards at the tournament were as follows:
Bethany Miller: Impromptu Speaking (1st), Informative Speaking (2nd), Extemporaneous Speaking (3rd)
Tim Smith: Impromptu Speaking (4th), Extemporaneous Speaking (2nd)
Kate Tully: After Dinner Speaking (2nd), Programmed Oral Interpretation (2nd), Dramatic Interpretation (1st)
Jaiden Phelps: Persuasive Speaking (1st)
Nicole Bright: Prose Interpretation (2nd), Programmed Oral Interpretation (1st), Dramatic Duo Interpretation (with Eric Schoen, 1st)
Eric Schoen: Impromptu Speaking (2nd) Poetry Interpretation (2nd) Dramatic Duo Interpretation (with Nicole Bright, 1st) Communication Analysis (1st)
Students Compete in ‘Battle of the Brains’
Belmont students will be competing in the 34th annual IBM-sponsored Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest, also known as the “Battle of the Brains,” regional competition Oct. 24 at Tennessee Technological University. Tens of thousands of students in more than 90 countries will participate in the global competition, and the top 100 regional champions will go on to compete Feb. 1-6 in Harbin, China.
Six Belmont students will be participating in this year’s competition. Team one, also known as “Force Quit,” includes Ross Buffington, Heather Ellis and Will Proffitt. Team two, also known as “Bandits,” consists of Cory Hughes, Trevor Hinesley and Hank Carter. Jordan Williams is the alternate for both teams.
Students will be challenged to use their programming skills and rely on their mental endurance to solve complex, real world problems under a five-hour deadline. Teammates collaborate to rank the difficulty of the problems, deduce the requirements, design test beds and build software systems that solve the problems under the scrutiny of expert judges. The team that solves the most problems correctly in the least amount of time will win a coveted spot on the world finals roster. The best and brightest information technology students from around the globe will compete for awards, scholarships, prizes and bragging rights to the “world’s smartest trophy.”
“The Battle of the Brains is one of the most demanding intellectual challenges,” said Alan Ganek, chief technology officer and vice president of strategy for business and technology at IBM Software Group. “These students possess an amazing talent to solve pressing issues involving transportation, energy, water, climate and health.”
The regional schools participating are Tennessee Technological University, Belmont University, Austin Peay State University, East Tennessee State University, Maryville College, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State, University of North Alabama, Vanderbilt University and Tuskegee University.
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a major force in advancing the skills of information technology professionals and students. ACM serves its global membership of 80,000 by delivering technical information and transferring ideas from theory to practice. IBM’s sponsorship commitment to the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest is part of a company-wide effort to advance the next generation of computer scientists.
Alumnus Gorley Takes Home Top Honor at ASCAP Awards
Ashley Gorley, a 1999 Belmont graduate from the College of Entertainment and Music Business, received the Songwriter of the Year award at Monday night’s ASCAP Country Music Awards held at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, an invitation-only gala that salutes the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most performed country songs of the past year.
Gorley wrote or co-wrote Trace Adkins’ “You’re Gonna Miss This,” Brad Paisley and Keith Urban’s “Start a Band” and Darius Rucker’s “It Won’t Be Like This for Long.” “You’re Gonna Miss This” was also named one of ASCAP’s five most-played songs in the past year and Country Song of the Year. For his wins, Gorley was presented with a special, limited edition Gibson Les Paul guitar. In referencing “You’re Gonna Miss This,” Adkins told NewsChannel5, “[Ashley’s] had a great year, not just with this song. He still has hits. He’s got new hits on the radio right now. I mean he’s on a roll.”
ASCAP also recognized a distinguished group of songwriters with the Silver Circle honor in recognition of 25 years or more of ASCAP membership. Among those honored were Gregg “Hobie” Hubbard, a graduate of Belmont’s Masters of English program and a Writing Center tutor, and Bob Regan, an adjunct in the College of Entertainment and Music Business who teaches “Fundamentals of Songwriting.”
