Thom Storey, chair of the media studies department, was recently interviewed by The Tennessean regarding a teenager who visited Belmont as part of the Make-A-Wish program. Las Vegas high school student Taylor Hassman, 17, was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. Make-a-Wish, a nonprofit organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, provided Taylor with a trip to Nashville to attend CMA Music Festival events. During her stay she also met with journalism and admissions representatives at Belmont, where she hopes to attend classes beginning in 2009. To read the full story, click here.
Cusic Published in New Book
Professor of Music Business Don Cusic has a chapter, “Cowboys in Chicago,” in a new book, The Hayloft Gang, just released from the University of Illinois Press. The book is about WLS and The National Barn Dance in Chicago, which was the top radio show for country music before the emergence of the Grand Ole Opry after World War II.
Rives Named Women’s Outdoor Track and Field All-American
Rising junior Lynette Rives capped an extraordinary outdoor season after reaching the semifinals in the 200m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last week. For her efforts, she was recently named an Outdoor All-American by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Rives becomes the second outdoor female runner at Belmont to receive the All-America distinction and the first since 2000 to receive the honor.
Rives is currently ranked 34th in the 200m by USA Track & Field, the organization that governs the U.S. Olympic Trials. Riley is awaiting notification from USATF to see if she will be allowed to compete at the Trials, which are scheduled for June 27-July 6 in Eugene, Oregon. If she advances, she will be the first women’s track athlete to do so in school history. For more on this story, click here.
Associated New American Colleges to Meet at Belmont for Summer Institute
Administrators and faculty from the 21 member institutions of the Associated New American Colleges will come together for the annual Summer Institute this week. The three-day event focusing on optimum environments in which to learn, teach and grow will be held at Belmont from June 18-20.
Committed to integrating liberal arts education, professional studies and civic engagement, New American Colleges are often pioneering new ways of teaching and learning. The Summer Institute affords members from across the country an opportunity to share their work among like-minded institutions. Keynote speaker Susan Painter, PhD, a design psychologist and urban and university campus planner, will share her ideas on how campus design affects cognitive development and what that means for schools dedicated to integrative learning. Barbara Walvoord, PhD, Professor Emerita at the University of Notre Dame, Ind., will address student assessment and grading.
Throughout the Institute, affinity groups such as presidents, provosts, career services and enrollment services, will meet to discuss topics endemic to institutions of integrative learning. Stuart Dorsey, PhD, president of the University of Redlands, will also lead a roundtable discussion of emerging issues for the institutions before the Institute closes.
Student’s iReport Shown on CNN International
Rising senior and music business major Chris Dorsey was recently interviewed on CNN International. After taking part last summer in Belmont’s first Study Abroad trip to South Africa, Dorsey returned to the nation this summer as a volunteer and was present when the rioting began in Cape Town several weeks ago. He submitted to CNN several photos from his work with a refugee camp in the area, and the network contacted him for an iReport interview, which aired last week. To view Dorsey’s iReport, click here and forward to 5:08 in the video segment.
Giorgianni Interviewed for MSN Health and Fitness
Dr. Sal Giorgianni in the School of Pharmacy recently did an interview on the MSN Health and Fitness Web site for the Men’s Health Network in anticipation of Father’s Day. The full article “Fighting Frailty,” which can be read here, focuses on practical tips older fathers can use to manage the basics of physical health as well as to engage in mentally stimulating and socially rewarding activities.
Weaver Finishes in Top 25 at NCAA Championship Event
Belmont women’s track and cross country runner Lauren Weaver, a Spring 2008 graduate, finished 25th in the preliminary race for the 5000 meter at the NCAA Championships. The Nashville native, who was the only runner representing a school in the state of Tennessee to compete in the event, finished with a time of 17:48.77. Weaver became only the third Belmont outdoor women’s track athlete in program history to participate in the NCAA Championship and was the first since 2004. She qualified for the NCAA Championship after finishing second in the event at the NCAA Mideast Regional, just two seconds behind eventual winner Angela Bizzarri of the University of Illinois. For more on this story, click here.
Art Professor’s ‘Green’ Bag Project Earns Growing Fan Base
Teresa Van Hatten-Granath, associate professor in the Art Department, held her first “Green Bag Lady Performance Event” this past Saturday in Green Hills, adding another 66 fabric bags to her growing list of giveaways while also obtaining local and regional media coverage. (Pictured from left to right are Van Hatten-Granath, her friend Alicia Steinhilber and Radio Free Nashville talk show host Dawn Kirk.)
Van Hatten-Granath, who primarily teaches digital imaging and photography at Belmont, began the Green Bag Lady project earlier this year in an effort to inspire artists to think about the ecological impact of their art as well as to produce work that has a direct, positive impact on the environment. “The project started one day I when was scolding my husband for getting plastic bags at the grocery. I decided to go through my fabric bins and I just started making bags. Eventually, I figured out what size worked best, and that is the size of the pattern I now give out as a PDF. I started by bringing the bags to the college kids in my classes and then my friends. It has just grown from there, and now it has taken on a life of its own.”
Her performance events involve setting up her sewing machine in public spaces and creating bags to giveaway to anyone who requests one. The only cost? The receiver of the free bag must promise to use them instead of paper or plastic. To date, Van Hatten-Granath has sent more than 600 fabric bags to 37 states and six foreign countries.
NBC sent a camera crew to Saturday’s event and footage aired on Nashville’s WMSV-4 as well as on affiliates in 20 different states and Canada.
For more information, visit www.greenbaglady.org.
Bell Tower Undergoes Extreme Makeover
New banner celebrates Belmont’s role as host site of the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate
In observance of Flag Day, Belmont University lifted its own celebration of the ‘stars and stripes’ by draping the campus’s historic Bell Tower this week in a red, white and blue flag banner. The banner heralds the upcoming Oct. 7, 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate to be held at the university’s Curb Event Center. Measuring 45 feet tall by 16 feet wide, the tower banner will serve as an ideal backdrop for local print and broadcast media in the coming months ahead and throughout the Town Hall Debate.
Since its construction, the Bell Tower has stood through 31 presidencies and will now welcome the future president during a pivotal time of this historic election year. Located in the heart of Belmont’s campus, the Bell Tower was built around 1850 and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. On Adelicia Acklen’s original estate, it was used as a water tower, with a moat spanned by a bridge at the entrance. During the Civil War, it was used as a signal tower, and in 1928, a carillon of 23 bells was installed to create a ‘singing tower’ at the then Ward-Belmont School. The current Bell Tower includes a total of 42 bells weighing more than three tons and is one of only five carillons in the state of Tennessee. The Bell Tower is now captured in Belmont University’s logo and has been the centerpiece of campus from its early days as an all women’s school through its current status as the largest private Christian university in Tennessee.
Flag Day’s original inspiration came in 1885, when Wisconsin school teacher Bernard Cigrand asked his students to write an essay describing the importance of the American flag. The assignment secured Cigrand’s life-long mission to raise awareness and emphasize the importance of the nation’s stars and stripes and what they represent. His efforts were successful, and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation encouraging national observance of Flag Day, leading to celebrations in various communities with parades and gatherings. In 1949, President Harry Truman signed into law an Act of Congress officially declaring June 14 National Flag Day.
Brandt Receives A-Sun Postgraduate Scholarship
Belmont University senior Sarah Brandt (Hendersonville, Tenn.) has received a postgraduate scholarship from the Atlantic Sun Conference, the league announced from its annual administrative meetings. Brandt enjoyed a stellar career on the field, becoming the first Bruin ever to earn All-Atlantic Sun honors in consecutive years as she was tabbed an all-league defender in 2006 and 2007. Versatile and dependable, Brandt ranks among Belmont’s all-time leaders in games played, minutes played and assists. Likewise adept in the classroom, Brandt graduated with honors last month, earning a dual degree in biology (pre-med) and chemistry. She was a four-time Atlantic Sun Conference All-Academic honoree, four-time Dean’s List recipient, 2007 Academic All-District honoree and the 2008 Belmont Academic Achievement Award recipient for women’s soccer. For more on this story, click here.
