Belmont University held its Winter 2007 Commencement ceremony on Fri., Dec. 14 in the Curb Event Center, and 360 undergraduate and master’s degrees were conferred, including 57 Bachelors of Science in Nursing, the largest class the program has graduated to date. In addition, the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business celebrated the second largest graduating class in its history with 38 total degrees conferred.
President Bob Fisher presided over the event and presented the graduates with their degrees as well as provided commencement remarks that included quotes from more than 30 popular songs. 
Bachelor of Music candidate Alvin Lemar Love, son of Belmont Trustee CeCe Winans, offered the Student Reflection for the ceremony, encouraging his fellow graduates to have the courage to “Be yourself.” President and Mrs. Fisher hosted a reception for graduates and their guests at the conclusion of commencement in Belmont’s Beaman Student Life Center.
December Graduation Marks Record for Nursing
SunTrust Honors Late Brian Williams with Belmont Donation
The SunTrust Brian Williams Music Row Financial Center honored the late Brian Williams and Belmont University in its annual Christmas card by making a donation in his name to the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business Songwriting Program. The money will be used to set up the Brian Williams Scholarship Fund. Williams, 45, died in a 2006 accident on Center Hill Lake. An innovative thinker, he bridged a traditional business with the unconventional ways of the music industry to create quite a niche for Nashville’s banking industry. The card was sent to some 1,100 clients of the bank’s Brian Williams Music Row Financial Center. Pictured in the photo are (l-r) Karen Clark, SunTrust Bank; Dr. Wes Bulla, Dean, Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business; Diane Pearson, SunTrust Bank; Harry Chapman, Director of Development & Major Gifts, Belmont; and Lori Stone Badgett, SunTrust Bank.
Athletics Announces Holiday Ticket Promotion
Belmont Athletics recently announced plans for a ‘Home for the Holidays’ ticket promotion for its Wed., Dec. 19 home men’s basketball game versus Austin Peay. All tickets for attendees age seven and up will be priced at just $1. Children age six and younger will be admitted free in keeping with the Bruins’ standard policy. “We want to encourage families who are together for the holiday season to join us on Dec. 19 for what promises to be an exciting game against Austin Peay,” Belmont Director of Athletics Mike Strickland said.
Tip-off for the game is set for 7 p.m. CT at the Curb Event Center. Belmont (6-4) has recorded non-conference road wins at Cincinnati and Alabama thus far in 2007-08. For more information, log onto www.belmont.edu/athletics.
Business Programs Officially Launch ‘Strictly Business’ Blog
Belmont University announced today that its academic and professional business programs are partnering to launch an innovative new blog designed to highlight emerging business trends in the U.S. and abroad. Titled “Strictly Business,” the new interactive Web forum represents a joint initiative of Belmont’s College of Business Administration units, including the Undergraduate School of Business, The Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business and the Scarlett Leadership Institute.
Over 20 faculty members, administrators and area business leaders are already committed to adding content on the new blog project, with contributors ranging from a newly-minted Ph.D. faculty member from Duke University to the former CEO and chairman of the board of Brentwood-based Tractor Supply Company. Massey Graduate School Associate Dean Joe Alexander said, “We have a very talented group of business experts within the Belmont academic and professional communities who are actively engaged in our educational mission. With this new tool, though, we expect to have far greater opportunities for learning across the various business disciplines and in bringing academics and professionals together within a common learning platform.”
Following a pilot phase of initial testing, the blog was opened to the general public on Dec. 1, and content has already been posted on a variety of current topics ranging from “exclusive branding techniques in fashion” to “social lending” to “perspective on how to improve CEO accountability,” among many other topics. Visitors to the blog are not only able to read about these issues but can then share their own comments that may support or in some cases disagree with the original authors’ position. The end result is an opportunity for active dialogue on current business topics of interest. Strictly Business can be viewed at http://forum.belmont.edu/business/.
CEMB Hosts Industry Presentation
The Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business hosted a demonstration of Logic Studio and Apogee Symphony System Thurs., Dec. 6 at the Sony Building, located at 34 Music Square East. Teaming up with VintageKing Audio in Nashville, Apogee Electronics & Apple presented two Logic Pro 8 sessions demonstrating the software’s current suite of Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) recording applications. The afternoon provided local industry professionals and Belmont Audio Engineering Society (AES) students an in-depth look at how Apple has managed to satisfy its current user base and market an attractive software package to new users as well.
Acklen Entertainment Launches Classic Southern Rock Band
Last week, Belmont University’s student-run Acklen Entertainment released its first CD, Brothers of the Southland, a compilation of great southern rock standards and new titles. As a preview of the self-titled album, the star-studded southern rock band Brothers of the Southland made its only scheduled area performance at the historic Exit In on Nov. 29 for a single release party that was also produced by Acklen.
An outstanding collection of mature and amazing musicians, the band brings together legendary southern rock performers Jimmy Hall (Wet Willy Band), Henry Paul (The Outlaws/BlackHawk), Steve Gorman (Black Crows/Jimmy Page), Dan Toler (Allman Bros/Dickey Betts), Mike Brignardello (Giant) and Jay Boy Adams (Texas Blues Solo Artist). This Acklen CD project also includes guitar and vocals from the late George McCorkle (Marshall Tucker Band) and features Bo Bice of “American Idol” fame.
School of Sciences Hosts Local High School Students
High School Physics Day was recently held on campus as 20 students from Cheatham County High School visited Belmont’s School of Sciences department for chemistry and physics demonstrations and two hours of lab experience. The students performed lab experiments alongside Belmont students and Belmont faculty members Dr. Robert Magruder, Dr. Christian Thomas, Dr. Scott Hawley and Dr. Steve Robinson.
Dr. Fisher to Co-Chair Mayor’s Project for Student Success
Nashville Mayor Karl Dean today announced the members of Project for Student Success, a 40-member group convened to develop action steps to reduce the dropout rate of students in area public schools. The project includes parents, students, education professionals from all levels, government officials, and members of neighborhood groups, faith-based organizations, non profits and the business community. Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors and President of Belmont University Bob Fisher will serve as co-chairs.
“I have had numerous conversations with both the vice mayor and President Fisher about reducing the dropout rate and they share my deep desire to give every student that comes through our public school system a chance to have a future and to be a productive citizen in our city,” Dean said.
Four sub-committees of the project will each focus on one of the key factors research has shown to contribute to students dropping out of school: chronic poor academic performance, student risk factors, lack of family or parental support, and community risk factors. Recommendations will be presented to the Mayor’s Office by June 2008.
CMT Music Awards to Be Held at Curb Center for Third Straight Year
Country music’s biggest stars will once again rock Nashville’s Curb Event Center at Belmont University when the “2008 CMT Music Awards” premieres live on Mon., April 14, 2008 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CMT and CMT.com. 2008 marks the third time that the CMT show and its live red carpet pre-show will be broadcast from Belmont University, and the announcement comes on the heels of recent news that the Curb Event Center will host the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate in October.
The CMT Music Awards program remains country music’s only fan-voted award show. The first round of nominees will be announced Tues., Feb. 5, and fan voting will begin on CMT.com. Final nominees will be announced in early March. The awards show and related programming garnered an impressive 9.1 million viewers for last year’s premiere, and more than 31.6 million different total viewers saw repeated airings of the “2007 CMT Music Awards.”
McFadden Selected for ACIS National Team
This semester American Collegiate Intramural Sports (ACIS) launched the “ACIS Campus Rep Marketing Internship” program on more than 50 campuses, offering students at participating universities the chance to earn college credits while gaining brand marketing experience with Fortune 500 companies such as P&G, GM, Nike, Philips, Microsoft and many more. Belmont senior Reid McFadden, a Communications Studies major and an intern with the Beaman Student Life Center, was recently selected to the 2007 ACIS Campus Rep Nationals Team, winning a trip to New Orleans Dec. 27-Jan. 1 to assist the ACIS Team at the Pontiac ACIS Flag Football Nationals. McFadden was one of only five campus reps from around the country chosen to participate in nationals.
