Four Belmont University student-athletes have been named to the The Tennessean’s inaugural ‘Brains and Brawn’ first team. Senior Justin Hare of the men’s basketball team, along with fellow seniors Elizabeth Smothers, Lauren Williams and sophomore Brittany Thune of the women’s cross country & track program, were named to the exclusive list of 25 student-athletes. In addition, Belmont had 20 student-athletes receive honorable mention recognition–the most of any area school. For more on this story, click here.
School of Nursing Receives Share in Foundation Grant, Inman Hosts Press Conference
Belmont University’s School of Nursing recently received $30,000 of a health care grant secured by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and The Tennessee Center for Nursing from the Partners Investing in Nursing’s Future (PIN). PIN is a national initiative led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Northwest Health Foundation to develop solutions to America’s nursing shortage.
Together with Vanderbilt University, Belmont will be using the funds to implement a Teaching Institute to assist nursing faculty across the state to develop informatics and simulation technology skills. In addition, the School of Nursing will be recruiting expert clinical nurses to become “faculty extenders” for students.
In related news, Belmont’s Inman Center, home to the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences and Nursing, served as the site of a press conference Aug. 17 to announce that funds have been raised to support Gov. Phil Bredesen’s campaign, The Graduate Nursing Loan Forgiveness Program. The campaign initially kicked off in January with a goal to direct $1.4 million into a scholarship program that would help current registered nurses (RNs) pay the costs of earning graduate teaching degrees in nursing.
Belmont Remains Top School in Tennessee in U.S. News Rankings
For the third year in a row Nashville’s Belmont University achieved a Top 15 regional ranking in the “Best Universities—Masters” category in the annual U.S. News & World Report college guide, again landing the highest spot of any Tennessee university. Ranked for 2008 at No. 11, Belmont is joined in the South’s Top 15 by such institutions as Rollins College, Elon University, James Madison University, The Citadel and Appalachian State University.
Belmont is the highest-ranked Tennessee school in the Master’s category, which reports on 119 schools across the South, including 15 in Tennessee. The rankings in America’s Best Colleges 2008 are based on several quality indicators including student retention rates, graduation rates, student-faculty ratios and scores on college entrance exams. With a 13/1 student-to-faculty ratio and a competitive 69 percent acceptance rate, Belmont is providing a high quality educational environment for the accomplished and selective students it draws.
“Belmont has earned a national reputation as a college of choice for students seeking a creative and challenging environment that enriches academic study with real world experience,” said University Provost Dr. Dan McAlexander. “Our outstanding faculty and staff have created a leading teaching university that emphasizes innovative programs and pedagogy, strong student-teacher relationships, and entrepreneurial thinking and action. As a result, a diverse body of increasingly qualified students—from across the country and around the globe—are choosing Belmont.”
Pharmacy School Signs Affiliation Agreement with Vanderbilt
Belmont University’s School of Pharmacy announced today that it has signed an affiliation contract with Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), assuring the new program’s students a training site in an academic medical center. The agreement will enable students to learn a broad spectrum of skills and competencies while at Vanderbilt, including dispensing of pharmacy products, management techniques, drug information and patient focused care.
Phil Johnston, Dean of Belmont’s School of Pharmacy, indicated that while the Vanderbilt agreement is the first major affiliation, it will not be the last. “We have interest in working with other regional medical centers and hospital corporations,” said Johnston. “Each agreement will be tailored to the needs of students and the attributes of the institution. These agreements and the collaborative teaching that goes on is required by the credentialing body over pharmacy education. The Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education will expect us to work with the best sites possible for all of the pharmacy student experiences we provide.”
Herndon Signs with Spanish Basketball League
Former Belmont men’s basketball player Boomer Herndon, a 2007 graduate in Communication Studies, recently signed with C.B. Grupo Promobys Tijola of the Spanish Basketball League, which is also the league home of another former Bruin, Adam Sonn, now with C.B. Ourense. Herndon ranks second on Belmont’s all-time list for field goal percentage shooting (59.2), blocked shots (102) and third in rebounding average (6.3 per game). Moreover, the imposing center overcame a health scare in the summer of 2006 – the discovery of a benign mass in his chest – to rank third in the Atlantic Sun in field goal percentage (.610). The Nashville, Tenn. native twice earned All-Atlantic Sun Second Team honors and was named to the Saint Mary’s (CA) All-Tournament Team as a senior.
Smith Writes Column for Tennessean
Dr. Bonnie Smith, assistant professor of English and director of the Writing Center, wrote a column titled “To strive, to look to the sky: That’s what makes a teacher” for the Aug. 16 issue of The Tennessean. To read her story, click here.
Accounting Students Awarded Scholarships
The College of Business Administration announced today that five of its current accounting students have been awarded scholarships by The Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) for the 2007-08 school year. The TSCPA scholarship program makes annual awards to talented Tennessee accounting students on the basis of factors such as academic achievement and leadership skills. Belmont undergraduate recipients include David Burge (Nashville, Tenn.), Jenna Lealos (Franklin, Tenn.), and Hubert Worrell (Goodlettsville, Tenn.). Belmont Master’s candidates receiving awards are Kevin Boyle and Charlie Canon, both of Nashville.
Incoming Freshman to Compete for Miss Teen USA
Jena Sims, 18, an incoming freshman at Belmont, will be competing next weekend in the Miss Teen USA pageant, which will air live on NBC on Fri., Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. Central. Representing her home state of Georgia, Jena has already won a number of community service honors and has raised more than $80,000 for the American Cancer Society in the past eight years.
Summer 2007 Commencement Held
Belmont held its Summer Commencement 2007 ceremony on Fri., Aug. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Curb Event Center. Seventy-seven Bachelors, 65 Master’s and 32 Doctoral degrees were conferred. Dr. Robert C. Fisher, president of the University, presented the graduates with their degrees while Provost Dan McAlexander provided commencement remarks.
In his speech Dr. McAlexander noted that the August graduates represented “an abiding commitment to continued learning across the widest variety of age and experience,” with a majority of the degrees presented being for Master’s or Doctoral work. The heart of his address rested within Belmont’s mission statement, encouraging the graduates to spend time engaging their world and all the questions in it. 
“It is here,” Dr. McAlexander said, “in the open space, progressing from linear certainty to curving ambiguity, where a dialogue begins with the unknown, with ‘the other.’ To ‘engage the world’ in this way, as we hope our graduates will… requires a confidence in one’s knowledge and a certainty in one’s faith from which to launch, and a cultivated habit of curiosity in order to begin, characteristics we hope you have developed during your time at Belmont.”
Trustees’ Chair Marty Dickens Honored as Nashvillian of the Year, Retires from AT&T
Marty Dickens, the chairman of Belmont’s Board of Trustees, was recently honored as Outstanding Nashvillian of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Nashville. The award is presented to a citizen who is known for significant service and contribution to the betterment of the city and who enhances the objects of the Kiwanis mission. Past recipients of the award include Martha Ingram, Jack Massey, Gov. Phil Bredesen, Vince Gill, Jeff Fisher and Mike Curb.
Dickens, pictured with Belmont President Robert Fisher, at the award ceremony Aug. 10, also announced this week his retirement as president of AT&T Tennessee, effective Oct. 1. After 38 years in the telecommunications industry, Dickens, 59, told The Tennessean, “My wife and I have thought about this for a while. We will stay here in Nashville and be very active in the community.”
