Dr. John Gonas, assistant professor of business at Belmont University, and Joe Drake, a business major at Belmont, are recipients of the 2007 Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award. This annual award is given to five faculty/staff recipients and five student recipients in Tennessee higher education institutions. The individuals selected to receive recognition represent the many dimensions of community service volunteer work, public service, charitable service and leadership roles in community organizations. They serve as ambassadors for community service among the many diverse higher educational communities in Tennessee. The award is named after the late Tennessee state representative Harold Love who was instrumental in passing legislation that created community service recognition programs for higher education students and faculty/staff at the campus level.
Gonas and Drake were nominated for their instrumental work with the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program at Belmont that began during the 2005-06 academic year. Under the leadership of Gonas, adviser to Belmont’s SIFE team, students have worked to help social agencies and minority entrepreneurs develop sustainable business plans and products. The Belmont SIFE team has worked with Thistle Farms of the Magdalene Project, Mama Turney’s Pies and Conexion Americas. Belmont students have also taught financial literacy to young men participating in the 100 Kings program (a partnership between Belmont and 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee) and to students from immigrant families through a program with Catholic Charities at a local high school. Students also participate in Voluntary Tax Income Assistance (VITA) to assist low-income and elderly taxpayers and the Mocha Club to promote awareness fo the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa.
Belmont Professor, Student Win State-Wide Service Award
Belmont University Announces School of Pharmacy
Belmont University announced today it will open a School of Pharmacy and will begin enrolling students in the program for the 2008-09 academic year. The pharmacy program will join Belmont’s nursing, social work, physical therapy and occupational therapy programs available in the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing.
“Belmont has made a commitment to the allied health sciences in this community,” Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said. “With our existing physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing and social work programs, we are filling great needs in Nashville – the health care capital – for educating the next generation of highly qualified health care professionals in a variety of disciplines. We are excited to add pharmacy to our growing list of offerings.”
The School of Pharmacy at Belmont will be a four-year, graduate program with a foundation in clinical and practical learning. By opening a School of Pharmacy, Belmont will help alleviate a growing problem state and nationwide – a shortage of pharmacy positions projected to call for 1,060 new pharmacy positions needed in Tennessee and over 157,000 nationwide.
“Belmont’s program will build on a long and rich tradition of cross-disciplinary collaboration and nurturing community and industry relationships to create a program that will prepare its students with the diversity of skills that will enable them to meet these varied challenges,” Belmont Provost Dr. Dan McAlexander said. ‘More than 30 years ago, when Belmont established its nationally preeminent program in music business, enterprising faculty members and university leaders saw a music industry in deep need of business professionals to help lead it. That kind of entrepreneurial thinking and action, that kind of cross-community partnership building, has become the hallmark of a Belmont education. These elements have inspired our efforts in the development of all of our health care programs. We look forward to working with the community and the industry in this new endeavor.”
Belmont’s School of Pharmacy will follow a cutting-edge model of educating pharmacists for the 21st century. Belmont will collaborate extensively with area hospitals and retail pharmacies to allow students opportunities to gain knowledge in every aspect of the pharmaceutical industry from the scientific and medical to the marketing of the ever-expanding industry. Belmont has received letters of support for its School of Pharmacy from area hospitals and medical centers, including Summit, Skyline, Southern Hills, Centennial, St. Thomas, Baptist, Vanderbilt and Williamson County. The regional managers of pharmacy at Walgreen’s, CVS, Eckerd, Kroger, Publix, Walmart and K-mart have also lent their support to the School of Pharmacy at Belmont.
“Belmont is well suited and situated to add a school of pharmacy to its academic offerings,” Clayton McWhorter, a Belmont trustee, former pharmacist and chairman of Clayton Associates, said. “Middle Tennessee is the ideal place for the best clinical training any student could dream of having. Belmont, because of its academic and faith-based offerings and structure, has the opportunity to start a pharmacy program that will create pharmacists of the future. As we deal more and more with new drug therapies, the importance of the role of the pharmacist to ensure the appropriate use of these powerful medications will escalate.”
In addition to serving traditional roles of pharmacists, the professionals of the future will need to be prepared:
* To assume co-equal partnership roles with doctors and other health care professionals in the assignment, management and evaluation of medication and drug regimens for patients
* To analyze trends in patterns of medication use and in pharmacoeconomics for managed care corporations and insurance providers
* To lead new developments in pharmacy informatics in an increasingly technology driven environment
* To manage businesses and to lead people.
This model mirrors Belmont’s initiatives to educate students with collaborative, entrepreneurial programs and to strengthen community relationships and partnerships that benefit both Belmont students and greater Nashville simultaneously.
“With over 80 million baby boomers not only in growing need of health care but retiring from the health care industry, there are huge demands for health care professionals that we have to meet somehow,” Jack Bovender, CEO of Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), said. “Belmont has a history of stepping in to fill needs and we look forward to continuing our partnership in this new endeavor.”
Click here to watch a video of today’s event.
Justin Hare Receives National Academic Honor
Belmont University junior Justin Hare added to his impressive scholastic resume over the weekend as he was named to the fifth annual Division I-AAA Athletic Directors Association Scholar-Athlete Team.
The Cleveland, Tenn., native, who was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team last month, is one of just 11 student-athletes in NCAA Division-I men’s basketball to be recognized. Moreover, Hare is one of just three honorees to have played in this year’s NCAA Tournament, joining Anthony Tolliver of Creighton University and Sean Mallon of Gonzaga University.
Hare sports a 3.85 GPA in his major of exercise science and health promotion.
Third on the Bruins’ career scoring list (NCAA era) with 1,275 points, Hare will return for his senior season as First Team All-Atlantic Sun and a two-time Atlantic Sun Tournament MVP.
Each of the nominees was required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been an integral part of their respective team’s success. A special Review Committee of Division I-AAA athletics directors was responsible for selecting the winners.
A complete list of award winners can be viewed at www.nacda.com.
Belmont University Competes for 2008 Presidental Debates
Nashville, Tenn., April 2, 2007 – Belmont University has submitted an invitation to the 2008 Commission on Presidential Debates to hold one of the series of scheduled debates featuring the Democratic and Republican Party candidates at the university in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont is among 19 possible locations nationwide for the 2008 Presidential Debates.
The multi-faceted Curb Event Center would be the venue for the debates, with supporting roles played by the Beaman Student Life Center and the new Gordon E. Inman Center. Belmont’s leadership, faculty, students and staff will participate in supporting this unique and internationally significant event.
Civic organizations, state and local government officials have supported Belmont’s bid for the debates. Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen stated, “The Presidential Debates would find a compatible home at Belmont University where students with inquisitive minds take their roles as future citizens of our community, nation and world very seriously.”
Belmont President Robert Fisher has led the charge to attract the Presidential Debates to Nashville and Belmont. His interest in exposing students to real life experiences and challenging them to think beyond the classroom has positioned Belmont as a university with a unique service mandate that prepares graduates to be contributing members of society after graduation. Hosting the Presidential Debates would allow Belmont students to witness firsthand the United States’ political process and a staple of the presidential election cycle. Debates are often the first time many voters are given a chance to hear and see presidential candidates speak on a host of different issues.
“It will provide extraordinary educational opportunities for all observing the production process and impact of one of America’s most important moments in our democratic system,” Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said. “This will be a once in a lifetime to experience first-hand the democratic process in our country at work.”
The Commission on Presidential Debates will travel to all applicants for site visits in late April and early June. Final decisions will be made in late summer, with an announcement on selected sites taking place in September 2007. The final universities selected for the 2004 debates were the University of Miami (FL), Case Western Reserve University, Washington University in Saint Louis and Arizona State University.
Securing the Presidential Debates would reinforce Belmont University’s mission “to engage and transform the world” and signal its growing presence on the national scene. Following six years of academic growth, the past year has seen Belmont rise in the U.S. News & World Report’s standings to No. 10; voted Nashville’s best MBA program by Nashville Scene readers while the Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business was cited by Rolling Stone and Time magazines as one of the best in the country; watched the men and women’s basketball teams compete in the NCAA Tournaments; celebrated one of its own recent alumni as Miss USA (Rachel Smith, ’06); and, watches each week as another of its alumni comes closer to capturing the American Idol prize (Melinda Doolittle, ’99).
Below is the list of all 2008 debate host applicants:
–Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
— Belmont University, Nashville, TN
— Centre College, Danville, KY
— Economic Development Corporation of Wayne County, Indiana
— Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
— Indiana University and the City of Bloomington’s Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
— MERC, Portland, OR
— Ohio State University, National Public Radio, and Public Broadcasting Station, Columbus, OH
— State of Illinois (Lakeside Center/McCormick Place, Chicago)
— University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR
— University of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, OH
— University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
— University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
— VisitPittsburgh, PA
— Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
— Washington State University, Spokane, WA
— Washington University in St. Louis, MO
— Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
— Women of the Storm, New Orleans, LA
Belmont University
Belmont University’s fast-growing community of nearly 4,500 students comes from every state and more than 25 countries. Belmont is committed to premier teaching with a focus on success in the real world. Our purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs. With more than 70 areas of study, eight master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual’s horizon.
Raines to Appear on Nashville Business This Week
Dr. Pat Raines, Dean of the College of Business, will appear on Nashville Business This Week, a weekly television show with the Nashville Business Journal and WTVF News Channel 5. He will discuss the impact of the inverted yield guide on community banks. Tune in to News Channel 5+ at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 30, 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 31 and 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 1.
West Nominated for Distinguished Athena Award
Dr. Susan West, Vice President for Presidential Affairs at Belmont University, was nominated for the distinguished Athena Award, an honor given to one Nashville woman each year for their extraordinary accomplishments. The Athena Award honors those women who have attained and personify the highest level of excellence within family, vocation and community service. West was nominated by Women in Higher Education in Tennessee (WHET).
The 17th Annual Athena Awards was held Thursday, March 29, 2007, at the Parthanon in Nashville, and is held in March each year in honor of women’s history month.
Pictured here, Dr. West with husband, John, daughter, Shandra, sisterfriends, Gina Brown and Kyshia Carey, and Belmont staff members Angie Bryant and LaKiesha Armstrong.
Belmont Student Awarded by NIRSA
Belmont student, Caroline Cox, will receive the Star Trac NIRSA Region 2 Student Excellence Award at the NIRSA annual conference in Minneapolis next month. This is the highest award Region 2 bestows upon students for their engagement in recreational sports. The award was created in 2006 to recognize top undergraduate and graduate students who are participants of and/or employed in their respective campus recreational sports program. This award gives the professional members of Region 2 an opportunity to honor outstanding student leaders. In addition to the award, Caroline will receive a grant in the amount of $200.00 for travel expenses to the conference.
Belmont University To Host 2007 CMT Music Awards
Belmont University will host the 2007 CMT Music Awards Monday, April 16, 2007, in the Curb Event Center. This is the second year in a row Belmont will host the annual award show. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy will return as host for the third consecutive year.
UPDATE: Feb., 23, 2007
Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Sugarland and Dierks Bentley are the first round of artists scheduled to perform at the 2007 CMT Music Awards. Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 3, available at all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 255-9600 or online at CMT.com and ticketmaster.com. Belmont students receive a $10 discount by using the code BELMONT. Additional information can be found online at CMT.com.
UPDATE: March 23, 2007
CMT announced Toby Keith, Bon Jovi, and a special performance from Australia by Keith Urban have been added to the growing list of performers that includes Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland and Tim McGraw.
UPDATE: March 29, 2007
CMT announces additional stars to the line-up for the 2007 CMT Music Awards airing live from Nashville’s Curb Event Center at Belmont University on Monday, April 16. Barbara Mandrell, Jason Aldean, Josh Turner, Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimes, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Taylor Swift will present at CMT’s sixth annual awards show.
Tennessee College Presidents Commit to the Environment at Ceremony at Belmont
College and university presidents from across the state of Tennessee gathered at Belmont University Wednesday, March 28, 2007, to sign the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders For a Sustainable Future (USLF) and commit to lead their respective institutions to achieve global environmental literacy and sustainability. Dr. Bob Fisher (Belmont University) will be joined by Dr. Hazel O’Leary (Fisk University) and Dr. Wayne Riley (Meharry Medical College) to sign the declaration. Dr. Loren Crabtree (University of Tennessee at Knoxville), Dr. George Van Allen (Nashville State Technological Community College) and Dr. Forrest Harris (American Baptist College) have sent electronic signatures for the declaration but were not able to attend the signing in person. Many presidents from the Tennessee Board of Regents lent their support but could not attend due to a previously scheduled Board of Regents meeting.
In signing the Talloires Declaration, these presidents agreed to increase awareness of environmentally sustainable development, create an institutional culture of sustainability, educate for environmentally responsible citizenship, foster environmental literacy for all, practice institutional ecology and involve all stakeholders, collaborate for interdisciplinary approaches, enhance capacity of primary and secondary schools, broaden service and outreach nationally and internationally and maintain the movement.
“Signing this declaration is a great example of how universities should work,” Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said. “Our faculties and students are excited. This is exactly what our universities want to do.”
The Talloires Declaration signing at Belmont was held in conjunction with Belmont Goes Green Week March 26-30 and the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, a conference to explore and advance environmental stewardship within the state’s institutions of higher education, hosted by the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable Committee on Higher Education.
Belmont Goes Green, Invites Other Tennessee Colleges To Join the Cause
College and university presidents from across the state of Tennessee are gathering at Belmont University Wednesday, March 28, 2007, to sign the Talloires Declaration of the Association of University Leaders For a Sustainable Future (USLF) and commit to lead their respective institutions to achieve global environmental literacy and sustainability. Dr. Bob Fisher (Belmont University) will be joined by Dr. Hazel O’Leary (Fisk University), Dr. Wayne Riley (Meharry Medical College) and Dr. Forrest Harris (American Baptist College) to sign the declaration. Dr. Loren Crabtree (University of Tennessee at Knoxville) and Dr. George Van Allen (Nashville State Technological Community College) have sent electronic signatures for the declaration but cannot attend the signing in person. Many presidents from the Tennessee Board of Regents lent their support but cannot attend due to a previously scheduled Board of Regents meeting.
In signing the Talloires Declaration, these presidents agree to increase awareness of environmentally sustainable development, create an institutional culture of sustainability, educate for environmentally responsible citizenship, foster environmental literacy for all, practice institutional ecology and involve all stakeholders, collaborate for interdisciplinary approaches, enhance capacity of primary and secondary schools, broaden service and outreach nationally and internationally and maintain the movement.
The Talloires Declaration signing at Belmont is being held in conjunction with Belmont Goes Green Week March 26-30 and the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, a conference to explore and advance environmental stewardship within the state’s institutions of higher education, hosted by the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable Committee on Higher Education.
Belmont Goes Green will host several events to inform the campus community of several ways to create a more environmentally sustainable campus. The schedule of events includes:
Monday, March 26, 10 a.m. – Food and the Environment – Eating at Belmont, Local Purchasing Power, Feeding the World – Fidelity Hall 412
Tuesday, March 27, 4 p.m. – The Sacred Planet – Film and Discussion – Fidelity Hall 412
7 p.m. – An Inconvenient Truth – Film and Discussion – Lila D. Bunch Multimedia Hall
Wednesday, March 28, 10 a.m. – Darfur, Sudan: Genocide and Hope For God’s Creation – Jack C. Massey Business Center Boardroom
Friday, March 30, 10 a.m. – Where Do We Go From Here? How Belmont Gets Green – Neely Dining Room
For information on the Campus Sustainability Conference March 29 and 30, visit http://campus.belmont.edu/greencampus. For more information about any Belmont Goes Green events and initiatives contact Dr. Judy Skeen, associate professor in the School of Religion at 460-6273 or skeenj@mail.belmont.edu
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“Tennessee colleges and universities go green” – Nashville Business Journal, Wednesday, March 28, 2007
