Pictured right: Pat Bullard, Rachel Ellis Dickinson, George Bullard
Belmont University announces today the installation of The Patricia Taylor Bullard Endowed Scholarship Fund. The $250,000 scholarship includes tuition and cost of books and is awarded annually to a student who dances with Nashville Ballet who wants to pursue a minor in dance and major in one of more than 70 disciplines at Belmont on a part-time basis.
The career span of a professional ballet dancer begins directly after high school and typically concludes within 10 years with little or no training in any other field. This unique scholarship allows a member of the Nashville Ballet to attend Belmont part time while continuing a full-time career as a dancer.
“This is a great opportunity to celebrate the importance of the arts and education,” Belmont President Dr. Robert Fisher said. “We are excited to be able to provide this mutually beneficial opportunity to Nashville Ballet and Belmont thanks to the creativity and generosity of George and Pat Bullard.”
Rachel Ellis Dickinson, a nursing major, is the first recipient of the Bullard Endowed Scholarship. This is her sixth season with Nashville Ballet. Dickinson is also a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society, the highest academic honor awarded by Belmont.
“It means a great deal to me to be the first recipient of the Bullard Scholarship,” Dickinson said. “The Bullards’ gift has made it possible for me to continue dancing while preparing for a future career in nursing.”
Once a dancer herself, Bullard intends for this new scholarship to attract accomplished dancers to Nashville, benefiting both the Nashville Ballet and Belmont.
“I am delighted that Mrs. Bullard and the administration at Belmont had the vision to endow this scholarship and make it accessible to the very particular needs and schedule of a practicing dancer/artist of Nashville Ballet,” Paul Vasterling, artistic director of Nashville Ballet, said. “Through the existence of this scholarship, our dancers can continue giving their art to the community of Nashville for a longer period of time. It is a unique award, and I am very appreciative that it benefits Nashville Ballet.”
MORE
“Belmont and Nashville Ballet team up for new scholarship” – The Tennessean, November 14, 2006
Belmont University Announces Endowed Scholarship for Nashville Ballet Dancers
Leifeld Discusses Changing Newspaper Industry
Ellen Leifeld, publisher and president of The Tennessean, spoke at Belmont University today as a part of the New Century Journalism Speaker Series. Leifeld’s talk, “The State of Newspapers: Tennessean Talk,” concerned the rapidly evolving world of newspapers and print journalism. Topics Leifeld discussed included The Tennessean‘s online presence, hyper-local news coverage and the ethcial responsibilities of reporters in the digital age.
The closing speaker of the fall 2006 series will be Dr. Melvin N. Johnson, president of Tennessee State University, on Wed., November 15, at 10 a.m. in the Massey Board Room at Belmont University.
Belmont Programming Team Places in Contest
The Belmont Programming Team placed 8th out of 123 teams at the 2006 ACM Mid-Central USA Programming Contest on November 4 at Tennessee Technological University. The team is advised by Dr. Bill Hooper.
PR Major Receives Competitive Scholarship
Belmont Public Relations major, Krista Farmer, will receive the highly competitive local scholarship for the International Association of Business Communicators. Krista will be recognized for this achievement on Thursday, November 9. She currently serves as president of Belmont’s PRSSA Chapter.
Career Services Recognized in NACE Newsletter
The Belmont Career Services Team was recently featured in Spotlight Online, the newsletter for the National Association of Colleges and Employers for Career Services Professionals. Belmont’s Career Services department has created a new program called the “Career Exploration Series” that targets the “changing student” by connecting them with HR professionals from healthcare, technology, communications, government, transportation, banking, biomedical, entertainment, non-profit and financial services organizations to help explore various career opportunities. This program was recognized in the October 27 issue.
Student Affairs Recognized by NODA/Presents at National Conferences
Belmont University won a sixth consecutive “Excellence in Publication” award at the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) National Conference for outstanding welcome week publications, produced by Student Affairs and University Marketing and Communications. Additionally, Dane Anthony, Associate Dean of Students, and Matt Burchett, Coordinator of New Student Programs, will present this weekend at two national conferences on Parent & Family Programs. Earlier this year the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) recognized the Belmont University New Parent & Family Programs as a “Promising Practices Featured Program”. The presentations will take place at the 13th Annual Conference for Students in Transition (National Resource Center for the Study of the First Year Experience and Students in Transition) in St. Louis, MO, and the Southern Association for College Student Affairs (SACSA) in Jacksonville, FL.
Dr. Coker visits Macedonia as part of International Informational Program
Belmont history professor Dr. Jeff Coker visited Macedonia October 16-20 as part of the U.S. State Department’s International Informational Program. Coker held presentations and discussions with faculty and administrators at universities throughout the country. He addressed a range of topics on U.S. History and U.S. Foreign Policy with a focus on university administration and development.
Belmont Sorority Receives National Awards
Belmont’s Delta Eta chapter of Alpha Sigma Tau received numerous awards at the sorority’s national convention at Walt Disney World. Five delegates from Belmont’s chapter attended the convention. The chapter won 2nd place for its Chapter Excellence reports and were awarded the 1st place Scholarship Award for having the highest cumulative chapter GPA (3.4) of all chapters in the nation. Additionally, the chapter won the Founder’s Award which is given to the over-all best chapter in the nation and is the highest award a chapter can achieve.
Student to Present at Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting
This year, Belmont students and faculty will attend the Annual Meeting of The Society for Neuroscience. Students from several majors will present thier findings at this meeting. Students include biology majors Stacey Apple, Ananta Bhatt, Trisha Siewnarine and Corey Winfree, biochemistry and molecular biology major Adam Militana and psychology major Eileen Marks.
Belmont Volunteers for El Dia de los Muertos
Belmont students and faculty volunteered at the annual Cheekwood celebration of El Dia de los Muertos. They organized a scavenger hunt, gave bilingual tours of the art museum in the Cheekwood Mansion, led the Dia de los Muertos Bingo game and helped hundreds of people make their own paper cuttings.
