The nursing shortage in Middle Tennessee may be getting some relief in the coming years, thanks to an unusual partnership between Belmont University and HCA Inc. The Nashville-based hospital company’s MidAmerica Division has given Belmont $7.5 million to help pay for a $22.5 million College of Health Sciences, which will be built on Wedgewood Avenue by fall 2006. Construction on the nearly 100,000-square-foot building will start immediately. See the story in The Tennessean.
HCA’S MidAmerica Division, Belmont UniversityForm Nursing Consortium Partnership
HCA’s MidAmerica Division has joined with Belmont University in announcing a groundbreaking new educational partnership to address the growing shortage of nurses in Tennessee. HCA’s MidAmerica Division has committed $7.5 million toward the construction of a College of Health Sciences building along Wedgewood Avenue on the eastern edge of the Belmont campus. Architectural and design work is in process and construction is expected to begin immediately. The Health Sciences building will include Belmont’s Nursing, Occupational Therapy and Social Work programs. The facility is phase one of a two-part project, and fundraising is under way now for a second building for Belmont’s Physical Therapy Program, expansion space for nursing and other potential health sciences programs. When completed, the entire health care educational complex will be nearly 100,000 square feet including an underground multi-level parking garage, and will be constructed at a total cost of approximately $34 million. Phase one is a $22.5 million project.
Click to see images and video from the press conferences.
Seigenthaler Speaks About Nashville, Journalism
John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center, spoke at Belmont today as a part of the Department of Media Studies‘ New Century Journalism Speaker Series.
Seigenthaler spoke to an audience of Belmont faculty, staff and students about growing up in Nashville, life as a Nashvillian and journalist during the civil rights movement and “the game of journalism.”
For Seigenthaler’s complete biography, click here.
Alumna Brings Band to Nashville
Belmont alumna, Sally Jaye Smithwick, will bring her band, Paper Sun, back to Nashville on their current tour. The now Los Angeles-based Smithwick and company will play at Windows on the Cumberland on Tues., November 2. While at Belmont, Smithwick played with a back-up band that included Brad Paisley and Paisley’s drummer, Mitch McMichen.
Polling Gives Students Front Row View of Politics
A Belmont public relations class and political science class were featured on the front page of Green Hills News‘ October 21 issue. From September 7-22, the two classes, led by professors Pam Parry and Vaughn May, polled 703 Nashvillians. The students cold-called the participants to ask who they were voting for in the upcoming presidential election and what issues are important to them.
The idea behind the the project was twofold: to give students a firsthand look at the strengths and weaknesses of survey research and to give students practice at the type of research done for launching a national campaign.
Center for Business Ethics Event Largest in Center’s History
More than 450 people attended Belmont University’s Center for Business Ethics business conference Thursday in the Maddox Grand Atrium, an event featuring a speech and discussion lead by Harvard Business School professor Dr. Lynn Sharp Paine, author of the business best-seller Value Shift, on the need for increased attention to ethical standards for businesses. “In its 10 year history this is the largest conference by far that we have had,” said Dr. Harry Hollis, professor of management and director of the Center for Business Ethics. Paine’s proposal for “Generally Accepted Ethical Standards” to be adopted for business similar to the business community’s “Generally Accepted Accounting Practices” keyed the discussion.
Dr. Murphree Named State’s Environmental Educator of the Year
The Tennessee Environmental Education Association named Dr. Steve Murphree, professor of biology at Belmont University, as the Environmental Educator of the Year, during its annual conference last week in Paris, Tenn. Dr. Murphree was honored for “leadership in environmental education, for mentoring students and colleagues, and for making learning about bugs fun.” The Tennessee Environmental Education Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting environmental education throughout the state of Tennessee.
Ernst & Young, HCA, First Tennessee Bank Sponsor Business Ethics Event
Ernst & Young, HCA and First Tennessee Bank are sponsoring a special event focusing on business ethics Oct. 7 at Belmont University. The university’s Center for Business Ethics will present Harvard Business School professor Dr. Lynn Sharp Paine, author of the business best-seller Value Shift, speaking on “Ethics as a Business Imperative” for corporate leaders in the 21st Century. The event is free and open to the public, says Dr. Harry Hollis, professor of management and director of the Center for Business Ethics. Paine’s insights about business ethics “can save companies and save careers,” Hollis says. “Those who attend will have the opportunity to converse with others who are seeking to make ethics central to business decisions and practices.
Belmont Professor Publishes New College Text on The Black Death
The Black Death, a nonfiction book by Belmont University Honors professor Dr. Joseph P. Byrne, will be published Thursday by Greenwood Press. Byrne, a European historian and Associate Professor of Honors at Belmont, has conducted research and published articles on a wide variety of subjects, from Roman catacombs to American urbanization. His area of most expertise is Italy in the era of the Black Death.
“I also have a contract with Greenwood for a second book on the Plague, Daily Life during the Black Death, which I will write over the summer of 2005,” Byrne reports. “They asked, and I agreed to produce it. I hope I don’t get type-cast.”
Belmont to Host Presidential Debate Viewing Party and Discussion
Belmont University will host a viewing party for the first Presidential Debate of the 2004 campaign, Thursday night, sponsored by the campus Young Republicans, College Democrats and the James Madison Society, a non partisan academic club composed of political science and history students. Media coverage is welcomed. The debate party begins at 7:30 in the Neely Black and White dining room. Following the debate, broadcast live from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., there will be a student-led discussion, reports Dr. Vaughn May, assistant professor of political science. Dr. Robert C. Fisher, president of Belmont University, will be attending the presidential debate.
