The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a profile today of Belmont alum and Texas National Guard chaplain Capt. Chuck Wallace, who is preparing for active duty in Iraq.
Wallace joined the Army Reserve in 1988 two days after his 17th birthday, the paper reports. He stayed in the Reserve while earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Belmont University in Nashville. But his early experience in the military “and the way God worked” in his life led him to the chaplaincy. “The soldiers that I minister to respect me because they know I’ve been in the infantry and walked in their shoes,” said Wallace, 33, a chaplain at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth for the past three years.
Belmont Alum Prepares for Iraq – Fort Worth Star-Telegram
New Statue Honors Johnson Family, Belmont Benefactors
Belmont University honored two of its biggest benefactors with the unveiling Saturday of a new sculpture in honor of the late Ed and Bernice Johnson, prominent Nashvillians and longtime friends of the university whose bequests to the university total more than $25 million. The statue by Nashville sculptor Russ Faxon now graces the plaza on the Belmont Boulevard side of the campus adjacent to the fountain in front of the entrance to the Maddox Grand Atrium.
Belmont In Top Tier in Prestigious U.S. News RankingSchool of Physical Therapy Tops in Tennessee
Belmont University is among the top 20 universities in the south in its category in the U.S. News & World Report magazine’s annual ranking of America’s best colleges and universities, released today. Belmont University ranked 19th out of the 131 schools included in the South region of the “Best Universities – Masters” category. At No. 19, Belmont University is the highest-ranked university in Tennessee in the Master’s category, which includes such schools as University of Richmond, James Madison University and Mercer University
Songs of Love Foundation Picks Belmont Student Songwriter
Belmont University music major Lindsey Jones has been hired last week as a staff writer by the Songs of Love Foundation, a nonprofit organization that recruits musicians to record personalized songs for sick youths. Jones, a Commercial Music major with a concentration in Commercial Music Business, is from Overland Park, Kansas. She first became involved with Songs of Love in April 2004 through Belmont’s Student Songwriters Association, which encourages all Belmont student songwriters to write songs for the organization. Songs Of Love, founded in 1996, has recruited more than 350 artists nationwide and collaborates with over 300 hospitals and private health-care institutions as well as various individual families. Songs of Love artists have produced intimate musical portraits for over 4,000 children and teens.
Christianity Today Interviews Alums in Denver & The Mile High Orchestra
Christianity Today has a new interview online today with Belmont University graduates Denver Bierman and Jared Ribble, vocalist and drummer, respectively, for Denver & The Mile High Orchestra, a swing jazz band formed by a group of friends at Belmont that has just released its third album.
The band “has enjoyed gradual success by combining Christian lyrics with a lively big band sound reminiscent of Harry Connick Jr., Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Michael Bublé,” says Christianity Today. “But they haven’t stopped there. Determined to be stylistically eclectic, Bierman and his drummer, Jared Ribble, told us how they’ve broadening their sound to include fusion funk, pop, and worship … and how audiences are responding to their approach.”
Songs of Love Foundation Picks Belmont Student Songwriter
The Johnson County Sun, in the Kansas suburbs of Kansas City, profiles local resident and Belmont University music major Lindsey Jones, who was hired last week as a staff writer by the Songs of Love Foundation, a nonprofit organization that recruits musicians to record personalized songs for sick youths. Jones, a Commercial Music major with a concentration in Commercial Music Business, is from Overland Park, Kansas.
She first became involved with Songs of Love in April 2004, writing ten songs as a volunteer, thanks to her involvement with the student songwriters’ association at Belmont. The paper reports that the president of the student organization was a volunteer with Songs of Love, and encouraged Jones and the rest of the school’s songwriters to participate.
Belmont to Honor Chancellor Gabhart For 45 Years Service, 90th Birthday
On Thursday, August 19, Belmont University will honor one of the university’s most distinguished dignitaries on Thursday: Chancellor Dr. Herbert C. Gabhart, who reaches two major milestones this month. Dr. Gabhart celebrates both his 90th birthday and his 45th anniversary of beginning work at Belmont this month. He has now spent half of his life at Belmont, serving as president of the university for 23 years and, now, as chancellor for the last 22. The Belmont community will celebrate the career of Dr. Gabhart with a reception in his honor at 1 p.m. in the Massey Board Room located in the Jack C. Massey Business Center on Belmont’s campus. To read a feature profile of Dr. Gabhart, click here.
Redefining The Box:An Interview With Denver & The Mile High Orchestra – Christianity Today
Christianity Today has a new interview online today with Belmont University graduates Denver Bierman and Jared Ribble, vocalist and drummer, respectively, for Denver & The Mile High Orchestra, a swing jazz band formed by a group of friends at Belmont that has just released its third album. The band “has enjoyed gradual success by combining Christian lyrics with a lively big band sound reminiscent of Harry Connick Jr., Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Michael Bublé,” says Christianity Today. “But they haven’t stopped there. Determined to be stylistically eclectic, Bierman and his drummer, Jared Ribble, told us how they’ve broadening their sound to include fusion funk, pop, and worship … and how audiences are responding to their approach.”
University buys vacant liquor store
The Tennessean reports on how Belmont University’s latest real estate purchase in the neighborhood surrounding campus – a vacant, rundown liquor store that area residents considered an eyesore – could benefit the neighborhood.
Belmont Figure Skater Takes 3rd in National Competition
Andrea Vickers, who will attend Belmont University this fall, placed third in the United States Figure Skating Association Collegiate Competition in Troy, Ohio. Vickers, who skates at Southern Ice Arena in Cool Springs, near Franklin, Tenn., competed against 12 other skaters from across the country in the Junior Ladies division. Vickers is the first Nashville area skater to compete in this event. Nancy Kerrigan is a past winner at the collegiate level. Photos here, here and here.
