CAMPUS NEWS
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Ray Stevens
QUONSET HUT CELEBRATION DRAWS MUSIC LEGENDS Nearly three decades after the last notes were played in the historical Quonset Hut recording studio, The Curb Foundation, Belmont University and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame arranged a special celebration to honor the legacy of the studio. In its heyday, the Quonset Hut studio played host to sessions by Buddy Holly, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Marty Robbins, Bob Dylan, Dusty Springfield and Brenda Lee, among hundreds of others. Belmont University now operates the Quonset Hut for teaching, sessions and events. This summer many of the people who helped create history in this great studio gathered once again in the room where so many hits were made, trading songs and stories as part of the re-opening celebration. Harold Bradley, Whispering Bill Anderson, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ray Stevens, Charlie McCoy and Glenn Snoddy were among those who participated in the evening. n
GRADUATE STUDENTS CONTRIBUTE TO GUATEMALA CITY PHARMACY Members of Belmont’s Pharmacy School partnered with Nashville’s Shalom Foundation this past year to renovate the organization’s surgical center and pharmacy in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Last fall fourth-year pharmacy student Chris McKnight worked with the foundation to design plans for the center’s pharmacy after the entire site underwent a renovation. After spending over a week working in the center, McKnight said one of his favorite parts was, “the processes of seeing the pharmacy go from my sketches on the backs of napkins to fruition in Guatemala City.” Sara Poe, another fourth-year student in Belmont’s program, also had the opportunity to work with the foundation’s center. She was focused on the medicine patients were being prescribed and made daily rounds to ensure accuracy and the installation of proper protocol. Poe said, “I would say that best moments of the trip came from silence, for silence meant no one was in pain and all was well down the hall. That alone has made me a different person.” n
CAMPUS ENGAGES IN YEAR-LONG CONVERSATION ON NEW BUILDING During the Aug. 24 Opening Convocation, Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher announced tentative plans for a new academic building to be located on the corner of 15th and Wedgewood Avenues. “This really is the chance of a lifetime for our campus,” said Dr. Fisher, “because we can spend the coming weeks and months discussing and imagining what would be the best use of this space in terms of serving both our student body and our community. This is an opportunity to put our creative capital to work.”
SIMULATION EVENT EXPOSES BELMONT STUDENTS TO REALITIES OF POVERTY
In addition to discussing programs that could be housed in the space, including potentially new programs, meetings were held this fall to encourage dialogue on how the space might be used in an innovative fashion. Potential occupants already under consideration for the new building include the sciences, social sciences, humanities, religion and executive education. n
Junior nursing major Jennifer Thompson took part in the event, noting, “This experience made me realize just how fortunate and blessed I am, and how thankful I need to be. Also, it’s helped put me in their shoes—barely, but enough—that I can try to be more understanding when I encounter others throughout the day.” n
Student leaders throughout the Belmont community participated in a poverty simulation event co-hosted by the Honors Leadership Studies program and Catholic Charities. The highly interactive simulation was intended to give students a small taste of what life is like on an extremely limited income.
FALL 2011
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