Dr. Bob Byrd's Message to Alumni |
Posted By Administration,
Monday, November 02, 2009
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Worlds of changes have occurred at Belmont since I returned here to serve on the faculty of the Department of Religion in January, 1973. Dr. Herbert C. Gabhart was president, and the faculty numbered less than seventy. The entire faculty met on Monday afternoon for deliberations concerning the curriculum and other college programs. When school enrollment reached a thousand, we were pleased and concerned. The influx of students brought enthusiasm and new possibilities to the life of the college. |
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It became my privilege to serve on the committee that chose Dr. William E. Troutt as the next President. Changes were in the air. A number of new programs emerged and many of the existing ones were restructured. Hardly a month passed that did not bring an innovation of some sort. We became Belmont University with a Bruin for our mascot. Then there was the move to the NCAA and all the challenges involved in that shift. Nearly two hundred faculty members were hard at work teaching students. Our student body continued growing and reached numbers considerably more than two thousand. It continued to be an exciting and challenging journey, and each new student provided the opportunity for enhanced learning and development.
We thought we knew change!! With the coming of Dr. Robert Fisher as President, growth and development became almost exponential. The continued growth in buildings, programs, and reputation is immense and provides a platform of increased opportunities for this Christian community of learning to be about the business of engaging and changing the world.
It has been my good fortune to know every president of Belmont. I was fortunate to have a conversation with the first President, Dr. R. Kelly White, prior to my coming to Belmont as a student. I also met Dr. Jones of Union University who served as interim president. However, for me, it was, and is, the students who give Belmont its life and its most endearing and ennobling qualities. Each time I hear from or hear about some accomplishment or achievement of one of our graduates, I give a little inward cheer. It is gratifying to hear from and about Belmont alumni. Please stay in touch through the Alumni Office and keep us, former classmates, and current students informed.
Bob Byrd
Professor and H. F. Paschall Chair of Biblical Studies and Preaching |
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Provost Marcia McDoinald's Message to Alumni |
Posted By Administration,
Thursday, October 01, 2009
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It is a distinct honor to serve in the role of Provost at a university I have worked at and loved for nearly thirty years. I have had the pleasure of teaching and studying with students since my first classes here in the fall of 1980, and I enjoy hearing from those of you who were my students and all Belmont alumni as you travel your life’s journey. Your stories and experiences are ones that I carry with me each day as I come into work and these stories have played a vital role in shaping my sense of the possibilities for this university. I invite you to stay in touch with me and with Belmont through the Alumni Office. Also, I ask you to consider connecting with current Belmont students, whether it be through internships or career mentoring, participating in service projects or student group projects or alumni programs, or simply by sending a note to a favorite professor or staff member who was an important part of your education. |
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A college education is not something cut and dried, finished and done with after four years; it is about continuing to learn, continuing to make a meaningful and purposeful life, and Belmont University remains a reservoir for you in that journey. Likewise, whether you know it or not, your contributions to the academic and campus experience while you were here are a part of the foundations we’ve laid for a strong university well into the future—one that will continue to “bring together the best of liberal arts and professional education,” “enabling diverse men and women to engage and transform the world”—to put together two key phrases from our vision and mission statements. Belmont University is growing and changing, adding new programs that offer opportunities to new generations of students. Through that growth and change, however, we are committed to remaining true to our heritage as a university that focuses on the individual student, that offers an academically challenging education, and that, as a Christian community of learning and service, inspires students to use that education in service to the world. Best wishes to all Belmont alumni, and please stay in touch with us!
Marcia A. McDonald
Provost
Belmont University |
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