ASDP/ARC PROFILE
BELMONT
UNIVERSITY
Institution Name:
Belmont University
1900 Belmont Blvd
Nashville, TN 37212Contact(s):
Ronnie Littlejohn
Department of Philosophy
615-460-6494, littlejohnr@mail.belmont.eduBrief Institutional Description: A comprehensive university grounded in liberal arts, Belmont enrolls 3,300 students. It is the third largest private college or university in Tennessee and enjoys a reputation for academic excellence as a teaching university. In addition to undergraduate degrees in approximately 57 major areas of study, the university offers master's degrees in accountancy, business administration, education, English, music, nursing, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Beginning in the Fall semester, 2002, the School of Occupational Therapy will offer a clinical Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree.
Highest Degree Offered: Doctor's Degree
Institutional Control: Private nonprofit
Academic Calendar: Semester
Campus Size: 72 Acres
Setting: Located within a major urban area Nashville, Tennessee
Regional Airport: Nashville International Airport (BNA)Asian/International Stage of Development: Belmont faculty members are engaged in an initiative to increase the breadth and depth of the use of materials related to China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India in their undergraduate courses This initiative began in January 1999 and it has led both to an increase in the scholarly knowledge of participating faculty members and in their awareness of pedagogical resources available for teaching about Asia. Currently Chinese language instruction is offered through the third year.
A principal goal of the effort is to create revised courses that reflect both more concentrated and better conceived work in Asian Studies. The initiative is creating a cohort of faculty who are undertaking interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary innovation of Belmont's curriculum at both the general education and discipline specific levels.
This work is consistent with Belmont's role as an institution that includes cross-cultural expertise as one of its primary expectations for faculty and students alike.
See http://www.belmont.edu/asianstudies/
Recent/Planned Activities: In October of 2000 the Center hosted Dr. Henry Rosemont for a series of lectures on Confucianism; In November 2000 the Center hosted Dr. Joel Smith in two lectures on Tibetan Buddhism in the Himalayas; In March 2001, the Center hosted Dr. Joe Overton for two lectures on Japanese political processes; In April 2001, the Center hosted Dr. Jennifer Manlowe on Buddhist social engagement and Dr. Jason Wirth on Mahakala. Last year's focus of the Center's work has been internal, including faculty reading groups in Chinese studies (Fall 2000) and Japan studies (Spring 2001).In the summer 2001, the Center for the Asian Studies (an ASDP regional center) sponsored two faculty members to the ASDP Institute on Infusing Asian Studies into the Undergraduate Curriculum; one faculty member to the NEH Institute on Continuities and Crises: The Interplay of Religion and Politics in China and one faculty member to China's Southern Gateway: A Pearl River Delta Field Seminar.
Curriculum plans: Although Belmont does not currently have an Asian Studies major or minor, three new discipline related courses focusing on Asia have begun. The new General Education courses HUM 100-Cultural Pluralism and REL 117 Comparative Spirituality in World Religions will focus on Asia.
Our goal is to create a network of courses having at least 1/3 content focused on Asia.
Student Involvement: During 2000-2001 three Belmont undergraduates made presentations based on Asian studies at conferences or professional meetings. Ms. Erin Cline, senior philosophy major, won the Ninash Foundation Award in Asian and Comparative Philosophy from SUNY in April 2001.
Primary Faculty Resources: Dr. Mike Awalt, Philosophy; Dr. Marty Bell, Religion; Dr. Douglas Bisson, History; Dr. Devon Boan; Honors; Dr. Rebecca Coke, Business; Prof. Mary Etta Cook, Communication Arts; Dr. Howard Cochran, Business; Dr. Corinne Dale, Literature; Dr. Larry German, Political Science; Dr. Pete Giordano, Teaching Center; Dr. Annemarie Harrod, Sociology; Dr. Ernest Heard, Library; Dr. Ronnie Littlejohn, Philosophy; Dr. Marcia McDonald, Literature; Prof. Jim Meaders, Art; Dr. Margaret Monteverde, Literature; Dr. Steven Murphree, Biology; Dr. Ginger Osborn, Philosophy; Dr. John Paine, Study Abroad; Dr. Dan Schafer, History; Dr. Annette Sisson, General Education; Ms. Kathy Skinner, International Students; Dr. Jonathan Thorndike, Honors; Dr. Valjean Whitlow, Psychology
Study Abroad and Faculty Exchange Programs: Belmont sent four students to Hong Kong for semester exchanges in 2000-2001, two in the fall and two in the spring. We hosted five Hong Kong students. We sent two persons on full scholarships to the Lee Shui Business Institute in Hong Kong summer 2001. Two Belmont graduates were given full-time employment at Lingnan in their English tutorial program for 2000-2001. The Belmont China Travel Study 2001 took ten persons to China in July and August.
Belmont will sponsor its first "Almost Study Abroad" course in Cultural Pluralism in collaboration with the University of Hawaii from December 27, 2001 to January 8, 2002
Grants: Belmont will be the host institution in the Spring 2002 for an NEH Asia-Focused Seminar for Undergraduate Educators under the title: Representing Excellence: The Authoritative in Asian Art and Literature.
A Belmont faculty-student partnership team won a Freeman Student Faculty Fellows Grant from ASIANetwork for research in China during the summer 2001.