President’s Report 2011
WHAT IT MEANS TO
BELMONT It’s members of the Belmont University community changing the world every day by demonstrating innovative and entrepreneurial thinking and action, service to others as a method for achieving meaning in life, positive change and growth at every opportunity, evidence of Christian character and engagement with and service to the Nashville community.
beBELMONT P R E S I D E N T ’ S R E P O R T 2011
Some people say that I love Belmont University to a fault. The truth is I care about our students, who quite simply are the reason I’m excited to come to work every morning. I care about our faculty and staff, not just as the mass collective that makes this community function, but as individuals who amaze and inspire me on a daily basis. I care about this campus. From its tremendous history to its current expansion to its environmental sustainability and visual beauty, I want this space to reflect the progressive educational environment we’re trying to create. I care about our finances. I understand the sacrifices families make in order to send their children to Belmont University, and it’s imperative to me that we diligently analyze how to best utilize University resources to both control costs and aspire for greatness as an institution of higher education. I care about the big picture and the minute details. I care about developing greater efficiencies and implementing new ideas, about perfecting our current programs and dreaming of the next big thing. I care about what happened at Belmont University yesterday, what is happening today and what will happen tomorrow and the days to follow. And I know that there are more than 6,000 current students, almost 1,000 faculty and staff and 23,900 alumni who care just as deeply about Belmont! Together, we have the power to build an even brighter future. That’s what it means to me to “be Belmont,” an idea we’ve been talking about a lot around campus this past year. The pages that follow in this 2011 President’s Report will provide a lens into what it means to others to “be Belmont.” I hope you enjoy reading their stories as well as the other news, events and programs that made 2011 an important year in the life of this University. Better still, I hope you will join us in 2012 to discover how you can “be Belmont” as well. Best Regards,
beINNOVATIVE I N N O VAT I O N
& ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) members ERIC TAFT and RAMI NOFAL have been actively involved in developing the business model for Spring Back Recycling, a social entrepreneurial venture that’s so innovative it’s already received extensive local media coverage as well as a national feature on NPR.
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enry Ford. J.K. Rowling. Thomas Edison. Oprah Winfrey. Steve Jobs… These household names reflect two characteristics that are at the heart of what it means to “be Belmont”—Innovation and Entrepreneurship. In 2011, those qualities were at an all-time high as students, faculty and alumni displayed creative and enterprising spirits with new ventures and original business ideas. One project that exemplifies both characteristics was initiated by the SIFE team and Belmont Church. Together, they launched a new nonprofit business last spring, Spring Back Recycling, which disassembles old mattresses and recycles the raw materials. Not only does the business provide an environmentally friendly option for an unwieldy product, but Spring Back is also employing formerly homeless and incarcerated men who are part of a ministry of Belmont Church. Other Belmont students making a big splash with creative and diverse business ventures include entrepreneurship students Seth Whiting and Eric Guroff who recently opened instrument consignment shop, BLVD Music, a perfect fit for Belmont’s campus. Alumni are fostering a similar spirit as well as Kurt Nelson and Tyler Seymour garner heady reputations for their work concocting music, festival and game apps with their mobile product design company, Aloompa. And recent grad Jake Jorgovan is winning national and international acclaim for his Rabbit Hole Creative, a multimedia design company.
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BLVD Music Shop
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Students record film scores at Ocean Way.
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Belmont University models an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in countless ways, both in and out of the classroom. For example, the Pipeline project, an initiative of the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, identified Belmont’s brightest students and charged them to spend their summer developing solutions to influence the entertainment and music industries. The introduction of a new film minor and the opportunity for student composers to write and record scores for independent films as part of the Student Scoring Initiative are two more examples. Even Belmont’s actual classroom space contributes to innovation and entrepreneurship as seen with the creative ideas submitted by students and faculty offering input for the newly announced academic facility to be built on the corner of 15th and Wedgewood Avenues. be
Aloompa team
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beINVOLVED SERVICE
& MEANING
In the fall students E M I LY R E I D and C A M E R O N B E D E L L recorded a new version of hit song “God Gave Me You,” and a number of Belmont students produced an accompanying video to personally thank U.S. soldiers for their sacrifice and dedication. The video premiered at a “Tailgating for the Troops” community service event on campus.
Freshmen depart campus to SERVE Nashville.
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nnovative ideas also influence how students are encouraged to serve their community. A vital part of a Belmont education revolves around providing a transformative learning experience and encouraging a lifetime of service and meaning. That concept is embedded early as each fall new students participate in SERVE, a project during Welcome Week that sends more than 1,000 freshmen and transfers into the Nashville community for several hours of service. Once classes began, students were challenged to think anew about service, this time with their wallets. In conjunction with the year-long campus theme of “Wealth and Poverty,” Belmont instituted two programs to show students the powerful change that can occur through financial giving. A partnership with micro-lending organization KIVA allowed freshmen to see how a little money goes a long way to helping small businesses in third world countries. Meanwhile, sophomores were given the chance to “Live a Better Story,” an initiative which invited them on a 21-day commitment to take money, multiply it and use it to make a difference in the lives of others. A number of service projects emerged in the nearby Edgehill neighborhood including the advent of the Rose Park Walking Club, organized by a pharmacy student, and the first Greek-sponsored Edgehill Family Halloween Sports Night for community children and families. In addition to organizing healthy and safe activities within the neighborhood, Belmont partnered with Habitat for Humanity, Metropolitan Housing and Development Agency, Fifth-Third Bank and eight local churches for “A Brush with Kindness,” a beautification and revitalization program for lowincome and elderly homeowners in four nearby homes.
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Belmont served other areas of Nashville in 2011 as well by participating in projects like the city-wide Hands on Nashville community service day and holiday-inspired toy and coat drives led by athletes and student organizations. Perhaps one of the more inventive service concepts came in November when a group of students gave homeless Nashvillians at Room in the Inn an opportunity to express themselves through music and art. One service project even made a YouTube appearance when campus dining provider Sodexo joined forces with students for the Tailgating for the Troops initiative. The event included donation stations for care package items and a troop letter writing station as well as the premiere of student-produced thank you video, “God Gave Me You,� which more than 35,000 people have viewed to date. be
Halloween Sports Night at Rose Park.
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Students, faculty and staff volunteered for “A Brush with Kindness.�
bePROGRESSIVE POSITIVE CHANGE
& GROWTH
Senior RACHELLE HOLLOMAN represented the University’s aspirations for “positive change and growth” well when she became the second Belmont student to be selected by the Nashville Technology Council as IT Student of the Year. An information systems management major and computer science minor, Holloman plans to run her own IT consulting firm after she graduates in August.
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new academic building may be the latest expansion to be announced, but it’s certainly not the only new development on this dynamic campus. When it comes to what it means to “be Belmont,” clearly, aspiring for positive change and growth is near the top of the list. In 2011, those qualities often translated into temporary trailers, cranes and heavy equipment as three different construction projects were underway. Rising from the northeast corner of campus was the Baskin Center, the new home for Belmont’s College of Law which recently welcomed its charter class. More than 130 law students joined the University’s record-breaking fall enrollment of 6,374. Also in the fall, Belmont announced the appointment of former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to a new, endowed post, the Doyle Rogers Distinguished Chair of Law, marking another significant positive step in creating a top-notch legal program at Belmont. As the enrollment expands, so too does the need for space. In June, Belmont broke ground on a 298-bed residence hall and 562-car underground parking garage being constructed in the Bruin Hills Apartment area on the campus’ southeastern corner. In addition, the University continued renovations on the Belmont Heights Baptist Church sanctuary, which will ultimately provide the campus a new, large concert venue suitable for acoustic performances. While these buildings won’t be complete until summer 2012, one new space did open this past fall. Bruin Grounds café opened its doors in the library bringing welcomed dining options that include a variety of gourmet coffee drinks, sandwiches and salads.
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Enrollment hit an all-time high of nearly 6,400 students in the fall.
Baskin Center
Less visible but equally significant changes include a complete reaffirmation of Belmont’s accreditation through the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as ABET accreditation for Belmont’s Audio Engineering Technology major, making it the first such program to be fully accredited under ABET standards. In addition, the University implemented the Sophomore Year Experience to encourage sophomores to engage in focused exploration of themselves and their places in the world. Belmont Athletics offered plenty of positives to boast about this year with Atlantic Sun championships and NCAA Tournament appearances for both men’s basketball and baseball teams. Of course, the “win” the University takes the greatest pride in came when Belmont was awarded the Atlantic Sun All Academic trophy for the eighth time, an unprecedented accomplishment. Next year Belmont takes on new challengers with the move to the wellrespected Ohio Valley Conference. be
Bruin Grounds
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beFAITHFUL CHRISTIAN CHARACTER
An alumna, B E T T Y W I S E M A N founded women’s basketball at Belmont in 1968, and now serves as assistant athletic director and senior women’s administrator. She has long been considered the campus matriarch, due to her unwavering dedication as a coach, mentor, instructor and mission trip leader. In May, Betty marked her 20th year of leading students on sports evangelism trips, taking a team of 14 to serve alongside missionaries in Naples, Italy.
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ith Belmont seeking to show “increasing evidence of the Christian character of the university” as part of Vision 2015, it’s easy to see why Coach Wiseman is a perfect example of the “be Belmont” theme. But she’s certainly not alone. In addition to sports evangelism trips, numerous students participate annually in Spring Break mission trips sponsored by University Ministries and Residence Life. Also, for the fifth consecutive year, the Gordon E. Inman College of Health Sciences & Nursing sent a team of healthcare professionals and students to Guatemala for a Christian service project. A team of 13 faculty, students and clinicians provided supplies, directed patient care and trained staff in hospital pediatric units in Guatemala City as well as guest lectured at a local university. The Belmont community can embrace opportunities to grow in faith while on campus as well. The Office of Spiritual Development consistently offers top-notch speakers and thought provoking, weekly chapel services. Recent guests have included Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, pastor/speaker/ author Efrem Smith, Simple Way cofounder Shane Claiborne and gospel singer CeCe Winans and her husband Alvin Love. Alumni also contribute to the spiritual life of Belmont as seen in the ongoing “Alumni on Mission” speakers series. Former basketball player Mike Mayernick (’90) and his wife Suzanne visited campus in November to talk with students about the blessings of adoption and their organization, 147 Million Orphans, which supports numerous ministries around the world and assists families in raising funds for adoption-related costs. be
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Spring Break 2011 mission trip to Cumberland Island, Georgia
beENGAGED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Sophomore S A R A H C U R R E Y took involvement with her community to the next level when she interned last summer in the Office of the First Lady of Tennessee, Crissy Haslam. An honors student and double major (marketing/business management), Currey expressed immense gratitude for Belmont providing her with “a pathway to possibility.�
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he fifth and final ideal of what it means to “be Belmont” is engagement with and service to the University’s hometown, Nashville, Tenn. In 2011, this took countless forms, from providing opportunities for community members to enjoy the benefits of campus culture to students, faculty and staff volunteering hundreds of hours to give back to a variety of charities and programs in the area. Undoubtedly, one of the University’s greatest successes with community engagement came in May with the grand reopening of E.S. Rose Park and Sports Complex, an innovative, shared facilities concept between Belmont and Metro Parks. The facility not only provides student-athletes and fans a beautiful new home field, but also offers immense potential for the University to more deeply collaborate with community partners, local schools and neighborhood children. The annual Community Connection Fair helps forge even more “town and gown” relationships. Each September, more than 60 nonprofit organizations throughout Middle Tennessee set up booths in Neely Dining Hall to share information on volunteer opportunities. Community Day at a Bruins basketball game and the Community Garden are two other innovative approaches that allow the University to connect with its neighbors in unique and beneficial ways. In fact, the Community Garden provides fresh produce to nearby Dismas House (a nonprofit that supports former inmates) while also supplying faculty members another venue for experiential learning.
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Student athletes led “Camp Bruin” at nearby Rose Park.
Local children enjoy time with Bruiser at Community Day.
Engagement with the Nashville community occurs in the classroom as well as seen with the recent Curb College and Avenue Bank partnership. Experts from the bank are team teaching a course in entertainment industry finance, offering critical skills to young music business entrepreneurs. Another example found journalism students and faculty assisting seventh and eighth grade students from Rose Park Magnet Middle School in producing a newsletter for the nearby Edgehill community. Often, community engagement comes in the form of special events that bring Nashville citizens to Belmont’s campus as was the case this fall when hundreds of community members joined the University in celebrating the 10th annual Humanities Symposium with keynote speaker Maya Angelou. Author of more than 30 best-selling titles and a Pulitzer Prize nominee, Angelou delivered a stirring address that brought the audience of 5,000 to its feet. It was truly an inspirational evening, and another moving reminder of what it means to “be Belmont.� be
Maya Angelou
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Statement of Financial Position
Budget Growth $180,000,000
May 31, 2011
$144,000,000
Assets Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,090,542 Investments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83,115,084 Receivable from Others. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,243,084 Property, Buildings and Equipment, net. . . . 262,801,360 Other Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,294,413 Total Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $405,544,483
$108,000,000 $72,000,000 $36,000,000 $0 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11 11-12
Liabilities
Asset Growth
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities . . . . . 9,517,033 Notes Payable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97,937,535 Other Liabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,226,674 Total Liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $113,681,242
$410,000,000
Net Assets
$164,000,000
$328,000,000 $246,000,000
Unrestricted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,881,103 Temporarily Restricted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,032,124 Permanently Restricted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,950,014 Total Net Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $291,863,241 Total Liabilities and Net Assets. . . . . . . $405,544,483
$82,000,000 $0 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11
Net Asset Growth $300,000,000
Statement of Activities - All Funds
$237,500,000
Year Ended May 31, 2011 $175,000,000
Revenue and Other Support Tuition and Fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134,786,833 Less: Scholarships and Fellowships. . . . . . . . . (21,399,404) Net Tuition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $113,387,429 Gifts, Grants and Contracts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,605,585 Endowment Spending. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,630,482 Auxiliary Enterprises Sales and Services. . . . . . 21,919,998 Other Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,158,790 Total Revenue and Other Support . . . . $147,702,284
$112,500,000
$50,000,000 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11
Tuition Revenue $135,000,000 $108,000,000
Expenses
$81,000,000
Instruction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,182,440 Academic Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,296,642 Student Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,532,891 Institutional Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,884,801 Auxiliary Enterprises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,376,007 Total Expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $110,272,781
$54,000,000 $27,000,000 $0 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11
Investment in Construction
Non-operating Activities
$215,000,000
Private Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,602,400 Increase in market value of investments . . . . . 10,784,918 Change in value of interest rate swaps. . . . . . . . . (32,966) Net Increase from Non-operating Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,354,352
$172,000,000 $129,000,000 $86,000,000 $43,000,000
Net Increase in Net Assets. . . . . . . . . . . . $58,783,855 Net Assets at Beginning of Year. . . . . . . . . . . . 233,079,386 Net Assets at End of Year . . . . . . . . . . . $291,863,241
$0 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11
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