bruin pride.

There is no better example of uniting in spirit at Belmont than the annual Homecoming week. This year’s February celebration would be a week to remember as, though it wasn’t known at the time, it represented one of the campus’ last opportunities to physically come together as one body of Bruins: alumni, students, parents, faculty and staff alike. 

Each day focused on a fun theme to remind the Belmont community of why it is such a special place to be: Mission Monday, T-Shirt Tuesday, Wow Wednesday, Thank You Thursday and FANtastic Friday. Events all week—from alumni-hosted Chapel services and special lectures to the Dance Party and annual Homecoming in the Round concert—brought Bruins of all ages together.

One particularly popular event was the invitation for students to “Build a Bruin” teddy bear, a new Belmont tradition that is sure to be a hit year after year. Departments and organizations across campus all dressed up their own bear representative to put on display and on the ballot for the Best Bear of All. The Belmont Store’s “Wonder Bruin” claimed the inaugural title with the most votes on Facebook.

Homecoming Saturday invited alumni back to campus for reunions, continuing education opportunities, sporting events and a Tailgate at the Tower celebration. Of special note was the annual Tower Society Reunion, celebrating the elite group of alumni who graduated from Belmont 50 years ago or more. To conclude the day, during halftime of the men’s basketball game, senior public relations major Morgan James was crowned Homecoming Queen, and junior Levi Blazer, a public health/corporate communications double major, was named Homecoming King.

Belmont’s architecture students will enjoy an array of cross-disciplinary opportunities throughout the University, with O’More’s program in interior design as well as with the University’s long-established visual arts majors. In fact, Belmont is elevating its creative community with a recently announced intent to merge with the Nashville-based Watkins College of Art. The new college will join Belmont’s highly regarded visual arts and graphic design programs with those from Watkins and will be helmed by longtime Belmont faculty member and alumnus, James Pierce.

Belmont President Dr. Bob Fisher said, “For well over a century, Watkins has fostered the talents and honed the crafts of thousands of phenomenal artists. This merger will enable us to accelerate and elevate art education in the Southeast and beyond.” 

The addition of Watkins and the advent of the O’More architecture program further fortifies Belmont as the center for art and design in the region. In addition to the financial stability, resources and expanded reach Belmont offers, the partnership provides Watkins students with an array of opportunities not currently available, such as study abroad possibilities, dedicated career development staff and increased options for general education courses.