Belmont University has announced a $58 million lead gift from philanthropist and music industry icon Mike Curb and the Mike Curb Foundation to catalyze the expansion of its nationally renowned Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.

The gift, largest in Belmont’s history, will support renovation of existing buildings and construction of a new state-of-the-art facility on Music Row, preserving the area’s rich history while providing innovative spaces for entertainment industry education and collaboration.

The project will unfold in two phases. Phase one, already underway, includes renovating the historic Buddy Lee Attractions/Capitol Records building (38 Music Square East), adding 17,000 square feet of songwriting rooms, listening spaces, live sound classrooms and student lounges.

The renovation will include new, updated space for Nashville’s Leadership Music offices, continuing Belmont’s and Curb College’s partnership with the organization.

Phase two will develop a new 75,000-square-foot building behind Belmont’s existing Music Row footprint. Construction on this facility will commence over the next 24 months and will integrate all facets of the entertainment industry, including a performance venue anticipated to accommodate more than 150 people, networking and gathering spaces for students and industry professionals, a coffee shop, content capture rooms and underground parking.

The centerpiece project reinforces Belmont’s and Mike and Linda Curb’s commitment to both preserving Music Row’s legacy and driving innovation for the future of Curb College, the largest free-standing college of entertainment and music business in the world.

Phase two will also require a broader fundraising campaign for the building, which the University kicked off at the “Belmont at the Opry” event Tuesday night.

UT alum Wilmore preps for unique test flight

NASA astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore is a veteran of two spaceflights and has accumulated 178 days in space. The U.S. Navy captain has logged more than 8,000 flight hours in tactical jet aircrafts and made 663 carrier landings.

His latest mission is unlike anything he’s ever done before.

Wilmore, 61, will be the commander for NASA’s Boeing Crew flight test to the International Space Station. It will be the first crewed flight of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which will transport Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams to the orbiting laboratory for a planned stay of up to two weeks. The launch from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida is currently scheduled for early May.

“This is a test, and that’s what makes it thrilling and also way different,” says Wilmore, who received a master’s degree in aviation systems from UT’s Space Institute in 1994. “The first flight, when you’re really testing and checking out the capabilities for the first time only, comes around every so often. Everything we’re going to do is a first and everything we are going to do is going to be evaluated.”

The Starliner spacecraft will remain at the station for a minimum of eight days and feature a wide range of engineering tests and evaluations. The purpose of the mission is to test the spacecraft and get it ready for future crews and improve its capabilities.

Wilmore was selected to be a part of the crew because of his background. In the Navy, the Mt. Juliet native flew missions in support of Operation Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Southern Watch.

Williams sported an orange Tennessee College of Engineering sweatshirt with a football floating by his side for a photo when he commanded Expedition 42. Does he have anything UT-related planned for the Starliner trip?

“I am a Tennessean at heart,” he says. “That’s home, and you might see a Tennessee item or two while I’m up there.”

TBR launches new employment dashboard

The College System of Tennessee has launched a new interactive online data dashboard to help its community and technical colleges learn more about graduates’ post-college employment and earnings.

The Careers Start Here dashboard tracks aggregate employment outcomes for graduates of Tennessee’s community colleges and colleges of applied technology (TCATs) over the past decade. With this tool, colleges can examine three primary employment outcomes: employment rates in Tennessee, average annual wages and industry of employment.

The new data tool is made possible by a partnership between the Tennessee Board of Regents and the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The partnership enables the sharing of data between agencies on a recurring basis to improve academic programs and workforce development efforts.

The new feature was previewed and launched at the Tennessee Board of Regents quarterly meeting last week.

“This dashboard will be a critical tool, not only for state government, but any organization planning their future workforce needs,” said TDLWD Commissioner Deniece Thomas. “Our partnership with TBR has created a central location that brings together timely and useful information that will lead to more informed decision-making about the workforce of tomorrow.”

The interactive tool allows colleges to compare employment outcomes by college, major field of study or student characteristics. It also allows colleges to compare outcomes for graduates to outcomes for students who enrolled but did not graduate. No personally identifying information is used.

The dashboard and accompanying data tools will be updated quarterly with new information and are accessible through the Employment Outcomes and Earnings tab on the comprehensive TBR Data Dashboard on the TBR website.

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TDH investigating cases of botulism-like illness

The Tennessee Department of Health is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration and multiple other states to investigate botulism-like illness after reported botulinum toxin injections for cosmetic purposes.

Joint investigations have identified concerns about use of counterfeit products or products with unclear origin administered in nonmedical settings such as homes or cosmetic spas.

TDH recently identified four patients who experienced botulism-like signs and symptoms. All persons reported receiving botulinum toxin injections for cosmetic purposes.

All four patients were seen by a health care provider and two were hospitalized. Similar botulism-like illnesses have been reported by multiple states. Ongoing investigation suggests that the product administered was counterfeit.

Classic botulism is a rare, potentially fatal illness caused by a nerve toxin that is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum or related species. Initial botulism symptoms might include double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, and difficulty breathing.

These symptoms are typically followed by descending, symmetric muscle weakness that progresses over hours to days requiring hospitalization and specialized treatment with antitoxin.

Cosmetic injections should be an FDA-approved product, administered by licensed providers and in licensed settings. Tennessee health profession licensure information is publicly available at: www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/health-professional-boards.html.

TDH recommends that health care providers ask about recent cosmetic procedures in patients experiencing botulism-like illness. Suspected botulism illnesses should be reported immediately to TDH at 615-741-7247.

Pinnacle opens PEER center in N. Nashville

Pinnacle Financial Partners has announced the opening of its Pinnacle Economic Empowerment Resource (PEER) Center in North Nashville. The new PEER Center is a local hub for community members in need of financial services and uplift and will be dedicated to helping improve economic equity and shared prosperity.

Pinnacle opened its first PEER Center in 2022 in Memphis. PEER Centers are full-service banking offices offering a complete line of financial products and services to historically underserved and underbanked communities.

Firmwide, Pinnacle operates PEER Centers in Memphis and Nashville, with plans to open more in 2024 in Atlanta, Durham and Charlotte. The Nashville location is located at 1402 Buchanan Street, Suite 105.

“We will always seek for Pinnacle to make a significant positive impact on the communities we serve,” says Terry Turner, Pinnacle president and CEO. “As cities across the Southeast continue their hot streak of economic growth, improving quality of life means we all have to fight for economic equity and shared prosperity.”

Because of Pinnacle’s geographic model of local leadership and decision-making, the new Nashville PEER Center’s offerings can be customized to meet the specific needs of the 37208 community.

Offerings include financial education and coaching, affordable homeownership, and small-business startup and growth. Personal financial planning will be available along with personalized guidance on wealth building and management.

Along with all traditional banking services, the PEER Center offers specialized lending designed for people living with low to moderate incomes and/or in minority communities.

In addition, the PEER Center is building and strengthening nonprofit partnerships in the local area. The new Nashville location has already established partnerships with community organizations like Corner to Corner to provide not only financial education and services, but also workforce development, family services, youth services, social change and business training.

Nonprofit partners will be able to use the space to offer services, classes or workspace.

WeGo Link now available in Transit app

Riders can now access WeGo Link using the Transit app, helping them to plan bus trips with discounted ride-share connections.

WeGo Link offers subsidized Uber connections to transit stops within 13 service zones in Davidson County. Riders can download a reusable voucher and receive up to $8 off each WeGo Link ride, with most rides costing customers $2. After selecting their trip in Transit, they’ll be linked directly to the Uber app to finish requesting their ride.

“WeGo Link makes our transit network more accessible to more people and places,” says WeGo deputy chief operating officer Dan Freudberg. “We might not be able to run a bus route on every street, but we can connect people to the nearest available route so they can use WeGo.”

Transit is available in the App Store or Google Play or by visiting transitapp.com. For more information about WeGo Link, visit WeGoTransit.com.