New fellowship provides opportunity for connection and growth
Each year, the Office of Community-Engaged Learning and Service makes efforts to bring students, faculty and staff together through volunteer opportunities, service-learning courses and campus events.
Over the past year, (Aug. 1 2024 to Aug. 1 2025), the total number of tracked campus volunteer hours by CELS equaled 33,465 hours, representing a value of $1,022,355.75 based on the Independent Sector TN Volunteer Rate of $30.55.
The top organizations and agencies that received the most volunteer hours logged from students, faculty and staff include:
- Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC) - 1307.44 hours
- The Store - 741.35 hours
- Pawster Nashville - 608.5 hours
- Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art - 464.82 hours
- Centennial Park Conservancy - 447.58 hours
- Belmont Family Wellbeing Program - 379.32 hours
- Nueva Vida Food Project - 375.23 hours
- Martha O'Bryan Center - 312.04 hours
- The Branch of Nashville Inc - 297 hours
- Rolling Hills Ministry - The ALOE Family - 282.77 hours
Empowering Purpose Driven Learning
CELS also aids in linking course work to real-world service that connects Belmont to the greater Nashville community.
This week, CELS officially launched its new Faculty Service-Learning Fellows Program to further connect students, faculty and community partners.
A Student Advisory Council consisting of student leaders from various majors and programs will work alongside the Faculty Fellows and community partners to integrate character, purpose and the entrepreneurial mindset into academic life through a four-year initiative. Together, they will build on Belmont's culture of linking learning to service to advance the aspiration of helping people and communities flourish.
“By bringing faculty and students together at the same table — with our community partners as co-educators — we are deepening Belmont’s commitment to forming leaders of character and purpose,” said Tim Stewart, director of Community-Engaged Learning and Service. “This initiative embodies our mission to connect learning and service for the common good.”
Announced Monday, Oct. 27, the Faculty Fellows cohort consists of six Belmont faculty members from various disciplines. In the coming semesters, service-learning courses developed by the Fellows will provide students with opportunities linking academic content with service activity through experience and reflection.
Meet the Service-Learning Faculty Fellows
Assistant Professor of Health Systems Science in the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine
Course title: Service-Learning with Individual Community Partners
Students of the Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine will work in house teams, rotating through leadership roles to build accountability, empathy and teamwork while co-designing projects with community organizations.
Professor of Fashion in the O’More College of Architecture and Design
Course title: Fashion for a Cause
Students will have opportunities to align passion with purpose, develop ethical design thinking and create tangible products addressing community needs in partnership with local nonprofits.
Assistant Professor of Public Health in the College of Pharmacy and Healthy Sciences
Course title: Health Policy
Gavilo-Lane's course fosters vocational exploration, strengthens professional identity and cultivates long-term commitment to the common good, preparing students for the long-term mission of service in the world.
Chair of the Department of Architecture, Director of Digital Fabrication
Course title: Architecture Design
Lima’s course will cultivate character through integrity and teamwork, anchor purpose in health and well-being and build an entrepreneurial mindset by training students to identify opportunities, test prototypes and present action-ready community solutions.
Assistant Professor of Nursing in the Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing
Course title: Population Health
Students will connect theory to community practice through service-learning projects aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In reflective practice and population-based interventions, nursing students will be challenged to cultivate purpose, social responsibility, and professional identity.
Faculty Fellow in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Course title: Public Health Ethics
Through ethical case studies, reflective journaling and community-based projects, the course emphasizes moral courage, purpose-driven public health practice and innovative problem-solving rooted in compassion and justice.
Members of the 2025-2026 Student Advisory Council include:
- Jackson Cook (‘28), Economics Major
- Makayla Geyser (‘29), Psychological Sciences Major
- Lily Stockwell (‘26), Social Entrepreneurship Major
- Emily Hinkle (‘29), Music Business Major
- Claire Bartley (‘28), Social Work Major
- Jillian Gardner (‘27), Public Relations Major
In the process of creating these service-learning courses, faculty, students and community partners will participate in workshops, reflection sessions and community projects that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and that correspond to some of Nashville's most pressing challenges as outlined in the Imagine Nashville report. It is hoped that this new initiative will lead to more opportunities for Belmont students, faculty and staff to partner with our community to further our aims of forming diverse leaders of character and promoting flourishing for all.
Interested in engaging with service in a deeper way? Connect with the Office of Community Engaged Learning and Service.
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Learn more about CELS