Dr. James M. Stevens of Welch College was recently named as a winner in the 2015 Steinway Piano Composition Contest for his arrangement of the classic devotional hymn, “Near the Cross,” written for the intermediate pianist. The contest was sponsored by SMP Press (Sheet Music Plus), Steinway Piano, and Composers Inc. Stevens also received an honorable mention for his original composition, “Silent Stars.”
The cash prize includes an invitation to San Francisco, CA where his composition will be performed in concert by one of the Steinway artists. Dr. Stevens’s piano compositions and books have consistently been in the top ten best sellers at Sheet Music Plus, the world’s largest sheet music dealer where over 350 of his works can be found listed with his James M. Stevens Music ASCAP publishing company.
According to Welch College Provost, Dr. Greg Ketteman, “We are obviously very proud of Dr. Stevens. He is a highly-skilled, prolific composer and arranger who is viewed as world-class by his professional peers. His continuing professional work provides an ideal context for Welch College students to be challenged as they develop their God-given talents.”
Stevens is a graduate of Samford University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the University of Kentucky where he received a Doctorate in Music Composition. He has served as the Music Department Chairman at Welch College since 2004.
The following information was posted by our accrediting association on their website sacscoc.org
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges Accreditation
Actions taken by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees
December 6, 2015
At its meeting on December 6, 2015, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees took the following actions regarding the accreditation status of institutions.
The Board accredited the following member institutions at a new or a more advanced degree level:
Welch College, Nashville, Tennessee
Moved from Level II to Level III offering the Master of Arts in Theology Ministry (Effective: February, 2016)
Formal notification of accreditation of the new graduate program by our other accrediting association, the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), was received in November. More details about the Welch Master of Arts degree in Theology and Ministry will be forthcoming in a subsequent release following formal notification from SACSCOC.
Welch College will hold an orientation on January 5, 2016, for students admitted to the Master of Arts degree in Theology and Ministry, as well as prospective students interested in the program.
The one-day orientation is required for all admitted students, but others who are interested in the program are invited to attend.
Students and prospective students will have the opportunity to meet the administration, faculty, and staff and get information on the College’s unique hybrid course design, which includes a combination of on-line and on-campus instruction. They will learn about services available to graduate students, including tuition costs, scholarships, and loan information.
Lodging for Monday night and Tuesday meals (light breakfast and buffet lunch) will be provided for those who respond before December 18. (Students who wish to bring family may obtain information on local hotels at welch.edu/visit-local-hotels.)
New graduate students and those interested in the program are required to register on the College website: welch.edu/mastersreg by December 18, 2015.
The agenda for this meeting will be as follows:
8:30 AM Continental Breakfast
9:45 AM Welcome and Devotional – President Matt Pinson
Introduction of Program Personnel – Dr. Greg Ketteman, Provost
Graduate Program Overview – Dr. Kevin Hester, Dean of the School of Theology
Graduate Program Course Design – Dr. Jeff Cockrell, Graduate Program Coordinator
Introduction to Populi – Mr. Allan Crowson, Adult Studies
Welch Library – Mrs. Carol Reid, Librarian
Student Services – Dr. Jon Forlines, Vice President for Student Services
Business Office/Financial Aid – Mrs. Angie Edgmon, Financial Aid Office
Question and Answer – Panel
10:30 AM Advisor Meetings and Financial Aid Counseling
Library Tour (optional) – Mrs. Carol Reid
Welcome Days for Fall 2015 (November 12-14) brought record numbers with 110 prospective students attending and representing sixteen states and one foreign country. “Welcome Days helps students get a taste of college life, make new friends, and get acquainted with all that Welch College has to offer,” said Debbie Mouser, Director of Enrollment Services.
Mrs. Mouser and her staff rolled out the red carpet for visiting students and their parents/sponsors on Thursday afternoon, greeting them with eager enthusiasm, information packets, and t-shirts, and then introducing them to their student host who gave them a tour of the campus.
Students attended chapel and classes. Friday afternoon brought “The Big Show” which was a game show style competition of girls versus boys. Students, parents, and sponsors then had the opportunity to participate in the Academic/Student Life Fair, which brought together the best of both worlds: academic life and campus life. It allowed students the opportunity to speak with faculty and staff representatives, society representatives, as well as Welch alumni, and to obtain information on all aspects of college life at Welch. The day concluded with games of the Welch Lady Flames andFlames basketball teams.
Mrs. Mouser said, “For some, Welcome Days is a reaffirmation of their decision to attend Welch College. For others, it is an opportunity to help in making the decision on where to attend college. Research shows that a personal visit is the most trusted source of information for prospective students choosing a college. That is exactly why we organize such an event. We had 110 prospective students and their guests join us and their incredibly positive feedback indicates our collective efforts were well-received.”
The next Welcome Days event is scheduled for April 21-23, 2016.
By resolution of the Board of Trustees, Welch College will construct a president’s home on its new 66-acre campus site in Gallatin, Tennessee, according to David Williford, vice president for institutional advancement.
“The most recent plans for phase one did not include a president’s home; President Pinson felt that all resources and energies needed to be focused on the building of the core campus,” Williford said. “Plans changed when the lead donor to the Building on the Legacy capital campaign for campus relocation, Mrs. Alicia Celorio of the Do Unto Others Trust in Miami, FL, promised an additional gift that would make it possible for the home to be built without diverting any funds from the core campus.”
“In December of 2014, Mrs. Celorio completed the most significant pledge of the Building on the Legacy campaign. While visiting the West End campus over the years, she had spent time in the president’s home and saw how the home was a hub of ministry to college students and the college family. It was her desire to see that replicated on the Gallatin campus.”
James and Mary Beasley of Turbeville, SC, subsequently made an additional, significant pledge above and beyond their Building on the Legacy commitment. As directed by the Board of Trustees, the funds for the president’s home will not come from gifts to the Building on the Legacy campaign, but from special gifts made above and beyond Building on the Legacy gifts, as well as from the president’s housing allowance.
“We’re grateful to our two lead donors in the silent phase of the Building on the Legacy campaign, who had a special interest in seeing a president’s home built on this land into which they have already poured such great resources and wanted to give above and beyond their original pledges,” Williford said. “Rather than taking a personal housing allowance, President and Mrs. Pinson wanted their monthly housing allowance funds placed back into the new Welch campus through the construction of a president’s home for future generations of the Welch family.”
“In the long tradition of college presidents’ homes, the president’s home on the West End campus was a symbol of the sort of Christian community, hospitality, and mentoring we’re attempting to foster at Welch,” Williford said. “It provided a wide variety of wonderful community-building events for students, faculty and staff, and the wider Welch constituency. We’re so glad, thanks to these generous donors, this tradition can continue in Gallatin.”
The design of the house is underway, according to Relocation Consultant Bob Bass, and construction is set to begin on the house this month.
Bass will oversee the construction of the home. Mike Murdock, a member of the Donelson Fellowship, a Nashville Free Will Baptist congregation, has been selected as construction manager to design the home and manage the building process.
“Mike has designed and built scores of excellent homes in the greater Nashville area,” Bass said. “He’s stepping up to the plate and doing this for the college at a fraction of what he would normally receive for the expertise he brings to the table. He sees it as kingdom work. Mike will produce an excellent president’s home that will mesh well with the overall design of the new Welch campus.”
“It’s great to see the amazing progress on the construction of the new Welch campus,” Bass said. “We are now completing the foundations and are about to see some vertical activity. After more than twenty years of work and anticipation on this project, it’s a wonderful sight to watch it all come together.”
To learn more about campus relocation or to give to the Building on the Legacy campaign, visit BuildingontheLegacy.com.
