It’s more important than ever that we have qualified healthcare workers. Belmont Abbey, CaroMont, and other institutions in Gaston County are working together to respond to this need by creating additional avenues for healthcare education. Belmont Abbey College recently launched a Master of Health Administration and will kick off a Bachelor’s in Nursing program this fall. Additionally, the college is partnering with CaroMont Health to build a brand new hospital on campus ground that will open in the fall of 2023. Gaston County high schools help identify students interested in health sciences, and Gaston Community College offers more technical degree programs such as ultrasound. The Catholic News Herald recently explored Belmont Abbey’s commitment to healthcare education. Read more here.
Abbey News
Phi Alpha Theta
On Saturday, March 5, Belmont Abbey College’s History Department hosted the 2022 Carolinas Regional Phi Alpha Theta Conference. Phi Alpha Theta is the national history honor society and it was our department’s great pleasure to welcome them to our campus for the first time. The conference attracted more than 35 student presenters from across the Carolinas, Tennessee, and beyond. The keynote lecture was delivered by Fr. Charles Gallagher, S.J., of Boston College.
Among the undergraduate presenters were SIX Abbey students: Helen Behe, Angela Harris, Preston Jones, Katalina Lopez, Ricky Seyler, and David Stone. Their papers covered topics ranging from the spread of Christianity among the Vikings to Christianity to major events in the history of Gaston County. All six performed admirably.
At the end of the day, prizes were awarded for the best four undergraduate presentations. Remarkably, two of the winners were Abbey students: Angela Harris and Katalina Lopez. Furthermore, one of the two graduate awards went to Caleb Kuali, who graduated from the Abbey in 2021 before commencing graduate study at North Carolina State University.
The History Department is delighted to congratulate Helen, Preston, Caleb, Ricky, David, and especially Angela and Katalina, on their exceptional achievements.
We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to Dr. Daniel Hutchinson, who worked incredibly hard to make the event the great success that it was, and to the donors to our Founders’ Day fundraiser last year, whose support made it possible for our students to have this experience.
Belmont Abbey College Receives Initial Approval on BSN Program
Belmont Abbey College is answering the call to train and graduate nurses by creating a new degree program. The college just got initial approval from the NC Board of Nursing to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, which will start in August 2022. The first graduating class will be around 40 strong.
COVID Management Protocols and Procedures
There are three changes to our COVID management protocols and procedures. These are the result of a changing context of COVID in our region, a reduced number of cases on our campus, and a large percentage of our campus community (>80%) who are vaccinated or have been positive in the last 90 days. This is our initial move to manage COVID as an endemic (rather than a pandemic) disease.
To that end, the following changes will go into effect immediately:
- There will no longer be an indoor mask mandate for activities. Instead we will move to a mask optional environment unless prescribed by some external authority. Two important pieces remain in place for this new policy:
- Per CDC guidance, we would continue to encourage those who have recently tested positive to wear a mask around others in days 6-10 following isolation.
- Second – and most importantly – as a community, we will honor the request of others to mask in their presence if requested. This includes classes, office spaces, meetings, and other gatherings on our campus. As has been the case since the beginning of the pandemic, we have been a community that has proven time and time again that we respect and look out for one another. We ask and expect that this ethos and level of common care will continue in this new phase.
- The College will no longer conduct detailed contact tracing for exposures to a positive case. We will continue to honor voluntary exposure disclosure as before, but will now limit our contact tracing to roommates or other living environment exposures. We encourage those who have tested positive to reach out to others who may have had close contact. In this, positive cases will continue to isolate away from campus.
- We will move to full capacity for on-campus events.
We will continue our testing efforts as suggested and required by local partners, Conference Carolinas, and the NCAA. If you are not feeling well, please contact the Wellness Center and baccovid19@bac.edu for further direction and instruction.
Again, these changes will have immediate effect and will be reviewed no later than March 1.
Belmont Abbey College Receives Accreditation to Offer Masters Level Degrees
Belmont Abbey College announces its full accreditation as a Master’s level institution and intentions to increase academic offerings. In the summer of 2021, the private liberal arts college welcomed the first cohort of students in pursuit of a Master in Health Administration after securing initial accreditation authorization from the Southern Association of College and Schools Commissions on Colleges (SACSCOC). Over the next couple of months, a SACSCOC peer review committee evaluated the ongoing compliance with standards and provided their recommendation for full accreditation to the Board of Trustees. This recommendation was recently approved, allowing Belmont Abbey to move forward with strategic plans to offer new masters-level programs.
