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Belmont Abbey College Launches New Major in Writing & Media for Fall 2025

Belmont Abbey College Launches New Major in Writing & Media for Fall 2025

Belmont, N.C. (September 12, 2025) – Belmont Abbey College is excited to announce a new major in Writing & Media, launching in Fall 2025. This innovative program equips students to meet a growing need in today’s world: writing well across different settings, responding to complex rhetorical situations, and navigating digital platforms with clarity and purpose.

Rooted in the Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts tradition, the Writing & Media program blends writing, media, and literary studies. Courses will explore rhetorical strategy, digital communication, audience engagement, and literature in light of the Western intellectual tradition. The program emphasizes creativity, critical thinking, and strong communication skills—preparing graduates for careers in journalism, public relations, marketing, and more.

“We are excited to introduce this new major, which reflect Belmont Abbey’s commitment to providing students with relevant and impactful educational opportunities,” said Dr. Hannah Zdansky, Chair of this program for Belmont Abbey College. “The Writing & Media program will not only enhance our academic offerings but also empower students to become effective communicators in today’s digital landscape.”

In addition to the college’s core liberal arts curriculum, students in the program will take courses such as Writing for Social Media, Business Communications, Foundations of Language, and Editing & Writing for Publication. These offerings will help students develop flexible writing and communication strategies, sharpen their critical thinking, and produce professional and creative work that reflects their unique voice.

Belmont Abbey College invites prospective students to explore the new Writing & Media program and discover how it can help them achieve their academic and career goals. With a focus on experiential learning and a supportive academic environment, students will be well-prepared to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the modern media landscape.

For more information about Belmont Abbey College and its programs, visit www.belmontabbeycollege.edu.

About Belmont Abbey College: Founded in 1876, Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic baccalaureate and liberal arts institution. Our mission is to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences so that in all things God may be glorified. Guided by the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Benedictine spirit of prayer and learning, we welcome a diverse body of students and provide them with an education that will enable them to lead lives of integrity, to succeed professionally, to become responsible citizens, and to be a blessing to themselves and to others. Our beautiful and historic campus is conveniently located just 10 miles west of Charlotte, N.C., and is currently home to more than 1500 students. For more information, visit https://belmontabbeycollege.edu/.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Sarah Bolton

P: 704-461-7016 E: sarahbolton@bac.edu

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Belmont Abbey College Celebrates Record-Breaking Enrollment for Fall 2025

Belmont Abbey College Celebrates Record-Breaking Enrollment for Fall 2025

Belmont, N.C. (September 9, 2025) – Belmont Abbey College announces the highest total enrollment in its history, marking a significant milestone in the institution’s continued growth and academic expansion. For the Fall 2025 semester, the college has welcomed its second-largest incoming class of new students, making a new record of total enrollment of 1,741 students—an unprecedented milestone that represents a 3.2% increase over last year.

The total enrollment includes students from a variety of academic tracks: traditional undergraduate, online undergraduate, dual-enrolled, non-degree seeking, and graduate programs. Among the 1,741 enrolled, 741 are new admissions—a strong indicator of the growing interest in the college’s Benedictine liberal arts tradition and superior academic offerings—with students representing 48 states and 26 countries.

“We are gratified to see so many students and families connecting with our academic, student, and faith experiences,” said Dr. Jesse Dorman, Vice Provost of Enrollment at Belmont Abbey College. “We are thrilled to welcome this highly engaged incoming class, with their unique talents, skills, and abilities that will enrich the Belmont Abbey College community and extend far beyond our campus.”

A key contributor to this growth is the record number of 134 graduate students—the highest in Belmont Abbey’s history—enrolled across eight graduate programs. This surge is driven in part by the launch of two new graduate degrees: the Master of Arts in Motorsport Management and the Master of Sport Management, both of which began this fall.

The MA in Motorsport Management is especially groundbreaking—it is the first program of its kind in the United States, establishing Belmont Abbey as a national leader in motorsports education. With Charlotte and Concord serving as hubs of NASCAR and other motorsports industries, the college is uniquely positioned to offer students direct access to internship opportunities, industry leaders, and real-world experiences in a dynamic, fast-growing field.

The college also recently redesigned its Master of Science in Nursing to address the growing need of educators in the healthcare industry. The new MSN—Educator program enables experienced nursing to pass on their expertise to the next generation of caregivers.

Interim President Dr. Joseph Wysocki attributed this year’s success to the dedication of the entire Belmont Abbey community. “This community—so passionately committed to the College’s mission and so dedicated to fulfilling the Abbey promise to our students—is the reason we’ve come this far. Congratulations to every one of our faculty, staff, and the monks who work every day to make the promise of the Abbey a reality for our students.”

While many regional and rural colleges are facing demographic pressures and enrollment declines, Belmont Abbey continues to grow while remaining true to its Catholic mission of forming students in mind, body, and spirit. As Belmont Abbey looks to the future, it remains committed to cultivating a community where academic excellence, faith, and service intersect.

For more information about Belmont Abbey College and its programs, visit www.belmontabbeycollege.edu.

About Belmont Abbey College: Founded in 1876, Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic baccalaureate and liberal arts institution. Our mission is to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences so that in all things God may be glorified. Guided by the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Benedictine spirit of prayer and learning, we welcome a diverse body of students and provide them with an education that will enable them to lead lives of integrity, to succeed professionally, to become responsible citizens, and to be a blessing to themselves and to others. Our beautiful and historic campus is conveniently located just 10 miles west of Charlotte, N.C., and is currently home to more than 1500 students. For more information, visit https://belmontabbeycollege.edu/.

For Immediate Release

Contact: Sarah Bolton

P: 704-461-7016 E: sarahbolton@bac.edu

Download Now.

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Finding Your Journey of Faith and Transformation With Paul J. Kim

In this episode of Conversatio, Belmont Abbey Campus Minister Carmen Alexander and our guest Paul J. Kim discuss his journey of faith, the challenges of living as a young adult in a secular world, and the importance of community, sacraments, and personal growth.

Listen now!

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Go out into the deep…

Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. – St. John Paul II

I first stumbled on this quotation by St. John Paul II early in the summer. It’s a striking quote, and the words seem to follow you around without losing their edge. I suspect this has something to do with our immersion in a society that – whatever else it does or claims – tends to capitalize on fear, reward consumer-driven complacency, and avoid the question of Truth with squeamish mistrust… all of which the monastic rhythms of prayer and work, ora et labora, quietly and undemonstratively counter.

In a way, the monks’ faithful example offers us an act of hope and a grounding of calm from which to attend to St. John Paul II’s exhortation. And now, at the start of a new academic year at the Abbey, it feels natural to take up these words in earnest and consider what they might mean for each of us.

Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

There’s a reason St. John Paul II begins with Christ’s bracing exhortation, given more often than any other scriptural directive: Do not be afraid.

No matter how you approach it, the deep is frightening. It’s the place in our lives – wherever this might be for each of us – where we have to confront our human weakness. It’s the mission that’s beyond us, the need that’s more than we can fill, the question for which we have no answer.

We are all called to holiness – to the terrifying, vibrant love that empties us of illusion and pride, transforming our lives if we let it – if we let Him. We’ve heard over and over “Do not be afraid,” and we recognize that there is nothing mediocre about the sacrificial love that sets the world on fire – or the adventure of a life drawn to God, who accompanies us in so many strange, profound, intimate, and sacramental ways. We may not always recognize this quality of adventure, but whether our vision is free to perceive it or not, the world is charged with His grandeur, and the spiritual battle, with its eternal stakes and its call to heroism, is real and never limited by what the world tells us is big or important or worthy of our attention.

God calls us into the deep not to crush us but to lead us into this adventure and beyond fear – to invite us to trust Him so radically that we allow His love to fill us beyond our capacities, transforming even our limitations into His strength and accomplishing in us what we knew we could not do.

Do not be afraid.  

Those words are for you. They’re for each of us, whether or not we know which way to travel in order to “put out into the deep” at all.

Just know that whenever we find ourselves standing with the disciples, shifting uncertainly before blurting out, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” His answer to us is the same: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:5-6).

Put yourself in His presence and ask Him to lead you. Ask Him to hear the prayer you may or may not have words for. He is the Way, and He will never leave you to venture the deep alone. Follow Him. And lower your nets into the deep you can’t fathom. He will do the rest.

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