BLINK Charging Stations Welcome Electric Vehicles to Belmont
The Curb and Baskin parking garages may soon become a destination for the more than 300 Nissan Leafs in the Nashville area with seven free electric vehicle charging stations being installed on campus this mont
As part of The EV Project, a public-private partnership between ECOtality Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, BLINK Level 2 Wall Mount charging stations are provided without charge to Belmont University. The San Francisco, Calif.-based clean electric transportation company and the federal department are each covering half of BLINK’s costs, which usually retail for $3,000 each plus $400 in shipping and handling fees, said ECOtality Area Manager Stephanie Cox.
“We see this as being the future of fuel conservation,” said Alison McCommons in Belmont’s Office of University Counsel. “If there aren’t a lot of people that drive electric cars, then hopefully having the chargers on campus will encourage them to consider it as an option.”
Eliminating the need for drivers to stop and fuel up at gas stations, BLINK allows electric cars to charge while their drivers are at their destinations. Students and professors can charge their electric vehicles while in class and visitors while they are touring campus. Electric vehicle owners driving through the area also will see the stations appear on navigation units on their dashboard. The charging stations, three on the sixth floor of the Curb Garage and four on level one of the Baskin Garage, are free and open to the public. Read more.
Dr. Bob Fisher greets CRA Manager Luis Parodi and Financial Center Manager Rosa Berger of Fifth Third Bank.
Fifth Third Bank Gives Belmont Community-Building Funds
Fifth Third Bank presented a $15,000 check to the Belmont University Office of Community Relations and and Center for Service Learning on Aug. 9. The money will benefit the neighborhoods surrounding Belmont through student outreach and service projects.
Among the projects was the Next Generation Now Summer Enrichment Program, which hosted some 30 youth, many of them Edgehill residents, in a camp to improve academic achievement, community safety and nutritional health. Belmont senior Gabrielle Hampton was camp director.
Family Literacy Day and the Edgehill’s BEST newsletter, a collaboration between Belmont journalism students and Rose Park Middle School, also will benefit from the donation.
Summer 2012 Commencement Ceremony Tonight
Belmont University will hold its summer 2012 commencement ceremony for graduate and undergraduate students at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 10 in the Curb Event Center.
Belmont will celebrate the graduation of a total of 211 students. During the graduation ceremony, 78 undergraduate, 98 master’s and 35 doctoral degrees will be conferred.
Dr. Robert C. Fisher, president of the University, will preside over the event. Dr. Vaughn May, associate professor of political science, will present the commencement address.
Watch the graduation live at www.Belmont.edu
