Lipscomb University

Lipscomb University was founded in 1891 by David Lipscomb and James A. Harding. The campus grounds consist predominantly of the former estate of David Lipscomb, who donated it to the school. The school was always intended to function as a Christian liberal arts institution. It is still affiliated with the Churches of Christ and a seminary is part of the university.

In an early catalog, the founders expressed their views about providing a liberal education that included Christian underpinning:

We purpose to present in the way of a liberal education as extensive a curriculum as can be found in any school, college, or university in the land, and at the same time to thoroughly drill its students in the Bible, the divine source of wisdom and goodness. It was not our design to make professional preachers, but to train males and females, young and old, all who might become members of the school, for the greatest usefulness in life. Each student is left to choose his own calling.

— James A. Harding, Course Catalog, 1896-97

Several prominent Church of Christ ministers received at least a portion of their higher education here (see Notable alumni below). The university remains thoroughly affiliated in the Churches of Christ: Potential full-time, undergraduate faculty must prove their membership in a Church of Christ before being hired.[7]

Its original name was the Nashville Bible School, which was changed to David Lipscomb College, then to Lipscomb University. Lipscomb graduated its first senior class in 1948, leaving behind the name of junior college forever. In 1954, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted Lipscomb its first accreditation.[8] In 1988, Lipscomb attained Level III (master's degree-granting) status and became known as Lipscomb University.

All full-time, undergraduate students are required to take Bible classes and attend chapel twice a week. (Half of these chapels are now held in the sports facility Allen Arena, and half are "break-out" sessions that are held in multiple places on the same schedule.)[9]

The university operates an on-campus high school and middle school as part of its training of teachers and research programs. The associated elementary school moved to a renovated former public school a few blocks away in 1986. All three form Lipscomb Academy, offering Pre-kindergarten through high school education.

In January 2019, the university launched LipscombLEADS, a $250 million fundraising campaign to fund various improvements to the campus, including new academic buildings, renovations to existing academic and residence buildings, and new programs. Additionally, funds will go to increased financial aid for students and growing the endowment. At the time of announcement, $186 million had already been raised from 42,000 donors.[10]

In September 2020, Lipscomb announced that it would be merging with the Austin Graduate School of Theology in Austin, Texas. The merger would become official in January 2021, with Lipscomb managing all of AGST's affairs and expanding their course offerings.[11]

Presidents

David Lipscomb (1831–1917) co-founded the Nashville Bible School in 1891.

There have been 14 superintendents or presidents of Lipscomb over 18 administrations.

• James A. Harding (1891-1901)
• William Anderson (1901-1905)
• J. S. Ward (1905-1906)
• E. A. Elam (1906-1913)
• J. S. Ward (1913)
• H. Leo Boles (1913-1920)[12]
• A. B. Lipscomb (1920-1921)
• H. S. Lipscomb (1921-1923)
• H. Leo Boles (1923-1932)[12]
• Batsell Baxter (1932-1934)
• E. H. Ijams (1934-1943)[13]
• Batsell Baxter (1943-1946)
• Athens Clay Pullias (1946-1977)
• G. Willard Collins (1977-1986)
• Harold Hazelip (1987-1997)
• Steve Flatt (1997-2005)
• L. Randolph Lowry III (2005–2021)
• Candice McQueen (2021–present)

The Nashville Bible School was co-founded in 1891 by college founders David Lipscomb and James A. Harding. David Lipscomb never served as president, but as chairman of the board of trustees. James A. Harding served as the school's first superintendent.

Lipscomb University was ranked second out of nine colleges in Nashville according University Guru.[17] Lipscomb's liberal arts curriculum includes academic programs in the arts, humanities, education, engineering, business, and sciences. Under the administration of President Lowry, Lipscomb increased the number of its graduate programs from 8 in 2005 to 44 in 2015.

Lipscomb University comprises the following colleges, schools and institutes:

The Allen Bell Tower

Bison Square

The center of the university, known as Bison Square, is located between the Bennett Campus Center and the Willard Collins Alumni Auditorium. The south side of the Bennett Campus Center was converted from a single upstairs and downstairs entry into an amphitheater-style seating area and entryway, as well as having an entirely renovated interior with redesigned seating and lighting that create a more welcoming atmosphere. A full-service Starbucks store has also opened inside the campus center, complete with its own separate entry on both the interior and exterior of the building. The bricked square is traditionally used during warm weather as the location for devotionals, concerts, and other campus activities.

Willard Collins Alumni Auditorium has been completely renovated with new seating, flooring, and audio/video equipment, updating its look from the original design.

Allen Arena, a 5,028-seat multipurpose facility, opened in October 2001 on the site of the old McQuiddy Gymnasium. Part of the McQuiddy Gymnasium still remains between Allen Arena and the Student Activities Center (the SAC), a multi-purpose student activity space with workout facilities, basketball courts, and an indoor track. The SAC offers a variety of workout classes to students, including spin classes on exercise bikes. Yearwood Hall, an older women's dormitory, was torn down for construction of Allen Arena and its accompanying parking garage.

Some academic buildings were built with tax-exempt municipal bonds, and, because Lipscomb is a Christian school, this led to an extended lawsuit on the basis of whether or not a private religious institution is allowed to use public bonds. This case was debated for many years and ultimately made it to the Supreme Court.[19]

The court upheld the decision of the lower court, that, plainly stated, the government could not withhold public bonds based on Lipscomb's religious affiliation. However, one of the stipulations for receiving public funding was that these buildings cannot have religious classes taught in them. For example, no Bible classes are taught in the McFarland Hall of Sciences; however, the rule about excluding Bible classes does not apply to Ward Hall, even though it is attached to McFarland Hall. Construction of Ward was funded through private donations. This decision has allowed other private, religious universities to pursue public funding for capital projects.

Immaculée Ilibagiza (left), survivor of the Rwandan genocide, at the Christian Scholars' Conference in 2012.

Lipscomb University has "a gender distribution of 39% male students and 61% female students . . . . 51% of the students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing and 49% of students live off campus."[20]

Lipscomb does not have fraternities and sororities. Rather, it has social clubs, which are local and unique to Lipscomb University and are not part of any national Greek system. The women's social clubs include Delta Sigma, Delta Omega, Kappa Chi, Pi Delta, Phi Nu, and Phi Sigma. The men's social clubs are Delta Nu, Theta Psi, Sigma Alpha, Sigma Iota Delta, and Tau Phi.[21]

Students participate in Singarama (an annual spring musical variety show), as well as other entertainment, social, and service activities throughout the year. The university also offers membership in other academic, professional, and service clubs including Alpha Kappa Psi International Business Fraternity (Delta Kappa chapter), Sigma Alpha Iota women's music fraternity, Alpha Phi Chi men's service club, Pi Kappa Sigma women's service club, Sigma Pi Beta co-ed service club, Alpha Chi National Honors Society, Sigma Tau Delta National English honor society, Circle K International, College Republicans, and College Democrats.

The Babbler is the defunct student newspaper and was published weekly during the spring and fall semesters. The title of the publication came from Acts 17:18 which in part says "What does this babbler have to say?"[22] The Backlog is the school's yearbook and is published annually. The Lumination Network, the school's converged student media outlet, replaced the weekly Babbler and is tied heavily with the academic program of the Department of Communication and Journalism.[23] "Lumination Network is Lipscomb University’s official student news service."[24] An independent student newsletter, the Lipscomb Underground, provided unfiltered student opinion for the campus.[25] The LU originally ran from 1994 to 2008, resurfacing in 2016, and persisting on Twitter until 2018. The name Lipscomb Underground comes from the musical Les Misérables which in part says "Make for the sewers, go underground!"[26]

An example of the bison painted by students by Collins Alumni Auditorium.

Lipscomb offers a handful of study abroad programs, which the university terms global learning. In the mid-1990s a semester-long, study abroad program in Vienna, Austria, was first offered, and is the flagship trip for the university. Additional study abroad trips include Santiago, Chile; Florence, Italy; and London, United Kingdom. Lipscomb Global Learning announced that beginning in Fall 2019, the Santiago program would end and be replaced with a new program in Heredia, Costa Rica.[27] Several academic departments take short trips to various sites around the world. These trips are usually for fewer than 10 hours credit and a shorter time abroad. The university also partners with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities to offer other trips ranging from 10 days to year-round, thanks to the newly developed programs of 2013. The current head of the global learning department is Michael Winegeart.

Lipscomb Bisons logo

Lipscomb athletic teams are the Bisons. The university is a member of the Division I level of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the ASUN Conference (formerly known as the Atlantic Sun Conference until after the 2015–16 school year) since the 2003–04 academic year. The Bisons previously competed in the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TranSouth or TSAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1996–97 to 2000–01.

Lipscomb competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field (indoor and outdoor); women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field (indoor and outdoor) and volleyball.

• Official website
• Official athletics website

36.1058°N 86.7976°W / 36.1058; -86.7976