LEARNING | GROWTH | SPIRITUAL FORMATION | WELLBEING | COMMUNITY
FORMATION | WELLBEING | COMMUNITY & BELONGING | ENGAGED | COMMUNITY & BELONGING | ENGAGED LEARNING | GROWTH
ENGAGED LEARNING | GROWTH | SPIRITUAL FORMATION |
Forward
TO FLOURISHING
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of
Lebanon.”
—Psalms 92:12
You may not know that when walking through Bison Square at the heart of campus, you are actually walking past some of the original trees that grew on David Lipscomb’s farm.
Even before students at the Nashville Bible School relocated in 1903 to the farm property that became the Lipscomb University campus of today, these ancient trees were spreading their limbs over those who nurtured a dream of Christian education for all.
Today these trees are continuing to grow tall and vibrant despite the ever-changing world around them as buildings come and go, generations of students rush by them late for class, storms blow through the city and today’s students hang lights from their limbs.
Much like the palm trees and cedars mentioned in the Bible, these trees continue to thrive in the midst of change and frequent headwinds. These trees have become a metaphor for what we strive to achieve for students at Lipscomb: a long flourishing life full of wisdom, strength and purpose
This year, we have been intentionally focused on how we can be a thriving institution that instills values and foundations that support a flourishing life for our students. In fact, we have realized that we can learn a great deal from the lives of trees when it comes to charting a path for future growth.
Oak trees, as mighty immovable objects, became the chosen spot for many of the judges of Israel to meet with the people, connecting their wise judgment to the stability of the tree.
Palm trees are unusually adaptable to their environment and are able to persevere through harsh weather conditions.
Cedar trees have so much strength and durability they were used to build the Israelite Temple.
These are many of the same characteristics we at Lipscomb desire to instill within our students and within our community: depth, adaptability, perseverance and strength
In the following pages you will see many of the ways we worked towards that goal in 2024 and ways we are strategically planning to do even more so in the future.
Whether it’s developing new academic programs, re-focusing administrative offices, rejuvenating fun student activities or even warming up my pitching arm for a night with alumni at the Nashville Sounds baseball stadium, we are delivering our best every day to cultivate deep roots of wisdom and faith within the Lipscomb Bison Herd.
It means developing the ability to adapt under challenging conditions, exhibiting grit to persevere and the resilience to thrive, and embodying a depth of character that withstands whatever the world brings.
At Lipscomb, we are passionate about more than just preparing our students for careers—we are devoted to guiding them toward a flourishing life, where our Bisons will find fulfillment for a lifetime. Lipscomb University is the place where the journey to a purposeful and flourishing life begins.
DR. CANDICE Mc QUEEN
Lipscomb University President
LIPSCOMB 2024
Growth Flourishing through
Just as Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God and man as a young man, so also Lipscomb strives to help its students—as well as the institution itself—to grow in crucial ways that lead to flourishing for all. In 2024, through proactive programs and initiatives anchored in its Christ-centered mission, Lipscomb has grown in numbers, grown in influence and grown in impact.
The fall semester brought a record number of incoming new freshmen for the second consecutive year. Firsttime freshman students numbered 718, and 886 total new students joined the Bison Herd, contributing to a total university enrollment of more than 4,600 students.
The 2024 incoming class was selected from the largest pool of applicants the university has ever seen, at a time when institutions across the country projected to be down in enrollment due to the impact of the changes in the federal financial aid process this year.
Higher Education Leader
Various organizations looked to Lipscomb’s leadership in 2024 to host their annual gatherings. Most notably, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission awarded a $100,000 grant for Lipscomb to host higher education institutions from across the state at the Veterans Reconnect
Conference in May 2025. “TN VET Reconnect Conference: A Decade of Growth” will focus on creating and enhancing military-connected student support programming at all types of higher education institutions across Tennessee.
Impact in the Community
While impact may most often be measured by quantity, at Lipscomb we know the most important impact is on the quality of any one individual’s life and soul, and we lived out that truth in 2024 by awarding four Associate of Arts degrees to students in the Lipscomb Initiative for Education (LIFE) Program at Riverbend Maximum Security Institute (RMSI).
The students were the first four graduates of the LIFE program at Riverbend. The traditional commencement ceremony held at the facility culminated nearly a decade of study by the graduates, who were taught face-to-face by the Lipscomb
professors one night a week to earn college credit.
Lipscomb’s impact was also felt in the lives of Tennessee’s National Guard members. The first 13 members of this specialized cohort of the Master of Arts in Leadership and Public Service program for Guard members only graduated in December 2023 after two years of study.
Aimed at enhancing leadership skills among full- or part-time seasoned professionals in the Tennessee Army or Air National Guard, Lipscomb’s partnership was one of six programs nationally awarded in February with the Department of the Army’s 2023 Army Community Partnership Award. Lipscomb and Guard officials traveled to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., to receive the award, and the program continues today with two cohorts studying in Nashville and Knoxville.
Growth in...
Contribution
For more than a decade, student pharmacists have been using their expert knowledge to contribute to the community by training high school students at John Overton High School’s Health Sciences Academy for the pharmacy technician’s exam. In 2024, this partnership between the College of Pharmacy and the Metro Nashville Public Schools’ was awarded the 2024 Academies of Nashville Award and one of eight regional Innovative Programming Awards at the 2024 national American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting & Exposition.
Presidential Signature Series
Lipscomb saw the scope of its impact grow exponentially in late 2023 when the “Dolly Parton and the Makers: My Life in Rhinestones” exhibition drew 8,000 visitors from all over the world to campus and local and national media brought the news to more than a billion viewers all over the globe. Dolly Parton herself visited campus to open the exhibit, which included 27 of the global superstar’s outfits from throughout her storied career.
The inaugural year of the Presidential Signature Series also included a pivotal community event honoring the legacies of Marshall Keeble, a premier evangelist in the history of the churches of Christ, and Fred D. Gray, famed civil rights era attorney from Alabama. The Carroll B. Ellis Symposium, held by the College of Bible & Ministry, brought Bible scholars, students and ministers to campus to explore the life and ministry of Keeble. The corresponding Fred Gray Dinner held by the College of Leadership & Public Service featured a special tribute performance of No Small Endeavor focused on Gray’s impact on society.
In 2024, the series continued to build on its success with Illuminate: Living with Purpose in October. The one-day conference hosted by the Center for Vocational Discovery and the College of Business, explored discovering purpose at the intersection of faith and work with three nationally known keynote speakers authors David Kinnaman, Jordan Raynor and Amy L. Sherman, discipline-specific breakout sessions and a performance of No Small Endeavor which featured former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who also received the inaugural Illuminate Award at the event.
Other 2024 events in the series included talks by other nationally known leaders including Sandra Richter at the McClure Lecture on Faith and Science, Dan Heath at the Don R. Elliott Distinguished Presidential Lecture and New York Times columnist David French (BA ’91) at the Landiss Lecture.
Dolly Parton and the Makers
Illuminate: Living with Purpose
Fred Gray Dinner
Inaugural Illuminate Award
Admissions
4,823 1,270 26.5 States Nations 50* 44
6,100 Undergraduate Graduate Academy 3,004 1,651 1,445 Fall 2024 Applicants Average SAT Score Average ACT Score
Students
783
Employees
22
491
280+ 98%
292 Areas of Study Job Placement Rate
Academics
8
Accreditations (The latest in Master of Health Administration) ASUN AllAcademic Trophy wins since 2014 Degrees and Certificates Awarded in 2023-24
1,587 Research Degrees Awarded in 2023-24 Grants Received in 2023-24
36 $7.1m
*For the first time in recent memory, Lipscomb has enrolled students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the two U.S. territories.
ACADEMICS Engaged Learning Flourishing through
Look at any definition of flourishing, and it will include a component of engagement. In higher education, learning should not be the acquisition of knowledge skills only, but instead should be a process engaging curiosity, excitement, critical thinking and discovery, in community with others, for a lifetime. 2024 was a year of major milestones in reinforcing and enhancing Lipscomb’s focus on that kind of engaged learning, one of college students’ primary entry points to a flourishing life today and tomorrow.
The year 2024 brought the faculty approval of the Lipscomb Core, the university’s new framework to implement a rigorous Christian liberal arts education. Superseding the general education curriculum required for all underclassmen, the Lipscomb Core will strive to guide all students to seek, discover, know and flourish through a set of common courses and common academic themes.
Lipscomb Core courses, including a first-year seminar called Compass, will be implemented in fall 2025.
Enhancing Student Success
Focused on enhancing student success in life and work, required common courses in the new curriculum will teach the foundations of philosophy, scientific practice, artistic intelligence and the power of words. Other courses will involve themes targeted to students’ individual academic journeys, such as social inquiry, quantitative reasoning, Christianity and society, and diverse perspectives.
The Lipscomb Core will be supported by the Lipscomb Learning
Commons, a realignment of five key academic success support services that kicked off this fall: the Coggin Family Academic Success Center, the Career Development Center, Beaman Library, the Office for Accessibility and Learning Supports, and the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Through collaborative goals and initiatives, and convenient adjacent locations on campus, the Lipscomb Learning Commons is intended to ensure more students take advantage of its beneficial services such as tutors, writing coaches, job interview seminars, learning supports and written and digital resources, thus enhancing student academic success and professional connections to help them establish their career.
Focus on Research
One of the hallmarks of engaged learning is hands-on research. Throughout 2024, the Provost’s Office worked to promote and expand research at the undergraduate level through Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). In this research
model, research and creative inquiry are embedded into the course curriculum, allowing students on a broader scale to be introduced to and to carry out research.
The mentor-mentee research model of research education often excludes younger students who lack the confidence or awareness to proactively seek out those research opportunities. Entry into a CURE requires only that undergraduate students enroll in the course, thus exposing many more students to application of the scientific method, earlier in their college careers.
At the same time, Lipscomb’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and its partner alumni affinity group the J.S. Ward Society also enhanced the opportunities for students interested in medical school to carry out oneon-one, hands-on research through its expansion of the Ward Fellows program, providing 10 summer research fellowships at Lipscomb, Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical School labs.
2023 Medical School Acceptance Rate (National Average: 46%)
Critical Thinking Growth in...
A team of six engineering students placed third at the international RoboCup competition, which drew 2,500 participants from more than 40 countries. The teams’ robots compete in playing soccer, work in the home, tasks at work, rescue missions and more. Lipscomb’s team placed third, competing against 18 other teams in the Autonomous Robotics Manipulation (ARM) challenge.
Relishing Accomplishments Flourishing through
Student Honors
NBCC Foundation’s 2024
Supplemental Minority Fellowship for Addictions Counselors
Virginia Victorio (MS candidate)
TVA Investment Competition
Natalie Bickensderder (senior) and Henry Wolfe (senior) presented the work of 56 finance students, first place
TCU Values and Ventures®
Lila Mae Skidmore (junior) and Anna Belle Skidmore (BA ’24), placed in the top 10 nationally
American Marketing Association’s International Collegiate Conference
Design Marketing Lab Student Team, first place
International Collegiate Programming Contest Regional Competition
Jeremy Allison (junior), Adham Alammuri (junior) and Andre Arriaran (senior), the best of three student teams ranked 30th out of 81 teams
American Pharmacists AssociationAcademy of Student Pharmacists
Best Chapter Award, first place in the Back the PAC competition and national runner-up for Operation Immunization
American Society of Civil Engineers’ Mid-South Student Symposium
Concrete Canoe Student Team, first place overall
35th Annual First Night Awards
Ten awards in the Most Promising Actor
and Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play categories.
Southern Literary Festival
Kearra Weiting (BA ’24), first place in creative nonfiction, and Abigail McQueen (senior), first place in formal essay
International Trumpet Guild Competition
Vincent Reed (BA ’24), one of 11 musicians selected out of 90 performances worldwide
Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards
The Herd Media staff, winner in Best All-Around Television News Magazine
8 Phi Beta Kappa Transfer Honor Roll Years on the
In the top
50 Poets&Quants for Undergrads Best Undergrad Business Schools 2024 (8th consecutive year)
#13
Niche.com Best Christian Colleges in America
Niche.com Top 5 in the State
• Business
• Biology
• Accounting & Finance
• Athletics
• Education
• English
• Psychology
• Political Science
#13
$1.95m Research Expenditures 2023-24
Character Development and Student Satisfaction in the Wall Street Journal’s 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S. survey In the top
12
Recognized as one of the most effective teacher preparation programs in Tennessee by the 2023 Teacher Preparation Report Card.
9
U.S. News and World Reports rankings in:
• Best National Universities
• Business Undergraduate
• Engineering
• Nursing
• Top Performer on Social Mobility
• Business Graduate
• Education Graduate
• Part-time MBA
• Pharmacy
2024 Animation Career Review
Top Bachelor of Arts in Animation Programs in the U.S.
Class of 2023* School of Nursing First-time pass rate on the licensing exam *May and December classes
Discovery Flourishing through
Research brings undeniable global benefits to humankind, but it also molds those carrying out the research in ways enhancing their own lives and careers. Conducting research not only teaches strategic thinking and critical analysis, but it builds confidence and independence in the next generation as they move through the process of seeking, discovering and knowing, forward to flourishing.
Thanks to a partnership with a nationwide contract research organization called Inotiv, Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy students now have broader career pathways open to them.
Inotiv, which provides products and services focused on bringing new drugs and medical devices through the discovery and preclinical phases of development, now operates its Nashville location out of 3,000 renovated square feet in Lipscomb’s Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center.
Through a five-year partnership established in December 2023, Lipscomb draws on the expertise of Inotiv’s research scientists to provide one-on-one, real-world industry research experience for students in the university’s new Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences degree, designed to prepare students to continue on to a Ph.D. in pharmacology or to go directly into the pharmaceutical industry workforce as research scientists.
New Academic Programs
In 2024, Lipscomb launched four new degree programs, all intentionally designed to meet specific needs in today’s ever-evolving marketplace.
These graduate- and undergraduatelevel programs were constructed to fill the knowledge and skills gaps in market areas in demand today: a Master of Science in Applied Artificial Intelligence, Master of Science in Sport Analytics, stackable graduate certificates in Entertainment, Design and Creative Enterprise, and an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
In addition to creating new paths of discovery, the university also celebrated the Master of Health Administration’s initial accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, making it the first and only program in Nashville to receive this prestigious recognition.
Distinguished Professorships
In 2024, the Lipscomb University contributors have established three new distinguished professorships, fully funded faculty positions that enable the university to expand its academic offerings, enhance student engagement in critical societal issues and serve as a national leader in civil education and discourse.
The three new professorships are:
The Bill and Crissy Haslam Endowed Distinguished Visiting Professor of Faith and Reason, established to foster a deeper understanding and integration of faith and reason in academic and public life. A search is ongoing to fill this position.
The Turner Family Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Policy, established to attract the nation’s top thought leaders and experts to advance civic education and engage students and the community in thoughtful discourse at the intersection of faith, citizenship and public life. This role is filled by David French in Lipscomb’s College of Leadership & Public Service.
The Dr. Kenneth Terry Koonce Distinguished Professor of Bible and Ministry, established to promote high quality theological research and training and enhance the preparation of students with an interest in ministering to the needs of all kinds of people. This role is filled by Alden Bass, formerly of Oklahoma Christian University.
Growth in...
Curiosity
A research collaboration between Beaman Library and the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry to chemically test Victorian-era books in Lipscomb’s collections for potentially harmful toxins in the cover dyes made headlines around the world in August, when Assistant Professor of Chemistry Joseph Weinstein-Webb and three students and alumni presented their work at the American Chemistry Society.
SPIRITUAL FORMATION
Spiritual Growth Flourishing through
At Lipscomb, the meaning of a flourishing life is fueled by a healthy spiritual life. Students are offered a myriad of ways to grow in their relationship with God, in conviction and confidence, in vocation and purpose and to learn ways to meet the needs of the world around them. It’s an educational experience that is about more than information upload, but about whole person formation.
The 2024-25 school year dawned with Lipscomb’s leaders more informed than ever before in regards to students’ spiritual needs, expectations and desires thanks to a spiritual formation survey administered to freshmen and seniors in the spring.
Designed to measure factors that contribute to students’ spiritual growth and improvements they would see as valuable, the survey will be administered each year to provide research-based insight for future development of Lipscomb’s spiritual formation programs.
The 2024 survey reinforced the importance of Lipscomb’s Christcentered mission as the vast majority of freshmen surveyed said that the opportunity to grow spiritually was a factor in their decision to attend at Lipscomb. In addition, a majority of the seniors reported that their faith has grown since coming to the university.
As an affirmation of the importance of spiritual life to the Lipscomb campus, responsibility for carrying out spiritual formation programs was elevated to the
dean’s level this year. Brent Roe-Hall, formerly assistant dean of vocation and spiritual formation was named Lipscomb’s first dean of spiritual formation
Deep and Wide Opportunities
As part of a strategic framework to enhance student flourishing, the spiritual formation staff will focus intentional investment over the next four years on providing both deep and wide opportunities for students, said Roe-Hall.
First the university will work to develop a wide variety of ways to expose students to spiritual life, such as The Gathering, frequent worship opportunities, service projects and breakout chapels offering a bevy of focus areas, among other programs.
At the same time, spiritual formation staff will work to develop ways for students to deepen their faith beyond simply attending such events and to develop a rooted faith through spiritual disciplines such as Bible study with
Christian role models and others with similar interests, one-on-one mentoring, enhancing their prayer life and nurturing relationships with Bible faculty.
Throughout this year, the office developed a framework for guiding the development of spiritual formation programs in the future. The framework is based on Mark 12: 30-31: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Over the next few years, the university will work to spiritually form students’ through their relationships with God (heart), spiritual formation (soul), faith development (mind), vocation and purpose (strength), and service and community (love for their neighbor).
87%
of freshmen feel a sense of belonging at Lipscomb.
Impactful Spiritual Programming Freshmen and seniors say...
The top five most impactful spiritual life opportunities are:
• Bible classes
• Chapel
• Worship events
• Spiritual relationships with students and faculty
• Bible studies and small groups
Knowing Growth in...
Fall 2024 brought a new tradition to the Bison Herd. During QuestWeek, the university’s one-week orientation program, following the annual family worship service where traditionally students say goodbye to their parents and embark on their journey at Lipscomb, each new freshman student received a purple Lipscomb Bible, funded through a generous anonymous donor.
Spiritual Life Programming
The spiritual formation survey revealed that this is a time when students are looking to attend and are excited about the programming in The Gathering, Lipscomb’s weekly undergraduate chapel service. Themes for the year were The Beatitudes and The Parables of Jesus.
Guest speakers included New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury; Darwin Mason Jr. from Hillsboro Church of Christ in Nashville; Emily Chapman Richards, former executive director of Show Hope and daughter of Stephen Curtis Chapman; and Eric Gentry from Highland Church of Christ Memphis. Musical inspiration came from Grammy-winning duo For King & Country, and renowned worship leaders Christy and Nathan Nockels. Some of the most special moments came from student speakers, worship leaders and musical groups.
Thursdays offer more than 50 breakout chapel opportunities focused specifically on academic disciplines, student organizations or topics. In 2024 two new breakout chapels were developed: a student-led breakout that offered an opportunity to conduct or learn about service each week and a second breakout exploring the intersection of faith and scientific inquiry for science majors.
Other opportunities to develop spiritually on campus included worship nights led by students, prayer gatherings for significant local and global events, Holy Week activities, a campus-wide Good Friday service, a 40-hour silent retreat, a library of resources on spiritual practices and various service opportunities.
Center for Vocational Discovery
The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) awarded Lipscomb a $12,000 grant to assist in expanding the programming of the Center for Vocational Discovery (CVD) by developing a senior capstone course called Virtue, Flourishing and Vocation.
80%
of seniors said the chance to grow spiritually played a role in their decision to attend Lipscomb.
This course is intended to serve as a capstone for the Lipscomb Core general education curriculum to debut in fall 2025 (see page 6). Virtue, Flourishing and Vocation, through discipline-specific sections, will consider how one’s career can be rooted in and informed by Christian virtue and human flourishing with a focus on vocation and ethics.
The funding from NetVUE, supported by Lilly Endowment Inc., will provide training to equip the teaching faculty for these courses in vocational exploration and development of the common curriculum.
Christian Scholars’ Conference
In June, Lipscomb served as the primary host for the Christian Scholars’ Conference, an annual interdisciplinary gathering intended to facilitate interaction and discussion of theological issues amongst all academic disciplines.
95%
of freshmen said they are actively pursuing faith.
Featuring sessions in the arts, the sciences, business, sociology and the humanities, as well as theological areas, the conference was attended by hundreds of scholars to explore the theme “Hope Amidst Crises: Challenges, Opportunities and Collaborations.”
The conference addressed contemporary societal concerns through a slate of nationally recognized experts and scholars as keynote speakers and featured lecturers including N.T. Wright, Jonathan Brant and Charlie Styles, all from the University of Oxford; Mark Lanier (BA ’81), founder of the Lanier Theological Library; and David French (BA ’91), New York Times columnist, former litigator, author.
These speakers, and more then 80 other speakers, conveners and coordinators, explored questions surrounding trust of America’s institutions and division in church and academia as a symptom of today’s culture.
Exploring the Intersection of Faith and Science
Dr. Josh A. Owens (BS ’16), assistant professor and undergraduate research coordinator in the biology department, was awarded a Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities grant in 2023 to lead a three-university initiative to address the perception among GenZ students that Christianity is inherently at odds with scientific principles.
The grant supports the efforts of Owens, Dr. John Lewis (A ’00), the Lipscomb McClure Professor of Faith and Science, and Josh Reeves, director of the Samford Center for Science and Religion, to create a survey for Lipscomb, Samford and Belmont University students analyzing their views on faith and science.
In the 2024-25 school year, the survey results will inform the design of curriculum models to aid the universities’ courses to better discuss the relationship of science, Christian faith and Biblical truth. This academic effort is one of the few such studies to be conducted in the Southeast region of the U.S.
Growth in...
Purpose
The Center for Vocational Discovery launched the inaugural cohort of its Pathfinder Program, an opportunity for freshmen and new transfer students who desire to more deeply explore, with a community of students, the themes and experiences offered by the center. Twentythree freshmen and transfer students were selected for the program. These students will engage with the program requirements and serve as CVD ambassadors. They will also be providing feedback and sharing ideas in reflection sessions and regular meetings.
STUDENTS Relationships Flourishing through
At Lipscomb, we are passionate about preparing our students not just for careers but for a life filled with growth, engagement, contribution and fulfillment. Time and again, research shows that building strong relationships is a core piece of developing and living out a flourishing life. This past year brought significant strides in ensuring that from the moment new Bisons set foot on campus, they will be nurtured through close, caring relationships with everyone in the campus community.
Key advancements in 2024 have laid the groundwork for a four-year framework to bolster and enhance student flourishing at Lipscomb. Through collaboration of the Office of Student Life, the Provost’s Office, the Academic Success Center, Spiritual Formation and the Center for Vocational Discovery (CVD), a robust student success model has been developed, built on a few foundational programs.
Focus on Wellbeing
By establishing and bolstering new partnerships and alignments, the Office of Student Success and Wellbeing began the 2024-25 school year with an initial launch of a holistic, comprehensive FirstYear Experience for our firsttime freshmen students. Relevant departments are working to connect various freshman experiences through consistent language and aligned themes, with the goal that all new Lipscomb Bisons should receive consistent messaging and encouragement throughout their first year of college.
Student Success and Wellbeing is taking the lead on organizing and
strengthening collaborative student care programs and support, such as retention activities; the Campus Assessment Response and Evaluation Team (C.A.R.E.); the Mental Health Task Force; and student leader training. This office is striving to better ensure that students are engaged with the information and resources they need at the right time with the right resources to ensure holistic wellbeing and success.
Emphasizing Relationships
A major component of student success on a college campus is fun, and Lipscomb brought the cheer in 2024 with several new and revived shared student experiences on campus. Athletic events in 2024 were spurred on by the truly fanatic Lippy Lunatics student fan organization and The Bison Pep Band, led by Ronda DePriest. Other rejuvenated student activities this year included the Brickyard Basketball tournament and pre-ballgame tailgate events. Landon Parrish (LA ’07, BS ’11, MBA ’20), was appointed to a new position, assistant dean of student engagement, to keep the momentum going.
In a move to maximize the relational aspect of academic advising, the 2024 incoming freshmen are now being advised by a team of seven centralized academic success coaches, who not only guide students through their initial academic course choices but also stick with the students throughout their college careers and connect them to academic supports and student life options when needed.
Moving the degree-planning function to the professional advisers, opens up faculty’s time to act as true career development mentors to students, building a solid relationship where they can discuss professional connections, internships, shadowing or additional mentor options.
Mentorship is a proven way to build a sense of belonging in today’s students. Therefore, in addition to boosting the mentorship capacity of faculty, the Office of Student Life is working to support and uplift the ongoing mentoring dispersed throughout campus by developing a centralized Mentoring Resource Center to provide resources and nurture new mentoring relationships.
Record first-time freshmen in fall 2024
Life PassionsGrowth in...
The
was a day filled with concerts, film screenings, fashion exhibitions and arts activities in
The artistic work of students in music, visual art, film and business were enjoyed alongside local headlining musical artists.
inaugural Wild Bison Festival, produced by alumni musical artists The Arcadian Wild and the George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts,
Bison Square.
STUDENTS
Student Engagement
In continual efforts to elevate the Lipscomb student experience, a major goal of the Impact 360 strategic plan, the Office of Student Life was restructured in 2024 to better focus the talents and expertise of the student life staff on crucial aspects of student engagement and health.
In January, the university’s student community-building roles were rebranded as Student Engagement with Candace Williams (MA ’20), previously director of community life, appointed as dean of student engagement. A new role of assistant dean of student engagement was created in February and filled by Parrish.
In recognition of the growth of Lipscomb’s commuter student
population, a new role was created for commuter student services, filled by Heleena Kabtimar (BBA ’22). In fall 2024, Lipscomb’s student population includes more commuter students than non-commuter students for the first time, making this role of particular importance.
The coordinator role supports commuter students with customized opportunities, resources and events, and advises the Commuter Council, a group of seven students who represent commuter voices on campus.
A Holistic Approach
As wellbeing is a crucial part of student flourishing on campus, the role of dean of student wellbeing, filled by Dannie Woods (BS ’10) for the last six years, was expanded to become dean of
student success and wellbeing, focused on promoting the holistic development of students from the first moment they step on campus throughout their entire Lipscomb experience.
In addition, Laura Thorson (MS ’20), was promoted to the new position of director of student care, the point person for all C.A.R.E. team referrals. A new position was created to focus on the First Year Experience, working to promote cohesion and alignment within various programs such as summer’s New Student Orientation, the onboarding period for new students called QuestWeek, the Lipscomb Experience freshman seminar courses, freshman chapel, CVD offerings and more, to ensure the transition process is coordinated towards promoting the
holistic success and wellbeing of students. Hannah Gill now serves in that position as the assistant director of first year programs. Finally, a new director of Intercultural Development and International Student Services was hired. Betania Torres brings great experience in administrative leadership as former director of international services and enrollment at Southeastern University in Florida for almost eight years in addition to roles in Southeastern’s Hispanic Leadership Center and admissions since 2009.
New Pavilion
Lipscomb students are no strangers to the outdoors as they can often be found listening to a class, studying, practicing, playing or just hanging out (literally) under the trees on Bison Square. By this spring, they will have a new outdoors locale, an open-air pavilion located in the area between Fanning Residence Hall and Collins Alumni Auditorium. With its own seating and a fireplace, the pavilion, provided through the generosity of Board of Trustees Chair Dick Cowart and his wife Becky, is the perfect spot for student club gatherings, study groups or simply relaxing and roasting marshmallows.
Unity Growth in...
Janeyah Anderson, senior from Hendersonville, became the first female African American student body president in 2023 and continued in the role for the 2024-25 school year. Anderson is a law, justice and society major who is also one of Lipscomb’s Fred D. Gray Scholars.
Fulfillment Flourishing through
Lipscomb’s student athletes fulfilled expectations and more this past year as they lived up to their motto: Highest level. Higher Calling. With a Christ-focused vision that stretches far beyond the field, Lipscomb’s Bisons not only achieved new heights within ASUN conference competition this year but also continued their sustained excellence in academics and spiritual growth as well.
Lipscomb’s 20th year since it began competing in NCAA D1 was a year of stellar athletic performance, with six team or individual appearances in NCAA tournaments, a one-of-a-kind performance in the 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) Super Draft and the 2024 Paralympic Games, and a clean sweep of the ASUN conference AllSports trophies.
For the first time in its history, Lipscomb Athletics swept all three of the 2023-24 ASUN Conference AllSports Awards: the Bill Bibb All-Sports
Trophy, the Jesse C. Fletcher Men’s All-Sports Trophy and the Sherman Day Women’s All-Sports Trophy.
These trophies are awarded to the ASUN institution with the top overall performance in 18 of the league’s 22 championships within the current academic year.
Lipscomb Athletics earned the three All-Sports trophies through outstanding performances in these programs: men’s and women’s golf, women’s cross country, women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, women’s and men’s
indoor track and field, and men’s and women’s basketball.
Programs that competed in 2023-24 NCAA regionals or nationals were: Women’s cross country, which capped off a historic season in November 2023 by finishing 11th out of 31 teams at the NCAA D1 Women’ Cross Country Championships. The team made ASUN history with the best finish and the lowest score by a women’s cross country team at the nationals.
The men’s soccer team earned its third consecutive ASUN regular season title and ASUN Championship title, which took the team to the NCAA national tournament, where they ended their season 10-4-4.
Women’s soccer won its 2023-24 ASUN championship after setting a new program record high for wins in the regular season with 14.
For the first time in program history, the men’s golf team won the 2024 ASUN Championship in April, proceeding to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional in May, where they finished in 10th place.
Senior Lauren Thompson earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Auburn
Regional as an individual medalist in women’s golf.
Ending the 2023-24 athletic season, men’s and women’s track and field sent a record 11 student athletes to the 2024 NCAA East Preliminary in May.
In addition, Lipscomb also was honored with five ASUN Coach of the Year Awards in the 2023-24 season: Jamie Aid, women’s tennis; Will Brewer (BS ’77), men’s golf; Charles Morrow (BS ’97), men’s soccer; Kevin O’Brien, women’s soccer; and Nick Polk (MBA ’23), women’s cross country. Aislinn McElhaney (MBA ’24), who finished 18th in the field in the long jump at the NCAA Nationals, also qualified for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in June.
McElhaney was also honored as the ASUN Women’s Most Outstanding Field Athlete in indoor track and field this past spring.
Bisons in the MLS
In a first for not only Lipscomb, but also for the ASUN Conference, two student athletes were selected within the first 10 picks for the 2024 MLS Super Draft. Forward Tyrese Spicer, junior, was tapped by Toronto FC as the first overall draft pick, and forward Malachi Jones, junior, was taken at No. 8 overall by New York FC.
Lipscomb made history as the only school with two top-10 selections in the 2024 draft, and Spicer’s pick was the ASUN conference’s first No. 1 draft pick and Lipscomb’s first-ever MLS selection.
Growth in...
Perseverance
For senior Liza Corso, running isn’t just a sport—it’s a journey of self-discovery. The 1,500-meter runner with a visual impairment is a two-time medalist at the Paralympic Games, having won a silver medal in the 2020 games in Tokyo, Japan immediately upon joining Lipscomb’s cross country and track and field teams, and now having won a bronze at the 2024 games in Paris. For the Lipscomb Bisons, she has qualified to compete at the NCAA nationals in track or cross country for three consecutive years.
Aislinn McElhaney
Tyrese Spicer
COMMUNITY Connection Flourishing through
Flourishing takes place best within a community, with roots intertwined and each individual full of a sense of belonging. From nurturing a close-knit on-campus community to building enhanced connections among our alumni scattered across the nation, Lipscomb has worked this year to build an engaged community, one excited to invest in the future and motivated to influence our surrounding neighborhood and city for the better.
Lipscomb’s very being is defined by the members of its community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, contributors and community partners. Each and every one brings value to Lipscomb, and this year the university has invested in each and every member.
As part of the Impact 360 strategic plan, several initiatives designed to enhance faculty and staff welfare, professional development and spiritual ties took root this year.
Many such effort have already found some success, as the 2024 Great Colleges to Work For® survey showed improved scores in all its categories and Lipscomb was selected to be highlighted in two categories: mission and pride and supervisor/department chair effectiveness.
Building a Community of Faith
A new employee orientation titled, Spiritual Heritage and Christcentered Mission, was held in August, a first-time initiative to discuss Lipscomb University’s Church of
Christ heritage, its history and how that impacts each new employee’s vocational journey at the university. Participants also had a chance to explore how we keep to our mission, how they can participate fully and how their work contributes to God’s work in the world.
In addition, a Faith and Learning Program for faculty was developed by the Center for Teaching and Learning that focuses on teaching as an expression of faith. A fall orientation, monthly sessions and a year-end retreat, all focusing on faith and learning integration, were developed for all new faculty. In 2023-24, the program was expanded to include an additional seminar series for all existing faculty.
A Healthy Work Environment
For all employees, a new leadership development program was launched: Gaining Responsibility Opens Opportunities for Wisdom (GROW). The GROW program acknowledges that for the Lipscomb community to flourish, leaders must be constantly
growing, identifying and developing their leadership mindsets and skills. GROW provides training and coaching opportunities in in-person and online options throughout the year within a specified set of learning categories: knowing self, improving self and leading others.
Students were not left out of leadership opportunities on campus in 2024. This August the new Scholars Program was launched for incoming freshmen, offering them unique learning opportunities with a focus on professional development, mentorship opportunities with university deans and administrators and faith-centered, academic programming.
Three competitive scholars programs are now offering the programs’ blend of academic rigor, real-world experience and tools to fuel personal growth: seven students were selected for the Leadership Scholars Program, seven were selected for the College of Business’ Swang Scholars Program and 10 were selected for the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Scholars Program.
20.9%
Increase in Bisons Weekend attendance in 2023
Belonging Growth in...
Thanks to a three-year, $300,000 Tennessee Believes Grant from the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Lipscomb’s IDEAL program (Igniting the Dream of Education and Access at Lipscomb) launched in 2024 a new advanced four-year experience for students with intellectual disabilities. The Advanced Certificate program, allows students who have completed the twoyear Certificate of Career Exploration to continue classes while living on or off campus and working a paid job.
Strengthening Connections
Nationwide
2024 was a banner year for the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement which boosted personal connections within the Bison Herd to levels not seen in recent memory and in locations across the nation.
Throughout the 2023-24 school year and into summer 2024, the office hosted 70 engagement events with an attendance of 3,123.
Alumni breakfasts held at high schools in Tennessee were increased from 12 to 16, and a second Lipscomb Legacy event was added, with 103 guests attending the on-campus luncheon held in April.
The Lipscomb fans turned out in droves to February’s Nashville Predators rivalry night, besting Belmont University by 157 fans at the Bridgestone Arena,
and a record attendance of 560 showed up for the annual Nashville Sounds night at First Horizon Park in July. Lipscomb alumni also attended a Huntsville City FC match in Huntsville, Alabama, in July, and social club get-togethers were held in the Allen Arena President’s Suite during Bison basketball games throughout the year.
Parent Relationships
The parent engagement program also enhanced relationships among students’ parents, alumni and students through additional Summer Send-Off events for incoming freshmen held in new locations in Chicago, Memphis and Atlanta, and attendance among all eight such events increased in 2024.
The Parent Leadership Council, launched in 2023, now includes 10 couples and is continuing to grow. The council meets twice a year, and parents
are involved in the program’s annual events including the Summer Send-Offs and hosting snack and refreshment tents on move-in days in the heat of August. Parents also gather online each month for the Parent Prayer Zoom to pray together while Lipscomb’s students are worshiping at The Gathering.
Singarama 2024 in March boasted two alumni events. As the performance included an homage to the Delta NaNaNa ’50s-style rock concerts of the 1970s, the Delta Nu social club hosted a dinner for the original members of the Delta NaNaNa band. The parent program also hosted a dinner featuring behind-the-scenes information and history of Singarama for parents of the current generation.
Strengthening The Herd
Bisons Weekend, Lipscomb’s premier event for alumni and students’ families,
celebrated a 20.9% increase in attendance at the November 2023 event. The Bisons Weekend men’s basketball game enjoyed the highest fan attendance yet, with 446 registered attendees in the stands. The Bison Square Fair, with a myriad of club and involvement buttons available to collect and student performances on the steps of Collins Alumni Auditorium, as well as the annual student parade, with a new format using golf carts, have become go-to events for Lipscomb alumni and fans.
In other firsts for the Office of Alumni Relations, the Lipscomb Black Alumni Council enjoyed its first year under a new chair, April Terry (BA ’15, MM ’16), installed in November 2023. The group hosted its traditional event during Bisons Weekend 2024 and have added four new members to the board this year.
Finally, graduating seniors from the Class of 2024 enjoyed the annual Senior Send-Off celebration in May that featured food, fun and free alumni T-shirts, and multiple alumni listening sessions were held with President Candice McQueen (BS ’96) to discuss student flourishing, the Lipscomb Core academic curriculum and the alumni magazine Lipscomb Now.
Growth in...
Empowerment
Alumnus Shawna Mann (BA ’23), a native of Deltona, Florida, and the communications coordinator and video content creator for the Frist Art Museum in Nashville, was selected as the second recipient of Lipscomb’s Next Generation Faculty Fellowship, a program to foster a more robust representation of faculty and administration from underrepresented groups at Lipscomb.
A Devoted Community of Investors
The Lipscomb community of supporters and contributors came together in a big way in 2024, growing Lipscomb’s endowment by $16.8 million by the end of fiscal year 2024 and contributing in a myriad of ways that support the university’s overall strategic goals: supporting academic programs, student scholarships, world-class teachers and scholars, and state-of-the-art facilities. The employees themselves set the standard for active involvement in the 2023-24 school year with an unparalleled 96% participation rate in the Employee Impact Campaign that raised $622,000.
Both individual donors and groups of contributors stepped up in 2024 to support important academic improvements. In May, the university opened the Coggin Family Academic Success Center, a crucial component in the university’s enhanced student success model. The center was funded by the Coggin Family Foundation, which has deep roots at Lipscomb.
Gerald Coggin (BA ’73) has served on Lipscomb’s board for 21 years and his wife, Joanne Adams Coggin (BS ’73) is
a long-time champion of the Associated Women for Lipscomb chapter in Rutherford County.
Randy and Carolyn Wright made generous gifts to sustain and enhance rigorous academics in the university’s biology department and in Lipscomb Academy’s fine arts department. Such gifts targeted to specific academic programs ensure learning experiences that imbue students with character and competence.
Supporting Our Students
One of the primary goals of the Impact 360 strategic plan is to boost the number of endowed student scholarships, funds that not only provide students with the opportunity to become the best version of themselves, but also allow contributors to honor their own families and legacy of Christian generosity.
Among the endowed student scholarships established or implemented in 2024 was the Kelley Family endowed scholarship, established by the Kelley Family Christian Charitable Foundation, honoring a commitment to higher education and dedication to faith that continues through three generations of the Kelley family. The scholarships will
be awarded annually to undergraduate students in the College of Bible & Ministry.
In the College of Business, the Ray Eldridge Business Encouragement Scholarship, established in honor of the COB dean from the past decade, achieved endowment status thanks to gifts from Jody Venkatesan and his wife, Louise and other members of the College of Business Dean’s Board. This scholarship provides financial assistance to undergraduate students pursuing degrees within the College of Business.
Investing in Academics
Faculty are the primary keepers of our rigorous academic standards and the high-touch transformative experiences for which Lipscomb is known. Our goal is to heavily invest in the academic community, in a way that allows us to attract and retain the top-quality faculty needed to both achieve top-tier status and serve our students better. Great headway was made on this goal in 2024 with three new distinguished faculty positions.
A generous gift from the Bill and Crissy Haslam Foundation established the distinguished visiting professor of
faith and reason, as a testament to the legacy of former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and his wife, Crissy, recognizing their influential leadership shaped by faith and reason. The purpose of the endowed professorship is to attract the nation’s top thought leaders and scholars to Lipscomb, engaging students, the city of Nashville and the state of Tennessee at the intersection of faith and reason through a Christ-centered worldview.
The James Stephen Turner Family Foundation established the distinguished professorship in public policy for the purpose of attracting the nation’s top thought leaders and experts, thus enabling Lipscomb to expand its academic offerings, enhance student engagement in critical societal issues and serve as a national leader in civil education and discourse. This gift will help Lipscomb prepare students who are informed and engaged citizens, moving forward equipped to contribute to society through respectful and meaningful participation in the democratic process
Lipscomb Board of Trustee member
Dr. Terry Koonce funded in perpetuity the distinguished professor of Bible and ministry, a full-time faculty member in the College of Bible & Ministry who will teach undergraduate and graduate courses among other scholarly activities. Koonce, who had a distinguished career of more than 40 years in various leadership positions with ExxonMobil Corporation and ExxonMobil Production Company, has supported biblical and theological scholarship in various ways for many decades.
Enhancing our Living Community
Well-maintained and modern facilities allows Lipscomb to not only attract top-tier students, but to also establish a positive campus culture and sense of pride and community. Sue Nokes, who serves on the Board of Trustees and the College of Business Dean’s Board, funded the purchase of four new video scoreboards for Allen Arena in honor of her mother, Vivian Nokes, who played basketball in high school. Investment
Raised $2.8 million
Record-breaking year 3rd 4,320 Donors Participated Giving Day 2024
A GENERATION THAT GROWS IN WISDOM, STATURE AND IN FAVOR WITH GOD AND MAN
Before occupying the president’s office at Lipscomb, I spent my days in many a classroom, teaching children of all ages and then later serving on the faculty at Lipscomb, so I know well the crucial role college faculty have in the lives of young adults.
Students absolutely need the intellectual capacity, instruction and skills that faculty offer them as they work to build out their talents to be strong professionals in whatever field they plan to pursue.
The faculty-student relationship reminds me of another young man who sought out conversation with scholars so that He “could be about His Father’s business.” I’m speaking of course of Jesus, who sat among the scholars in the Temple fervently asking questions and listening, drinking in the intellectual interaction that resulted in His growing in wisdom as He matured.
The Bible says that He also grew in stature and in favor with God and man, and that verse in Luke strikes me as a good formula for what Lipscomb strives to provide within the hearts and minds of our students every day.
We are working to help students grow in a way that allows them to ultimately have standing as a professional in their particular field, within a family and a community. Certainly, what matters most is that they have a relationship with God, that they know where they are in God’s story. And finally, we want them to leave Lipscomb knowing how to have community with others in a humble and gracious way.
This Christ-centered goal for all our students, and honestly for all potential students, is one that can only be achieved through the power of God and through the power of a godly community. We count you among that godly community
and we pray that you also will become a part of helping each Lipscomb student have the opportunity to grow in wisdom, stature and in favor with God and man.
In 2022 we set a goal to double the amount of Lipscomb’s endowed scholarship dollars to $100 million, to not only provide future stability for the institution, but to also help build the foundations of a flourishing life for students today and for more future students than ever before.
Endowed scholarships for students is a primary strategic funding priority precisely because we want to invite as many young people as possible into the kind of growth that the young Jesus modeled for us all.
Securing more funding for scholarships and financial aid ensures that more talented, searching students— regardless of their financial circumstances—can access the transformative Christian education Lipscomb offers. Providing more endowed scholarships allows us to rise in the eyes of the most gifted students as a top-choice destination, so that we can be crafting the next generation’s top leaders and faithful professionals.
By joining efforts with Lipscomb’s campus community, you can be a part of something bigger than awarding degrees. You can be a factor in growing young people into a lifelong journey of learning, adapting and seeking truth. You can be a part of shaping generations of adults who flourish, both during their college days and into their future.
Blessings,
Dr. Candice McQueen (BS ’96) Lipscomb University President lipscomb.edu/give
VISION
Anchored in our Christ-centered mission, Lipscomb University will lead as a top-tier, nationally recognized institution. We will excel in teaching, learning and research; be ambitious in our service to others; and be driven by continuous improvement.
MISSION
We are a Christ-centered community preparing learners for purposeful lives through rigorous academics and transformative experiences.
OUR CORE TENETS
We are a community engaged with the life and teachings of Jesus. We are committed to an ongoing search for truth. We provide excellent, whole-person learning experiences to shape lives of character, leadership, service and faith. We equip people to succeed in their vocation and contribute to the common good by living out their faith in action.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Candice McQueen (BS ’96) President
Lindsay Bales Chief of Staff
Jeff Baughn Senior Vice President of Finance and Technology
Kim Chaudoin (BA ’90) Vice President of Communications and Marketing
Brent Culberson (BA ’05, MA ’10) Vice President of Government, Community Relations and Strategic Partnerships
Keith Hinkle (BS ’90) Senior Vice President of Advancement
Byron Lewis Vice President of Enrollment Management
Hope Nordstrom
Special Counsel to the President for Strategy
Learn more about Impact 360 at lipscomb.edu/mission
Brian Mast (BS ’94) Interim Executive Vice President
Jennifer Shewmaker Provost
Brad Schultz
Lipscomb Academy Head of School
William Turner
Special Counsel to the President for Equity, Diversity and Belonging
