Lipscomb University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville; it also maintains one satellite location called "Spark" in Downtown Nashville to serve the business community.[9] Total student enrollment for the fall 2022 semester was 4,704, which included 2,955 undergraduate students and 1,749 graduate students.
History
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 Christianliberal 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 Christministers 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.[10]
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.[11] In 1988, Lipscomb attained Level III (master's degree-granting) status and became known as Lipscomb University.[citation needed]
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.[12][better source needed]
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. Later, AGST folded due to financial troubles.[13]
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.
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.
The James D. Hughes Center houses all the university's health-science programs and the physician assistant program. The Nursing and Health Sciences Center next door houses the graduate College of Nursing.[18]
Lipscomb has announced plans for a new College of Business building and a new performing arts center.[19]
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.[20]
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?"[21]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.[22] "Lumination Network is Lipscomb University’s official student news service."[23] An independent student newsletter, the Lipscomb Underground, provided unfiltered student opinion for the campus.[24] 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!"[25]
An example of the bison painted by students by Collins Alumni Auditorium.
Student body
As of 2023[update], Lipscomb University had 39% male students and 61% female students.[26]
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.[citation needed]
The university has an ongoing sports rivalry with Belmont University, just 3 miles (4.8 km) down the road from Lipscomb. Traditionally, basketball games between the two schools are called the "Battle of the Boulevard". In 2006, the rivalry reached a new level when Belmont and Lipscomb advanced to the finals of the Atlantic Sun tournament at the Memorial Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, with the winner earning its first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament. Belmont won 74–69 in overtime.[27] Lipscomb was invited to the National Invitation Tournament as the regular-season conference champion, "the program's first-ever post-season appearance."[28][29]
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (February 2024)
^"Institution Details". Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
^Industrial Development Board of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County v. Harry E. Steele, et al., 537 U.S. 1188 (2003).
