Lipscomb University

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Lipscomb University
Motto: "The Truth Shall Make You Free" - John 8:32
Established: 1891
Type: Private
Endowment: US $81 million
Chairman: Hilton Dean
President: L. Randolph Lowry, III
Provost: W.Craig Bledsoe
Faculty: 115
Students: 2,744[1]
Undergraduates: 2,363
Postgraduates: 381
Location: Nashville, TN, USA
Campus: Urban, 65 acres (263,000 m²)
Colors: Purple and Gold
Nickname: Bisons
Affiliations: Churches of Christ
Website: www.lipscomb.edu

Lipscomb University is a liberal arts university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the churches of Christ.

Contents

[edit] 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 original name was the Nashville Bible School, which was changed to David Lipscomb College, then to David 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. In 1988, Lipscomb attained Level III (master's degree-granting) status and became known as David Lipscomb University. In 2005, the "David" was legally dropped and the institution was renamed simply Lipscomb University.

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

From the school's inception all full-time students were required to take daily Bible classes and to attend daily chapel services (now held in the on-campus sports facility Allen Arena), although the school was never intended to function primarily as a seminary, a term looked upon with disfavor by many members of the Churches of Christ, but rather as a Christian liberal arts institution. However, several prominent Church of Christ religious ministers received at least a portion of their higher education there (see "Notable alumni" below), and the institution remains thoroughly ensconced in the Churches of Christ: Potential faculty must prove their membership in a Church of Christ before being hired, and most of the student body comes from a Church of Christ background, high school, or family.

David Lipscomb was a pacifist who was highly skeptical about government, and although many people associated with Lipscomb University maintain this skepticism, most do not agree with Lipscomb's belief that Christians should not vote.

In addition to the college campus, there is also an on-campus high school and middle school; the associated elementary school moved to a renovated former public school a few blocks away in 1986. All three comprise the David Lipscomb Campus School.

[edit] Presidents

There have been 13 superintendents or presidents of Lipscomb over 17 administrations.

  • 2005-Present Dr. L. Randolph Lowry, III
  • 1997-2005 Dr. Steve Flatt
  • 1987-1997 Dr. Harold Hazelip
  • 1977-1986 G. Willard Collins
  • 1946-1977 Dr. Athens Clay Pullias
  • 1943-1946 Dr. Batsell Baxter
  • 1934-1943 E. H. Ijams
  • 1932-1934 Dr. Batsell Baxter
  • 1923-1932 H. Leo Boles
  • 1921-1923 H. S. Lipscomb
  • 1920-1921 A. B. Lipscomb
  • 1913-1920 H. Leo Boles
  • 1913 J. S. Ward
  • 1906-1913 E. A. Elam
  • 1905-1906 J. S. Ward
  • 1901-1905 William Anderson
  • 1891-1901 James A. Harding

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

[edit] Academics

As a liberal arts university, Lipscomb has a wide range of academic programs focused on the arts and sciences. Many students also enroll in pre-professional programs and go on to graduate school, with most students matriculating as majors in education, biblical studies, and business. Pre-med and pre-law students have a higher than average acceptance rate at nationally recognized medical schools and law schools. The curriculum continues to evolve, notably with the addition of computer science and the Raymond B. Jones School of Engineering.

The university has also increased its number of graduate programs, offering these degrees:

In addition to those - and in keeping with the university's Christian origins - the Hazelip School of Theology and College of Bible and Ministry offer studies leading to the Master of Arts, Master of Theological Studies, and Master of Divinity degrees.

[edit] Colleges, Schools, Centers and Institutes

Lipscomb University comprises the following Colleges, Schools, Centers and Institutes:

Undergraduate Colleges and Schools:

Graduate Colleges and Schools:

 Centers and Institutes:

[edit] Campus information

The campus is located in the Green Hills suburbs of Nashville between Belmont Boulevard to the west and Granny White Pike on the east.

The center of the university, known as Bison Square, is located between the Student Center and the Willard Collins Alumni Auditorium. The bricked square is traditionally used during warm weather as the location for devotionals, concerts, and other campus activities. Attached to Alumni Auditorium is the A.M Burton Building. To the south side of Burton is the Swang Business Center where Business and English classes are held.

In the fall of 2006, the university opened their newest academic building, the Ezell Center, where Religious, Education, Mass Communications, Social Work, History, Political Science, and Philosophy classes are held. Other academic buildings include the McFarland Hall of Sciences where the science and math classes are held.

A campus-wide face-lift called "Lipscomb 2010" is currently in progress, under the vision and direction of President Lowry. The building plans call for additional residence halls and numerous renovations to the Bennett Campus Center, existing residence halls, the A. M. Burton Building, and Collins Alumni Auditorium. Ward Hall has been completely renovated with new seating, flooring, and audio/video equipment, updating its look from the original design. The south-side of the Bennett Campus Center is being 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 student center for the 2007-08 school year, complete with its own separate entry on both the interior and exterior of the building. The A. M. Burton Building is being heavily renovated to house the new College of Pharmacy while Collins Alumni Auditorium is receiving a face-lift similar to that of Ward Hall. On the southeast corner of Burton, a new music building is being constructed with a large rehearsal room for music ensembles. Also as part of this construction new music offices and practice rooms will be constructed.

Some academic buildings were built with tax-exempt bonds, and, because Lipscomb is a Christian school, this led to an extended lawsuit that made it to the Supreme Court [2]. 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 Lecture auditorium, even though it is attached to McFarland Hall. Construction of Ward was funded through private donations.

Beaman Library was constructed in time for the university's centennial in 1991. The university's old library, the Crisman building, now serves as the university's administrative building.

The university has five dormitories. Women's dorms include Elam Hall, Fanning Hall, and Johnson Hall, all of which have a large enclosed courtyard. Men's dorms include Sewell Hall, which was renovated in the late 1990s, and the eight-story High Rise, the university's tallest structure. The university has recently broken ground on a new residential village, a four-building complex to be located behind Elam Hall. Men and women are not allowed in dorms belonging to the opposite sex, with a few exceptions: 1) members of both sexes can enter the lobby during certain hours, 2) during moving days, and 3) on "open dorm" occasions; 4) and men are also allowed into the central courtyard of the women's dormitories only when cookouts or other such mixers are being held.

Allen Arena, a 5,028-seat multipurpose facility, opened in October 2001 on the site of the old McQuiddy Gymnasium. The adjacent student recreational center kept the McQuiddy name. Yearwood Hall, a women's dormitory, was torn down for construction of Allen Arena and its accompanying parking garage.

Lipscomb's Student newspaper, the Babbler, is published weekly during the academic school year.
Lipscomb's Student newspaper, the Babbler, is published weekly during the academic school year.

[edit] Campus life

Lipscomb does not have fraternities and sororities per se. 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 Xi, Delta Sigma, Gamma Lambda, Kappa Chi, Phi Sigma, and Pi Delta. Delta Nu, Delta Tau, Gamma Xi, Sigma Omega Sigma, Sigma Iota Delta, and Tau Phi make up the Men's social clubs. Social club members 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, 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 weekly student newspaper. The title of the publication comes from Acts 17:18 which in part says "What does this babbler have to say?" The Backlog is the school's yearbook and is published annually; it is distributed to all students, as its cost is built-in to the tuition cost.

[edit] Rules

  • Full-time students are required to attend both a Bible class and chapel services each school day. A generalized Bible class called "University Bible" is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Allen Arena for the entire full-time student body, fulfilling both these requirements. Chapel services are held on Mondays in Allen Arena, and Wednesdays and Fridays in small groups around campus. Students take a traditional Bible class on those days as well. Prior to the early 90s, the chapel and Bible class requirements had to be met separately, with a traditional chapel service being held every day. Since then, the exact details of the chapel requirement have changed many times - in some cases with each semester - as the University struggled with finding an effective way to encourage spiritual growth through chapel. Beginning in the fall of the 2008-2009 school year, a revised chapel plan will be in place. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mandatory chapels will be abolished (though a voluntary chapel opportunity will be available at 7:30 a.m. on these days), and the current University Bible, which will retain its current weekly schedule (Tuesday and Thursday), will be transformed into chapel.
  • There is a curfew for freshmen and sophomores living in the dorms, with detailed rules enforced by the head residents.
  • No Lipscomb student is allowed to consume alcohol, on or off campus, though the extent to which this has been policed off campus has varied from dean to dean. The campus is a dry campus and students could be potentially suspended if alcohol is discovered on their person by a school staff member. Faculty and staff are also forbidden to drink alcohol.
  • The campus is non-smoking with the exception of three designated smoking areas.
  • Students and faculty are prohibited from engaging in extramarital sexual relations and/or in homosexual activities. Faculty may be (and have been) fired for such activity, and students may be (and have been) dismissed for it, though not in recent years.
  • Potential full-time faculty and staff must prove that they are members of the Church of Christ as a prerequisite of employment, and they must demonstrate and maintain that their religious affiliation is with the Churches of Christ throughout their tenure at Lipscomb University. The exceptions to this are contracted employees, such as food service (Sodexho) and the bookstore. Some tenured professors whose churches have been deemed by the administration to be insufficiently rooted in traditional Church of Christ doctrine (e.g. exclusive use of a cappella music) have been dismissed from their positions, though not in recent years.

[edit] Study abroad and internationalizing the university

Lipscomb offers a handful of study abroad programs. In the mid 1990s a study abroad program in Vienna, Austria, was first offered. Programs in London, United Kingdom, and Athens, Greece, have since been added.

The University has several students active in the "Students for International Peace and Justice," and the faculty began the Center for International Peace and Justice "to promote awareness and understanding of international affairs, particularly as they relate to questions of peace, security and justice." (http://cipj.lipscomb.edu/)

[edit] Athletics

Lipscomb Bisons logo
Lipscomb Bisons logo

Sports teams are nicknamed "The Bisons," and there is a large statue of the namesake animal centrally located on the campus. At one time the school was a small-college sports powerhouse, notably in baseball and basketball in the NAIA; now it is a new member of NCAA Division I and competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The university has an ongoing sports rivalry with Belmont University, just 3 miles down the road from Lipscomb. Traditionally basketball games between the two schools are called the Battle of the Boulevard, which Lipscomb swept 2-0 in 2007.

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. Lipscomb was invited to the National Invitation Tournament as the regular-season conference champion, losing in its first game.

The Lipscomb Bisons traditionally include the "s," though the plural of "bison" is usually not "bisons." However, some dictionaries list this as a rare usage (and the Oxford English Dictionary points out that in Latin the plural is "bisontes").

The Bison serves as the official mascot of Lipscomb University. The Bison can be seen at basketball, baseball, volleyball games, and other non-athletic activities around the Lipscomb campus. The Bison returned in the fall semester of the '05/'06 season, to continue his career as Lipscomb's mascot.

On November 13, 2007, the Lipscomb women's basketball team defeated Fisk University 123-22 in one of the most lopsided games in NCAA history.[3]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lipscomb University (2007-09-05). "Lipscomb University draws largest fall enrollment in its 117-year history". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
  2. ^ Industrial Development Board of Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County v. Harry E. Steele, et al., 537 U.S. 1188 (2003).
  3. ^ Lipscomb decimates Fisk with 101-point margin, USA Today, 2007-11-14, <http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/womensbasketball/2007-11-14-lipscomb-fisk_N.htm>. Retrieved on 14 November 2007 

[edit] External links

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