The College of Business’s mission to develop business leaders who embrace the values and virtues of Jesus is deeply rooted and affects every aspect of the college’s work.
The importance of integrating one’s faith and professional life is infused into the entire College of Business experience from the very first semester when students are introduced to the concept of business as mission and continues throughout their academic careers, as students have the opportunity to participate in College of Business chapel sessions.
In their first business course, freshmen work in groups to start a new business, and the proceeds—often as much as $5,000 or more per class—are then invested in entrepreneurial ventures in Nashville and the developing world. Students get to market their products and services at a home basketball game, "Entrepreneurship Night," and set up displays around campus throughout the semester.
The Spring 2021 class raised $6,000 for an apartment leasing business in Jinja, Uganda. In the Fall of 2020, the class raised $5,000 for the Lao Food Pottery House in Luang Prabang, Laos. The Spring 2020 class raised $6,000 that was distributed to Urban Cotton in Vientiane, Laos and tornado victims in Cookeville, Tennessee.
Since, 2016, 970 students representing 202 teams have raised $58,650.
Service Days are annual events where College of Business faculty and staff work together with students to serve the community. In 2018, the College of Business teamed with an employer partner (Snider Fleet Solutions) to donate and read books to children in a marginalized school, and in 2019 students and faculty provided new shoes and socks and served by washing their feet with Samaritan’s Feet.
In 2019 and 2020, the College of Business has partnered with Safe Haven Family Shelter, the premier shelter-to-housing program in middle Tennessee that accommodates families experiencing homelessness. This partnership has included participating in the annual Hike for the Homeless, where the College of Business was awarded the Team Building Award in 2019 for having the biggest team participate in the hike.
Additionally, in 2020 as part of the Give Back, Give Thanks campaign, the College of Business collected 594 items for Safe Haven families to unlock an additional $500 donation to the organization from Thrivent Financial.
Chapel services, held several times each semester, feature business leaders or young business alums from diverse backgrounds who have successfully integrated their faith and careers. Recent speakers have included Missy Wallace, founder and executive director of the Nashville Institute for Faith and Work and Winston Justice, a former NFL offensive lineman who is now vice president and financial advisor at AllianceBernstein.
I don’t think I realized the value of servant leadership as a student at Lipscomb, but since joining the workforce I have developed a huge admiration for the emphasis that Dean Eldridge and his faculty and staff place on serving our communities. Being able to come back to Lipscomb in the fall alongside current students as well as alumni, faculty and staff and serving Safe Haven Family Shelter was a great experience and brought the concept of servant leadership full circle for me.
— John Tougher, Assurance Staff at EY
