Lipscomb University announces largest gift in school history at Imagine 2018 event
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Lipscomb University has received a $23 million gift, its largest gift in institution history, president L. Randolph Lowry announced Tuesday night, April 17, at its Imagine 2018 “The Power of Telling Nashville’s Story” event.
The $23 million gift has been made by donors who wish to remain anonymous. It is a lead gift for Lipscomb University’s College of Business, which is celebrating 100 years of business education this academic year. The gift will be used to help fund new facilities for the College of Business; to support business programs, faculty and students; a parking structure; and global learning facilities in Florence, Italy, among other initiatives.
“This is a significant moment in the history of Lipscomb University,” said Lowry. “We are grateful to these donors for their commitment to this institution. This gift is an investment in our College of Business as a way to continue to elevate the image of the school as a leader in business education in Nashville and in the nation.”
Lipscomb’s College of Business is one of the fastest growing in the university, with more than 600 undergraduate and graduate students and 16 undergraduate and four graduate programs, touting a 95 percent overall job placement rate for 2016 and thousands of alumni around the world. It has been recognized nationally as a leader in business education.
The college has been named the No. 1 Undergraduate Business Program in Tennessee two years in a row by both Bloomberg Business Week and Poets & Quants and the No. 2 part-time MBA program in Tennessee in 2016 by Bloomberg Business Week. In addition it was been named the No. 1 accounting program in Tennessee and No. 2 in the nation in 2017 by Christian Universities Online. Earlier this month, 2018 College Factual ranked Lipscomb’s accounting program the number one accounting program in Tennessee for the second consecutive year and one of the top 50 programs in the nation. The department of accounting also earned a ranking of 12th in the nation and number one in the state of Tennessee for the second consecutive year for Best Accounting Programs for Veterans.
“The College of Business continues to earn national accolades, and this incredibly generous gift helps us to build on our strong momentum,” said Ray Eldridge, dean of Lipscomb’s College of Business. “It is exciting for our students and faculty to see how many people believe in our mission, and it also attracts attention from others who want to be part of what we’re doing.”
Business students see the impact of this gift reaching for generations into the future.
“They’re investing into the students of tomorrow,” said student Hillary Reader, a business major. “They may be the students who make the new Amazons, the new Googles, the new Apples of the world. That’s all we can ask for – to keep getting better as students because those are the ones who transition to be the business leaders of tomorrow.”
This is the second consecutive year that university officials have announced the largest gift in institutional history.
“We are thrilled about the impact that this gift, the largest in university history, will have in the lives of our students and in the community that we serve for generations to come,” said John Lowry, senior vice president for advancement. “These generous donors are very humble people who desire that the glory go to God, and they are passionate about advancing the mission of Lipscomb University. This is an inspiration for us moving forward with generosity and service.”
At the 2017 event Lipscomb officials announced that the university had received a $15 million gift from George Shinn, former owner of the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets, made the gift as an investment in Lipscomb University’s College of Entertainment & the Arts and to fund a new events center among other initiatives.
In addition to the announcement about the university’s largest gift in school history, distinguished journalist and author Tom Brokaw, was the featured speaker at Imagine 2018, where he shared stories from his career as well as the impact storytelling has on communities such as Nashville.
“Nashville has distinguished itself as one of the most popular destinations in America,” said John Lowry. “Population growth is unprecedented. Tourism is at an all-time high. The engine of economic prosperity is operating in high gear. What better time to have a conversation of significance about the power of storytelling — telling Lipscomb’s and Nashville’s story — with someone who has been a leader at shaping and telling stories for nearly 50 years?”
In 2016, Lipscomb launched its Imagine initiative to convene conversations of significance that bring leaders from around the world to Nashville to engage the community in topics of local and global importance and to share their stories and unique perspectives. President George W. Bush was the featured guest in February 2016 for the inaugural Imagine convening. At last year’s event, Magic and Cookie Johnson led a discussion of “Nashville” Prosperity for All Corners of the City,” through which the Lipscomb community will begin to examine the ideas of faith, redemption, entrepreneurship and community transformation.
Following each Imagine event, Lipscomb officials launched a series of discussions and working group conversations bringing community leaders together to examine critical issues and to develop solutions to impact communities in Nashville. The work culminates with a published report of recommendations produced by Imagine participants.
Want to know more about Lipscomb’s College of Business? Visit business.lipscomb.edu.