Community ties that bind
Here in the Bison Herd, we do more than serve our geographic neighbor. We serve our neighbors far and wide, throughout Tennessee’s three Grand Divisions.
The State of Tennessee’s three Grand Divisions are so geographically, culturally and economically distinct, that some people even refer to them as “the three states of Tennessee.” But at Lipscomb, we know there are ties that bind us all closer than mere geography or culture. We are one state, and Lipscomb works each day to make an impact on its citizens both urban and rural.
Whether it is through online courses, workforce pipelines targeted to specific counties, on-site continuing education programs, community service or leadership programs designed to bring Tennesseans from east to west, from city to county all together, Lipscomb has moved far beyond its town and gown relationship with Nashville to become a proactive source of leadership and resource development in the entire state.
In 2025-26, Lipscomb is impacting Tennessee’s rural counties in ways unlike ever before, through students and alumni who have stepped up to:
- Help their hometowns recover from devastating floods in 2024,
- Nurture new health care providers who live, and will work, in rural communities,
- Empower small town churches through networking and education, and
- Prepare school psychologists and school counselors to combat the state’s current shortage in schools.
Lipscomb’s Regional Scholars, a graduate program in leadership and public service, has been intentionally focused on bringing together students from both urban and rural areas since its inception. Seventy percent of its enrollees since 2017 have come from Tennessee’s rural counties.
Four graduates of the Regional Scholars program who live and work in rural East Tennessee found their leadership skills tested far beyond their imagination when Hurricane Helene ripped through the area in September 2024 causing catastrophic flooding and mudslides.
Two Lipscomb alumni are now coordinating programs designed to enhance the career fields they studied at Lipscomb: nursing and ministry, both areas that regularly see staffing shortages and lack of resources in rural areas.
And a fourth program, launched in 2025, takes advantage of a key community partnership to bring more school counselors and school psychologists to rural schools in a state that hovers far below the national recommendation for the ideal counselor-to-student ratio.
We invite you to click on the links above to read more about these alumni who reflect our mission to prepare not just leaders who respond, but leaders who transform with courage, conviction and care.