LEADERS IN LEARNING


CAMBRIDGE-STRATEGIES.ORG LIPSCOMB.EDU


NASHVILLE, TENNESSE, USA


“THE IDEA BEHIND ALL OF OUR PROGRAMMES IS TO GET THE STUDENTS TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY’VE LEARNED AND SEE SOME PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS FOR THAT KNOWLEDGE”


LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY


ONE HUNDRED AND twenty-five years ago, David Lipscomb and James A Harding—both ministers in the Churches of Christ—spent a summer formulating a plan for a new kind of school. This new educational institution, to be set up in their home city of Nashville, Tennessee, would encompass three key areas: academic knowledge, professional know-how and the development of faith. Today, that educational institution is Lipscomb University, one of the fastest growing universities in the southeast of the US. Lipscomb University is listed in the top 20 regional universities in the


South and ranked eighth Most Innovative in the South by US News & World Report rankings, and student numbers in its graduate programmes have grown over the past decade from 200 to 1,700. “This speaks to the relevance of our academic programmes,” says Dr Craig Bledsoe, Provost. “These are what the university terms ‘smart programmes with smart curricula’ because they are specifically designed with the labour market in mind.”


ADDRESSING THE MARKET “We’ve been very attentive to what the market needs on a graduate level,” says Dr Bledsoe. “We’ve had very open conversations with industry professionals and brought them into the development process of our programmes. This has resulted in degrees that better match changing employer demand, as well as a number of working professionals delivering content.” Today, more than 4,500 students are enrolled at the university in


programmes of study that range from bachelor’s degrees, to pre-professional programmes and accelerated evening and online adult degree programmes. Lipscomb also offers master’s, education specialist and doctorate degrees.


Studying at Lipscomb is a global learning experience. There are


opportunities to complete semesters abroad, as well as shorter more intensive trips to China and Europe. Students can also choose to undertake “mission trips”—service-oriented trips either within the US or overseas— a fact that led the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to recognise Lipscomb as a “community-engaged campus”. It makes Lipscomb one of just over 300 colleges and universities across the US to receive this honour.


COMMUNITY MINDED Lipscomb seeks out community projects that its expertise will most benefit. For instance, students from the university’s Raymond B Jones School of Engineering constructed a 104-ft-long pedestrian bridge in San Esteban, Honduras, that allows school children to cross a busy highway safely. “The idea behind our programmes is to get the students to think about what they’ve learned and see some practical applications for that knowledge, either in the workplace or in the international field, to get them involved in a more global perspective,” says Dr Randy Bouldin, Vice Provost , Academic Affairs and Graduate Studies. “There are some who look for a strictly academic education, but we add


character and spiritual values,” he adds. “Faith influences what our students do and how they do it, and our faculty and staff model their faith and integrity to our students. We are also known for our pragmatism, because we insist that our degrees take our students to their next step. We want our students to leave understanding that while they are not the centre of the universe, they have a part to play in the universe—one that is key.”

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141