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Lipscomb University reaches $250 million campaign nearly a year early, new goals set for completion at end of 2021

Lipscomb is leading the way with making a difference in the lives of students.

Kim Chaudoin | 

Lipscomb campus aerial shot

When Lipscomb University officials launched the public phase of LipscombLEADS, the largest, most extensive fundraising campaign in institution history, in January 2019 with a vision of reaching $250 million by the end of 2021, little could they have known they would do so in the midst of a global pandemic. 

In spite of that, Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry announced officially today that the university has met its $250 million campaign goal nearly one year early through the investment of 47,000 donors, 35,000 of whom made financial gifts to the institution for the first time during this initiative. The announcement comes after the university’s third annual Day of Giving, which raised more than $850,000 in a 24-hour period on Thursday, Feb. 25. 

Even though the campaign goal has been met, Lowry said the campaign does not officially conclude until Dec. 31, and the university is continuing to move forward with raising funds for several key initiatives until that time. 

“This is a historic day for our institution. We have successfully reached our $250 million campaign goal, which is the largest and most ambitious in our history, during one of the most challenging times in our world with the devastating impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic. It is a testament to the passion of our donors to support Christian higher education and for Lipscomb University,” said Lowry. “The real success of this campaign is that our students will benefit for generations to come from the tremendous generosity of the more than 47,000 donors to this campaign through scholarships, facilities, academic programs and so much more. And we aren’t finished yet, because there is still work to be done.”

Lipscomb president Randy Lowry

The Lipscomb LEADS campaign focuses on three main areas — a best in class academic program, a transformative student experience and a model for sustainable impact. With the current campaign goal met, new campaign priorities and highlights of accomplishments to date include: 

Continued LipscombLEADS Campaign Priorities

Although the Lipscomb LEADS campaign has reached its initial goal, Lowry said four strategic campaign priorities continue to be a focus until the official end of the initiative in December. These include: 

  • $1 million for Lipscomb Opportunity Scholarships;
  • $625,000 to fund future Faculty Excellence Awards;
  • $1 million for the “The 10:55 Fund.” The 10:55 Fund will be a new source of funding for Lipscomb’s Office of Spiritual Formation to enhance the spiritual impact of the university’s chapel programming and spiritual formation initiatives; and
  • $10 million for the Boone Family Center for Performing Arts. Named for music and television icon Pat Boone and his family, this facility will be the place where Lipscomb not only tells the inspiring stories of those who have come before, but trains the students who will follow in their footsteps. It will be a place that blends inspiration, entertainment and education together in exciting and innovative ways so that this generation can courageously and creatively impact the world. A $5 million gift commitment has been made toward this goal. 

Campaign Highlights to Date

Among the highlights of the many accomplishments and initiatives of the LipscombLEADS campaign to date are:

  • More than $61 million in gifts and pledges have been raised for the endowment as part of the LipscombLEADS campaign. This financial foundation will provide resources for Lipscomb to navigate the challenges ahead in higher education.
  • The Fields Engineering Center, a 26,800-square-foot facility that unites engineering faculty and students under one roof for the first time and houses collaborative learning spaces, flexible teaching areas and labs among other features. 
  • A Data Analytics Lab in the College of Business, designed as a hub for the study of and collaborative projects in data analytics.
  • The Faculty Excellence Award celebrates faculty who have successfully combined scholarship, service and significance to shape the lives of students and supports professional advancement and development.
  • The new Lanier Center for Archaeology brings globally recognized archaeology research and scholars to Lipscomb University and offers a M.A. degree in archaeology and biblical studies and a Ph.D. in archaeology. It was inaugurated as a research institution to support the university’s excavation projects and serve as a center to introduce the field of biblical archaeology and the ancient near east to Middle Tennessee. 
  • The George Shinn Center, a 33,000-square-foot facility that serves as a new welcome center for prospective students, a multi-use events hall capable of seating up to 1,000 people for community and campus events and innovative academic space for the George Shinn College of Entertainment and the Arts. 
  • The Athletics Fueling Station, located in Allen Arena, is specifically designed to educate Lipscomb student-athletes about nutrition and healthy eating habits. The station provides dietary and nutritional support at times and locations that meet student-athletes’ demanding schedules. The fueling station is one of the few of its kind currently operational at the mid-major level of university athletics. 
  • The Lipscomb Opportunity Scholarship and Lipscomb Access Scholarship funds were created to help students and families that need financial assistance for tuition and fees to help make a Lipscomb education accessible. 

The LipscombLEADS campaign launch was celebrated with two gatherings to officially kick-off the initiative in January 2019. The first was of Lipscomb University supporters and local business and community leaders at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville through a program featuring the Nashville Symphony, conducted by Benjamin Blasko, director of instrumental studies at Lipscomb University.  A second campaign launch celebration was held on the Lipscomb campus the following morning for students, faculty and employees of the university.

Lipscomb University is a university on the move. Lipscomb is the eighth fastest-growing private doctoral university in the nation according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. In addition to a 94% enrollment growth since fall 2005, Lipscomb has added more than 150 graduate and undergraduate programs since 2006 including Middle Tennessee’s first College of Pharmacy offering a Doctorate of Pharmacy. The largest area of academic program growth has been in the number of new graduate programs, many of which were developed to meet workforce needs in the community and across the country. In addition, during that time more than 200 new faculty have been hired for those and other programs. Over the last 16 years, the institution has invested nearly $250 million in new facilities and renovations at Lipscomb University and $24 million in facilities expansion, and the addition of the Solly School for special needs students and first-class athletics facilities at Lipscomb Academy, a preschool-12th grade college preparatory school that is also part of the institution. 

For more information about LipscombLEADS visit www.lipscomb.edu/leads.