The Belmont University Board of Trustees held its quarterly Board Meeting on April 21 where updates were shared on a variety of key University initiatives.
The day began with a session between President Dr. Greg Jones and the full Board, followed by Board Committee Meetings led by each Committee’s Chairperson. After lunch, Dr. Jones provided a University update for all Trustees, their spouses and University leadership who were present and shared a tribute to Steve Horrell. Horrell, an alumnus and long-time Belmont trustee, was a beloved member of the Belmont community who passed away the week prior following a recurrence of cancer. From his days as a Belmont undergraduate student until the very end of his life, Steve demonstrated love for and strong commitment to Belmont.
Immediately following Dr. Jones’s remarks, Belmont’s Chorale—under the direction of Dr. Jeffery Ames—shared a performance with attendees.
The meeting’s Business Session was called to order at 1 p.m. by Chair Milton Johnson and began with a Chair’s Report, immediately followed by remarks from Dr. Erin Shankel, Chair of Faculty Senate. In her remarks, Dr. Shankel focused on faculty wellbeing and shared new campus-wide resources that have been put in place to support faculty across all Colleges, opportunities for additional faculty support and innovative collaborations across disciplines. She described a new partnership with Music Therapy and School of Music ensemble Jazzmin that is working to better understand how NICUs can effectively use music to support the growth and development of babies in the unit.
Approvals of previous meeting minutes, faculty emeriti and the 2023-24 Fiscal Year budget followed. As part of the budget discussion, Trustees heard presentations from Vice President of Finance and Operations Steve Lasley and General Counsel & Executive Vice President Jason Rogers on key financial updates including the approval of three resolutions relating to on-campus housing and bond financing.
Chair Milton Johnson also recognized Trustees Dan Foutch, Steve Hewlett, Cynthia Leu, Ben Rechter and Jim Wright who are rolling off the Board, as well as Gordon Inman who is stepping down and has been named Trustee Emeritus. Because Mr. Inman is vacating his role as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, the group held a vote and unanimously named alumnus Harry Allen as Vice Chair effective June 1, when Mr. Inman steps down.
Following these votes, Dr. Anderson Spickard, newly named Dean of the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine, shared an update on the College. Dr. Spickard began his tenure at Belmont in the fall of 2021 as Associate Dean for Spiritual Growth and Development and was named Interim Dean in the summer of 2022. His appointment as Dean of the College was announced earlier in April.
Dr. Spickard shared his excitement for the College’s progress and an update on Accreditation as the leadership team submitted its Data Collection Instrument (DCI) to its accrediting body, LCME, earlier that same day. The submission of Frist’s DCI is the next step in the accreditation process, and the College will welcome LCME members this summer for a site visit. Pending accreditation, the College plans to welcome its inaugural class in Fall 2024.
Spickard went on to share an overview of the College’s approach—one that considers the whole person in care, where curriculum is focused on sculpting a student’s head & heart and a commitment to hope taking shape in both the person and the system. His presentation ended with a description of the College’s newly created Seal which is illustrated around their three biggest commitments: hospitality, the College’s Christ-centered identity and a dedication to the fierce work of medicine.
The Business Session ended with Dr. Jones’ President’s Report where he discussed what he calls Belmont 4.0—the Belmont of the future that is committed to developing new capabilities to accomplish the God-sized dreams that are part of the University’s Aspirational Aim. Two years into his tenure as President, Jones highlighted the focus of his first two years—setting a common vision, creating shared mission & culture and building systems and habits that support such large goals. In Year 3, Jones and his leadership team will focus on aligning the Aspirational Aim with systems and habits that will lead to successful execution.
He went on to highlight the year’s incredible accomplishments, organized around the institution’s focus on: forming diverse leaders of character, equipping people to solve complex problems and developing radical champions that will actively pursue flourishing for those around them. Looking ahead, Jones concluded his remarks with a grateful nod to the incredible work happening every day across campus and his continued desire to lead Belmont toward reimagining how a higher education institution can play a significant role in helping people around the world thrive.
