From The Tennessean today: Belmont University has added almost 1,000 students in just four years, a 33% growth rate that probably outdistances every other school in Tennessee. The Nashville university is bringing in scores of students well ahead of its own schedule, and its leader says he isn’t ready to stop.
“I’d like to say this is what we expected, but it really is astounding me with the pace,” Belmont President Bob Fisher said yesterday. Belmont announced that its enrollment stands at 3,959 students this fall. That’s 330 more than last year and 983 more than the school enrolled in 2000. And it’s just 41 below the goal of 4,000 that Belmont had set for 2007 when Fisher took office four years ago.
Although final figures for the rest of the state aren’t in for this fall, Belmont’s growth clearly outpaces the state’s private colleges and universities as a whole.
The Tennessean says Belmont’s growth can be attributed to “strong marketing, customer-friendly offerings for adult students and word-of-mouth about several high-quality programs, especially the nationally known music business program.”
“They’ve been very responsive to the community in terms of academic needs,” Claude Pressnell, president of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association, said. “They just have got a lot of energy going right now.”
Belmont enjoying boom in student population – The Tennessean
Belmont enrollment on the rise – Nashville Business Journal
Belmont’s rapid enrollment growth gets mentioned on the website of the Nashville Business Journal. The paper also reported Belmont’s high ranking in the U.S. News & World Report’s annual guide to American colleges and universities last week.
Enrollment Approaches 4,000 as Belmont Sets Pace in Tennessee
Belmont University has set another school record for fall enrollment, with 3,959 students enrolled as of today. While the enrollment total is not yet finalized, enrollment is up by 330 students over fall 2003, a 9 percent increase, and nearly 1,000 students over fall 2000, a 33 percent increase.
The 730-student freshman class, larger than last fall by 100 students, is “the latest validation that Belmont University has the right vision for its future,” said Dr. Robert Fisher, president of the university. “Belmont University is on a roll. The abilities of our incoming freshman and our rapidly rising enrollment show we are on the right track.”
Massey Applications Up 20 Percent – Nashville Business Journal
A story in the current edition of Nashville Business Journal notes that applications to the MBA program at Belmont’s Jack C. Massey School of Business were up more tan 20 percent his year, and enrollment is up 2 percent, while another area MBA program struggles with plummeting enrollment. The story notes that the Massey MBA program costs about half that of the nearby rival, making Belmont’s highly regarded program more attractive to individuals and to companies that are paying some of the cost employees to continue their education.
Social Work Club Featured in Magazine
Belmont University’s Social Work Student Club was pictured in the summer 2004 issue of the national magazine The New Social Worker, devoted to social work students and recent graduates. The students were pictured working with Murrell Special Education School students as they hosted a Valentine’s Day party.
Rock U Project Has Roots at Belmont
Belmont students reach out to city – The Tennessean
From today’s Tennessean: More than 500 of Belmont University’s approximately 800 freshmen and transfer students decided to get out and do something for their city – their new city, in most cases – yesterday morning, the start of their third day on campus. … The students did voluntary community service for about two hours at Edwin and Percy Warner parks in west Nashville and at four Metro parks closer to Belmont’s campus near Music Row. It was part of a week of activities designed to help the students make the transition to college life and Belmont’s way of doing things.
Hundreds of Belmont Freshmen Help Beautify Nashville’s Parks
Approximately 450 incoming Belmont University freshmen helped clean up some of Metro Nashville’s city parks today, including helping clear out a backlog of cleanup and repair work at Nashville’s signature Warner Parks, as part of a week of activities designed to help them transition to college life.
Each year, Belmont invites incoming freshmen to participate in community service, says Matthew Burchett, Coordinator of New Student Programs in the Dean of Students office. “We realize the importance of encouraging young men and women to commit themselves to service. Belmont University is dedicated to engage students in service through both classroom and co-curricular experiences. This event is representative of Belmont’s commitment to teaching our students the value of serving in their community.”
Belmont Alum Prepares for Iraq – Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a profile today of Belmont alum and Texas National Guard chaplain Capt. Chuck Wallace, who is preparing for active duty in Iraq.
Wallace joined the Army Reserve in 1988 two days after his 17th birthday, the paper reports. He stayed in the Reserve while earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Belmont University in Nashville. But his early experience in the military “and the way God worked” in his life led him to the chaplaincy. “The soldiers that I minister to respect me because they know I’ve been in the infantry and walked in their shoes,” said Wallace, 33, a chaplain at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth for the past three years.
New Statue Honors Johnson Family, Belmont Benefactors
Belmont University honored two of its biggest benefactors with the unveiling Saturday of a new sculpture in honor of the late Ed and Bernice Johnson, prominent Nashvillians and longtime friends of the university whose bequests to the university total more than $25 million. The statue by Nashville sculptor Russ Faxon now graces the plaza on the Belmont Boulevard side of the campus adjacent to the fountain in front of the entrance to the Maddox Grand Atrium.
