In a letter to the Lipscomb community, University President Randy Lowry announced a major overhaul of the campus school.
Thanks to donors Bill and Neika Stephens, the middle school will be moved from its current location to the site where the elementary school currently sits. The school will be a two-story K-8 building. In addition to the relocation of the middle school, a new campus school will be built on the property located between Granny White and the high school’s athletic complex. The buildings that the high school currently uses will be renovated and used by the university.
The $10 million donation is the largest ever presented to the campus school and the third largest to the Lipscomb community.
The letter reads as follows:
I am pleased to share with you an announcement we made last night to our friends and supporters at the Associates Gala.
The Stephens Christian Trust, an entity founded by Bill Stephens, has challenged us in our Lipscomb:Next effort by making a $10 million gift for Campus School.
This represents the largest gift ever made to the Campus School and the third largest gift ever made to Lipscomb University. The gift has been given to support the activities and programs of the Campus School, the largest K-12 independent school in Middle Tennessee.
In addition to announcing that gift last evening, I shared a vision for the Campus School that includes a renovated elementary school to be joined at Harding and Granny White by a new middle school on that site.
The vision also includes a new high school on property already a part of the institutional overlay between Granny White Pike and bounded by Maplehurst and Caldwell Lane. This will not only give the high school extremely functional new space, it will join the high school to its athletic activities at the Reece L. Smith Athletic Complex.
Because of the Stephens’ generous gift, we will begin planning for this vision immediately, with the hope of significant activity in the elementary phase of the project within the next 18 months. It will be followed by the beginning of the new middle school (Phase II), renovation of the present high school (Phase III) and then the construction of a new high school. It is hoped that the four phases can be achieved in the next ten years.
It is very important to note that this new vision for facilities development is dependent on significant fundraising, the success of which will drive the timetable. It is also important to recognize that these plans are in addition tothe Lipscomb:Next i
nitiative that anticipates a $12 investment in athletics, academic programs, student development and a new endowment for the Campus School. Bill Stephens is a visionary and with the trustees of The Stephens Christian Trust has made a tremendous commitment for the next generations of Campus School students. His wife, Neika, has served on the Lipscomb Board of Trustees for many years and has a tremendous passion for the education of Campus School students. Their service to the university, and especially to the Campus School, spans decades. Neika is the granddaughter of Charles Brewer for which the landmark Brewer Bell Tower was named. Her family relationships to the school stretch back to David Lipscomb himself.
Please join me in expressing gratitude to the Stephens’ for their generosity and their confidence in this educational community. I hope you are as excited as I am, and they are, about the days ahead for the Campus School as we take it from a very competitive school to the most compelling schools in Middle Tennessee, building lives daily to serve in our community and serve our Lord.
Randy Lowry