President L. Randolph Lowry promised at Convocation that 2010 and the years following will be full of expansion, academic and athletic success and spiritual growth for Lipscomb University and the community as a whole.
In Allen Arena on Tuesday, students from the campus school and the university joined faculty, staff, administration and members of the Nashville community to ceremonially begin the academic year.
As Lowry took the stage he began his speech by singing praises to the university in its entirety and expressed how students and faculty continually press on “against the tide.” He expressed his adoration for this school and the hope he has for a bright and promising future.
“Against the tide of private universities around the country that are declining in enrollment, Lipscomb University is growing,” Lowry said. “This fall we start with 400 more students than we had just one year ago. We are up almost 1,300 students from five years ago. There is record enrollment in almost every program.”
President Lowry addresses the crowd at Convocation. Photo credit: Ryan Malone
Student government president Jackson Sprayberry, a senior political science major from Chickamauga, Ga., expressed his optimistic outlook on the school year.
“There are a lot of things, be it academics, be it social life, or be it spiritual life, that we have to look forward to,” Sprayberry said.
Sprayberry also commented on what Lowry has to offer as Lipscomb’s president.
“President Lowry brings to this office the mind of an academic, the passion of a teacher and the heart of a mediator,” Sprayberry said.
As the faculty and staff entered Allen Arena donning academica regalia, they were introduced by the colleges in which they teach and honored with applause.
University faculty and staff are presented. Photo credit: Shelby Marvel
Aside from the teachers and administration present, other community leaders were in attendance. State Sen. Douglas Henry and U.S. Congressman Jim Cooper helped the Lipscomb community welcome a new academic year.
He conveyed his excitement in other areas such as the programs Lipscomb University is adding, and praised the staff for their remarkable creativity and hard work with the expectation to erect a revived and superior university. Over the last 60 months Lipscomb University has grown by producing 18 new graduate degrees, a new college of pharmacy, 19 undergraduate degrees and concentrations, six new institutes and a second doctoral program.
“From some of the best schools in the country, we have 20 new faculty joining us this fall and over 70 joining us over the past five years,” Lowry said.
A short video highlighting athletic teams and their accomplishments displayed the caliber of extracurriculars at Lipscomb. Lowry highlighted the ways in which Lipscomb repeatedly puts its best foot forward to go “against the tide of other schools and societies.”
As the speeches subsided and everyone began to stir assuming Convocation 2010 had ended, the sounds of an engine starting hushed the crowd. Out from underneath the stage flew a small car that took off toward the audience. It was the Baja car, designed by students in the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering at Lipscomb University.
The Baja race car designed by engineering students at Lipscomb races through the crowd. Photo credit: Ryan Malone
These students compete against 70 teams from the largest schools across the nation to build and design a car that will withstand the rough terrain of the course. Out of the 70 schools our university competed against in a four-hour endurance race, Lipscomb finished 12th.
“Against the tide — that’s the university you joined,” Lowry said. “Against the tide — that’s where we want to be. Against the tide — that’s where we have been called to be, in academics, in athletics and in Christian service.”