Lipscomb president Randy Lowry sat down with Tom Ingram for the newest installment of the “Now That You Ask…” series Tuesday night, shedding light on his time as president of the university.
President Lowry is the 17th president of the school. He has been the president for the past seven years, and in his tenure, student enrollment has increased by 82%.
Before coming to Lipscomb, Lowry had only visited once before.
“I had heard of it, but I really didn’t know much about it,” Lowry said.
Since Lowry became the president at Lipscomb, there have been many changes to the way things are done. Lowry was asked how he has succeeded in making so many changes to the institution.
“Well, enrollment had been down for several years, the budget had been adjusted for each of those years, and what I think we found was a community that was really hungry for a new future, a new level of engagement, a sense of success,” Lowry said. “So, a little bit of hunger gives you the opportunity as a leader to move things fairly quickly.”
Lowry went on to talk about some of the changes he is the most proud of and what else there is to do at Lipscomb.
“I’m proud of our engagement with the community. When I arrived it seemed to me we were a little comfortable in Green Hills and a little removed from whatever was going on in the life of the city,” Lowry said. “People encouraged me to engage, and the city has been so responsive to us.”
Lowry said that while he believes that Lipscomb has made great strides, there is still a lot left to do.
“I think we still have 30 or 40 or 50 million dollars of work to do on campus before it is all a 21st century campus,’ Lowry said. “I think we have more to do to understand how to walk out our spiritual commitment in a world that is growing much more secular.”
There is also one thing President Lowry had hoped to have accomplished by this time, but it was limited because of the recession.
“I haven’t built the endowment I’d love to build,” Lowry said. “Building that back is really really difficult, and that will be a huge financial priority in the next decade.”
In reference to the promotion of the school as well as “winning” students to Lipscomb, Lowry says competition is important.
“Competition is something that is motivating everyday. It keeps things clear in your strategy,” Lowry said. “Our competition is not just with Belmont.
“The Belmont competition up the street is not the only thing we think about, although, at least twice a year, it becomes more interesting.”