Campus Communications

Happy Thank You Thursday! We want to be the first to say thanks today for all you do to make Belmont special. We are extra grateful to serve, study and work among such an incredible community. 

You make Belmont feel like home. Homecoming is our chance to celebrate YOU!

Cheers, 

Greg and Susan

Dear Belmont Community,

I am writing today with an exciting announcement that further illustrates our commitment to helping solve the world’s most complex problems. Dr. Josh Yates, a leading cultural and community sociologist, nonprofit executive and social innovator, will join the Belmont community on June 1 as Founding Executive Director of our new Transformational Innovation Hub, an initiative focused on developing a generation of Christ-animated innovators who collaboratively design and implement creative solutions to complex problems. 

Over the course of his career, Dr. Yates has dedicated himself to better understanding how communities and their people thrive. In his new role on our campus, he will lead teams across Belmont and in partnership with communities and organizations to search for creative solutions to complex problems, radically championing the pursuit of life abundant for all people.

Dr. Yates most recently served as Executive Director of the Ormond Center at Duke Divinity School and is the Founder and CEO of the Thriving Cities Group, a national nonprofit that combines research, training, community organizing and technology to help communities across the country thrive. His expertise will serve as the foundation for the Hub’s work, which will be organized by a series of Studios that align with many of Belmont’s key priorities.

You can read more about Dr. Yates’s appointment and the new Transformational Innovation Hub on the Belmont News site. I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Dr. Yates to Belmont. I am confident he will help us accomplish our goal of becoming the leading Christ-centered university in the world! 

Cheers,

Greg

Students, Faculty and Staff, 

As we wind down the semester and prepare for Christmas celebrations with family and friends, I have exciting news to share to close out our year. Barbara Massey Rogers and the Jack C. Massey Foundation, longtime supporters of and advocates for Belmont, announced last night a new $15 million gift to the University, matching the largest single gift in Belmont history.

The donation—which secures the naming rights to the previously announced “3-D” building that is designed to foster explorations of data, discovery and design—honors the legacy of one of the greatest entrepreneurs and businessmen in American history. The new facility will be named the Jack C. Massey Center and will be home to the University’s Admissions Welcome Center, the recently launched Belmont Data Collaborative and the Cone Center for Entrepreneurship, among other entities. 

Belmont’s late Chancellor Herbert C. Gabhart forged a friendship with Jack Massey 60 years ago that resulted in the Massey family becoming tremendous partners to Belmont, dramatically advancing the trajectory of this campus and influencing the lives of thousands of students. Jack Massey’s leadership and support was pivotal to Belmont’s growth, transformation and impact. With this new gift we will be able to extend that impact even further, inspiring every student, employee and visitor to our campus with the entrepreneurial spirit, moral character and innovative leadership Jack demonstrated with exceptional effectiveness throughout his career.  

You can read more about this gift and Jack Massey on our Belmont News site. For now, I hope you’ll me in expressing gratitude to Barbara, the Massey Foundation and the entire family for their vision and generosity in bringing this new facility to life.

Cheers,

Greg

Faculty and Staff, 

It’s another exciting day at Belmont! Milton Johnson, the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, and his wife Denice have made an incredible $10 million gift to the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine in honor of Tommy Frist—the College’s namesake, HCA Healthcare co-founder and Milton’s longtime mentor—and Milton’s many years at HCA. This gift will name the Milton and Denise Johnson Lobby of the new College of Medicine building, which is currently under construction on campus. 

I am so grateful to Milton and Denise for their generosity and consistent support of Belmont, the College of Medicine and our students. This is yet another example of their incredible leadership and dedication to the entire Belmont community. 

Please join me in thanking the Johnsons for this gift and their commitment to providing transformative education in healthcare and beyond. For more information on Milton and Denise’s generous gift to the College of Medicine, visit the Belmont News site.

Cheers,

Greg

Faculty and Staff,

As you know, Belmont started the Bridges program in 2013 to deepen our connections to Nashville and to serve our community by providing local students—most of whom are first generation college attendees—access to higher education. This initiative was also a deliberate step on behalf of the University to enhance the campus’ cultural and ethnic diversity. Over the past eight years Belmont has welcomed more than 280 scholars from four local Metro Nashville Public High Schools, providing them with full scholarship support.

This program is a perfect representation of our vision to be community-engaging people. Our proximity to downtown is an ever-present visual reminder of our connection to Nashville. It’s also a reminder that we want Belmont to contribute to ensuring everyone in Middle Tennessee has an opportunity to flourish, from downtown to the suburbs to our surrounding rural areas. In addition to engaging with our region, we also want to be bridge builders, welcoming in under-resourced students who might not have otherwise considered private higher education to be a feasible option for their family.

I’m pleased to share with you that this morning we will be announcing a significant expansion of this program, increasing our scholarship offers to 50 students per year and expanding from four local high schools to 10. My hope is that the years to come will allow us to open the door to even more Middle Tennessee students so that they can fully capitalize on their academic potential. As part of this planned program expansion, we will also be increasing focus on specific areas that might impede students’ persistence and growth. A new “Student Success and Flourishing” initiative will be launched to provide academic and co-curricular support to guide students’ transition into and throughout their college careers. 

You can read more about all of this news on our Belmont News site.

For now, I hope you share my excitement about the growth of Bridges to Belmont and begin to imagine ways you may contribute to the continued success of this initiative.

Cheers,

Greg

Students, faculty and staff,

Good morning! It’s hard to believe that today marks my 100th day serving as Belmont’s president! I am thrilled to have the opportunity to build on the momentum already established at Belmont thanks to the leadership of Bob Fisher, and these first 100 days have been a gift of discovering the dynamic faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of Belmont—as well as the good will and respect for Belmont that exists throughout the Nashville community and middle Tennessee.

Most of all, I’m grateful. Grateful for the warm welcome and overwhelming support each of you have given to Susan and me. Grateful for the enthusiasm you’ve shared for Belmont and our vision to be the leading Christ-centered University in the world. Grateful for the many ways people and organizations have expressed their desire to partner with us to be agents of hope who can contribute to making a positive impact in our students’ lives and on society.

It’s truly an amazing time to be a part of the Belmont family. One hundred days in, Susan and I are even more excited to be at Belmont than we were on Day 1! We are energized by all we are discovering throughout the Belmont community as we dream God-sized dreams and execute on them. 

To celebrate, I’d like to invite you to join me, Susan and our Senior Leadership team this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the Maddox Grand Atrium for a brief time of fellowship and reflection on these first 100 days. I also want to use this moment and this afternoon’s event to hear from you. What are your dreams for Belmont? What should our priorities be for the next 100 days and the next 100 months? Yes, 100 months from now will be 2030. Please be thinking of the God-size dreams you have for Belmont University in 2030, the dreams so large and significant that they can only be achieved with God’s help and grace. We’ll provide an opportunity for you to share your aspirations for Belmont this afternoon. 

Again, thank you. It’s an honor for me to serve in this role, and I’m grateful for each of you who call Belmont home. 

Cheers,

Greg