2 min read November 2023 — Greg Jones, president of Belmont University, sat down with Invest: to discuss the university’s growth, the importance of collaborating with and alongside community partners and decision-makers, and the emerging opportunities as Middle Tennessee’s population continues to expand.
How has your team pinpointed the types of courses to be included in the Belmont Online platform?
Belmont Online is part of a larger initiative called Educational Innovation, derived from the needs of continuous learning and upskilling. Part of it originated from overtures from companies in Nashville who expressed their needs in ongoing upskilling for their workforces. As we continued to hear this message from many partners across the city, we saw a need to increase our nimbleness and ability to respond. Online learning is a key component of this strategy, as is the broader educational innovation included in certificate programs and other upskill offerings. Because some organizations are local, we can do that learning in-person, but the online component gives us the opportunity to serve a whole new constituency and audience. We have been developing a mix of programs where we already had significant strength, such as songwriting, and are continuing our efforts to develop more and more offerings.
How is Belmont addressing the need for healthcare workers?
The need for physicians, nurses and other healthcare workers is extraordinary. We have to be looking at healthcare education more broadly, and we are glad to be developing the First College of Medicine to help with the physician shortage. The broader healthcare environment is one where workforce development is very crucial. The role of physician assistants and nurse practitioners is becoming even more important, especially in rural environments where shortages are most acutely felt.
The accreditation process requires that institutions have faculty and staff hired early in the process to work through curriculum design, so we have had a large collection of team members focused on these efforts. We submitted our accreditation documents in late spring of 2023, had a visit from the LCME accreditation body in July and heard in mid-October that we have earned Preliminary Accreditation and are able to begin recruiting our first class. We are greatly looking forward to welcoming this class in summer 2024!
How has the transition to the MVC affected the university?
It has been a great first year. We love being in the Missouri Valley Conference, and we did well in our first year. Our women’s basketball team won the season title, which was absolutely terrific, and the visibility was great. We were on ESPN more often, and the conference tournaments were in St. Louis, which is a great sign of visibility, as well. Being in the Chicago market for games is also terrific and we’re grateful to be among such a wonderful mix of public and private universities and colleges in the MVC. It is a great fit for Belmont.
How does Belmont University plan to interact with and support the new incoming administration?
We care a lot about the city and our relationships. We hosted mayoral debates in our Fisher Center, and we want to be a place that is a convener to welcome and draw people together. We love working with the city and other constituents on challenging problems we face. Belmont is engaged in multiple ways with the city, state, nonprofit organizations and businesses. We are a solution-oriented partner who seeks to work alongside others throughout the region.
How do you view the growth trajectory in Nashville and what opportunities does that provide?
I am a proponent of growth, as long as we manage it well and address issues such as transportation, child development and housing. The key is to determine what we want to be known for—and who we want to be as a community. It’s not effective to say that we don’t want to be Atlanta or any other specific city—none of us introduce ourselves by saying what we aren’t. Instead, we talk about what we are passionate about and committed to. You can see how growth can occur in life-giving ways here. Nashville will flourish when not only the city is flourishing, but the surrounding counties and communities flourish, too. That provides us with significant opportunities. A phenomenon happening in Middle Tennessee is the emergence of veterans moving into the area. We have the opportunity to tap into their incredible skills and character, while meeting the needs they have. We want to continue to develop this throughout our campus.
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