'A beautiful partnership': Lipscomb, UT-Martin launch leadership program for rural students

Natalie Allison
The Tennessean
Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry III, left, and UT Martin Chancellor Keith Carver, right, sign an agreement for a new partnership to create a rural education program.

Lipscomb University and the University of Tennessee at Martin on Thursday announced a new program focused on developing a new generation of leaders in rural parts of the state.

The schools unveiled the new initiative, called the Rural Leadership Scholars Program, during an event Thursday afternoon at Lipscomb.

As part of the program, in exchange for committing to return to a rural Tennessee community after graduation, students can earn an undergraduate degree at a reduced cost from UT Martin and a master of arts degree in leadership and public service from Lipscomb University in Nashville.

The first group of master's students will enter the program at Lipscomb in the fall of 2020.

UT Martin Chancellor Keith Carver speaks during an event announcing a partnership with Lipscomb University.

In a statement, Lipscomb University described the goal of the program as developing master's degree-educated rural leaders "who will commit their careers to developing the rural segments of the state."

"This is really, really important work,” Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry, Lipscomb University said at a signing ceremony to formalize the partnership.

“We as an institution need to be educating individuals who will go into the public sector, tackle those challenges that frankly can’t be tackled by anyone else."

UT Martin Chancellor Keith Carver called the agreement a "beautiful partnership" between the two institutions.

"The merger of these two programs where we take academic study of leadership, applying it — it’s taking two great things and making a beautiful partnership," Carver said. "We are extremely excited about this and to see the impact that this will have.”

State Rep. Mark White, chair of the House education committee, is the director of leadership and public service at Lipscomb University.

"The need for community leadership in all social contexts has never been greater than in the present, whether the context is urban, rural, suburban, economically challenged or affluent," White, R-Memphis, said in a statement on the program. 

The program will include hands-on learning experiences in city and county governments, businesses and public and private organizations in Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville and in small towns, including mentoring by top leaders around the state. 

A student relaxes on the Lipscomb campus.

It will be offered in a flexible format to accommodate working students.

Courses will focus on leadership in rural and statewide settings, interacting with a range of interest groups, budget management and other topics.

“Leadership is difficult and only slightly more difficult in rural communities,” said Jake Bynum, the mayor of Weakley County, Tennessee, and a student in Lipscomb’s Master of Arts in Leadership and Public Service program.

“The challenges that our rural communities face are like nothing that we see in a lot of areas. With 70 counties across the state that are primarily rural counties, developing leaders in those areas is vitally important. It’s my hope that those communities will encourage their local leaders to participate in this program to give their communities a better understanding of how they can be served more successfully."

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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