Nashville College & University Expansion

[Nash_12South]

Yes - the main entry will be off Belmont

[markhollin]

TSU Health Sciences Building (4 stories) update.  Topped out.

[markhollin]

Belmont University South Garage/Tennis Facility (3 stories, 830 spaces) update:  Pouring basement level below grade.

Looking south from Bernard Ave., 1/2 block east of Belmont Blvd:

Looking west from Bernard Ave., 1/2 block east of Belmont Blvd:

[markhollin]

Aquinas College Library update.  Exterior complete.

 

[markhollin]

Not new construction, but just a nice view of Fisk University's grand old main building:
 

[NashWellington11]

5 hours ago, markhollin said:

Not new construction, but just a nice view of Fisk University's grand old main building:
 

If Fisk keeps its current trajectory, someday this will be a beautiful mixed use apartment/condo building...

[nashvylle]

8 hours ago, NashWellington11 said:

If Fisk keeps its current trajectory, someday this will be a beautiful mixed use apartment/condo building...

What do you mean? 

[PillowTalk4]

12 hours ago, nashvylle said:

What do you mean? 

I'm going to assume he/she means if their enrollment declines and financial condition doesn't improve.  We should all hope that Fisk stabilizes and thrives. 

 

 

[PillowTalk4]

Update on TSU's new dorms.

TSU announced that the State Building Commission has given the green light for the construction on the first of two new residence halls.  Construction will start in January of 2020 and will take approximately 18-20 months.  The facility will be six stories, house 700 students and is estimate to cost $75.3M.  It will be built between the Eppse Hall (existing dorm) and the TSU Performing Arts Center.  

The new residence facility will include an assortment of room types, four dining concepts, a fitness facility, indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, spa concept in some bathrooms, and laundry rooms.  It will have three sections that will be 4, 5 and 6-stories.

Below is a rendering of the new residence hall at TSU.  The design is blah in my opinion.  I'm thinking the design architects were trying to design a building that would fit in with the existing dorms that are nearby.  Granted it is better than those dorms, but I was hoping for something with a bit more architecture to them.   Nonetheless, this new residence hall is very much needed at TSU and is long overdue.

This is the location on campus where the new residence hall will be built.  This is at the intersection of 33rd Ave. North and Albion Street (which is on the south side of the TSU campus).

[NashWellington11]

3 hours ago, PillowTalk4 said:

I'm going to assume he/she means if their enrollment declines and financial condition doesn't improve.  We should all hope that Fisk stabilizes and thrives. 

 

 

You are correct. I certainly hope for the best for Fisk.  I lived near Howard in DC and it was thriving despite its own financial woes and mismanagement. A thriving HBCU would certainly be a huge boon for Nashville's continued growth and increase opportunities and diversity in Nashville's professional class. 

[markhollin]

Volunteer State Community College will be building a new satellite campus on 10 acres on East Division St., about 1/2 mile east of the Mt. Juliet Chamber of Commerce building. The size of the structure(s) and timeline are still being determined.

More at The Tennessean here:

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/wilson/2019/12/04/volunteer-state-community-college-closes-land-deals-future-wilson-county-campus/2609893001/

 

[PillowTalk4]

On 12/4/2019 at 1:20 PM, NashWellington11 said:

You are correct. I certainly hope for the best for Fisk.  I lived near Howard in DC and it was thriving despite its own financial woes and mismanagement. A thriving HBCU would certainly be a huge boon for Nashville's continued growth and increase opportunities and diversity in Nashville's professional class. 

Couldn't agree with you more.  Unfortunately, most HBCU's were and still are neglected and poorly funded.  Whether private or public.   North Carolina seems to be the only state that is currently allocating more and more funding to support their public HBCU's.  As a result, North Carolina A&T in particular has seen a dramatic increase in its enrollment.  But even their smaller public HBCU's are experiencing steady growth.  They are all steadily increasing their academic offerings an standards.  Fisk, TSU and Meharry are all gems for Nashville.  While there isn't much the state nor the city can do to financially support Fisk and Meharry, the state in particular can do more to support TSU.  Tennessee State seems to be stagnant if not losing ground not only among HBCU's nationally, but among non-HBCU's in the State of Tennessee as well.  While it is not the only university in Tennessee to experience a decline in enrollment, it probably is impacted more by a decline than any other.   There is still a demand for an HBCU education.   I personally think the State of Tennessee is missing a golden opportunity to establish TSU into much more than what it is.  And, I will say this as an alumnus as well, I don't think the current leadership at TSU is capable of leading and growing the university.  I hope that Dr. Glover (TSU president) and the board of trustees prove me wrong.   A thriving TSU will attract a stronger talent pool of students from all over.  It will enhance the area in which the campus sits.  It will further enhance Nashville's ability to provide employers with a well educated and diverse resource pool to hire from.  Something prospective employers look for when making decisions about setting up office in any given city.  It will also be another reference of pride for the city to showcase.

[rolly]

The problem is the lack of diversity at those schools. When you discourage asian students, hispanic students, and so on,  well, you're cutting out lots of opportunity. These schools are going to need to evolve and open up to everyone. 

[ruraljuror]

2 hours ago, rolly said:

The problem is the lack of diversity at those schools. When you discourage asian students, hispanic students, and so on,  well, you're cutting out lots of opportunity. These schools are going to need to evolve and open up to everyone. 

I think that most if not all HBCUs are already open to everyone, regardless of race.  

As examples, Fisk and Meharry both have student populations that are around 80% black or African American, while TSU's black or AA population is around 73%.

Comparing those numbers to UT Knoxville which has a student population that's about 76% white, (or Lipscomb at 75% white and Belmont at 79% white) makes me think that the problems that HBCUs are facing isn't necessarily about lack of diversity, though I agree with you that more diversity is always welcome. 

[rolly]

The HBCUs are open to anyone, as is required legally under the Constitution, but diversity is not encouraged by the very charter of the school. When black Americans are 13% of the general population, but make up 80% of the school, that is hardly representative of a diverse population like a student will encounter in the business world.

At UTK or MTSU a student will run into people a cross section of different backgrounds from many countries.  That's the value of a diverse education that you can't get at these schools with lopsided ratios of students that are nothing like the walls outside the school. Hence the decline of these institutions as new students want to be where it's more like the real world works.

The good thing is many of these campuses have great real estate value, and can generate revenue from property sales while they work on a track to get their student populations to look more like America.   A good example is Shaw University in Raleigh, which has a great campus right downtown, but is always out of money and struggles to pay their expenses. There has been discussion of them merging with a nearby HBCU (St Aug Univ) and using property sales to help cover their shortfall. 

Edited December 9, 2019 by rolly
typo

[fishsticks176]

An ex of mine went to Fisk and said that while it was technically open to everyone, some of the professors were openly hostile toward non-black students and at least one would even preach “white devil” hate speech from the podium. I know there’s also a larger social discussion around whether or not it’s even appropriate for white students to attend HBCUs. Vox did an interesting documentary about that a couple years ago and a lot of black HBCU students interviewed were very against it. I think that one was filmed at Morehouse. 

Anyway, apparently Fisk faculty has been debating for years now whether to advertise and actively try to recruit more non-black students in order to fill ever-growing holes in the budget and secure their long-term viability. I don’t think they’ve made any steps in that direction though. It’s an amazing institution that does a lot of good for the community and adds to the prestige of Nashville and I really hope that one way or another they find the means to thrive. As much as I would cherish  the opportunity to live in a building like that one day, I would hate to see that campus dismantled and turned into condos.

[ruraljuror]

2 hours ago, rolly said:

When black Americans are 13% of the general population, but make up 80% of the school, that is hardly representative of a diverse population like a student will encounter in the business world.

You're right on the statistics, of course - but following your logic would mean that there just wouldn't be any universities where black people make up the majority, since they don't represent the diverse population that a student might encounter in the business world.  Also, expecting HBCUs to accurately reflect the population as whole ignores the main reason that caused most of these schools to be founded - which I believe was that black people weren't being allowed to attend the Historically White Colleges and Universities of the time.

 

2 hours ago, rolly said:

At UTK or MTSU a student will run into people a cross section of different backgrounds from many countries.  That's the value of a diverse education that you can't get at these schools with lopsided ratios of students that are nothing like the walls outside the school. Hence the decline of these institutions as new students want to be where it's more like the real world works.

I don't necessarily disagree with anything you're saying here before you get to the 'Hence'.  The questions that I have are about where you draw the line in terms of reflecting the general population as a whole, and then attributing lopsided ratios as the reason for HBCUs decline. 

For example, Belmont and Lipscomb presumably have a much higher percentage of Christian students than the US as a whole, but I've never heard that be used  to explain away their shortcomings or the lack of preparedness of their graduates to interact with the business community at large.  More importantly to your point, both institutions appear to be thriving despite their demographic lopsidedness.  Similarly, I've never heard this argument used in connection with the former all-girls schools like Sara Lawrence (20% male population) or Wellesley (a whopping 2% male attendance ratio - clearly pretty far off the general business population to say the least) and these schools are practically Ivy League in prestige. 

 

 

[titanhog]

Hard for me to understand how any university is financially unstable these days.  Tuition has skyrocketed and with lottery scholarships in so many states, almost anyone who can qualify can now afford to go to college (which is why so many colleges have grown so fast).  Only thing I can think of is mismanagement as the #1 cause for many of these universities...especially Fisk.  They've had financial issues for decades.

[MidTenn1]

I have nothing but the highest respect and honor for the history and the role that Fisk University plays in the world.  Its role in the early civil rights movement is celebrated world wide for the concept of peaceful protest, which more than anything, helped end segregation as the law of the land. It is a sacred place and I for one am proud it still stands. And with this legacy, I fully understand there is a need to direct its efforts toward honoring the legacy of providing education to those who were not welcome elsewhere. 

And I am delighted that I have been invited to contribute my own labor and talents toward a project Fisk wants to implement in the near future. It will be something special.

As for whatever current struggles Fisk faces, I won't jump to any conclusions. I just hope it continues to thrive for many, many years.

[titanhog]

^^Yes...Fisk is a gem, which is why their financial issues are so frustrating.

And...Fisk Jubilee Singers are a treasure!  May they prosper forever.

Edited December 10, 2019 by titanhog

[markhollin]

Lipscomb University NorthGarage (3 levels, 600 spaces) update. Foundational dig underway.

Looking SE from Grandview Dr., 1/2 block east of Belmont Blvd:

Looking south from Grandview Dr., 1/2 block east of Belmont Blvd:

[PillowTalk4]

The debate regarding HBCU's is interesting.  Cultural conditioning plays a significant role in how one perceives and addresses many issues.  When it comes to majority African American communities, businesses, schools and other institutions it really becomes apparent.  Not to drag this subject on, because this site isn't intended for such debate, but it is a good discussion nonetheless, let me add that at one point TSU was the most diverse school in the state of Tennessee.  It just so happened that it is an HBCU.  When most non-HBCU's in Tennessee had less than 5% African American enrollment, TSU had a white enrollment close to 25%.  Now to be fully honest, most of the white enrollment came as result of the merger between UT Nashville and TSU.  But, TSU maintained a white enrollment that always fluctuated between 20 and 25 percent.  Then you had between 5 and 10 percent that made up other nationalities.   In the late 80's TSU  was mandated by the State of Tennessee to increase its white enrollment to 50%.  Funding for TSU was temporarily increased to help make TSU more attractive to white students.  Which many blacks found offensive, because it took a state mandate to increase white enrollment, just for TSU to get funding it needed long before such a mandate.  The mandate also required TSU to offer free tuition to white students to aid in meeting the 50% enrollment goal.  This was not the mandate to non-HBCU's in an effort to increase black enrollment.  And, their goals for increasing black enrollment were no where near as much of stretch as it was for TSU.  All that being said and there is so much more to be said about that, one thing that those who were proponents of the mandate didn't consider was that a college education is a choice.  Where you go to college it is a choice.  Proponents of the TSU mandate failed to consider that a great majority of white students wouldn't even consider an HBCU.  Even if they could go for free.   Some of that can be attributed to racism.  Some of it can be contributed to cultural conditioning regarding HBCU's.  Some just couldn't handle being in the minority.  So, why choose to be? 

Finally, to feed off of ruraljuror's comments,  please allow me to make it clear that blacks did not create Black Colleges and Universities (BCU's) now known as HBCU's.  Such schools were initially created by white's for multiple reasons.  The most common reason was to provide education to blacks because they were not permitted to attend colleges and universities with white Americans.  HBCU's initially started as teaching schools to increase the number of black teachers so that they could in turn teach other blacks post civil war.  After all, to maintain a segregated education system, you would need black teachers.  BCU's were also needed during the reconstruction era to help train former slaves in various industries.  Keep in mind the early enrollments of BCU's were students that were former slaves and their direct descendants.  Most had no formal education before that.  But the desire to learn, the motivation to be more and do more became the foundation for the growth of BCU's, despite the rules of a free but segregated land.

[MLBrumby]

Would you guys please take this discussion to the Coffee House?

[markhollin]

Belmont University Performing Arts Center (1,700 seats) update. 

Looking west from Bernard Ave, 1 block north of Compton Ave:

Looking SW from Bernard Ave, 1 block north of Compton Ave:

Looking east from Belmont Blvd., 1 block north of Compton Ave:




Looking south from Belmont Blvd., 1 block north of Compton Ave:

 

Looking north from intersection of Compton Ave. and Belmont Blvd:

 

Looking east from intersection of Compton Ave. and Belmont Blvd:

[markhollin]

Lipscomb Univ. Shinn Center (2 stories, 33,000 sq. ft.) is complete and open.

Looking north from Green HillsDrive, 1/2 block east of Belmont Blvd:

Looking NE from intersection of Belmont Blvd. and Green Hills Dr:

Looking east from Belmont Blvd., 1/4 block north of Green Hills Dr: