Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It became Belmont University in 1991. As of 2025, Belmont reports its enrollment as "nearly 9,000 students from every state and more than 30 countries." The university cut official ties with the Tennessee Baptist Convention in 2007, but still calls itself a "Christian, student-focused community".
History
The university originated with the founding of the Belmont Women's College in 1890 by Susan Ledley Heron and Ida Emily Hood,George Thomas Kurian, World Encyclopedia of Cities, ABC-CLIO, 1994, p. 625 on the site of the Belmont Mansion, built by Joseph Acklen and Adelicia (Hayes) Acklen.
Upon the retirement of Heron and Hood, Belmont Women's College merged with Ward Seminary in 1913 and was known as Ward—Belmont College, which included both a junior college and college-prep (or high) school for women.Ward-Belmont Alumnae Gather for Reunion. forum.belmont.edu The Belmont Mansion is owned by Belmont University but maintained by the Belmont Mansion Association, a non-profit group. The mansion is open for tours. It features Victorian art and furnishings. The water tower, gardens, with surviving gazebos and outdoor statuary from the Acklen era, are part of the college campus. In 1991, the school became Belmont University.
The university was awarded the Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation for their contributions to the promotion of mutual understanding between Japan and the US on December 1, 2020.
Nashville's first radio station
The first radio station in Nashville went on air in May 1922 when John "Jack" DeWitt Jr., a high school student, installed a transmitter at Belmont. The station, WDAA, was born when Dr. C. E. Crosland, Associate President, realized the potential advertising value to the college of a radio station. The WDAA program on April 18, 1922, marked the first time a music program was broadcast in Nashville. The broadcast could be heard 150 to from the school. Ties to the Tennessee Baptist Convention In 1951, the Tennessee Baptist Convention bought Ward–Belmont College, the finishing school operated in Nashville by Ward–Belmont, Inc., which was facing severe financial difficulties. The convention established the co-educational Belmont College in March 1951, selecting R. Kelly White as president. In 1959, Herbert Gabhart succeeded White and Belmont was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Enrollment rose from 365 students to 2,000, and the college launched a music business program. He was succeeded by Bill Troutt in 1982, who, at 32, was the youngest college president in the nation. In 1991, it changed its name to Belmont University.
In 2005 Belmont's board of trustees sought to remove Belmont University from the control of the Tennessee Baptist Convention while remaining in a "fraternal relationship" with it. Advocates of this plan presented a blueprint for change in which all board members would be Christians, but only 60 percent would be Baptists to affirm a Christian affinity while acknowledging the diversity of both the faculty and the student body. The head of the TBC would continue to be an ex officio board member. The TBC rejected this plan. In November 2005, TBC said it wanted to shift its financial support to two other institutions, Union University and Carson-Newman College. Belmont would replace the three percent of its budget that was funded by the TBC. However, on April 7, 2006, TBC sought to oust the existing board and replace it with one consisting entirely of Southern Baptists and amenable to ongoing TBC control. After settlement talks failed, the Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Board filed a lawsuit on September 29, 2006, against Belmont seeking the return of approximately $58 million.Jane R. Porter, Tennessee Baptist Group Sues Belmont U. for Return of Contributions, chronicle.com, USA, October 4, 2006
Belmont severed its ties with the Tennessee Baptist Convention in 2007, with the announcement that it would be a Christian university without any denominational affiliations. Under its terms, the TBC and Belmont would disaffiliate amicably, with Belmont agreeing to pay $1 million to the convention immediately and $250,000 annually for the next forty years, for a total cost of $11 million.Tom Bartlett, Belmont U. Agrees to Pay $11-Million to Tennessee Baptist Convention, Settling Lawsuit and Severing Ties, chronicle.com, USA, November 14, 2007 The university has stated its intent to maintain a Christian identity but no longer a specifically Baptist one.Belmont, Tennessee Baptists, Settle Lawsuit, End Relationship. Ethicsdaily.com. Retrieved on May 9, 2012.
21st century Belmont University became a catalyst for anti-discrimination protests in December 2010, when women's soccer coach Lisa Howe allegedly lost her job at the university on December 2 after announcing that she was having three children with her same-sex partner. Howe's dismissal sparked protests from students and local and national gay-rights advocates. These events led to a citywide anti-discrimination ordinance being passed by the Nashville City Council in January 2011. On January 26, 2011, President Bob Fisher announced that Belmont has added sexual orientation to the university's non-discrimination policies. Belmont is a Christian university that was widely regarded for its progressive ideals until the controversy broke out over Howe's departure. The college was criticized for not allowing a group with a mission to support gay students and explore the intersection of Christianity and homosexuality called Bridge Builders to officially form as a student group. At a news conference, Fisher stated that they had resubmitted the application. On February 27, 2011, Belmont University officially recognized the gay student organization for the first time. Belmont Provost Thomas Burns and Bridge Builders President Robbie Maris announced the decision to recognize the student group in a joint statement.
In February 2018, Belmont University took ownership of the O'More College of Design. On March 6, 2019, Belmont University announced that its current College of Visual and Performing Arts will be separated into two distinct colleges with defined areas of focus: the College of Music and Performing Arts will include all music, theatre and dance programs while the O'More College of Architecture, Art and Design will house architecture, art, fashion, interior design and design communications.
Two years later, Belmont University announced that they would merge with Watkins College of Art, Design & Film, located in Nashville. Belmont and Watkins planned to evaluate employment needs based on the number of students transferring, existing capacities, and related considerations. As a long-standing Christian institution, Belmont's policy intention was to hire faculty and staff who support the Christian institution's mission, vision, and values; however, due to the nature of merging institutions, the university announced special consideration will be given to current Watkins employees regardless of their position of faith. In May 2021, Belmont sold the former Watkins College campus for $22.5 million, funds which the university states will underwrite scholarships for students of the visual arts.
In July 2020, a group of Belmont University students and alumni began to draw attention to the university's longstanding relationship with CoreCivic (formerly the Corrections Corporation of America), asking the school to divest from any financial ties to CoreCivic and for-profit prisons. The relationship between CoreCivic and the university extends to the early 1980s. In 1983, notable Tennessee businessman Jack C. Massey, provided a portion of the initial funding to begin Corrections Corporation of America, along with Thomas Beasley. Discussed as early as 1966, Belmont's Massey Graduate School of Business was founded shortly after in 1986. Beasley has also funded major programs at the school, including a free enterprise institute at the Massey Business School. In 2018, Damon Hininger, CEO of CoreCivic, joined the Belmont University Board of Trustees. Shortly after students and alumni began a petition asking for his removal. Hininger is not the first board member with ties to CoreCivic. The current board includes Andrea Overby (donor to CoreCivic PAC in 2018 and wife of Charles Overby, former CCA board member) as well as John Ferguson (former CCA president). As of April 2021, Damon Hininger was no longer a member of the board, having completed his allowed number of terms.
Presidents L. Gregory Jones (2021–present) Robert Fisher (2000–2021) Bill Troutt (1982–2000) Herbert Gabhart (1959–1982) R. Kelly White (1951–1959)
Academics Belmont University offers bachelor's degrees in over 130 academic majors in twelve colleges with 31 master's and eight doctoral programs. Belmont and HCA created a health sciences consortium with local universities to alleviate the shortage of nurses and health care professionals in the local community,Blake Farmer Belmont nurses will get HCA training. Nashville City Paper, June 12, 2006 and provides students with shared office space and mentoring from faculty, local entrepreneurs, and attorneys. Journalism students have gained work experience at The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Daily Show, CBS Evening News, and the British Broadcasting Corp.
Undergraduate admissions In 2026, Belmont University accepted 96.4% of undergraduate applicants with those enrolled having an average 3.83 high school GPA, ranking No.3 in Tennessee for the highest average GPA. The university does not require submission of standardized test scores, but they will be considered as part of an application if submitted. Those enrolled who submitted test scores had an average 1260 SAT score (20% submitting scores) or an average 26 ACT score (43% submitting scores).
Rankings
In the 2025 U.S. News & World Report college rankings, Belmont was tied for 220 out of 394 in the category of National Universities.
Music and music business programs Belmont's Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business (CEMB) consists of current/former authors, performers, expert witnesses (for industry lawsuits), artist managers, lawyers, record label executives, songwriters, and others. Mike Curb is the CEO of Curb Records. He was a producer, songwriter, and company executive and one of the most successful record men of the sixties and seventies. He is the department's namesake. The former dean of the CEMB, Jim Van Hook, is a legendary Nashville label head, especially as part of the Christian music industry. One of the hallmarks of the program is its internship program, which sends hundreds of students annually out into the Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles music industries to intern for record labels, management companies, publishing companies, booking agencies, publicists, recording studios, law firms, and other businesses.
Besides having three professional-quality recording studios on campus, Belmont owns the Belmont Studios (including Ocean Way Nashville), part of which is operated for-profit (used by such artists as Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, and Bob Seger), and part of which is used by students. Ocean Way Nashville, purchased by Belmont in 2001, has recorded thousands of tracks including the score for The Last of Us, a top-selling game that won Best Audio in the global GANG (Game Audio Network Guild) Awards.
Schools and colleges College of Education College of Law College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences College of Sciences & Mathematics College of Music & Performing Arts Gordon E. Inman College of Nursing Interdisciplinary Studies & Global Education Jack C. Massey College of Business