Skip to main content
Belmont University logo
Historic photo of students in front of the Belmont Mansion in winter

Belmont History

Belmont's rich history tells a story of determination, commitment and faith. The timeline below highlights a number of moments throughout the institution's first 125 years that have contributed to the University we celebrate today.

1889

arrow

Belmont founders Susan L. Heron and Ida B. Hood choose the dilapidated, antebellum former Belle Monte estate site as the grounds for what is now known as Belmont University. The Bell Tower, Belmont’s now famous cornerstone, inspired the duo to push forward despite the property’s condition, as they later noted “It was the old tower that did it.”

Dotted Line

September 4, 1890

arrow

With 90 enrolled students and $60 tuition, Belmont College for Young Women opens, bucking traditional finishing schools and providing cultural, intellectual and social learning and the empowerment of “lives of purpose.”

dot connector

1913

arrow

Heron and Hood retire, and the College merges with Nashville’s prestigious Ward Seminary for Young Ladies, forming Ward-Belmont College.

Dotted Line

1922

arrow

Ward-Belmont is home to the production of Nashville’s first radio broadcast, a concert by Pianist Philip Gordon before a live audience of Ward-Belmont students and their families.

dot connector

November 17, 1934

arrow

In the wake of the Great Depression, FDR visits campus with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Classes are suspended, and students welcome the presidential brigade to campus.

Dotted Line

Late 1950

arrow

Due to bank debts and intimidating endowment requirements, Ward-Belmont’s Board begins looking for new options.

dot connector

February 27, 1951

arrow

The Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Board unanimously votes to purchase Ward-Belmont’s property.

Dotted Line

Spring, 1951

arrow

Ward-Belmont becomes a co-educational, four-year institution, and the former Ward-Belmont preparatory school moves to a 26-acre estate across town. Enrolling 161 girls during its first year, the school would continue on to become Harpeth Hall, one of the finest schools for girls in the nation.

Dotted Line

May 1951

arrow

The newly appointed board of trustees meet to choose a name for the school. After going through a number of ideas, the decision is made – Belmont College.

Dotted Line

April 27, 1959

arrow

Dr. Herbert Gabhart, pastor of Memphis’s McLean Boulevard Baptist Church, accepts an offer to become Belmont’s President.

Dotted Line

March 11, 1965

arrow

Belmont’s Board unanimously passes the recommendation to admit any student that meets requirements, regardless of race. Additionally, Dr. Gabhart signs the Certification of Assurance of Compliance with Provisions of Civil Right Act of 1964.

dot connector

1966

arrow

Belmont begins construction on an auditorium and fine arts center, and with a gift of $250,000, Nashville businessman and philanthropist Jack. C Massey earns naming rights. At the dedication, Massey shocks Dr. Gabhart by announcing his desire to also fund a state-of-the-art business program at Belmont.

Dotted Line

1968

arrow

Coach Betty Wiseman launches Belmont’s women’s basketball program, the first of its kind in the south.

Dotted Line

Spring 1970

arrow

Fannie Delores Valree is the first African-American student to graduate from Belmont College, earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree.

dot connector

1971

arrow

Professor Robert E. Mulloy launches an Introduction to Music Business course, based on a suggestion from music legend Roy Acuff, and the school’s music business program is born.

Dotted Line

December 1972

arrow

Blanton Hall, a cornerstone for Belmont College’s campus, burns down taking with it registrar records, in-progress faculty dissertations and the College’s library, an estimated $2 million in damages.

Dotted Line

1982

arrow

Dr. Gabhart retires as president of Belmont College and moves into the position of Chancellor, one he would serve in for 27 more years. During his time as president, enrollment grew from 365 to more than 2,000, and the budget grew from $480,000 to $8 million. Dr. Bill Troutt, Belmont College executive vice president, steps into the role of president after Dr. Gabhart’s retirement, making him the youngest college president in the U.S.

Dotted Line

1986

arrow

Dr. Bill Troutt and Belmont Trustee Drew Maddux bring the carillon bells back to the Bell Tower, after they had been sold years before for desperately needed funds. Faculty, staff, students and neighbors gather to welcome the bells back home.

Dotted Line

1991

arrow

Belmont College becomes Belmont University.

Dotted Line

1999

arrow

Because of Troutt’s push for athletic programs to be more widely recognized, Belmont officially becomes a member of NCAA Division I.

Dotted Line

2000

arrow

Dr. Bob Fisher is hired as president after a successful career as a higher education vice president, professor and economist.

Dotted Line

2003

arrow

Belmont opens the Beaman Student Life Center, Curb Event Center and Maddox Grand Atrium, a $52 million, three-building athletic and student life complex that further illustrates Belmont’s commitment to the student experience, both in and out of the classroom.

Dotted Line

November 2007

arrow

A lawsuit between Belmont and the Tennessee Baptist Convention reaches a mutually agreed upon resolution. With the settlement, Belmont honors its Baptist heritage but steps forward as an independent, ecumenical Christian university with no denominational ties.

dot connector

October 7, 2008

arrow

The 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate is held at Belmont University with NBC News’ Tom Brokaw moderating the debate between then Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. With the debate comes full campaigns along with national and international media attention.

Dotted Line

October 7, 2009

arrow

Belmont announces its intention to open a College of Law, the first newly accredited law school in Middle Tennessee in nearly 100 years.

dot connector

2011

arrow

Belmont funds the renovation of historic E.S. Rose Park as a shared facilities concept for use by Metro Schools, the Easley Center, the community and Belmont. Rose Park serves as a constant reminder of the partnership between Belmont, the city and the neighborhood. 

Dotted Line

March 2013

arrow

Belmont launches the Bridges to Belmont program, designed to enroll 26 qualified, high potential students from Metro Nashville Public Schools who may not have previously been able to consider Belmont as an option.

Dotted Line

February 10, 2014

arrow

Following the renovation of an original club house, the Foutch Alumni House opens to welcome alumni “back home” with open arms.

Dotted Line

August 2014

arrow

Belmont opens the Wedgewood Academic Center, a five-story 186,000-square foot building home to three University colleges and the campus’s first Chapel, supporting Dr. Fisher’s “Bob the Builder” nickname.

Dotted Line

January 2015

arrow

Basketball legend and Head Coach Rick Byrd becomes the 25th head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history to win 700 games.

Dotted Line

August 2015

arrow

Belmont opens its newest addition - a four-story, 116,000-square-foot Academic and Dining Complex that will house campus' new Dining Hall, Media Studies Program and the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business.

Dotted Line

Today

arrow

Investing more than 800 million dollars in the University’s brick and mortar, Belmont’s team has put just as much into what President Fisher calls the University’s most valuable asset – its people. Nationally ranked and consistently recognized as a “Most Innovative” university by U.S. News & World Report, Belmont University is home to nearly 9,000 students who come from every state and more than 36 countries. With more than 95 areas of undergraduate study, 25 master’s programs and five doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont can expand an individual’s horizon.