Retired HCA Healthcare Chairman and CEO, Belmont Board of Trustees Chair recognized for transformational leadership and commitment to education
Belmont University has named retired HCA Healthcare Chairman and CEO Milton Johnson the 2025 recipient of its prestigious Rick Byrd Character Award. Named in honor of the University's legendary former Men's Basketball Coach Rick Byrd, this annual award celebrates leaders who exemplify Christ-centered leadership through humility, integrity and a lifelong pursuit of excellence. Through this recognition, Belmont honors individuals who, like Coach Byrd, contribute significantly to their communities and professions while promoting a legacy of leadership and a culture of selfless service.
"Milton Johnson embodies the values this award celebrates," said Belmont President Greg Jones. "His approach to leadership is the perfect example for how we hope to shape students–– with humility, gratitude and a conviction that success means creating pathways for others. He leads with the integrity Coach Byrd continues to champion, investing personally in our next generation."
Johnson’s Belmont journey began as a student on scholarship, an experience that shaped his life’s trajectory and ignited a passion for expanding educational access. After graduating in 1979, Johnson built a distinguished 37-year career at HCA Healthcare, rising through financial and senior management roles to ultimately lead the organization as chair and CEO. Under his leadership, HCA Healthcare grew to become one of the nation’s leading health care providers with hospitals and care sites across 20 states and the United Kingdom.
Throughout his tenure, Johnson became recognized as a thought leader in health care innovation and patient-centered care, advocating for systems that put patients first and championing collaborative approaches to solving complex health care challenges. His commitment to service extended to board leadership roles in his community, including with the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, the Nashville Health Care Council, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, FirstBank and as board chair for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce. In 2021, Johnson was unanimously elected chair of Belmont’s Board of Trustees bringing his strategic vision and deep commitment to the University’s mission to this leadership role.
As a first-generation college student and Metro Nashville Public Schools graduate himself, Johnson understood firsthand the barriers many local students face in accessing higher education. His experience fueled a vision to create education pathways for others. In 2015, he and his wife Denice, a former educator, supported the launch of the Bridges to Belmont program with a $10 million gift, designed to enroll qualified, high-potential students from Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). The program, renamed Bell Tower Scholars in 2021, has grown from serving 27 students at four high schools to supporting 50 students annually from all 12 MNPS-zoned high schools. Since the program’s inception, nearly 500 students have attended Belmont through the initiative, receiving full scholarships covering tuition, fees, room and board, books and academic supplies for four years of study.
The Johnsons’ commitment to Belmont extends beyond the Bell Tower Scholars program to include support for the Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine and the recent historic $30 million Johnson Academic Challenge, a matching fund initiative designed to create up to 20 endowed professorships that will attract innovative faculty across Belmont's academic programs.
Beyond financial support, Johnson and his wife Denice remain actively engaged in the lives of students whose Belmont experience is made possible by their gifts, spending time each year mentoring and supporting these scholars. This hands-on approach to philanthropy reflects Johnson's belief that education's power lies not just in access, but in sustained investment in students' growth and development.
The Rick Byrd Character Award was presented Friday, Oct. 17 during the University's two-day launch of its comprehensive Hope Transforms fundraising campaign. Hope Transforms — the University's most ambitious fundraising initiative in its 135-year history — is a $700 million campaign designed to fuel Belmont's vision to become the leading Christ-centered university in the world through three pillars: character, creativity and innovation. Johnson's recognition as the Rick Byrd Character Award recipient underscores the campaign's focus on forming diverse leaders of character who solve complex problems and champion human flourishing.
Johnson joins previous recipients including musicians and humanitarians Vince Gill and Amy Grant (2024), Porter's Call founder Al Andrews (2023), and former Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and former First Lady Crissy Haslam (2022).