萌妹社区

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Press Release

萌妹社区 trustees break ground on
first building of Campus Master Plan  


Dr. David S. DockeryJackson, Tenn. - 萌妹社区 University's Board of Trustees broke ground today on a 20,000 square-foot facility for its bookstore, making 萌妹社区 the site of the only Baptist Book Store/Lifeway Christian Store on a college or university campus. The bookstore is the first building to be constructed under the Campus Master Plan and will sit between the Blasingame Academic Complex and the Highway 45 Bypass.

The groundbreaking ceremony immediately followed the Board's fall meeting on 萌妹社区's campus. During the meeting, Trustees received reports of several university achievements, including:

  • The university's largest freshman class ever, totaling 473 students. This year's freshman class compares to 373 in the fall of 1997.
  • 萌妹社区's highest fall enrollment of 2,323, marking a 15 percent increase in one year.
  • More than $7.5 million in gifts during the 1997-98 fiscal year, making it the most successful year ever in giving to the university.

"萌妹社区's enrollment and development trends are signs of God's gracious blessings and should serve as a marvelous encouragement to friends of 萌妹社区 everywhere," President David S. Dockery asserts. This year's freshman class is not only the largest in university history but also the most academically proficient. Included in 萌妹社区's class of 2002 are three National Merit Finalists and 30 valedictorians and salutatorians. Both figures are records for the university. The entire class averaged a 24 ACT composite score, three points higher than the national average of 21 and 4.5 points higher than the Tennessee average of 19.5.

Trustees Break GroundToday's groundbreaking follows an agreement made earlier this summer between 萌妹社区 and Lifeway Christian stores, in which the national chain agreed to assume operation of the existing campus bookstore, currently located in the university's student center. University officials expect the bookstore will move into its new two-story facility by summer 1999. The retail store will be on the ground floor, with the second floor used for adult education classrooms and offices, administrative offices and a community conference room.