Kern Family Foundation Invests $4M in Belmont's Whole-Person Formation Initiative

New program will further integrate character development, purpose, entrepreneurial mindset across campus

The Kern Family Foundation has awarded Belmont University a $4 million grant to establish the Belmont Formation Collaborative, a transformative initiative that reimagines higher education by creating an integrated ecosystem focused on whole-person formation.

"This investment from the Kern Family Foundation is a tremendous milestone that will enable us to deepen our commitment to developing leaders who understand their purpose, exemplify strong character and approach challenges with wisdom and an entrepreneurial mindset," said Belmont University President Dr. Greg Jones. "Character formation has been and will continue to be a hallmark of a Belmont education. This grant from the Kern Family Foundation represents a significant opportunity to build upon our strong foundation and further distinguish Belmont as a leader in forming students for a life of flourishing."

The Belmont Formation Collaborative will consolidate and enhance existing character development programs while creating new initiatives in three key areas:

• Centralized coordination of formation programs including the Teaching Center, Service-Learning and BELL Core general education curriculum
• Partnership with key campus initiatives including Student Formation, Human Resources and academic colleges
• Creation of new campus-wide programs focused on character, purpose and entrepreneurial mindset

"The establishment of the Belmont Formation Collaborative represents our formalized commitment to broadening and deepening our approach to whole-person formation," said Dr. Nathan Webb, executive director of formation & leadership development. "By bringing together these various programs and initiatives under one collaborative, we're creating a more intentional and integrated approach to developing students who are both academically prepared and also grounded in character and purpose."

Specific grant-funded initiatives will include:

• Developing new curricular and co-curricular programs to foster character, purpose and an entrepreneurial mindset
• Enhancing faculty and staff leadership development to deepen understanding and modeling of these formative elements
• Creating innovative storytelling initiatives that highlight student, faculty and alumni narratives around formation
• Supporting college-specific character development programs tailored to the distinctive needs of each academic discipline
• Integrating Belmont's newly launched SOUL framework, which emphasizes excellence, gratitude, hospitality and shared vision as key institutional commitments

This grant builds upon Belmont's existing momentum in this area, complementing a recent $800,000 grant from Wake Forest University's Educating Character Initiative to launch the "Leading with Character and Purpose" program. Together, these investments demonstrate Belmont's unwavering dedication to nurturing the next generation of purpose-driven, entrepreneurial leaders of strong character.