New School Year, New School Policy

Photo courtesy of Braden Simmons

 Following a change to its Non-Discrimination Statement, Belmont will now hire employees regardless of their faith.  

“We realized that this would be an opportunity for us both to be more hospitable to the broader community, while also really focusing in and raising the bar,” said President Greg Jones.  

The new change to the nondiscrimination policy was made with unanimous support from the board of trustees. 

It also came as a byproduct of the previous change made to the graduate programs, said Jones. 

In 2022, Belmont updated its hiring policy to consider Jewish applicants in three of its graduate schools which included the Colleges of Medicine, Law and Pharmacy. 

Now, that policy is being updated again and is expanding to Belmont campuswide.  

“As we started the conversation more broadly, we realized that this would be an opportunity both to double down on our Christ-centered mission as well as also to be hospitable to faculty of other faiths and no faith,” said Jones. 

For university minister Heather Daugherty, the policy can now allow for growth within Belmont. 

“Being Christ-centered and religiously inclusive are not at odds. We'll continue our Christian services and programs while being mindful of opportunities to support other faith practices,” said Daugherty. “Bringing non-Christian voices into the community allows us to have meaningful interfaith conversations from a place of shared commitment to Belmont.” 

But despite the change, Jones sent an email on May 15 with the updated policy and a clear directive: most faculty at Belmont are still going to be Christian. 

“Our employees will remain, primarily, of the Christian faith, continuing our longstanding legacy and commitment as a Christ-centered institution,” said Jones in the email. 

All faculty and staff applicants will soon have to articulate how they plan to support the university's mission and how they intend to contribute, regardless of their faith background, Jones said.

“It's not that they need to change their faith or describe it differently. But they need to recognize what it is and honor it,” said Jones. “Supporting that mission would acknowledge that we're going to continue to pray, continue to talk about that Christ-centered mission that we're going to expect all of us to embody virtues that are consistent with that mission.” 

For Jones, the definition of a Christ-centered university will continue to evolve and grow with the university and with conversations among administration and faculty. 

“It's about a commitment to truth, beauty and goodness while recognizing that none of us has a possession of all those. It's an ongoing journey, and so that's where we've got to all work at it,” said Jones. 

Belmont’s mission to be a leading Christ-Centered University is still the primary focus for the university in the wake of this change, which may raise questions for some about what it will mean to be a Christ-Centered University going forward and how applicants of a non-Christian faith can truly feel included at Belmont. 

“This change makes it more apparent to students of all faiths that we support them in their own spiritual journeys without an agenda of moving them in a particular theological direction. We are committed to providing students the resources and spaces needed to deepen their faith right here on campus — whatever their tradition is,” said Daugherty. 

For the Office of Hope, Unity and Belonging this new change to policy won’t really impact its primary goal of making students feel included and welcome on campus. 

“In terms of our efforts in The HUB, we have always been seeking ways for students of all faiths and no faith to feel a sense of belonging on campus so this just deepens our work in that regard as well,” said Vice President of Hope, Unity and Belonging D'Angelo Taylor.   

Some new efforts from the HUB for the school year including Employee Resource Groups, the upcoming 2024 Unity and Belonging Symposium and expanding the Unlikely Friends Program to faculty, staff and students. 

Because of the previous exclusion of non-Christian faculty at the university, there have been issues of inclusion for some students on campus.  

But with this change, Izzi Marino the president of Belmont’s Jewish Student Association said she is happy to see more representation on campus. 

“I’ve really appreciated Belmont’s overall approach to religion. No one is required to be a part of any one faith community,” Marino said. “There will always be students here who are not Christian. I’m glad to know that these students will now be able to see themselves represented in more levels at Belmont.” 

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This article was written by Braden Simmons 

This article was corrected for accuracy on Aug. 22.