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Asbury University held its annual President’s Breakfast for the Jessamine County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, April 22. Major announcements at this event included the Nursing Program Launch and Communication Department highlights. 

The Shaw Collaborative Learning Center at Asbury University had coffee, juice, and water and a self-serve breakfast provided by the university.

Todd Johns, President of the Jessamine County Chamber Board of Directors and CEO of Revive Ministries, welcomed the guests in attendance, including team members from the Jessamine County Public Library, Chamber members, Fiscal Court Judge Executive David West and Deputy Judge Justin Ray, Fiscal Court Magistrates, Wilmore Mayor Harold Rainwater, Wilmore City Council Members, and Asbury officials and students. 

Dr. Max Vanderpool, pastor at Generations Community Church, read an invocation prayer. He expressed gratitude for Asbury University, or “Team Purple,” and thanked God for “even the breath in our lungs.”

After eating, Johns provided Chamber announcements. “At the heart of the Chamber’s mission is a simple yet very powerful goal, and that is to advance prosperity… to enhance the quality of life around Jessamine County,” Johns said. He added that the Chamber of Commerce wants to hear from the community and visit them. Its office at 116 South Main Street is open during regular business hours for visitors. Johns also reminded the audience to send their events, promotions, and activities to the Chamber to put in its newsletter. The next monthly Chamber luncheon in May will have a guest speaker, the Kentucky State Chamber President and CEO, Ashley Watts.  

Then, Johns introduced Asbury’s president. The two met in 2013 when they both moved to Jessamine County. “It was in those (initial) conversations that I realized how genuine, how true, and how caring he was to myself and my family. I truly appreciate that. I’m deeply thankful for his heart.”

Asbury President, Dr. Kevin J. Brown, remembered his initial meetings with Johns. “I remember him sharing a vision he had for Revive and J’s Place. Todd had a vision; he saw it through, and he’s right. This is a special place, a place where those kinds of dreams can materialize.”

Brown provided university updates before bringing out an Asbury Dean and Administrator. 

“This June, we will have dedicated $50 million to new space. Most of what we’ll be doing in June is the outdoor venue. You’ll drive by that if you head west out of town here. It’s incredible. It’s a venue; it’s not a stadium or a track. We do want it to be a place that can accommodate athletics but can also accommodate Asbury events or community events for Wilmore and Jessamine County,” Brown said.

Brown spoke about historically high student enrollment and retention at Asbury. “We have an entire enrollment team who are bringing students to Kentucky, and we want to keep them here as well.” 

Asbury has begun a partnership with the University of Kentucky called the 3+2 Program, a Pre-Athletic Training concentration within the Exercise Science major.

Brown invited Connie Lamb, PhD, RN, CNE, the nursing program administrator at the Shaw School of Science, to the stage to discuss the new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Asbury. 

Lamb started by sharing the University’s mission for this new major. “It is our mission to prepare nurses who are called to the profession, committed to life-long learning, leadership, and service to others, evidenced by modeling the caring ministry of Christ around the world.” 

The Kentucky Board of Nursing has approved the nursing curriculum. The program has also been approved by the Kentucky Council of Post-Secondary Education and received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Lamb’s next step is to receive accreditation through the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. “We have biblical concepts and a Christian worldview incorporated into every course that these students come through in this program,” Lamb said. “Our goal is to deliver a quality nursing education program that prepares graduates for licensure and successful transition to practice.

The Hamann-Ray building will be renovated to accommodate the nursing program. The finished product will include a clinical skills lab with six beds, functional headwall units, and high-fidelity mannequins. The new simulation lab will incorporate a patient care area with four beds, a control room, and a debriefing room to provide a realistic setting for the students. “The students are forced to rely on their own knowledge and skillset as opposed to ours,” Lamb said.

Lamb said she is actively recruiting students for the program and that by Spring 2027, they’ll see their first group of nursing students graduating and transitioning into practice.

Dean Dr. Jim Owens of the School of Communication Arts discussed the two thousand young professionals, but usually university students, Asbury trains to work in the Olympics. “In return for overseeing the training of university students, Asbury is allowed to bring students to work at every Olympics. They cover flights, meals, hotels, and payment per day of 100 euros,” Owens said, adding that Asbury is “the only university in the world” whose students are guaranteed to be able to work for pay.”

Also, this summer, Asbury became the nation’s first ARRI-Certified Film School. Owens also informed the audience of a new state-of-the-art audio recording suite with 12 speakers. Also, the school recently held a ribbon cutting for its new animation and design lab. “Thanks to a donation, we were able to really outfit the lab with cutting-edge image capture and virtual reality,” Owens said.