[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 31, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 538--COMMENDING BLUE MOUNTAIN CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY 
  FOR 150 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND THE UNITED 
                                 STATES

  Mrs. HYDE-SMITH (for herself and Mr. Wicker) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 538

       Whereas Blue Mountain Christian University began its first 
     session as a women's institution on September 12, 1873, with 
     a four-member faculty offering a liberal arts curriculum to 
     50 students;
       Whereas Blue Mountain Christian University was chartered as 
     a college in 1877 and managed by the Lowrey family until 1920 
     when the Mississippi Baptist Convention assumed ownership;
       Whereas, in 1956, the Mississippi Baptist Convention voted 
     to add a coordinated academic program for men preparing for 
     church-related vocations;
       Whereas, in 2005, the Board of Trustees voted to make Blue 
     Mountain Christian University a fully coeducational 
     institution;
       Whereas, on October 7, 2022, the Board of Trustees approved 
     changing the name of the institution from Blue Mountain 
     College to Blue Mountain Christian University;
       Whereas Blue Mountain Christian University has grown from 
     50 students to host more than 600 students participating in 
     nine programs of study, including establishing graduate 
     programs in education in 2006, business administration in 
     2019, and kinesiology in 2023, as well as a School of Nursing 
     in 2022;
       Whereas Blue Mountain Christian University has played a 
     significant role in meeting the needs of its constituents for 
     150 years by educating women in the 1870s following a 
     devastating war, by educating ministers in the mid-1950s when 
     bi-vocational pastors were unable to travel to pursue higher 
     education, by converting to coeducational status in 2005 when 
     the education of both men and women became expedient to 
     enhance community advancement and service, and by 
     establishing a nursing program in the 2020s to address a 
     critical shortage of trained personnel in the medical field;
       Whereas the inaugural Southern Literary Festival was 
     established at Blue Mountain Christian University in 1937 to 
     foster creative writing and to provide exposure to successful 
     authors;
       Whereas Blue Mountain Christian University is renowned for 
     academic excellence in education and ministry, producing both 
     excellent ``teachers and preachers'' in particular and 
     outstanding graduates broadly who are all academically and 
     spiritually prepared to assume places of leadership in their 
     professions and in the faith community;
       Whereas Blue Mountain Christian University was a pioneer in 
     women's college athletics on the state and national levels, 
     first by joining the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 
     for Women and later the National Association of 
     Intercollegiate Athletics;
       Whereas the athletic program of the Blue Mountain Christian 
     University Toppers is now composed of 18 men's and women's 
     intercollegiate varsity athletic teams that represent Blue 
     Mountain Christian University in the Southern States Athletic 
     Conference;
       Whereas Blue Mountain Christian University is dedicated to 
     supporting the academic success of student athletes while 
     striving for on-field success; and
       Whereas hundreds of students of all races, creeds, 
     backgrounds, and beliefs receive a world-class, Christ-
     centered education at Blue Mountain Christian University: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends Blue Mountain Christian University for its 150 
     years of service to the State of Mississippi and the United 
     States;
       (2) recognizes Blue Mountain Christian University for its 
     academic, faith-based, and athletic excellence; and
       (3) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate 
     transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to--
       (A) the President of Blue Mountain Christian University, 
     Dr. Barbara Childers McMillin;
       (B) the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs of 
     Blue Mountain Christian University, Dr. Sharon Ball Enzor; 
     and
       (C) the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics of Blue 
     Mountain Christian University, Mr. Will Lowrey.

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