Lindsey Wilson expects to enroll more than 500 freshmen and new students during its first year as a university.
COLUMBIA, KY. (08/24/2025) The first class of Lindsey Wilson University students was welcomed to campus on Saturday, Aug. 23, and there were a lot of students to welcome.
The final count will not be known until the end of August, but Lindsey Wilson’s first class of freshmen and new students as a university will exceed 500, making it one of the largest classes of undergraduate students in school history.
Members of the Class of 2029 were urged by members of the Lindsey Wilson community to make more history.
“Your class, the Class of 2029, will accomplish amazing things,” Lindsey Wilson President William T. Luckey Jr. told the freshmen and new students gathered for the kickoff ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center. “You will travel across this country together, and other countries as well. You will sing and act and dance and make music together. You will feed the homeless, visit the elderly and teach children together. You will laugh, you will cry, you will grieve and you will celebrate together. You will win national championships together. And you will experience what it feels like to hold that Highway 55 sign (the traveling trophy awarded in the Lindsey Wilson-Campbellsville University rivalry football game) in your hands together.”
Luckey also encouraged the new students to look out for one another.
“Love each other and take care of each other, because that’s what family is supposed to do,” he said.
Lindsey WIlson became Lindsey Wilson University on July 1 because of growth in the school’s student body, academic programs and graduate programs. But as two-term Lindsey Wilson Student Government Association President Zachariah Lawson ’26 noted in his greeting to the Class of 2029, what matters most about Lindsey Wilson is the fidelity its faculty and staff have to the Lindsey Wilson mission.
“What makes this place special hasn’t changed one bit,” said Lawson of Williamsburg, Kentucky. “Lindsey Wilson is still a place where every student, every day, belongs.”
Vice President for Academic Affairs Ray Lutgring told the freshmen and new students that Lindsey Wilson’s mission means that all students “have the opportunity to learn” as well as to explore, learn and grow throughout their academic careers.
“You’re going to do some things you didn’t think were possible,” said Lutgring. “There are some amazing professors here. They are going to inspire you to do your best work.”
The returners
Most of the Lindsey Wilson sophomores, juniors and seniors returned to campus on Friday, Aug. 22, and many said they were excited to be part of Kentucky’s newest university.
“It definitely feels like a bigger deal with university being part of the name,” said Reagan Black ’26 of Liberty, Kentucky, a middle grades education major. “It feels kind of surreal. It’s just a very special moment for the community and Southcentral Kentucky.”
Megan Roberts ’26 of Manchester, Kentucky, said it is equally exciting to see where Lindsey Wilson will be headed over the next several decades.
“I think it’s pretty cool to see how much it’s changed since we’ve been here, and see how much it will change in 10-15 years from now, because it will just keep getting better and better,” said Roberts, a psychophysiology major.
Shiane Lussier ’26 of Bremen, Kentucky, said she looks forward to the academic programs and students the university will add over the years, confessing that while “it’s so awesome” Lindsey Wilson had become a university, “I wish it had happened sooner instead of in my last year.”
“I’m so excited about the direction the school is headed,” said Lussier, an arts administration and theatre major. “There’s so much happening.”
And while he and his classmates might experience only one year under the Lindsey Wilson University banner, Leeshawn Johnson ’26 of Louisville, Kentucky, said that it will be especially meaningful to be among the first graduates to receive a Lindsey Wilson University diploma in 2025-26.
“It’s an honor to be the first class to graduate from Lindsey Wilson University,” said Johnson, a theatre major. “It will set the foundation for the rest of history.”
It will also be a year of firsts for Morgan Bryant ’26 of Shelbyville, Kentucky. Bryant, who is an English and history double major, said that in 2025-26 she will board an airplane for the first time in her life as part of study-away trips to Chicago and Ireland. And in May, Bryant, who is a first-generation college student, said she will be the first in her family to earn a college degree.
“It’s going to be an exciting year of firsts,” she said.
Early arrivals
Members of the Class of 2029 who are not members of fall sports teams or the Blue Raider Band, started to roll into Lindsey Wilson’s A.P. White Campus before the designated 9:30 a.m. CT check-in time on Aug. 23.
First in the line of cars and trucks behind Phillips Hall was Kaya Williams ’29 of Fox Lake, Illinois, and her parents.
The education major drove to Columbia on Aug. 22 from her home north of Chicago with her father, Kevin, and mother, Dee, to get an early start on move-in day.
“I’m looking forward to meeting new people,” said Williams, who will be a member of the Blue Raiders’ archery team.
In addition to being greeted by an army of Lindsey Wilson faculty, staff and students who helped them move into their residence halls, the new students were also welcomed by area churches, Columbia Mayor Pam Hoots, and the Adair County Tourism and Convention Commission. They were also treated to a noon concert by the Blue Raider Band on the hill in front of the Cralle Student Union Building, and the President’s Picnic on the lawn of the Emily Hundley President’s Home.
Alyssa Philpot ’29 of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, was another freshman who thought it was special to be a member of the first Lindsey Wilson University four-year class.
“I think it’s going to be really exciting. It’s going to be really fun,” said Philpot, who plans to major in biology and play softball.
Jenesis Bowling ’29 also arrived on campus around 9:30 a.m. CT, from her home in Taylorsville, Kentucky. She was accompanied by her mother, Melissa Coulter, brother, Trenton, 11, and family friend Carla Vance, who helped her move into and unpack in her Phillips Hall room.
“I brought a little more than I should have — especially clothes,” said Bowling, who plans to major in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and play softball for the Blue Raiders. “I’m super excited for Lindsey Wilson, and hopefully I get to the varsity team and have my family come out and watch me play.”
But perhaps few members of the Class of 2029 arrived as focused as Skyler Randolph ’29 of Lehigh Acres, Florida,
Randolph, who will major in biology and be a member of the Blue Raiders’ women’s wrestling team, said plans to attend medical school after she graduates from Lindsey Wilson in 2029. But she first has a few other goals to accomplish along the way.
“I hope to make it to nationals and graduate with a really high GPA,” said Randolph.
Members of the Lindsey Wilson University Class of 2029 gather Saturday, Aug. 23, in Biggers Sports Center for a class photo. Fall enrollment will not be known until the end of August, but Lindsey Wilson will enroll more than 500 freshmen and new students in 2025-26.
Lindsey Wilson University President William T. Luckey Jr. addresses members of the Class of 2029 at the university’s kickoff ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center.
Lindsey Wilson University President William T. Luckey Jr. addresses members of the Class of 2029 at the university’s kickoff ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 23, in the Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center.
Lindsey Wilson University freshman Alyssa Philpot of Shepherdsville, Kentucky, third from left, brought plenty of supplies for her Phillips Hall room when she moved into the residence hall on Saturday, Aug. 23. Philpot — who plans to major in biology and play softball — was joined by her father, Brent, older sister, Mattie, second from left, and friend Sophia Green.
Lindsey Wilson University freshman Shyanne Garmon of Cave City, Kentucky, receives the key to her Phillips Hall room on Saturday, Aug. 23, in Biggers Sports Center from residence life professional staff member Llewellyn Crewe-Brown, right, as Zachary Pruitt ’26 of Burkesville, Kentucky, looks on. Joining Garmon, who plans to major in nursing, were her mother, Kristie Ferguson, left, and sister Jaelynn Ferguson.
Lindsey Wilson University freshman Adrianna Humble of Russell Springs, Kentucky, and her mother, Amber, check out Lindsey Wilson’s Instagram account while waiting to receive her student identification card on Saturday, Aug. 23, in Biggers Sports Center. Humble plans to major in nursing.
Lindsey Wilson University freshman Jenesis Bowling of Taylorsville, Kentucky, arranges her Phillips Hall room as her brother, Trenton, 11, looks on Saturday, Aug. 23. Bowling plans to major in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and play softball for the Blue Raiders.
Lindsey Wilson University student Jamarques Frank ’27 of Louisville, Kentucky, directs a truck driven by Clint Moulder, first cousin of Cheyenne Moreno ’29 of Cave City, Kentucky, to a spot outside of Phillips Hall on Saturday, Aug. 23. Frank was one of several dozen Lindsey Wilson football players who helped freshmen and new students move into the university’s residence halls.
Lindsey Wilson University student Logan Pronk ’27 of Walton, Kentucky, performs during a noon concert by the Blue Raider Band on Saturday, Aug. 23, for the university’s freshmen and new students.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university’s 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson University)