WILMORE, Ky. (LEX News) — Asbury University in Wilmore has been shaping students academically and spiritually since 1890, and the school is showing no signs of slowing down.
From modernized classrooms to a student-run coffee shop called The HICCUP, the university prides itself on preparing students for both career and life.
"I love the community, not just like in student life but also in academic life. So community as in my friends, what I get to do and be involved in," said Student Sidney Hansen.
LEX News' Annie Brown toured her alma mater alongside Sidney Hansen, a senior psychology and communication major from Somerset, and Colton Back, director of strategic communications, and a lot has changed since she graduated.
One of the most visible changes on campus is the Shaw Collaborative Learning Center, which opened in 2022. The building is home to Asbury's Dayton School of Business, Shaw School of Sciences and a 400-seat auditorium. The modernized classrooms and larger spaces are designed to accommodate a growing student body, which boasts an enrollment of around 1,250 students this fall.
Back credits Asbury's 2023 Outpouring — a 16-day student-led spiritual awakening — with putting the university on an international stage.
"So we had a record enrollment in 2023 and in 2026, this fall, we're in the second-highest incoming freshman class ever. So they're still coming. When they came in 2023 it was already growing. They've enjoyed the product, the investment of coming to college here," Back said.
With a growing student body comes the need for new programs. The university is adding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing to its 130 undergraduate areas of study this spring. The program will be housed in the newly renovated Haymann-Ray Building.
"Really exciting for nursing students to come here and get their degree and then go on and launch. We feel like that's a need for nurses to go out so hopefully we can prepare them and send them out," Back said.
Asbury also recently opened the Gray Outdoor Venue to support its expanding athletics program. With 16 Division III NCAA programs and more than 30% of students involved in athletics, Back said new facilities became a necessity.
"It's been a lot of fun to see athletics grow here as the other parts of Asbury has too. If you see the enrollment, the athletics has continued to grow, not just in the facilities but championships," Back said.
The Miller School of Communication Arts remains one of the university's most distinctive spaces. Classified as a museum in Kentucky, it houses hundreds of artifacts from movie sets that Asbury alumni have worked on — including pieces from Star Wars, Harry Potter and Elf. The building also features a fully outfitted newsroom and studio for newscasts.
"It's a great way to have experience in front of a camera, behind a camera, writing scripts and just doing things like that," Hansen said.
