Lipscomb’s Bennett Campus Center serves as hub for campus, neighbors during devastating ice storm

Lipscomb's Bennett Campus Center serves as hub for campus, neighbors during devastating ice storm

Kim Chaudoin | 01/30/2026

As Winter Storm Fern swept across much of the United States Jan. 24-25, blanketing large portions of the country in ice and snow, Nashville emerged as one of the hardest-hit cities in the nation. Layers of ice weighed down trees and power lines, causing widespread outages and damage across Middle Tennessee.

According to Nashville Electric Service (NES), at the height of the storm, more than 230,000 homes and facilities across Nashville were without power. This is the largest outage in the history of NES, which serves approximately 470,000 customers in Nashville.

Nearly half of the city was in the dark as utility poles snapped, trees collapsed under the ice and travel became treacherous. While NES crews worked around the clock with the help of hundreds of lineworkers from across the country, more than 73,000 customers remained without electricity as of press time, underscoring the storm's extreme and lasting impact. While recovery efforts continue, more snow is forecast this weekend, with temperatures not expected to rise above 20 degrees, further complicating restoration efforts and daily life across the region.

Located in the Green Hills neighborhood, which was among the areas most severely affected, Lipscomb University was not spared the storm's impact. Despite extensive preparations, power to the Lipscomb campus was disrupted for approximately 48 hours, spanning Sunday, Jan. 25, through Tuesday, Jan. 27, amid widespread outages across the surrounding community. Nearby universities, including Belmont University, Trevecca Nazarene University and Vanderbilt University, also experienced power disruptions during the storm's early days.

Even as the storm disrupted normal operations, Lipscomb quickly became a place of refuge, not only for its students, but also for neighbors across the Green Hills community who were left without heat, food or reliable power.

Preparing for the worst

With possible ice in the forecast, Lipscomb had winter preparedness plans in place, including contingencies for residential students in the event of a power disruption. Three buildings, Bennett Campus Center, the Nursing and Health Sciences Center and Sewell Residence Hall, were designated as generator-powered locations to ensure continuity of care, warmth and basic services.

Residential students who chose to remain on campus during the storm were able to spend time in generator-powered buildings and, if preferred, return to their residence halls to sleep during the evenings throughout the 48-hour outage.

Bennett Campus Center served as the central hub during the power disruption. Powered by a generator, Bennett provided heat, Wi-Fi and access to essential supplies. Food services remained fully operational, with Bison Café and Starbucks continuing to serve students during normal hours. Charging stations, seating areas and common spaces offered students places to gather, rest and stay connected. Residence Hall Directors (RHDs) staffed the Welcome Desk in Bennett Campus Center throughout the outage, assisting students and answering questions.

Inside Bennett during the disruption, students passed the time playing games, watching movies, building with Legos, studying together and sharing meals. The Student Activities Center opened for basketball, volleyball and walking on the track, and a screening of the film SKETCH in Shamblin Theatre was among the activities planned for residential students.

Over the course of the outage, Lipscomb President Candice McQueen spent time on campus with students, checking in and sharing time alongside them.

"Our students have been incredibly resilient and in such good spirits during an unusual and challenging time," McQueen said. "I enjoyed spending time with our students. It was fun to see them talking, playing games, drinking Starbucks coffee, eating a lot and making memories together, even while much of Nashville remains covered in ice. I'm so proud of the way they've cared for one another and for their flexibility during this time that has impacted our city in such a devastating way."

Although classes were canceled and offices closed Monday, Jan. 26, through Wednesday, Jan. 28, the university remained open to care for and serve residential students as essential campus services continued to operate. Students received daily email updates from the university and ongoing communication from Residence Hall Directors, who worked around the clock to keep students informed and supported.

Serving the community

As the storm stretched into multiple days, Bennett Campus Center and the Lipscomb campus became more than a hub for residential students. They became a beacon of warmth, electricity and food for faculty, staff and neighbors from the surrounding Green Hills community, many of whom remained without power days after the storm passed.

Families arrived to warm up, charge phones and share hot meals at Bison Café. Some returned multiple times throughout the week, grateful for a place to gather as outages continued across the neighborhood.

"We intentionally prioritized powering Bennett with a generator in our winter preparedness plan to ensure food services and other essential resources remained available during unexpected disruptions like this," said McQueen. "We are grateful to be in a position to serve, especially our neighbors here in Green Hills, during moments like this. Serving others is one of our core values and fundamental to who we are as an institution."

Many Lipscomb employees themselves were among those hardest hit, with staff members in Green Hills, Crieve Hall, Bellevue and Brentwood neighborhoods experiencing extended outages and property damage.

Diana Benson, program specialist for the school counseling program in the College of Education, and her family were among those without power for several days.

"During Winter Storm Fern, Lipscomb University proved to be a lifesaver. Living just across the street, when our home lost power for three days, we were able to walk over to campus and eat warm meals in the cafeteria," said Benson. "Having access to the university's facilities during such a difficult time made an incredibly stressful situation much more manageable. Seeing all the essential employees pitching in to make everyone feel welcome and to ensure that students and the community are well taken care of is what makes being an employee at Lipscomb so special."

Benson's husband, Neal ('12), was grateful for Lipscomb's hospitality.

"Witnessing my alma mater's resilience during the winter ice disaster was truly inspiring, as students and staff came together to turn a difficult situation into a testament to the university's strength," he said. "The cafeteria staff's dedication and warm service stood out, serving hundreds of students and community members a hot meal and a smile, with the cherry on top being soft serve ice cream."

"We were blessed to enjoy breakfast to go at Bison Cafe on Wednesday morning and several lunches this week at Local Eats," said Cynthia Butler, student records specialist in the registrar's office at Lipscomb, who lives near campus and came to Bennett with her family. "Being able to enjoy delicious hot meals and to enjoy the warmth of Bennett was a nice treat."

Julio Rivas, professor of finance in the College of Business, and his wife, Beth, were without power for 52 hours.

"All of our devices were out of power and we needed to charge up," shared Rivas. "I remember reading that the student center was powered by a generator so we decided to go to campus. Roads were icy but passable, and we made it to campus."

"We were able to successfully charge our devices and power banks, had a hot meal at the cafeteria, and were able to see students and other faculty and staff members," he continued. "Dr. McQueen dropped by and said hello to us! We are very grateful for this opportunity. It made our ice storm experience way less stressful."

"On the second day with no power during the winter storm, when nothing else was open, my family was able to get out of the cold, charge our phones and have a great lunch in Lipscomb's Bennett Campus Center," said Ashley Borders, assistant vice president of finance. "It was so great to see Lipscomb providing for our community during this time of need."

Lee Camp, distinguished faculty fellow in Lipscomb's Center for Vocational Discovery, said, "It was a sweet respite to come to the student center for some heat, electricity, Wi-Fi and social engagement. We were hit hard, damage to and leaks in our roof, remain without power, and things are a mess."

"It was lovely to have a place to get to for a bit," continued Camp. "And a sweet scene with all the students piled into the student center, engaged with one another, waiting, attentive and even playful."

Chris Gonzalez, professor in Lipscomb's marriage and family therapy program, and his family sought warmth in Bennett Campus Center.

"Before this week, I never thought of the student center as a warming house, but when my power went out and stayed out for a few days, learning there was heat, Wi-Fi and food, I thought about it differently," said Gonzalez. "In my eyes, the student center transformed from a wonderful place to see students into a much-needed resource during a weather disaster. I was able to enjoy the warmth, get a good meal, and get some work done using the Wi-Fi."

"Having the student center open was a real gift to me. I know for other people it was probably more than a gift and possibly a lifesaver," he continued. "Kudos to everyone it took to keep that place open, and the food available non-stop. Having the student center open like this was just another way to demonstrate how we are all a community and we all need each other."

Service behind the scenes

Throughout the storm, Lipscomb's Service Operations team, housekeeping staff and Lipscomb Security officers worked in extreme cold to pretreat sidewalks, remove ice and fallen limbs, maintain generator-powered facilities and ensure campus safety. The Office of Student Life and Residence Hall Directors also worked around the clock to serve residential students. Crews have been on campus the last several days clearing downed trees and limbs.

"The safety and well-being of our students is and always will be our top priority," McQueen said. "Many of our employees were on campus serving our students and neighbors while they were also dealing with power outages, home damage and caring for family members at home. Their commitment to serving our students during this time has been extraordinary. I am so grateful and proud of our Lipscomb team."