by Charissa Ricker | Mar 21, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb’s neighbor school Belmont University announced in early February its acquisition of the O’More College of Design, currently located in Franklin, Tennessee. The expansion will commence in fall 2018 and will add three new design majors to Belmont’s undergraduate program. The competition between Lipscomb and Belmont is deeply rooted, and this acquisition has the potential to spark major changes on Lipscomb’s campus. The almost-50-years-old O’More College will be shutting the doors to its Franklin school, and students will have the choice to commute to Belmont’s campus. Belmont’s Editorial and News Content Director April Hefner gave an official statement regarding the transition. “Belmont is proud to welcome new programs in interior design, fashion design and fashion merchandising when O’More joins our campus this fall,” Hefner said. “Our design communications major will also see an expansion with the influx of O’More graphic design students.” O’More was founded with interior design roots and has a fully accredited interior design program while Lipscomb has a minor interior design program that is not popular among students. However, the other design majors Belmont is collecting have yet to be accredited, leaving Lipscomb and its fully-accredited fashion program a major step ahead. Kathy Bates, the chair of the fashion and design department at Lipscomb, taught a few adjunct classes at the O’More College of Fashion and Design several years ago and shared how she thinks Lipscomb will stand next to Belmont’s addition. “We have been the only one in Nashville that’s a fully accredited university that has a fully accredited fashion program,” Bates said. “I feel like we have pretty good ground to stand on.” Despite...
by Charissa Ricker | Feb 20, 2018 | News Slider
Lipscomb alumni Ted Jamison and Bruce Bowers shared their 45-year long journey of friendship in chapel on Tuesday. Jamison was the first African American baseball player to attend Lipscomb, and Bowers was the university’s first African American basketball player. Both men graduated from David Lipscomb College in 1972, when there was only one percent diversity on campus. “The atmosphere of Lipscomb was different,” Bowers said. “It was a different kind of experience and exposure for me. I have been blessed to be granted that opportunity to come to Lipscomb. ” At a school with very few African American students and no African American administration, Jamison and Bowers quickly bonded over both their shared experiences and love of sports. When describing his friend, Bowers shared how his father always stressed the importance of keeping your word and following through with it. “When Ted gives you his word to do something, he is going to do it,” Bowers said. “He is truly a good person, a friend, and the relationship has been outstanding. We have been apart for awhile, but we always seem to get together. ” After 45 years of being friends, Jamison shared how it was God’s destiny that the two met at Lipscomb in 1968. “My definition of friend, when I begin to describe Bruce Bowers, it makes me reflect on myself, and I find out that I am almost speaking to myself,” Jamison said. “He is also a person that I have been able to communicate with: open and honest communication.” Jamison and Bowers both enjoyed their time at Lipscomb and the friendships that they made along...
by Charissa Ricker | Feb 6, 2018 | News Slider
Newly-elected Dean of Intercultural Development, Prentice Ashford, spoke at the Gathering on Tuesday about the past and building future relationships. The new member of Lipscomb’s family focused on how a person’s past affects their present and the decisions they make. He compared the past to an unwanted Christmas present. “Our past operates very similar to that Christmas present,” said Ashford. “We either don’t know what to do with it, we don’t know how to handle it, or we awkwardly smile, put it back in the box quickly and ignore it as if it never happened.” Ashford described the past as either earned or inherited and how those differences can greatly affect the way we interact with others different from us. “Before today, there are some of us who haven’t stopped long enough to consider how our past influences the way we interact with those around us,” said Ashford. “We just assume that are reality is the reality of everyone around us.” He shared how when we assume similar realities we miss opportunities to relate to people whose experiences are different to ours because of the walls we build. That fear towards new people and experiences prevents people from building meaningful relationships with people different from them. In order to get over that fear, Ashford shared his personal philosophy for life and building relationships. “I can never blame someone for the influences of their past, I can only judge you based on what you do when presented with the reality of the present,” said Ashford. By not judging others, people can open conversations and grow in understanding of one another...
by Charissa Ricker | Feb 1, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosted a screening of the HumanDocs film “I Am Evidence” Wednesday night in Shamblin Theater. The HBO film, directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Trish Adlesic, features the cities of Detroit, Cleveland and Los Angeles. Thousands of untested and unopened rape kits there span decades of sexual crimes. The documentary showcased testimonies of women in the three cities who were victimized first by rape and then by the system’s neglect. They waited as long as 15 years to see progress on their cases and eventually grew to expect that nothing would happen. In an effort to rebuild trust in the justice system, city officials have begun offering resources and implementing special teams to ensure that the kits get tested, victims get justice and serial rapists are taken off the streets. Lauren White, assistant professor of theology in the College of Bible and ministry at Lipscomb, introduced the film. “This documentary comes to us at a watershed moment in our cultural history and consciousness,” White said. “In view of the recent #metoo movement, our country has been unable to ignore the voices of assault survivors and has had to confront the disturbing evidence of just how pervasive sexual violence against women actually is.” The event also featured a panelist discussion after the film. The speakers, Ilse Knecht, Rachel Freeman, Captain Harmon Hunsicker and Pam Crues, all help victims of sexual assault in the community of Nashville. A new crime lab was recently built in Nashville. It focuses on processing backlogged kits and holding offenders accountable. Captain Harmon Hunsicker in the Forensic Services Division at...
by Charissa Ricker | Jan 24, 2018 | News Slider
Lipscomb canceled classes twice in the first several days of the semester. Students took the opportunity to go sledding on the soccer field and play in the snow. But essential Lipscomb employees were still expected to show up to work as usual. Bison Cafe remained open and maintenance services were still available thanks to the work of these dedicated staff. Campus dining services are contracted through Sodexo, a food service company based in France. Sodexo’s General Manager of Dining Services Wolcott Fary said employee schedules do not stray from the norm when bad weather is predicted. “Most of the folks that we have working for us here, upstairs and downstairs, really are dedicated and committed,” Fary said. “They are not just dedicated and committed to Sodexo because that’s their employer, they really feel more aligned with the university. Most of the folks that work here are here because they care about the university.” Fary said that in most cases, employees only miss work if they cannot make it to campus due to road conditions. Even when school is canceled, employees are aware that there are still students to serve. It’s not an easy decision for them to say they can’t make it. “I think everyone from someone like Lanie, who is one of our supervisors, to anybody who is working making the pizza or Marvin in the back doing the catering work, they’re all going to come here because they’re professionals,” Fary said. “They believe that their role here for us is important, not just for what we do as Sodexo, but how it affects the University.” Several employees worked...
