by Emily Snell | Mar 2, 2012 | News Slider
As opening night for Singarama approaches next weekend, student groups are striving to amaze the audiences with a showcase of their talent, staging and story lines. Singarama is Lipscomb’s annual event that brings social club members and their friends together for a performance competition. This annual tradition has been one of Lipscomb’s main events for nearly half of a century. Joe Muchmore, a senior biology major from Boulder, Colo., has been in Singarama the past two years and will be a host again for this year’s production. He said participants are really feeling the “crunch” of doing the show prior to spring break instead of after, as its been in previous years. “It’s definitely a little more stressful trying to get everything together,” he said. “Just trying to get the lyrics memorized and learn the songs in such a short amount of time… it’s harder to get it ready for the final performance. In the past years, the two weeks up to the show we had everything pretty much ready and were just rehearsing, whereas now we’re still trying to learn how to do everything.” Muchmore said hosts and hostesses are currently focusing on “being confident with the harmonies, so that when the show comes, we can hit it strong and not be iffy. I think that’s really crucial for a good sound.” He said the cast is feeling nervous excitement about the performances. “Right now, it’s definitely stressed more than excited, but it’s a stressed excited,” Muchmore said. “It’s because we’re a week away, and we haven’t even worked everything out yet. We’ve got a lot of work...
by Emily Snell | Feb 23, 2012 | News Slider
The engineering department will serve free popcorn and drinks to any Lipscomb students who attend a showing of “Wall-E” Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Ezell 301. After the movie, there will be a panel discussion with Dr. Lee Camp and Dr. Steve Nordstrom about “engineering gone wrong.” The movie and discussion are just one aspect of this year’s Engineering Week, which is themed “God: The Ultimate Engineer.” Kirsten Heikkinen, student chair of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, said Engineering Week, or E-week, is a nationwide effort to recognize engineers and their work. “It really just gets what we do out there, broadcasts what we do and brings interest into the field,” said Heikkinen, a senior double majoring in mechanical engineering and applied math. “A lot of professionals participate, lots of schools, and we also do a lot of things with grade school kids too.” Heikkinen said the organizers of Lipscomb’s E-week decided to show “Wall-E” in order to facilitate discussion about how to use technology responsibly. “Technology is a part of all our lives, it’s not just engineers,” she said. “We want to discuss how you should use technology in an ethical manner. ‘Wall-E’ kind of shows how, if you don’t use technology responsibly, it could have a huge effect on how we live. We just want to get that message out there.” Levi Hobbs, vice chair for Lipscomb’s chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, agreed, saying the movie provides a comical illustration of what happens when people don’t use technology appropriately. “With our theme about God as the ultimate engineer, it’s really important...
by Emily Snell | Feb 16, 2012 | News Slider
The annual spring chaos known as Singarama is underway as students have less than one month left to prepare for the big show. The production’s directors said their groups are quickly trying to write scripts, learn dances, paint sets and finalize plans for the March 8-10 event. Singarama, which traditionally has occurred after spring break, was moved up this year to help students focus on their studies during the last few weeks of school. As usual, the show will feature three groups, and this spring’s theme is “Air, Land and Sea.” Cayla Cleaver, director of Land, said she thinks having the show earlier in the year is a good thing, even though it does present challenges. “It definitely puts us in a time crunch because none of us knew who the directors were until we got back from Christmas break,” Cleaver, a junior in marketing, said. “But I kind of like it being before spring break so that everybody can stay focused.” Morgan Mathis, director for the Sea group, shared similar feelings. “At first we were kind of nervous about that, but it has helped because I feel like we’ve been a lot more on top of things,” Mathis, a senior from Chattanooga, said. “People are just diving in and getting a lot of work done. It’s a challenge, but it’s also kind of motivating.” Air director, Emily Sullivan, a social work major, said even though the change in timing has added “a lot of pressure,” the best aspect of Singarama remains the same. “Singarama brings random people together,” she said. “It’s a great way to form new friendships....
by Emily Snell | Feb 13, 2012 | News Slider
Linda Peek Schacht, executive director of Lipscomb University’s Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership, has been named the Nashville Business Journal’s 2012 Woman of Influence “Trailblazer.” As one of 30 Woman of Influence honorees, and one of three in the “Trailblazer” category, Schacht was honored at a luncheon today and will be profiled in the Friday edition of the Nashville Business Journal. She was selected as the “Trailblazer” winner over Beth DeBauche, commissioner with the Ohio Valley Conference and Lois Riggins-Ezzell, executive director of the Tennessee State Museum. Schacht is the founding executive director of the Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership (civicleadership.lipscomb.edu), established in 2010 to continue long-time Nashville businessman Nelson Andrews’ legacy of collaborative leadership through its academic programs, community engagement and research. Soon after the institute was created, Schacht oversaw the establishment of its new master’s degree in civic leadership, one of only two in the United States, now enrolling 23 students from business, nonprofits and government in its inaugural class and utilizing the institute’s state-of-the-art facility which opened June 2. An ongoing signature program of the institute is to develop informed citizens to lead the public conversation on community issues and public policy. In 2011, leaders from the 10-county Middle Tennessee region focused on transit in the first citizen leadership academy, produced in partnership with the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee and the regional caucus of mayors. In its short one-year history, Schacht has lead the institute to bring together state and regional business, nonprofit, and government leaders to collaborate on aging, the challenges of digital communication, transit, Nashville’s strength as a multicultural city...
by Emily Snell | Feb 6, 2012 | News Slider
A 75-year-old professor who rides a Harley is unforgettable for most students. Lipscomb’s psychology department proudly claims that unique motorcycle-collecting faculty member in Dr. Roy Hamley. Hamley, one of the three self-titled “psycle therapists,” rides with his colleagues Dr. Shanna Ray and Dr. Jake Morris on weekends in the spring and fall when the weather is nice. After his son and daughter both bought Harleys, Hamley, who currently has four motorcycles, decided he should join the excitement and live “full throttle.” “I thought if they’re having all that fun, I’m going to find out what I’m missing,” he said. “So, I’ve been riding about 20 years, and I should have started sooner. I wasted a half a century before I started.” Morris and Ray began riding two years ago, after they took a motorcycle safety course together. More than half of the professors in the psychology department ride motorcycles, and those in the department who don’t ride enjoy teasing those who do. Ray said she heard that Dr. Paul Turner, one of her colleagues, was “talking trash.” “He has a bicycle,” she explained, “and he was telling his classes that he’s the only real biker in the department. He was making out like we’re a bunch of sissies who sit there and twist throttle, and you know, he actually has to work.” Ray noted, with a laugh, that the only time she and Morris argue is when they’re disputing who should take the lead when they’re on their bikes. Morris agreed, explaining the two get along well at work. “When we get on our bikes and you’re ahead of...
