by Janice Ng | Nov 1, 2013 | News Slider
Dee Anna Smith is the only female, non-physician leader of a cancer company in the world. She is also the 2013 recipient of the Lipscomb University College of Business Heroes of Business Award. Business students and professionals gathered in Stowe Hall on Thursday, Oct. 31, to hear Smith discuss her leadership role of CEO of the Sarah Cannon Cancer Research Institute. “My daughter saw a bumper sticker the other day that read, ‘women who behave rarely make history,’” Smith said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve interpreted ‘behaving badly’ to being distinguished in what we do. “In Daniel 6, it said that Daniel distinguished himself among the officials. My desire in life is to be distinctive among,” she said. Smith, a Board Member of the Lipscomb College of Pharmacy, began her career at KPMG, one of the biggest professional audit, tax and advisory service providers in the United States. “The discipline that I got from working at that company for all those [six] years gave me a fantastic foundation to take that forward,” Smith said. “The Sarah Cannon Research Institute is in the business of advancing therapy for patients,” Smith said. “It’s a drug testing institute. We want to make sure the medication is safe for people to use. We’ve had quite a large impact in drug development.” The Sarah Cannon Institute, a Nashville-based foundation, later merged with Hospital Corporations of America (HCA), one of the biggest healthcare providers in the world, to provide healthcare for cancer patients. Together, the two merged companies are worth over $4 billion. How does Smith take control of such a large company? She says...
by Janice Ng | Oct 23, 2013 | News Slider
It’s hip, it’s current, it’s an art department – Lipscomb’s art department to be exact. According to Nashville Scene Arts Editor Laura Hutson, Lipscomb University “secretly harbors one of the hippest art programs in Nashville.” Lipscomb professor Rocky Horton and Artist-in-Residence Seth Lykins couldn’t agree more. The Lipscomb art department offers several opportunities for students to immerse themselves in the art world. Associate Art Professor Rocky Horton says the work produced by students and professors is very contemporary-progressive and cutting-edge. “That atmosphere paired with this amazing [Presidential] Lectureship series, as well as the OPEN Gallery downtown, has pushed us to the forefront of programs in Nashville,” Horton said. The Presidential Lectureship series for Art and Art History brings prominent artists, art historians, and critics to lecture and interact with the community with studio visits and exhibitions. Past lectures have included Daniel Johnston, Nick Cave and Jose Parla, to name a few. “Lipscomb’s art department is super conceptual,” said Lykins, a junior studio art major. “It really challenges you in how you think about art. There are also a lot of opportunities for students.” As Artist-in-Residence, Lykins is offered a cash award that allows him to spend the summer as a working artist, presenting his work at the beginning of the fall semester. Lipscomb also offers a Visiting Artist Program, which highlights several artists throughout the academic year from all over the country and brings them to Nashville to interact on an intimate level with students and the community over a period of two or three days. Lykins curates the OPEN Art Gallery in the Arcade downtown, a gallery run entirely by...
by Janice Ng | Oct 14, 2013 | Opinion
The 44th annual Dove Awards is happening Tuesday night in Allen Arena. To prepare you for the evening’s festivities, here are some of the nominees for Song of the Year category, awarded to songwriters and publishers. “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord),” artist Matt Redman, writer Jonas Myrin This seems to be a church favorite. I don’t think there has been one church I have gone to this year that hasn’t used this song during worship. “The Proof of your Love,” artist For King & Country, writers Ben Glover, Jonathan Lee Australian-born, Nashville-based brothers Luke and Joel were named by Billboard as one of the “New Artists to Watch” for 2012. “Take me to the King,” artist Tamela Mann, writer Kirk Franklin Mann is a recipient of the 2011 Dove Award for Traditional Gospel album of the year. Her song “Take me to the King” topped U.S. Billboard Gospel Song charts for weeks straight. It was also nominated for a Grammy. “Whom Shall I Fear,” artist Chris Tomlin, writer Ed Cash Tomlin is a multiple Dove Award recipient. “One Thing Remains,” artist Kristian Stanfill, writer Brian Johnson I visited a church in Atlanta across the span of several months. This song was the staple worship song. I didn’t complain. Stanfill won Special Event Album of the Year at the 2011 Dove Awards. “What the Blood is for,” artist Jason Crabb, writer Ronnie Freeman Crabb won Male Vocalist of the Year and Artist of the Year at the 2012 Dove Awards. Other nominees include: “Live Like That,” artist Sidewalk Prophets, writer Dave Frey “Forgiveness,” artist and writer Matthew West “Redeemed,” artist Big...
by Janice Ng | Oct 2, 2013 | News Slider
The Nashville Choreographer’s Canvas, an evening of choreography from Nashville’s emerging and New York’s established choreographers is set for Oct. 4 and 5 at 7 p.m., and Oct. 6 at 3 p.m. in Lipscomb’s Shamblin Theatre. The evening will be presented by Lipscomb University Theatre and New York City’s Group Theatre Too. Peter Fields, artistic director of Lipscomb’s Orchesis Dance Company, and Justin Boccitto, Lipscomb theatre adjunct professor and award-winning choreographer, curated the evening. Described by Boccitto as similar to Fox TV’s So You Think You Can Dance, The Nashville Choreographer’s Canvas will include many types of dance including tap, ballet, jazz, Bollywood, Cirque du Soleil-style aerial dance and Charlie Chaplin-style eccentric dance. One number will be dedicated to portraying the history of dance from the 1920’s Charleston to modern hip-hop. The original New York Choreographer’s Canvas, founded and coordinated by Boccitto six years ago, is an annual event that features the works of more than 15 choreographers each year, with a hundred submissions from around the world vying for a spot in the annual show. “I got the idea for the name from Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit, which talks about how all creators begin with a blank canvas,” Boccitto said. Now, Boccitto, who directed Lipscomb’s production of Hairspray in 2011, wants to expand the blank canvas to Nashville. “This is an opportunity for people from all different dance backgrounds, including those not so familiar with dance, to come together for one night and experience dance in all its forms,” Boccitto said. “Each choreography piece tells a story and highlights the importance of dance throughout the ages and in our lives.” Performers for the evening will include Lipscomb students...
by Janice Ng | Sep 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
Lipscomb University’s HumanDocs film series, hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, will be presenting a free public screening of I Learn America, a documentary about five teenage students adapting to life in America, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. in Shamblin Theatre. The screening is part of the Tennessee Rights Coalition’s Welcoming Week, an event that highlights the contributions of immigrants to American Communities. The coalition’s Welcoming Tennessee Initiative served as an inspiration to Welcoming America, a nationwide effort to make America a friendlier place. Lipscomb’s HumanDocs is a social-justice series that aims to create a more just, peaceful and inclusive university and city. “[This film] reflects the series’ goal of looking at important issues of social justice – in this case, immigration and welcoming others, even when their language, culture, or beliefs differ from ours,” series coordinator and Lipscomb Associate Professor of Spanish Ted Parks said. The documentary from Jean-Michel Dissard and Gitte Peng looks at the lives of five teenage immigrants – Brandon Garcia, a 15-year-old Guatemalan who crossed the border to reunite with his mother after 10 years, Itrat Shah, a 17-year-old devout Muslim from Pakistan who came to America to join her father after the passing of her mother, Sandra Staniszewska, a 17-year-old tomboy from Poland, Jenniffer Vasquez, a inseparable best friend of Sandra and from the Dominican Republic and Sing Pi, a shy 18-year-old from Myanmar with limited English comprehension. I Learn America follows the five students closely for a year at the International High School at Lafayette, a Brooklyn public high school dedicated to newly arrived immigrants from all over the world. The students learn how to...
