by Kyrsten Turner | Feb 5, 2014 | Uncategorized
Lipscomb’s new IDEAL program is equipping students with intellectual disabilities with the skills needed for successful employment. The two-year certificate program combines general education classes with core classes in technology and employment skills to prepare students for the work place. “Ultimately, my goal is to have students that graduate from this program that are able to find meaningful, paid employment,” said Mallory Whitmore, the program director. The IDEAL (Igniting the Dream of Education and Access at Lipscomb) program, which is partially funded by a grant from the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, became a part of Lipscomb in June 2013. Dr. Candace McQueen, the dean of Lipscomb’s College of Education, and Dr. Misty Vetter, the faculty advisor for the program, wrote a proposal for the program to present before the Council, and it was approved mid-summer. IDEAL students began their Lipscomb education in January with the start of the spring semester. The program currently has three students enrolled, and Whitmore says she hopes to see a total of 10 enrolled in the fall. The students will be taking two IDEAL classes every semester, as well as auditing two undergraduate courses and participating in an internship. Whitmore, who works with the Best Buddies organization in Nashville, said she is excited about the opportunities this program will provide for students, as well as how the program will grow in the future. “I would like to see our program inspire more and more high school students with disabilities to think of college as an option,” Whitmore said. “I would [also] like to get more professors involved. One of our components is that students audit two classes a...
by Kyrsten Turner | Nov 25, 2013 | News Slider
Service and learning can go hand-in-hand, and a group of 31 Lipscomb biology students are combining their academics with service to meet the needs of a Nashville-based, not-for-profit organization. Students in Dr. James English’s freshmen-level environmental biology course are working in conjunction with the Nashville Food Project to implement an irrigation plan for the organization’s Wedgewood garden. The class visited the garden a couple times at the beginning of the semester to evaluate the land structure before devoting the fall months to creating the land management plan. “The property is on a slight-gradient, so what you do is collect the water and bring that rain water up so that you can use it to flow down,” second-year Yellow Ribbon student Christopher Long said. “It’s kind of an intricate system, but it’s completely sustainable. “Basically, we use mother nature to sustain the garden.” Jamie Wilkerson, the class communications manager for the irrigation plan, is designing the irrigation system to pump water from the 5,000 gallon tank to the piping system, providing water to the garden. “It is awesome to have a class with an actual real life application,” Wilkerson said. “It has [provided] drive and interest.” The irrigation system is designed to use rain water, implementing a sustainable practice that has been around for generations. Wilkerson said he hopes the irrigation system will help the Nashville Food Project with their upcoming spring crops. “Our proposal is very detailed and has everything outlined down to the smallest materials needed to complete the project,” Wilkerson said. “I find this super exciting because we have created something that, if used, should work perfectly.” The...
by Kyrsten Turner | Nov 1, 2013 | Sports
This week’s basketball exhibition games filled Allen Arena with the sounds of cheering fans, slick sneakers on the hardwood and plenty of booming buzzers. Through all the noise and confusion that accompanies live sports, the pep band is usually the one providing the structured soundtrack to the evening. “Emphasis on musicality,” said Elliot Bowman, Lipscomb’s pep band director for the year. “Instead of being a really loud band, we want to be able to hear all the parts, all the instruments. Each instrument does have an important role in each song we play and we want that to be showcased.” The conglomeration of trumpets, drums, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, trombones, a piccolo and a bass guitar bring together the best of wind and jazz instruments. “We don’t have any tuba players this semester but I’d love to have anybody that wants to play one,” Bowman said. Coming off the Bisons and Lady Bisons exhibition games, the pep band is ready to begin a new season. Bowman said the band isn’t just a way to showcase students’ musical talent, but a way to be more involved in the games and support Lipscomb athletics. “In the past, while [band members have] shown moderate interest, they’ve not been shouting with the cheerleaders and trying to help out like a normal student would,” Bowman said. “We’ll put a little bit of emphasis on that.” Jennifer Green, Bowman’s co-assistant, is looking forward to making the pep band a vital part of the game’s atmosphere. “We used to be a really small group that didn’t have much school spirit,” Green said. “Now, we have grown exponentially and...
by Kyrsten Turner | Oct 25, 2013 | News Slider
Students and faculty, along with members of the Nashville community, came together Thursday evening to hear an extraordinary story of forgiveness and love. Stephen Owens and his mother, Gaile Owens, were on campus Thursday to share the story behind Owens’ new book, Set Free: Discover Forgiveness Amidst Murder and Betrayal. “This journey is about moving forward,” said Stephen, author and teacher at Christ Presbyterian Academy. “This journey has always been about moving forward.” The book tells the story of how Stephen found peace and forgave his mother after her incarceration for attempted murder of his father. Hosted by the Lipscomb University Serving and Learning Together Program, the Institute for Law, Justice and Society and the LIFE Program, the evening circled around themes of forgiveness, reconciliation and justice. In 1984, Gaile was convicted of paying someone else to kill her husband, and she was sentenced to death until her sentence was reduced in 2010. Stephen shared his memory of finding his father beaten and lying on the floor with students, sadness etched on his face. A year later, he testified at his mother’s trial and cut off all communication with her for over 20 years. In 2008, Stephen took the first step to reconnect with Gaile and begin establishing a new relationship with her and in 2009, Owens saw Gaile face-to-face for the first time since her trial. Attributing his journey to forgiveness to Proverbs 3:5, Stephen said he believes God laid out the path He wanted him to walk. “I’m telling you today God was directing my path,” he said. “Nobody else could do that.” Stephen admitted to the audience that forgiveness is not easy, but it is well worth the effort. Quoting Lewis...
by Kyrsten Turner | Oct 4, 2013 | News Slider
Searching for a parking spot on campus is not a new phenomenon to Lipscomb students, but searching for a favorite professor’s new office might be. Many students are unaware that Lipscomb’s English and Foreign Languages departments have merged to create the Department of English and Modern Languages, although the name has not yet been officially approved by the administration. Students who are aware of the merge are mainly English and modern languages majors, and so far, reactions have been mixed. “Frankly, I’m just kind of a little confused as to how it might affect me,” said Chris Netterville, a sophomore English major from Nashville. “There hasn’t been that much explanation about it, just the fact that the merge itself is existing, and the offices are moving to join together in the library.” “I really wish there was more broad, open information about it,” Netterville said. “I think that is one thing the students are lacking. Just more information about the merge and what the teachers think it will entail.” Students’ concerns center heavily on the fact that although the professors have moved to Beaman Library, classes will still be held in Swang and Elam, potentially affecting the community of the departments. “I don’t know if that means when I go to talk to my teachers now, or go sit in the lounge area, if I have to be really quiet,” Netterville said. “Does that mean I [can’t] talk in my own department? That’s something I’m worried about.” “Right now, I’m not really happy about it,” said Rachel Craddock, a senior English major from Belpre, Ohio. “But, I know that...
