by Spencer Boehme | Mar 3, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider, Sports
When the Lipscomb men’s basketball team took the floor against Liberty on Saturday, the Bisons needed a tough win or some help from opponents to secure the fourth seed in the ASUN tournament. Not only did Lipscomb beat Liberty 77-71 (including a 29-6 lead to start the game), but Stetson also lost to Jacksonville, and Lipscomb got the tiebreaker over the Hatters and jumped a spot. This comes one season after graduating from a star-studded lineup of seniors that included Garrison Mathews and the transfer of starting point guard Kenny Cooper to Western Kentucky. Not to mention Casey Alexander’s departure to Belmont. “I was really proud of our guys for staying the course,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said before practice on Monday. “I thought there [were] many times we could have punted. And obviously our roster’s been depleted, and we lost [Jake Wolfe and Alex Jones] for the year. But we just stayed the course, and we kept going.” That means the Bisons (14-15, 9-7 ASUN) have the No. 3 seed heading into Tuesday night’s matchup against No. 6 FGCU at 7 p.m. CT. Fans who can’t make the game can tune in on ESPN+ or listen for free on the Bison. “Florida Gulf Coast is very talented,” Acuff said. “We split with them. They beat us down there, we beat them here. They can really score the ball. We need to play well defensively.” Lipscomb went 5-8 in non-conference (3-8 against Division I opponents) and then started out the ASUN slate 2-5, including a four-game losing streak to cap it off. But the Bisons dealt North Florida...
by Mckenzi Harris | Feb 28, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Former McClure Professor of Faith and Science Daniel Gordon, charged last May with aggravated abuse of his 5-month-old baby, pleaded guilty for abuse of the infant last week in Sumner County Criminal Court. He is no longer employed at Lipscomb. “We don’t have a comment on this case, but I can confirm that he is not a Lipscomb employee,” said Lipscomb Assistant Vice President for Public Relations and Communications Kim Chaudoin. The university suspended Daniel Gordon following his arrest last spring. Aggravated child abuse is considered a Class A misdemeanor when the victim is under eight years of age. Aggravated child abuse is defined according to how seriously a child was injured. The sentence range for a Class A misdemeanor in Tennessee is not less than 15 nor more than 25 years. Gordon pleaded guilty to two counts of the lesser charge of Aggravated Child Abuse (Class E) on Feb. 20. Gordon will serve no more than one year in jail. Gordon will be sentenced on July 10 by Criminal Court Judge Dee David...
by Erika Plunkett | Feb 28, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Lipscomb students studying abroad are feeling the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) as it approaches pandemic levels. After the virus reached areas of Northern Italy, which is reporting 400 confirmed cases, with only three of those cases coming as a result of travels to China, Lipscomb elected to evacuate the study abroad group staying in Florence. These students were moved to the Vienna campus for at least the next month, and then the situation will be reevaluated. President Randy Lowry said in an email to the Lipscomb community that the university has been monitoring the situation for weeks, and one option would have been to return the students to the U.S. and have them continue their spring classes in an online format. “Unfortunately, this option would also likely be the end of their study abroad experience,” Lowry said in the email. So the university decided upon Vienna. “This option is only possible because, fortunately, none of the Florence students have visited an area or region impacted by the COVID-19 virus,” Lowry said. “Because our students’ safety and well-being are of utmost importance, we would not make this decision if it put our Vienna students at risk by introducing another student population that could be impacted by the virus.” Students affected by this situation expressed gratitude that they are not being sent home, but the abrupt move is causing stress and disrupted plans that had been in place for months. As of right now the Vienna campus, as well as the country of Austria, remains safe with only two cases reported in the entire nation. However, Lipscomb will continue to...
by Grant Ledgister | Feb 24, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Throughout Lipscomb’s second annual Day of Giving on Thursday, 3,520 students, alumni, and parents from all 50 states and several countries gave a total of $826,900. This quickly surpassed the goal the university had set of 2,020 donators, which unlocked a $100,000 match from an anonymous donor “for the students.” Even though the donors were mainly parents and alumni, some students thought the expectation to give was on them. “I feel like the Day of Giving would be more effective if it was a message to the parents — that the school knows is paying fully for tuition,” said sophomore LilliAnn Sutherlin. “If you ask the students as a whole you will be asking people who do not have a full-time job and some of them are struggling to pay tuition. To ask students to give money is to ask an infant to pay the bills. However, parents who are paying full tuition for their child are likely to have a job that allows them to have money to give with the incentive to make their child’s campus a better place with their donations.” At the headquarters of the event, Stephanie Carroll, the Assistant Vice President for Annual Giving and leader of the Day of Giving, did clarify the role students had in the drive. “The biggest thing that students can be doing is writing thank you notes,” said Carroll. “We want every donor to receive a personal thank you note from a student. These donors give so that it will have an impact on the students’ lives.” For example, to bring attention to the fundraiser, giveaways were held...
by Anastasia Davis | Feb 14, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
In the fall of 2018 during the Lipscomb Leads campaign announcement, President Lowry listed buildings on campus that are to be renovated, and he is finally making good on that promise. On Feb 11 Lipscomb announced to its student body a new renovation project for Elam Hall, one of the older residence halls on Lipscomb’s campus. Elam Hall’s $11 million renovation commenced on Thursday Feb. 13. The first phase of the construction project will be the installation of a new elevator that will be connected to the current building by a breezeway. Students can expect the project to be completed sometime in August before the first day of classes. The second phase of renovations will include waterproofing the basement, refurbishing the front porch area and a complete renovation of all interior areas of the residence hall, including all dormitory rooms, public and private showers, restrooms, lobbies, gathering areas, kitchens and lounges. “Students that are going to be living in the resident halls, I think they are going to be excited,” said Laurie Sain, Dean of Housing and Residence Life. “Right now, everyone is being great in Elam, they’re being very understanding even though they are not getting the benefit of the new resident hall, but they are very excited it is finally happening.” While there are many new additions and updates coming to the resident hall, some of the current residents are not as thrilled. “I’ll admit, I am happy they are finally renovating Elam. However, I believe this is poor timing,” said Zoe Guest, an Elam Hall resident. “It’s midterms and the loud construction noise is going to...
by Lumination Staff | Feb 2, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students Al Sturgeon hosted a breakout chapel on Thursday to be used as an open forum for students to address their grievances over their concerns about Tuesday’s Gathering talk by Siran Stacy. Sturgeon asked that there be no media in the talk to respect student privacy and create a safe place. SGA President Jack Webber shared his thoughts on how the breakout chapel went. “I think the way he’s [Al Sturgeon] handled this speaks to his character,” said Webber, “and it speaks to a vision — I think is going to take student life to a good place as it navigates what does Lipscomb believe and what does Lipscomb do about this kind of stuff.” Some students are still calling for more clarity from the university. “We still need more clarity on where exactly the university stands in affirming the identities of members of the LGBT community and as far as recognizing that they are safe and supported at this university,” said Codie Miller. “But I do appreciate what he did here today, and we’re just going to keep pressing for more clarity on that.” The breakout chapel, held in the Shinn Center ballroom, was standing-room-only, with the crowd spilling out into the lobby. Following the chapel Provost Craig Bledsoe sent an email to faculty that addressed the issues from Tuesday’s Gathering: “You are likely aware in the Gathering on Tuesday the speaker, Siran Stacy, was invited to talk about finding faith and purpose after the tragedy of losing his wife and four children when their car was struck by a drunk driver in...
