by Hannah Sever | Apr 29, 2022 | News, News Slider
A sense of freedom mixes with education at Tennesee Prison for Women, where incarcerated students in Lipscomb’s LIFE Program learn alongside members of the univeristy’s on-campus student body. “It’s like we are no longer in prison when we come down here for only a couple of hours,” states Molly, an inside student from the LIFE Program. The LIFE Program, or Lipscomb Initiative for Education, takes courses that are in the university curriculum that would normally be on campus and relocates them to the women’s prison, the Debra Johnson Rehabilitation Center. Students from Lipscomb’s campus are invited to go take classes at the prison with their incarcerated classmates. The goal of the LIFE Program is to replicate a college experience in unusual circumstances. “It was a huge blessing because I had tried three times to get into the LIFE Program,” Evette states. “I grasped the fact that I would be here for a while and wanted to make my time here useful. I decided that I wanted to come back better than I came in.” Several women in the LIFE Program have completed their curriculum and will receive their diplomas. This shows them, their family, and the community that they have worked hard, have been committed to this, and have succeeded in ways they may not have imagined several years ago. “I want to go all the way and get my Ph.D,” Evette said. “A year before it’s time for me to go home, Lipscomb creates a scholarship. This happened for a reason and I want to be a part of it!” The LIFE Program will continue empowering both inside...
by Kahwit Tela | Apr 11, 2022 | News, News Slider, Student Spotlight
Amid turmoil and destruction, one girl completes a beauty ritual every night before going to bed. The 11-year-old sister of Liza Diachenko, a senior fashion major and tennis player from Kharkiv, Ukraine, would put on makeup every night before going to bed for one particular reason. “[My Mom told me my] sister puts on makeup on every night and says if that if she dies, she wants to die pretty,” Diachenko said. “[No] 11-year old should be thinking about dying,” Diachenko said. “They should be talking about school, friends, boys, or whatever.” For Diachenko, It’s heartbreaking to see her younger sister experience a “completely different childhood” than she. One that forces her to grow up fast. This is one of the many harsh realities Ukrainians are currently facing due to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict.On Feb. 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, causing the largest assault on a European state since World War II.Since the start of the invasion, more than three million refugees have fled Ukraine, and more than six million have left their homes in the country. Diachenko’s teammates Kate Popova and Sasha Dobranos are from Ukraine as well and have joined her in grieving that their home country has been filled with unrest. All three women played tennis since an early age and would often travel to different places across Europe to play, including different parts of Ukraine. “We’re thankful to tennis that we got to explore because not a lot of people pretty much explored the whole country [of Ukraine],” Diachenko said. When the conflict started, the three joined a group chat with other Ukrainian tennis players to check up...
by Camryn Given | Mar 31, 2022 | News, News Slider
In honor of President McQueen’s inauguration and her declaration of today as a “Beautiful Day,” activities of all kinds are being held on Lipscomb’s campus. Students gathered to put together supplies for Ukrainian refugees as it was a “Beautiful Day for Service.” Partnering with Healing Hands International and Hands On Nashville, both social organizations centered on providing care via volunteer work, over 1,000 buckets were packaged with essential household items. Alisa Van Dyke, the Creative Director of Healing Hands said, “We were so impressed with the excitement and willing hands of the Lipscomb student body.” The buckets will be sent to various eastern European countries where those who have fled from violence in Ukraine can receive them. The buckets were filled with necessities such as dish soap, flashlights, clothes and handwritten cards from students. Van Dyke said that some buckets were being sent out on March 31. “The remainder will ship out within the next two weeks. We will have partners on the ground in Eastern Europe when the buckets arrive to report on the impact,” said Van Dyke. Students were excused from all classes today, making those that spent the two hours in Allen Arena on their off-day to help others more meaningful. “One thousand families escaping a desperate situation will be blessed by [the students’] efforts.” Photo by Kaylie...
by Kathryn Farris | Mar 30, 2022 | News, News Slider
Lipscomb played host to local leaders, notable alumni and representatives from area universities during Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony. President Candice McQueen was officially inaugurated into her role, an occasion symbolized by the passing of the President’s Medallion. “To say it pretty plainly…I want Lipscomb University to be the best university in the country,” said McQueen in her inaugural address. “We want to elevate student voice in key decisions, we want to add new campus activities and new events that are fully-aligned with what out students need.” The ceremony featured greetings from Tennesee Governor Bill Lee and Nashville Mayor John Cooper. President McQueen previously served under Governor Lee as commissioner of education. The Alma Mater was delivered by Pat Boone, an award-winning artist and Lipscomb alum. With a theme of “Be a Light”, the University celebrated throughout the week with a symposium highlighting the elevation of faith in “diverse areas of service and work”, a campus showcase recognizing the work of students and faculty across the university and a family-friendly block party. The celebration did not end on Tuesday, President McQueen announced during her inaugural address the return of the campus tradition, “It’s a Beautiful Day”. Classes are called off this Wednesday as the students celebrate the occasion with food trucks, a service project and an evening concert. Photos by Kathryn Farris GALLERY: Inauguration...
by Jayme Foltz | Mar 1, 2022 | News, News Slider
The celebration of the inauguration of Dr. Candice McQueen as Lipscomb’s 18th president will take three days, beginning March 28. And it will be something of a star-studded affair, with show biz legend Pat Boone, a Lipscomb alum, leading the performance of the alma mater, which he composed. Boone was a singing sensation in the 1950s, with No. 1 pop hits including “Ain’t That a Shame” in 1955 and April Love in 1957. He also starred in many movies, including 1959’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth” as well as appeared frequently on various TV series. Inauguration week was a plan in the making from the moment McQueen took office as the university’s first female president at the beginning of the school year. Dr. Walt Leaver III, vice president of university relations, was appointed to oversee the committees tasked with carrying out the three-day celebration.. “We had all kinds of ideas about who we could bring in and what we could do and places we could go,” Leaver said. “When we finally got down to what we could actually handle, we started putting together a plan, and we’ll know five weeks from now how it’s gonna work.” Leaver said that the president envisioned the event as a festival for the community that is also consistent with the theme to “Be a Light.” The event will open with a unique symposium that explores “How to Be a Light in Today’s World” through presentations and panel discussions focused on fields such as business, entertainment and healthcare. McQueen will take the stage in Allen Arena on the second day of the...
by Kathryn Farris | Feb 25, 2022 | News, News Slider
At the beginning of her tenure as Lipscomb’s President, Dr. Candice McQueen mapped out three goals for her first semester: Get to know the community, discover where gaps lie in the university and start dreaming about what’s possible. “I will tell you when I started, I began a listening process,” McQueen told Lumination. “I learned some things that I didn’t already know. And then some things were affirmed that I felt like were areas that we needed to focus on or have a strategic attention to. What I have loved is hearing feedback that does now create patterns or themes that you can act on.” In tackling her initial goals, McQueen said she has discovered a few patterns in comments from the Lipscomb community. “In terms of what I’ve heard, there are things that are student-life focused,” she said. “I’ve heard some things that are focused on academics, things are focused on how we work with our community and external folks outside of the institution. “So all of those have created things that we can start executing on now. And then many will be built into a longer-term strategic plan process.” The Lipscomb Impact 360 planning process was launched in the fall, and McQueen said she plans to complete and distribute a visioning document in May 2022. The process is being conducted by a planning committee of around 50 key university leaders, faculty of various ranks, students and other key constituencies such as alumni, according to the university website. “We are beginning on that work built on the [faculty, staff and student] survey, focus group listening sessions that I’ve had and now we’re...
