by Mckenzi Harris | Feb 6, 2021 | News, News Slider
This morning president Lowry announced his departure from the role of President of Lipscomb University after 16 years. While President Lowry and his wife Rhonda Lowry will still be around as the transition to chancellor will take place next semester. In an email to the Lipscomb community, President Lowry shared the following. “Earlier this morning at the Board of Trustees meeting, I officially announced that after 16 years as president of this exceptional institution, I will transition to the role of chancellor in the near future. I will remain as president through the summer until a successor is in place following a national search. At that time, Rhonda and I will take a sabbatical and we will return renewed and energized to continue to serve this institution.” “The transition to chancellor is something we and the board have envisioned for a long time. While perhaps less familiar in our history, it is a common approach used by universities to capture the benefits of one’s presidential era and to continue that influence for the institution into the future.” “I will also engage through my faculty appointment, and look forward to working with students in our College of Leadership & Public Service.” President Lowry hopes that the transition will go smoothly and that his successor will be able to do more than even he was for the university. “The greatest compliment to someone who has tried to lead is that those who come after can do even more.” President Lowry will continue his presidency through to May of 2021. “There is no greater privilege and honor than having served as your president...
by Micah Kennedy | Feb 5, 2021 | News, News Slider, Sports
It feels like it’s been over a year since we’ve last seen the women’s soccer team take the field. Well, that’s because it has been over a year. “It’s been 441 days from our last competition against Louisville…,” said coach O’Brien. “For the players, it’s been a long haul. 2020 was a tough year mentally for them.” Everything about the offseason has been far from normal, from its length, the state of the world, and the uncertainty that it brought players and fans alike. While so much in the world has changed, the back-to-back ASUN champs have experienced some changes on their roster as well. The team graduated seven seniors last year, and the roster currently features nine freshmen. Along with the large freshman class, the team has brought in three transfers from other D-I programs with coach O’Brien highlighting Kelli Beiler, a midfielder from Penn State, as one of the captains coming into the season. The team expects solid production from the experienced transfer group this year. Among the 15 returning players, Molly Grant, Katia Hanger, Logan McFadden, and Cami Rogers were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team. With the combination of talented newcomers and promising returners, expectations for the team to have a legitimate shot at a third consecutive ASUN title are inevitable. The Bisons’ selection as the favorite to finish first in the preseason coaches’ poll is just one example of those high expectations. Naturally, the team also has to deal with the perennial “target” on their backs as long as “defending ASUN champions” precedes their name. Teams around the ASUN will have their matchups with...
by Danny Kotula | Feb 5, 2021 | News, News Slider, Sports
It’s been a long time coming, but the Lipscomb men’s soccer team can finally look forward to a full season of soccer. In all likelihood, it will be a season well worth the wait, as head coach Charles Morrow is optimistic about the Bisons’ squad this year. He says he’s especially excited about the mix of veteran leaders and youthful exuberance within the team. “We’re younger upfront [than last year] and more veteran in defense. If you had to choose, that would probably be the way to go.” One of the reasons the Bisons are so experienced on the backline is Nottingham, England native Louis Robinson’s positional move. After playing mainly forward last year, he and his attacking prowess are moving to the left-back position. With attack-minded fullback Noah Gulden occupying the right-back position, there’s a lot of expectation being placed on the outside defenders to create attacking chances for the Bisons. Alongside those two junior fullbacks are returning starter Honore Kalala and junior Scott Gulden, occupying the starting center back slots. It’s a quality back four that knows what they’re capable of, so expect some clean sheets for the Bisons this year. Meanwhile, as Coach Morrow alluded to, there are plenty of new faces in the attacking ranks. Javanne Smith is a freshman who joins Lipscomb from Chesterfield FC, a club in the 5th tier of the English soccer system. “Javanne is a forward for us that we expect to have a big year as a freshman,” Coach Morrow said when asked about freshmen to expect big things from. Another freshman forward in the mix is Tyrece Spicer,...
by Kathryn Farris | Feb 2, 2021 | News, News Slider
“Bittersweet” is how Vice President of Student Life Al Sturgeon describes his decision to leave Lipscomb to fill the same job at a college in Illinois. But Sturgeon, who will leave in the next month or so for Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois, describes his reason for taking the new job as “a calling.” “It’s very bittersweet,” says Sturgeon, who announced his departure in an email to students on January 31. “I hate to leave wonderful people, and there’s so many great things and programs happening here at Lipscomb” Sturgeon says he is following a “calling” to serve at a work-study college with a focus in education accessibility. “I’m a first-generation college student,” he said, explaining the fuel for that calling. “My dad was a high school dropout, and so the idea of affordability within social mobility is an important value to me.” In his two years at Lipscomb, Sturgeon gained popularity among students, even inspiring an “Al for President” page on Instagram. Sturgeon is both “flattered” and confused by the fanfare but says it might just indicate his time at Lipscomb was successful. “I know that what I wanted was for every student, every pocket of students and every type of student to feel equally valued. … When I hear people say that they felt love, that’s what I wanted.” Under Sturgeon, Lipscomb’s Student Life has been completely reconstructed (both figuratively and literally). This new organizational structure was one of Sturgeon’s initial goals for Lipscomb, he said, as he looks back on his tenure here. “I knew that I was coming in to reset the organizational structure of the Student Life...
by Camryn Given | Jan 31, 2021 | News, News Slider
As students’ options for classes transition to more online formats, do the enrollment numbers change? For Lipscomb, the answer is no. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States last March, the nation’s education system was forced to scramble to figure out how it was going to keep educating its students. The solution was found in Zoom meetings and asynchronous classes where students can keep learning without sharing the air with their classmates. Lipscomb has joined other schools in this new emphasis on virtual learning and even adopted its own specific program, Lipscomb Flex, but how has this changed registration numbers? Byron Lewis is the Vice President for Enrollment Management at Lipscomb and is familiar with the retention numbers for the student population. Lewis noted that he sees the Lipscomb Flex model as a success since the number of students at Lipscomb has remained consistent with past years. “We had really strong spring enrollments for both the graduate and undergraduate areas,” said Lewis. “I’d say probably eight to 12 new freshman students that start in the spring… [and] we usually have between 40 and 60 new transfer students.” Not only were the incoming second-semester numbers consistent with previous spring semesters, but the retention rates between semesters also proved to be steady. “We had really strong retention numbers from fall to spring,” said Lewis. “94.8% of the students that came and started in the fall that returned. He added, “That’s about a percentage point shy of the record, which was set last year.” Lewis commented that the only numbers that had slightly dropped were the number of transfer students that...
by Spencer Boehme | Jan 31, 2021 | Galleries, News, News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb’s men’s basketball team was supposed to play at Stetson this weekend, but since the Bisons had played more conference games than most of their ASUN opponents, the conference announced Lipscomb would get a bye week to allow other teams to fill in the gap. Luckily, Lipscomb was able to snag a non-conference opponent in Bluefield State, a Division II independent out of West Virginia, for a Saturday matinee game. The Bisons used 41 bench points and limited the Big Blue to just 21 second-half points to win 89-56. “First off, we’re real [sic] thankful for Bluefield agreeing to come in and play,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said during a postgame interview on ESPN+. “We found out Tuesday afternoon that we weren’t gonna be going to Florida.” Redshirt junior center Ahsan Asadullah paced Lipscomb (11-8, 5-3 ASUN) with 19 points, followed by 13 from sophomore guard KJ Johnson and 11 from sophomore guard Carson Cary. Junior Marquez Cooper and sophomore Taj-Maal Toney dialed in 13 apiece for Bluefield State (1-4), while junior guard Brandon Anyanwu had 11. The bench only contributed seven points for the Big Blue, who were without the top rebounder in Division II Alex Nunnely due to injury. “I thought our bench did a really good job, and I was really excited to see those guys get a chance,” Acuff said. “Cause they’ve played well in practice. I’m not surprised by how well all those guys played.” Lipscomb had a sluggish start and was down 15-7 at the 14:41 mark and then 27-19 with under seven minutes left in the first half. But Bluefield State could only...
