by Gunnar Eng | Jun 29, 2020 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
With the European Union banning American tourists beginning this summer and other factors as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, study abroad programs have been postponed indefinitely. “This tough decision was a collaborative agreement between our Office of Global Learning, Risk Management, and upper administration,” said Rebecca Zanolini, director of Global Learning, citing information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department as source material in this decision. “Given the current information we have and due to a number of factors out of our control, such as many countries either limiting entrance or imposing a 14-day quarantine on those entering, it is the decision of the university to cancel our fall 2020 study abroad programs,” said Provost W. Craig Bledsoe. The EU has said that American tourists will be banned from entering the continent because the virus is raging uncontrolled here. It is similar to the winter’s ban on most European visitors to the U.S., issued when COVID-19 was reaching its peak in several countries. The university is now making accommodations for all students who planned to study abroad this semester to help them transition into a semester on-campus, including classes and housing registration assistance. “Even with this temporary situation regarding fall 2020 programs, we are moving ahead with our investment in Lipscomb’s global learning program and on-campus activities for students interested in future international travel opportunities,” said Bledsoe. “In the next few weeks the university plans to purchase the Florence villa that has served our global students so well for the last few years,” Bledsoe said. “This is a significant investment in our global learning program...
by Mckenzi Harris | Jun 16, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News, News Slider
Savannah Miller, remembered as a “sweet, loving” student in Lipscomb’s IDEAL program died Saturday “following complications related to a medical procedure,” said President Randy Lowry. “It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the news of the loss … of Savannah Miller, a student in Lipscomb’s IDEAL program, Lowry said in an email to the student body. Miller was well-known for her positive attitude around campus and her internships with admissions and Student Life. She was a member of Phi Nu and a resident of Johnson Hall. “Savannah was a sweet, loving, joyful, and caring friend,” said Riley Hoag, also a student in the IDEAL program. “She was always there to help me out when I needed someone to talk to. She always put a smile on everyone’s face during school.” Savannah could be easily found drinking a frappuccino in the Starbucks on campus, according to Hoag. Grief sessions have been set up by the Office of Student Life as virtual Zoom calls. The links have been sent out to the student body and can be found here. Lipscomb plans to have a memorial service on campus in the fall to honor her life. More details will be released on that when the details are finalized, according to the university. Miller is survived by her mother, Renee Miller; her father, Bill Miller; three siblings, Shayna, Justin and Jacob; and her extended family. She was preceded in death by her brother, Garrett. “What we are hearing over and over again in the hours following her death is that Savannah is clearly a young lady who will be missed...
by Mckenzi Harris | Jun 14, 2020 | BREAKING NEWS, News, News Slider
Lynn Griffith, professor of kinesiology in the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and a long-time coach at the university and the academy, died Saturday of “an apparent heart attack,” said university President Randy Lowry. “The Lipscomb family is mourning the loss of Lynn Griffith. Lynn passed away earlier this morning,” said Lowry in a Saturday email to the Lipscomb community. Griffith had served the university and the academy in academics and athletics for four decades. Griffith joined the Lipscomb faculty in 1980 and served as the department chair of the former department of health and physical education, and he most recently taught courses in motor learning, kinesiology, mechanics of movement and coaching education. “Beyond the profound loss, we celebrate with him a larger story,” Lowry said in an email to faculty. “It is the belief he claimed in a loving God and an eternal relationship with him. Even in this tragic moment, we share that hope.” Griffith was the men’s tennis coach for 21 years and the NCAA D-1 Independent Men’s Coach of the Year in 2002. Griffith also served as Lipscomb’s cross country coach from 1994-1999. He was also an assistant coach under Bison baseball coach Ken Dugan for several years and was a former assistant athletic director. Lynn was most recently a coach at Lipscomb Academy, where he served as the head swim coach for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 seasons and as girls’ and boys’ tennis head coach for several years. He led the boys’ tennis program to an undefeated season and a Class A-AA team state championship in spring 2016, the first team state championship...
by Mckenzi Harris | Jun 6, 2020 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
The Lipscomb College of Pharmacy began compounding hand-sanitizer for the Nashville community in May, due to a shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students, alumni, faculty and volunteers were involved in the compounding, and more who want to help are filling up a waiting list. “We started getting reports from our healthcare community saying supplies were getting extremely limited in terms of PPE (personal protection equipment) and also just hand-sanitizer to have available for both the patients and staff as they carry out their healthcare duties,” said Tom Campbell, dean of the College of Pharmacy and associate professor of Pharmacy Practice. Many of the college of pharmacy graduates are on the front lines in this battle against the virus, and the school keeps in contact with them, so when alums gave the word of the shortages around local healthcare facilities, Lipscomb stepped in. This is an experiment that the college would normally do in a pharmaceutical compounding class, according to Campbell. So making the hand-sanitizer was a way to reinforce compounding skills, while meeting a public health need with student pharmacists. “It was a great opportunity for our students to use the knowledge and skills they developed, knowing that they were able to help people in need. That’s always a very rewarding and refreshing feeling,” said Campbell. He said the college hopes to continue compounding throughout the summer and into the fall if needed, possibly even providing more hand-sanitizer around campus to create a safer environment as students return in the fall. Campbell encourages all who can to donate to the effort. “The one limiting factor will be costs, over...
by Mckenzi Harris | Jun 6, 2020 | News, News Slider
Lipscomb alum Cedric Duncan said there was a great motivation for the 10,000-plus protesters who marched through the streets of Nashville in a rally supporting change after the death of George Floyd. “If you just talk the talk, nothing changes,” said Duncan, who was among those who began the trek at Bicentennial Mall, through downtown Nashville to the Tennessee Capitol and back in an orderly and peaceful procession. Much of downtown was boarded up as merchants feared a repeat of the violence that occurred after a peaceful protest last Saturday. But the crowd, which appeared to include at least as many white people as blacks people, was peaceful. The march planned by high school students occurred on the same day that Minneapolis — where Floyd was killed by police May 25, when one officer held his neck to the pavement by kneeling on it for more than eight minutes — was celebrated by the Rev. Al Sharpton and others, including Floyd’s family and children. Floyd’s pleas of “I can’t breathe” went ignored and he died. His final cries were for his mother. The officer has been charged with second-degree murder and three other officers who assisted in the fatal encounter also have been charged. The tragic incident and graphic video of Floyd dying stirred up protests nationwide, in which Floyd’s death was lamented and used as an illustration of general police action against black men in particular, though black women also have been victims. “For me, it was more of marching for change in the culture of policing,” said Duncan, of the massive gathering Thursday in Nashville. In addition...
by Lumination Staff | Jun 3, 2020 | News, News Slider, Uncategorized
The killings of three black Americans — including the recent slaying of George Floyd, killed by a white Minneapolis police officer who kept his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes, until he was dead — are “tragic and inexcusable,” said Lipscomb President Randy Lowry. Lowry addressed the Floyd case — the officer has been charged with murder and more charges are expected against the other three officers on the scene — and the other two deadly racist incidents in an email to the Lipscomb community. The killing of Floyd has led to demonstrations and rioting across the nation, including in Nashville, where a peaceful rally on Saturday was overshadowed by mob violence and arson of the Metro Courthouse and looting on Lower Broadway. Downtown businesses continue on alert in case other incidents flare-up. “I write to you this Monday evening with a sense of deep sadness as we respond to the tragic and inexcusable deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor,” Lowry said. “It follows recent similar instances when the lives of black Americans have been wrongfully taken revealing continuing injustice and inequality in our nation. The Lipscomb community stands clearly on the side of respect and love. We are completely intolerant of racial abuse and injustices for all. “The Lipscomb community stands clearly on the side of respect and love,” he said. “We are completely intolerant of racial abuse and injustices for all.” The death of Floyd came on the heels of two highly publicized killings of black people by authority figures. Taylor, 26, an emergency room technician in Louisville, Kentucky, was shot at...
