by Kathryn Farris | Aug 23, 2021 | News, News Slider
Dr. Candice McQueen describes her return to Lipscomb as “very satisfying.” Her appointment to succeed Randy Lowry as president of the university brings her back to the campus where she has served as an academic leader as senior vice president and dean of the university’s College of Education. McQueen’s leadership at the school goes back to her student days when she was on the Quest Team, Lipscomb’s student-led orientation group, and also served as the first student coordinator of Singarama, the university’s annual student song-and-dance competition. As of September, McQueen will be tackling a new role at Lipscomb, that of the president. “When I was at Lipscomb, I was very involved, and so I enjoyed leadership roles and certainly roles that were focused on university things, but I can’t say that I’ve probably ever sat down and said ‘Oh, I see myself as the president,’” said McQueen in an interview with Lumination Network. “When you’re involved in leadership, you’re involved in doing things on the campus that you love. That should be a testament that you never know what might happen and certainly that was my case.” McQueen’s past is a stark contrast to that of current President Randy Lowry, who came to Lipscomb as a law professor from Pepperdine University in California. McQueen said she believes her experiences at Lipscomb give her a deep understanding of the university’s reputation. “Being from Nashville and being from Tennessee gives me the perspective of knowing what Lipscomb has been to this community,” she said. “I’m going to listen and learn in my first year and hope to connect what I think...
by Camryn Given | Aug 13, 2021 | News, News Slider
Summer can be a brutal time for hot temperatures. The past week in Nashville has been especially extreme, which is easily noticeable as soon as one leaves the air conditioning. A heat advisory was declared for Middle Tennessee for Aug. 11 and Aug. 12. With temperatures in the upper 90s residents were encouraged to stay out of the heat as much as possible. The Nashville Weather Service projects highs to remain in the 90s till Sunday, Aug. 15. Although the southeast has been especially hot, many others across the country have also been affected. According to NBC, almost 200 million people were under a heat advisory as of Aug. 12. As the rest of the week continues to present these high temperatures, stay hydrated, don’t spend too much time in the heat, and keep an eye on those vulnerable to heat such as senior citizens and...
by Kathryn Farris | Aug 11, 2021 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
The Lipscomb community will be required to wear a mask in indoor spaces beginning Friday. The announcement was made to students and faculty in an email Wednesday afternoon; it follows a recent surge in local Delta variant cases. “As we are preparing for a strong start to the year, the COVID-19 Delta variant continues to spread and has proven to be markedly more transmissible than earlier strains of the virus,” said the university in its notification of the mandate. “Because of the increasing presence of the Delta variant, we have implemented a few policies and procedures to help mitigate the spread of the virus in an effort to start the semester strong. These are similar to the policies at peer institutions such as the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University and Belmont University.” The Lipscomb mask mandate currently expires Sept. 3 and applies to all students, faculty, staff and guests in university buildings (regardless of vaccination status). The university is also pushing vaccines, adding in the email that “approximately 99% of those in our nation who are having serious adverse effects or are dying as a result of the virus are unvaccinated.” Lumination will continue to keep you updated on this developing story...
by Lumination Staff | Aug 5, 2021 | News, News Slider
Transcript of Dr. Candice McQueen’s speech during the presidential announcement Thursday, August 5, 2021, on her view of the university and hopes for the future: Through my own prayer, a lot of it, certainly my family’s prayer and no doubt many of you who have been praying for the next president, I came to this possibility and am deeply humbled and grateful to serve with you as the next president of Lipscomb University. As I’ve shared with board members on several occasions, my conviction for this role at this moment in time comes directly from John 1: “The light shines in darkness, and darkness has not overcome it.” I fully believe that Lipscomb’s 130-year history has been life-changing as we have continued to elevate the only light that overcomes darkness by revealing Christ to our students, from preschool to graduate school and even to Lifelong Learning programs. And we’ve done this in meaningful and life-changing ways. Lipscomb and the people in this Lipscomb community have been the light for me, from my time as a student and then as a teacher at the Academy, to my time as a faculty member, and eventually as a dean. I now turn again to you, the faculty and staff and leadership here at Lipscomb, because I want you to be partners in this work, to bring light to our students and continue to bring light as they prepare for their work, their families and their service. Our students deserve our best as we confidently help prepare them to pursue their careers, think deeply and increase their character and faith. When your light...
by Lumination Staff | Aug 1, 2021 | News, News Slider
Nashville journalist and former longtime WSMV anchor Demetria Kalodimos will be joining Lipscomb’s School of Communication during the incoming school year. Through her role, Kalodimos is expected to share her experiences and expertise alongside developing “digital media ethics” workshops and programming. In addition, Kalodimos will co-teach a class with Chair Alan Griggs. “She [Kaladimos] is one of the best journalists I have had the honor and privilege to know,” said Griggs in a press release issued by the university. Griggs and Kalodimos worked together at WSMV for 20 years. “With her experience and knowledge, our students will benefit significantly, and so will I.” Kalodimos has been a trusted and recognized figure in Middle Tennessee media for nearly 40 years, receiving 16 Emmys, three Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) National awards, three Edward R. Murrow Awards for investigative reporting and the Gracie from American Women in Radio and Television. As well as being inducted into the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame and the NATAS Silver Circle. Recently, Kalodimos has produced award-winning documentaries, music videos and other visual content through her company Genuine Human Productions. Her songwriter series, Barnegie Hall, aired nationally on PBS stations across the country. “Educating future journalists about the state of the industry and how to navigate that well while training them to be good storytellers, utilizing the many tools they have available to them, is critical,” said Kalodimos. “While content delivery methods continually change, the fundamentals of good storytelling will never cease to be important. So, I am excited to be able to share my knowledge and experiences with students and to have an impact on the next...
by Kathryn Farris | Jul 27, 2021 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
As summer’s end steadily approaches, low vaccination rates and the rising transmission of the COVID Delta variant are sparking concerns for colleges across the country. “We’re monitoring cases on and off campus that affect our community right now. The Delta variant seems to be a much more aggressive type of the virus,” said Kevin Eidson, Lipscomb’s Director of Health and Wellness. “We want as many people to be vaccinated as possible… getting the vaccine allows you to have some more freedoms that you really don’t have without the protection of the vaccine,” Eidson said. In a video sent out to faculty and staff, Susan Galbreath, Lipscomb’s senior vice president for strategy, shared the results of a campus survey revealing 55 percent of Lipscomb’s total population is vaccinated. Full-time employees are at a 74 percent vaccination rate. While higher than Tennessee’s vaccination rates, Lipscomb still falls behind reaching herd immunity. According to Yale Medicine, COVID variants could indicate 80 percent of a population would need to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. The CDC updated its recommendations on July 27 to encourage indoor mask use for vaccinated individuals in COVID “hot spots.” Earlier this summer, the center had rolled back all restrictive recommendations for vaccinated people (except during travel). Davidson County falls under the CDC’s rating of “high” for transmission levels. In response to the new CDC recommendation, Lipscomb says it will “continue to monitor local, state and federal guidance as we get nearer to the beginning of the semester.” Current policy dictates unvaccinated students are encouraged to practice mask-wearing and could be placed in quarantine if exposed...
