Happy New Year, Lumination readers!
Now that the new year’s resolutions have been made and the first day of 2015 is here, we want to take a hop back in time to look at some of Lipscomb’s biggest moments of 2014.
Before we get to the top 10 stories, we want to take a moment to honor those we lost in 2014.
Alumni Andrew Nash, Anastasia Sloan, Meghan Day and Jacob Akers, and associate professor of pharmacy practice Kim Barker and longtime faculty member Earl Dennis all passed away. As we begin a new year, we would like to keep those listed and their families in our thoughts and prayers.
Quite a few stories made it close to the top 10. They include a few annual events, special guests and people in new positions of leadership.
In December, Amy Grant hosted the tenth annual Lighting of the Green in Allen Arena. This year, a scholarship was created in Grant’s honor. During the spring, the fifth annual Charlie Daniels’ Scholarship for Heroes concert brought country music stars and fundraising to Allen Arena once again. Also in 2014, the Dove Awards returned to Lipscomb for its 46th ceremony.
In November, the Lipscomb community came together at one of Nashville’s premier venues: The Ryman. Nashville’s Charles Esten joined the program “Lipscomb: On a New Stage,” and even performed a few tunes, too.
Also in 2014, Lipscomb welcomed Darrin Bellows as the new director of security and safety and Josh Roberts as the new dean of student development. In April, Drew Watson was elected as the new SGA president.
10. Dana Carpenter wins national award
In October, Dana Carpenter took home the 2014 Claymore Award at the Killer Nashville Conference, and in September she sold her book, Bohemian Gospel, to Pegasus Books. The book will be released in the fall of 2015.
9. Academic updates
In August, Lipscomb welcomed the College of Entertainment and Arts and the College of Computing and Information Technology. Both colleges are made up of existing programs. While the College of Arts and Entertainment consists of classical art, music, theatre and film programs, the College of Computing and Information Technology combines the computing, informatics and information security programs.
8. Lady Bisons softball team competes in NCAA Division 1 Softball Championship
For the first time in Atlantic Sun history, multiple softball teams made it into the NCAA tournament. The Lady Bisons made it into the Knoxville regional back in May, despite losing in the A-Sun tournament.
7. Men’s and Women’s Cross country and Men’s Golf have best A-Sun performance
The women’s cross country team won the Atlantic Sun conference championship for the fourth consecutive time, while the men won their second consecutive conference championship. Men’s golf finished fifth at the 2014 Atlantic Sun Men’s Golf Championship — the best A-Sun performance in school history.
6. Brian Williams delivers NBC Nightly News in Bison Square
Longtime NBC News reporter and anchor Brian Williams made his way to Lipscomb to deliver the NBC Nightly News in Bison Square back in May. Immediately after the broadcast, Williams headed over to Allen Arena to speak at Hillwood High School’s graduation. Lumination’s Janice Ng worked as a student runner and shared her experience working with the NBC Nightly News crew.
5. Candice McQueen named Tennessee’s new education commissioner
Lipscomb’s Senior Vice President and dean of the College of Education Candice McQueen was named Tennessee’s new education commissioner this December. McQueen will take her new position on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Now, Lipscomb is on a nation-wide search for a permanent replacement. Deborah Boyd has been appointed as interim dean for the college.
4. Dr. Klarissa Hardy receives $660,000 National Institutes of Health grant
Dr. Klarissa Hardy had always enjoyed studying the effect drugs have on the human body, but with a $660,000 grant, she is able to dig further in her studies. After receiving the grant during the fall, she is now investigating effective cancer treatments and bringing on pharmacy students to work on projects related to the study.
3. Junior Trevor Gormley shares knowledge on national TV
Even as a sophomore, this finance major joined in on a roundtable discussion about retail investments. In late October, Trevor Gormley was asked to be interviewed on CNBC. Gormley made his appearance on Closing Bell, a CNBC show about the New York Stock Exchange.
2. Don Meyer’s legacy honored
Don Meyer’s life was celebrated in June, after he battled cancer and passed on May 18. Meyer was known for far more than his life on the court. His lessons of servant leadership and faith were important to many, and he left behind a legacy of character. At the sixth annual Don Meyer Evening of Excellence in April, Baseball Hall of Famer and legendary Chicago Cub Ernie Banks shared his love for learning.
1. Kayla Montgomery battles MS, excels in track and cross country
She is a freshman. She is a runner. And she has already gained national media attention for her achievements. Kayla Montgomery was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a freshman in high school. But that didn’t keep her from running. She developed into a top high school runner and began attracting some of the nation’s top colleges. Montgomery decided on Lipscomb and now competes in both the cross country and track and field teams.
That’s our top 10 for 2014!
We thank you for following Lumination Network this year and encourage you to continue following us into 2015.
By Brianne Welch and Erin Turner