On Friday evening the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new wing of the McFarland Science Center honored the ways the Lipscomb science department has inspired students to help others.
Former Lipscomb student and current biology department chair Dr. Kent Gallaher spoke about how his relationships with his Lipscomb professors inspired him to return to Lipscomb to teach. He concluded his remarks by celebrating the new wing’s role in the science department’s mission to educate and to inspire.
“As we have grown, as the school has changed, as our standing in the academy has improved, one thing remains the same: we are affecting and transforming lives. And that is what this building will let us do,” Gallaher said.
In addition to Gallaher’s speech, the ceremony featured former chemistry department chair Dr. John Netterville, Lipscomb graduate and otolaryngologist Dr. John Little, and current Lipscomb senior Hannah Stephen in a panel discussion about the past, present and future of Lipscomb’s science department.
Little and one of his former patients spoke about a cochlear implant surgery that restored the patient’s hearing and has allowed her to graduate from her local public school.
Hannah Stephen discussed how the mentorship she has received through the Lipscomb biology department has inspired her and has helped her in her path to graduate school.
“At how many schools, how many universities do you think you could walk into the chair of the department of biology’s office in the middle of the summer in the morning and have them sit down with you and talk through all of your life goals. So that’s what I did last summer with Dr. Gallaher,” Stephen said.
The rest of the dedication event included a dinner, a presentation on the history of Lipscomb’s science program and a panel featuring President Lowry and four deans of different medical schools in Tennessee and Kentucky.
The new wing cost $8.5 million and contains 24,000 square feet of lab space for the biology, anatomy and chemistry departments. Five of the labs are named for former Lipscomb science professors.
All of the new labs feature new department-specific equipment such as surgical equipment in the anatomy lab and movable exhaust pipes in the chemistry and biology labs.