by Emily Snell | Nov 1, 2012 | Uncategorized
After working on campus 38 years and serving in more than a dozen positions, Dr. Jim Thomas said he still has the same focus: helping students graduate from college. Thomas said his experiences in different jobs on campus help him understand how to get students to Lipscomb, how to keep them here and how to help them pay for their education. “I do truly believe they’re a huge help here,” he said of some of his former roles. “I think all of that history and background converges to give me an understanding of how they all link together.” “I think I’m someone who believes in what they’re trying to do,” he said. “I’m passionate about students graduating from college. I am so absolutely driven to helping college students graduate, but they’ve got to be a partner with me in that.” Thomas, who currently acts as executive assistant to the president, graduated from Lipscomb in 1969. After completing three years in the military, he began teaching at the university in 1974. Thomas said, of his jobs at Lipscomb, being chair of the speech communication department was one of the most enjoyable. “Probably that was one of my favorite jobs, if you want to know the truth,” he said. “I thought as department chair you had a greater opportunity to influence students’ lives and the curriculum to help them develop.” “My heart has always been on the teaching side,” he explained. “I just think that’s why you get into higher education—to help the students learn and grow and develop their talents to the fullest extent that they can.” Thomas spent one...
by Bridgette Begle | Oct 31, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Campus ministry came together before the semester started to find a way to work with “two groups of people that are smaller to campus but also contain a lot of leaders,” according to Lauren King, a campus ministry intern. Once a month, athletes and social clubs will have a designated Thursday for a breakout chapel specifically for them. However, these chapels are not limited to just these groups; anyone can go to either chapel. King is a sophomore member of Pi Delta who also works with the campus ministry staff. King and the rest of the ministry team wanted to give athletes and those in Greek life the opportunity to learn and grow together in a chapel-like setting. Junior Erin Gupton, a member of Phi Sigma, said she loves the idea of the new Greek chapel. She said she wants people to feel welcome and not like socials clubs are private. “I hate when Greek life comes across as exclusive because that is not the point,” Gupton said. There have been three Greek life breakout chapels so far this semester, and they’ve been going very well, according to King and Gupton. The idea is to include multiple clubs in each devotional, Gupton said, explaining that one club will lead the singing, one will lead the prayer, one will do the message and so on. Athletes are also breaking in a new breakout chapel this semester. Those who have attended athlete’s chapel have now heard from two different speakers. The first was Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson and second was Brent High the associate athletic director for spiritual formation. It has been...
by Whitney Jarreld | Oct 30, 2012 | News Slider
There are many food venue options on Lipscomb’s campus. However a growing concern for the United States is having the opportunity to buy more natural, local and healthy options for consumption. The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics put on Food Day in the square on Oct. 25. Emily Brunson, along with other dietetics majors at Lipscomb planned and hosted the event. Brunson got involved with Food Day when she attended a real food challenge in Chapel Hill, N.C. “It is a nationwide celebration of local, substainable and affordable food,” she said. The day provided Lipscomb students with free samples and information on healthy living and local foods. Some music was also provided while the event took place in the square. Vendors who attended support local business and farmers. Ric Ously of Ously Ouch Salsa says he makes his salsa from locally grown food. “It’s important to support our local farmers, and that’s why we use [local produce],” Ously said. Adam Curtis is a part of Good Food For Good People. He says his organization “acts as a local food hub with about 85 farmers and food artisians here in Middle Tennessee.” He believes it’s important to support local food “because it helps build a green econmoy because the money stays within your local area and you just get healthier, better quality food.” Tennessee is known for crops like tomatoes, corn and soy beans, but there are still some communities who are struggling to aquire better options for their food intake. Some vendors who participated include: The Well Frothy Monkey Nutrisha The Jam...
by Brynn Watkins | Oct 30, 2012 | Uncategorized
If you were to glance at Kevin Mac Erwin while passing him on the way to class, you would probably assume he was an art student. With his unique sense of style, gauged earrings and fancy Ray Bans, it is easy to peg him as a simple student artist. However, Kevin is not only a full time art student at Lipscomb but also an internationally known musician. Kevin Mac Erwin is the man behind the electronic music sensation Lunova Labs. Kevin’s music career all started with a piano and an unquenchable desire for something new. Kevin is an entirely self-taught pianist. He picked up piano one day, and from then on, he was hooked on the instrument. Before Lunova Labs, Kevin performed in a couple of experimental hard-core bands in his teenage years which helped shape him as a musician. Kevin’s fascination with the music of Aphex Twin and Brian Eno gave him the incentive to begin producing electronic music at an early age. He would make up songs in his head and translate them into a beat. The beats then turned into full-length projects, and from this cycle, Lunova Labs was born. Many of the ideas behind Lunova Labs’ vibrant and catchy beats came from the diverse area he grew up in. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Kevin’s style of music was influenced heavily by the city’s aesthetic. City culture and diversity were a clear cornerstone of the Lunova Labs unique sound. Kevin says he is always taking in inspiration with every aspect of life. Soon after Kevin’s teenage years, he decided he wanted a change of scenery...
by Michael Fox | Oct 29, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
With “brotherhood” as their mantra, the fresh crop of Lipscomb Bisons focuses on getting to know each other while tuning up for the historic Battle of the Boulevard rivalry Nov. 9. “That’s a pretty big game,” sophomore forward Martin Smith said. “It’s the first game of the season, and everyone is really looking forward to that–getting hype–and we’ll be ready for it.” The 6:30 p.m. Nov. 9 tipoff at Allen Arena will begin the game that is for the first time a non-conference matchup. Belmont left the Atlantic Sun this past year to join the Ohio Valley Conference. Nine new players have joined the squad, and coach Scott Sanderson said he knows that the focus of practices will be coming together internally as one group of players. “Right now we are more focused on what we’re doing,” he said, adding that what concerns him most is “our day-to-day process, our day-to-day work ethic, you know, how we are paying attention to detail and getting ourselves better individually to help our team get better.” Key additions to the team are: junior Khion Sankey from Stockton, Calif.; freshman John Ross Glover from Jackson, Tenn.; junior Oscar Garcia from El Paso, Texas; freshman J. J. Butler from Abingdon, Md., freshman Dylan Greene from Anaheim Hills, Calif.; and freshman Stephen Hurt from Murfreesboro, Tenn. With so many new faces, the Bisons are keying on the word “brotherhood” as their team motto. “I think when you look at our team currently, they’ve really come together as a brotherhood,” said Assistant Coach Pete Froedden. “They actually came up with that term brotherhood, and that’s something...
