by Leah Raich | May 29, 2012 | News Slider
With final exams now nearly one month in the rearview mirror, Lipscomb students have turned their focus to their next objective – serving Christ across the globe this summer. Over the course of 106 days, from May 4 through Aug. 17, Lipscomb Missions will have 24 teams on the ground in 18 different countries. The timeframe is broad in scope – all summer long – and so are the locations and types of services being offered. From discipline-specific trips in Engineering that will be serving communities in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic to a first year trip to Moldova where a team of graduate psychology students will be providing therapeutic counseling to girls once caught in human trafficking, some students have the opportunity to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it in a mission field. Students will experience a variety of cultures, from the two trips to Australia (Brisbane and Perth) where students will engage growing churches and encourage youth, to two trips in India where Lipscomb teams will spend five weeks in Mumbai, Delhi and Calcutta ministering in a country where Christians are the minority. In each of these missions, students will have the unique chance to literally “go into all the world,” as Jesus directs his followers in Mark 16:15. This year’s 24 summer trips are a record for Lipscomb Missions, up from 20 trips in 2011 and just eight trips three years ago in 2009. There has been a significant shift in the landscape of the Missions Program as the number of trips offered has flipped from being heavily weighted on spring break efforts to the current majority of summer trips leading...
by Emily Snell | May 25, 2012 | News Slider
Geena Davis says the media’s role in reshaping the image of women in society is simple: “If they see it, they can be it.” The problem is that the media is not doing its part in representing women and men equally, Davis says, and when women are portrayed in television and film they, often are sexually provocative or stereotyped characters. Davis, who has embarked on a mission to change that and offer more hope and empowerment for young women in popular culture, brought her message to a gathering at Lipscomb’s Andrews Institute. That institute partnered with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media Thursday for “A League of Their Own,” an event starring the acclaimed actor and also featuring Deborah Taylor Tate and female local media leaders to discuss the role of women and girls on screen. Davis — who starred in movies like A League of Their Own, Beetlejuice, and Thelma & Louise — founded her institute in 2004 after watching children’s entertainment with her daughter and realizing the lack of female characters present in TV programming and family movies. Davis’ institute, which focuses on research, education and advocacy, conducted the largest body of research on gender prevalence in the media and discovered that only 17 percent of characters in family films are women. Davis noted those few female characters often are portrayed in stereotypical or hyper-sexualized ways. It’s not just popular media. Davis said women are not fairly represented in most areas of society, noting that the U.S. ranks 90th on the list of countries that have female representation in government. “It’s astounding,” she said. “The fact is that women...
by Emily Snell | May 22, 2012 | News Slider
The American Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter in Lipscomb’s Student Activities Center to house residents of Parenthon Towers, who were displaced due to a fire and electrical issues late Monday night and may need temporary housing for several days. Monday night 172 guests from Parthenon Towers stayed on campus, and 149 were still there Tuesday night, according to Kim Chaudoin, director of university communication and marketing. Parthenon Towers is a senior and disabled citizens housing unit located near Centennial Park and operated by the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency. University officials said the residents will be allowed to return home after the fire marshal determines the apartment complex is safe. It is unclear how long the shelter will be open, but Lipscomb and the Red Cross are prepared to house guests through the weekend, Chaudoin said. “Right now it looks like we’re going to be in operation till Sunday,” Chaudoin said. “I guess MDHA is just continuing to try to resolve whatever problems they have at Parthenon Towers. It may not be that long, but maybe the folks will be pleasantly surprised if they get back in before then.” Nan Hensley, executive assistant to university relations, said a mix of student workers, full time staff, members of the Quest Team and others arrived on campus around midnight Monday night to make preparations for the residents, and more people have assisted with the shelter since then. “We’ve had a great response from the Lipscomb community,” Hensley said. Chaudoin said volunteers are still needed to help Red Cross workers at meal times as long as the shelter is open. Hensley...
by Cory Woodroof | May 18, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Greg Brown was introduced as Lipscomb’s new head coach of the women’s basketball team Thursday afternoon in a press conference with Athletic Director Philip Hutcheson. Brown, a former associate women’s basketball coach with the University of Central Florida, replaces former coach Frank Bennett, who was promoted to associate athletic director earlier this year after 32 years of coaching the Lady Bisons. Before Brown spoke, Hutcheson shared some insight into the future of the Lady Bisons program, the hiring process and what Lipscomb looked for in a new coach. “At Lipscomb, we make a big point of being interested in what we call the four C’s,” Hutcheson said. “We want to excel in the classroom, in competition, in the community and in our Christian walk, and so when we’re looking for a coach, we’re interested in all of those things.” Hutcheson said he believes that Brown is the right man for the job. “As we looked for a coach, we did find several who embodied what we were looking for, but out of that came a guy in Greg Brown,” Hutcheson said. “[Brown] embodied all four of the characteristics we were looking for, and he has a background and a resume and experience that’s really unsurpassed.” Hutcheson said he believes that the women’s basketball program can be successful in the coming seasons. “I am firmly convinced there is no reason that Lipscomb women’s basketball cannot be great,” Hutcheson said. “We are in a great city, at a great place in a great city. Middle Tennessee is known for its women’s basketball. There is no shortage of talent in this area,...
by Emily Snell | May 18, 2012 | News Slider
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts participated in Art Museum Day by offering free admission today. The Association of Art Museum Directors sponsored Art Museum Day on May 18, which is also International Museum Day, in hopes of making art more accessible to the public. The theme for International Museum Day—“Museums in a Changing World: New Challenges, New Inspirations”—reflects the changing role of museums in our society, according to Maggie Carrigan, communications coordinator at the Frist. “I think that museums in this day and age are changing really quickly with the advent of social media,” Carrigan said, explaining that the museum is trying to create both an “on-site way for the community to engage and an online way for the community to engage.” According to a news release from the museum, the International Museum Day theme invites guests “to ponder the role of museums in our culture of new media and social responsibility.” Carrigan said the museum wanted to “create a conversation” and encouraged visitors to share their museum experience on social media using the hashtag #ArtMuseumDay. “Our main goal is to help people understand their world in new ways through art,” she said. “We’re always looking for new ways to do that.” Current exhibits at the Frist include “Fairy Tales, Monsters and the Genetic Imagination” and “Connecting Cultures.” The Martin ArtQuest Gallery is a permanent Frist exhibit that allows guests to experience art hands-on through a variety of creation and reflection stations including blocks, abstract drawing, printmaking, stop motion video and painting. Carrigan said she would encourage college students to visit the Frist, even if they aren’t naturally drawn to art....
