Many universities will often consider faculty members as nothing but a number. But here at Lipscomb University, that is certainly not the case.
The university embraces every faculty member as an individual and will properly acknowledge their accomplishments when the opportunity presents itself.
Three faculty members had that chance this past Thursday, as Dr. Kim Reed, Dr. Tim Johnson and Dr. Richard Goode were honored with a book signing party on the upper level of the Beaman Library for the release of their three new books.
The party consisted of other faculty members and professors of Lipscomb University, as well as supportive students, friends of the authors and other interested guests.
As the three honorees stood up to make their speeches, they each had very individual messages with one similar characteristic: they had a passion for the subjects about which they wrote. The professors told the audience each of their stories, as well as background information about the topics of their books.
Dr. Kim Reed’s book, The Turn of the Screw and other Tales, focuses on a collection of ghost stories that Henry James has written over his literary career. She describes Henry James as a writer that she originally disapproved of after first reading one of his books (which she threw across the room as she explains in her speech) but found him so compelling enough to where she could not stop reading his works.
“I hope [my readers] develop a greater appreciation for Henry James,” said Dr. Reed.
Dr. Richard Goode’s Crashing the Idols: The Vocation of Will D. Campbell discusses how the message of “be reconciled” confuses people into disaster. Crashing the Idols talks about the unnecessary desire to change the world when all we have to do is live in it by being part of God’s plan for each of us.
Goode quoted David Lipscomb, a founder of the university.
“We don’t have to change things because Christ has done that, so let’s try to live that,” Goode said.
Notes of the Mexican War is a work by Dr. Tim Johnson, as he tries to revive the minds of America about war in the 19th century.
“My main objective with doing work on the Mexican War is to strive to remind people of what’s really a forgotten war,” Johnson said.
In his speech, Dr. Johnson addressed how this war was overshadowed by the conflict of the Civil War 15 years later, and how it was a war that played a large role in shaping our nation. He incorporates the memoirs of J. Jacob Oswandel to give readers a first-hand perception of what it means to be in war.
These are just three of Lipscomb’s many published professors, and you can expect to see more of their works being released soon.