About Lipscomb
Lipscomb University Senior Leadership Team
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President Connecting the university to the Nashville community is a hallmark of Dr. L. Randolph Lowry’s presidency at Lipscomb University. He views the city of Nashville as the university’s campus and the world as its classroom. Not long after his arrival on the Lipscomb campus in September 2005, Dr. Lowry proposed Lipscomb 2010, a $54 million plan to dramatically advance Lipscomb's academic programs and to invest in new campus facilities. As a result of Lipscomb 2010, a College of Pharmacy was established creating the first Lipscomb doctorate degree, 38 new undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs were developed and six new institutes were established in conflict management; sustainable practice; law, justice and society; Christian spirituality; corporate governance and integrity; and civic leadership. This plan also included the renovation of several academic and residence buildings on campus, the building of a music wing and an apartment-style residence facility, among other initiatives. Under Dr. Lowry’s leadership, the university has experienced a 59 percent enrollment growth and has risen through the U.S. News & World Report rankings to an all-time high of 18th for the university. Read full biography >He may be reached at 615.966.1787 or via e-mail at lori.ligon@lipscomb.edu |
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Dr. Bledsoe has served as Provost, Lipscomb's chief academic officer, since 1997. He earned his bachelor's degree from Lipscomb, the master's degree from the University of Florida, and the Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. He has been a member of the Lipscomb University faculty since 1977, and holds the rank of professor of political science. He may be reached at 615.966.1789, 800.333.4358, ext. 1789, or via email at mary.bouldin@lipscomb.edu |
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Dr. Nancy Magnusson is senior vice president for strategic initiatives. She is a member of the senior leadership team and will focus on strategic planning and technology growth among other initiatives. Most recently, Magnusson was senior vice president for planning, information and technology at Pepperdine, located in Malibu, Calif. Since her appointment there as vice president in 2000, Magnusson has successfully led Pepperdine's strategic planning efforts, which include developing a program for assessing educational effectiveness, enhancing and remodeling the institution's libraries and providing the technology necessary for instruction and administration. Magnusson began her career in 1979 as an assistant professor of psychology at Pepperdine's Seaver College. She has taught undergraduate psychology at Seaver College. She has also served as president of the faculty organization, assistant dean of Seaver College, and interim provost of the university. Since then she has served as director of Pepperdine's London program, which offers undergraduate and law programs. Prior to directing the London programs, Magnusson served as dean of the Graduate School of Education and Psychology for 12 years. Her responsibilities included strategic planning and implementing technological innovations, including online learning. Magnusson is a member of the board of the Headington Institute in Pasadena and has served on several other boards, including WestEd, a regional educational laboratory; the Off Campus and Substantial Change Committee of The Western Association of Schools and Colleges; and the Union Rescue Mission. In addition, she was Pepperdine's institutional representative to the West Coast Conference. She received her B.A. degree from Westmont College (1971); her M.A. from San Francisco State University (1974); and her Ph.D. from Washington State University (1979). She may be reached at 615.966.5275 or via e-mail at patra.thomas@lipscomb.edu. |
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Mr. Taylor was appointed as Lipscomb's chief financial officer In November 2000. He holds the bachelor of science degree in accounting and bachelor of arts degree in speech from Western Kentucky University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He has more than 25 years of successful accounting experience. His areas of responsibility include Financial Affairs, Accounting Services, Endowment Accounting, Campus Services, Physical Plant, Human Resources, Payroll, and Rental Properties. He may be reached at 615.966.7650 or via email at india.triplett@lipscomb.edu. |
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Senior Development Counsel As senior development counsel, Armstrong collaborates with the development team on campaign planning and strategy, partners with university administration on major donor relation initiatives and provides leadership for major fundraising programs for athletics and the campus school. A graduate of Lipscomb University, Armstrong brings with him nearly 20 years of experience in development and has lead successful campaigns ranging from $1.3-$30 million for more than 50 organizations. For the past 12 years, Armstrong has served as vice president for Dickerson and Associates, a development firm based in Colorado. During that time, he led successful capital campaigns for Christian schools and colleges in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. He was also executive director of Georgia Christian School for five years, during which time he helped grow the institution’s enrollment and endowment significantly.He may be reached at 615.966.5148 or via email at dale.armstrong@lipscomb.edu. |
Associate Provost for Academic Administration and Strategic Initiatives and Special Assistant to the President Dr. Galbreath was appointed Associate Provost for Academic Administration and Strategic Initiatives in June 2009 and has served as Special Assistant to the President since 2006. In her role as Associate Provost, Dr. Galbreath supervises academic budgets, directs academic strategic initiatives, such as our Summer Program, Janmester, and Community College Partnerships, and is responsible for the Center for Instructional Technology which provides technical support and training for the use of technology in academic settings. As Special Assistant to the President, Dr. Galbreath works closely with President Lowry on special projects that have strategic implications for Lipscomb University. Previously, Dr. Galbreath was on the faculty at Tennessee Technological University and East Carolina University. She received an undergraduate degree in accounting from Tennessee Technological University and the master of accountancy and the doctor of philosophy degrees from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Dr. Galbreath served as interim dean in the College of Business from June 2004 - December 2005 and from August 2007 - March 2008. She was awarded the 2005 Outstanding Accounting Educator Award by the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants and was named a Nashville Woman of Influence for 2008. She may be reached at 615.966.5804 or via email at darlene.eldridge@lipscomb.edu. |
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Mr. Green became the university's chief information officer in May 2007, after serving as the chief operating officer for PROFORMANCE, Inc., a document-imaging provider to the banking industry. Before that, he served as a senior director of IT for Hewlett Packard (HP) overseeing the Americas Region Services IT organization. He also served as the IT director of internet systems, CRM systems, and corporate testing and release management for Corporate Services at HP. Prior to his work at HP, Green served as a consulting practice director for Andersen Consulting, Digital Equipment Corporation, and DSC Communications specializing in multimedia and broadband networking. He has worked in defense systems at the Oak Ridge National Labs and E-Systems, and was also a full time instructor of computer science (graduate and undergraduate) at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Green is still active in Program Management training and organizations such as IEEE and ACM. He also serves as an elder at the Hillsboro Church of Christ in Nashville and has previously served as an elder at Bammel Church of Christ in Houston, Texas. He has a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Tennessee and a B.S. in Mathematics from Mississippi State University. |
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Dr. Mike Hammond serves as Lipscomb's Headmaster of Lipscomb Academy, overseeing the primary and secondary education of over 1400 students. Before serving as Headmaster, Hammond served as Dean of Lipscomb University’s defunct College of Education and Professional Studies from 2003-08. He joined the Lipscomb faculty in 2001 as Professor of Education, Director of Teacher Education and Chair of the Department of Education. From 1990-2001, Hammond served as Executive Principal at John Overton High School, which is part of the Metro Nashville Public School system. Prior to that assignment, Hammond was Assistant Principal at Overton from 1978-89, Assistant Principal at McMurray Junior High School (Nashville) from 1972-78 and mathematics teacher at Apollo Junior High School (Nashville) from 1968-72. He holds a Ph.D. in educational administration from George Peabody College, a Master of Science in mathematics from Middle Tennessee State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Lipscomb University. He may be contacted by phone at 615.966.1828 or via e-mail at cheryl.pittard@lipscomb.edu. |
Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Dr. Bennie Harris has served as Lipscomb University’s Vice President of Development since May 2007. He came to Lipscomb from DePaul University in Chicago where he served as the assistant vice president for development and campaign director. Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Mississippi State University, an MBA in strategic marketing from Washington State University and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Along with his leadership position at DePaul, Harris also served as the director for the Center for Human Rights at Washington State University, as interim and associate director of corporate and foundation relations at Washington State, and as senior director of development and external affairs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Harris has more than 15 years of experience in professional fundraising including annual giving, alumni relations, major gifts, planned giving, events management, government relations, corporate and foundations relations, advisory board support and marketing. He may be reached at 615.966.6220 or via email at debbie.haislip@lipscomb.edu |
Athletic Director Mr. Hutcheson joined Lipscomb as Athletic Director in 2008. As a member of the Bison basketball team from 1986-1990, Hutcheson attracted national attention as he approached and broke college basketball’s all-time scoring record, scoring 4,106 points during his career. Hutcheson’s record was broken four years later by fellow Bison John Pierce, whose record remains unbroken. Hutcheson was named an All-American each of his four seasons. He was also the 1990 NAIA Player of the Year and College Sports Information Director Academic Player of the year in 1988-89 and 1989-90. In February 2009 Philip was inducted in the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. He graduated from Lipscomb University as valedictorian with a 4.0 grade-point average and later earned his MBA from The University of Georgia. Hutcheson began his career playing professional basketball for the Music City Jammers in Nashville and later for a team in Manchester, England. Hutcheson returned to Nashville and began working in management at Sessions Paving Company in Nashville in 1997. Hutcheson has been heavily involved in the Nashville community. A 1999 alumnus of Leadership Nashville, Hutcheson has served on boards for the Green Hills YMCA and the Nashville Zoo. He also has coached area athletic teams for the past 15 years for a variety of programs including the YMCA and the West Nashville Sports League. He is also a deacon at Hillsboro Church of Christ in Nashville. He may be reached at 615.966.5850 or via e-mail at sherrie.phillips@lipscomb.edu. |
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Mr. Leaver is a Lipscomb University graduate and has been a member of the administrative team since 1994. His areas of administration include the Business Advisory Council, Entertainment and Technical Services, Special Events, and arena and theatre management. He currently serves as minister of Brentwood Hills Church of Christ. He may be reached at 615.966.6609 or via email at nan.hensley@lipscomb.edu. |
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Dr. McDowell joins the Senior Leadership Team under the direction of President Lowry. McDowell earned his undergraduate degree from Freed-Hardeman University and continued his education at Lipscomb, earning a Master of Arts in Religion. He earned his doctorate in Higher Education Leadership from Azusa Pacific University. McDowell directs the Office of Campus Life. The office seeks to educate and equip students outside the classroom for their role as disciples in society. He may be reached at 615.966.5690 or via e-mail at chad.roberts@lipscomb.edu. |
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Sager joined the Lipscomb team as vice president for church services in July of 2011, after 15 years as senior minister of the Preston Road Church of Christ in Dallas. In his new role, Sager not only teaches in the Bible department, he also connects churches across the region with a variety of the university's resources as well as equips and trains church leaders through programs, seminars and special events. Sager serves on the board of the Christian Relief Fund where his focus is on supporting AIDS orphans in Africa. In Dallas, he serves on the board of Christ’s Family Ministries, a fully functioning health clinic he founded that serves the working poor and is located inside the Preston Road Church of Christ building. Upon completion of his D.Min. in evangelism from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, his project thesis, “A Time to Heal,” was recognized by SMU as an outstanding work and is still instrumental as a model helping congregations around the country start health ministries. Sager earned a D.Min. in evangelism from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and is an Abilene Christian University alumnus having earned an undergraduate degree in business management as well as a master's degrees in Bible and divinity. Prior to moving to Dallas, Scott was the campus minister at the University of Texas in Austin. He may be reached at 615.966.5156 or via email at jenna.schrader@lipscomb.edu. |
Scott Sager
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Deby Samuels joins University Communication and Marketing as its vice president for marketing and communication, a newly created position at the university. A 1972 Lipscomb University graduate and most recently vice president of marketing communications for AmSurg Corp., Samuels brings a broad range of communications and marketing experience to the position including leadership roles in both the agency and corporate environments. Samuels graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. She has more than 30 years’ communications experience. Since coming to the Nashville market in 1980, she has served as director of marketing for Comdata as well as in creative and executive positions with The Buntin Group advertising and Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence (DVL) public relations, each among the area’s leading communications agencies in their respective areas. Samuels’ professional and civic involvement includes past and present board positions with the CABLE women’s networking organization, the Nashville chapter of the American Marketing Association, the YWCA, Room in the Inn, and the Wayne Reed Christian Childcare Center. She may be reached at 615.966.6196 or via e-mail at stacey.lusk@lipscomb.edu. |
Executive Assistant to the President and Professor Dr. Thomas is Professor in Communication and serves as the Executive Assistant to the President. In addition, he teaches in the Graduate Education and Conflict Management Programs at Lipscomb. He has also served as Instructor in Speech, Director of Advance, Director of University 1101, Director of Student Retention, Assistant Registrar, Registrar, Dean of Enrollment, Dean of Students, Chair Department of Speech Communication, Dean of College of Education and Professional Studies, Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing. Thomas currently teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University in their Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in School of Law. He received his B.A. from Lipscomb University; his M.A. from Auburn University; and his Ed.D. from the University of Tennessee. He may be reached at 615.966.1787 or via e-mail at lori.ligon@lipscomb.edu. |