About Lipscomb
Lifelong Learning Faculty
L. Randolph Lowry III
President, Lipscomb University
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 More...
Dr. John Lowry
Assistant Dean for Executive Education, Lipscomb University
Dr. John Lowry is the assistant dean of the Lipscomb University College of Business and founder of the School of Executive Education. In addition, he serves as assistant professor of Management for Lipscomb University’s College of Business and regularly teaches negotiation and dispute resolution courses.
Lowry also serves as vice president for the Strategic Resolutions Group, LLC (SRG). At SRG, he provides negotiation, mediation, and conflict management training for major insurance companies, healthcare organizations, and legal services providers. Throughout Lowry’s career he has trained and consulted with thousands of professionals throughout the country. Read More ...
Linda Peek Schacht
Lipscomb University Executive Director of the Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership
Linda Peek Schacht is the founding executive director of the Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership launched in 2010 at Lipscomb University.
Over a thirty-year career, she has held the top communications position for USA Today, the US Senate Majority Leader, and The Coca-Cola Company.
Peek Schacht was a senior fellow from 2002-2006 at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and led the organizational and political communication department at Emerson College 2004-2007.
For over a decade at The Coca-Cola Company in New York and Atlanta, she advised three chairmen on communication and public affairs, represented the company at the World Economic Forum and helped shape the corporate social responsibility movement before retiring as vice president, global communications and public affairs strategy in 2002.
A Carter White House press officer and campaign press secretary for the 1980 presidential re-election campaign, she was later communications director for the U.S. Senate Democratic Policy Committee and spokesperson for the Majority Leader, where she staffed several bipartisan Senate delegations and played key communication roles in four Democratic conventions.
The first public affairs director of USA Today, she has been a long time board member of the International Women’s Media Foundation. She is a graduate of Lipscomb University and Ohio State University.
She is the widow of sports artist and writer Mike Schacht.
Mrs. Emily Harris
Lipscomb University Director of Campus Recreation
Emily is the Director of Campus Recreation at Lipscomb University who obtained her undergraduate degree in Health/Physical Education and master's degree in Exercise and Nutrition Science. She has a background in corporate wellness, personal training and group fitness. She incorporates a holistic approach to all recreation programming, which includes physical, mental, spiritual and emotional training. Emily’s passion is to educate and equip others with lifelong habits that will help better their health and ability to enjoy life to the fullest. Emily is a graduate of Lipscomb University and is a former Division I tennis player.
Dr. Scott Sager
Lipscomb University Vice President
Church Services
Scott Sager was recently appointed vice president of church services at Lipscomb University after 15 years as pulpit minister for the Preston Road Church of Christ in Dallas . Sager received his doctorate from SMU while focusing upon evangelism and mission in the local church. With an undergraduate degree in business, he worked with church leaders to create innovative and entrepreneurial ministries for the local church. His DMin project founded Christ’s Family Ministries, a fully functioning health clinic serving the working poor located in the Preston Road building. Involving about 15 doctors, the clinic provides a medical home for almost 400 area workers. Scott worked in the inner-city of Dallas and was an important ally in the growth of Central Dallas Ministries as the largest food pantry in Dallas. He also helped to found New Friends, New Life (a ministry to women leaving the sexual entertainment industry) and is on the board of the Christian Relief Fund, where his focus is on supporting AIDS orphans in Africa.
Dr. Sager holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Abilene Christian University as well as a doctorate of ministry from Southern Methodist University. He and his wife, Suzanne, have two children, Anna and Will. You may contact Scott at scott.sager@lipscomb.edu or 615.966.5156
Mr. Ken Mayer
Lipscomb University Instructor in Computing and Information Technology
Ken Mayer is an assistant professor of Computing and Information Systems at Lipscomb University. He received his Bachelor in Professional Sales from Harding University and his Masters in Concentration Telecom Mangagement from the University of Dallas. He teaches courses on computer systems and programming at Lipscomb, and he is working to develop a new information technology course at the university.
Dr. Joy Samuels
Lipscomb University, Adjunct Faculty, Graduate Psychology
Joy Samuels, D.Min., is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Mental Health Service Provider. Her 25 year career path is a snapshot of the many duty stations she and her spouse have travelled and lived throughout his active duty military career. Dr. Samuels received her master's degree in Counseling Psychology (Marriage, Family and Child focus) at California State University Northridge and her Master’s of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry (Spiritual Formation in Congregations) from Wesley Theological Seminary and is ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Her counseling work has included private practice and Department of Defense counseling agencies and she has served as Hospice and Hospital Chaplain. She currently teaches in the Psychology Department at Lipscomb University and works with non-profit agencies on strategic planning and conflict resolution. Dr. Samuels’ areas of experience are pre-marital, marital, grief and spiritual direction.
Mrs. Kay Wyatt
Graduate of Lipscomb, Masters in English Teaching, Retired DLHS English Faculty
Kay Wyatt is a retired high school English teacher. She completed her undergraduate studies at Lipscomb University and received her Master's in English teaching from Middle Tennessee State University. She worked as assistant manager of international operations at Commerce Union Bank, and later taught English at David Lipscomb High School for seven years while raising her three children.
Dr. Dennis Loyd
Lipscomb University Retired Faculty, Department of English
Dennis Loyd, retired professor of English at Lipscomb University, has taught in the Lifelong Learning program since its beginning. A specialist in American literature, he has taught such classes as Revolutionary War Literature, Civil War Literature, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Tennessee Literature, Nashville Writers, William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. This class will focus on the short stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne, best known for his use of Puritan America as subject matter and his use of symbolism as a developing technique. Dr. Loyd is a graduate of David Lipscomb College and holds the Ph.D. from George Peabody College for Teachers.
Carole Bucy
Davidson County Historian, Vol State Community College Professor
Carole Bucy is a professor of history at Volunteer State Community College. A longtime advocate for local and state history, she was recently named Davidson County Historian. She received her Bachelor's degree in History from Baylor University, her Master's in History from George Peabody College, and her PhD from Vanderbilt University. She worked as a high school teacher and a public historian while raising her two children. She is also the author of several books, including the two current textbooks on Tennessee History in Middle Tennessee metro schools, and several other books and scholarly articles on Nashville's history.
Mrs. Elizabeth Coker
Local Historian and Public Speaker
Mrs. Elizabeth Buntin Coker is a 1982 graduate of Union University, and the winner of the Tigrett Medal as outstanding graduate of her class. She attended the Universidad de Complutense in Madrid Spain as a Rotary International scholar and the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain, where she studied journalism, linguistics and international communications. After college, she worked for several media outlets including ESPN, Turner Broadcasting, and area ABC and PBS affiliate television stations. She was a media coordinator for the State of Tennessee in the Department of Economic and Community Development from 1990 to 1996 and then pursued some independent documentary ventures.
Mrs. Coker is a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and other historical preservation organizations, and has been involved with various local historical preservation organizations such as Belle Meade Plantation, Rippavilla, the Carter House, and Traveler's Rest.
She is currently the featured host of a weekly lecture series at the Battle of Nashville Monument each Tuesday at noon. She portrays twelve ladies of historic significance from Nashville and Middle Tennessee: Granny White, Sarah Childress Polk, Mary Overton, Adelicia Acklen, Rachel Donelson Jackson, Mary Kate Patterson, Elizabeth Harding, Mary Bradford, Fannie Battle, Martha O'Brian, Antoinette Polk and Mary Montgomery Forrest.
John Bridges
Automobile Restorer, Writer, and Businessman
John Bridges' interest in restoring and displaying classic automobiles goes back some thirty years. His first acquisition was a 1956 Ford Thunderbird convertible, which he still owns. His attention then turned to fifties era Studebakers which prompted him to write and publish two books on the marque. Next came early Lincoln Continentals and late forties Cadillacs. In addition to his classic car interests, Bridges is a writer, musician and inventor with over 100 U.S. and foreign patents to his credit. Now, a retired vice-president of a major corporation, Bridges has more time for his old car hobby.
John Mansfield
Local History Presenter
John Mansfield is a living history presenter who depicts Abraham Lincoln. He received his Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Lipscomb University. He is a life member of the Abraham Lincoln Presenters Association, annd he has won the National Look-alike Contest at Lincoln's birthplace in Hodgenville KY three times. Since 2006, he has been presenting Lincoln programs at a variety of venues, including reenactments, business meetings, historic sites, schools, colleges & universities, political events and churches. In 2010, he was commisioned a Kentucky Colonel for his work with Kentucky schools. He gives the following comparison of himself to Lincoln: a little taller, weigh about the same, attended one room school, born at home in Kentucky, not much on looks.
Guy R. Vanderpool
Visiting professor of History and Political Science, Lipscomb University
Mr. Vanderpool holds a B.A. in history from Harding University and an
M.A. in diplomatic history from George Washington University, and
completed postgraduate courses in international economics, management,
and the histories of eastern Europe, Russia, and China.
After military service in the U.S. Army's Counterintelligence Corps,
Mr. Vanderpool joined the National Security Agency. He produced
intelligence that supported policymaking, military operations, and
counterintelligence activities.
He received the National Security Agency's Meritorious Civilian
Service Award and commendations from military services, the Secretary
of Defense, the Intelligence Community staff, and the Director of
Central Intelligence.
Mr. Vanderpool became Visiting Professor at Lipscomb University when
he retired from NSA. He teaches courses in intelligence and the
histories of Russia and China.