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Professors teach with more than textbooks and earn honors for their engagement

Janel Shoun | 

Lipscomb University’s professors don’t just limit their instruction to the classroom. Professors are teaching students through their lifestyles, research, professional work and daily interaction as well. Below are a few professors who have excelled in their academic fields and have modeled Christian success for all Lipscomb students.

 

Dodd Galbreath wins 2012 Sustainability Award from Tennessee Environmental Council

Dodd Galbreath, executive director of Lipscomb’s Institute for Sustainable Practice, is the recipient of the 2012 Sustainability Award from the Tennessee Environmental Council. The only previous recipient of this award was Nashville Mayor Karl Dean in 2010.

Galbreath is the founding director of the Institute for Sustainable Practice, which has worked to advocate sustainable business practice on-campus and throughout the region since 2007. In addition, Galbreath has personally promoted sustainable living by sharing his energy-efficient home on the 2011 Green Homes Tour, installing native landscaping around his home and spreading the word about how solar panel use can cut utility bills.

The Tennessee Environmental Council selected Galbreath in part because his institute's sustainability alumni are making such an impact in the community. "They keep running into our alumni doing good things in the community," Galbreath said.

Since its establishment, the Institute for Sustainable Practice has led the Lipscomb campus to pursue more energy- and resource-efficient construction of facilities, has hosted the annual Sustainable Business Summit for the Nashville business community, has developed two master’s programs in sustainability and several undergraduate programs, and developed one of the first curriculums in the world to incorporate the concept of biomimicry, using the systems found in nature to design more sustainable operating systems for man.

Galbreath will receive his award at the council’s annual Green Tie Affair on March 24.

This is the second year the council has presented the Sustainability Award to an individual or group who makes an outstanding and significant contribution to educating and/or advocating for the conservation and improvement of Tennessee’s environment, communities and public health. 

Recipients must be actively engaged in sustainability policy and/or practice for a minimum of five years.  They must have achieved a project that addresses all three levels of sustainability: economic, environmental and community.

 

Carolyn Wilson nominated for 2012 Athena Award, honoring community service in Nashville

Lipscomb University’s Director of Library Services Carolyn Wilson has been nominated as one of 29 individuals vying for the 2012 Athena Award, presented by the CABLE Foundation. The Nashville 2012 Athena Award winner will be selected on March 26 at an event at The Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

The Athena Award program has been presented in Nashville since 1991 through the collaborative effort of local women’s organizations in partnership with local businesses and individual sponsors. 

Wilson was nominated by the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA), a group which she has served in numerous capacities including president of both the local chapter and the national organization.

The Athena Award honors outstanding women leaders for their career successes, service to community and encouragement of women and seeks to inspire others to achieve excellence in their professional and personal lives.

According to the WNBA nominating form, “No person has done more to advance women in Nashville’s book community in the last quarter century than Carolyn Taylor Wilson.  In the course of her service to university students, libraries and the book community at large, (Carolyn Wilson) is now recognized as the premier go-to person in Nashville for all informational needs.”

Within the WNBA, Wilson has chaired the annual WNBA Award committee (including the 1990 ceremony when then-First Lady Barbara Bush was the recipient), chaired the 75th Anniversary Project which selected and published “75 Books by Women Authors” for distribution across the nation, and has annually selected topics and speakers for WNBA’s ongoing Summer Reading Series, begun in 1992.

Wilson has served on the advisory board for the Southern Festival of Books since its first year in 1989. She has served as volunteer coordinator, on the program committee and on the hospitality committee. In addition, she helped found the Tennessee Writers Alliance, served on the Tennessee Advisory Council on Library and Information Science, and served in the Tennessee Library Association as chair of various committees such as nominations, program and honors and awards.

“(Carolyn) Wilson has and continues to embody WNBA’s mission  in her clear understanding of the power of the written word and her strong allegiance to the world of books and literacy as she provides a guiding light to all WNBA members,” states the WNBA Athena nomination form.

At Lipscomb, Wilson is the long-time director of the Beaman Library. She also devotes time to coordinating the annual Landiss Lecture Series, working as a generative leader for the annual Christian Scholars’ Conference, working on various re-accreditation committees throughout the years and serving on the faculty senate.

Carolyn’s efforts to mentor  women were recognized in 2008 when the Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) Program presented her one of its first awards for Women Mentoring Women in the Community in Nashville.

 

Susan Mercer named a "new investigator" by American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
 
The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) named Susan Mercer, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, as a recipient of the 2011-2012 New Investigator Awards (NIA).

The awards support new faculty research in multidisciplinary areas such as biological sciences, chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacy practice, and social and administrative sciences. This year’s 18 award recipients are investigating topics as diverse as medication self-management, treatment for cocaine addiction and withdrawal, and the impact of Medicare payment cuts on treatment choices and patient outcomes.

Mercer was selected for her research titled “Meperidine Analogs as Novel Analgesics Lacking P-glycoprotein and CYP3A4 Interactions.”

“The NIA program at AACP provides seed money for new faculty investigators to establish their very first independent pilot research project,” said Dr. Vincent Lau, vice president of research and graduate education at AACP. “The award supports new faculty interested in generating meaningful research data and also provides them with the initial funding they need to approach other potential funders to support their research.

“This year, we were pleased to have an exceptionally strong field of applicants. We believe that each of the award winning projects has great potential to inform pharmacy science and improve health care,” he said.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), comprised of 124 accredited colleges and schools of pharmacy with more than 6,000 faculty and 60,000 students, is a national organization representing the interests of pharmacy education and educators.

 

Aerial Ellis to speak at annual Women in PR Conference

Instructor in communication and local public relations practitioner Aerial Ellis will serve on a panel at the spring Women in PR conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 1-4.

Women in PR empowers women to reach their full potential by promoting their professional growth and inspiring them to share their successes in the rapidly changing world of public relations. Women in PR conference offer tools to help public relations professionals and students improve their skills build effective strategies to serve their clients better and develop methods to enhance their business and brand.

As the owner of a public relations consultancy, Urbane Imagery, Ellis provides tailored marketing, media relations and branding strategies to businesses and non-profit organizations nationwide. She comes to Lipscomb from Tennessee State University where she served in the Office of Strategic Communications. Aerial has been recognized nationally as of one of PR News’ 15-to-Watch, an award honoring young dynamic PR practitioners across the country, and has been named as one of Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 for her community involvement.

 

Jackie Halstead to teach at regional spiritual formation conference in Virginia

Jackie L. Halstead, Ph.D., associate director of the Institute for Christian Spirituality and associate professor of spiritual formation in the College of Bible and Ministry, has been invited to participate in an area-wide spiritual formation seminar hosted by the Fairfax Church of Christ in Fairfax, Virginia, on March 2-4.

The event, called the Capital Forum, brings together church leaders, ministry leaders, deacons, teachers, small group leaders, worship leaders and volunteers to improve understanding of spiritual formation and discipleship in the local church and abroad.  Halstead will teach a session on congregational spiritual formation and discipleship. 

Halstead has a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy and specializes in working with clergy and their families. She spent twelve years at Abilene Christian University serving as Chair of the Department of Marriage and Family Therapy for five of those years. She holds two certificates from the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation: spiritual guidance and leading contemplative prayer groups and retreats. She speaks at the national and international level on spiritual formation.