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Students, faculty recognized for excellence in the spring 2013 semester

Janel Shoun-Smith | 

From winning cash for designing a mobile app for office workers to order lunch (See School of Computing and Informatics) to testifying before congressmen on the cost of college (see College of Business), both Lipscomb students and faculty were impacting the world on a local, state and national scale this past spring semester. Pick out a department or college and read more about how Lipscomb faculty and students are improving our city and nation.

 

Spring 2013

 

Faculty


College of Arts and Sciences

Art
Chemistry
History
Music
Theatre

College of Business
Institute for Conflict Maagement
School of Nursing
President's Office
Institute for Sustainable Practice

Students

Communication
Theatre
College of Business
Institute for Civic Leadership
School of Computing and Informatics
School of Nursing

 

 

Faculty

 

College of Arts and Sciences

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Burgess named National Council on Family Relations fellow

Norma Bond Burgess, dean of Lipscomb University’s College of Arts and Sciences, was named a National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) fellow.

NCFR is the nation’s premier professional association for the multidisciplinary understanding of families. NCFR has a membership of more than 3,600 family researchers, practitioners and educators. 

Burgess was named founding dean of the Lipscomb College of Arts and Sciences in 2009. She is a former NCFR board member, and an editorial reviewer in the journals Gender and Society, Journal of Family Issues, Family Relations and Sociological Inquiry.

She has been the recipient of numerous institutional and national awards including NCFR’s Marie Peters Award in recognition of excellence in the field of ethnic minority families. Her scholarship has been widely published in many journals, including Journal of Family History, Journal of Black Studies, Family Science Review and Journal of Family Issues.

She is co-author of African American Women: An Ecological Perspective and numerous articles and other writings on work and family life, leadership, faculty development and workplace diversity.

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Department of Art

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Greene’s artwork for view in Nashville’s new Music City Center

Two of Lipscomb Art Chair Warren Greene’s works were selected as part of the $2 million public art collection in Nashville’s new convention center, the Music City Center. Greene’s two untitled abstract paintings, one a red and one a blue piece, are non-representational takes on the traditional landscape.

Greene has served as Lipscomb’s art department chair for the past year. He has shown his works at Cumberland Gallery in Nashville and at the David Perry Smith Gallery in Memphis. His works have previously been purchased by the Tennessee State Museum and the Janet and Jim Ayers Collection of Tennessee Art.

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Department of Chemistry

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Hutchinson receives National Science Foundation sub-grant

The Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) organizations has awarded a fifth National Science Foundation sub-grant to Ben Hutchinson, professor of chemistry, who began the development process for Power of Science, an interdisciplinary, service-oriented general science course for non-science majors, and kick-started Lipscomb’s involvement with SENCER in 2007.

Since then, SENCER has awarded almost $14,000 in grants to support Lipscomb’s efforts to combine science education, civic engagement and service-learning in a general education course that has proven particularly valuable to elementary education majors.

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Department of History

Goode wins Mary Morris Award

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Richard Goode, chair of the Lipscomb University history, politics and philosophy department and founder of Lipscomb’s LIFE Program (Lipscomb Initiative for Education), was selected as the 2013 recipient of the Mary Morris Award, an annual award given by the university to a member of the Lipscomb community who exhibits an exemplary spirit of service to the community.

Goode, a 23-year member of the Lipscomb faculty and the author of several works of historical commentary, established the LIFE program in 2007. The program provides for-credit classes in the Tennessee Prison for Women for a group of selected inmates and brings traditional undergraduate college students to study with them inside the prison each week.

Lipscomb honored Goode in 2003 with the Outstanding Teaching Award, and he is a member of the American Society of Church History. He has presented numerous papers at professional conferences, and is the author of several published works.

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Department of Music

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Rhodes serves as guest conductor for MTSU 2013 Wind Band Conference

Stephen Rhodes, professor of music, was invited in February to serve as guest conductor of the Tennessee Valley Winds for the opening concert of the Middle Tennessee State University 2013 Wind Band Conference.

The conference is an annual event that brings in guest clinicians from throughout the world to conduct area high school students.

The Tennessee Valley Winds is a nonprofit, self-supporting community band that has been providing quality musical performances since 1984, including appearances at the Texas Music Educators Association conventions, the Mid-West Clinic International Conference, and in London, England.

 

Department of Theatre

Fernandez wins First Night honorsat annual local theater gala

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Mike Fernandez, chair of the theatre department and director of “Red,” a production of the Blackbird Theater, Lipscomb’s theater-company-in-residence, was recognized as Best Director of 2012 at the Midwinter’s First Night Awards, an annual salute to the very best in live theater in Tennessee, coordinated by Jeffrey Ellis, senior contributing editor at BroadwayWorld.com

“Mike Fernandez is one of the best directors in Nashville. In fact, his production of 'Doubt' had claimed a place on First Night’s Top Ten List of 2010. But with 'Red,' he created -- along with the other members of his team -- one of the most startling theatrical offerings of this or any season,” Ellis said.

The Blackbird Theater was also awarded First Night Awards for Outstanding Theatre Company of 2012 and for Outstanding Play of 2012 for "Red."

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College of Business

Lipscomb endows a professorship in honor of accountant Charles Frasier

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Charles Frasier, professor and chair of the department of accounting, finance and economics, was honored by the establishment of the Charles E. Frasier Professorship of Accounting in February by the College of Business.

The professorship was established “in recognition of the influence of Charles E. Frasier in the lives and careers of the donors and countless other former students, on the accounting program’s recognized heritage of excellence and on the accounting profession at large.”

Frasier, who holds the Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and Master Teacher designations, joined the Lipscomb faculty in September 1971. He was named to chair the department of accounting in 1986, and the department was expanded to include finance and economics in 2012. He was a partner in Frasier, Dean and Howard from 1975-2010, a firm that provides audit and tax services, business planning and business development services.

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Lowry named one of Williamson County's most influential people

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John Lowry, executive director of Spark, Lipscomb’s idea center, has been named one of 30 notable and influential people in Tennessee’s fast-growing Williamson County by the Nashville Business Journal.

Lowry was recognized with a Nashville Business Journal Williamson County Impact Award at a luncheon in April and was featured in a special section of the Nashville Business Journal.

“The Impact Awards honor the leaders, community supporters, business owners and developers who are having the greatest impact on the economy and communities of Middle Tennessee,” wrote Cindy S. Guier, Nashville Business Journal associate print editor.

Lowry was recognized for his leadership in launching Spark in Williamson County last year. Spark is Lipscomb University’s first university-operated off-campus facility. It is an in-demand destination for corporate meetings because of the flexibility of its meeting space, the technology, custom-branding capability and customer service, among other features.

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Institute of Conflict Management

Hildreth appointed by Nashville mayor to Metro Human Relations Commission

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Phyllis Hildreth, academic director of Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management, was appointed by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean to the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission as a board member.

The Commission partners with public, private and community organizations to engage conflict constructively and work against divisive attitudes and behaviors that compromise individual and collective well-being.

Hildreth has been an entrepreneur and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Hildreth is a 2011 graduate of Leadership Nashville and works as a volunteer with the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program. She is a board member for the Women’s Fund of Nashville and the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee.

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College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

School of Nursing

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Youngblood receives top March of Dimes honors

Beth Youngblood, executive associate dean and professor of nursing, was named the 2012 March of Dimes Women’s Health Nurse of the Year.

Each year the March of Dimes honors nurses from every specialty area who have provided special service to patients, the community and the field of nursing as a whole.

Youngblood was appointed to lead Lipscomb’s School of Nursing in 2012. She began her career as a nurse in a Nashville obstetrics and gynecology practice as well as for a general practice office. She also worked as a labor and delivery nurse at Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia, Tenn. In addition, Youngblood taught obstetrics at Columbia State Community College for nine years. From 2002 until May 2012, Youngblood was on faculty at Belmont University’s School of Nursing, where she also served as course coordinator for the maternal infant course curriculum committee leadership council.

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President's Office

Lowry named one of Nashville's Most Admired CEOs

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In December, Lipscomb University president L. Randolph Lowry was named one of Nashville’s Most Admired CEOs by the Nashville Business Journal at a special presentation at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Lowry received the honor for his proven ability to lead Lipscomb University through a period of growth and increasing significance in the Nashville community, even during a period of economic challenge.

Lowry is heavily involved in the Nashville community. He is a member of the Agenda for Nashville’s Future and the Rotary Club of Nashville. He co-chaired the Nashville Mayor’s Green Ribbon Committee and serves on the boards of a variety of community organizations including United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, the American Heart Association and the leadership council for the Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership. He was a member of the 2007 class of Leadership Nashville.

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Institute for Sustainable Practice

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Galbreath to present at Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education

Dodd Galbreath, executive director of Lipscomb’s Institute for Sustainable Practice, will make two presentations at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education conference to be held in Nashville’s Music City Center in October.

Galbreath’s panel discussion, “Want to be a Sustainability Professional? Lessons from Recent Graduate Sustainability Program Alumni and Experienced Professional Pioneers,” will showcase three of the institute’s adjunct professors and one such professor who led the green certification process of Nashville’s new downtown convention center, the Music City Center.

Galbreath’s second presentation, a case study titled “Planning for Adaptation and Sustainability in Nashville: The NashvilleNext 25 Year Plan,” will draw from the background report he recently co-authored for the Metropolitan Nashville 25-year planning process.

 

Students

 

College of Arts and Sciences

 

Department of Communication

Student producers win national Gracie Award for Outstanding Public Service Announcement

Five Lipscomb University student producers in the communication department were awarded a national Gracie Award for Outstanding Public Service Announcement.

The spot titled, “Guess Who?,” is one of five in a series of videos created by Lipscomb students on behalf of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in partnership with the Independent Television Service (ITVS) and ITVS’ Women and Girls Lead campaign.

The student-produced video competed against professional local, online and public media nationwide to earn the Gracie, an award given annually by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation.

The video was created under the advisement of NPT and was produced by Lipscomb communications students: Jason Michael Fox, junior from Nashville; Kathryn McKinley, senior from McMinnville; Kyrsten Turner, junior from Lawrenceville, Ga.; Marlee Vogel, junior from Kingsport; and Brynn Watkins, junior from Freeburg, Ill.

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Gracie Award winners with Geena Davis and Dr. Jimmy McCollum

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Students win Best of the South awards at annual conference

Communication students Cory Woodroof, Liz Komoromi and Michael Fox won Best of the South awards in February at the Southeast Journalism Conference for their work in the LUmination Network.

Woodroof placed third in the Best Arts and Entertainment Writer category, Komoromi placed second in the Best Radio News Feature Reporter, and Fox and Komoromi placed third in the Best Audio News Program category for their work in LUmination Radio.

LUmination Radio also placed third in the Best College Radio Station category.

LUmination is a student-produced, multi-platform news outlet for Lipscomb University.

 

Snell, Fox and Komoromi win SPJ Region 12 Mark of Excellence Awards.

Communication and journalism students Emily Snell, Michael Fox and Liz Komoromi placed first and second at the 2013 Society of Professional Journalists Region 12 Mark of Excellence Awards held in April at the University of Mississippi.

Snell placed first in the Online News Reporting category for her story, “Middle East violence rooted deeper than anti-Islam film, professors say.” She also placed second in the Online Feature Reporting category with her story, “Habitat for Humanity builds new home for Lipscomb graduate from Sudan.”

The LUmination staff placed second in the Best All-Around Radio Newscast category with Fox as anchor and Komoromi as reporter.

Komoromi also placed second in the Radio Feature category for her story, “Pajama Games.”

 

Department of Theatre

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Sydni Hayes Kristi Mason Whitney Vaughn

Theatre students win First Night Honors at annual local theater gala

Lipscomb students Whitney Vaughn, Kristi Mason and Sydni Hayes were named “People to Watch” by Jeffrey Ellis, senior contributing editor at BroadwayWorld.com and coordinator of the First Night honors.

The First Night honors is an annual salute to the very best in live theater in Tennessee. The annual gala event features the BroadwayWorld.com Nashville Theatre Awards, the Tennessee Theatre Awards and the announcement of First Night’s Top Ten of 2012, critic Ellis’ annual list of the performances and productions he deems the very best on Tennessee stages.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

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College of Business

Lipscomb senior testifies before Congress about college affordability

At a hearing Tuesday, April 17, of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Ranking Member U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), praised Nashville native and Lipscomb University student Derrica Donelson, who is earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years, saying Donelson’s careful decision-making about her college education suggest she’ll “be a great success.”

Donelson said she talked to the committee about her decision to attend Lipscomb and how she worked with the university’s financial aid office to develop a plan to help make an education affordable. She told the committee that she likely could not have attended Lipscomb without the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship, and that the goal of attaining the scholarship helped drive her to work hard in high school and maintain a high GPA.

Donelson said she is planning to sit for the Certified Public Accountant exam soon after graduation. She has already received a staff accounting job offer and hopes to start her career in the Nashville area.

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Sens. Lamar Alexander (right) and Bob Corker (left) pose with Derrica Donleson.

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Brown elected 2013 national Cief of the Boy Scouts Order of the Arrow

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Lipscomb University sophomore Matt Brown, an accounting major, has been elected the 2013 National Chief of the National Order of the Arrow (OA), the honor society for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Brown was elected from 18 candidates from across the country that ran for the office. Brown’s term is a one-year appointment.

As national chief, Brown is the only student who is a voting member on the BSA board and will travel the country representing BSA. In February, Brown met with national leaders and congressmen in Washington D.C. together with six other representatives to present the 2012 BSA Report to the Nation. He also traveled to Dallas for the BSA national meetings, where he attended the meeting for the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts with major supporters from across the country.

An Eagle Scout, Brown is a member of Troop 1 in Brentwood, Tenn., and represents the Wa-Hi-Nasa OA lodge, for which he has held multiple offices and most recently served as a section chief. In addition, he attended the 2009 National Order of the Arrow conference, the 2010 National Jamboree and ArrowCorps5 as a participant. He has served as a staff member for Summit Corps, Indian Summer, the 2012 National Order of the Arrow Conference, as well as Order of the Arrow Ocean Adventure. Brown is also a founder’s Award recipient.

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Institute for Civic Leadership

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Colby Sledge Stephanie McCullough

Alumni Sledge, McCullough work with City of Nashville planning process

Two graduates of the Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership are playing important roles with NashvilleNext, a community-driven process for creating a countrywide plan. Colby Sledge, account executive at McNeely, Piggot and Fox, serves as the day-to-day contact for the team carrying out the NashvilleNext community outreach, and Stephanie McCullough, communications and community outreach coordinator at the Nashville Civic Design Center, serves as an advisor to the Metro planning staff for outreach strategies.

Sledge’s capstone project for the institute involving models to strengthen neighborhood associations is now being used as a tool within the NashvilleNext initiative, he said.

In her role at the Nashville Civic Design Center, McCullough has had plenty of experience engaging the community. Now she is bringing her expertise to the NashvilleNext Community Engagement Committee.                                                                                                                             

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Andrews, selected as finalist in first Business for Good contest

Jane Andrews, a master’s candidate of Lipscomb University’s Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership and executive director of Davidson County’s CASA Inc. (Court Appointed Special Advocates), was selected as one of 10 finalists in the first Nashville’s Social Enterprise Alliance (NSEA) Business for Good Competition.

Andrews’ entry project focused on expanding the trainings CASA already does for its volunteers to apply them to other professionals who work with child victims of abuse. Her research has shown a need for professionals such as attorneys, legal guardians, case managers and case investigators to have more training in working with such children.

Andrews, along with nine other finalist teams, was awarded a spot in the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s pre-accelerator program, providing a mentor/coach to assist her with development of her business model pitch, as well as a one-year individual membership to the NSEA.

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School of Computing and Informatics

SCI students win top prize in Deloitte Challenge mobile app development contest

Alexander Givant, a senior computer science major; Marian Rushdy, a senior electrical and computer engineering major; and Stuart Pounders, a junior computer science major recently took top honors and $9,000 in prize money in the first-ever Deloitte Challenge, a competition among Nashville’s colleges and universities that challenges students to demonstrate their technical know-how by developing a working mobile application to solve a practical business problem.

For the inaugural challenge, teams were asked to develop a mobile app that would facilitate coffee/food runs for groups working on client sites.

The Lipscomb team won the competition with its app iOrder, a mobile application for the Android platform allowing users to order premium coffee and lattes from the convenience of their mobile phone. Each team member received $3,000 in prize money.

The team placed first ahead of teams of undergraduate and graduate students from Middle Tennessee State University, Belmont University and Fisk University. Also competing in the challenge from Lipscomb was a team of computer science seniors led by captain Phillip Yates, including Christina Martin and Dylan Jones.

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Deloitte Winners

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College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

School of Nursing

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Cobb receives top March of Dimes honors

Senior nursing student Anna Cobb was named the 2012 March of Dimes Undergraduate Student Nurse of the Year.

Each year the March of Dimes honors nurses from every specialty area who have provided special service to patients, the community and the field of nursing as a whole. The organization also recognizes student nurses who have shown a special commitment to their studies and their world.

In addition to Cobb, four other Lipscomb University School of Nursing student nurses were also nominated for the Undergraduate Student Nurse of the Year honor. They include Katie Borgmann, Kara Godbout, Jacqueline Lackey and Whitney Layland.

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