Kathy E. Hargis, MBA
Director of Risk Management

Kathy E. Hargis, MBA has served Director of Risk Management for Lipscomb University since 2005. She provides leadership and strategic direction for Lipscomb University’s risk management infrastructure. In her current role, she is responsible for oversight and direction of Risk Management, Environmental Heath & Safety, Emergency Preparedness, Business Continuity and Insurance functions within the institution. 

She has twenty years of experience in the corporate world where she was the Director of Risk Management for First American Corporation and held various management and leadership roles at Caterpillar Inc., C.N.A. Insurance Company and Royal Alliance. 

Ms. Hargis earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from Western Kentucky University. She holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Lipscomb University with a specialization in Conflict Management. She is active in several professional organizations in which she holds leadership roles. She was honored in 2009 by the University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA) as one of four International Fellows. She has presented at numerous professional organizations on the topics of risk management, international travel and emergency planning and been published in several business and professional publications.

Linda Roberts Phipps, Ph.D.
Environmental Compliance Manager

Dr. Phipps has over 24 years of experience in environmental science and related areas. She served as the Pretreatment Coordinator for the City of Dallas, Texas. In this position, she administered the permitting and enforcement program under the Clean Water Act, Pretreatment Program, for the 180 industrial and 1500 commercial facilities within the City of Dallas, as well as those in neighboring customer cities. She initiated both criminal and civil enforcement actions against violating industries. 

After receiving her doctoral degree in Physical Chemistry from Vanderbilt University, Dr. Phipps was a Senior Project Manager for AMEC Earth and Environmental and Resource Consultants, Inc. She managed over $1 million annually in environmental consulting projects on site assessment and remediation, negotiation of industrial discharge permits, facility environmental auditing, corporate training, development of corporate ISO 14001 environmental management systems, storm water and groundwater compliance assistance, and development of environmental compliance materials for various industry groups. She also assisted national trade organizations, such as the Association of American Railroads, the Battery Council, and the Lead Industry Association, in responding to proposed regulations affecting the industry and in conducting industry-wide training on EPA-mandated topics. 

Dr. Phipps came to Lipscomb full-time in the Spring of 2000, after having served as an adjunct instructor in Chemistry for five years. Her teaching responsibilities have included Environmental Law and Policy, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Biology, Introduction to Sustainable Energy Sources, Integrated Science, Analytical Chemistry, Advanced Analytical Chemistry, Instrumental Methods of Analysis, General Chemistry, and Introduction to Chemistry. Dr. Phipps is responsible for the initial curriculum design for Lipscomb’s and Tennessee’s first academic sustainability graduate and undergraduate academic program and Lipscomb’s current recycling program. She recently completed an academic semester living and lecturing in Vienna, Austria.