McFarland construction makes progress toward expected Dec. completion

McFarland construction makes progress toward expected Dec. completion

Construction workers continue building McFarland Science Center upward and outward so that nursing students and others will be better able to build their specialized skills in new labs dedicated to everything from biochemistry to human anatomy. “We’ve had a phenomenal growth in students over the past five to 10 years,” said Dr. Norma Burgess, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, when discussing the 24.000-square-foot addition that is expected to be completed in time for spring 2016 semester. “We’ve added a nursing program that requires the use of more labs, so we’re just expanding the capacity for the students that we serve and more space to do that.” The new additions will include six new laboratories for biochemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology and human anatomy and physiology. Programs have been added in pharmacy and nursing, and a new emphasis on research at the graduate and undergraduate levels and a master’s degree in biomolecular science have been added as well. “I think the faculty have wanted more space for a number of years,” Burgess said. “I think everybody will be excited about it when it does open, so the opportunity to work with additional updated materials and instruments will be huge.” Construction began in the fall of 2014 after funding was secured for the addition. There were delays in the site preparation due to the city permitting process and two feet of bedrock that had to be dug through. The construction has caused a few problems for classes taking place in McFarland during the past year, such as the loss of parking spaces at the front of the building and noise produced by the construction. “Everybody...

HumanDocs hosts Tennessee premiere of ‘I Learn America’

Lipscomb University’s HumanDocs film series, hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences, will be presenting a free public screening of I Learn America, a documentary about five teenage students adapting to life in America, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. in Shamblin Theatre. The screening is part of the Tennessee Rights Coalition’s Welcoming Week, an event that highlights the contributions of immigrants to American Communities. The coalition’s Welcoming Tennessee Initiative served as an inspiration to Welcoming America, a nationwide effort to make America a friendlier place. Lipscomb’s HumanDocs is a social-justice series that aims to create a more just, peaceful and inclusive university and city. “[This film] reflects the series’ goal of looking at important issues of social justice – in this case, immigration and welcoming others, even when their language, culture, or beliefs differ from ours,” series coordinator and Lipscomb Associate Professor of Spanish Ted Parks said. The documentary from Jean-Michel Dissard and Gitte Peng looks at the lives of five teenage immigrants – Brandon Garcia, a 15-year-old Guatemalan who crossed the border to reunite with his mother after 10 years, Itrat Shah, a 17-year-old devout Muslim from Pakistan who came to America to join her father after the passing of her mother, Sandra Staniszewska, a 17-year-old tomboy from Poland, Jenniffer Vasquez, a inseparable best friend of Sandra and from the Dominican Republic and Sing Pi, a shy 18-year-old from Myanmar with limited English comprehension. I Learn America follows the five students closely for a year at the International High School at Lafayette, a Brooklyn public high school dedicated to newly arrived immigrants from all over the world. The students learn how to...