Wintry weather to continue into weekend

Nashville’s wintry weather — that has disrupted classes and made it tough for many students and faculty to make it to campus — may continue into the weekend. Students returned to class Wednesday, Feb. 18, after two days of canceled classes, but a mixture of snow and ice is lingering on campus. And it’s not going to melt away on its own, with local TV meteorologists predicting temperatures to plummet into the negatives Wednesday night. Nashville hasn’t seen this much snow and ice since the largest snowfall of the century, when 7 inches of snow fell on Music City in January of 2003. Sure, some say this is the “sunny South,” but the Nashville area has had a few winter storms of epic proportions. The wintry mix the area received during this week reminded many Nashvillians of the brutal ice storm of February 1994, when electric transformers lighted the sky like lightning as they exploded. Tree limbs covered in heavy ice ripped down power lines. That ice storm left many Middle Tennessee residents without power and heat for more than two weeks. During that storm, many parts of Tennessee experienced more than 5 inches of rainfall, much of it frozen. “I remember we played Belmont the night that it started to snow,” said Kim Chaudoin, Assistant Vice President of University Communication and Marketing. “I lived in Murfreesboro at the time and commuted to Lipscomb for work. I tried to get home and had to leave my car along Tyne Boulevard. I walked back to my office and slept on my office floor that night.” And there have been other instances...

Interim deans appointed for College of Education, College of Professional Studies

Two interim deans have been appointed for the College of Education and the College of Professional Studies. Deborah Boyd, associate dean and director of graduate studies for the College of Education, will be filling the vacancy of Candice McQueen, who was appointed as Tennessee’s new commissioner of education on Wednesday. As a national search is underway for McQueen’s successor, Boyd will lead the College of Education and Lipscomb’s Ayers Institute for Teacher Learning and Innovation. Nina Morel, associate dean of the College of Professional Studies, will be serving as interim dean for that college, after Charla Long’s departure. Morel also leads the College of Professional Studies’ integrated studies and adult degree programs. In an email sent to faculty and staff, Lipscomb Provost Craig Bledsoe said that both Long and McQueen have led their respective colleges well. “They have established strong leadership teams that have helped put feet to their vision and will continue the impactful work of these colleges,” Bledsoe wrote. Although Long and McQueen have left, Bledsoe is certain the new interim deans will lead the colleges in the right direction. “When considering individuals to fill the role of interim dean we did not have to look far to find administrators to provide outstanding leadership during this period of transition while national searches are underway for permanent leadership for these colleges. “We look forward to working with Dr. Morel and Dr. Boyd as they share their expertise, vision and leadership with these colleges and with our university.” Photos courtesy...
First College of Pharmacy graduates honored

First College of Pharmacy graduates honored

The first graduating class of Lipscomb’s College of Pharmacy was honored Friday afternoon during a Recognition Ceremony in Collins Alumni Auditorium. The ceremony included a presentation of awards, presentation of hoods, administration of the Oath of a Pharmacist as well as words of encouragement from Roger Davis, dean of the College of Pharmacy, Craig Bledsoe, provost, and Mike Fowler, vice chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, among others. Fowler, who was selected by students to deliver the faculty address, began his speech by looking back to Aug. 13, 2008—the beginning of Lipscomb’s pharmacy school. Fowler showed a few slides from the PowerPoint he used during his first lecture, outlining the expectations he had for his students. “Today we stand in the same place,” Fowler said. “We have great expectations for you.” Fowler played a clip from his favorite movie, The Karate Kid, which he played on the first day of class four years ago. He said the segment—well known for its concepts of wax on, wax off—displays “the epitome of teaching and learning.” “We had some bad times, individually and collectively,” Fowler said, “but there were also many good times—some successes and awards.” Fowler read a passage from Luke in which Jesus says, “For everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.” “You have been given much—by your family, your friends, yourselves and each other,” Fowler said, “so I think it’s only fair that we tell you what we expect from you. What we really expect is that you’ll go out and be good pharmacists. We expect you to be good family members. We expect you to...