Former Gov. Phil Bredesen shares insight into political past with newest “now that you ask…” conversation

Former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen has done it all. Tuesday night, Bredesen spoke at the most recent “now that you ask…” conversation series hosted by Tom Ingram. Lipscomb’s Shamblin Theatre was full of attentive students and community members listening to Bredesen talk about his early life and career. During his term as governor, Bredesen tackled education, finance and health care in Tennessee, establishing large financial reserves, a statewide Pre-K program and a children’s health insurance program. Bredesen was also mayor of Nashville from 1991 to 1999, during which he recruited the NFL Tennessee Titans and the NHL Nashville Predators. However, before Bredesen accomplished those tasks, he started out on a track quite far away from politics. “I wanted to be a forest ranger,” Bredesen said. “In high school, I had no interest in politics at all. But when JFK became president, I realized that politics was something that good people could do, and make it good.” Bredesen then recalled his interests shifting from forest ranger, to geology, to physics. “When Sputnik was launched, I thought it was a sign that I should go into the sciences,” Bredesen said. “The hard sciences are a good field to go into.” Bredesen got into Harvard College “almost on a whim,” where he studied physics. “Growing up near Cornell University and Columbia,  I always thought I’d go to one of those colleges, but I applied late to Harvard and ended up getting in,” Bredesen said. When Bredesen finally became involved in the political world, the losses seemed more than the wins at the beginning. “There were a lot of losses, but I learned a...

Pulitzer winner Jon Meacham joins newest installment of “now that you ask…”

Pulitzer Prize winner and former Newsweek editor-in-chief Jon Meacham sat down with Tom Ingram in the newest installment of the now that you ask… series to discuss his life so far as a journalist, author and historian. The crowd Thursday night totaled to be the largest crowd out of all the people that have had a conversation with Ingram. Meacham told several jokes about why many people would come to hear him, but his real explanation was that people are more interested in his career subject (history) than himself. “I think we are in a golden age of biography, and I think a lot of people are hungry to see what happened in the past and what solutions that might offer, which is why they are interest in what I do,” Meacham said. Meacham went on to talk about why he moved to Nashville, “for the grass and dogs.” After living in New York for 20 years, Meacham and his family decided to make the change when his son told him one Friday afternoon that there was nothing to do. “I’ve spent more time than expected doing the Jackson book here in Nashville,” Meacham said. “We moved a year and half ago and haven’t had a bad day.” Meacham talked about his family background. He came from three generations of layers and grew up listening to politicians’ stories, which sparked his interest in history. Meacham has written five books, with his most recent Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power being named a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. Meacham’s approach to his books is figuring out how to keep his readers interested throughout the book. “The competition for...

Lipscomb president Randy Lowry speaks of past, present and future at ‘Now That You Ask…’ conversation

Lipscomb president Randy Lowry sat down with Tom Ingram for the newest installment of the “Now That You Ask…” series Tuesday night, shedding light on his time as president of the university.  President Lowry is the 17th president of the school. He has been the president for the past seven years, and in his tenure, student enrollment has increased by 82%. Before coming to Lipscomb, Lowry had only visited once before. “I had heard of it, but I really didn’t know much about it,” Lowry said. Since Lowry became the president at Lipscomb, there have been many changes to the way things are done. Lowry was asked how he has succeeded in making so many changes to the institution. “Well, enrollment had been down for several years, the budget had been adjusted for each of those years, and what I think we found was a community that was really hungry for a new future, a new level of engagement, a sense of success,” Lowry said. “So, a little bit of hunger gives you the opportunity as a leader to move things fairly quickly.” Lowry went on to talk about some of the changes he is the most proud of and what else there is to do at Lipscomb. “I’m proud of our engagement with the community. When I arrived it seemed to me we were a little comfortable in Green Hills and a little removed from whatever was going on in the life of the city,” Lowry said. “People encouraged me to engage, and the city has been so responsive to us.” Lowry said that while he believes that...

Lumination Newscast, Feb. 22, 2013

In this semester’s seventh installment of Lumination News, Savanna Schubert and Nick Glende are behind the news desk to update you about what’s happening on campus. Nicolette Carney brings you up to speed with sports, Jessica Burke fills you in on the week’s top world news headlines, Brianna Langley gives the scoop on all things entertainment and Kage Sanderson delivers your weather forecast. This week’s newscast features a look at a dual-enrollment student who doubles as an amateur storm chaser, important information on the dangers of caffeine addiction, a few interviews with student from Egypt, some insight into this month’s celebration of Black history month, a few spring fashion tips, a look at the Star Wars Night that was held at a recent Bisons basketball game, highlights of the baseball and soccer teams and information about this week’s “Now That You Ask” event,  as well as our weekly Nashville Spotlight and Tweets of the Week. Be sure to stay tuned for future newscasts published every Friday here on...

Lumination Newscast, Sept. 27, 2012

In this week’s installment of Lumination News, Jeremy Keck and Kelly Dean are behind the news desk to update you about what’s happening on campus. Nicolette Carney gives you the latest in political news, Brynn Watkins updates you on the weather forecast, Caitlin Selle has your entertainment news and Crystal Davis brings you up to speed on sports. Videos feature information about Lipscomb’s public hearing at a Metro Planning Commission meeting, technology developments with myLipscomb, Now That You Ask with John Seigenthaler, social club pledging, Rape Aggression Defense classes, “A Servant of Two Masters,” HumanDocs, Kingdom Politics at Acklen Church of Christ, and Nashville Spotlight on the 12th Avenue South area. LUmination Newscast 9-27-2012 from lumination Network on...