by Kathryn Farris | Jul 27, 2021 | COVID-19, News, News Slider
As summer’s end steadily approaches, low vaccination rates and the rising transmission of the COVID Delta variant are sparking concerns for colleges across the country. “We’re monitoring cases on and off campus that affect our community right now. The Delta variant seems to be a much more aggressive type of the virus,” said Kevin Eidson, Lipscomb’s Director of Health and Wellness. “We want as many people to be vaccinated as possible… getting the vaccine allows you to have some more freedoms that you really don’t have without the protection of the vaccine,” Eidson said. In a video sent out to faculty and staff, Susan Galbreath, Lipscomb’s senior vice president for strategy, shared the results of a campus survey revealing 55 percent of Lipscomb’s total population is vaccinated. Full-time employees are at a 74 percent vaccination rate. While higher than Tennessee’s vaccination rates, Lipscomb still falls behind reaching herd immunity. According to Yale Medicine, COVID variants could indicate 80 percent of a population would need to be vaccinated in order to reach herd immunity. The CDC updated its recommendations on July 27 to encourage indoor mask use for vaccinated individuals in COVID “hot spots.” Earlier this summer, the center had rolled back all restrictive recommendations for vaccinated people (except during travel). Davidson County falls under the CDC’s rating of “high” for transmission levels. In response to the new CDC recommendation, Lipscomb says it will “continue to monitor local, state and federal guidance as we get nearer to the beginning of the semester.” Current policy dictates unvaccinated students are encouraged to practice mask-wearing and could be placed in quarantine if exposed...
by Emily Snell | Feb 13, 2012 | News Slider
Linda Peek Schacht, executive director of Lipscomb University’s Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership, has been named the Nashville Business Journal’s 2012 Woman of Influence “Trailblazer.” As one of 30 Woman of Influence honorees, and one of three in the “Trailblazer” category, Schacht was honored at a luncheon today and will be profiled in the Friday edition of the Nashville Business Journal. She was selected as the “Trailblazer” winner over Beth DeBauche, commissioner with the Ohio Valley Conference and Lois Riggins-Ezzell, executive director of the Tennessee State Museum. Schacht is the founding executive director of the Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership (civicleadership.lipscomb.edu), established in 2010 to continue long-time Nashville businessman Nelson Andrews’ legacy of collaborative leadership through its academic programs, community engagement and research. Soon after the institute was created, Schacht oversaw the establishment of its new master’s degree in civic leadership, one of only two in the United States, now enrolling 23 students from business, nonprofits and government in its inaugural class and utilizing the institute’s state-of-the-art facility which opened June 2. An ongoing signature program of the institute is to develop informed citizens to lead the public conversation on community issues and public policy. In 2011, leaders from the 10-county Middle Tennessee region focused on transit in the first citizen leadership academy, produced in partnership with the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee and the regional caucus of mayors. In its short one-year history, Schacht has lead the institute to bring together state and regional business, nonprofit, and government leaders to collaborate on aging, the challenges of digital communication, transit, Nashville’s strength as a multicultural city...
by Emily Snell | Nov 30, 2011 | News Slider
Students could win a Nintendo DS Lite or cash prizes if they complete the semester course evaluations before Friday, Dec. 8. Susan Galbreath, associate provost, said the student surveys are used each year when faculty evaluations occur. She said professors, deans and other officials look at the evaluations. She emphasized that student opinion makes a difference for future classes. “They do matter,” she said of the evaluations. “(Students’) time and their comments are really being used well.” Galbreath said the evaluations are not just beneficial for students but are helpful to faculty as well. “We want to have the best classes for the students that we can have,” Galbreath said. “We think we do a good job of that, but any time we can improve a course, the students are a great source of information. It’s all about continuous improvement for us. “The professors really do want to know what they need to consider changing in a class to make it better,” she continued. “It really is very beneficial information for the faculty members to have from the students.” Galbreath said the evaluations offer students the opportunity to encourage their professors by mentioning the things they like about courses and to offer constructive criticism about areas needing improvement. “We encourage everyone to participate,” Galbreath said. “It’s a great way to let your opinion be known.” In spring 2010, Lipscomb began offering course evaluations online instead of giving handwritten surveys during class. Since the new format requires students to sacrifice personal time, Galbreath said the university wanted to provide some incentive. “We wanted to be gracious and say ‘if you’ll take...
