US hero Rob O’Neill speaks in ‘Now That You Ask’ series with Tom Ingram

Even though Lipscomb students are accustomed to being around heroes, thanks to the Yellow Ribbon program, encountering the man who killed 9/11 terrorist kingpin Osama bin Laden is something unusual and memorable. Former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill, who claims he was the one who fired the fatal bullets at bin Laden during the storming of the terrorist’s compound in Pakistan, came to speak with Tom Ingram for Lipscomb University’s Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute “now that you ask” series Thursday night in Stowe Hall in the Swang Business Center. The hall was filled of members of the Lipscomb community, as well as the Nashvillians who came to hear from the man who was involved in such missions as the rescues of Marcus Luttrell, Captain Richard Phillips and the killing of terrorist bin Laden. O’Neill recounted where he was on 9/11, the difficulties of training for the SEALs and his feelings on being the one to kill Osama bin Laden. O’Neill is a part of the elite SEAL Team Six, and has been a part of over 400 missions in his 16-year career with the Navy SEALs. Three of his missions have been turned into blockbusters “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Captain Phillips,” and “Lone Survivor.” “Captain Phillips was good but not very accurate,” O’Neill said. “Zero Dark Thirty did a good job of portraying the CIA portion of the mission, but Lone Survivor was the most accurate movie.” O’Neill is a bit of a controversial topic for the Navy, after revealing — despite instructions otherwise — that he was the one to shoot bin Laden. Although the Navy has publicly criticized O’Neill for revealing private information, he said...

Lipscomb recognized for superior veteran services, affordability

Lipscomb has been recognized for its commitment to veterans and for its affordability. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance recently named Lipscomb University in its list of the top hundred best value private colleges in the nation, and Military Advanced Education has named Lipscomb a top military-friendly university. MAE awards this distinction to the hundred top-scoring colleges participating in a questionnaire about the quality of schools’ veteran service programs. Factors on the questionnaire include support for veterans’ families, campus ROTC programs, counselor training in military-related mental health issues and acceptance of transfer credits. Other schools on the list include Vanderbilt, Auburn and UCLA. “It is a reflection of our goal to continually improve our veteran services program,” said Assistant Dean and Director of Veteran Services April Herrington. “Recognition from organizations such as this is an indicator that what we offer is working and making a difference in the lives of our students.” Lipscomb’s veteran services have previously been recognized in the 201 Military Friendly Schools list for six years in a row and as the second-best regional university in the South for its veteran services by US News & World Report. Lipscomb has been providing free undergraduate tuition to veterans through its Yellow Ribbon Program since 2009. For the first time, Lipscomb’s affordability for veterans and other students has been recognized by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Other colleges named in the list include Harvard, Duke, Princeton and Vanderbilt. The list compares quality-based criteria such as admission rates, freshman retention rates and student-faculty ratios to finance-based criteria such as financial aid and average student debt at graduation. “Student debt load is a critical issue...

101st Airborne drop in for Veterans Eve Celebration

Lipscomb’s Veteran Services hosted a Veterans Eve Celebration that involved a parachute demonstration onto the quad Monday morning. The 101st Airborne Division, the Army’s oldest parachute jump team, flew through the air above campus before two jumpers, one carrying a POW flag and the other the American flag, descended onto the field. Students and members of the community lined the sidewalks around the quad in front of the Burton Science building to watch the demonstration. Prior to the jump, the national anthem was performed by the Lipscomb Jazz Ensemble. Then Lipscomb student and Marine Corps Corporal Matt Proctor gave the invocation.  As part of the ceremony, an American flag was presented to veteran Christopher Long, and a Tennessee state flag was presented to Dean Scott McDowell. Before the end of the ceremony, Lieutenant Colonel John Sapp spoke about the event and about the importance of Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program that allows veterans to come home and receive an education. He also talked about being thankful for veterans as well, and Dean McDowell closed out the ceremony with a round of thanks. Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program works hard to create an encouraging and beneficial community for veterans. Corporal Proctor talked a little bit about how they hope to build a connection between veterans and traditional undergraduate students. “There’s an opportunity for those undergraduate’s to see the life experience that veterans have, and the face of war is sometimes very different than the faces of a traditional undergraduate student,” Proctor said. “There’s a lot that can be learned in order to communicate outside of the undergraduate experience.” Proctor was also very...

Lumination News, March 28, 2014

Watch the latest edition of Lumination News to know what happened during Charlie Daniels concert, Wednesday Night Devo and more. In this week´s Lumination News, Caitlin Selle and Aaron Schmelzer lead the news from the anchors desk. It was a busy week for Lipscomb, which hosted one of the biggest events of the year: Charlie Daniels Scholarship for Heroes concert. Luke Bryan was the surprise guest. It indeed surprised the audience that sang along to his songs. Director of Veterans Jim Humphrey was also present at the concert. Humphrey recently announced his departure from Lipscomb University to pursue a new job, but he wasn’t the only one announcing a new career path. Bennie Harris, Lipscomb University’s vice president of development and alumni relations has accepted a new position as senior vice president of Morehouse School of Medicine. In other news, Singarama is back and we bring you the behind the scenesn of how students are preparing for the show. Do you have story ideas? An event you want us to cover? Email our News Director...

Stars offer a special message to Yellow Ribbon students at Scholarship of Heroes Tour

At the ioStudio Charlie Daniels’ Scholarship for Heroes Tour Tuesday night in Allen Arena,  the stars performed on stage to give their thanks to Yellow Ribbon students who have fought for their freedom. In this video, the musicians were given the opportunity to speak directly to veterans, thanking them for their service. Artists include Charlie Daniels, Chris Young, Jason Aldean, Keni Thomas, Mark “Sparky” Matejka from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jamie Johnson and Terry Eldridge of The Grascals and Lee Greenwood, as well as the evening’s host, Storme...