Accomplishment in scientific research, fashion, sustainable design were on student plates this fall

Janel Shoun | 

STUDENTS
 
 
Business, fashion students partner to present professional image show to students, alumni
 
A group of students in Leanne Smith’s management communication class partnered with students in the fashion merchandising program to put on a unique event for women on campus on Nov. 14: the How to Project a Professional Image fashion show.
 
Students in the class are required to carry out a service project. So, Cayla Cleaver, Courtney Johnson, Duncan Gross, Tanner Baker and Jonathan Nance decided to take on the professional image event, the brainchild of Smith and fellow business faculty Laura Williams.
 
Sponsored by the colleges of business and arts and sciences, the professional image event allowed women from any academic major to network with Lipscomb alumnae, to hear from professional image consultant Mila Grigg and to see a fashion show of professional looks from Dillards in four categories: professional business, business casual, the creative industry and fashion industry attire.
 
Cindy Quinn, adjunct professor in the fashion merchandising program, worked with students Ali Jones, Jillian Jacobs, Mia Marley, Alex Barry, Desirae Webb, Brooke Simmons, Somer Ellis, Meghan Day, Michal Sellers and Sarah Bailey to create the fashion show.
 
“We often talk about professional dress in our business classes, but we wonder sometimes if students are getting the message university-wide,” said Smith, who helped coordinate the event with Quinn. “We were actually surprised by the interest across campus.”
 
Smith said she often hears stories from business recruiters about how first impressions, especially dress and appearance, often ring true in the long run.
 
“We hope the attendees will go away feeling excited about dressing for success,” Smith said. “It’s about being excited to be a woman and using our femininity in the right way. If you want to take on a role of authority, then your bosses have to see you that way before they will put you in that position, and a lot can depend on first impressions.”
 
The professional image event also doubled as a clothing collection for ThriftSmart, another service project by some of Smith’s management communication students.
 
 
 Student models for the event were Jaime Gabardi, Hillary Guinn, Lacy Walker, Heather Saunders, Jaclyn Shunk, Chelsea Tignor, Taylor Kennerly, Nataliya Parahuz, Anna Spain and Ali Jones.


 

Annual Pharmacy Research Day features 46 students, faculty and professional researchers
 
The Lipscomb University’s annual Research Day on Oct. 18 featured presentations on research projects by 15 students and 14 faculty and staff within the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and 17 researchers from the community.
 
Research Day is held once a year to highlight the scientific research carried out by the Pharmaceutical Sciences Summer Research Program student participants and their faculty mentors at Lipscomb and Vanderbilt University. The 2011 event was expanded to feature not only pharmacy students’ research, but also poster presentations by faculty in various health sciences departments at Lipscomb.
 
The presentations explored topics in a variety of areas such as clinical care, ambulatory care, community practice, educational scholarship, curriculum innovations, missions, community outreach programs and the pharmaceutical, biomedical and analytical sciences.
 
To see more details on Pharmacy Research Day click here.
 
 
 
 
Poly sci senior elected to College Democrats state office
 
Thomas Whisenant, a senior political science major, was recently elected director of political affairs for the Tennessee Federation of College Democrats. Whisenant also organized a conference for local College Democrats on the Lipscomb campus in August that brought representatives from eight chapters to Lipscomb’s campus.
 
 
 
Five sustainability students tackle the international Biomimicry Student Design Challenge
 
Five students in the Institute for Sustainable Practice’s bachelor’s and master’s programs are working this semester to win the 2011 Biomimicry Student Design Challenge, held by the Biomimicry Institute. Lipscomb University is one of two U.S. affiliates of the international Biomimicry Institute.
 
Students Corbin Gibson, Michael Graf, Samuel Leu, Blake Oakley and Jon Owen are working on two projects to compete against more than 120 teams from around the world. One team is working to reinvigorate West Tennessee farms which have fallen on hard times and another team is working on an innovative roofing solution to reduce individual building energy requirements, energy requirements across the roofing industry and the urban heat island effect. 
 
The students will turn in their plan in December and find out if they have won the challenge in February 2012.
 
 
 
Music composition senior attends European American Musical Alliance
 
Composition senior Zac Swann attended the European American Musical Alliance summer program at the historic Schola Cantorum in Paris, France. This program offers intensive study of the crafts of counterpoint, harmony, analysis, and musicianship as well as composition and chamber music performance taught by professors from prestigious universities worldwide. 
 
 
 
Communications students working to rebuild a brand in new media class
 
Aerial Ellis, a new professor in the department of communication and journalism, is leading her students in the broadcast and new media class to raise awareness for Rebuilding Together Nashville, a little-known organization that helps individuals and families who are in need of home repairs and don’t have the resources to complete them. Over the course of the fall 2011 term, the students have been researching best practices and utilizing the skills and techniques they are learning to raise awareness about this organization among potential donors, volunteers and clients. The students’ first opportunity to put their skills to work came during one of Rebuilding Together’s build days in October 2011. The students took pictures, video and composed blogs at various stages in the construction to create a social media marketing campaign.
 
The marketing campaign for Rebuilding Together Heroes at Home Build Day
To see the Facebook album of photos click here and select the albums for Sears Heroes at Home posted in October 2011.
To see videos the students produced click here.
To see the students' blog entries click here.
To see the students' Twitter feeds click here.
 
 
Music students excel at national association's state competition
 
Students from the Department of Music turned in great performances at the Music Teachers National Association's Tennessee music competition in November. The Avalon Trio -- Julian Calvin, Joel Campbell and Kenneth Coca -- placed first in chamber music; Calvin placed first in composition; and Adam Booher placed second in solo piano. In addition, Evan Booher received an honorable mention in the high school solo piano category.
 
The trio will travel to Mississippi College in January to compete in the Southern division competition, including winners from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
 
 
 
 
ALUMNI
 
 
History alumnus wins Fulbright to study in Austria
 
Benjamin Thomas Esswein, a doctorate student at the University of California, Riverside, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship to Austria in the general history category. Esswein is one of over 1,600 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2011-2012 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.
 
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
 
Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide.
 
 
 
Alumnius invited to conference held by UN group on volunteerism
 
Dr. Paul Jhin, 2010 Alumnus of the Year and CEO of the Information and Technology Corps (ITCO), a United Nations partner organization, was invited to be a featured speaker at the “Volunteering for a Sustainable Future” Global Volunteer Conference in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 15-17, 2011, by the United Nations Volunteers and the International Federation of the Red Cross. The conference examined the role of volunteers in addressing present and future challenges in our increasingly polarized and fragmented world. 
 
 
 
Music alumnus wins second in international composing competition
 
Dr. N. Lincoln Hanks was recently awarded second prize in the music+culture 2011 International Competition for Composers for his Prayers and Meditations. Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Piano Dr. Jerome Reed premiered Prayers and Meditations in 2009, and it was Reed's recording of the work that was submitted for the competition. Hanks, who is currently associate professor of music at Pepperdine University, is a Department of Music alumnus and former student of Reed.