Lipscomb University continues academic prowess, awarded six grants in four years totaling more than $4 million
Lipscomb University understands that as knowledge grows in use, it grows in value. Receiving numerous academic grants over the past four years, Lipscomb set itself on an upward trajectory to join the world’s great academic institutions.
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Research happens across academic disciplines. Student research will be celebrated at the upcoming Student Scholars Symposium on April 11.
Lipscomb University understands that as knowledge grows in use, it grows in value. Receiving numerous academic grants over the past four years, Lipscomb set itself on an upward trajectory to join the world’s great academic institutions.
“Our recent designation as an R3 doctoral university has bolstered our academic prowess on the national level,” said W. Craig Bledsoe, Lipscomb University provost. “I anticipate further growth in research and increased grants awarded to Lipscomb University as a result.”
The designation, currently awarded to only seven percent of schools nationally, accelerates the research and development conducted at Lipscomb. Over four years, Lipscomb received six notable grants totaling over $4 million dollars across its more than 200 fields of undergraduate and graduate study offered.
In October 2014, the College of Pharmacy received a $660,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health in support of researcher and assistant professor Klarissa Jackson’s efforts to investigate a drug used to treat breast cancer, a disease that kills about 400,000 women each year.
Her study is aimed at discovering genetic factors related to drug metabolism that may contribute to a patient’s risk of developing a toxic reaction to the drug lapatinib, thereby limiting its use in certain patient populations. Identification of the genetic factors and mechanisms that cause the toxicity could lead to better prediction and prevention of these serious adverse reactions and improve treatment outcomes for cancer patients.
In August 2015, Leadership Tennessee received a $750,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to expand the program’s offerings, scope and impact on Tennessee. The leadership education initiative of Lipscomb’s Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute of Civic Leadership housed in the new College of Leadership & Public Service, cultivates a statewide network of business, nonprofit, education, and government leaders committed to addressing the state’s challenges and opportunities.
The grant, to be disbursed over three years, funds administrative needs and develops statewide forums to expand the alumni network, launch leadership education programs, and convene statewide conversations of significance through seminars and forums. Further, the grant funds the continuing growth of Leadership Tennessee’s signature program, which runs for 10 months to provide collaborative learning and dialogue spanning the state’s three grand divisions.
In October 2015, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Lipscomb University a $611,517 grant to encourage the study of engineering at three Nashville area community colleges and to provide scholarship support. The NSF S-STEM grant, awarded to Lipscomb based on a proposal submitted by the Raymond B. Jones College of Engineering, strives to enrich programs and provide engineering scholarships in collaboration with Nashville State Community College, Columbia State Community College and Volunteer State Community College.
Lipscomb designed the proposal in response to the Tennessee Promise, a scholarship providing two years of tuition-free attendance at a community or technical college in Tennessee. The grant encourages community college students to pursue a four-year degree in engineering at Lipscomb University following their completion of a two-year degree at a partnering community college through six scholarships provided each year during the life of the grant.
In October 2017, the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program a $1.8 million grant. The grant broke Lipscomb history as the largest ever awarded by any organization to the university.
The grant, awarded to a project proposed by Douglas Ribeiro, assistant professor of psychology, counseling and family science, supports the project, “Improving Mental Health Services through Integrative Care Opportunities in Nashville, Tennessee.” The work addresses the unmet mental health needs among the medically underserved populations in the city with emphasis on advancing services available to immigrant populations and residents whose primary language is not English.
Lipscomb continues to grow its academic reputation with this trend set the past four years. Currently for 2018, three grant applications are in development for $1.6 million to such agencies as the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.
Lipscomb University aspires to stand in the front ranks of the great educational institutions of the world by faithfully sowing seeds to grow and thrive in the hearts and minds of students seeking to shape their faith and future. This is accomplished through integration of Christian faith and practice with academic excellence.