faculty - lifelong learning
meet the faculty behind lifelong learning
james arnett (’67)
professor of biology (retired), 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 ; a. a., freed-hardeman college; b. a., david lipscomb college; m.s. and ph. d., university of arkansas.
on june 1, 2021, dr. james arnett completed 47 years of service to 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 . with the exception of one decade in administration (vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty), he devoted his tenure to teaching in the department of biology and advising students. for the past two decades he also chaired the health professions advisory committee. although his training and research focused on zoology, his teaching experiences covered a spectrum of courses from cytological and histological techniques to studies of anatomy and physiology to population biology.
in addition to accompanying many students on multiple domestic field travel experiences, arnett also served three terms as on-site faculty in lipscomb's global learning program. his efforts to promote student learning have been recognized with an "outstanding teacher" award (1983), the "baker award" (1987) and an "outstanding academic advisor" award (2008).
a native of memphis, tennessee, arnett is married to the former linda watson, and they have two sons and four grandchildren. since 1974, arnett and his wife have been active members of the brentwood hills church of christ where he served 24 years as an elder.
mary nelle chumley (’53)
lipscomb alumna and special event hostess
chumley’s unbroken legacy of volunteerism at lipscomb began when she and her husband returned to the university in 1958 after a period during which he taught in indiana. in those days at small colleges, faculty had wide-ranging responsibilities beyond the classroom. as art department chair, her husband was responsible for decorating everything from board meetings to dorm lobbies to homecoming, and she was in the middle of—or out in front of—these extracurricular assignments. a gifted floral arranger, chumley quickly became recognized as the campus event decorator. but she contributed far more: for many years, she was the de facto showrunner for homecoming, coaching participants on their roles and managing this and other events.
following her husband john’s untimely death in 1986, chumley single-handedly created all of the floral arrangements for every on-campus event through the year 2000. she continues to create arrangements for several departments on campus, particularly the school of music and college of pharmacy—she volunteers her time to prepare all of the arrangements for its white coat ceremony—and has served the university in this way for five presidential administrations.
as a young faculty spouse, she was concerned that students who could not afford to live on campus would choose not to attend lipscomb at all. the couple opened their home, just a block away from campus, for many of these students to have a place to live. she saw the impact on and appreciation of these students, and as a founding member of the associated women for lipscomb in the early 1980s, advocated for scholarships to be the central benefit of the nascent organization.
it was chumley’s idea to use avalon, university founder david lipscomb’s historic, on-campus home, as a bed and breakfast or meeting space for campus visitors. her vision was to use the proceeds to endow the associated women for lipscomb (awl)-centennial scholarship. the administration granted that request and invested in restoring avalon to its original configuration and modest, country splendor. chumley began serving as scheduler, host and caterer—roles in which she continues to serve more than 45 years later. she and others volunteered their time in every role — including cooking meals for the visitors — so all of the proceeds would go to the scholarship. a campus publication from 2001 stated more than $23,000 was raised that year alone from activities at avalon. today, nearly $414,000 has been generated for the centennial scholarship endowment principal. in the past 20 years, more than 600 scholarships have been awarded from the awl-centennial scholarship fund.
the success of the awl-centennial scholarship led them to endow additional scholarships, and satellite awl chapters also adopted scholarships as their primary focus. in the same 20-year period, a total of 1,627 awl scholarships have been awarded. because of their appreciation for her vision and service, awl established the associated women for lipscomb–mary nelle hutcheson chumley endowed scholarship in 2015.
in 2006, chumley was named the university’s “alumnus of the year,” an honor she shared with her husband charles chumley (’39), a 1991 “alumnus of the year” honoree. married in 1990, the chumleys served lipscomb together until his death in 2004.
in recent years, chumley has immersed herself in serving the university’s alumni relations office, particularly with the lifelong learning and senior alumni programs. she is described as “a third staff member” and “a life saver” by the professionals in those programs. she is happy to do the “small things” that have a big impact in constituent services, such as meticulously reproducing yearbook photos of 50-year class reunion attendees, setting up registration areas, greeting guests, coordinating events, and general office work.
pam cowley
senior population/public health manager, vanderbilt memory & alzheimer's center
pam cowley is a senior population/public health manager at the vanderbilt memory & alzheimer's center. pam has demonstrated experience in public health, access to health insurance, coordination of care and insurance marketing including two years as outreach manager for the implementation of the affordable care act in washington state.
after a long career as an art director, cowley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from the evergreen state college with a desire to focus on supporting community collaboration in addressing health disparities like alzheimer's disease. in her spare time, she enjoys time with family, gardening and writing.
eric davis
director of programs for young adults, crossroad campus
eric davis is the director of programs for young adults at crossroads campus where he oversees all aspects of the programs, including job training, affordable housing and support services. davis has dedicated his life and career to giving back to the system that once supported him.
his journey through the foster care system, youth homelessness and poverty provides him with a unique, deeply personal perspective on these critical issues.
eric holds a bachelor of science in supervision and management. currently, he is pursuing a master of science in social work (mssw) with a minor in trauma.
jackie edwards-henry
professor emeritus of piano, mississippi state university; adjunct instructor/collaborative pianist, 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放
jackie edwards-henry is professor emeritus of piano and piano pedagogy at mississippi state university, where she also served as coordinator of group piano for more than 20 years. she has also served as an adjunct collaborative pianist at 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 since october 2023.
she holds a ph.d. in piano pedagogy from the university of oklahoma, b.s. and m.m. degrees in performance and pedagogy from william jewell college and the university of illinois, and pursued additional piano study in bordeaux, france as the recipient of a rotary scholarship.
she first received group piano training at the age of 19, as a freshman at william jewell college, by richard chronister, co-author of keyboard arts piano method and former director of the national conference on piano pedagogy. she taught children’s group piano classes using the keyboard arts method from 1979-82 in the lydia lovan community music school at william jewell. she served as a graduate assistant in group piano at the university of illinois (1984-85), supervised by dr. james lyke, and the university of oklahoma (1989-91), supervised by dr. e. l. lancaster. both of her supervisors are authors of popular texts for group piano (keyboard musicianship and alfred’s group piano for adults, respectively).
in 1986, between her master’s and doctoral degrees, dr. edwards received certification in the yamaha music education system and taught adult group electronic keyboard classes for jenkins music company, kansas city, mo (1986-89). to augment and enhance independent and group piano teaching, she pursued levels 1 and 2 training in dalcroze eurhythmics at depaul university in 2003 and did additional training in 2010 at the lucy moses school in new york city. as a result, dr. edwards regularly uses dalcroze techniques with students in private lessons and classes.
in addition to teaching and coordinating group piano classes for college students, dr. edwards regularly offered beginning piano classes for adult hobbyists. and because group piano teaching was an area of specialization, she regularly used level one adult hobbyist piano classes as the intern teaching component for the undergraduate introduction to piano pedagogy course.
dr. edwards remains committed to teaching piano to adult hobbyists. she serves as chair of the committee on teaching adults for the national conference on keyboard pedagogy. additionally, she received a grant from the national piano foundation to do training in recreational music making at the 2024 mtna convention held in atlanta. to utilize her recent training and long-standing group piano expertise, she would like to offer a beginning adult piano class at 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 on the day she accompanies vocal students. this would have the added benefit of serving lipscomb with a new area of outreach, and possibly give undergraduate piano majors an opportunity to learn about group piano teaching and gain some hands-on experience assisting in classes.
david french (’91)
distinguished visiting professor of public policy, 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 college of leadership & public policy
david french is a columnist for the new york times. a graduate of harvard law school, david was previously a senior editor at the dispatch and a contributing writer at the atlantic. he is a former constitutional litigator and a past president of the foundation for individual rights in education.
david is a new york times bestselling author, and his most recent book is “divided we fall: america’s secession threat and how to restore our nation.”
david is a former major in the united states army reserve and is a veteran of operation iraqi freedom, where he was awarded the bronze star.
kem hinton
architect, urban designer, historian, leed professional and visual artist
kem hinton received his bachelor of architecture from the university of tennessee (torchbearer award) and his master of architecture from the university of pennsylvania and the ecole des beaux-arts in paris.
kem was co-founder of tuck-hinton architects in 1984, and during his 35-year career was responsible for the design of churches, private homes, educational facilities, theaters, museums, parks, and memorials. kem’s most known accomplishments are the tennessee bicentennial mall, “civil rights room” and “votes for women room” (both in the nashville public library), tennessee world war ii memorial, and tennessee state library & archives.
in 2019, kem established a sole-practitioner studio. he is a frequent lecturer and author, and his recent book is tennessee’s bicentennial mall, a 180-page hardback publication.
kem is a fellow of the american institute of architects. he received the aia tennessee 2019 “william strickland lifetime achievement award,” and in 2021 was appointed to the tennessee historical commission. he lives with wife marilyn in their leed platinum home, the first in williamson county. they have one grown son, t.j., ph.d.
tim johnson
elizabeth gentry brown chair in public administration; professor of history, department of history, politics & philosophy, lipscomb university; ph.d., history, university of alabama; m.a., history, university of alabama; m.ed., education, university of alabama; b.s., history, university of alabama
tim johnson joined the 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 history faculty in 1991. he is the author/editor of eight books and over two dozen articles that focus primarily on early u.s. military history. his work has been nominated for various awards including the lincoln prize, the society of military history book award and the society for historians of the early american republic book prize. he was a finalist in 2019 for the army historical foundation’s distinguished writing award. johnson has been a research fellow at yale university of the virginia historical society.
janet mcmahan (’75)
lipscomb alumna, performing artist, writer and producer
janet mcmahan has worked as a professional pianist since she was 16 years old. she's also worked as a writer, performing artist and producer of music, audiobooks and dramatic works.
her first love has always been volunteering as a musician and singer for retirement centers, skilled nursing facilities, homeless shelters and similar venues. she began volunteering at age 12 when the school librarian invited her to sing at lakeshore/wedgewood. it has been a passion of hers since.
as a musician and singer, janet has performed on the grand ole opry, toured the united states and abroad as roy orbison's keyboard player and played for hundreds of society gigs, weddings, parties and every kind of function imaginable. she’s worked in the studio as a keyboard player, vocalist and vocal contractor on recordings for numerous artists including carrie underwood, dolly parton, steve winwood, shirley jones, john denver, sandi patti, kathie lee gifford, michael crawford and many others.
she’s performed on jingles for mcdonald's, target, general tire and many other regional and local commercials and also has written and produced for simon and schuster, lifeway, mcgraw-hill, word, gibson publishing, thomas nelson, sparrow, brentwood/benson and sesame street records.
she has written and produced grammy and dove award winning projects. janet has had more than 1,500 songs published and in print and over 75 published children's musicals which she has written and/or collaborated. several of her dramatic musical works (words, music and book) have been recognized by the dramatists guild "off off broadway."
with her collaborator, janet wrote the musical adaptation of "much ado about nothing" for the nashville shakespeare festival in summer 2012, and it’s being licensed for worldwide distribution.
her songs have been featured on 20/20, 60 minutes, robert schuller hour of power and the billy graham crusade, and they have been recorded by artists including big bird, sandi patti, sonny james and lynn anderson. she has received the ascap award for 21 years in a row, and she was one of nine participants selected for ascap musical theatre workshop in nyc. janet has acted in radio and television commercials as well as numerous live theatrical performances. she is a member of the american federation of radio and television artists, the american society of composers, authors and publishers and the dramatists guild of america.
steve ortiz
director of the lanier center for archaeology, professor of archaeology and biblical studies
dr. steven ortiz was the director of the former tandy institute for archaeology at southwestern baptist theological seminary. he is the principal investigator and co-director, along with sam wolff, of the tel gezer excavation project and is one of the directors of the ilibalyk project, kazakhstan, and is the co-director at tel burna (biblical libnah). he has over 30 years of archaeological experience in israel as he has been a senior staff member at a variety of major sites.
ortiz’s research and publications focus on the archaeology of david and solomon, iron age i and ii transition, and the border relations between judah and philistia. he has served or currently holds leadership positions in several scholarly and academic associations. he currently serves on the board of the albright institute of archaeological research, jerusalem. he has served asor since 2001 as a board member and on various committees.
elizabeth owen (’70)
retired government, politics, consumer protection and public relations professional
elizabeth is a 1970 graduate of 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 , and proudly claims that the knowledge and skills she learned at lipscomb enabled any success she had in her professional career. she freely admits she bounced around a lot, but wouldn’t trade her experiences for anything else.
government and politics were her first love – working in state and local campaigns, spending two years in washington, d.c., and serving as the state direction for consumer protection. despite never taking a math class at lipscomb, elizabeth was a banker, served as campaign treasurer for governor ned mcwherter, and helped fund-raise for non-profits. throughout her varied career she often was the spokesperson, giving speeches and interviews across the state, which led to her time at newschannel5 in nashville as its on-air consumer exert. she finally topped off her resume as a consultant for various groups and associations across the country.
paul prill
retired 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 professor, certified master gardener of davidson county and certified tennessee naturalist
paul taught at lipscomb for 42 years, and he served as director of the honors college for the last 22 of those. he was also the minister of the acklen avenue church of christ from 1981-2011.
after retirement at the end of 2020, he became a master gardener and joined wild ones (a nonprofit committed to native plants), and he serves on the board of the local chapter as the secretary. in october, 2023, he earned a certificate in native plants from the tennessee valley chapter of wild ones, and in may, 2024, he was certified as a tennessee naturalist. his yard was featured on the nashville public television program “volunteer gardener” in summer 2024.
scott sager
vice president of spiritual development & church services; college of bible & ministry
spiritual formation and serving churches are at the heart of 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 . scott sager knows that a university has many resources to help guide students, faculty and staff, alumni, friends and others as they seek to develop and claim their faith and that a christian institution can provide valuable resources to churches across the country.
since july 2011, sager has strategically reached out to and served numerous churches as vice president for church services. prior to joining the administrative team, sager served for 15 years as senior minister of the preston road church of christ in dallas, giving him a unique understanding of the interworking and needs of churches. he also is on faculty in the college of bible and ministry. under his leadership, summer celebration, the university’s annual bible lectures, has had record attendance and participation.
sager serves on the board of the christian relief fund where his focus is on supporting aids orphans in africa. in dallas, he serves on the board of christ’s family ministries, a fully functioning health clinic he founded that serves the working poor and is located inside the preston road church of christ building.
sager earned a d.min. in evangelism from southern methodist university and is an abilene christian university alumnus, having earned an undergraduate degree in business management as well as a master's degrees in bible and divinity. prior to moving to dallas, scott was the campus minister at the university of texas in austin.
linda peek schacht
retired 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 faculty; founding director, nelson and sue andrews institute for civic leadership; and former senior fellow, kennedy school of government, harvard university
linda peek schacht has advised government, business and nonprofit leaders on communication and strategy for over 40 years. a veteran of the carter white house press office, she has held the top communication positions for a national presidential campaign, usa today, the majority leader of the u.s. senate and the senate democratic policy committee. she is a former vice president for global communications and public affairs strategy for the coca-cola company and senior fellow at harvard’s kennedy school of government.
as founding director of lipscomb’s andrews institute for civic leadership, she created programs that reflect her lifelong commitment to developing leaders who serve the common good. she is a frequent commentator and author on leadership, politics and government. as a board member of the international women's media foundation and athena international, linda has worked to advance women’s leadership around the globe. she is a member of the international women’s forum and the women business collaborative advisory council. she also is a recipient of the nbj women of influence trailblazer award, the athena award and the ywca's academy of women of achievement.
willie steele (’95)
professor of english, 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 ; co-editor: nine: a journal of baseball history & culture
willie steele grew up in ohio before completing his undergraduate degree in english and speech communication from 世界杯2022预选赛录像回放 where he ran cross country and track. he stayed in tennessee to coach and complete his m.a. in english from middle tennessee state university. in between teaching and coaching stints at cascade college in portland, oregon, steele completed his ph.d. in literature and criticism from indiana university of pennsylvania. he also taught at oklahoma christian university before returning to lipscomb in 2015.
steele is the editor of nine: a journal of baseball history and culture and has authored two books, "a member of the local nine: baseball and identity in the fiction of w.p kinsella" and "going the distance: the life and works of w.p. kinsella." willie is a regular presenter at the cooperstown symposium on baseball and american culture and at the nine spring training conference.
he is married to heather and has two daughters. in his free time, he works on perfecting his knuckleball with the hopes of being drafted by the pittsburgh pirates.
ming wang
world renowned laser eye surgeon & philanthropist
dr. ming wang, harvard & mit (m.d., magna cum laude), ph.d. (laser physics, university of maryland), is a world-class cataract and lasik eye surgeon, philanthropist and community activist. he is the founding director of wang vision institute and a clinical professor for meharry medical college, both in nashville, tennessee.
wang has performed over 55,000 procedures, including over 4,000 doctors. he has published over 100 papers, including one in the world-renowned journal nature, as well as 10 ophthalmic textbooks. the wang foundation for sight restoration, a 501c(3) non-profit charity founded by wang, has helped patients from over 40 states in the u.s. and 55 countries worldwide, with all sight restoration surgeries performed free-of-charge. as a co-founder of another501c(3) non-profit organization, the common ground network, wang is dedicated to helping people find common ground and solutions to problems in order to achieve more success and happiness.
wang has received numerous awards including the honor award of the american academy of ophthalmology, the lifetime achievement award of the association of chinese american physicians, an honorary doctorate degree from trevecca nazarene university, npr’s philanthropist of the year award, and kiwanis nashvillian of the year award for his lifetime dedication to helping blind orphan children from around the world.
wang grew up in the 1960s. during this time, millions of innocent youth were deported to remote areas to face life sentences of poverty and hard labor. he had to play the chinese violin (“erhu”) and learn to dance in order to try to escape a life in labor camps. he eventually made his way to america with only $50. following, he graduated with the highest honors from harvard medical school and mit.
wang and his wife anle live in nashville, tennessee, with their three cats: spaghetti, tennessee, and liliy. he is a champion amateur ballroom dancer and was a finalist in the world pro-am international 10-dance championships. playing his erhu, he accompanied country music legend, dolly parton, on her album, those were the days.
known also for his work in philanthropy, wang organizes an annual classical ballroom dance charity event, the eyeball, which has drawn attendees from all across the u.s. and around the world.
his autobiography, from darkness to sight, is an inspirational story of how one man turned fear, poverty, persecution, and prejudice into healing and love for others. it demonstrates how focus, determination, humility, and profound faith can inspire a life that, in turn, impacts the lives of countless others. the book has inspired the current movie called “sight.” his story has also inspired a movie role in the film “god’s not dead.”
megan woodall
animal care and adoptions manager, crossroads campus
megan woodall has been serving as animal care and adoptions manager at crossroads campus since 2023. she transitioned into animal rescue from the zookeeping field after caring for carnivores for about eight years. woodall enjoys utilizing her skills with exotics to teach our program participants how to build positive and trusting relationships with our adoptable pets. her passion to advocate for both young adults and animals in need helps her engage our supporters and find our pets the best forever homes.