Lee’s new School of Nursing building
Lee University will host hundreds of guests, alumni, and community leaders on Friday, Sept. 30, for Celebration 2016, planned as a “festive and colorful day” commemorating another two years of university progress.
The event will recognize the success of the five-year “Find Us Faithful” Campaign including the opening of Lee’s new School of Nursing building and further development of the southern end of the Cleveland campus.
“Many of our friends and neighbors wouldn’t recognize much of the south campus after the work we’ve done,” said Lee President Paul Conn. “There are about 10 city blocks over there that look much different than the last time they were on campus, from green space and a new nursing building to another athletic field and progress on two other structures. Celebration will be a good time to pause and take stock of things.”
The campus community will also use the week of Celebration to reflect on Dr. Conn’s 30 years of transformational leadership as Lee president. The Lee faculty and staff will mark the anniversary at a dinner and concert on Monday night, Sept. 26. On Thursday morning, students will recognize Dr. Conn’s 30th in a special student-led chapel, followed by an outdoor party.
On Friday, over 40 Celebration Seminars will take place from 9-10 a.m. across campus, led by alumni, staff, community members, and other guest speakers. The presenters represent diverse experience and insight from a variety of fields and will speak on topics such as education, music, childcare, ministry, business and more.
The speakers – Lee alumni, faculty, community leaders, and other guests – represent experience and knowledge from a variety of fields and topics including filmmaking, global challenges, nursing, state government, the music industry, foster parenting, songwriting, marriage, getting to the GRAMMYs, and more.
Ben Burtt, four-time Oscar-winning filmmaker and sound designer, is best known for creating the sound effects in the Star Wars films, Indiana Jones, Pixar’s WALL-E, and other familiar features. In his seminar, “The Magic of Sound,” Mr. Burtt will recount career episodes, anecdotes in Hollywood filmmaking, the history of sounds, and discoveries and theories of sound and editing in motion pictures.
Annie Sandberg Douglas, a Lee alumna and PhD candidate at Vanderbilt University, works to solve problems concerning global climate change, the need for clean water, and renewable energy technologies. In her seminar, “Nanotechnology: Using God’s Smallest Building Blocks to Solve Global Challenges,” Ms. Douglas will share research-based ideas with her audience to show how the tiniest of materials can solve global issues.
Hugh Hale, chief information officer for the State of Tennessee, Health Care Finance Administration, will discuss how the joining of technology and healthcare is changing the nursing field. Mr. Hale’s seminar, “The Impact of Technology on the Nursing Field,” will inform listeners on how developments in technology and healthcare are jointly changing the way nurses care for their patients.
Beth Harwell, speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, has served as the House speaker for over 20 years. In her seminar, “Tennessee: On the Right Path,” she will highlight the state’s maintained low taxes, improved education, and increased job availability, among other accomplishments. Attendees of the seminar will be able to listen to their legislature speak on how the state government has created a comfortable way of life in Tennessee.
Recording artist Jordan Smith, best known for his success earlier this year on the television show “The Voice,” will share the story of his struggles and successes in the beginning of his music career during an interview conducted by Lee’s Dr. Brad Moffett. The seminar, “The Story of Jordan Smith,” will allow Mr. Smith’s audience to learn, first-hand and in person, about his experience in the entertainment industry.
These are just five of the 40 presenters on the morning seminar roster, which also includes local faces from the Cleveland community such as radio personality Steve Hartline, senior executive director of Garden Plaza Esmerelda Lee, and women’s ministry pastor of North Cleveland Church of God Sandra Kay Williams.
For a full list of the Celebration seminars and other information about the week’s events, visit http://leeuniversity.edu/celebration/.
A Ceremony of Celebration will then begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Conn Center to dedicate the new nursing building which opened in August. The service will also feature a 300-voice choir and an orchestra. VIP alumni representatives from the last 60 years will wear caps and gowns to march alongside the faculty and Board of Directors.
Following the ceremony, the community is invited to attend an open house at Lee’s School of Nursing Building taking place from 12-2 p.m., in addition to a standup buffet in Sharp Pedestrian Mall.
Morning classes will be cancelled on Friday so that students may participate in Celebration events.
To view Friday’s Ceremony of Celebration online, visit http://livestream.com/leeu. For more information on Celebration, please call University Relations at 614-8310.
The 2014 post service party