Thirteen faculty members named this year to endowed chairs in the School of Medicine and College of Arts and Science were honored for outstanding academic achievements.
The May 17 ceremony at the Student Life Center was the third in a series of celebrations that will be held in 2011 to recognize new chair holders.
“The members of the faculty we recognize today – to a person – have accomplished extraordinary things in their careers,” said Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine. “They are the best of the best.”
Balser and Richard C. McCarty, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, introduced the new chair holders. They are:
William P. Caferro, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in History, and professor of history;
Ellen Wright Clayton, Craig-Weaver Chair in Pediatrics, and professor of pediatrics and law;
Kathryn M. Edwards, Sarah H. Sell and Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair, and professor of pediatrics;
Lynn Enterline, Nancy Perot Mulford Chair in English, and professor of English;
Kathleen L. Gould, Louise B. McGavock Chair, and professor of cell and developmental biology;
Jacek J. Hawiger, Louise B. McGavock Chair, and Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology;
Carl H. Johnson, Stevenson Chair in Biological Sciences, and professor of biological sciences and of molecular physiology and biophysics;
Jane G. Landers, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in History, and professor of history;
William Luis, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in Spanish, and professor of Spanish;
Mark A. Magnuson, Louise B. McGavock Chair, and professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, cell and developmental biology and medicine
Randolph A. Miller, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair, and professor of biomedical informatics and medicine;
Karoly Mirnics, James G. Blakemore Chair in Psychiatry, and professor of psychiatry; and
James G. Patton, Stevenson Chair in Biological Sciences, professor of biological sciences and associate professor of biochemistry.
Some of the chairs are newly endowed, while others are supported by gifts made many years ago. “These endowed chairs make it possible for us to recruit and retain the best minds to Vanderbilt,” Balser said. They “have a ripple effect that touches all corners of the university.”
Read blog post by Karoly Mirnics about his “six pillars of academic success” and his journey from Yugoslavia to being an endowed chair at Vanderbilt.