Event celebrates Vanderbilt endowed chair holders

by Ann Marie Deer Owens | Posted on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012 — 3:37 PM

Vanderbilt endowed chair holders / Photo Credit: Daniel Dubois/Vanderbilt

Twelve Vanderbilt University faculty members were honored for extraordinary contributions to their respective fields during an Aug. 28 celebration of endowed chair holders at the Student Life Center.

Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, noted during his opening remarks the incredible range of expertise represented by the honored faculty, including immunology, economics, African and Diaspora studies, nursing, laser applications and much more.

“As we recognize our achievements, we also celebrate the diversity of the community that we call Vanderbilt,” Balser said. “As scientists, researchers and scholars, we are often focused on our own narrow area of expertise, but it’s our hope that an event such as this helps remind us that each discovery and each educational experience links us all together in a chain of knowledge that brings to life an even larger masterpiece.”

Richard McCarty, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, joined Balser in thanking generous donors, past and present, for helping Vanderbilt to build its scholarly community. “These endowed chairs are made possible through new investments as well as through growth in previous gifts,” McCarty said. Members of the Warren Foundation and family and Menefee family were among those in attendance.

The new chair holders are:

• Shari L. Barkin, William K. Warren Foundation Chair in Medicine
• David J. Calkins, Denis M. O’Day M.B.B.S., Chair in Ophthalmology and Visual Science
• William J. Collins, Terence E. Adderley Jr. Chair in Economics
• Andrew F. Daughety, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in Economics
• Richard F. Haglund Jr., Stevenson Chair in Physics
• Heidi E. Hamm, Aileen M. Lange and Annie Mary Lyle Chair in Cardiovascular Research
• Vaughan F.R. Jones, Stevenson Chair in Mathematics
• Craig W. Lindsley, William K. Warren Jr. Chair in Medicine
• Linda D. Norman, Valere Potter Menefee Chair in Nursing
• Tracy D. Sharpley-Whiting, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in African American and Diaspora Studies and French
• Luc Van Kaer, Elizabeth and John Shapiro Chair in Pathology
• John D. York, Natalie Overall Warren Chair in Biochemistry

The Aug. 28 celebration was the seventh in a series of events to honor the contributions of Vanderbilt faculty members who have been named to endowed chairs. The major university initiative to recruit and retain outstanding scholars and teachers was announced by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in August 2010.

Contact:
Ann Marie Deer Owens, (615) 322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu