Marketing expert Austin promoted to assistant vice chancellor

Jill Austin, chief marketing officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center, will become assistant vice chancellor for strategic marketing and chief marketing officer, effective July 1.

Memorial service set for Pamela Haynes

A gathering to celebrate the life of Pamela Haynes will be held at 5 p.m. June 28 at the Chapel in The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Parents in a Pinch backup care coming soon

The Vanderbilt Child and Family Center will soon offer two options for the provision of back-up, evening and night care, and emergency care for adults and children; the Vanderbilt Sitter Service and Parents in a Pinch.

Engineering receives $1 million in NASA funding

Vanderbilt has been awarded $1 million by NASA for a pair of proposals designed to aid the space agency. Both of the Vanderbilt proposals were submitted by Alvin Strauss, professor of mechanical engineering.

New Vanderbilt News site launched; new video player available campus-wide

The redesigned Vanderbilt News website launched June 14, featuring a dramatic new look, a robust content management system and and features that are available for all Vanderbilt departments.

Wartime memories of Vanderbilt community preserved through oral history project

World War II memories that include historic battles, hide-outs from the Nazis and campus war relief projects have been preserved through the Vandy Goes to War oral history project, which can be heard on the Vanderbilt University Libraries’ website.

Alex and Beal named Vanderbilt’s 2009-2010 Athletes of the Year

They become Vanderbilt’s official nominees for the Southeastern Conference Male and Female Athletes of the Year thanks to two outstanding seasons.

May grants announced

The Division of Sponsored Research received notification in May that grants in excess of $25,000 had been awarded. Vanderbilt continues to lead the charge in research.

Flood relief update: SBA loans not just for small businesses

The reason homeowners with flood damage should apply for an SBA loan is that many of the applicants for a loan are denied the loan but instead receive an additional grant from SBA.

Summer is an important time to reinforce pedestrian safety with children

Between May 27 and June 17, the Pediatric Emergency Department treated 10 children who were hit by cars. Half of those were critically injured and three more had broken bones or internal injuries.

Don’t get hooked by phishing attack

There have been recent reports of universities being targeted with phishing e-mails attempting to obtain usernames and passwords.  For both personal and overall Vanderbilt University security reasons, please never give anyone any personal information through e-mail.

more info and top stories »

  This Week

June 24: Family Re-Union 2010: Families and Healthy Beginnings

June 29: DigitalVU Meeting

June 30: “Trom” Trauma Prom! Benefiting the Trauma Survivors Network

 Mark Your Calendars

Test of the Vanderbilt Severe Weather Warning Sirens

more events »

Sign Up for a Clinical Trial

Announcements

Part of Medical Center Drive to be closed June 26

Get a free lunch at Holiday Inn Express July 2; RSVP required

Podcast: Post-flood depression warning signs

more announcements »

Featured Media

VUCast: Vanderbilt is growing, “rocking out” and learning from a movie star!

more media »

Tune in to VUCast, for audio and video of events happening around campus. You can also find VU podcasts on iTunes and VU videos on YouTube.

From Arts and Science: Professor Carroll Goes to War

Katherine Carroll’s year in Iraq is bookended by distinctly different memories. In the first, she had been in Iraq for just weeks when an Apache helicopter killed two insurgents planting explosive devices (IEDs) outside the walls of the U.S. military base where she was quartered.

“The IED blew up and their van blew up too. It was just guns and missiles and explosives going off everywhere,” Carroll recalls. “I was standing in my Eileen West nightgown in a cement bunker, crying.”

The other event happened near the end of her year. Carroll was in the community of Abu Ghraib, attending a meeting with several sheiks. A suicide bomber dropped by but was too nervous to detonate. Instead he went to a nearby market and killed around a dozen people. After the explosion, Iraqi soldiers began shooting. The American soldiers were new to Iraq and jittery, too. “We didn’t yet know the full story, but we knew there was a big explosion and gunfire all around us, and my interpreter and I were sitting in the Stryker [armored vehicle] gossiping and talking about what we were going to have for dinner,” says the assistant professor of political science. “It’s amazing what you can get used to.”

FROM VUMC: Seniors’ Active Lifestyles Lead to Increased Risk of Trauma

Every day, adventure-loving enthusiasts across the country take to their bicycles, motorcycles or ATVs and end up in emergency rooms with traumatic injuries.
While trauma is the No. 1 killer of those under age 44 in the United States, the second fastest-growing segment of trauma patients may be a surprise.

They’re senior citizens.