Summer 2009

This speech was presented April 19, 2007, to members of the Vanderbilt Aid Society by Lyle Lankford, senior officer for university history and protocol at Vanderbilt University. From its very founding, Vanderbilt University has been obliged to women who came to the rescue to make dreams reality. It’s… Read More

Nurse Patti McCarver weighs Clayton Aaron Jenkins during an open house for Metro Nashville Public Schools’ new Employee and Family Health Centers, which are run by nurse practitioners from Vanderbilt School of Nursing. Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) has opened five new Employee and Family Health Centers to… Read More

The Big Chill Imagine a time when the entire universe froze. That is essentially what happened about 11.5 billion years ago, when the universe was a quarter of the size it is today, according to a model published online May 6 in the journal Physical Review D. The model was… Read More

Moreadith Whiting Keegan Fellows Embark on Year of Travel New graduates Kathryn Moreadith and Rob Whiting are spending a year traveling the world as recipients of the university’s Michael B. Keegan Traveling Fellowship. Moreadith graduated in May from the Blair School of Music with majors in composition/theory and East Asian… Read More

The university has completed its first greenhouse-gas inventory and adopted an environmental commitment statement affirming the university’s dedication to environmental responsibility and accountability. “Vanderbilt is one among a small percentage of schools that has undertaken the completion of a GHG [greenhouse gas] inventory and made it publicly available,” says Judson… Read More

In 1969, Taylor Stokes entered Vanderbilt as the first African American scholarship athlete to suit up for the football team. Though he had dreamed of playing in the Big 10 or at Alabama, he accepted Vanderbilt’s invitation at the urging of his father. “My father was a visionary,” says Stokes,… Read More

Jacobson Dr. Harry R. Jacobson retired June 1 as vice chancellor for health affairs at Vanderbilt University. He is succeeded by Dr. Jeffrey Balser, MD’90, PhD’90, who last year was named dean of the School of Medicine. Since Jacobson assumed leadership in 1997 of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, VUMC’s… Read More

Guthrie Chris Guthrie, a seven-year veteran of Vanderbilt Law School and former associate dean for academic affairs, was named dean of the law school effective July 1. An expert on dispute resolution, negotiation, judicial decision making, and behavioral law and economics, Guthrie has agreed to a five-year appointment, subject to… Read More

Peabody College of education and human development celebrated the 30th anniversary of its merger with the university by announcing that six of its faculty are the recipients of named chairs. “The six professors receiving these chairs are high-impact individuals who make important contributions to the practice of education or psychology,”… Read More

Seeing Mexico Photographed (2008, Yale University Press) by Leonard Folgarait, professor of history of art. During the years 1910–35, Mexico underwent changes brought on by the Mexican Revolution and the forging of a new nation and government. Folgarait’s book looks at the photographs of four historically engaged artists—American Walter H. Read More

Guayasamín’s sketch for the mural “Family” for the Chapel of Man (serigraph) The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery was honored recently during a celebration of the 90th birthday of the renowned, late Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín at the Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man) in Quito, Ecuador. Given in recognition… Read More

Odigie When singer-songwriter Denitia Odigie walked on stage at the POP Montreal International Music Festival, strummed her Ibanez acoustic guitar and began to sing, she became an international favorite, earning the title “Find of the Fest.” The gifted Odigie, BA’04, has impressed a growing number of fans and critics, inspiring… Read More

Music has been shown to offer distraction from pain for the seriously ill, as well as reduce stress and increase social interaction for patients and their families. Music in the Clinic (M.I.C.) is a volunteer program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center that connects patients with this healing power of music. At… Read More

The “Second Stringers,” the Blair School of Music’s newest student string band, debuted on the on March 28 with the Mike Snyder Band. Matt Combs, adjunct instructor of fiddle and head of the fiddle program at Blair, directs the group. Pictured here from left to right are Rachel Baiman, Eva… Read More

The Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. “Listing is recognition of a property’s importance,” says Claudette Stager with the Tennessee Historical Commission, which administers the program in Tennessee. “Properties that are listed in the National… Read More

Tichi Cecelia Tichi, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of English, has been named the 2009 winner of the Hubbell Medal, a lifetime achievement award presented by the American Literature Section to recognize significant advancements in the study of American literature. “The ALS executive committee is very excited about the choice… Read More

Left to right: J.P. Day (BE’07), Grafton Day (BA’09), Jeff Day (BA’81) and Liz Day at the new home they helped to furnish. On each episode of ABC’s popular Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, the show’s designers and a cast of hundreds of volunteers race against time to transform—and often rebuild—the… Read More

“So, what is med school anyway?” I could have brushed the question off. I could have answered sarcastically or changed the subject. But the assertive innocence of this 8-year-old girl compelled me to come up with a serious answer. She and her mother were patients at the Shade Tree Family… Read More

Vanderbilt has launched VUconnect, a new online community for alumni and students. Replacing Dore2Dore, VUconnect includes new and expanded features to help get you connected more easily across the country and around the world. With VUconnect, you can share your latest news, find old friends and classmates,… Read More

In 1996 the Vanderbilt Alumni Association began granting the Distinguished Alumni Award—not only to honor worthy recipients, but also to inspire students and alumni. You are now invited to submit nominations for the next award. The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes an alumnus/a whose accomplishments and contributions have had the… Read More