Fall 2009

The Student Alumni Board sponsored its annual Seniorfest on Sept. 10, at which Vanderbilt seniors claimed Alumni Lawn for a class-building afternoon of fun. Read More

Five alumni who have distinguished themselves through a variety of careers were inducted into the inaugural class of the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame on Oct. 16. They are (left to right) U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, BA’62; Roy Blount Jr., BA’63, author, humorist and NPR game show panelist;… Read More

Presidential Award Goes to Weiss Sharon Weiss, assistant professor of electrical engineering, has been recognized as one of the nation’s top young scientists with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals in the early stages of… Read More

The value of the investments portfolio of Vanderbilt University’s endowment fell 16.3 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, one of the most challenging financial periods in modern American history. Vanderbilt has weathered the downturn relatively well when measured against many schools. Prior to a huge stock market sell-off,… Read More

Among best national universities, tied with Emory and Rice Vanderbilt University had its best-ever overall ranking in the history of the U.S. News & World Report survey in rankings released in August. Vanderbilt is ranked No. 17 in the list of best national universities, tied with Emory and Rice universities. Read More

Now that the BioVU DNA databank has been in place nearly three years for adult patients, program leaders say the time is right to broaden the sample collection group to include children. “The database will accelerate research for adults, and I think children should have that same benefit of scientific… Read More

Peabody College has launched two new international Fulbright fellowship programs to bring international educators to the U.S. for a year of study. The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program, launched this fall, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through the Academy for… Read More

Some of Vanderbilt’s finest athletes of all time were recognized this year as inductees into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2009. The nine inductees returned to campus the weekend of Sept. 4–5, where they were feted at an induction ceremony at the Vanderbilt Marriott on Friday evening… Read More

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed into law in February has significantly boosted scientific and medical research at Vanderbilt. As of Sept. 30, Vanderbilt researchers had received 180 grants totaling more than $74 million in first-year funding. Of those, 165 grants were awarded by the National Institutes… Read More

Eligible veterans can attend Vanderbilt at a significantly reduced cost thanks to the university’s participation in the Yellow Ribbon GI Educational Enhancement Program. Under the Yellow Ribbon Program, a part of the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, colleges and universities can work with the federal government to offer… Read More

Deodorant: It’s a Good Thing What were you thinking? It’s one thing to praise Luke Boehne for his environmental efforts [Summer 2009, “Big Ideas for a Small Planet”] and, perhaps, for his frugality—but do we need to know that he eschews deodorant? I teach two-year college students who all… Read More

Balcomb: “I want my players to enjoy their time at Vanderbilt. They’re kids. They should be having fun.” Melanie Balcomb can stand the heat. I discovered this firsthand the day I met her in the spring of 2002. At the time Vanderbilt was in the throes of finding a new… Read More

Australian A.J. Ogilvy returned down home with the Commodores in August. Men’s Basketball: Commodores Down Under Commodore basketball players got a personal look at the home turf of Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy during a 10-day, five-game tour of Australia in August. Vanderbilt played professional teams in Melbourne, Canberra, Townsville, and… Read More

Marshall Chapman Marshall Chapman, BA’71, is a rocker, songwriter, author, and contributing editor of Garden & Gun magazine. Her first book, Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller, was a 2004 SEBA bestseller. She’s recorded 11 critically acclaimed albums. In 1994 she endowed the first basketball scholarship at Vanderbilt. “It was important… Read More

Editor GayNelle Doll Art Director and Designer Donna DeVore Pritchett Editorial Associate Editor and Advertising Manager Phillip B. Tucker Arts & Culture Editor Bonnie Arant Ertelt, BS’81 Class Notes and Sports Editor Nelson Bryan, BA’73 Photography and Imaging Assistant Director,… Read More

A recent survey commissioned by the Vanderbilt Office of Alumni Relations and the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors ranks this magazine as one of the university’s most effective communication vehicles—you can read more about the survey here. Also in shameless self-promotion news, for the past two years… Read More

Sarah Pohlmann Johnson, BS’97 SARAH POHLMANN JOHNSON, BS’97 When a woman leaves an abusive relationship for the protection of a domestic violence shelter, she has already made a courageous and often difficult first step. But how does she regain the power and control over her life that’s been stripped away… Read More

Gene Cook, BA'94 GENE COOK, BA’94 In little more than a decade, eBay has grown into the world’s largest online marketplace, with more than 88 million users worldwide. As the company’s director of buyer experience, Gene Cook has the task of ensuring that users have a good experience when searching… Read More

It’s 1952. Across America, families crowd around their boxy TV sets, staring at the snowy black-and-white screen as Dinah Shore strolls onstage in a shimmering Hollywood gown, while a harp trills through a few introductory arpeggios. At the age of 36, the beautiful and talented brunette-turned-blonde is already a household name. She floats past a giant photo of a 1953 Chevy Bel Air and launches into song. Read More

Robert Walton, BE'68 ROBERT WALTON, BE’68 Bob Walton and his wife, Ann Petry Walton, MA’65, have a bat hospital in their dining room. They’ve had as many as 140 patients at one time—all with names. “You can tell them apart from their personalities,” says the retired electrical engineer. “Naming them… Read More