October 11, 2002
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Students in more than 30 Metro Schools will be linked to a variety of community and Vanderbilt leaders through a series of interactive videoconferences hosted by the Vanderbilt Virtual School. “We are focusing on the themes of authors, democracy and careers as we strive to make the videoconferences educational and engaging for these K-12 students,” said Jan Zanetis, director of the Vanderbilt Virtual School.
Authors lined up for October include Dr. Frank Boehm, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and author of Doctors Cry, Too; Tony Earley, whose books include Jim, The Boy and Somehow Form a Family; and Susan Wiltshire, author of Athena’s Disguises and Seasons of Grief and Grace.
Among the speakers in the democracy series are Helmut Smith, author of The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town and editor of The Holocaust and Other Genocides; Thomas Schwartz, an associate professor of history and author of the upcoming book Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam; and Carol Swain, a professor of law and professor of political science who has written The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration.
The career videoconferences will highlight people who work at Vanderbilt. Participants include Francene Gilmer, director of the Career Center; Gail Williams, assistant director, Community, Neighborhood, and Government Relations; Michael Aurbach, professor of art; and Dwayne Sagen, assistant dean at the Blair School of Music and director of Vanderbilt Bands.
“Videoconferencing has become prevalent in Metro Schools, thanks, in part, to the efforts of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center STEP grant directed by Virginia Shepherd, Project DIANE, founded by Steve Shao; and ongoing teacher training from the Vanderbilt Virtual School,” said Zanetis. “This series of videoconferences links Vanderbilt to the community while demonstrating the most effective use of technology.”
To see the complete program schedule or for more information, contact Zanetis at (615) 343-8848 or visit the Virtual School web site at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/virtualschool/fallcat.htm.
For more information about Vanderbilt, please visit the News Service homepage at www.vanderbilt.edu/News.
Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS, annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu