NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A heart surgeon who broke the color barrier at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine, the board chairman of a distinguished research institute, magazine editor, business executive from Nashville, graduating Vanderbilt senior and retired CEO are the newest members of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust.
During its spring meeting April 24-26, the board elected to five-year terms: John Rivers Ingram, Nancy Perot Mulford, Frederick B. Rentschler II and Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. Also elected were James H. Morgan, outgoing Vanderbilt Alumni Association president, and graduating senior Marissa Shrum.
Ingram earned his MBA from the Owen Graduate School of Management in 1986. He lives in Nashville and is chairman of Ingram Distribution Holdings. His many Vanderbilt activities include memberships in the Nicholas Hobbs Society, the Canby Robinson Society, the Owen Corporate Council and the National Commodore Club. Ingram is chairman of the athletic capital campaign board of directors and co-chairman of the Memorial Gym campaign committee. He also serves on the board of the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center and is chairman of Owen Associates.
Mulford, who resides in Dallas, Texas, received a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt in 1982. She is a contributing editor for Veranda magazine. Mulford’s Vanderbilt activities include serving as the Dallas area director of the Vanderbilt Alumni Club and holding memberships in the College Cabinet and the Heard Society. She chaired her Vanderbilt class reunion in 1997 and has served on the Alumni Board of Directors.
Rentschler, of Scottsdale, Ariz., served as president of the Vanderbilt student body before earning his bachelor’s degree in 1961. He owns and oversees the Corral Creek Ranch, a working cattle ranch in Cameron, Mont. Rentschler also is chairman of the board of trustees of The Salk Institute. His long involvement as an alumnus has included membership on the board of directors of the Alumni Association, area chairman of the Centennial Campaign and national chairman for reunions and the annual fund. He also has served on the steering committee for the Campaign for Vanderbilt.
Watkins is professor of cardiac surgery and associate dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He became the first African-American to graduate from the Vanderbilt School of Medicine in 1970 and was also selected as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Since that time, he has received numerous honors for his pioneering work on the automatic defibrillator as well as his civic involvement. He was awarded the Vanderbilt Medal of Honor for outstanding alumni in 1998 and was honored again in 2002 when a professorship and associate deanship were established in his name at Vanderbilt in recognition of his efforts for diversity in medical education. Watkins, who lives in Baltimore, Md., is a member of the Canby Robinson Society.
Morgan, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt in 1969, was elected to a three-year term as the Alumni Trustee. He has served as president of the South Carolina-Piedmont Vanderbilt Club and assisted in fund-raising efforts for his class in the two most recent reunions. He also has represented the southeast region on the Alumni Board of Directors. Morgan, a resident of Cornelius, N.C., is retired CEO of IJL Wachovia.
Shrum, an English and sociology major from Chattanooga, Tenn., was elected to a four-year term as the Young Alumni Trustee. Active in many sectors of the Nashville and Vanderbilt communities to promote positive change and engagement, she served as a senator in the Student Government Association, including two years as speaker of the senate.
A recipient of the Ingram Scholarship, Shrum has participated in projects including after-school tutoring programs and dance classes for elementary school students. She is a member of Chi Omega sorority and volunteers with the National Conference for Community and Justice.
Shrum was chosen for board membership by junior and senior classes as well as those from the most recent graduating class. Vanderbilt set a national precedent in 1968 when the Board of Trust voted to elect a graduating senior to its membership each year.
Media contact: Ann Marie Owens, 615-322-NEWS, annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu