Photo by Steve Green
Coach Johnson Honored for Suicide Prevention Work
Head Football Coach Bobby Johnson was recognized during a ceremony in March for his efforts toward youth suicide prevention when The Jason Foundation presented him with its Grant Teaff “Breaking the Silence” Award.
The award is given annually by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and The Jason Foundation to the college coach who has done the most to promote youth suicide prevention. Johnson was first told about the honor in front of nearly 2,000 college coaches at the American Football Coaches Association convention in January.
Since its inception a decade ago, The Jason Foundation has worked with the American Football Coaches Association membership after data surfaced that youth most often turn to an educator–and specifically a coach–in times of crisis.
Checkered Past
“It’s a pretty cute bug,” Lamar Alexander, BA’62, said last November at an event in Gatlinburg, Tenn., announcing the discovery of a new species of insect to be named after the former Tennessee governor, former U.S. secretary of education, former Republican presidential candidate and current U.S. senator.
Like the trademark plaid shirts Alexander has worn in political campaigns, Cosberella lamaralexanderi, or “Lamar Alexander springtail,” sports a checkerboard coloration. The insect was first discovered in the Great Smoky Mountains. Alexander grew up in nearby Maryville, Tenn.
Police Chief to Lead 2,000 Peers
Marlon C. Lynch, Vanderbilt chief of police, is the 2008-2009 president-elect for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators Inc. (IACLEA). Lynch joined Vanderbilt in 2005 as assistant chief of police after serving as chief of police and director of public safety at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He became chief of police at Vanderbilt in January 2007.
Lynch earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and a master’s degree from Boston University, both in criminal justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.