Longtime Vanderbilt volunteer Billy Ray Caldwell, BA’85, has been elected to a two-year term as president of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors. He took office July 1. A member of the board since 2004, Caldwell is a former president of the Nashville Vanderbilt Chapter of the Alumni Association.
Originally from Jonesboro, Ark., 45-year-old Caldwell has lived in Nashville since 1991 and is owner of Caldwell Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisory firm. He and his wife, Maria Lisa Caldwell, both earned law degrees from the Duke University School of Law in 1988, and they have three children: Connor, 15; Colin, 13; and Olivia, 10.
“This is a very exciting time for Vanderbilt, and our new chancellor, Nick Zeppos, is providing a renewed enthusiasm toward alumni relations efforts,” says Caldwell. “With the renewed energy of the university behind me, I will be able to focus on increasing alumni interaction with both students and faculty—and to support more opportunities to assist other Vanderbilt offices as well.
“Alumni have great opportunities available to them in assisting the admissions office with interviewing potential Vanderbilt undergraduate students, for example, and in providing a network of alumni willing to assist students through the Vanderbilt Career Center.”
“We’re thrilled to have Billy Ray lead the Vanderbilt Alumni Association,” says Donna Johnson, interim executive director of alumni relations. “It would be difficult to find anyone who is more dedicated to the mission of the association or more enthusiastic about Vanderbilt University.”
