Vanderbilt graduates along with their family and friends will gather for the annual Senior Day address – this year by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin – indoors in Memorial Gymnasium. The 10 a.m. Thursday, May 7, address was originally scheduled for Alumni Lawn, but rainy weather during the past week made it necessary to move the event indoors. Vanderbilt officials wanted to allow time for Alumni Lawn to dry out and to avoid damage before Friday’s outdoor Commencement.
The address by Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, also pays tribute to the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Lincoln in 1809 and is part of a series of events nationwide to celebrate the occasion this year. Goodwin’s speech will be webcast live. A link to the webcast will be on the Vanderbilt University home page at www.vanderbilt.edu. While at Vanderbilt, Goodwin will receive the Nichols-Chancellor’s Medal, which includes a cash prize, and is one of the university’s highest honors. The medal is given to individuals who define the 21st century and exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit. It was created and endowed by Vanderbilt Law School graduate Ed Nichols and his wife, Janice, in honor of Edward Carmack and Lucile Hamby Nichols.
Credentials: Media interested in attending should contact Princine Lewis at 615-322-2706. Media attending should be prepared to show valid media identification/press passes.
Broadcast/Photography Media: A riser for broadcast media and print photographers will be located stage left about 85 feet from the podium. A pool feed of the multi-camera webcast production will be available through an audio/video mult box at the riser location near Section H in Memorial Gym. Cable runs are more than 300 feet to the riser location.
Parking Television Trucks: Parking for television trucks going live during the event will be in Lot 71 on the southeast side of Memorial Gym on 25th Avenue South behind the baseball field – please call Princine Lewis if you are bringing a live truck. Parking for other television trucks will be in Lot 64, a surface street parking lot on the southeast side of Memorial Gym above Lot 71.
Print/Radio Media: There is seating for reporters at tables located by the gym floor in front of Section J. Wireless connections are available in the gym.
Parking Print/Radio Media: Parking for print and radio media will be in the 25th Avenue Garage located at 25th Avenue South and Highland Avenue. Enter the garage from Highland Avenue. Note: This is a garage where commencement guests will park and there will be increased traffic in the area. Please plan accordingly.
A campus parking map is available here.
Media Contact: Princine Lewis, 615-322-NEWS
princine.lewis@vanderbilt.edu