Month: August 2009

Alex N. Dragnich, an expert on Yugoslavia and Serbia and prolific author who taught for more than a quarter-century at Vanderbilt University, died Monday in Bowie, Md. He was 97 and died of pneumonia. Read More

New research indicates that decreased cravings for pleasure may be at the root of a core symptom of major depressive disorder. The research is in contrast to the long-held notion that those suffering from depression lack the ability to enjoy rewards, rather than the desire to seek them. Read More

How do you increase the number of minority doctorates in the sciences? Astronomy professor Keivan Stassun has one answer. Read More

Victoria Shaw, Rivers Rutherford and Dave Berg will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, in the fourth concert of the 2009 Bluebird on the Mountain series. Read More

As anyone who has moved knows, you often still have a pile of stuff even after you've unpacked: moving boxes, newspaper, Styrofoam, paper instructions and plastic wrap. Read More

The history of country music, little-known stories behind the design of prominent Washington, D.C., buildings and Southern poetry are among a wide variety of courses offered by The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt this fall. Read More

All Vanderbilt fans are encouraged to show their team spirit by wearing black and gold on College Colors Day, Friday, Sept. 4. Read More

This speech was presented April 19, 2007, to members of the Vanderbilt Aid Society by Lyle Lankford, senior officer for university history and protocol at Vanderbilt University. From its very founding, Vanderbilt University has been obliged to women who came to the rescue to make dreams reality. It’s… Read More

Nurse Patti McCarver weighs Clayton Aaron Jenkins during an open house for Metro Nashville Public Schools’ new Employee and Family Health Centers, which are run by nurse practitioners from Vanderbilt School of Nursing. Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) has opened five new Employee and Family Health Centers to… Read More

The Big Chill Imagine a time when the entire universe froze. That is essentially what happened about 11.5 billion years ago, when the universe was a quarter of the size it is today, according to a model published online May 6 in the journal Physical Review D. The model was… Read More

Moreadith Whiting Keegan Fellows Embark on Year of Travel New graduates Kathryn Moreadith and Rob Whiting are spending a year traveling the world as recipients of the university’s Michael B. Keegan Traveling Fellowship. Moreadith graduated in May from the Blair School of Music with majors in composition/theory and East Asian… Read More

The university has completed its first greenhouse-gas inventory and adopted an environmental commitment statement affirming the university’s dedication to environmental responsibility and accountability. “Vanderbilt is one among a small percentage of schools that has undertaken the completion of a GHG [greenhouse gas] inventory and made it publicly available,” says Judson… Read More

In 1969, Taylor Stokes entered Vanderbilt as the first African American scholarship athlete to suit up for the football team. Though he had dreamed of playing in the Big 10 or at Alabama, he accepted Vanderbilt’s invitation at the urging of his father. “My father was a visionary,” says Stokes,… Read More

Jacobson Dr. Harry R. Jacobson retired June 1 as vice chancellor for health affairs at Vanderbilt University. He is succeeded by Dr. Jeffrey Balser, MD’90, PhD’90, who last year was named dean of the School of Medicine. Since Jacobson assumed leadership in 1997 of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, VUMC’s… Read More

Guthrie Chris Guthrie, a seven-year veteran of Vanderbilt Law School and former associate dean for academic affairs, was named dean of the law school effective July 1. An expert on dispute resolution, negotiation, judicial decision making, and behavioral law and economics, Guthrie has agreed to a five-year appointment, subject to… Read More

Peabody College of education and human development celebrated the 30th anniversary of its merger with the university by announcing that six of its faculty are the recipients of named chairs. “The six professors receiving these chairs are high-impact individuals who make important contributions to the practice of education or psychology,”… Read More

Seeing Mexico Photographed (2008, Yale University Press) by Leonard Folgarait, professor of history of art. During the years 1910–35, Mexico underwent changes brought on by the Mexican Revolution and the forging of a new nation and government. Folgarait’s book looks at the photographs of four historically engaged artists—American Walter H. Read More

Guayasamín’s sketch for the mural “Family” for the Chapel of Man (serigraph) The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery was honored recently during a celebration of the 90th birthday of the renowned, late Ecuadorian artist Oswaldo Guayasamín at the Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man) in Quito, Ecuador. Given in recognition… Read More

Music has been shown to offer distraction from pain for the seriously ill, as well as reduce stress and increase social interaction for patients and their families. Music in the Clinic (M.I.C.) is a volunteer program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center that connects patients with this healing power of music. At… Read More

Odigie When singer-songwriter Denitia Odigie walked on stage at the POP Montreal International Music Festival, strummed her Ibanez acoustic guitar and began to sing, she became an international favorite, earning the title “Find of the Fest.” The gifted Odigie, BA’04, has impressed a growing number of fans and critics, inspiring… Read More