Senior leaders and a football coach helped communicate the importance of the university and medical center across Tennessee during the 13th annual Vanderbilt Day on the Hill Feb. 25.
“[rquote]Day on the Hill strengthens our vital relationships in all 95 Tennessee counties as lawmakers learn about Vanderbilt’s statewide impact,”[/rquote] said Christine Bradley, assistant vice chancellor for Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations.
The day began at 7 a.m. with a breakfast hosted by Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations for all state lawmakers and their staffs.
Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, Beth Fortune, vice chancellor for public affairs, C. Wright Pinson, deputy vice chancellor for health affairs, and members of the university’s legislative team greeted lawmakers. Joining them in the Legislative Plaza cafeteria was Derek Mason, who made his first visit to Legislative Plaza as Vanderbilt’s new head football coach and posed for photographs with legislators, staff members and others at the plaza.
Following the breakfast, Fortune, Balser, Pinson and Bradley had the opportunity to brief various legislative leaders, including House Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, on health care issues.
Adding to the festive spirit of Vanderbilt Day on the Hill were four students from the Blair School of Music, who performed classical selections from Mozart, Dvorak and Borodin in the Legislative Plaza main corridor.
Participating students were Elisabeth Bloom, a junior double majoring in cello performance and French; Jake Bray, a junior double majoring in viola performance and computer science; Mary Loftus, a sophomore majoring in violin performance; and Ann Mills, a sophomore double majoring in violin performance and biology. The four recently performed together as part of the Blair Salon Series.