Jean Bass Crawford, former editor of the Vanderbilt Alumnus and director of the Office of Alumni Publications, died Aug. 7 in Nashville.
Crawford, a Nashville native and former reporter for the Nashville Banner, joined the Vanderbilt staff in October 1964 to take editorship of the Alumnus at a time when the magazine primarily consisted of campus announcements and alumni news gathered from class agents. Under her leadership, the magazine expanded to include faculty profiles, coverage of campus events and speakers, and articles on college life as well as class news and alumni gatherings.
“One of the great gifts when I became vice chancellor for alumni and development was inheriting Jean Crawford,” said John Beasley, vice chancellor, emeritus, and counselor to the chancellor. “[lquote]She edited the magazine—she was the magazine—and she did it with skill and style and enormous common sense.[/lquote] She was a wonderful human being with a quick intelligence and a fine sense of humor. She was a joy to work with, and we would all have done flips for her.”
During her 29 years, the Vanderbilt Alumnus, which was renamed Vanderbilt Magazine in 1986, went from a black-and-white publication produced with hot metal type to a full-color magazine produced on computers. Crawford also built a team of writers and editors to handle the challenge of keeping alumni engaged with and invested in Vanderbilt. She rose to director of the Office of Alumni Publications, which produced publications for each of Vanderbilt’s undergraduate and professional schools. While director of the office, she continued as editor of Vanderbilt Magazine, eventually retiring in December 1993.
“I joined ‘The Jean Team’ in 1983,” said Nelson Bryan, who was hired as editor of the Peabody Reflector and retired as class notes and sports editor for Vanderbilt Magazine in 2012. “Jean’s tenure ushered in the modern era of communications at Alumni Publications, from electric typewriters to word processors, from cut and paste with scissors and glue, to cut and paste with a swipe and a click.”
“Jean had a reporter’s nose for a good story and was endlessly curious,” said GayNelle Doll, who was hired by Crawford in 1986 and just finished her own tenure as editor of Vanderbilt Magazine in March. “She nurtured many young writers and delighted in our individual quirks and idiosyncrasies. [rquote]She fostered an atmosphere of collaboration and inquiry that made Alumni Publications a fun place to work.”[/rquote]
Born and educated in Nashville, Crawford edited the student newspaper, The West Wind, at West High School. She attended Vanderbilt both in the late forties as an undergraduate and in the late fifties as a graduate student. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and after earning her bachelor’s degree became a general assignment reporter for the Nashville Banner. In 1950 she married Dr. John K. Crawford, a plastic surgeon. She left the newspaper then, but returned after her husband’s death in 1952 and remained at the Banner until joining Vanderbilt in 1964.
Crawford was a member of West End United Methodist Church, the Centennial Club, Belmont Garden Club, Vanderbilt Woman’s Club, the English Speaking Union, and the James K. Polk Society as well as various book clubs and bridge groups throughout her life. She was deeply engaged in her community, serving as a Girl Scout leader, elections poll official and after-school reading partner. She volunteered with arts and service organizations over the years, including Nashville Children’s Theater in its early years, the Nashville Symphony, Nashville Opera, the Salvation Army Guild and the YWCA.
“I will always be grateful to her,” said Mary Tom Bass, who was hired to edit what was then called the Owen Manager (now Vanderbilt Business) and became editor of Vanderbilt Magazine after Crawford retired. “She was every inch a genteel Southern lady, whose allegiance to Vanderbilt was exceeded only by her integrity and compassion.”
“Administrations come and go but to 135,000 loyal alumni, the essence of Vanderbilt was Jean Crawford and her magazine,” said Gary Gore, the first university designer at Vanderbilt and director of the Office of Publications and Design until 1996.
She is survived by her daughter, Jeannie Crawford-Lee, son-in-law Don Lee, grandsons John Carlton Lee and William Donald Lee and extended family.