Diversity officer welcomed
The Peabody Office of Professional and Graduate Education held a reception in honor of George C. Hill, vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion. Hill was named Vanderbilt’s chief diversity officer last November. Learn more.
Perry Wallace Courage Award presented
Next Steps at Vanderbilt was this year’s recipient of the Perry Wallace Courage Award. The trophy is presented annually by Vanderbilt athletics in honor of Wallace, a former Vanderbilt student who was the first black basketball player in the SEC. The Next Steps students (above) were recognized during a Vanderbilt basketball game in February. A program of the Department of Special Education, Next Steps is the first postsecondary education program founded in the state of Tennessee for young people with intellectual disabilities. Learn more.
Scholarship donor visits Next Steps students
This spring, Ruby’s Rainbow Foundation founder Liz Plachta of Austin, Texas, came to campus to visit one of her scholarship recipients, Jason Van Wulven.
He is a first-year student at Next Steps at Vanderbilt. Plachta was accompanied by fellow Down syndrome advocate, blogger and author Kelle Hampton of Naples, Florida. Both women have daughters with Down syndrome and have joined forces to raise more than $200,000 for young people with Down syndrome to attend postsecondary programs like Next Steps.
They visited Van Wulven at his internship at the Commons Munchie Mart, learned more about Next Steps and met with researchers and students. They also visited with Next Steps graduate and former Ruby’s Rainbow scholarship recipient Matthew Moore, who now works at BestBuy. Learn more.
Governor’s Academy launched
Twenty-four Tennessee assistant principals (left) were inducted into the inaugural Governor’s Academy for School Leadership, a partnership among the state of Tennessee, Peabody and local school districts to build a pipeline of highly trained school principals. In June, Tennessee Gov.
Bill Haslam visited with the aspiring principals and shared his thoughts on school leadership. Participants are paired with an experienced principal mentor and attend monthly training sessions for a year and a weeklong summer institute. Upon completion, they will be expected to pursue placement as a principal in their district or region. Learn more.
Vanderbilt class donates $60,000 to area nonprofits
Human and Organizational Development students gave $60,000 to three Nashville charities on April 25, the final day of a spring semester class on philanthropy. Checks were presented to Rocketown ($22,108.96), the Nashville International Center for Empowerment ($20,000) and the Nashville Food Project ($17,891.04).
Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos was on hand for the event. The class, a part of the Community Leadership and Development track in the HOD department, was a partnership with The Philanthropy Lab, a national organization that offers grants in support of full-credit undergraduate courses on philanthropy.
Paul Speer, professor and department chair, designed the class with professors Marybeth Shinn and Douglas Perkins. Learn more.
Panel convened for lawmakers and educators
The Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations hosted a forum in May on best practices for educators when working with policymakers. On the panel were (l-r) Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville; Rep. Harry Brooks, R-Knoxville; KIPP Kirkpatrick Elementary Dean of Student Support Katie Elam; Shafter Middle School seventh-grade teacher Natalie Coleman; and Wright Middle School eighth-grade teacher Kristian Dennison. Dennison, Coleman and Elam are Peabody alumnae. Learn more.
Forbert-Pratt attends White House celebration
Anjali Forber-Pratt, assistant professor of human and organizational development, spent a portion of her spring break at a White House reception welcoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Forber-Pratt is a 2013 White House Champion of Change for her efforts to ensure that the voices of persons with disabilities are heard by the federal government.
Humphrey Fellows travel to Smokies
Peabody’s 2015-16 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows wrapped up their year with a trip to East Tennessee in April. While there, they visited Volunteer State Community College’s Livingston campus, hiked the Great Smoky Mountains and attended Dollywood’s annual Festival of Nations. The fellows completed their time at Peabody in June. Learn more.