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10/14/02

Affirmative Action and Diversity Initiatives Awards
Several members of the Vanderbilt community were recognized for their efforts to promote campus inclusiveness and diversity during the Opportunity Development Center’s Affirmative Action and Diversity Initiatives Awards Oct. 15. The ODC is the University’s equal opportunity, affirmative action and disability services office. Award recipients are: Brenda Gilmore, director of University mail services; Susan Montgomery, community outreach coordinator for the Vanderbilt HIV Vaccine Program; Lucius Outlaw, professor of philosophy and director of African-American Studies; and Julie Jinwon Park, a junior and Chancellor’s Scholar. Three campus programs were also recognized for their efforts: Explorers Unlimited, Women’s Faculty Organization, and Women’s Social Policy and Research Center. Certificates of recognition were given to Samar Ali, president of the Student Government Association; Alfredo Artiles, associate professor of education; Theresa Bills, coordinator of the vendor diversity program; Lynn Cradick, digital media specialist in Creative Services; the Department of History; and Arrion Richardson, Roberto Blanco and Bruce Jacobs, officers of the Vanderbilt chapter of the Student National Medical Association. — Jessica Howard

TVA’s emerging leaders start classes at the Owen School
Emerging leaders from within the Tennessee Valley Authority recently began a nine-month customized business curriculum on 21st century leadership concepts and principles at the Owen Graduate School of Management. The program is designed to prepare them for greater leadership responsibilities within the corporation. The class of 25 students represents diverse business units from across TVA’s seven-state region. Owen School faculty members teach the classes, with participation by TVA executives, who will be on hand in some of the classes. The 25 middle- and senior-level leaders were selected to participate in the program by the executive leadership in their respective TVA organizations. Participants will earn a Certificate of Leadership upon completing the program in June 2003. — Susanne Loftis

Lawson recognized by Vanderbilt Black Alumni
James M. Lawson, a Vanderbilt University Divinity School alumnus who led the sit-ins at Nashville’s segregated lunch counters and had a profound effect on Vanderbilt’s national identity, is the recipient of the 2002 Walter R. Murray Jr. Distinguished Alumnus Award. The Association of Vanderbilt Black Alumni bestowed the honor upon Lawson Oct. 25 during the Vanderbilt reunion celebration. The award, established in honor of a 1970 Vanderbilt graduate, recognizes lifetime achievements in personal, professional and community arenas. Lawson enrolled in the Divinity School in 1958 as a transfer student from the Oberlin School of Theology. In the spring of 1960, Lawson was asked by then-Chancellor Harvie Branscomb and the Board of Trust to resign for breaking the laws against civil disobedience, which he refused, and was immediately expelled. The controversial expulsion became known as “the Lawson affair.” A compromise permitted Lawson to pursue his graduate studies at Vanderbilt, but he chose to complete his degree at Boston University. He returned to the Vanderbilt Divinity School on a sabbatical in 1970 and 1971. In 1996, Lawson received the Vanderbilt Divinity School’s first Distinguished Alumnus Award. — Ann Marie Deer Owens

Update on technology development to combat bioterrorism
Developing “ways to defend our borders against pathogens purposively perpetrated” will require quick, creative and cohesive action by academic researchers, government agencies, health care providers and industry, according to Alan S. Rudolph, program manager of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. He spoke at Vanderbilt Oct. 15 on “The Science and Technology of a Robust Biodefense.” Rudolph highlighted a device, called a nanophysiometer, that can measure and record metabolic signals from isolated, living cells so they can serve as a detector to monitor chemical or biological warfare threats being developed for DARPA at VIIBRE. Although he cited areas such as this in which significant progress is being made, he said considerable challenges remain. Foremost among these challenges is the complexity of the problem, with an unknown array of pathogens, as-yet-unplumbed secrets of the human cell and the need to coordinate efforts across institutional, discipline and market segment lines. Another challenge, he said, is the lack of industrial partnership to manufacture products invented by researchers. His visit was sponsored by the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education, one of the new Vanderbilt trans-institutional initiatives, and the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering. — Vivian Cooper-Capps

Vanderbilt responds to Africa and world AIDS crisis
The AIDS crisis in Africa that has left 34 million people dead and orphaned 13 million children requires an interdisciplinary and coordinated response that Vanderbilt is in a position to lead, the organizer of a conference to examine the issue told participants Oct. 19. Featuring panelists from VUMC, Meharry Medical College, four departments of the College of Arts and Science and the Divinity School, the conference, AIDS & Africa, Science and Religion, attracted more than 200 participants. The program was funded by a grant from the Templeton Foundation, the Departments of Religious Studies and Psychology, Office of the University Chaplain, the Cal Turner program in Moral Leadership, and the Vanderbilt Office for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Life. Many of the panelists emphasized that the threat is compounded by a crisis of leadership in Africa, little regulation of the practice of medicine and very limited medical resources. A documentary, The Common Threat, which features interviews with five Vanderbilt faculty, was shown at the conference and is available for viewing online at www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/religious_studies/aidsafrica/. — David Glasgow

Linebacker named ‘National Scholar-Athlete’
The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame announced that it has selected Vanderbilt’s Hunter Hillenmeyer as a “National Scholar-Athlete” for 2002. Hillenmeyer, a senior linebacker, is one of just six I-A football players to be honored. The award carries an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship — the largest of its kind — and is presented to football players excelling in all the areas of scholarship, citizenship and athletic performance. On the field, Hillenmeyer leads the Southeastern Conference with 97 total tackles, averaging 13.9 per game. In the classroom, he holds 3.79 grade point average while earning a double major in Economics and Human and Organizational Development. Hillenmeyer is just the fourth Commodore football player to win this prestigious award, and the first since 1989. — Larry Leathers

Posted 10/14/02 at 11 a.m.