Author: Missy Pankake
Obituary: Nera D. White, ’58: First Superstar of Women’s Basketball
Aug. 12, 2016—Peabody College alumna Nera White powered the first national women’s basketball dynasty and became the game’s first female superstar—a dominance that led her into the Basketball Hall of Fame as one of the first two women to be enshrined there. She died April 13 in Gallatin, Tennessee, from complications of pneumonia at the age of 80.
Class of 2016 Sets Record for Senior Class Fund
Aug. 12, 2016—Before Commencement in May, 1,195 members of the Class of 2016 made gifts to the annual Senior Class Fund, representing a record-high 76 percent participation rate.
Austin Schiff, BA’12: The Virtues of Squash
Aug. 12, 2016—In 2014, Austin Schiff was named the first executive director of the Cincinnati Squash Academy, a nonprofit that seeks to transform talented students in underserved communities into scholar-athletes. He was only 24 years old. His charge: to build an organization from the ground up.
The Science of Politics: Vanderbilt experts put their theories to the test in the 2016 election
Aug. 10, 2016—To say that this has been a crazy year in politics is a laugh-out-loud understatement. We turn to the experts in Vanderbilt’s renowned political science department for insight not only into the 2016 presidential race, but also into the future of U.S. politics itself.
Strong Inside: Courted by athletic powerhouses nationwide, Perry Wallace, BE’70, chose Vanderbilt—and made SEC history
Aug. 10, 2016—Each year Vanderbilt selects a book for all incoming first-year students to read during the summer before arriving on campus. This year’s selection is Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South by Andrew Maraniss, BA’92. Here we present an excerpt adapted from Strong Inside, which is currently being made into a documentary film and a children’s book.
Hoop Dreams: Two new Vanderbilt basketball coaches bring pro experience—and Indiana bona fides—to Memorial Gym
Aug. 10, 2016—Vanderbilt begins a new chapter in its proud basketball tradition as Bryce Drew and Stephanie White take the helm of the men's and women's teams.
Celebrity Wedding: Andrew East and Shawn Johnson Tie the Knot
Aug. 10, 2016—In April Andrew East, BE’14, MBA’15, married Shawn Johnson, a gold-medal gymnast in the 2008 Olympics and winner of Dancing with the Stars in 2009. Overnight, East became one-half of a celebrity couple, and pictures of his wedding were splashed across the pages of People and numerous other celebrity magazines.
Strong Showings: A Recap of Spring Sports
Aug. 10, 2016—The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team advanced to the Final Four in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in an attempt to repeat their national championship, but ended the season with a loss to Stanford. The Commodores, the No. 6 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, ended with a 23–6 record.
House of Commodores
Aug. 10, 2016—Whatever your political leanings, the acidic divisiveness between—and among—parties in this election cycle has left little for anyone to love. Luckily, I got a break from the daily shouting matches about finger lengths, email servers and Bernie Bros by digging into some of the fascinating, reasoned research around presidential politics being produced by members of Vanderbilt’s esteemed political science department for this issue’s cover story.
Kosher Canteen: Aryeh’s Kitchen Food Truck
Aug. 10, 2016—With a five-person crew, and after a year of planning, Aryeh’s Kitchen launched in May and is set for a larger debut when students return to campus in August.
#Give4theGold
Aug. 10, 2016—On April 21 members of the Vanderbilt community from across the globe participated in the first-ever Vanderbilt Giving Day, raising more than $1.6 million in just 24 hours.
Draft Picks
Aug. 10, 2016—Two players from the Vanderbilt men’s basketball team were selected in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft: point guard Wade Baldwin (No. 17 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies) and center Damian Jones (No. 30 overall to the Golden State Warriors)