Author: Jim Patterson
Your Success Promotes Vanderbilt
Nov. 19, 2018—There’s a tremendous pride in learning that our classmates have found success in their fields. These moments are common for Vanderbilt graduates because our fellow alumni work at the forefront of industry and innovation, and cultivate positive change. They remind the world that Vanderbilt prepares students for success in any arena. When others see the...
Jack Wei-chieh Lin, BA’89, Asia Pacific Asset Manager
Nov. 19, 2018—Jack Wei-chieh Lin is making an impact on global investors. In May he was appointed managing director and head of Asia Pacific client coverage for MSCI Inc., a leading provider of indexes and portfolio construction as well as risk-management tools and services for global investors. MSCI’s clients rely on its offerings for deeper insights into...
Virginia George, BSN’47, MS’72, Champion of the Nurse Practitioner
Nov. 19, 2018—Virginia Maxwell George, professor of nursing, emerita, and an early champion of nurse practitioners, died of natural causes July 26 in Nashville. She was 94. George was founding director of Vanderbilt’s Family Nurse Practitioner program, one of the first in the Southeast. A 1947 VUSN graduate, she taught at Vanderbilt for 28 years, earning teaching...
Colleen Conway-Welch, Nursing Legend
Nov. 19, 2018—Colleen Conway-Welch, who during her 29 years as dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing transformed nursing education at Vanderbilt and nationally, died Oct. 12 following a battle with cancer. Linda D. Norman, current dean of the School of Nursing, knew Conway-Welch for more than three decades and was recruited by her to join...
Garrett Spiegel, BE’10, Systems-Level Thinker
Nov. 19, 2018—Garrett Spiegel long intended to make the design of custom-fabricated orthotics and prosthetics easier and quicker, especially in parts of the world with limited medical resources and high need. His company, Standard Cyborg, which he co-founded in 2015 with Jeffrey Huber, now has a growing customer base for its orthotics and prosthetics software, currently used...
Jo Ann Eddy Somers, BE’67, Singular Engineer
Nov. 19, 2018—The only female member of the School of Engineering’s 1967 graduating class, Jo Ann Eddy Somers of Huntsville, Alabama, died July 11, 2018. She was struck by lightning while inspecting a seawall under construction in Huntsville’s Hampton Cove neighborhood and died two weeks later. Somers, 73, was a civil engineering major at Vanderbilt and a...
Vandy Fans Descend in Force on Notre Dame
Nov. 19, 2018—More than 5,000 Vanderbilt alumni and friends traveled from destinations around the country for an unforgettable weekend centered on the Vanderbilt vs. Notre Dame football game Sept. 15 in South Bend, Indiana. The festivities began when 400 fans took in a Friday afternoon Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field, and continued Saturday with a spirited...
Ronald Hoffman, BA’64, American History as Sacred Trust
Nov. 19, 2018—Ronald Hoffman, former director of the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and professor of history at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., died Sept. 4. He was 77. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1969 and joined the history department at the University of Maryland, College Park, where...
Paths to Storytelling: The new chairman of the NEH discovered a love for words at Vanderbilt
Sep. 6, 2018—Jon Parrish Peede, BS’91, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April as chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has taken several paths in government service, all of them paved with words. “I discovered during my student days that what I loved were words on paper,” says Peede, whose career in Washington...
Seasons Greetings: Polly Cook’s mural attests to the rhythms of campus
Sep. 6, 2018—Come sun, rain or snow, one of the best places on Vanderbilt’s campus to find shelter is under Calhoun Hall’s stone portico, facing out toward the law and business schools. This refuge is also home to a mural of campus life, Seasonal Cycles, created in ceramic tiles by Nashville native Polly Cook. Installed in 1993,...
Blair MTNA national competition winners
Sep. 6, 2018—For the second year in a row, Blair undergraduates won national honors competing against both undergraduate and graduate students at the 2017–18 Music Teachers National Association annual competition March 17–21 in Orlando, Florida. To compete at nationals, musicians have already won their state and regional divisions. Lauren Urquhart, BMus’18, took first place in the voice...
Alumnus Raviv in Tony-winning musical
Sep. 6, 2018—The Band’s Visit, a musical about an Egyptian orchestra stuck for a night in a remote Israeli town, swept the Tony Awards on June 10, winning 10 awards, including Best Musical. Katrina Lenk and Tony Shalhoub (above, seated) both won Tony Awards for their performances in the lead roles. The show’s small cast also features...