Summer 2015

GayNelle Doll, an editor of Vanderbilt publications for nearly 30 years—the last eight as editor of Vanderbilt Magazine—retired at the end of March. In response to her final Editor’s Letter in the Spring 2015 issue, many readers wrote to wish her well. Here’s a sampling. Read More

The Vanderbilt women’s tennis team claimed its first-ever national title by defeating UCLA 4–2 in the NCAA Championship match May 19. The victory marked only the third time in school history that Vanderbilt has won an NCAA national championship. Read More

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos visited with members of Congress in Washington, D.C., June 8–9 to encourage members to reach a budget agreement that allows for additional discretionary funding for important priorities such as research and education. Read More

The Commencement ceremony capped two days of activities for graduates and their guests, including the Senior Day speech by Walter Isaacson, author and former chairman and CEO of CNN. In all, the university awarded 1,644 undergraduate and 2,212 graduate and professional degrees this year. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have received a five-year, $9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to design more effective flu vaccines and novel antibody therapies. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions is communicating with as many as 1 million students, ranging from ninth grade (some even younger) through 12th grade. Knowing how and when to target the largest possible set of high-potential applicants—using a full range of interactions—to build the best first-year class possible takes strategic planning and smart execution. Read More

Incoming Vanderbilt students still get the thrill of ripping open a thick packet telling them they’ve been admitted. Only now, in the era of all things digital, the vast majority of applicants first learn about the decision through their own personalized Vanderbilt Admissions website. Read More

Vanessa Beasley, BA’88, an expert in race, gender and diversity in U.S. political rhetoric, has been named the next dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt. Read More

Oscar Touster (photo courtesy of Vanderbilt University Special Collections and Photo Archives) Oscar Touster, professor of molecular biology and biochemistry, emeritus, and first chair of the Department of Molecular Biology in Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science, died Feb. 27, 2015. He was 93. Reared in a multicultural New… Read More

Seventeen cross-disciplinary projects involving 153 faculty from all 10 Vanderbilt colleges and schools have been selected for the initial set of awards from the new Trans-Institutional Programs (TIPs) initiative. Read More

William L. Garrison William L. Garrison was known early in his career for revitalizing the field of geography through greater scientific thinking and methods, which led to increased use of computerized statistical techniques in geographical research. He died Feb. 1, 2015, in Lafayette, California, at the age of 90. Read More

Dr. Levi Watkins Jr. (photo by Joe Howell) Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., a renowned Baltimore cardiac surgeon, champion of racial equality and diversity, and the first African American to be admitted to and graduate from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM), died April 11, 2015, from complications after suffering… Read More

The White House recognized Gokul Krishnan, a Ph.D. student in learning sciences at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, June 12 as part of a kickoff celebration for the National Week of Making. Read More

Miriam Halachmi Miriam Halachmi, a lecturer in modern Hebrew at Vanderbilt for 31 years, died Feb. 28, 2015, at her home in Nashville. She was 70. Halachmi attended school in Binyamina, Israel, where she grew up, and went to David Yellin Teachers’ College. She earned degrees in education, counseling… Read More

Vanderbilt University’s admittance rate for incoming first-year students once again fell to a new low this year, continuing a trend toward higher application volumes and greater selectivity. Read More

Vanderbilt University contributed $8.9 billion to the health of Tennessee’s economy during 2013–14, according to a biennial independent economic analysis titled “Vital Stats.” Read More

The Cal Turner Family Foundation has committed nearly $1.2 million over five years to establish the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures at Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. Read More

Four outstanding alumni known for their service to the university, service to others, and for their professional accomplishments have been chosen by the Vanderbilt University Alumni Association Board of Directors to receive alumni awards in 2015. Read More

Halpern, a 12-time National Park Service artist-in-residence, is currently working at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. Read More

To help smooth the application and audition process for prospective students, Blair adopted the online tool Decision Desk, which allows applicants to upload a video audition, as well as letters of recommendation from music instructors. Read More