Fall 2018
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...
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...
James Sandlin, MDiv’69, Heart of the Arts
Nov. 19, 2018—James Sandlin, a former Sarratt Student Center director who worked tirelessly to expand cultural offerings on campus and to improve the quality of life in Middle Tennessee, died Sept. 19. Sandlin, 77, passed away at his home in Unionville, Tenn., after a brief illness. Sandlin, who earned a bachelor of arts from Athens College, received...
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...
How to collect antiques
Nov. 5, 2018—Murray Hudson, PhD’69, offers tips on collecting, caring for and donating historical printed material.