Vanderbilt Magazine

Staph bacteria, shown here growing on a culture dish in Professor Eric Skaar’s laboratory, is the leading cause of deadly infections acquired in hospitals. Photo by Neil Brake Antibiotic-resistant forms of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) have made staph the leading cause of infectious heart disease, the No. 1 cause of… Read More

Shattered Diplomac Think your job is tough? Try working with an angry mob of thousands right outside your office. While James Sasser, BA'58, JD'61, was U.S. ambassador to China, American-led NATO forces bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Chinese citizens reacted by violently protesting outside the U.S. Read More

In April the first international “Vanderbilt and You” reception took place in Shanghai, hosted by A.J. Spaudie, BS’97, and Nancy Wang, MBA’05.   Heartfelt Thanks The Offices of Undergraduate Admissions and Alumni Relations owe a special thanks to alumni who have assisted with the student recruitment process by volunteering their… Read More

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Alumni Relations teamed up a number of years ago to form the Alumni Recruitment Committee (ARC), an effort to involve alumni in the process of recruiting students for Vanderbilt. Over time the ARC’s success has led to expansion of the program,… Read More

Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., MD’70, associate dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and professor of cardiac surgery, is this year’s recipient of the highest honor bestowed upon an alumnus of the university: the Vanderbilt Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. First presented in 1996, the award recognizes an… Read More

Becca Stevens, MDiv’90Photo by Daniel Dubois On Sunday mornings, former prostitutes and drug addicts fill the pews alongside Vanderbilt faculty, staff and students for services at St. Augustine’s Chapel. They share their stories and take communion together, finding commonalities in what some would think are very different worlds. Read More

Sam McCleskey, BE’51 Photo by John Russell It’s a fact of life: For some people, earning a living means dealing with death. Sam McCleskey has spent most of his career as the country’s premier builder of mausoleums. The earliest mausoleum was built between 353 and 350… Read More

A Rhodes Scholar and senior minister for the historic Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore at age 26, Brad Braxton applies lessons he learned along the way as associate professor of New Testament and homiletics. He continues to guest preach as many as 25 sermons each semester. Photo… Read More

“As academics we can try to find ways to decrease the conflict instead of exacerbating it.” ~Diana Orces, graduate student from Ecuador Photo by Daniel Dubois. America’s political scholars keep a close eye not only on our own democratic process, but on attitudes about democracy worldwide. And… Read More

COURTESY OF MICHAEL WOODARD. When the Black Hawk helicopter I was flying landed at the American base near Al Qayyarah in early October 2005, ending my role in Operation Iraqi Freedom, it came as welcome relief from the maddening pace of the previous 12 months. Naively, I… Read More

Al Gore Lamar Alexander Fred Thompson Ross Perot In four of the six most recent presidential campaigns, Vanderbilt alumni have watched one of their own vie for his party’s nomination. Al Gore was a front-runner in the 1988 Democratic race, winning on Super Tuesday. Gore… Read More

From left: CBS producer/reporter Fernando Suarez, BA’01; ABC producer/ reporter Eloise Harper, BS’02; and Fox News colleague Aaron Bruns. When producer/reporters Fernando Suarez, BA’01, and Eloise Harper, BS’02, started covering U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign last fall, they could have passed for contestants on the reality show… Read More

Photo by John Russell Turning 21 seemed like it was going to be a big deal. After all, I was finally reaching the governmental “go-ahead” that teenagers and college students across the country seem to long for. And yet April 24, 2008, turned out to be nothing special–only a… Read More

In 1962 my decision to apply to Vanderbilt School of Engineering made little or no sense. I had grown up in Savannah, Ga., and knew little about Vanderbilt and even less about Nashville–except that the city was named for my ancestor Francis Nash. When I informed my high school guidance… Read More

John Geer Christian Grose Bruce Oppenheimer Mitchell Seligson Neal Tate Photos by John Russell and Steve Green The economy is floundering. The housing industry is in crisis. Gas and energy prices are skyrocketing. The country is faced with immigration issues, burgeoning debt, an unpopular war,… Read More

Methodist Bishop Holland McTyeire, left, envisioned a Vanderbilt inspired by church values. Chancellor James Kirkland wanted a nonsectarian university. “Who controls Vanderbilt University?” “Who founded Vanderbilt–northern money or southern Methodists?” A century ago fierce questions about the status of Vanderbilt inflamed debate across the South. And the way they… Read More

  Vanderbilt lacrosse finished the season with a school-record 13 victories and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Photo by Steve Green. Football: NFL Draftees and 2008 Team Captains The Chicago Bears took two Commodores in the NFL draft: Offensive lineman Chris Williams, BS’07, was the 14th pick in the… Read More

Photo by John Russell On the banks of the Cumberland River, overlooking the practice facility of the Tennessee Titans, sits Chip’s Place. And at Chip’s Place you’ll find Chip Healy, ’68, former All-American linebacker for the Commodores and a two-year veteran of the old St. Louis Cardinals professional football… Read More

After posting four Top 10 finishes, Jon Curran was selected to compete in the 2008 NCAA East Region Championship.Photo by John Russell. Jon Curran was in a rut. It was Feb. 19, 2008, and he had just completed his final round at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, where… Read More

It’s official. Vanderbilt is putting its money where its athletic needs are. In a continuing effort to raise the level of sports competition, the university has announced a five-phase, multimillion-dollar renovation and building program. The project has received enthusiastic support from across the university. John Ingram, MBA’86, is a… Read More