Vanderbilt Magazine

James R. Sasser, BA’58, JD’61, was a three-term U.S. senator from Tennessee and ambassador to China. (Ann Rayner/Vanderbilt) James R. Sasser, BA’58, JD’61, a former three-term U.S. senator from Tennessee and ambassador to China, died Sept. 10 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was a statesman who loved Tennessee… Read More

Blair senior jazz performance major / guitarist Patrick Kenny has released his debut album, 'Water Damage,' a six-song project that includes guest performances by Blair professors Jeff Coffin and Marc Widenhofer, as well as other Blair student musicians. Kenny composed all six of the jazz fusion-styled pieces for the project. Read More

K.C. Potter, JD’64, dean emeritus of residential and judicial affairs, died Aug. 26. Potter had an indelible impact on the life of the university and its students over more than three decades of service; he was 85 years old. Read More

What connects Vanderbilt to a crisp craft ale from one of Nashville’s premiere breweries? The vibrant vision and collaborative spirit of Vanderbilt alumna Bailey Spaulding. Read More

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver has announced reappointments for Douglas Christiansen, vice provost for university enrollment affairs, and Tracey George, vice provost for faculty affairs and professional education, beginning July 1, 2024. Read More

Helen Iola McClellan Manoogian, nursing missionary to the Middle East and founder of a nursing school in Lebanon, died March 16, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia. She was 102. Read More

John Lachs, professor emeritus of philosophy and Centennial Professor Emeritus, died November 14, 2023, in Nashville. He was 89. Read More

The Honorable Richard H. Dinkins, JD'77, who served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals from 2008 until his retirement in 2022, died October 1, 2023, in Nashville. He was 71. Read More

Joseph Cunningham, 82, an accomplished administrator and professor at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, passed away peacefully on March 8, 2024, at his home in Lake City, Pennsylvania. Read More

The Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors has announced the 2024 recipients of its annual alumni awards. The honorees will be celebrated during Reunion and Homecoming Weekend Nov. 7–10. Robert Hatcher Robert D. Hatcher Jr., BA’61, MS’62, is the 2024 recipient of the Alumni Professional Achievement Award, recognizing Vanderbilt alumni… Read More

The Vanderbilt Alumni Association is pleased to announce new and returning alumni leaders to its board for terms effective July 1. The Alumni Association’s mission is to engage Vanderbilt alumni in the life of the university, encourage lifelong connections and support the university’s goals. “Vanderbilt alumni are fundamental in shaping… Read More

Vanderbilt track and field graduate student Veronica Fraley and alumna Lily Williams are among the 592 athletes who will represent Team USA this summer at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris. Read More

For NCAA champion and US Olympic team member Veronica Fraley and track and field alumna Beatrice Juskeviciute and Brooke Overholt, competing for country means being part of a community without borders Read More

The STARS College Network, a coalition formed in April 2023 by Vanderbilt University and 15 other prominent colleges and universities, will double in size after a year of landmark growth in creating opportunity for students from America’s small towns and rural communities, adding 16 new member colleges and universities this year. Read More

Tamara Baynham, BE'93, an active, long-standing alumni leader across the university, including leadership roles as president of the Association of Vanderbilt Black Alumni, member of Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board and of the Engineering Board of Visitors, was inducted into the School of Engineering’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni in April. Read More

Amanda Headley Piper (Anne Rayner/Vanderbilt University) “If you want to make a difference in the world, meet a need,” Amanda Headley Piper’s grandmother once said, and Piper heeded those words of wisdom. She is the first pediatric audiologist from her twin-island home of Trinidad and Tobago, where… Read More

A college education at a residential campus means more than a degree earned through successful completion of coursework and class projects. Student life beyond the classroom also provides a formative experience, and that is especially true for Sherry Chen, BA’15, who has served as president of the local Vanderbilt Chapter in Phoenix since 2018, connecting the community of Commodore alumni and parents. Read More

Because of a provision in a gift agreement to the Brooklyn Museum of Art made by philanthropist collectors George H. Sullivan and his mother, Mary Mildred Sullivan, in the early 20th century, nearly 3,400 prints are being added to Vanderbilt’s art collection after Brooklyn removed them from their collection in 2007. As they are researched and cataloged, these new works are initiating creative teaching, learning and exhibits with departments and colleges on campus and across Nashville. Read More

Patti White, BA'76, and her husband, George, recently funded the Black Box Theater in Rothschild College to honor their children, Frances White, BA'11, and George A. White, BA'19. Read More

To honor the legacy of Mary Churchwell and Robert Churchwell Sr., their son Kevin Churchwell, MD’87, and his wife, Gloria Respress-Churchwell, established the Robert Sr. and Mary Churchwell Undergraduate Scholarship, a fund that will provide generations of students with the gift his parents valued most of all: a Vanderbilt education. Read More