Vanderbilt Magazine

Mike Dorr, BS’99, MBA’05, talks with seniors Victor de Paiva Buischi (left) and Diego Fernandez Barbara (center) at a recent “Opening Dores” event focused on careers in finance. “Opening Dores” is a series of informal, intimate on-campus dinners—20 of them are planned for this year alone—at which alumni offer advice… Read More

This year the expanded Vanderbilt travel program offers a little something for everyone. From seasoned Vanderbilt alumni travelers to those who have never taken a Vanderbilt trip before, trips are designed to fit any lifestyle, educational travel interest and budget. Each trip pairs unique educational opportunities with the exceptional destinations… Read More

In my interactions with Vanderbilt faculty, students and staff, I always emphasize that alumni are the university’s largest, most diverse, and potentially most powerful resource. With 130,000 individuals in 143 countries, we’re the living brand of Vanderbilt, with the potential to be strategic partners in Vanderbilt’s pursuit of excellence. In… Read More

“From the day I was born, I began to learn my lessons.” —Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream   In any self-portrait from the ’50s, you’d have to see the me that was not me: the black girl trudging along the side of the road while I whizzed… Read More

Richard Chenoweth, BS’79 RICHARD CHENOWETH, BS’79 In 1814 the U.S. Capitol building was burned by the British, destroying what Thomas Jefferson had called “the handsomest room in the world”: the Hall of Representatives, which had been completed just a few years earlier by architect Benjamin Latrobe. Sadly, no visual… Read More

W. Hibbett Neel, BE’63 W. HIBBETT NEEL, BE’63 “When you love what you do, it’s not work,” says Hibbett Neel. “I still get excited about coming to the office and helping to improve my community. If there’s ever a point when I’m not excited about it, then I’ll quit.” Neel,… Read More

Six-year-old cancer patient Alex Kallas checks out the playroom at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The cure rate for childhood cancers has more than doubled in the past 20 years, from approximately 30 percent to about 75 percent. The longest-running fundraising event for the Monroe Carell Jr. Read More

Mrs. Quarles was about the best teacher there was in East Tennessee—patient and demanding while teaching us how to take apart sentences and examine their symmetries, which I really did enjoy doing. She was a tough lady, but I knew she loved me, and she knew I loved her class. Read More

Rana DiOrio, JD’91, wasn’t planning to create a children’s media company when she left her job in 2008. She was working in investment banking at the time, and it was, as she puts it, “not a fun place to be, with the economic recession coming in like a freight train.”… Read More

Lyndsey Goodman, BS’01, is both a captain in the Air Force Reserve and a jazz singer. The cockpit of a half-million-pound aircraft and a nightclub stage certainly seem worlds apart. Yet Lyndsey Goodman, BS’01, is at home in both. During the past decade, Capt. Goodman, an Air Force Reserve pilot… Read More

The Servant of Two Masters, an 18th-century farce by Carlo Goldoni, was presented by VUT in February. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso may not seem the most relatable of characters for college-age theatre. Catch the cultural giants on the verge of breakthrough, however, and modern students suddenly find themselves joining… Read More

In the days before bank failures, stock-market tumbles and worldwide economic malaise, a college diploma—especially one from a top university like Vanderbilt—was a one-way ticket to financial security. These days, however, graduates are faced with less-than-certain job prospects. America’s 50 million Millennials represent the most educated generation ever, but they… Read More

“From a young age I knew what I wanted to do, and I’ve been fortunate enough to find opportunities to do it,” says Michael Goldfarb. When you first meet Michael Goldfarb, his soft-spoken demeanor and infectious enthusiasm immediately impress you. When you ask what it is that motivates him, his… Read More

Do your children think you work too much and don’t spend enough time with them? If so, their perception could lead to bullying behavior, according to research by sociologist Andre Christie-Mizell. “Our behavior is driven by our perception of our world, so if children feel they are not getting enough… Read More

Ciarleglio (left) and McMahon The season in which babies are born can have a dramatic and persistent effect on how their biological clocks function. That is the conclusion of a study offering the first evidence for seasonal imprinting of biological clocks in mammals. The research was conducted by Professor of… Read More

As hedge funds come under tighter scrutiny, Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management professor Nicolas Bollen has identified several that could pose a fraud risk similar to the kind undertaken by Bernie Madoff, who bilked investors out of $65 billion. In a study examining the effectiveness of five performance flags… Read More

After more than 15 years of treating movement disorders with deep brain stimulation, Vanderbilt is offering the procedure to patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). “In movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, there is an imbalance in the brain’s motor system. The cognitive circuit is a mirror of the motor circuit, and… Read More

Physicist James Dickerson (left) is one of the first scientists to probe graphene’s interaction with water. Pictured with him is graduate student Saad Hasan. Windshields that shed water so effectively they don’t need wipers. Ship hulls so slippery that they glide through water more efficiently than ordinary hulls. These are… Read More

Vanderbilt’s squash team, a club sport, won its division and a national title at the 2011 Men’s National Team Championships in February, with a 5–4 victory over MIT. All other teams in their division were varsity squads. The team was led this year by captains Tyler Kopp (left) and Austin… Read More

Marina Alex started the 2011 spring season ranked No. 10 in individual rankings. On a soggy afternoon at the Vanderbilt Legends Club, a dozen or so men bundled in sweaters and rain gear lined the driving range. The ground had long been rain-soaked, and forecasters called for snow to begin… Read More