Q & A
Lasting and Meaningful Change: NFL executive Adolpho A. Birch III, JD’91, discusses diversity on campus and athlete activism
Sep. 10, 2020—Birch, the new chief legal officer and senior vice president of business affairs for the Tennessee Titans, recently was named chair of a new Vanderbilt Board of Trust ad hoc committee that is partnering with university leadership to evaluate and recommend policies around equity, diversity and inclusion. Here he discusses the work of the committee, the rise in athlete activism, and his favorite Nashville sports memory.
News and Interviews: ‘Sunday TODAY’ host Willie Geist, BA’97, reflects on the pandemic, his podcast, and the pride he takes in Vanderbilt
Jun. 18, 2020—Geist answers questions about working in the media during this tumultuous news cycle, launching his Sunday show, and his strong affinity for Nashville and the Commodore community.
What We Trained For: Medical school class president speaks about moving forward during pandemic
May. 5, 2020—As the Vanderbilt campus braced itself to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 through a series of proactive measures in March, School of Medicine class president Varun Menon, MD'20, shared some thoughts on his experience of being a medical student during the unprecedented outbreak.
Trust Issues: Q&A with Tiffany Erwin Moller, BS’89, on rehabilitating companies accused of misconduct
Feb. 17, 2020—Moller has served as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, handling cases of financial fraud and other white-collar crimes. She also was the first-ever chief of compliance and oversight for the New York City Police Department, where she helped reform its policies.
The Perfect Ingredient: Joe Ariel, BA’99, draws on nostalgia for the success of his nationwide food delivery business
Nov. 7, 2019—Ariel taps into the emotions evoked by his customers’ favorite foods through Goldbelly, delivering one-of-a-kind regional dishes nationwide from more than 450 partnering businesses.
Call of Duty: Q&A with Gary H. Cheek
May. 23, 2019—Gary H. Cheek, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, joined Vanderbilt in April to direct the newly created Bass Military Scholars Program, established in 2018 with a $25 million gift from the Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation.
‘Promise and Potential’: Q&A with Kito Huggins, BS’96, JD’99
May. 20, 2019—Huggins, a former student government president and Posse Scholar, continues to drum up enthusiasm for Vanderbilt nearly 30 years after arriving on campus.
On Watch: Vanderbilt alumna works to give a voice to victims of human rights abuses
Feb. 19, 2019—As the global initiatives director for Human Rights Watch, Worden curates and implements international outreach and advocacy campaigns and is now mobilizing the world of sport to tackle global abuses.
Record Highs: Q&A with Mitch Glazier, JD’91
Nov. 19, 2018—Glazier discusses the evolving business model of the music industry—one that’s gone from selling tens of millions of CDs in thousands of stores to now getting billions of streams from just a handful of companies—and what music listeners can expect on the horizon.
Global Ambassa’Dore: Q&A with Patti White, BA’76, on raising Vanderbilt’s profile abroad
Sep. 6, 2018—Patti Early White, BA’76, and her husband, George White, have established the Early–White International Scholarship to provide need-based support to undergraduate international students who are from the U.K. or European Union member countries and enrolled in the College of Arts and Science.
Constant Content: Q&A with Kelly Campbell, BS’00
Jun. 8, 2018—Hulu’s chief marketing officer looks for heart at the intersection of entertainment and tech As the ways we consume media continue to change, viewers have more choices than ever before. In 2012, Disney, NBC Universal (now Comcast) and 21st Century Fox banded together to form Hulu to compete with streaming services like Netflix and...
Domestic Bliss: Family linens business thrives by investing in sustainable U.S. manufacturing
Feb. 26, 2018—George Matouk, BA'91, talks about his family's business, John Matouk & Co., which has emerged as one of the premier luxury brands in bed and bath linens.