Reflector Fall 2009

Once upon a time, there was a Peabody graduate who was nanny to four children. After washing the family dog one day, she was inspired to write a children’s picture book called The Great Dog Wash. She entered it in a contest and won! The book was published by a famous New York publishing house and put into 1.5 million boxes of Cheerios. The End. Read More

Eddie Gilbert has already had his 15 minutes of fame. However, competing on a Food Network reality show likely won’t be the last 15 minutes of fame for this high-octane personality with two degrees from Peabody. Read More

George Etta Brinkley Cohen climbed these marble stairs to her apartment on the second floor of Cohen Memorial for three years, from the time the building was finished in 1927 until her death in 1930. It is said that her spirit inhabits the structure. The building first housed the… Read More

The Handbook of Research on School Choice edited by Mark Berends; Matthew Springer, director of the National Center on Performance Incentives; Dale Ballou, associate professor of public policy and education; and Herbert J. Walberg, Routledge, April 2009. What difference do schools of choice make? A new book from the National… Read More

Special education graduate student Karin Sandmel works with students from Currey Ingram Academy in Nashville who participated in a writing camp held on the Peabody campus in June. James Fraser, right, associate professor of human and organizational development, testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity on July… Read More

Convocation marking founding of the John F. Kennedy Center in 1965. From left, Governor Clement, Rose Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center celebrated the life of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, lifelong champion of persons with intellectual disabilities and founder of Special Olympics, who died August 11… Read More

New research looking at comparison and the strategy of learning concepts before learning procedures as a way to help middle schoolers learn new math concepts has been co-authored by Bethany Rittle-Johnson, assistant professor of psychology and human development at Peabody. “We found that comparing different ways to solve a problem… Read More

Associate Dean Timothy Caboni with Peabody junior Wyatt Smith, Vanderbilt Student Government president, at Peabody’s barbecue welcoming new graduate and professional students to campus in August. Montgomery Bell Academy football player Fitz Lassing helps Susan Gray School student John Cobb try on equipment as Sophia Nyman looks on. MBA and… Read More

New research reveals that a cognitive behavioral program for teens at risk of depression may help prevent future depressive episodes. However, the program did not show benefits for teens with a currently depressed parent. The research by Judy Garber, professor of psychology at Peabody and professor of psychiatry, was published… Read More

Vanderbilt recently launched VUconnect, a new online community for alumni and students. Replacing Dore2Dore, VUconnect includes new and enhanced features. With VUconnect, you can share your latest news, find old friends and classmates, build networking relationships, share career advice and leads, locate a nearby VU chapter, sign up for events—and… Read More

Loss Christopher Loss, assistant professor of public policy and education, has accepted an invitation to serve as a fellow for the Teagle Foundation’s new National Forum on the Future of the Liberal Arts. The forum is a three-year program designed to identify and prepare a core national group… Read More

Clark Douglas Clark, associate professor of science education in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Clark, who received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 2000, comes to Peabody from Arizona State University. Sun-Joo Cho, assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology and… Read More

William E. Troutt, president of Rhodes College in Memphis, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Peabody during Commencement ceremonies on May 8. “William Troutt is one of American higher education’s most talented leaders,” Dean Benbow said. “His leadership of Belmont University was simply brilliant, and now he is steadily moving… Read More

Peabody celebrated the 30th anniversary of its merger with Vanderbilt by awarding six of its faculty with new endowed chairs. The chairs were announced at the Peabody spring faculty meeting May 5. “The six professors receiving these chairs are high-impact individuals who make important contributions to the practice of education… Read More

Chancellor Alexander Heard signs the historic Peabody-Vanderbilt merger agreement in the spring of 1979. Alexander Heard, an adviser to three U.S. presidents who, as Vanderbilt’s fifth chancellor, guided the university smoothly through the stormy period of the 1960s and 1970s without the unrest and violence that afflicted many college campuses,… Read More

Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Peabody, was elected to the executive committee of the National Science Board at its May meeting in Arlington, Va. The National Science Board sets policy for the National Science Foundation and advises the president and Congress on… Read More

The 2009-10 academic year is well under way and with it all the activity in teaching, research and service that characterize Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. Despite the economic uncertainty of the last year, Peabody continues to thrive. Read More

Visit Peabody College’s Web site at http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ Bonnie Arant Ertelt, Editor Donna Pritchett, Art Director Amy Blackman, Designer Lew Harris, Assistant Editor Nelson Bryan, Class Notes Editor Lacy Tite, Web Edition Design & Development Contributors: Kurt Brobeck, GayNelle Doll, Jennie Edwards, Kara Furlong, Jennifer… Read More

Innovative developmental cognitive neuroscientist Bruce McCandliss continues his research into educational neuroscience, the study of how a child’s brain might influence educational experience and how educational experiences might influence a child’s brain. Read More

Peabody’s early language development experts focus on teaching methods and curricula as a precursor to pre-K success. More than 45 years ago, Susan Gray conducted the first randomized clinical study with low-income children showing that an enriched environment could lead to gains in children’s language mastery. Her findings helped lead to the establishment of Head Start, a national school readiness program. Read More