Vanderbilt Magazine
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Blair jazz program wins three ‘DownBeat’ awards
The Vanderbilt University jazz program has been awarded three DownBeat Student Music Awards. Founded in 1976 by the music industry’s preeminent jazz publication, the Student Music Awards are considered among the most prestigious honors in jazz. Read MoreMay 4, 2023
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Creative Journey
Mason Richards, BS'97, continues his quest to turn 'The Seawall' into a feature film. Read MoreMay 3, 2023
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Derrick R. Spires, MA’05, PhD’12: Citizenship Across Space and Time
Derrick R. Spires, an associate professor of literatures in English at Cornell University, has a talent for making 19th-century newspapers and pamphlets feel as accessible as the latest social media feed. He explores the culture of the early 19th-century Black press in his 2019 book 'The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States' (University of Pennsylvania Press), which was recently released in paperback. Read MoreApr 26, 2023
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Claims to Fame: Carolyn Peck’s road to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame began at Vanderbilt, on and off the court
Carolyn Peck, BA'88, was a standout student-athlete who helped the Commodores beat Pat Summitt’s mighty Lady Vols. She also was the first Black women's basketball coach to win an NCAA Division I women’s basketball national championship—and, at 33, she was the youngest women’s basketball head coach to win a Division I title. These days she can be found behind a microphone for ESPN and the SEC Network. Read MoreApr 11, 2023
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Dawn Bennett, MDiv’18: A Call to The Table
Dawn Bennett has found paths to servant leadership throughout her life, but it was decades before she made a leap of faith and enrolled in Vanderbilt Divinity School. In January 2020, she was ordained by Bishop Kevin Strickland to remain in Nashville and build The Table, a faith collective centered on LGBTQIA+ people and vulnerable identities. Read MoreApr 11, 2023
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Michael Quillen, BA’72: At the Wheel for Ukraine
Michael Quillen, BA'72, took the wheel, literally and figuratively, to deliver ambulances to the front line of the war in Ukraine. The undertaking was launched in spring 2022 when Rotary International raised $15 million in relief funds for Ukraine. Longtime Rotary member Quillen worked with two Rotary districts in Virginia to apply for a $50,000 grant to buy three ambulances. Read MoreMar 27, 2023
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Stephanie DeVane-Johnson, MSN’97: Nurturing Black Maternal Health
As she teaches the next generation of nurse-midwives, Vanderbilt School of Nursing faculty member and alumna Stephanie DeVane-Johnson looks at ways to increase the number of Black doulas, who provide emotional and physical support to women in pregnancy, during birth and throughout the postpartum period. Read MoreMar 24, 2023
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7 questions with Corey Thomas, president, CEO and director of cybersecurity tech firm Rapid7
On Feb. 3, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to appoint Vanderbilt Board of Trust member Corey Thomas, BE'98, as one of 14 new members of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Here Thomas shares his thoughts on leadership, success and workplace culture. Read MoreFeb 17, 2023
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W.G. “Tres” Scheibe, MBA’91: Family Business
W.G. “Tres” Scheibe and his son, Nate, own Scheibe Design, a high-end furniture studio based in Franklin, Tennessee, where they make handcrafted pieces showcasing modernist design and gorgeous woods. Read MoreDec 19, 2022
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Krystal Grant Folkestad, BMus’05: More Than Music
Blair alumna Krystal Grant Folkestad uses her musical skills to serve multiple audiences while focusing on how life affects art and art influences activism. Read MoreDec 5, 2022
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How to Keep a Journal for Self-Care
Melanie Hall Morris, BSN’83, MSN’86, found her calling in providing care for others. Obstetrics and women’s health have been her passion ever since she was an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Now, as an assistant professor at the school, she researches innovative ways of facilitating the health… Read MoreNov 29, 2022
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How to set effective household rules for screen time: Expert advice from computer science professor Pamela Wisniewski
With the holidays quickly approaching, there’s one item that nearly every kid wants: a mobile phone or tablet equipped with the latest games and social apps. Pamela Wisniewski, who leads the Socio-Technical Interaction Research lab at Vanderbilt, shares tips for navigating the tricky terrain of making household rules for devices. Read MoreNov 22, 2022
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Religious liberty has a long and messy history
Religious liberty is one of the earliest civic values associated with the United States, yet defining and defending it has proved a centurieslong process. When divided opinions by the court claim to be speaking for religious liberty, it's because religious liberty under the Constitution contains both a right to freely exercise religion and a right not to be coerced via the state into accepting someone else’s religious practices. Read MoreNov 22, 2022
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Bess Parks continues a teaching legacy
To continue the legacy in education to which Bess Parks owes her own career, she wants to give back to those who need help paying for higher education. Through the establishment of two charitable remainder unitrusts and a retirement plan beneficiary designation, she’s found a way to do that and honor the memory of her mother, also a teacher. Read MoreNov 7, 2022
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Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, MA’86, PhD’91, finds meaning in the myths and rituals of America’s signature meals
Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, a professor of religion at Wheaton College, has written extensively on food rituals and Jewish food for more than 20 years. His book "Gastronomic Judaism as Culinary Midrash" was published in 2018 (Rowman & Littlefield). He defines midrash as “a way of interpreting traditional stories and practices in new ways,” food being one of them. Now, he's turning his attention to Thanksgiving food myths and rituals. Read MoreNov 7, 2022
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Making History Together: Upcoming Sesquicentennial offers opportunity to consider our past, envision our future
Amid the rush of the new academic year, we’re also preparing for a rare opportunity to pause and reflect. In 2023, Vanderbilt will mark the 150th anniversary of our founding—our Sesquicentennial. We’re planning a yearlong commemoration in which our entire Vanderbilt community will be invited to consider our past and, especially, to envision our future. Read MoreNov 7, 2022
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Academic Mettle: A team of undergrads briefly enjoyed the national spotlight in 1970 competing on TV’s toughest quiz show
Recently revived with NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as host, College Bowl originally aired from 1959 to 1970, pitting teams of college students against each other every Sunday afternoon on NBC. In a bid to win five weeks in a row and thereby be declared a “retired undefeated champion,” teams answered rapid-fire questions on a mix of topics, from cold, hard facts to pop culture trivia. Read MoreNov 7, 2022
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A Path Forward: Amid an unprecedented mental health crisis, Vanderbilt research provides new insights, possible solutions
Psychologists and psychiatrists have sometimes struggled to keep up with the multiplying mental health challenges posed by the pandemic and other recent events, but through studies and interventions, Vanderbilt faculty members are providing new insights into the crisis—as well as the best evidence-based solutions for overcoming it. Read MoreNov 7, 2022