by Skip Anderson

Bobby Johnson, former head coach of Furman University, was named head coach of the Commodores football team Dec. 23, 2001.

Johnson, the 25th head coach in the University's 111-year football history, succeeds Woody Widenhofer, who announced his intent to resign midway through the 2001 season.

"I am very pleased we were able to find the ideal match for the profile we established at the beginning of our search," said Todd Turner, Vanderbilt director of athletics. "We wanted a proven winner, we wanted someone with a proven commitment to excellence and we wanted someone who would have the experience to put our program on a path toward success. We found that person in Bobby Johnson."

Johnson, 50, had a winning percentage of 62.5 percent (60-36) during his eight years as Furman's head coach. He was recognized three times as the American Football Coaches Association Region II Coach of the Year.

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Music will highlight MLK Lecture Series

Posters featuring campus personalities such as Ashley McElhiney, Chantelle Anderson and Zuzi Klimesova (pictured) are being used to promote the 2002 MLK Lecture Series.

A performance by the internationally renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers, a workshop on improving black-Jewish relations through jazz, and a presentation about using music as a means of HIV/AIDS intervention are just some of the highlights Jan. 14-Feb. 27 during Vanderbilt University's 2002 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series -- "Music, Memory & The Movement: The Sounds of Liberation."

Grammy Award-winning a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock will also perform as part of the series on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Langford Auditorium.

"Music is a means for profound human creativity -- giving voice to the times and conditions, hopes and lamentations, sufferings and joys, the wisdom of living -- and is often a powerful force for progressive personal and social change. This is as true today as during the civil rights Movement," Lucius Outlaw, director of African-American Studies at Vanderbilt, said. "This year we are using music to commemorate and draw inspiration from the convictions and contributions of Martin Luther King Jr., as we ask ourselves, 'What work in behalf of peace and justice ought we to be about today?'"

Professor proposes sponsorship to help security, international education trade coexist

For the United States, educating international students is an $11 billion business. But in the aftermath of Sept. 11, concerns about national security have prompted questions about the wisdom of admitting hundreds of thousands of foreign citizens into the country so that they can study at U.S. colleges and universities.

Steve Heyneman, professor of international education policy who spent two decades working on education policy with the World Bank, said the business of international education and national security don't have to be conflicting principles, and he offers practical steps to ensure the viability of both. But, he said, success will require a joint effort of government and higher education.

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