This Week in Vanderbilt History

This Week
In Vanderbilt History...
Adding elegance and spirit to Homecoming Week, the Student Government Association sponsored the first Vanderbilt Accolade Oct. 28, 1983. After visiting a similar event at the University of Virginia the previous year, a group of Vanderbilt students proposed the idea of a formal homecoming ball to raise money for a minority student scholarship fund. The Board of Trust, Alumni Association and Staff Council embraced the idea. Dancing to the tunes of The Drifters and The John Bell Orchestra, more than 900 alumni, students, faculty and staff attended the soirée on the Peabody Mall, raising $5,000 for student scholarships. The 18th Accolade was held on Alumni Lawn last week.

Sources:
Vanderbilt Register, Oct. 23, 1983
Vanderbilt Register, Nov. 4, 1983
-- Alyson Fant

Photo by Charles Hailey, 1984 Commodore Yearbook