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OCTOBER 2009 |
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Vanderbilt's Class of 2013 ranks as the most academically prepared and diverse class in school history. Of the 1,599 students enrolled, 86 percent came from the top 10 percent of their graduating class, and 29 percent are minorities—up from 23 percent last year.
Full Story »
The investments portfolio of Vanderbilt's endowment fell 16.3 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, one of the most challenging financial periods in modern American history.
Full Story »
Addressing the Fall Faculty Assembly, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos thanked faculty and staff for budgetary sacrifices and praised their resilience during the economic downturn. "Vanderbilt strengthened its intellectual community as other universities shrunk," he said. Full Story »
Jerry Fife, who has served as Vanderbilt's acting vice chancellor for administration for the past eight months, has been appointed to the role permanently after a national search by the university.
Full Story »
Vanderbilt alumna Elyn Saks, BA'77, a professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, is one of the 24 winners of this year's "genius" grants from the MacArthur Foundation. Saks, whose battle with schizophrenia has led her to advocate for those suffering from mental illness, was profiled in a 2008 article in Vanderbilt Magazine. Full Story »
The H1N1 flu virus is a presence on the Vanderbilt campus, but it appears to be no more serious than the regular seasonal flu, says Dr. Louise Hanson, director of the Zerfoss Student Health Center.
Full Story »
Connect with Vanderbilt University on Facebook. More alumni and students are joining every day.http://www.facebook.com/vanderbilt |
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News from
Alumni Relations
Don't forget to register for Reunion weekend Oct. 16–17. The registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 12. Check out your class Web site to see the list of attendees and the complete schedule of events.
 For 25 years the Association of Vanderbilt Black Alumni has championed the cause of African American students and organizations on campus. AVBA's achievements will be celebrated at a dinner banquet with keynote speaker Bishop Joseph Warren Walker III, MDiv'92, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Be sure to register by Oct. 12.
All alumni are invited to the Homecoming tailgate lunch before the Vanderbilt-Georgia football game on Saturday, Oct. 17. Registration is available online. For details contact Alumni Relations at (615) 322-2929.
Connect with fellow Vanderbilt alumni and friends at chapter events in your area. Cities with upcoming chapter events include:
View the current calendar of events planned in your area, and check back frequently.
Career Moves program launching
The Alumni Relations office, in conjunction with the Vanderbilt Career Center, is launching Career Moves, a comprehensive career coaching program designed for alumni that covers coaching and recruiting, networking, and online and social media strategies. The program will be holding workshops in 10 cities across the country, starting Oct. 31 in Washington, D.C. For details contact Alumni Relations.
Two stops remain on the 2009 Commodore Tailgate Tour sponsored by the Vanderbilt Alumni Association and the National Commodore Club—Saturday, Oct. 10, at Army and Saturday, Nov. 7, at Florida. The latest information is always available online.
View Antarctica's spectacular summer scenery when the days are long and relatively mild and massive icebergs thaw into beautiful sculptures of brilliant form and color. See crowded penguin rookeries and humpback, orca and minke whales with geography professor Molly Miller. Contact the Vanderbilt Travel Program at (615) 322-2929 with questions.
Every day, every year, Vanderbilt reaches new levels of success thanks to gifts from alumni, parents and friends. Please consider making your online gift now.
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From the Campus |
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In his first state of the medical center address, Dr. Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, provided a focused vision for the future and a fresh perspective on the strengths of the medical center and university. Full Story »
 Retired NFL running back Tiki Barber spoke at Vanderbilt's Langford Auditorium Sept. 29. His talk, titled "In Pursuit of Excellence on and off the Field," offered lessons from his Pro Bowl days with the New York Giants and his career as a businessman, philanthropist and correspondent for NBC. Full Story »
Vanderbilt is among a small number of colleges and universities that have set up state-of-the-art labs for political science research. Full Story » |
Concerned with the dramatic decline in the traditional media's coverage of newsworthy scientific and academic activities, Vanderbilt has joined with 34 other top research universities to create Futurity.org, an online news channel designed to showcase the achievements of their scientists and engineers, medical researchers and scholars. Full Story »
Nashville City Paper—Peabody College will host a national school choice conference Oct. 25–27. The conference will examine how communities, districts and states implement choice as a strategy for improving schools and student outcomes. Full Story »
Molly Thompson, the assistant registrar for the last four years, has been named the registrar for the College of Arts and Science after an extensive national search. Full Story » |
Faculty News
The Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management welcomed four unique academics, with strong professional business backgrounds, as the newest members of its faculty. Full Story »
Neal Tate, a professor and chair of the Department of Political Science who provided strong leadership during a successful rebuilding of the department, died Sept. 13 while recovering from major surgery. Full Story »
Nine distinguished professors won major awards at the Fall Faculty Assembly Sept. 1. Full Story »
The Rev. James Lawson, distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt and one of the leading theorists of nonviolent political struggle, will deliver the annual Cole Lectures Oct. 15–16 at the Divinity School. Full Story »
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Vanderbilt in the News
The Wall Street Journal—This year's flu season is shaping up to be unusually long, unpredictable and crazier than ever, says Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt. Full Story »
House Organ—Orvan Thompson, LPN, trained as a nurse in the 1940s and still works as a sitter for Vanderbilt Home Care Services at age 90. Full Story »
The New York Times—Alice Randall, author of The Wind Done Gone and writer-in-residence at Vanderbilt, discusses her career as a novelist and songwriter. Full Story » |
 USA Today—Vanderbilt is one of six U.S. medical centers that are enrolling pregnant women in a trial of the H1N1 vaccine. Katie Watts, who works in the Development and Alumni Relations Department, was among the first women who volunteered to receive the vaccination. For more about the vaccine, see this CNN video, featuring Amy Wolf, senior public affairs officer at Vanderbilt. Full Story »
The Tennessean—Vanderbilt alumna Ana Escobar, BA'92, made history as the first Hispanic woman to serve on Tennessee's Judicial Nominating Commission, which nominates judicial candidates for the governor. Full Story »
Charleston Gazette—Peabody College Professor Steve Graham argues that fears over the decline of handwriting in general and cursive in particular are distractions from the goal of improving students' overall writing skills. Full Story » |
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Sports News
Nashville City Paper—Rachael Dillon, the top junior player in Ireland, recently joined the Vanderbilt women's tennis team after transferring from the University of California, Berkeley. Full Story »
The Tennessean—In south-central Alabama 12-year-old Justin Stacy is learning to cope with the absence of his closest friend, mentor and brother—Vanderbilt freshman football player Zac Stacy. Full Story »
The Tennessean—From fashion accessories to touchdown dances, the self-expression of athletes has a big place in sports today, and eye black is the quintessential example. Almost half of Vanderbilt's football players wear the adhesive strips, and of those nearly all write messages on them. Full Story » |
Download coursework, lectures, news, music, sports, special events and more. Play on your iPod, Mac or PC, or burn a CD. Explore a world of knowledge at Vanderbilt. » Full Story
Vanderbilt fans can now purchase personalized bricks to be installed in two beautiful walkways leading to the newly renovated east and west gates at Vanderbilt Stadium. » Build your brick |
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.commodore is published monthly by
Vanderbilt University Development and Alumni Relations Communications
· PMB 407703 · 2301 Vanderbilt Place · Nashville, TN 37240-7703 ·
phone: 615/322-2601 · fax: 615/343-8547 · Editors: Lew Harris, BA'68, and Seth Robertson |
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Class of 2013 most academically prepared, diverse 
Fife named vice chancellor for administration
Vanderbilt is on Facebook
Chair of Department of Political Science dies
Meet Vanderbilt's oldest working nurse
Women's tennis scores top Irish player
