JULY 2012
VUMC awarded $18.8 million innovation grant
Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a three-year, $18.8 million Health Care Innovation Award from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The federal research grant will help the Medical Center improve chronic disease management for patients with high blood pressure, heart failure and diabetes. Full story »
Record number of Vanderbilt students score NSF fellowships
Twenty-two Vanderbilt Graduate School students have won prestigious National Science Foundation graduate research fellowships, which provide three years of support, including a $30,000 annual stipend. It's the most NSF fellowships ever awarded in one year at the university. Full story »
Join the Commodore Tailgate Tour
Be part of the excitement of Vanderbilt football by joining the Commodore Tailgate Tour on three stops this fall: Saturday, Sept. 8, at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill.; Saturday, Sept. 22, at Georgia in Athens; and Saturday, Oct. 6, at Missouri in Columbia.
Contribute to the Class of 1962 memory book
Members of the Class of 1962 are invited to submit information for their 50th Reunion memory book. Use this online submission form to let your classmates know what you've been doing lately. Submissions are due Aug. 1.
Watch Kissam construction via webcam
Construction of College Halls at Kissam is under way. Follow the progress via live webcam and time-lapse videos.
Celebrating 25 years of Alternative Spring Break
Alternative Spring Break will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its founding during Reunion, Oct. 25–27. All former ASB participants are invited to a tailgate and evening social where guests can enjoy food, drinks and photos, as well as meet some of the founding students and faculty members along with current ASB students. More details are available at the Reunion website.
Find Vanderbilt events at a chapter near you
Connect with fellow Vanderbilt alumni and friends at chapter events in your area. Cities with upcoming chapter events include:
Click here for the current calendar of all events planned in your area, and check back frequently.
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From the Campus
Geist leads Student Media Hall of Fame class
Three alumni—Willie Geist, BA'97; Lee Jenkins, BA'99; and Clay Harris, BA'72—who demonstrated leadership as student journalists and then achieved success respectively as a television anchor, sports writer and overseas financial reporter, will be inducted into the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame Oct. 26. Full story »
New CoachSmart app provides heat index, lightning alerts
Vanderbilt Sports Medicine has launched CoachSmart, a free smartphone application that serves as a resource for coaches by offering real-time information on heat index and lightning strikes, frequently asked sports medicine and safety questions, and a group contact feature. Full story »
Accelerator program to help launch Thistle Farms café
The Vanderbilt Accelerator Summer Business Institute is collaborating with Nashville-based social enterprise Thistle Farms to launch the Thistle Stop Café, which will employ women who have survived lives of prostitution, trafficking and addiction. Full story »
Jarman wins Balcones Poetry Prize
Bone Fires: New and Selected Poems by Mark Jarman, Centennial Professor of English and director of the M.F.A. program in creative writing, has been awarded the 2011 Balcones Poetry Prize, an annual award that recognizes outstanding books of poetry. Full story »
Vanderbilt mourns loss of Frances Williams Preston
VUMC Reporter—Frances Williams Preston, one of the most successful female music executives in the history of the entertainment industry and a member of the Vanderbilt–Ingram Cancer Center Board of Overseers, died June 13. She was 83. Full story »
Jack Forstman, dean of the Divinity School, emeritus, dies
Jack Forstman, dean of the Divinity School, emeritus, and ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), died June 17. He was 83. Full story »
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Vanderbilt in the News
Supervolcanos have short fuses, says Gualda
Toronto Star—Enormous volcanic eruptions, which have the potential to end civilizations, may have surprisingly short fuses, according to research by Guilherme Gualda, assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences. Full story »
Pavlovic's photography exhibit on display
The Washington Post—Projected Images, a photography exhibit by Vesna Pavlovic, assistant professor of art, is on display at G Fine Art in Washington, D.C. Full story »
Student's innovation helps detect bacterial infection
The Commercial Appeal—Charleson S. Bell, a doctoral candidate in biomedical engineering, is one of several entrepreneurs mentioned in this article about medical-device startups in Memphis, Tenn. Bell is co-founder of BioNanovations, a company that has developed TestQuick, a method to cut the time to detect flesh-eating bacterial infection to 30 minutes. Full story »
vanderbilt.media
VUCast: Bridging the gap in the sciences
Vanderbilt is on track this year to become the No. 1 producer of minority Ph.D. recipients in physics, astronomy and materials science.
Day in the life: Warren Norman
Junior tailback Warren Norman, the 2009 SEC Freshman of the Year, looks to complete his comeback from a leg injury in time for Vanderbilt's home opener.
Family members often sabotage diabetes care
VUMC Reporter—A new Vanderbilt study shows that family members often can sabotage the medication adherence and glycemic control of adults with diabetes by engaging in nonsupportive behavior, like tempting loved ones with unhealthy food. Full story »
Vanderbilt receives first-of-its-kind NEA grant
Vanderbilt is one of 15 colleges and universities to receive the first-ever research grants from the National Endowment for the Arts to explore potential correlations between art-making and quality of life in the U.S. Full story »
Small telescope makes big planet discovery
Vanderbilt scientists are part of a research team that has discovered the existence of two very unusual faraway planets by using Arizona's KELT North telescope, which carries a lens no more powerful than a high-end digital camera. Full story »
Sengupta receives NSF CAREER award
Pratim Sengupta, assistant professor of learning sciences and science education, has won a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation. The five-year, $754,000 award will help Sengupta continue his research into integrating computer programming and modeling with K–12 science classrooms. Full story »
Student rocketeers come in third in national competition
For the third year in a row, the Vanderbilt Aerospace Club has come in third in the national rocket competition that is part of the NASA University Student Launch Initiative, a yearlong program that culminated in a rocket launch event on April 22. Full story »
Sports News
Vanderbilt trio selected in NBA Draft
John Jenkins, Festus Ezeli, BA'12, and Jeffery Taylor were selected respectively by the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Bobcats in the 2012 NBA Draft on June 28. It marked the first time the Commodores have had three picks in the first two rounds of the draft. Full story »
NCAA awards nine Vanderbilt teams for academic progress
Nine Vanderbilt teams were honored June 14 for earning NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards, which are given annually to teams with multiyear academic progress rates in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport. Vanderbilt led the SEC with nine of the league's 25 teams that received awards. Full story »
Stacy named First Team All-SEC back
Senior running back Zac Stacy has earned First Team All-SEC recognition in the conference's initial poll before the 2012 season. The Commodores' first game is against South Carolina in Vanderbilt Stadium on Aug. 30. Full story »
Limbaugh named head coach for men's golf
Scott Limbaugh, who as the assistant coach at the University of Alabama played a major role in one of collegiate golf's most dominating runs, has been named the new head men's golf coach at Vanderbilt. Full story »
Improvements made to Vanderbilt Stadium, Memorial Gym
Renovations to athletics facilities around campus continue to take shape. Inside Vanderbilt Stadium, a new video board is being installed, hillside seating is being created, and a new playing surface is being laid. Also, Memorial Gym has a new video board that features four screens measuring 16 feet by 9 feet and a 2-foot-tall LED display that wraps around the bottom.
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