Jon Boughtin in the rotunda of the Cannon Office Building. Boughtin serves as senior legislative assistant for New York Congressman Bill Owens.

For some, it was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Others fell into jobs and found a passion. No matter what drew them, though, College of Arts and Science graduates working as staff on Capitol Hill share one commonality: their Vanderbilt experiences equipped them well for Washington’s political world.

“I don’t know if Vanderbilt creates it, or if the same type of person is drawn to—and successful at—Vanderbilt that is successful here,” says Conrad Schatte, BA’97,  an economics and communication studies graduate who served as legislative assistant for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, BA’62 (Tenn.). “It’s the same sort of skills: a balance of the analytical and the personal.”

Well-Prepared

Currently, there are a dozen or more Arts and Science graduates working in Congress. Though specifics vary regarding experience, position or political party, most are legislative staffers handling a range of tasks, including monitoring legislation on specific topics (most will specialize in more than one), corresponding with constituents, communicating with the press, and serving as liaison with the elected official’s committee assignments and those who lobby and advocate on connected issues.

Some, like Jon Boughtin, BA’05, majored in political science. Now Boughtin is a senior legislative assistant for Rep. Bill Owens (N.Y.), a role he describes as “entirely policy.” Owens is a member of the Armed Services Committee and Boughtin compiles briefings on bills and assists in writing legislation.

Charlie Keller says the multitasking skills he honed at Vanderbilt prepared him to work as chief of staff for Florida Congresswoman Sandy Adams.

“Your degree matters,” Boughtin says. “But a lot of people tell you that college is as much about learning how to think as what you need to know. At Vanderbilt, there were a host of professors keyed into the local politics. Professors are willing to sit down with you and give you ideas, ‘Try interning here, look there.’”

Even without a field of study that directly correlated to her current role as health policy advisor to Alexander, a liberal arts education helped Mary-Sumpter Lapinski, BA’97. “We do a lot of writing, and I write very well because of my education,” the English and French graduate says. “When I was in college, everyone said, ‘What are you going to do with that major? Teach?’ I said, ‘You need communication skills in every industry.’ I work with language every day, writing briefing documents, legislation, and memos and editing press releases. I had good training.”

But a lot of preparation happened outside of the classroom as well. “The rigorous academic environment teaches you that you’ve got to buckle down and maintain focus,” says Charlie Keller, BA’99. A political science graduate, Keller serves as chief of staff for Rep. Sandy Adams (Fla.). “One of the things I did at Vanderbilt was spread myself thin: club track and field, varsity cross country, alcohol education program and fraternity. I still graduated on time,” Keller says. “Doing all of that you have to truly learn to balance your time, even with all the fun things there are to do in Nashville. Putting all of those into one coherent mix prepares you for the future.”

Political science and public policy major Lindsay Mosshart, BA’05, says it was the mix of people she encountered that has helped most in her Washington work. “I really value the exposure I got to individuals from all parts of the country. I learned to be more patient and understanding of others’ geopolitical views and political rationale by listening to my classmates discuss politics and world events,” says Mosshart, a senior legislative assistant for Rep. Gene Green (Texas). “In my job, I work with different personalities every day, and this background constantly comes in handy by allowing me to better collaborate and coalition build across the aisle and with constituent groups.”

The Vanderbilt Influence

Located in a state capital, Vanderbilt has a natural connection for politics, with students able to engage politically early on. Additionally, while Tennessee is deep red, Nashville is not, offering opportunity for those on both sides of the political spectrum.

That is, perhaps, one reason Washington has such a strong network of Commodores. Reps. Leonard Lance, JD’77, (N.J.) and Ben Quayle, JD’02, (Ariz.) are graduates of Vanderbilt School of Law. Alexander and Rep. Steve Cohen, BA’71, (Tenn.) are Arts and Science alumni. Numerous former senators and representatives also have Vanderbilt ties, including former Vice President and Senator Al Gore and Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.), who teaches at Owen.

In an environment that can radically change every two years—with Democratic staffers looking for work one cycle and Republican staffers the next—building strong connections is a valuable currency. Often young staffers land their first job working for their home-state senator or the representative from their district.

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander’s office has strong Vanderbilt ties—the senator himself is an Arts and Science grad. From left, alumni staffers Mary-Sumpter Lapinski, Allison Martin, former staffer and current Senate Rules Committee staff Lindsey Ward, Nick Magallanes and former staffer Conrad Schatte.

For Lindsey Ward, BA’02, Vanderbilt itself provided the opportunity to secure her first Washington job as a legislative assistant. The history major worked on Alexander’s campaign staff immediately after graduation and when he was re-elected, “Vanderbilt provided my connection to Sen. Alexander. If I didn’t have that, I seriously doubt they would have hired me,” she says. Ward now serves as professional staff for the Senate Rules Committee.

Allison Martin, BA’98, graduated with a degree in political science. She previously worked for Senators Fred Thompson and Bill Frist, both of Tennessee and who employed a large number of Vanderbilt graduates. “We all figured out that we had a shared background and that made me feel a lot more at home,” says Martin, a legislative assistant to Alexander.

Martin, Lapinski and Schatte all were in the College of Arts and Science around the same time, but didn’t know each other. “Conrad and I figured out that we were at some of the same events and had some of the same friends,” Lapinski says. Lapinski and Ward also were in the same sorority, though separated by a few years.

Shared Experiences

Having that connection to the familiar in an unfamiliar town—one known for its sometimes ruthless politics—provided comfort. “It makes it helpful that everyone looks back so fondly,” says economics/history graduate Nick Magallanes, BA’08, and another of Alexander’s legislative aides. “You have good memories and good stories to exchange of those times at Vanderbilt. I didn’t overlap with some of the others in the office, but it does provide a connection to be able to talk about the same places and experiences.”

It also can provide a powerful network of mentors. Drew Brandewie, BA’07, who now works as press secretary for a senator, found that out when searching for a job a few years ago. The communication studies graduate met with an older alumnus who brainstormed job opportunities with him, even though they hadn’t met previously. “He did it solely because I was a fellow VU grad,” Brandewie says. “A skillful networker will go a long way here, and relating to others through VU can be an excellent way to forge relationships no matter what field you’re in.”

Beyond the Hill

Scores of Vanderbilt alumni work throughout Capitol Hill and many, many more in the organizations that work with the government.

“When we need to reach out to a certain office, or an agency, it helps to have someone that you have that shared connection of Vanderbilt with,” Keller says.

It also helps that Arts and Science graduates previously in Congress work throughout Washington. Jennifer Romans, BA’03, first joined then-Senate Majority Leader Frist’s health care team after internships for a pharmaceutical company and in Frist’s office. She is currently senior director of federal affairs for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, where she uses what she learned from stints with Frist and Sen. Jon Kyl (Ariz.) to work with health policy issues and entitlements. She made the switch to the private sector after the grueling health care reform battle.

In her present role, as in her Capitol Hill experience, the English and political science graduate continues to use valuable lessons learned at Vanderbilt. “Every day, my job requires me to think critically and analytically, develop creative solutions, devise political strategies, and effectively communicate ideas,” Romans says. “I am thankful that my A&S degree helped me develop these capabilities and gave me the tools necessary to lead, achieve and succeed.”

• Notes on Democracy by H.L. Mencken
• In Defense of Freedom and Related Essays by Frank S. Meyer
• Freedom and Federalism by Felix Morley
• The Man Versus The State by Herbert Spencer
• Reading now: Saint Augustine’s Confessions

—Keith Neely, junior, history

• The Wall Street Journal, mediapost.com (daily)
• Advertising Age
• Flight Journal Magazine, Car and Driver, Cooking Light, Cook’s Illustrated
• Just read: The Good Life by Peter Gomes (I’m a faculty VUceptor)
• The Idea Writers by Teressa Iezzi
• A Single Grand Victory: The First Campaign and Battle of Manassas by Ethan S. Rafuse
• Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander ed. by Gary W. Gallagher
• The Pembroke Welsh Corgi by Susan W. Ewing
• Reading concurrently: Generals South, Generals North by Alan Axelrod
• The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson
• Next: Men of Fire: Grant, Forrest, and the Campaign That Decided The Civil War by Jack Hurst
• Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

As you can tell, I like reading about the American Civil War.

—Arthur Johnsen, associate professor of the practice of managerial studies

• The Good Life by Peter Gomes (another VUceptor)
• A Time to Kill by John Grisham

—Newton Adkins, sophomore, Latin American studies

Congratulations to these faculty members who have been promoted to new positions and received tenure.

• Patrick Abbot, associate professor of biological sciences
• Brian Bachmann, associate professor of chemistry
• Kenneth Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences
• Kate Daniels, professor of English
• James H. Dickerson, associate professor of physics
• Eva M. Harth, associate professor of chemistry
• Kevin Huang, professor of economics
• Jens Meiler, associate professor of chemistry
• Moses E. Ochonu, associate professor of history
• Bunmi Olatunji, associate professor of psychology
• Keivan Stassun, professor of astronomy
• Steven Tepper, associate professor of sociology
• Benigno Trigo, professor of Spanish
• Tiffiny Tung, associate professor of anthropology
• Martina Urban, associate professor of religious and Jewish studies
• Edward Wright-Rios, associate professor of history
• Christoph M. Zeller, associate professor of German

If the $1.94 billion raised in Vanderbilt’s recently concluded Shape the Future fundraising campaign seems like a mind-boggling figure, then consider this. Each gift has a purpose and fills a need. Each gift makes possible someone’s education, research, experience or growth. Alumni, parents, donors, corporations and foundations, faculty, staff and friends contributed more than $165 million to the College of Arts and Science as part of Shape the Future. These examples—there are hundreds more—demonstrate how generosity and belief in a liberal arts education are shaping Arts and Science now and in the future.

Click wherever you see a to find out more about this photo!

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Since the Shape the Future campaign started, the number of endowed faculty chairs in the College of Arts and Science increased to 78. One new chair is Sandra Rosenthal, the Jack and Pamela Egan Professor of Chemistry. In Stevenson Center, Rosenthal studies semiconducting nanocrystals, which might be used for new methods of drug delivery and more efficient light sources.

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If more entrepreneurs come out of Arts and Science, credit in part the Hoogland Family Foundation, spearheaded by Keith Hoogland, BA’82, and Susan Moore Hoogland, BS’82. The foundation supports entrepreneurial studies in the managerial studies program, based in the FEL Center building.

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One of campus’s most interesting buildings is the E. Bronson Ingram Studio Arts Center. Built in 2005, the structure was named for the late Board of Trust president through a lead gift by his daughter, Robin Ingram Patton.

4

Douglas W. Grey, BE’83, understands the importance of financial research. In 2010, he established the Douglas W. Grey Faculty Research Fund in Economics, supporting the economics faculty in Calhoun Hall.

5

Spanish classes in Furman Hall made Mike Malloy want to double major in the language. Now a senior, Malloy couldn’t have attended Vanderbilt without the Lummis Family Scholarship funded by Claudia Owen Lummis, BA’76, and Frederick R. ’76. More than $79 million for scholarships and financial aid was raised during the campaign—and the need for more continues.

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Family counselor Gayle Fambrough Snyder, BA’56, credits Vanderbilt with teaching her to think as a scientist. She’s helping draw outstanding psychology graduate students to do the same through the Gayle Fambrough Snyder Graduate Fellowship for clinical studies in Wilson Hall.

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Of Rage and Redemption: The Art of Oswaldo Guayasamin included Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery, now housed in Cohen Memorial Hall, on its national tour. That was made possible by a donation from Susan Braselton Fant, JD’88, and Lester
“Ruff” Fant, BA’63.

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Not all Arts and Science programs take place on campus. Donors such as Sandra and Roger Deromedi, BA’75, and Frances Von Stade Downing, BA’78, and John Downing, BA’78, have established funds that support travel and study abroad opportunities for undergraduates, grad students and faculty. Students can explore such opportunties at events like this 2011 Study Abroad Fair.

This baby alligator and about 40 of its siblings decided the first day of fall classes would be a great time to hatch. Ph.D. student Duncan Leitch, BA’06, helped the alligator break out of its egg, much as a mother alligator would. Leitch, a student in the Vanderbilt Brain Institute’s Neuroscience Graduate program, studies American alligators under the direction of Ken Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences. They’re interested in the reptiles’ ability to sense movement using specialized sensory receptors along the edge of their jaws and how that might relate to neural processes in humans.

Antonis Rokas

Behind slammed doors, most teenagers fervently wish at least once that they could belong to another family. One that was hipper, permissive, richer—somehow more in line with their needs. Turns out a group of fungi—23 genes to be exact—successfully pulled off this swap, switching families millions of years ago. The discovery of this leap by a College of Arts and Science researcher is helping recast Darwin’s lasting metaphor of the tree of life.

In Origin of Species, Charles Darwin diagrammed his theory of the evolutionary process from parent to child, down through generation after generation (now known as vertical gene transfer), resulting in Darwin’s famous tree of life.

But a recent discovery by Antonis Rokas, assistant professor of biological sciences, reveals that Darwin’s sketch may not show the full picture of evolution. Rokas’ current research focuses on how fungi change over generations, leading to better understanding of the evolutionary relationships among living organisms and how diversity has evolved. The Rokas Lab found that millions of years ago, a cluster of 23 genes jumped intact from a strain of mold commonly found on starchy foods to an unrelated strain that lives in dung and specializes in breaking down plant fibers.

He and research associate Jason Slot reported their discovery in the journal Current Biology earlier this year. Their finding came as a major surprise to scientists because there are only a handful of cases in recent evolutionary history where this type of gene transfer between organisms, known as horizontal gene transfer, has been found in complex cells like those in plants, animals and fungi. Rokas’ findings have even made “Sminton,” a science-based Web comic strip that riffs off recent newsworthy scientific publications.

“The fungi are telling us something important about evolution…something we didn’t know,” Rokas says.

The interspecies transfer that Rokas discovered suggests how fungi developed their remarkable metabolic diversity, including the ability to produce highly toxic compounds. It also supports the notion that similar jumping genes played a significant role in fungal evolution. The fungal kingdom currently presents the best place for genomic research because complete genome sequences are already available from more than 100 species.

The research was supported by funds provided by the Searle Scholars Program and the National Science Foundation.

Read more about their research.

The next time you pull out your smartphone, take a moment to appreciate the tremendous amount of mathematics that it embodies.

Math is involved in converting the sound of your voice into radio signals that connect you to your friends. It is used to create the complex shapes of the fonts in your email messages. In fact, all the phone’s functions are performed by executing basic logical operations on binary code, strings of ones and zeros.

Dietmar Bisch, chair and professor of mathematics

The sleek slab of glass, metal and plastic is an appropriate symbol of just how dependent modern society has become on its most complex art form. There are very few aspects of life today that can function efficiently without the liberal application of mathematics. At its base, mathematics is one of the truest creations of the human intellect. As Albert Einstein put it, “Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.”

Here’s the Proof

In the last 15 years, Vanderbilt’s mathematics department has played an increasingly prominent role in the world of mathematics. It has quietly transformed itself from a department whose majors were mainly concerned with getting teaching jobs in regional colleges into a leading math research department that turns out students who snag jobs at top universities.

“We have moved up substantially in the world,” says Dietmar Bisch, chair and professor of mathematics.

Mathematicians don’t make statements like this without proof. One of Bisch’s strongest pieces of evidence is the department’s performance in last fall’s evaluation of the nation’s graduate programs by the National Research Council.

In the NRC’s 1995 ranking, Vanderbilt’s math program was placed at 84, toward the bottom of the heap. According to department veterans, the old ranking didn’t accurately reflect its quality. But they are quite happy with the new report that places the program squarely among the top 20 percent of the 127 Ph.D. math programs that it analyzed.

The second piece of evidence Bisch cites is the recent hire of Fields Medal winner, Vaughan Jones, from the University of California, Berkeley. Awarded every four years, the Fields Medal is generally considered the Nobel Prize of mathematics.

Jones himself says that his move to the College of Arts and Science was due in part to “the positive atmosphere at Vanderbilt compared to all the negativity in California.” The new Distinguished Professor of Mathematics also cites the quality of the department and the greater ease with which he will be able to get things done here as major reasons for joining the school.

Advanced Theories with Applications

When he arrived in August, Jones added considerable strength to one of the department’s theoretical research groups, the Center for Noncommutative Geometry and Operator Algebras. The center is directed by Bisch and includes Stevenson Professor of Mathematics Gennadi Kasparov, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Jesse Peterson, and Professors of Mathematics Guoliang Yu, Dechao Zheng and Daoxing Xia.

They study the properties of “non-commutative” spaces where, for example, 4 times 3 does not equal 3 times 4. These advanced theories describe the properties of subatomic particles and a number of other scientifically important spaces. Such spaces also play an important role in the latest manifestation of string theory, which is based on the idea that elementary particles are tiny vibrating strings instead of infinitesimal spheres.

Another theoretical group consists of Centennial Professors of Mathematics Alexander Olshanskiy and Mark Sapir, Professor of Mathematics Mike Mihalik and Associate Professor of Mathematics Denis Osin, recognized experts in group theory, which has its origins in geometry. Group theory is a powerful way of studying geometrical objects and has a number of applications ranging from crystallization to DNA replication to cryptography. Where geometry focuses on objects like the rectangle, group theory concentrates on operations like rotation and translation that these objects undergo.

Some mathematical research is more down-to-earth,  and the department works in several applied fields. One is constructive approximation, which specializes in finding simple techniques that approximate the behavior of complex mathematical expressions. In the Center for Constructive Approximation, Professors of Mathematics Ed Saff and Doug Hardin developed a new method for evenly distributing points on curved surfaces, a procedure with applications ranging from digitizing curved surfaces to modeling the coastal effects of tsunamis.  The center, made up of Stevenson Professor of Mathematics Larry Schumaker, Professors of Mathematics Saff, Hardin, Mike Neamtu and Akram Aldroubi, and Assistant Professor Alex Powell, also publishes Constructive Approximation, one of the world’s most highly cited math journals.

Talking Math

A key element in the department’s growing reputation has been an annual lecture honoring Professor Baylis Shanks, MA’40, and education administrator Olivia Shanks, MA’39, a couple who played major roles at Vanderbilt from the 1950s to the 1970s. The lecture, which emphasizes a different field of mathematics each year, allows the department to invite top mathematicians from around the world for an accompanying research conference that has developed a considerable following in mathematics circles.

It was an invitation to speak at the Shanks lecture that led to a collaboration with mathematician, Fields medalist Alain Connes of the College de France and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES). For nine years, Connes has directed an annual spring institute that combines lectures and workshops, attracting both senior and junior mathematicians to Nashville. (Connes also serves as Distinguished Professor of Math-ematics here at Vanderbilt.) Because of these activities, the department now hosts 300 to 400 visitors annually, an exceptional number for a math department of its size.

Another factor in the department’s growth was Bisch’s  proposal to replace the short-term lecturers who taught many of math’s 160 courses with post-doctoral researchers. This change freed up research time for graduate students, improved the quality of instructions and enhanced the research ambiance in the department significantly. It also brought the College of Arts and Science to the attention of departments nationwide looking for positions for their graduates.

This growing stature has attracted increasingly high quality students. At the undergraduate level, it recently added a new honors track specifically for students interested in pursuing careers in math research and its graduate students and postdoctoral fellows have been extremely successful in finding jobs despite the tough job market.

James “Jim” Seuss, BA’85, has been surrounded by luxury throughout his career.

Holding positions of leadership with Tiffany and Co., Harry Winston Inc., Cole Haan, Stella McCartney Ltd., and currently, high-end watch retailer Tourneau, Seuss knows about the finer things. But to him, the most luxurious items of all don’t have much to do with expense. Luxury to Seuss is found instead in a home-cooked meal with quality ingredients (including, perhaps, a spice brought back from a trip to Morocco), time spent with Scarlet, his beloved Welsh springer spaniel puppy, or even just sleeping past 6 in the morning.

James "Jim" Seuss, BA'85

“For me,” he says, “it’s about the experience, not the cost.”

Looking back, he’s amassed a wealth of experiences since his days studying history in the College of Arts and Science.

Retail at Tiffany’s

Seuss took a job in a men’s haberdashery while a high school student in Memphis, Tenn. He was drawn to quality and branding even then, he says, and knew that later he would want to go to business school. He came to Vanderbilt with several friends, seeking a good, diverse liberal arts background that would offer a strong base for a future MBA. That came via George Washington University, but it was his time at Vanderbilt, he says, that opened doors to uncharted territory: an educational program that landed him in China.

“One of the professors from Vanderbilt put me in touch with the program since I was interested in international business,” Seuss says. “It was concentrated on Asia Pacific, or Far Eastern history, as it was called at the time. The program was geared toward archaeology and language, and gave me further exposure.”

It also lit a fire about business potential in that part of the globe; when Seuss took his first job in retail in New York City, it was with Tiffany’s international division. He began working on Japanese business for the luxury jeweler known by its iconic blue box, eventually opening some 50 stores for Tiffany throughout Asia.

“I stayed with Tiffany for 13 years and decided that would be what I would do: stay in higher-end retail,” Seuss says. “Then I just stuck with it.”

Appreciating the Timeless

His latest executive position is as CEO of Tourneau in New York, his first stint with a multibrand retailer rather than a monobrand company.

That offered new challenges and opportunities for growth, he says, and under his careful eye, Tourneau has implemented a wide-ranging plan to rebrand the more than 100-year-old retailer as “friendly, reliable and discreet.” The rebranding included the recent opening of a 3,000-square-foot, uniquely designed Madison Avenue location that is intended to eliminate the somewhat intimidating atmosphere of jewelry shops and make watch shopping fun.

Tourneau represents brands like Breitling, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai and Rolex. Typical customers, he says, are in their 30s to 50s, but a growing number of the youngest generation is becoming re-engaged with watches after Gen Y’s reliance on cell phones and other technology to track time instead.

“There’s a sense of nostalgia about it,” he says. “Everything is so modern and automated now, and a watch can represent something else. It’s handmade, handcrafted and took six months to produce. That represents something unique to a generation that’s grown up with everything automated.”

Seuss’ own private watch collection features about 20 pieces, including a Jaeger-LeCoultre that was his grandfather’s. He also treasures a Panerai given him by fashion designer Stella McCartney at the second anniversary of their doing business together. “It’s engraved with the company and date, which makes it even more special to me,” he says. “There are many great pieces that I received at great moments.”

Life of Curiosity

Leading companies known for quality and excellence, Seuss has a passion for doing things to the best of his ability—and pushing others to do the same. Ask him what people would be surprised to know about him, and he responds that he’s not quite the perfectionist that some would believe. Not only that, but even with his haberdashery background, his own closet isn’t as organized as it could be, he admits.

For someone who has held so many high-profile positions—he was president and CEO of Cole Haan, president of Harry Winston and CEO of Stella McCartney—Seuss has kept a rather low-key media profile. It’s not that he seeks privacy, per se, but rather that he has aimed to put his employers first.

“I’ve always wanted the company to speak more than one person,” he says. “Whether that’s Harry Winston or Cole Haan, I’ve wanted to push the company first.”

Those companies have afforded him the chance to visit more than 60 countries—though not yet the Galapagos Islands, he laments—as well as enjoy his personal pursuits of waterskiing, snow skiing, scuba diving and playing the cello. He has studied a half-dozen languages and maintains the love of Chinese culture and archeology that deepened during his time in the College of Arts and Science—including being an avid collector of contemporary Chinese art and 17th century maps.

“I’ve always been very curious about other parts of the world, other cultures, other civilizations,” he says. “I’ve always thought there was so much to be learned from history.”

His own history has been a rewarding one, Seuss says, made all the richer by being curious, asking questions and continuing to dig a little deeper. His years at Vanderbilt encouraged him to care about others, to enjoy himself and to be smart with his time, he says, and it’s that last thing that’s most luxurious of all.

“Some things just have to fall by the wayside,” he says, admitting that his schedule has caused him to lose touch with friends and give up some activities he formerly enjoyed. All the same, he still encourages the pursuit of having as many different experiences as possible, including traveling, reading, learning and listening—not to mention, every so often, marking the time on a meaningful watch.

I didn’t finish the race. Forty hours into the Death Race and a mere five hours from the end, I quit. In my four years as a Vanderbilt athlete, I had never failed to make it to the finish line. I had faced disappointment, failed to meet goals, even finished last, but I had never simply stopped. Now that the haze of physical and mental exhaustion has worn off, I’m left to question what happened that Sunday morning and to somehow reconcile everything leading up to those last few moments.

The Spartan Death Race is a 48-hour endurance competition that takes place each year in Pittsfield, Vt. The organizers are notorious for keeping the race details secret until the last minute and challenging competitors with unexpected and extreme physical and mental feats. They boast that only a miniscule number of competitors complete the event. Its website is www.youmaydie.com.

I have always enjoyed pushing myself. I majored in economics in the College of Arts and Science while also running track and cross-country at Vanderbilt. I learned to balance the high-pressure demands of being an SEC athlete while thriving academically, challenged by interesting professors and subjects while competing as both an individual and team member. I now know how to defend my thoughts on a case (thanks, Professor Damon) as well as how to surge in the final lap (thanks, Coach Keith).

That mindset did not disappear upon graduating. So one day in June, I left work without explaining why I was disappearing for the weekend. Using precious vacation days to suffer would be seemingly illogical to my peers.

Tangle of Mind Games and Physical Pain

After a wood splitting exercise (bottom photo), Matena (No. 44) and her race teammate hauled logs up and down the mountain.

The Death Race began on a rainy Friday night in Pittsfield. I was one of 155 participants who filed into the town church for a race debriefing. No one knew what we were about to endure. There was no course map, no set distance and no defined finish line. Tasks were given as the race progressed and everything would soon become a tangle of mind games and physical pain. The possibilities of what might lie ahead were limitless and the anxiety of those in the Pittsfield church tangible; I found myself excited and eager for the race to begin.

After the debriefing, racers were divided into groups and given a circle of large rocks to lift. One clean lift was getting the rock up to your chest and lowering it to the ground. Once around the circle, or 13 clean lifts, was one lap. I was to complete 150 laps, repeating the lift hundreds and hundreds of times for nearly six hours.

The rocks were only the beginning. Sometime during the early morning hours, I was sent walking miles upstream in a cold river, pitch-black except for the headlamps of racers dotting the darkness like fireflies, and silent but for the rush of the current and the occasional splash of a racer losing his footing.

Pushing Through

Sunrise found me swimming seven laps across a freezing pond, carrying a lit candle around an open field between laps, silently praying that my body’s violent shivering wouldn’t extinguish the flame and force me to add a penalty lap.

After splitting a stack of wood, I was sent up a trail carrying a log so heavy I could barely hoist it onto my shoulder…only to carry it back down again after committing a Bible verse to memory. After other tasks, including an eight-hour hike carrying my full pack plus a small log, night set in again.

I was 24 hours into the race. Fatigue, both mental and physical, began to take its toll. A sudden storm rolled in. I faced another mountain hike, marked only by small orange flags hanging in the woods. I plodded along, focusing only on moving forward one step at a time. Then I reached the barbed wire. I remember shining my light ahead and seeing the barbs strung across the path for probably 400 meters. I remember sitting down to rest for a minute before having to maneuver through the spikes.

And then I don’t remember much. My friend and teammate for the race later told me that I stopped responding to him, barely speaking and only inching forward as he coaxed me under the wire. I was somewhere in the early stages of hypothermia. Crawling along the dark trail, face inches from pools of mud, I had no choice but to keep moving forward.

I eventually struggled to the top, and after some time warming up at the checkpoint, made it back to the base of the mountain just as the sun rose for the second time. I pressed onward, tasked with cutting down trees, moving more rocks and slowly trudging forward. Fewer than 50 racers, strewn across miles of trail and hours of competition, remained on the course.

Ending with Integrity

Then late Sunday morning, I stopped. I had been competing for over 40 straight hours and was in 12th place. The race officials told me I had more than 15 hours left of the competition. I knew I’d have to sleep before continuing for that long. Monday’s workday loomed in front of me. Enough. I shared a congratulatory hug with my teammate and we headed home, confident in our decision and proud of our accomplishment. It was not the finish, but for us it was the end.

I got the call that night.

Competitors and organizers talk about the 2011 Death Race experience.

The race had ended at 45 hours wherever you were on the course, and those remaining 35 racers were told they finished. The finish line was yet another trick.

I was devastated, and for weeks wished I had slept in the rest tent for five hours, essentially tricking the race directors instead of letting them trick me. But that’s not the philosophy with which I toed the start line when I wore a gold V on my chest. Nor would it represent the values instilled in me over my Vanderbilt years, during the Arts and Science classes that were my academic barbed wire, when I didn’t think I would pass or the easy way out seemed tempting.

I didn’t finish the Death Race, but I competed with integrity for 40 hours and pushed my body harder than I thought possible, and I can say that with my head held high.

Gary Jaeger could probably improve the writing in this magazine standing on his head. A philosopher, writing coach and yogi, Jaeger serves as the assistant director of the Writing Studio and senior lecturer in the philosophy department, as well as a yoga instructor at 12 South Yoga in Nashville. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and writing from Johns Hopkins University, Jaeger earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He says his work in philosophy and writing complement each other as both allow him to explore the power of argument while his yoga practice keeps him calm and focused.

What do you do at the Writing Studio?

I, along with the other directors of the Writing Studio, supervise a staff of around 30 writing consultants who meet one-on-one with people who want to discuss their writing projects. Much of our time as directors goes to training and mentoring our staff, but we also devote some of our energy to forming collaborations with other departments and programs on campus. In addition to our consultation services, the Writing Studio offers writing workshops and other programs like On Writing, where we interview professional writers, and Dinner and Draft, where we invite faculty to discuss their works-in-progress over dinner.

How many students do you work with each year and how are they benefitted?

Last year we had 4,102 appointments with 1,687 clients. Most of our clients are undergraduates, but we serve graduate students and faculty as well. Our clients come to us at all stages of the writing process. Clients who are just beginning a paper benefit from being able to talk through their inchoate thoughts. Clients who have already written a draft benefit from having a critical but sympathetic consultant read through that draft and engage them in conversation about the structure and strength of their arguments. We even see graduate students and faculty who are writing dissertations and book-length projects. These clients benefit from having regular meetings with the same consultant who can help keep track of how their projects are developing.

What’s the biggest issue students face in their writing?

Most students do not realize that academic writing is about making arguments. Each discipline makes arguments in its own way, but at its core all academic work seeks to make a novel contribution to its field by arguing that the current state of play isn’t quite good enough.

What’s a typical week like for you during the academic year?

Busy! During the school year I am up and writing before 5 a.m., sometimes as early as 4. This is the only way I can make any progress on my research and still make it into the office where my days are split between teaching and administrative duties. While on campus, I prepare and teach my classes, have regular meetings with the other directors of the Writing Studio and our collaborators, consult clients, see to the day-to-day operations of the studio, and attend philosophy department events. I also make time for yoga every day. Before coming to campus I practice pranayama (rhythmic control of the breath) for about 30 to 45 minutes. When I get home I practice asana (poses) for 1 ½ to 2 hours.

What courses do you teach in philosophy?

I mostly teach classes in ethics and political philosophy. I have taught introduction to ethics, contemporary ethical theory, social and political philosophy, contemporary political philosophy, and introduction to philosophy. I have also directed an independent reading course on Indian philosophy.

Tell us about your yoga teaching. How long have you been doing it? What do you get from practicing it and sharing it?

I went to my first yoga class when I was 16 years old. It was offered as a physical education elective in my high school and seemed like the best option for a 90-pound weakling. I didn’t become serious about my yoga practice until I started studying with an Iyengar yoga teacher about 12 years ago. It was significantly more profound and intelligent than any other method I had or have yet to encounter. Although yoga has made me fit, healthy, and nearly eliminated chronic back pain, the biggest reason for doing it is precisely this: it makes me calm, focused and alert. I would say it makes everything else in my busy life possible. I teach it because teaching helps me to learn. This is true of philosophy as well as yoga.

Have you ever had a student in one of your academic courses take your yoga classes?

I have had colleagues and graduate students from the philosophy department take my yoga classes, but I don’t think I have had a student from one of my philosophy courses take my yoga class. When I was teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I taught yoga as an academic course. They had an Iyengar yoga program in their dance department and I was allowed to teach a yoga class in addition to philosophy classes as part of my teaching load.

New first-year students are welcomed with cheers and move in help from now-sophomore Greshko and others on Vanderbilt’s Move Crew.

The Commons Center, the student center located in the heart of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt, has a beautiful grand piano in the lobby, a glossy, whalelike monument to music begging to be made. Sometime last September, I first heard it played, and after a second or two of confusion, I realized it was improvisational jazz—and it was good. I walked toward the piano in awe, hearing the musical mist around me swell to a torrent of bluesy riffs gushing from the unidentifiable pianist’s fingers. When I found out who was manning the keys, however, I was flabbergasted: locked in frenetic concentration was one of my friends from Math 205. I had no idea he could play piano, much less improvise for 90 minutes straight. His unexpected, outstanding talent—reflective of the depth of Vanderbilt’s student body—led me to only one thought:

This is why I love this school.

Six short months before, any statement of the sort seemed a distant pipe dream: As I sallied forth during my high school senior year—happily ready to do battle with everything life’s capricious pitcher threw my way—one herculean task remained unfinished: my college choice.

My situation was difficult; I had been admitted to Yale but was awaiting scholarship notifications from other universities—including Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science. On March 12, 2010, a day I might start celebrating as “Incredibly-Understated-Yet-Life-Changing Email Day,” I received word that Vanderbilt had offered me the phenomenal Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship. How was I ever going to make up my mind?

On top of that, I had an additional question with which I had to grapple: How was I going to describe my choice to readers around the world?

The New York Times Calling

This question had emerged during a lunchtime phone call in late February 2010, leading to one of those moments I’d never envisioned happening halfway through a ham sandwich: The call was from The New York Times, and they wanted me to outline my college decision-making process as a guest blogger for The Choice, the Times’ higher education blog.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, so I enthusiastically signed on—but I was also nervous. After all, the pressure to live up to the Times name was enormous, and I knew that sharing my life with the world would invariably summon the digital peanut gallery. I felt up to the challenge, though, so as I dove into my deliberation—replete with campus visits at Vanderbilt and Yale and talks with students, admissions officers and deans—I made it my goal to have fun with every word going under my evanescent byline.

As spring progressed and I continued my blog series, my gut slowly but surely transitioned to Vanderbilt, my writing surprisingly serving as a means of distilling and clarifying my then-muddled feelings.  After announcing my choice, I ended my blog series in late June with a hopeful analogy between a still-unfamiliar Vanderbilt and the Land of Oz, but as I submitted my final post, faint pangs of second-guessing began to settle in. Had I really made the right choice? I had no way of being sure until I arrived in Nashville in the fall. It was a risk, but I felt confident; after all, Dorothy and Toto thrived post-twister, so why wouldn’t I?

Not in Kansas Anymore

After finishing a lightning-fast first year in the College of Arts and Science, I turned out to be right; it has been an absolutely incredible start to what ought to be an unforgettable four years. My classes—covering everything from the significance of the nonhuman in German literature to the neuroscientific underpinnings of consciousness—have expanded my worldview and have pushed me in the ways I needed to be pushed. Outside of the classroom, I have also found some of the nicest, most talented people I have ever met: About two weeks into the school year, I auditioned for Vanderbilt Off-Broadway—probably the single best decision I made first semester—and performed in the group’s production of the musical Nine. I also moonlighted as vice president of my Commons house, teaming up with administrators to bring a six-band concert to The Ingram Commons’ end-of-year festivities.

But to mention what I have done is only part of the story, for I couldn’t begin to describe how I have truly lived this first year: sweet potato pancakes shared with friends at the Pancake Pantry; Frisbee on the Peabody Esplanade; impromptu adventures through nighttime Nashville; hall discussions until 3 a.m. on the merits of the humanities; and every waking moment I spent this summer with Vanderbilt’s VISAGE program in Costa Rica.

Throughout the year—no matter my exhaustion, stress or Lilliputian concern—I found myself constantly going back to the memory of the epiphany-inducing piano, the wonder of that moment echoed in a cappella concerts and rainforest hikes alike. The more I’m steeped in Vanderbilt, the more I love it—so much so that I applied to be a VUceptor for first-year students this fall. When thinking about the new students in the Class of 2015, I recall my senior year and the stress surrounding my college decision, and a thought comes to mind:

I know I made the right choice. I hope that they, too, will feel the same.

Jake Ramsey was part coach, part confidant, part disciplinarian…and all teacher to his TFA students. He continues those roles at a Nashville charter school.

The October after his graduation from the College of Arts and Science was arguably one of the darkest months in Jake Ramsey’s life.

Teaching math at Nashville’s Maplewood High School through nonprofit organization Teach For America, Ramsey, BA’09, had reached the phase of working in a high-poverty setting that might be labeled “despair.”

Less than a third of his students could add or subtract negative numbers, though they weren’t far from his own age. Gang members sorted out grievances with a razor fight. One student—who had taken honors geography—called Florida another country.

The economics major was learning, all too well, the unspoken agreement present in many classrooms and one which affected his ability to teach: “It goes like this,” Ramsey says. “ ‘I won’t make you do any real work, or stress you in any way, and you don’t misbehave.’ ”

Sure enough, the Teach For America corps member—one of thousands who make a two-year commitment annually toward closing the achievement gap of low-income students by teaching in high-need areas—had moved beyond his initial phase of excitement. It had been followed by disillusionment. The idea of rejuvenation seemed as far away as the possibility of graduation for a high school class with an average grade of 43 out of 100.

“For the first time, I couldn’t work hard enough to make things happen,” he says. “But the beauty of Teach For America is that you cannot participate in this—you cannot survive those two years—and not be forever changed. You cannot come to know these kids in such a way as I have and not care about education for the rest of your life.”

Highest of Expectations

During his two-year stint, Ramsey discovered what many Teach For America alumni do: that investment and belief in students can make a remarkable difference in grades, attitudes and outcomes. Studies consistently show that Teach For America teachers—most of them prepared only by a six-week intensive summer training program rather than a four-year degree in education—have an impact on student achievement that’s equal or greater to traditional first-year teachers. The large majority of TFA teachers take part in the 20-year-0ld program immediately after graduation, when the idealistic incentive to change the world might peak.

TFA teachers receive one-on-one mentoring in addition to first-year teacher pay and benefits, and two-thirds end up staying in education, “with the largest portion of that group as classroom teachers,” says Taylor Imboden Brown, BA’08. Brown, a communication studies major, was so inspired by her own TFA experience in St. Louis that she became a manager of teacher leadership development for the program, now offering ongoing training and support to 35 corps members.

“My two years in the classroom showed me the importance of always holding myself and my students to the highest of expectations—academic and otherwise,” she says. “Seeing students achieve in individual classrooms over the short term gives me hope and evidence that we can close the achievement gap in the long term.”

Brown is far from alone in her beliefs—and she and Ramsey are far from alone in crediting the College of Arts and Science for aiding in their success.

TFA seeks out participants with demonstrated leadership and achievement among other attributes, and often draws highly motivated and successful students as a result. Add in the fact that, the former students say, Vanderbilt strongly encouraged them to give back through community service, think critically and strategically as part of a larger group, excel in challenging environments, interact with diverse populations, and be involved in numerous areas simultaneously, and it’s no real wonder that the school is among the
top contributors of graduates to the program in the country. In 2011, Vanderbilt placed seventh among medium-sized college and university contributors, with 47 graduates headed for TFA placements last fall.

“It Was Terrifying”

“There’s no doubt that students in these underserved communities lack a lot of skills we take for granted,” says Matthew Specht, BA’09, a political science major who taught math to fourth- through eighth-grade students in Kansas City. “Especially if you’ve gone to Vanderbilt, you’ve probably seen success academically. You’ve probably gone to good schools. For me, seeing seventh and eighth graders struggling to subtract with borrowing was humbling. But it gave me that much more motivation, recognizing that in one year, we needed to make two years’ worth of progress.”

Outside of the classroom, Specht says, “it’s very difficult to have an appreciation for how many moving parts there are in a day of teaching, whether planning lessons or units, or just planning for 150 students who come through 25 at a time. The goal is not to have a relationship with one class, but with each of the 25 students in that class. You don’t give attention to that one entity, but to building relationships with every single one, every single day.”

As such, TFA teachers recount endless hours spent before and after school with students and parents, doing whatever they could to make a difference. Ramsey recalls being shocked early on when a student told him he’d seen more of Ramsey than his father in the previous three years. “I asked the class who else that was true for, and 80 percent of the hands went up,” he says. “It was terrifying. They were seeing me for an hour and a half every day. Even if they had dads at home, they were working hard hours and asleep when the kids were awake.”

Huge Sense of Responsibility

Now in his second year with Teach For America, Miron Klimkowski says he feels a huge sense of responsibility to help his students advance.

Miron Klimkowski, BA’10, just finished his first year as a ninth-grade English teacher in Dallas. The political science major hadn’t really considered a job in education, he says, but an Alternative Spring Break project opened his eyes to the possibility. He spent ASB as a teacher’s assistant in a Rome, Ga., elementary school, and loved the experience. “I saw the impact that I could make in just one week. I had a couple of friends who had done Teach For America, so most of my senior year I knew I was going to do it,” he says. He was fortunate, he says, to have had great teachers growing up in the Memphis public school system, teachers who instilled a pay-it-forward attitude. But nothing could really prepare him for what TFA would be.

“I had to grow up really fast,” he says. “The gravity of the achievement gap becomes real to you, and you start to feel this huge sense of responsibility. Now it’s my job.… But they were all such great kids. There wasn’t one that I didn’t like. And that impassioned me to work all the harder for them.”

Although Klimkowski says it’s too early to tell whether he’ll keep teaching after the program is over, other TFA participants have continued in education. Specht has deferred his enrollment in law school to work at a New York City charter school. Ramsey is a teacher at KIPP Academy, a college preparatory public charter school in Nashville, and is pondering fundraising for education or possibly starting his own school. And English major Neily Todd, BA’09, says her time teaching algebra in Nashville has led to a solid commitment to continue the work she began with TFA. She, too, teaches math at KIPP Academy.

Teach For America inspired Neily Todd to stay in teaching beyond her two-year term. She says she now goes through the day thinking about what’s best for her students.

“When you’re in college, so much of your day-to-day life is about you, your classes, your grades, your studies, what you want to do,” she says. “That’s just that phase of life. But having had this experience, working with these students, I go through my day now thinking about what’s best for them, and how I can teach them things in a way that they’ll understand.

“There’s such a deeper sense of contentment now that my life is more than about just me, and that my actions are impacting others in a positive way,” Todd says. “When I got into Teach For America, I really did believe that all students can learn. And after two years in the classroom, I know that all students can learn. It’s been a cool experience to see that this is true.”

When Associate Professor Brandt Eichman and Assistant Professor Antonis Rokas were surprised with 2011 Chancellor’s Awards for Research in August, they became the eighth and ninth biological sciences professors to receive the honor since 2005. That marks an uninterrupted seven-year run for the department’s faculty.

Traditional fishing nets, Meghna River in northeastern Bangladesh.

Mention Bangladesh and images of poverty, famine and environmental disaster might come to mind. That’s only half the story, says Steve Goodbred, associate professor of Earth and environmental sciences.

“Bangladesh is a land of superlatives,” Goodbred says. “It has big rivers draining big mountains [the Himalayas], a big climate, the world’s largest river delta and lots of people. We have a lot to learn from them.”

Vanderbilt and its College of Arts and Science agree. Scholars from Earth and environmental sciences, political science, sociology and religious studies have joined forces with colleagues from the School of Engineering and the Owen Graduate School of Management to study Bangladesh and its people.

Above, top: A typical street in the Sadarghat area of Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh. Above, bottom: River dweller life—marketing, ferrying, hauling by water—on the Buriganga.

Why all the interest? “Bangladesh mirrors problems the rest of the world will be facing in the next century,” says Professor and Chair of Religious Studies Tony K. Stewart , who has studied the literature and religion of Bangladesh for 35 years. “They are developing innovative solutions to problems of overpopulation, poverty, rising sea levels, coastal flooding and cyclones through a creative synergy between their traditional culture and the use of modern technology.”

Stewart’s expertise includes several fellowships in that country, including a recent Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship. He is also the founder and director of the Bangla Language Institute at Bangladesh’s Independent University. Stewart recently joined the College of Arts and Science from North Carolina State University in a move that will increase Vanderbilt’s scholarship in South Asian studies.

Environment, Politics and People Intertwined

With a population of 162 million people—about half the size of the United States—crammed into an area roughly the size of Iowa, Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Its Muslim majority has existed in relative peace and harmony with a Hindu minority for centuries. And while the country is currently stable, the potential for conflict stemming from environmental stresses exists, Goodbred says.

“Natural disasters and environmental change can cause political instability,” says Goodbred, who has been studying the Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta for more than 15 years.

“Bangladesh has flooding, river migration, arsenic-contaminated groundwater, climate change, tectonic activity, earthquakes, cyclones and sea-level rise—it is a dynamic region,” he notes. “We’re trying to understand when, where and at what magnitude populations migrate in this area. Where’s the tipping point at which large numbers of people migrate and strain other cities and countries? Can we anticipate migrations and limit potential damage through advanced preparation?”

Impressed by the interdisciplinary nature and quality of research being done at Vanderbilt, in part through the Institute for Energy and Environment, the U.S. Department of Defense recently awarded Goodbred and his team $7 million to study the impact of climate and environmental change on human migration patterns in Bangladesh. The team includes Professors David Furbish and John Ayers and Associate Professor Jonathan Gilligan, all from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Associate Professor of Political Science Brooke Ackerly; Professor of Sociology Katharine Donato, and engineering colleagues George Hornberger, University Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth and Environmental Science, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Mark Abkowitz. The five-year grant is a multidisciplinary university research initiative with Columbia University under the Office of Naval Research.

Far-flung Field Study

In spring 2010, university funds allowed Goodbred, Ackerly and Gilligan to take a class of 15 graduate and undergraduate students to Bangladesh to study water resources and water-related hazards, their impact on the population and possible solutions. The Arts and Science, Engineering and Peabody students were enrolled in a transdisciplinary seminar on “Water and Social Justice in Bangladesh” [see “Active Earth” in the fall 2010 issue of Arts and Science magazine].

“Vanderbilt’s investment in that course put us in a position to secure the DoD grant,” Goodbred says, as well as a $1.1 million National Science Foundation award that will enable him to take classes to Bangladesh in 2012 and 2014.

The interdisciplinary culture of the College of Arts and Science helps scholars better understand the dynamics of complicated problems by bringing together teams with varied expertise, Goodbred notes. “We can engage each other to answer complex questions and our students get to sit in the middle of that process.”

Political scientist Ackerly, who studies injustices associated with natural disasters, agrees: “We are teaching students from various disciplines to approach these questions informed by a broader view.”

A Different Perspective

In March 2011, then-junior Haley Briel traveled to Bangladesh with Goodbred to study the Brahmaputra River. The Earth and environmental sciences major continued her research on campus this past summer, supported by the Vanderbilt Undergraduate Summer Research Program.

“Meeting the exceedingly generous and curious Bengali population gave my academic studies a new sense of enthusiasm and purpose,” Briel says. “To meet literally hundreds of Bengali people, all with so little, but willing to give so much, was a truly touching experience.”

That is exactly what Goodbred hopes his students will take away from their experience. “We need to educate our students and get them to foreign places to give them a different perspective,” he says. “Our goal is to prepare the next generation of students to give service in the international arena.”

Serbia in the 1990s serves as the lens through which Assistant Professor of Art Vesna Pavlovic (pictured) contrasts normalcy and war. Her photographs were installed in a recent show at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. The exhibit also included recent images examining modern American life.

Abdiweli M. Ali, MA’88

Abdiweli M. Ali, MA’88, has been named the prime minister of Somalia, the first College of Arts and Science alumnus to serve as a head of state.

Ali was appointed the acting premier of Somalia’s transitional federal government in June after then-Prime Minister Mohamed A. Mohamed resigned. Soon after, Ali was named permanent prime minister and then overwhelmingly approved as prime minister by Somalia’s parliament.

A Somali native, Ali came to Nashville in 1986 for Vanderbilt’s esteemed Graduate Program in Economic Development. He spent two years in the College of Arts and Science, earning his master’s degree in economics before returning to Somalia to serve in that country’s ministry of finance and revenue.

Ali also holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard and a doctorate in economics from George Mason University and was a fellow in Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Most recently, he taught economics at Niagara University in Lewiston, N.Y., before returning to Somalia in late 2010 as minister of planning and international cooperation.

“I owe a lot to Vanderbilt University and it helped me at a critical juncture in my life,” Ali wrote to his friends at GPED. “I am eternally grateful to all the faculty and staff members who kept me close and gave me a great opportunity to learn, grow and become the person I am today.”

In one of his first policy initiatives, Ali appointed a national committee to tackle the severe drought affecting large parts of the eastern African country; approximately 11.5 million Somalis are suffering from famine. Other challenges he faces include leading a country affected by civil war, militant terrorism, piracy, religious conflicts, lawlessness and political uncertainty.

From left, Dean Carolyn Dever congratulates William P. Caferro, Lynn Enterline, Jane G. Landers, William Luis, James G. Patton and Carl H. Johnson, who were celebrated at a ceremony in May.

Some of the chairs are newly endowed, while others are supported by gifts made previously. The gift of endowed chairs makes it possible for the university to recruit new and retain top faculty, as well as provide support for the professor’s work.

The new chairholders are:

• Larry M. Bartels, May Werthan Shayne Professor of Public Policy and Social Service
• William P. Caferro, Gertrude Conaway Professor of Vanderbilt History
• Kenneth Catania, Stevenson – Professor of Biological Sciences
• Lynn Enterline, Nancy Perot Mulford Professor of English
• Marilyn Friedman, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy
• Larry W. Isaac, Gertrude Comway Vanderbilt Professor of Sociology
• Carl H. Johnson, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences
• Michael P. Kreyling, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English
• Jane G. Landers, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of History
• William Luis, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Spanish
• Larry May, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy
• Jonathan Metzl, Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and Medicine, Health and Society
• James G. Patton, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences
• Sandra J. Rosenthal, Jack and Pamela Egan Professor of Chemistry
• Mitchell A. Seligson, Centennial Professor of Political Science
• David C. Wood, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy

The recent Shape the Future campaign allowed the College of Arts and Science to more than triple the number of endowed chairs it had previously. Other endowed chairs are expected to be announced before the end of the school year.

His Teach For America experience inspired Jake Ramsey, BA’09, to continue teaching academically-disadvantaged students. Here he works on math concepts with students at Nashville’s Kipp Academy. Read story.

A great university brings the best lessons of the past and the present forward to shape the future. In this sense, a university is an inherently optimistic institution. Each fall, we welcome to our campus new students and new faculty, bright, accomplished and bristling with potential. These newcomers merge into the broad community of students and faculty here before them. They add to the living, breathing organism of thought and action that makes campus life so exhilarating.

I write today to thank you—each and every one of you—for your contributions to the vitality of this life in the Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Science. In Arts and Science we have a vision for the future that we aim to realize through our teaching and learning, our research and new discoveries, and our service to our community and to the wider world. Ours is a bold and ambitious vision that involves work at the very highest levels across and among the sciences, social sciences and humanities. I believe passionately that the diversity of thought within Arts and Science is our greatest strength. In a world that grows more complex all the time, where unimagined possibilities challenge orthodoxies of thought and belief, new answers come from unexpected sources. Complexity requires diversity.

To succeed, we need each other.

The community that advances the Arts and Science vision far exceeds the physical borders of our campus. The alumni, families and friends of Arts and Science walk alongside those of us here on campus in our principled dedication to a better future. You have expressed your dedication to that commitment thousands of times over in the past few years when we asked for your help in an effort that has, quite literally, shaped our future. Vanderbilt University has recently concluded its Shape the Future campaign. As you will learn in the pages that follow, this fundraising effort has raised money much needed in support of student scholarships, faculty research and discovery, the advancement of academic innovation and much more. The Shape the Future campaign also made clear how profoundly dedicated we—our community, in all the diversity of perspective, age and experience represented by that term—remain to a positive outlook. To a belief in education, pure and simple.

In this issue of Arts and Science, we turn the lens from its customary focus on our campus toward a vision of our larger community: toward you. You have spoken and you have acted. You have reached down deeply and given generously, even in times of economic uncertainty. Thanks to your generosity, we can point to changes for the better all over our campus—to young alumni entering the world free of debt, thanks to scholarships raised through Opportunity Vanderbilt; to advances in research vital to the arts and the sciences; to the recruitment and retention of great faculty from all over the world. I hope that in reading the pages that follow, you enjoy a glimpse of the story you have made possible. For your role in shaping a future that looks very bright indeed, it is my great honor to offer you my heartfelt gratitude.

Carolyn Dever
Dean

As a speaker of English, French, Danish and German (and who reads Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish and Italian), Virginia Scott might be forgiven for thinking it’s easy to become multilingual. On the contrary:  she is dedicated to increasing awareness of how people can learn other languages.

Scott, professor of French and academic director of the new Center for Second Language Studies, delves into the processes involved in learning a second language.

Her research has led her to believe that a learner’s first language may play a significant role in learning a second language. That’s “a bit of a heretical take,” Scott says. Current teaching practice holds that exclusive use of the second language in the classroom is the only way to learn—although any teacher will tell you this approach is difficult in reality. Scott acknowledges that input and interaction in the new language are essential—but she thinks using one’s native language to analyze and understand grammar structures may lead to greater proficiency.

In Scott’s research, students received language problems and were asked to talk aloud in their first language about how they were solving them. Others were asked to do the same, but limited to using their second languages. Scott found that the students required to use the second language had more difficulty solving the problems.

Scott theorized that it is possible to capitalize on what people know and do with their native languages. “Language is a way of interpreting the world,” she says. Her study of dynamic systems theory led her to explore the ways languages interact in the mind of one speaker-hearer. In her book, Double Talk: Deconstructing Monolingualism in Classroom Second Language Learning, she describes how this research compels rethinking current approaches to teaching and learning second languages.

Kelly Oliver, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy. That's a poster from one of her favorite gender and media movies, Pillow Talk, behind her.

Philosopher—the word evokes images of ancient, dour, self-absorbed thinkers who opine esoterica that has little to do with lives of ordinary people. Contrast that with Kelly Oliver, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, author and media critic. The dynamic professor’s classes and research dissect current events and contemporary thinking by piercing the veil of the mundane, revealing the inner workings of modern life.

“Everyone is searching for meaning in his or her life. Philosophy is a reflection on the meaning of experience,” says Oliver, who examines these and other conundrums through the lens of contemporary issues. “We all wonder why are we here, what should we do and what can we hope for. To paraphrase German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, ‘Philosophy rekindles our natural curiosity about life’.”

Forest Roots

Oliver’s childhood laid the foundation for her philosophy career. “My family is primarily loggers and forest people from the Northwest. One of my grandfathers was a forest ranger, the other was a logger. The logger grandfather never went to high school, but he was thoughtful and reflective. He was a homegrown philosopher. He treated me like an adult and talked about the meaning of life and told amazing stories.”

When she was in high school, Oliver’s biology teacher was studying philosophy and would talk to her about philosophy classes where they would ask “is this chair real?” which Oliver found intriguing. “Sometimes I’d intentionally give wrong answers on tests just so I could argue with him for fun,” she remembers. “I was a nascent philosopher even then.”

Although her parents wanted her to study accounting and go to law school, Oliver was drawn to philosophy. After her first semester at Gonzaga University, “I knew what I wanted and I never looked back,” she says. She went on to earn a master’s and doctorate in philosophy at Northwestern University.

Oliver’s research emerges from the study of Hegel, Nietzsche, phenomenology, Derrida, Kristeva and contemporary French philosophy. She delves deeply into the infrastructure and beliefs that drive the thinking, choices and lives of people. Whether people know it or not, Oliver says, philosophy is elemental and fundamental and at the heart of both conflict and its resolution.

“Throughout my work are common threads and questions of ethics, justice, social justice, relationships and how we relate to each other as well as the environment and animals,” she explains. This encompassing perspective makes it natural for Oliver to hold a joint appointment in women’s and gender studies.

Media Philosopher

Oliver has authored numerous books and articles, frequently examining modern media and culture. “Women as Weapons of War: Iraq, Sex and the Media came about as a result of the photos from Abu Ghraib Prison and the uncanniness of the photos that were released. These smiling young people looked like they should be in a high school yearbook, yet were pictured giving a thumbs up over bodies,” Oliver says. “It brought me to the question ‘what would lead young people to do this for fun and then photograph it?’ ”

Media coverage of Abu Ghraib and women on both sides of the Iraq War fascinated her because of the way the women were involved. She was likewise intrigued by women who become suicide bombers and the media attention they attract. “Women usually are portrayed as young and innocent—instead, essentially, with suicide bombing, at least as portrayed by the media, the bombshell has become the bomb.”

“It struck me that women were figured as, and used as, weapons,” Oliver says. “In the Guantanamo prison, there were all-women interrogation units that were used because of the humiliation it would cause the Muslim men to be tortured by women. Women were being used as military strategy.”

The 2007 release netted her a spot on the ABC network’s World View and international exposure. “The book was well received in Britain where Muslim culture is more apparent and politicized than in the U.S. and also well received in Iraq and Egypt,” Oliver says. “It’s being translated into Arabic.”

Oliver is continuing to focus on issues of gender and media in Knock Me Up, Knock Me Down: Images of Pregnancy in Hollywood Film. “Hardly a month goes by without a pregnant belly on the big screen,” Oliver says. “But what does it mean? While it’s true there’s more openness in our culture today, there’s also a sexualization of pregnancy. And yet there’s a conservative undertone in many of these films that suggests that having a baby will solve all of the problems in the lives of women and girls,” Oliver says. The book, due out from Columbia University Press in fall 2012, explores the impact and portrayal of reproductive technology and pregnancy in Hollywood film.

Life Affirming

To illustrate the covers of many of her books, Oliver uses the art of Spanish surrealist Remedios Varo. “Her work is melancholy, yet life affirming and full of a richness of plant, animal and human figures. There is a life force emanating from them,” Oliver says. Oliver’s Animal Lessons: How They Teach Us to Be Human is dedicated to her beloved cat, Kaos, and features a Varo painting of a cat on the cover, along with a poem Oliver wrote for Kaos.

Animal Lessons: How They Teach Us to Be Human

“On an existential level, we are relational beings, so trying to understand who we are can only be done by [understanding] how we relate to others,” Oliver says. “And what about our relations with the animals around us, those familiar and those in our environment? Some philosophers argue that we should extend rights to animals most like us. But I ask, what about animals—and people—not like us? Do you have to be like me for you to be my concern? I’d say no.”

While she concedes it’s easier to acknowledge obligations to friends, family and one’s own culture, where to draw the line isn’t that clear. “What about people whose values challenge mine?” she asks.

“Too many people think that they can exploit and kill people who challenge our values, people who are different,” Oliver says. “Fundamentally, that viewpoint is why we wage war. We need to question our own values and investment in them constantly, especially our investment in violence and killing. Doing so could mean less war and more peace.”

Kelly Oliver discusses Women as Weapons of War at a Thinking Out of the Lunch Box presentation in Nashville.

artsANDSCIENCE© is published by the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University in cooperation with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations Communications. You may contact the editor by email at artsandsciencemagazine@vanderbilt.edu or by U.S. mail at PMB 407703, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7703.

To share class notes or other alumni news, please visit VUConnect.

Editorial offices are located in the 2525 West End Avenue, Suite 700, Nashville, TN 37203.

Nancy Wise, Editor

Donna Pritchett, Art Director

Jenni Ohnstad, Designer

Daniel Dubois, Steve Green, Joe Howell, John Russell, Susan Urmy, Photography

Christopher Craig, Web Edition

Carolyn Dever, Dean

Jonathan S. Petty, Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations

Joanne Beckham (BA’62), Nelson Bryan (BA’73), Michael Greshko, Mardy Fones, Valerie Matena (BA’08), Jan Read, David Salisbury, Sandy Smith, Fiona Soltes, Cindy Thomsen, Phillip Tucker, Contributors

Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.

© 2011 Vanderbilt University

Arts and Science was printed with vegetable/soy-based ink on Rolland Enviro 100 Print, a 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. This environmentally responsible paper choice is EcoLogo-certified, processed chlorine-free, FSC recycled and manufactured using biogas energy.

No Tea For GOP

The Signs are There

How Not to Raise a Bully

Children who believe their fathers work too much and don’t spend enough time with them are more likely to develop bullying behavior, according to research by André Christie-Mizell, associate professor of sociology.

Christie-Miszell

Beth Bachmann, assistant professor of English, has won the Poetry Society of America’s 2011 Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award for a manuscript in progress.

Assistant Professor of Physics Kirill Bolotin has received a Faculty Early Career Development award from the National Science Foundation. The five-year award supports exploration into the conductivity of graphene, a recently discovered material that conducts electricity better than copper, has mechanical strength greater than steel and can be patterned into structures smaller than a virus.

Professor of Physics David Ernst has won the 2011 Distinguished Professional Mentor Award from the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

Steven D. Hollon, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology, has received the 2011 Florence Halpern Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Clinical Psychology from the Society of Clinical Psychology—APA Division 12.

McLean with students

John McLean, assistant professor of chemistry, was recognized for excellence in teaching by Vanderbilt student members of the American Chemical Society.

The American Council of Learned Societies announced Elizabeth Shih Meadows, MA’06, PhD’10, lecturer in English, was named to the ACLS New Faculty Fellows Program for 2011 and that Edward N. Wright-Rios, associate professor of history, was awarded an ACLS 2011 Charles A. Ryskamp Research Fellowship. ACLS is a private, nonprofit federation of 71 national scholarly organizations.

Randall

Alice Randall, writer-in-residence in African American and diaspora studies, was invited to spend a month at the famed Yaddo artists’ community in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Randall used the residency to revise her fourth novel, inFATuation, which draws on her research into soul food and research being done at Vanderbilt on personalized medicine. James Baldwin, Saul Bellow, Langston Hughes and other distinguished writers have also served residencies at Yaddo.

Furbish

Three Arts and Science faculty members were called to the podium to receive awards from Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos during Vanderbilt‘s Spring Faculty Assembly. Robert Barsky, professor of French and comparative literature, was awarded the Alexander Heard Distinguished Service Professor Award. David Furbish, professor of Earth and environmental sciences, received the Harvie Branscomb Distinguished Professor Award. Bunmi Olatunji, associate professor of psychology, received the Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching. This award is determined by the chancellor based on nominations from students.

Barbara Tsakirgis, (right) associate professor of classics and history of art, was presented with the Vanderbilt University Alumni Association Alumni Education Award. The award is given annually by the association’s board of directors to a full-time faculty member who has contributed substantially to alumni education programs. She received the award during a surprise classroom visit by, from left, Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations James Stofan, Dean Carolyn Dever, and Alumni Association board member Elizabeth Clarke Gerken, BE’90, MBA’92.

Professor of Astronomy David A. Weintraub is the award-winning author of Is Pluto a Planet? which won great acclaim for its fascinating and approachable style. His new book, How Old is the Universe? answers another compelling astronomy question. In the following excerpt, Weintraub recounts how the work of one astronomer at the turn of the 20th century was critical in determining the age of the universe.

From the Introduction

Ask any astronomer why she believes the universe is 13.7 billion years old, and she will tell you that she does not believe that it is 13.7 billion years old; she knows that it is 13.7 billion years old—give or take a hundred million years…. But why exactly do twenty-first century astronomers think that 13.7 billion years is the right answer? Why not 20 billion years? Why not 6,000 or 50 million or 1,000 trillion years? How do astronomers know that the universe even has an age—that it is not eternal?

From Chapter 15

…[Henrietta] Leavitt graduated from Radcliffe College, known then as the Society for the Collegiate Instruction of Women, in 1892 and went to work in 1893 as a volunteer computer* at the Harvard College Observatory. Soon thereafter, [Observatory director] Edward Pickering assigned to Leavitt the job of identifying variable stars, these being stars for which the output of light varies as a function of time; she quickly became an expert in this task. After three years of unpaid work, she delivered a summary report of her work to Pickering and departed Cambridge, spending the next two years traveling in Europe and then four more years in Wisconsin as an art instructor at Beloit College. Finally, in the summer of 1902, she contacted Pickering and asked permission to return to her work identifying variable stars. She clearly was very good at her work because Pickering immediately offered her a full-time, paid position with a wage of thirty cents per hour, which was significantly above the standard rate of twenty five cents per hour. This decision was one of the wisest Pickering would ever make.

The prototype of the variable stars known as cepheid variable stars, which Henrietta Leavitt would make famous, is Delta Cephei, discovered by John Goodricke in 1784. Cepheids do not simply get brighter and fainter and brighter again with periods of a few days or weeks; as they brighten, they also change color and temperature…becoming cooler and redder when brighter, then warmer and yellower when fainter. In addition, cepheids are distinct as variable stars because of the peculiar ways in which they brighten and fade…from the moment at which they are faintest and begin to brighten, they brighten very steadily, but when they reach maximum brightness and begin to fade, they fade continuously but not steadily. First they fade at an apparently constant rate. But when they are about two-thirds of the way back to minimum brightness, they begin to fade just a little bit less quickly. Then, when they are about seventy-five percent of the way to minimum light they fade much more quickly again. Despite the quirky nature of this pattern, the pattern is dependable and repeatable.

Early in 1904, Leavitt discovered several variable stars in a set of photographic plates of the Small Magellanic Cloud. Later that year, she found dozens more in both the Small and the Large Magellanic Clouds. Her discovery rate rose to hundreds per year and eventually she would identify 2,400 such stars. In 1908, Leavitt published under her own name “1777 Variables in the Magellanic Clouds” in Annals of Harvard College Observatory. …For all but 16 of these stars, she was able to determine “the brightest and faintest magnitudes as yet observed,” but for the remaining 16 of these 1777 stars, which she identified in Table VI of her paper, she also was able to determine their periods of variability…[She wrote that] “it is worthy of notice that in Table VI the brighter stars have the longer periods.” With historical hindsight, this is one of the most understated and important sentences in all of astronomical literature.

Four years later, Leavitt would conclude her work on the variable stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud in a brief, three page paper, “Periods of 25 Variable Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud,” published as a Harvard College Observatory Circular under the name of Edward Pickering, though Pickering’s first sentence states that “the following statement…has been prepared by Miss Leavitt.” Leavitt focused her attention on the 16 variable stars specifically identified in 1908, along with nine newly identified ones, all of which “resemble the variables found in globular clusters, diminishing slowly in brightness, remaining near minimum for the greater part of the time, and increasing very rapidly to a brief maximum.” These are the cepheids, and those identified by Leavitt had periods that ranged from 1.25 days to 127 days. She then notes, with characteristic understatement, “A remarkable relation between the brightness of these variables and the length of their periods will be noticed…the brighter variables have the longer periods.” That is, brighter stars blinked slowly, fainter stars blinked more quickly…. The keen insight that makes this discovery so important comes next: “since the variable stars are probably at nearly the same distance from the Earth their periods are apparently associated with their actual emission of light.”… Truly, the brighter stars were brighter, the fainter stars were fainter.

What does Leavitt’s discovery mean? If we can measure the period of variability for any single cepheid variable star, we instantly know the absolute [brightness] of that star. Since we can directly measure the apparent [brightness] of the cepheid, the combination of the period (which gives the absolute [brightness]) and the apparent [brightness] yields the distance to the star. This is an incredibly powerful discovery…

By using Leavitt’s variable stars, astronomers were on the cusp of a decade of absolutely monumental discoveries: first, the identification of cepheids in spiral nebulae would enable astronomers to measure the distances to these enigmatic objects, proving once and for all that the spirals were distant galaxies; then, the discovery that the distances and velocities of these galaxies are correlated would lead to the discovery of the expanding universe. Ultimately, the expanding universe measurements will give us [a] method for determining the age of the universe.

*A term originally used for a person who makes calculations, especially with a calculating machine.

Excerpted from How Old is the Universe?, published by Princeton University Press. Used by permission, all rights reserved.

Katie Ullmann has been named a 2011 Udall Scholar in recognition for her past commitment to environmental issues and her demonstrated commitment to a career in the environmental field. An American Studies major and Ingram Scholar, Ullmann has focused on social movements and their effect on environmental and climate protection policies. Now a junior, the Brookline, Mass., student was one of 80 undergraduates selected nationwide—and one of only 27 sophomores—from a group of 510 students nominated by 231 colleges and universities. The scholarship from the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation provides up to $5,000 for her junior or senior year.

Seniors Justin Menestrina and Tim Xu were selected as Goldwater Scholars from a field of nearly 1,100 math, science and engineering students nominated by colleges and universities across the country.

Menestrina is a physics student from Knoxville, Tenn., conducting honors research in preparation for his senior thesis. Xu, of Vienna, Va., is completing a double major—with honors—in neuroscience and European studies. The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program provides each with a two-year scholarship worth $7,500 a year for educational expenses.

In addition, Greg Gauthier earned honorable mention in the Goldwater competition. The Wheaton, Ill., senior is working toward an honors degree in mathematics and economics while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.

artsANDSCIENCE© is published by the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University in cooperation with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations Communications. You may contact the editor by email at artsandsciencemagazine@vanderbilt.edu or by U.S. mail at PMB 407703, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7703.

To share class notes or other alumni news, please visit VUConnect.

Editorial offices are located in the Loews Vanderbilt Office Complex, 2100 West End Ave., Suite 820, Nashville, TN 37203.

Nancy Wise, Editor

Donna Pritchett, Art Director

Jenni Ohnstad, Designer

Neil Brake, Mary Donaldson, Daniel Dubois, Steve Green, Joe Howell, Jenny Mandeville, John Russell, Susan Urmy, Photography

Jeff Kirkwood, Devin McWhorter, Web Edition

Carolyn Dever, Dean

Nelson Bryan (BA’73), Mardy Fones, Joe Charles Foster, Jennifer Johnston, Matt O’Brien (BA’01), Sandy Smith, Fiona Soltes, Cindy Thomsen, Contributors

Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action.

© 2011 Vanderbilt University

Arts and Science was printed with vegetable/soy-based ink on Rolland Enviro 100 Print, a 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper. This environmentally responsible paper choice is EcoLogo-certified, processed chlorine-free, FSC recycled and manufactured using biogas energy.

A girl at an internal displacement camp in Uganda, photographed by alumna Nancy Farese, BA’83, for Right to Play, a nongovernmental organization providing play therapy for kids in crisis all over the world. Read story.

One year’s photo of gowned Arts and Science graduates can appear like that of any other year—except for the hairstyles, shoes, glasses and of course, the statistics. Take a look at Commencement in past years as seen through the pages and lenses of campus media and photographers. (Facts and stats are from Commencement 2011.)

• 18,000 programs printed
• 43 faculty marshals used to organize graduates and faculty
• 75+ volunteers
• 27,550 chairs and 27 tents set up
• 18,000 bottled water containers for guests and graduates
• 300+ recycling containers
• 20,000 hand fans distributed
• Estimated 17,000–20,000 graduates, guests and faculty on Alumni Lawn
• In the 2010 ceremonies, a graduate’s name was called every 3.8 seconds (adding one second to each name would add 26 minutes to the event).

(1) Vanderbilt Alumnus, Vol. 45, No. 5, May–June 1960;

(2) Commencement program, 1932;

(3) Vanderbilt Magazine, summer 2008;

(4) Vanderbilt Today, Vol. 23, No. 1, summer 1983;

(5) Vanderbilt Today, Vol. 27, No. 3, summer 1988;

(6) Vanderbilt Register, Vol. 15, No. 31, May 6–19, 1996;

(7) Vanderbilt Alumnus, Vol. 26, No. 8, June 1941;

(8) Faculty Senate Chair Mildred Stahlman, professor of pediatrics; Chancellor Alexander Heard; Board of Trust President Sam Fleming and former Board President William Vaughn, 1975;

(9) Awarding of Arts and Science degrees, Commencement 2010.

The typical undergraduate life isn’t filled with lost sleep over curing cancer. But for Joseph J. Crivelli, participation in research has done just that. For Tesniem Fathi Shinawi, her undergraduate life has featured the learning experience of juggling classes, homework and research.

Crivelli and Shinawi are Beckman Scholars, participants in a by-invitation-only national program that funds scientific research for undergraduates. The prestigious Beckman Scholars program selects universities to participate, which in turn identify student applicants. Applicants must seek out a mentor and together they complete a research proposal. Key to the program are the close mentoring by a top researcher and the ongoing, in-depth research required of the student.

Being a Beckman Scholar provides an opportunity to see how research is done in an environment where you’re not guided by courses, says Jeffrey Johnston, professor of chemistry, and one of the directors of the Beckman Scholars program in the College of Arts and Science. “It really comes down to, ‘There’s a problem in front of me and there’s not really a script.’ That’s very different than going into an undergrad lab and being taught the techniques.”

Scholars are chosen for a 15-month period; they receive a significant stipend and commit to working a set number of hours on their research, including summers. Johnston believes the investment reaches far. “There’s a sobering moment, where you need to accomplish something because you’re really the legacy of this program,” he says. “We look for students who show some signs of being good peer leaders.”

The Beckman Scholars program was founded by Arnold Beckman—regarded as one of the top inventors of scientific equipment—and his wife, Mabel, through their Beckman Foundation. Its purpose is to support the education, research training and personal development of students in chemistry, biochemistry and the biological and medical sciences.

Vanderbilt was accepted into the Beckman Scholars program in 2008. In addition to the scholars funded by the Beckman Foundation, the College of Arts and Science also names an additional Dean’s Beckman Scholar, bringing the total of Beckman Scholars to seven since the program began. Here are a few of their stories.

Jessica Miles, senior, Louisville, Kentucky
Katherine Friedman, associate professor of biological sciences

Katherine Friedman with senior Jessica Miles

“The long-term commitment within the Beckman program is really quite unique,” Friedman says. “The summer, in particular, provides the student an uninterrupted time in which to pursue their research question and allows them to contribute to the mentor’s research program at a depth that is difficult to achieve during the academic year alone.”

Miles’ work in Friedman’s lab has been devoted to exploring telomeres, sequences of DNA at the ends of cell chromosomes, and telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the telomeres. “Telomeres and telomerase have significant medical implications,” Miles says, explaining that telomeres prevent the ends of the chromosomes from deteriorating. “The length of the telomere limits a cell’s life span, controlling the aging process. Moreover, inappropriate telomerase activity is a hallmark of an estimated 85 percent of cancers.”

Miles has learned another significant skill from Friedman: mentoring. After her Beckman Scholars experience, she and a friend created the Vanderbilt Association of Biology Students to mentor other students. “Our goal is to improve the academic experience of our members and to serve the needs of biology students who are not pursuing careers in medicine—a group that had no formal support before the formation of this organization,” Miles says.

Joseph J. Crivelli, senior, Cortlandt Manor, New York
Jens Meiler, assistant professor of chemistry and pharmacology

Joseph Crivelli (front) and Jens Meiler

“If you would like to become involved in research at Vanderbilt but are unsure of where to start, I’d recommend that you browse lab web pages, get an idea of which research area you’re interested in, and most important, send some emails,” Crivelli says. “Don’t be shy. There are so many amazing researchers like Jens who are eager to work with undergraduates.”

Small wonder: Meiler says that he has gained “fresh and original ideas; thinking out of the box,” from his work with undergraduates like Joseph.

Crivelli, a mathematics major, used a molecular modeling program to study how proteins interact with peptides. “If we’re able to accurately model the signaling interactions that occur between proteins and peptides in living cells, we can design molecules to block these interactions, potentially leading to new classes of therapeutics to combat cancer and other diseases,” Crivelli says. “Another exciting application of my work is the design of protein antibiotics which bind bacterial peptides. With such technology, we can target the multidrug resistant microbes that have invaded our hospitals.”

That fits with the larger work at Meiler’s lab, which focuses broadly on protein research.

As for the future, “While the theory behind my current work intrigues me, the long-term medical implications are what keep me up at night,” Crivelli says. “I’m now most interested in using ground-breaking research for the benefit of the patient.”

Tesniem Fathi Shinawi, junior, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
David Cliffel, associate professor of chemistry

Though Cliffel says the typical undergraduate experience is “not geared to making a major mark in research,” Shinawi may just be another exception to that rule. She began working with Cliffel at the end of her freshman year; she was named a Beckman Scholar a year later.

During her time in Cliffel’s lab, she has been exploring whether optical dyes used to stain cells have an impact on the physiology of the cell.

“Because fluorescent dyes are so common in the scientific community, it is important to determine whether they are causing any unwanted or significant effects to cellular function and metabolism,” Shinawi explains. She is currently completing a paper on her findings.

The junior chemistry major also received valuable mentoring for her career path; when she joined the lab, she was unsure of her career goals or even her major. She has since decided to pursue medicine and is considering a combined MD/PhD program. “I have learned how to manage my time, to investigate and solve problems, and to learn and present research information.  It has helped me realize that I could incorporate research into my future career goals,” she says.

Liwei Jiang, senior, Durham, North Carolina
Chris Janetopoulos, assistant professor of biological sciences

For Jiang and Janetopoulos, the Beckman Scholars program only enhanced an already fruitful working relationship. Jiang, a physics major, had sought out Janetopoulos a year earlier because he learned the professor “had some innovative ideas that were just waiting for people to develop into full-fledged, meaningful projects.”

Senior Liwei Jiang and Chris Janetopoulos

And develop they have. Working with Janetopoulos, Jiang has created a number of microfluidic platforms to integrate into the Commodore Compressor, a microscope-compatible mechanical device that gently squeezes a living cell or organism to hold it still for study. During his time as a Beckman Scholar, Jiang added a perfusion system to provide nutrients to the specimen, allowing it to be kept alive for several hours and enabling scientists to study the effect of chemicals on the specimen.

“Scientists around the world prefer studying live cells and organisms because one cannot observe dynamic, living processes in dead specimens. However, many live specimens move around greatly under the microscope, making studying them difficult or impossible,” Jiang explains.

The Commodore Compressor is a unique tool, Janetopoulos explains, and it may have a significant impact in many areas of research. “We realized early on that there were many applications for this device without perfusion. However, adding perfusion to the device as Liwei has done makes the device extremely attractive for other fields as well,” he says.

Jiang’s progress and well-written description of his project led to him being chosen as one of a select few scholars to present his findings at the annual Beckman Symposium. “A few scholars gave suggestions on how I can further my project,” Jiang says. “I have valued their suggestions to this day.”

Jiang’s suggestions are also valuable to Janetopoulos and his lab. “For a laboratory such as mine that averages four or five undergraduates, having a Beckman scholar in the lab sets the bar pretty high for the other students,” Janetopoulos says.

Jiang plans to become a physician with a specialization in research. “Through my undergraduate research experience, I have become convinced that future developments in medicine lie in investigating the human body and disease in a scientific yet creative manner.”

If Vanderbilt University could be characterized by one building, it would have to be Kirkland Hall. Up the stone stairs worn smooth by a century of foot traffic lies the heart of the university.

If Vanderbilt University could be personified by one individual, it would have to be Mary McClure Taylor, university receptionist. All that is Vanderbilt flows around her station in the center of Kirkland Hall. Taylor is often the first person that visitors to Kirkland, Vanderbilt and the College of Arts and Science meet—and she represents them well. Her demeanor is pleasant. Her compassion is real. Her heart is true. Her story is one with the institution.

Taylor grew up with Vanderbilt. She’s the daughter of an alumnus and faculty member (her father was Christopher Columbus McClure, MD’18, the first chair of the radiology department at Vanderbilt University Medical School), a College of Arts and Science graduate herself and a longtime Vanderbilt employee.

How did your history with Vanderbilt begin?

My dad founded the radiology department at Vanderbilt and I would walk over every day from Peabody Demonstration School (now the University School of Nashville) to catch a ride home. One day I made a wrong turn in the hospital and opened the door to where all the cadavers were kept. I didn’t make that mistake again!

He (her father) was one of 10 children who grew up in Wager, Ala., which is a tiny town close to Mobile. He got on a train by himself and traveled here to go to school and then medical school. He stayed here. Chris, my brother, went here, and of course, my husband (Robert C. Taylor, BA’52, JD’55) went here. My sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, stepsons, everybody. [It is] a real way of life with me.

During that time, you’ve met a few of our chancellors.

I have known all but two of our chancellors. I didn’t know [Landon C.] Garland or [James H.] Kirkland. Chancellor [Oliver C.] Carmichael was a good friend of my dad’s. Micky Carmichael Jr. was one of my brother’s best friends. Harvie Branscomb was chancellor when I was a student here. I worked for Chancellors Heard, Wyatt, Gordon Gee and now, Nick Zeppos. I was very young when I knew Dr. Carmichael. I remember how visible Chancellor Gee was on campus. He remembered everybody’s names and as I watched him interact with students, I found it very rewarding. Chancellor Zeppos teaches a class each semester. The students come by my desk, so excited to be in his class, and even his past students still stop by and see him frequently. Of course, that means I get to see them again as well.

What do you like best about your work?

What makes me love my job more than anything are these students. They are very dear, and tops. They just make my day. There’s just a constant stream. Of course they have to come through to go up to the third floor to change a course. That’s when I see most of them, when they’ve signed up for a course and two days later they’re getting out of it. I have made friends with some of them and have kept up with them through lunch and dinner and things like that, which mean a lot.

Where else have you worked at Vanderbilt?

Alumni Hall and Kirkland are really the only two buildings I’ve ever worked in.

I worked for Ed Shea for a while. He held the same position as Bob McGaw (former alumni secretary and director of public relations). I worked for Jane Sutherland in the registrar’s office, but I think Bob was the first one who asked me to work for him when I got out of school. Mostly I was proofing letters, which I enjoyed doing. It’s so much fun finding a mistake.

I probably started working full time with Skip Higgs. That was in News and Public Affairs in Kirkland. It was proofreading and just any job she needed. That’s been a long time ago. We moved to Alumni during the Kirkland renovation [in the mid to late 1980s].

What other types of work have you done?

I majored in sociology and minored in political science. Looking back on it, I picked those because of the professors. We had some good professors in those two departments.

I worked at the Red Cross—volunteered—drove that big old bloodmobile. It had a guard on it, so it wouldn’t go over 30 miles an hour. I did that a couple of days a week. Those were heavy things to lift, those cases that were filled with blood.

What do you do for enjoyment?

I go to basketball games. I’m a real basketball nut. I had both hips replaced and I can’t handle the steps at the football games. I got seats for men’s basketball that are real easy to get to. I sit behind our team … there’s nobody in front of us. It’s just great. It’s two steps to get down in there. I’ve had those seats a long time.

What’s your favorite time of year on campus?

It’s not winter! It’s spring—I live for spring. We laugh about it when five minutes of more daylight makes such a big difference. Best time of the year.

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, you’ve resisted the urge to throw yet another alumni mailing directly into the nearest trash or recycling bin. I don’t blame you. Reading that opening sentence was the longest either of us has ever gone without Vanderbilt asking for money. How many more student centers and nude marble carvings of Jay Cutler can the campus possibly hold?

I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t given Vanderbilt a dime post-graduation. Sure, they’ve asked for money, even angrily at times. I was mailed a picture of Cornelius Vanderbilt holding a chainsaw with the words “See you at Homecoming” scrawled across the top in pheasant blood. But for whatever reason (crippling student loan debt), I still haven’t managed to send that generous check the university so rightfully deserves. I feel bad about it. Truth is, my Vanderbilt education has served me well. It’s helped me navigate the viper’s nest of show business, and ultimately, land a job writing for Conan O’Brien (no relation).

How I got to Conan is another story in itself, and I won’t bore you with the details. No, on second thought, I will. They want this article to be around 1,000 words. I need filler. Sorry.

Above left: Comic geniuses (i.e., writers) toil over the script for that day’s Conan show. Matt O’Brien is far right. Host Conan O’Brien is at far left. Above right: For some reason, Conan O’Brien (right) loves punching Matt O’Brien (no relation. No, really.).

Shortly after graduating from the College of Arts and Science in 2001 with a degree that combined communication studies and computer science (plug), I moved to New York City to pursue comedy. Through a bit of luck and timing, I was hired as an entry-level assistant at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The position was the bottom rung on the ladder, the pay was Falkland Islands bad (plug), but it was a chance to see how smart, irreverent comedy was distilled from the inside. I was a doe-eyed fool watching Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carrell perform and write comedy better than I could ever hope to. It was equally intimidating and inspiring.

For five years, I churned slowly in New York and developed a sense of what it took to be a writer—lofty intelligence and an untreated serotonin deficiency. Like every other comedian in the city, I was looking for a break. Then through happenstance I met Robert Smigel, the godfather of comedy writing (Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien). Maybe he was drunk, maybe his Jewish guilt was inflamed, or maybe he didn’t understand the question, but when I asked if I could pitch him some jokes for his popular character Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, he said yes. Even better, he ended up using some of my jokes on television. It was a small break, but a break nonetheless, and it would continue to grow.

I left The Daily Show and was hired to write on several short-lived shows you’ve never heard of. Some jobs would last six months, others six hours. All that really mattered was gaining experience as a writer and getting laid (not true). Then in late 2007, a much bigger break came my way. Conan.

I had watched Late Night with Conan O’Brien almost every night of my life since ninth grade. It was a sad reflection of my social life, and my parents agreed. I carried the habit to college, and in my Lupton Hall freshman dorm room, above my desk, sat a poster of Conan. I idolized the guy. His show had set the pace for an entire generation of comedy writers. Working deep in the Roker-haunted bowels of 30 Rockefeller Plaza and writing for Conan—it just doesn’t get more exciting than that.

I’ve been writing for Conan for four years now and still consider it a privilege. I slink into work, sift through the news, whittle out a funny idea (add fart sounds to Karzai interview), and sometimes it’s broadcast on national television 12 hours later. Letters pour in expressing outrage over the controversial Karzai fart interview. My life is threatened. Then Charlie Sheen buys and snorts the ashes of Bea Arthur, and everyone moves on. Still, it’s a lot of fun. Getting paid to do it is surreal.

In 2009, I moved with Conan to Los Angeles when he took over The Tonight Show. Yes, that Tonight Show, the Mount Olympus of comedy. An untouchable institution. Who better to take the reins than Conan, one of the smartest and acclaimed funnymen of our time? As a writer, The Tonight Show was the job that would never go away.

Then it did. Jay Leno’s primetime show dragged in the ratings, NBC executives retreated to the fetal position, and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien lasted only nine months. We all lost our jobs.

Luckily, the whole ordeal yielded new opportunities. I toured the country with Conan for two months on his Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television tour. Thirty-three cities in 60 days. My job was to write local jokes at each stop, usually about an ugly statue or the local stripper who crushes beer cans between her breasts (plug). Then TBS gave Conan a new show and we got our jobs back. Life returned to normal. End of scene.

Finally comes the part of the article where I shoehorn in specific examples of how a Vanderbilt education played an instrumental part in my success. It did. The most important skill for any comedian or comedy writer is a vast frame of reference, and the only way to get it is through a thorough and well-rounded education. I got that in the College of Arts and Science. Turns out liberal arts, the disheveled, right-brained uncle of curriculum theory, holds its weight outside the shadow of Cornelius. The majority of classes I dismissed as teaching me “crap I’ll never use,” have turned out to be an exceptionally valuable asset.

When I need to write a joke about gully erosion (Geology 100) or Plessy vs. Ferguson (Communication Studies 222) on the same day, I’ll be ready. Thanks Vandy, check’s in the mail.

Senior Will Johnson (pictured) is reading Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader. (Will traveled to South Africa a few semesters ago as part of Vanderbilt’s VISAGE program). The economics major is also reading:

• The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons
• From Poverty to Prosperity by Arnold Kling and Nick Schulz

• Shakespeare’s Richard II, Richard III, As You Like It and Henry IV Part 1
• The Routledge Drama Anthology and Sourcebook, edited by Maggie B. Gale and John F. Deeney

—Maddie Fansler, junior, theater

• The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon
• Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert
• The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel by Michael Chabon
• Phenomenology of Perception by Maurice Merleau-Ponty
• Beautiful Democracy: Aesthetics and Anarchy in a Global Era by Russ Castronovo

—Jennifer Fay, associate professor of film studies and English

And since film is her field of study, here’s what she’s viewing:

• Marwencol (Jeff Malmberg, 2010)—recently at the Belcourt
• The President’s Mystery (Phil Rosen, 1936)
• The Hole (Tsai Ming-Liang, 1998)
• TV on DVD: Friday Night Lights

• The Sacrament of Language by Giorgio Agamben
• The Implications of Immanence: Toward a New Concept of Life by Leonard Lawlor
• Hatred and Forgiveness by Julia Kristeva

—Sarah Hansen, PhD’10, lecturer in philosophy

• “On Faith” blog, Washington Post.com
• The Cider House Rules by John Irving

—Gabe Horton, senior, political science

• Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss
• Double Talk by Virginia M. Scott
• Elementary Hindi by Richard Delacy and Sudha Joshi
• Rajasthan: Delhi, Agra and Jaipur (Fodor’s Travel Guide)

—Todd F. Hughes, director, Vanderbilt Language Center, and associate editor, Hispania Journal

If a researcher can dream it, Bob Patchin and John Fellenstein can make it. They’re the full-time staff of the physics and astronomy department’s machine shop in Stevenson Center. Patchin and shop supervisor Fellenstein design and craft tools, instruments, devices and just about anything faculty and graduate students need for their research or teaching. The facility serves departments in the College of Arts and Science, as well as the School of Engineering.

Click wherever you see a to find out more about this photo!

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Every bit of space in the 3,000-square-foot machine shop gets used. Equipment includes four lathes, five mills (including two modern CNC machines), four drill presses, two surface grinders, five saws and six vacuums. The shop also has woodworking facilities, complete with table saw, jointer and panel saw. The wood shop made nonmagnetic items for John Wikswo, Gordon A. Cain University Professor and A.B. Learned Professor of Living Physics, to use for his SQUID magnetometer research.

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Patchin says he can make just about anything on this Italian-made milling machine (circa 1950s). He’s used it to craft tiny valves to go inside robotic arms for use by disabled veterans, and he used it to machine welded flanges onto pipes four inches across and 16 to 18 feet long.

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A tool and die maker, Patchin figures out how to build things others envision, either from scratch or by modifying existing items. The shop makes one-of-a-kind pieces, prototypes and equipment used in labs and demonstration classes. Patchin says he particularly enjoys “demo work,” creating or adapting the equipment used to demonstrate physics principles to classes. On his bench currently are components that professors will use to build a light bulb demo.

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A library of cutters provides the right shape, tool and hardness to cut almost anything, including materials for an engineering professor’s research with diamonds.

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This nearly 100-year-old universal shaping saw is nicknamed Old Betsy. “It’ll cut off large stainless-steel pieces very accurately, which is a tough job because the material is very hard, and that saves machining time later on,” Patchin says. “It’ll cut very closely, even as ancient as it is.”

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A WWII ordnance plant veteran, this lathe still puts piles of chips on the floor. Patchin modified the heavy machine to incorporate a programmable digital readout system.

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The shop’s previous supervisor had a keen eye for surplus equipment. Despite its scruffy appearance, this U.S. Navy surplus vacuum proved its worth when the shop worked on a project for Professor Victoria Green. They cut G-10 composite material, which has slivering and dust qualities somewhat like fiberglass, and they ran the vacuum constantly for nine months to clean up scraps. “It just sat there and gobbled it down, we’d empty it, and put it on every day, it was just great for that,” he says.

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The most unusual device he was ever asked to build, Patchin says, was a lizard track. A post-doctoral researcher in biological sciences wanted to keep his Anolis lizards healthy, so they constructed a running track. It used an electric drill to vary the speed. A close runner-up was crafting a worm-rooping stick for Ken Catania, associate professor of biological sciences, who was studying the phenomenon of worm grunting.

Watch: Want to know what the worm rooping stick was for? Associate Professor Ken Catania discusses worm grunting on Assignment Earth

Tracy Miller admires a Ming dynasty (1368-1644) tomb model house that’s part of Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery’s permanent collection.

Buildings represent a three-dimensional record of a people, art and culture. For Tracy Miller, associate professor of history of art, tracking these facets of medieval Chinese life through free-standing timber frame buildings is a passion and an exploration that began early.

“My grandmother painted furniture in the chinoiserie style,” Miller says, explaining her early exposure to China through the decorative painting technique.

Later, as an art history major at Arizona State University, Miller took a Chinese painting survey class. “In Chinese paintings, there is a sense of a landscape through which you can walk, as though it’s a portal, a way to travel through time and space,” Miller says. She stepped through that portal, becoming fluent in Mandarin and spending three years studying language and architectural history at Chinese universities in the 1990s. She later earned a doctorate through the University of Pennsylvania’s Asian and Middle Eastern Studies program.

History and Culture through Architecture

Miller is the artist in a technically minded family. Her mother is a mathematician and software test specialist. Her siblings and father are engineers. “Math is interesting, but it doesn’t thrill me,” she says. (Even so, she does find herself with a math renaissance as she runs multiplication drills with her third-grade daughter while driving. She and her husband, Peter Lorge, a senior lecturer in the history department, have another daughter, age 5.)

Miller’s academic specialty is the art and architecture of East Asia, with an emphasis on ritual sites in China between 618-1644 C.E., and the ways in which regional identity is expressed through construction techniques.

She makes frequent trips to Shanxi Province, where 70 percent of premodern Chinese architecture is located. Key in her research are the timber bracketing systems that support the roofs of ritual structures such as temples and palaces, bracket systems that are also replicated with masonry in tombs.

“These buildings and bracket systems are markers of self-awareness and self-confidence in a specific time and place,” Miller says, explaining that her work documents Chinese regional identity which persisted despite new rulers who sought to import styles from other regions. “The style of the bracketing is helpful in tracking the path of architecture and culture as the southeast increased its influence over north-central China from the 10th through the 13th centuries.”

Studying the construction styles, Miller is able to create an in-depth picture of the geo-political forces that drove design of ritual sites and influenced architecture, culture and history. Her current research is for a second book regarding Chinese medieval architecture; her first, the award-winning The Divine Nature of Power: Chinese Ritual Architecture at the Sacred Site of Jinci, was published by Harvard University Press in 2007.

Adventures in China

China’s increasing receptivity to Westerners has expanded and quickened the pace of her research. “I used to spend a lot of time waiting for people to tell me ‘No, [you] can’t have access,’ ” she says. “Now you talk to locals and let them know you’re not there to steal or take pictures for a glossy magazine, and they say, ‘Talk to Mr. Lin. He has the key.’ Things are more open now, but it is China. They could close at any time.”

Her China trips typically consist of 10 intensely focused days visiting rural locations where she photographs, documents and moves on to the next site. “I’m trying to get a sense of [medieval buildings] while looking at regional and cultural forces through architectural style,” she explains. “Ultimately, that means seeing as many free-standing buildings as possible and searching for patterns to see how things are the same, how they differ. If access gets sticky, sometimes I just have to move on.”

Each trip to China is both a journey into the familiar and an adventure in the unknown. In many rural areas only the local dialect is spoken, sometimes causing difficulty in communication. This is compounded by her “foreign” blonde hair and fair skin. She recalls trying to get directions to a temple site, while overhearing a growing crowd of curious locals saying, “What language is she speaking? Is she speaking German? Is it English? Russian? Oh, wait, she’s speaking Mandarin.”

Other adventures are both humorous and intimate. Miller, at 5 feet, 4 inches, says in China she frequently is the tallest woman in a group. In the ’90s, an older woman was overcome by curiosity and began stroking Miller’s then waist-length blonde hair.

In Taiwan, where Miller and Lorge studied classical Chinese with a local professor, a slip in Chinese etiquette—handing their teacher cash in payment for lessons—once yielded quick correction. “The professor said, ‘Next time, use an envelope. This isn’t a grocery store,’ and handed the cash back,” Miller recalls. “In both China and Taiwan, teachers of all levels garner great respect.”

In the Classroom

While her trips to China, Japan and Korea further her understanding of art, architectural history and tradition in Asia, Miller prizes her time in the classroom. Current courses include the art of Japan and a study of East Asian architecture and gardens. Last semester, she taught a writing seminar for first-year students that was titled House, Temple, City—Sacred Geographies of China.

“I love teaching freshman. They’re so open, so interested,” Miller says. “When you teach freshman, you have the luxury of talking about issues as if you didn’t know anything. Freshmen will challenge you, not just about your thinking but about the information itself. They keep me sharp.”

Miller also serves as acting director of the Asian Studies program in the College of Arts and Science. Her hope is that some of her students will find their life’s work in the study of China and build Vanderbilt’s role as a center for research of all things Asian.

“Vanderbilt is looking toward finding a footprint in Asia,” she says. “As we get to the point in the History of Art program where we’re considering a graduate program, some of these students may be a part of it, and we’ll be able to attract excellent people who will help us build it.”

Some 150 years after the first shots were fired, the Civil War still raises questions and strong emotions. Some of its foundational issues—whether citizenship can be defined by race and whether states can secede from federal jurisdiction—are as current as today’s headlines. Other matters haunt us when we’re forced to face them.

Still, Michael Kreyling, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English, wonders if there will be significant national events to mark the sesquicentennial of the war’s beginning at Fort Sumter in April 1861.

“It’s hard to find in the Civil War a metaphor for what we’re going through now,” says Kreyling, who just finished teaching two courses devoted to the topic, including one that compared the 1961 centennial and 2011 sesquicentennial celebrations. “In the 1960s, at the centennial, it was uncomfortably easy to find a metaphor. We remember things not because of what happened in the past, but because there are things we need to think about in the present. I wonder what the anniversary will help us with.”

Kreyling predicts that the sesquicentennial will be celebrated largely as a tourist event—but not in the College of Arts and Science. Here, students and professors explore various issues and aspects related to the war.

What it Means Today

That, believes Mona Frederick, executive director of the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, is vital to Vanderbilt’s mission. “It’s very important that on our campus we have careful scholarly examination of the 150th anniversary and that we do not allow the anniversary to rehash a perhaps mythical North/South divide,” Frederick says. “It’s not only the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, but also of the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, and that comes as we have our first African American president. It’s important that our students get an opportunity to study this more deeply and think about it in deep ways, to reflect what it’s about and what it means to us today.” As part of the dialogue, the center’s annual Harry C. Howard Lecture brought historian David Blight to campus in March to discuss Warren’s look at the centennial, The Legacy of the Civil War.

Watch David Blight's lecture on Robert Penn Warren’s look at the centennial, The Legacy of the Civil War

Campus discussions will not solely look back. Richard Blackett, Andrew Jackson Professor of History, believes that many issues are contemporary. With Kreyling, he team-taught the spring Humanities 161 course, which brought in numerous guest lecturers from around the country.

The Civil War “transformed America from being a series of states—of entities that aspired to achieve the principles that were enumerated in the American Revolution—into a country with a strong central government,” Blackett says. “As a result, what we have had ever since are these attempts to question the legitimacy of a strong federal government by individual states. We see it even today … Periodically in its history, America always finds a way to stretch itself over a barrel on issues that you thought were previously resolved.”

Shifting Images of the War

The war continues as a popular theme of movies and books and a passion for re-enactors. But its image has changed through the past 150 years. Rory Dicker, senior lecturer in English and women’s and gender studies, taught a course that explored the fiction of the war, both that written in the immediate aftermath and that with the perspective of time.

“You can see a change through the shift into realism,” Dicker says. “If you think about Stephen Crane (Red Badge of Courage) or William Faulkner (The Unvanquished), there’s more artistic license. Earlier on, as with Louisa May Alcott (Hospital Sketches), writers are trying to get at the point of view of someone who has been there. There is more literary distance in things that were written in the 20th century.”

Visual images of the war and of African Americans also have changed in perspective, says Vivien Green Fryd, chair of the Department of History of Art. Her advanced seminar explored how artists dealt with this scar on American history in work ranging from Thomas Ball’s depiction of a paternalistic Lincoln hovering above a subservient freed slave in his Emancipation Group, to work by Edmonia Lewis—herself part black—that showed slaves celebrating their newfound freedom.

“Slavery is such a fraught issue in the U.S.,” Fryd says. “We’re supposedly a country founded on the concept of freedom. Yet our founding fathers had slaves, so they themselves made distinctions between white people and African American slaves. Some images in the nineteenth century denigrate African Americans, while others, especially after the Civil War, show genre scenes of everyday life among African American families that depart from mainstream racist caricatures.”

Vanessa Beasley, associate professor of communication studies, also myth-busted in her course on the rhetoric of the American experience, tackling the most celebrated figure from the war years. “We have this idea of Lincoln as the reluctant hero,” she says. “Lincoln clearly wanted to be president, and he has more ambition than is represented. He’s also not as consistently anti-slavery throughout his career as popular culture represents him. He’s not always convinced that it’s a good idea to abolish slavery in slave states, for example. Often, he’s depicted as this isolated man in the White House who knows the right thing to do. There seems to be an ongoing need to depict the presidency in particular ways of this notion of a strong individual who doesn’t want to have the power.”

Founded Out of the Conflict

Because of the campus’ proximity to war sites, Teresa Goddu, director of the American Studies program and associate professor of English, offered a traveling course to area Civil War monuments, memorials and battlefields.

Students in Brandi Brimmer’s first-year seminar on black women’s activism in post-Civil War America also visited local sites. Assistant Professor of History Brimmer and her students explored locations connected with the life of Callie House, a Tennessee woman born into slavery who later led the fight to secure pensions for slaves.

Vanderbilt University’s ties to the Civil War are indelible, and not just because the Battle of Nashville was fought a few miles from where the campus stands. Shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt supported the Union Army and loaned numerous ships to the Northern war effort. Nearly a decade later, he made his first—and only known—significant charitable endeavor: $1 million to found a university in the South to help the region heal from the ravages of war.

It is partially for that reason and partially because it is located in the South that Vanderbilt must lead in discussions of the Civil War, Beasley believes.

“We need to have these conversations for a lot of reasons,” she says. “What does it mean to be a leading intellectual center in the South? Do we have a special obligation to the rest of the nation because we’re in the South?”

Like the Civil War itself, sometimes the questions have no easy answers.

Associate Professor of Anthropology Tiffiny Tung perches on the edge of her office chair, mulling how to explain the importance of successfully melding research, teaching and service into her life’s work at the College of Arts and Science. Each inform and elevate the other, she begins.

She needn’t answer the question, although she has many fine thoughts on the subject. The conversation is punctuated by visits from students turning in research papers or coming to work in the osteology lab. A book Tung is consulting for a research project lies open on her desk. Emails and research permits come in as she plans a summer field project in Peru that will include undergraduate research participants. A grant application for plastic skeletons has just gone into the mail. The skeletons would aid in Tung’s public outreach through Vanderbilt’s Virtual School, where during the week before, she had reached nearly 500 primary school students in two teaching sessions.

Tiffiny Tung (center, with students Matt Migneron, Kirsten Delay, Penny Dolan and Cristina Francois) says her goal—and that of research institutions—is to inspire new generations to become active producers of knowledge.

Tung, like much of the faculty in the College of Arts and Science, is a researcher defined more by her desire to serve the advancement of knowledge than by just the body of her work. Vanderbilt is defined as a research institution but its core mission, like Tung’s, is much more expansive. What does it mean to be a research institution? What does it mean to be a faculty member in the liberal arts college of such an institution? How do teaching and service fit in?

Teaching + Research + Service

At the very basic level, the purpose of the university is to ask questions and solve problems, a description that can be found on the website of the 63-member Association of American Universities, to which Vanderbilt belongs. Research universities train the leaders of the future by combining access to research and education, and they apply expert knowledge to real-world problems every day, according to the AAU.

At the heart of Vanderbilt is the College of Arts and Science. While its mission statement clearly includes the directive to foster well-taught programs and service to society, good teaching and a commitment to service are more than a common goal. They are a distinct part of the Vanderbilt culture, says John Sloop, senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of communication studies.

“People sometimes think that at a research university, the commitment and dedication to teaching is a façade. But that’s not true here and I can’t stress that enough,” he says. “The teaching culture here is rich, robust and vibrant in a way that you might not expect.”

Sloop and all administrators serving in the Arts and Science dean’s office—including Dean Carolyn Dever—teach every year. For that matter, so does Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos. “We make better decisions because we’re in the classroom and it better informs our research,” Sloop says.

Tripartite Mission

At an institution such as Vanderbilt, the expectation is clear that faculty must be leaders and experts in their fields. But top researchers don’t leave their classroom duties to a colleague down the hall. “What I would continue to stress is that every one of them is a really good teacher, too, and I find this unusual when compared with other university environments,” Sloop says.

Marilyn Murphy presenting at Inside Out of the Lunchbox, a series of talks sponsored by Vanderbilt for the Nashville community.

Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences Steve Goodbred was part of a team that interviewed potential new faculty as his department expanded. Candidates who demonstrate a record of integrating their research into the excellent teaching of undergraduates and service to the community have a leg up on others, he says. Stellar research alone won’t make the cut.

“When we hire new faculty, we talk a lot about the university culture … There is not a bar to get over or a secret handshake,” says Goodbred, whose research interests focus on river deltas and coastal environments. Instead, at Vanderbilt, faculty search committees routinely search for potential colleagues who are fully engaged in the complete, collaborative academic experience because that engagement meshes more fully with the institution’s environment, he says. He came to the College of Arts and Science from a state university where he felt good teaching wasn’t valued.

“One reason the tripartite mission works at Vanderbilt is because it’s articulated to people when they come in,” Goodbred says. “Research, teaching and service together are truly valued. It goes beyond rhetoric. People are willing to put in the effort it takes when they know it is not just disappearing as a checked box on their resume.”

All of the professors interviewed for this article teach introductory courses and invite undergraduate participation in their research. In fact, they love teaching introductory classes and watching how students often change their worldviews as the semester progresses. These professors routinely share research findings and articles in class—their own and those of others who challenge or complement their ideas.

Inextricably Altered

Professor of Art Marilyn Murphy has been a member of the faculty for more than 30 years and still relishes teaching introductory art courses, “wrestling” the students into better drawing and less conventional thinking.

“These students are very used to exceeding expectations, but I’m asking them to throw expectations out the window,” Murphy says. Ultimately the goal is to, literally, “heighten their awareness of the world around them.”

Murphy described the reaction of one student, who said that after a class unit on creating the illusion of depth with shadows, “I could hardly walk over here.” The student’s way of looking at the interplay of light and dark in the world had been inextricably altered. She wondered if her path to class would ever be the same again.

Murphy’s “The Getaway” depicts her feelings toward the challenging, yet satisfying tasks of academic administration.

Murphy says her teaching and service to the university have dramatically influenced her work as an artist. She has poured many hours into administrative duties, such as revamping catalog information for studio art, which had course entries jumbled like spaghetti with art history. She was heavily involved in all phases of construction of what is now the E. Bronson Ingram Studio Arts Center. For many years, she was a department chair.

Her dramatic artwork often presents a surprising twist on everyday life. “I started a whole series of falling paper,” she remembers. Murphy realized the tumbling sheets represented the overwhelming but ultimately satisfying completion of administrative tasks that furthered and improved the mission of the university. In her piece, “The Getaway,” a woman in high heels looking over a fence is caught up in barbed wire. “After I relinquished the world of chair, I began to do (art that included) a lot of balloons,” she says with a smile.

For artists such as Murphy, publication and productivity are associated with staging exhibits and shows, which she has done all over the world. In 2004, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts presented a retrospective of the last 25 years of her work, Suspended Animation.

For basic scientists such as Patrick Abbot, associate professor of biological sciences, research life revolves around writing grants, conducting and guiding research, and encouraging ideas and inquiry that lead to more research. In all arenas, the mandate is to communicate information clearly.

“It’s very common for me to be working on a paper, and to get up and grab my lectures. My brain is very much into how to best describe a point,” he says. He strides into the classroom ready to share and expand on ideas.

Abbot’s research focuses on insects, typically those that feed on plants and mammals. The ultimate goal is a more comprehensive understanding of the interaction between species. “It’s very hard to find an insect that doesn’t have an important function. Sometimes it’s just not visible,” he says.

“We Do it … Because We Love It”

Good teaching and basic science breakthroughs would not be possible without institutions such as Vanderbilt, Abbot says. Professors, in turn, understand the critical need to “participate in the maintenance and improvement of these institutions.” That’s where service, such as editing journals, jurying research or serving on faculty committees, naturally comes in.

Patrick Abbot combines teaching with research in his biological sciences lab.

“The most obvious reason we do it is because we love it,” Abbot says. There’s also a strong commitment to paying it forward and paying homage to previous mentors. “I don’t know a single colleague who can’t point to somebody in their life who was a member of an institution like Vanderbilt who was critical in facilitating their development and getting them to where they are. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t keep that in the back of their mind when they engage with students.”

He relishes the opportunity to follow the careers of students who have matriculated through his lab and gone on to graduate school and careers in the sciences. Many publish papers before they graduate from Vanderbilt, he says.

“They really have a home and the opportunity to be part of something,” he says. Students have full access to laboratories like Abbot’s and the opportunity for an intensely hands-on experience. “By the time they’re done with their research projects, walking into a crowd and doing a PowerPoint presentation is nothing. When they go on interviews and they’re asked about what they did, they can be very specific.”
His pride is almost parental. “It becomes effortless. I’ve seen them give better talks than I can give. The educational value is just immense.”

Inspiring New Generations

That is part of the ultimate goal of a research institution–to inspire new generations to become active producers of knowledge, according to Tung, who has made a strong commitment to public science education and encourages her students to continue that tradition as well.

“This is a place where new ideas are being implemented and they have the opportunity to tap into that,” Tung says.

Sparking students’ interest helps keep Steven Goodbred recharged and ready for each semester to begin.

A bio-archaeologist, Tung takes undergraduates and graduate students to central Peru to study the Wari culture, a pre-Incan civilization that lived in the Andes 1,400 years ago. Undergrads who have completed Tung’s osteology course have the opportunity to participate in research and become involved in teaching a similar course on skeletal analysis to high school students in the U.S. and Peru. In the laboratory portion of the class, the undergraduates work hands-on to manage different stations. “When I see my undergrads teach the high school students, I know that they really comprehend the material,” Tung says. “I sit and watch it unfold.”

While Tung emphasizes that research and teaching can be creatively blended into service, she acknowledges there are many unglamorous challenges to daily work and to keeping a balance. Goodbred agrees.

“I’m not a great multitasker, so at the end of the semester, I’m ready for the semester to end,” Goodbred admits. But then, he says, there’s a kind of rebirth and a longing to begin again. Often that’s fueled by knowing he’s created a spark in a student, like the one who sent him a lengthy email thanking him for the way he so effectively taught a course. The email is taped to his wall. “That made my year,” he says.

It’s not often that the governors of two states make a big deal about highway signs, which says something about the signs’ subject: alumnus Robert Penn Warren, BA’25. In late fall, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (left) and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen (right, blue tie) unveiled signs that direct travelers to the Robert Penn Warren Birthplace Museum in Guthrie, Ky. Housed in Penn Warren’s childhood home, the museum offers a glimpse into Penn Warren’s young life and a chance to read his work. In marking the occasion, Bredesen called Penn Warren a man who revolutionized the literary world and left an indelible mark on both Kentucky and Tennessee. “Robert Penn Warren may be best known as America’s first official Poet Laureate and the only person to hold Pulitzer Prizes in both poetry and fiction—but he was at heart a teacher who recognized the importance of sharing his knowledge with future generations,” Bredesen said. Mona Frederick, executive director of Vanderbilt’s Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, was on hand for the unveiling near the Kentucky/Tennessee border.

The Scientist magazine named Vanderbilt one of the best places to work in academia for life scientists (those who study living organisms). The university leaped to the No. 12 spot on a list headed by Princeton University, ranking ahead of other institutions including Stanford, Emory and Yale universities. In 2009, Vanderbilt ranked No. 34 in the survey.

A. V. Ramayya (left)

Jeremy Atack, professor of economics and history, was named president-elect of the Economic History Association.

Kate Daniels

Associate Professor of English and poet Kate Daniels received the 2011 Hanes Award for Poetry, an award given by the Fellowship of Southern Writers for outstanding literary achievement by a Southern poet.

Novelist Tony Earley, Samuel Milton Fleming Professor of English, has been elected a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

Tony Earley, Samuel Milton Fleming Professor of English, and Todd R. Graham, professor of biological sciences, received 2010 Chancellor’s Awards for Research. The university-wide honor recognizes excellence in research, scholarship or creative expression.

Ellen Fanning, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences, was elected a fellow by the American Academy of Microbiology.

Gary Gerstle, James Stahlman Professor of History, has been named the Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University for the 2012-2013 academic year.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) elected four College of Arts and Science faculty as fellows. John Gore, Hertha Ramsey Cress Chair in Medicine and professor of physics; Jeffrey Johnston, professor of chemistry; Michael Stone, professor and chair of chemistry; and John Wikswo, Gordon A. Cain University Professor and A.B. Learned Professor of Living State Physics, were honored for distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Shaul Kelner

The Association for Jewish Studies recognized a book by Shaul Kelner, assistant professor of sociology and Jewish studies, as outstanding scholarship in the field of Jewish studies. Kelner received the 2010 Jordan Schnitzer Book Award for Tours That Bind: Diaspora, Pilgrimage and Israeli Birthright Tourism.

Elizabeth Lunbeck, Nelson Tyrone Jr. Professor of History and chair of the department, was named Distinguished Psychoanalytic Educator by the International Forum of Psychoanalytic Education.

Terry Page, professor of biological sciences, was honored with the 2010 university-wide Madison Sarratt Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

Professor of French Virginia Scott received the university’s Thomas Jefferson Award, made annually for distinguished service to the institution.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has awarded a $2.9 million award to Mitchell A. Seligson, Centennial Professor of Political Science, for work on a Latin American Democratic Indicators Monitoring System for El Salvador.

Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting

Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting, Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and French, was named one of the top 100 young leaders of the African American community by The Root, an online magazine founded by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. Sharpley-Whiting is director of the African American and Diaspora Studies program and director of the William T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies.

Claire Sisco King, assistant professor of communication studies, received Vanderbilt’s 2010 Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching.

The College of Arts and Science awarded the annual Jeffrey Nordhaus Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching to Mark Wollaeger, professor of English (humanities), Prasad Polavarapu, professor of chemistry (natural sciences), and Michael Bess, Chancellor’s Professor of History (social sciences). The Ernest A. Jones Faculty Advisor Award was presented to David Furbish, professor of Earth and environmental sciences. The Harriet S. Gilliam Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Senior Lecturer went to Steve Baskauf, senior lecturer in biological sciences and the Alumni Outstanding Pre-Major Advisor Award was presented to Scott Zeman, CASPAR adviser and senior lecturer in philosophy.

Spence Lee Wilson (left), Rebecca Webb Wilson and Tom Dillehay listen to remarks during Dillehay’s installation as Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Religion and Culture at Vanderbilt University.

Dillehay is the first holder of the chair, established by Spence Lee Wilson, BA’64 and his wife, Rebecca Webb Wilson, BA’65. Both are graduates of the College of Arts and Science and longtime supporters of Vanderbilt. The gift was made by Spence Wilson in honor of his wife, who has been a member of the university’s Board of Trust since 1989.

“We feel so privileged to have someone of such international acclaim as is Tom Dillehay to be the first recipient of this chair,” Rebecca Wilson says. “I majored in Spanish in high school and college, which predisposed me to an interest in Latin America, where I have traveled all my adult life. Tom’s reputation as a scholar is undeniably outstanding, but it is Tom Dillehay the creative, dedicated, generous person that we are particularly delighted to have occupy the chair. He sets a high benchmark.” 

Dillehay was previously Distinguished Professor of Anthropology. He has received international and national awards for his research and teaching and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dillehay has served as a consultant to several governments and academic institutions in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico. His work has been featured in numerous publications and broadcast programs, including National Geographic, Scientific American, Nova, Discover, BBC and NPR.

Watch video of Professor Tom D. Dillehay’s April 20 lecture titled “Ontology, Scale, and Time: Inferring the Origins of Andean Religion and its Practice.”

Brothers Pete and Joe Foster, successful ice cream entrepreneurs

I sat down with my father that March to discuss summer employment opportunities. We brainstormed potential internships, but I really was intrigued when he threw out the idea of starting my own business.

One of my first ideas was an ice cream truck business. I couldn’t recall seeing ice cream trucks in town, which seemed peculiar, considering the favorable weather and number of families in our Silicon Valley, Calif. area. After some research, the concept seemed challenging but potentially lucrative. It turned out there were rival trucks, yet I felt confident in my ability to compete. After working through multiple obstacles, I developed what I thought were reasonable projections of the work and money this business would require to get started. I teamed up with my younger brother, Pete, and Foster Brothers Ice Cream Truck was born.

Planned Tweets and Sweets

To deal with area competition, we decided on an alternative business plan. Being in Silicon Valley, we thought it appropriate to utilize technology to gain a following and communicate with customers. We started a website and Facebook page, and planned to use Twitter to update followers on our locations. We also concluded that by providing an upscale experience—with better products, a good-looking truck and friendly service—we could be more appealing than the competition. In doing this, we hoped not only to cater to children, but also to create nostalgia and generate business from all generations. Lastly, we decided that while selling in neighborhoods and at parks could be effective, being available for private bookings such as birthday parties and corporate events could generate more income in a shorter time.

I soon realized that expectations can (and will) clash harshly with reality. Getting the business running was more stressful, time-consuming and challenging than I had envisioned. We bought a former mail truck that needed immense amounts of work. While we tried to do as much as possible on our own, getting the 1984 AM General vehicle painted and trips to the mechanic resulted in higher startup costs than anticipated. I navigated a labyrinth of business permits, licenses and background checks that gave me the feeling I was in over my head. We formed an LLC (limited liability company). I also found an ice cream wholesaler, negotiated discounted prices, kept accounting records and marketed the truck to potential customers. With my brother in school until early June, I did most of the startup work myself and gained an appreciation for the hours that go into building a business.

Dishing Out Ice Cream

As the weather warmed, Foster Brothers Ice Cream finally served its first customers. Business was decent, but it soon became clear that we could not compete with rival trucks in established spots. While waiting outside of an elementary school one day, another driver threatened us, forcing us to leave. We quickly realized that selling at parks and throughout neighborhoods netted relatively low profits per hour.

After working a school function for a few hours and making more than $800, a lightbulb went off. I decided to alter the business plan and pursue private bookings exclusively—and in a more aggressive manner. Instead of attempting to take market share, we would solely address a new, underserved market.

This proved fruitful, and we soon were working up to three or four events daily. We placed business cards in shops and sent emails pitching our services to area families. Local papers covered our story, aiding marketing efforts. I contacted summer camps, which hired us to treat their campers. Corporate bookings were also very successful; we pitched employee appreciation events to companies and eventually served various Silicon Valley businesses and departments at Stanford University. We even established relationships with catering companies who hired us to handle desserts at their events. The new approach was profitable beyond our wildest dreams, but more important, I loved my job. The sense of ownership was a tremendously satisfying feeling.

Left: A crash nearly totaled the truck and the business. Right: Foster Brothers Ice Cream Truck delighted customers large and small.

On the way home from a successful corporate event on July 15, the business suddenly came crashing down. We were broadsided by a minivan that ran a red light. Pete and I were unharmed, but the truck was nearly totaled. We had to cancel all remaining bookings and close down the company while awaiting a compensation verdict from the other driver’s insurance company.

Undeterred and Rolling Again

I learned how important it was that I kept up to date with accounting. I was forced to prove the truck’s value and show our lost business bookings. This process also opened my eyes to the complicated insurance world. After six weeks of daily calls to the body shop, mechanic, independent appraisal firms and insurance companies, we finally received compensation. Only then, after locating unfathomably rare spare parts at a junkyard in rural Alabama, were we able to get the truck repaired and working for one final event before retiring for the summer.

Starting this business taught me lessons that will last a lifetime. Foster Brothers Ice Cream made people happy, and we were given a crash course in real life, experiencing extreme highs and lows. I cannot wait to grow the company again this summer; I would love to run businesses for the rest of my life.

Joe Foster is a rising junior majoring in economics. He’s put on his marketing, accounting and general manager hat to get Foster Brothers Ice Cream ready for the 2011 summer season and is looking forward to selling ice cream sandwiches, ice pops and shakes all summer long.

Imagine an American studying Shakespeare by exploring where his mother grew up. Picture a British historian researching slavery by examining a former slave cabin. Those perspectives are only a few of the benefits that faculty and students gain through a developing partnership between the College of Arts and Science and the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.

The Vanderbilt-Warwick International Collaboration is a venture between each institution’s English and history departments to further research and develop joint projects. It’s also creating synergy and cultivating what Mark Schoenfield, chair of Vanderbilt’s Department of English, terms “academic citizens of the world” by broadening graduate students’ opportunities and employment potential.

Schoenfield says that the collaboration is building intellectual exchanges between faculty and students in both organizations, and in doing so, creates opportunities for scholars that reach beyond what their home institutions have individually.

The collaborative effort launched four years ago and is still in its formative stages. It focuses on academic exchanges and conferences between faculty at each institution and providing opportunities for graduate students to work with or learn from each other’s faculty. University of Warwick is regarded as one of the United Kingdom’s leading academic institutions; it consistently ranks in the top 10 research universities in that country.

Complementary Scholarship

The faculty’s commitment to the program and corresponding areas of scholarly expertise are essential to the collaboration, says James Epstein, acting chair and Distinguished Professor of History. “Warwick has one of the top history departments in Great Britain, with strengths in Latin American and Caribbean history. Warwick has a strong interest in Atlantic history and slavery, which fits with our program.”

Similarly, Warwick’s focus in South Asian history adds depth and breadth to Vanderbilt’s own studies in that area. Other Warwick complementary areas include the history of medicine, religion and world literature.

Currently, the cornerstone of the collaboration is developing conferences on topics relevant to both institutions. Symposia are hosted on an alternating basis in the U.S. and Britain, with faculty and graduate students at both institutions participating in presentations and commentary. Nearly a dozen College of Arts and Science faculty, students and administrators traveled to Warwick for a symposium on estrangement and the natural world last spring.

Common Ground

For Jacqueline Labbe, chair of Warwick’s graduate school and director of its Humanities Centre, the program has great potential. “Warwick and Vanderbilt have a shared vision in the education of graduate students,” she says. “We see collaboration as offering ways in which colleagues can complement and energize each other’s research. The targeted nature of the relationship allows…access to an enlarged nexus of scholarly activities.”

Amanda Johnson, MA’09, a doctoral candidate in English at Vanderbilt, says the Warwick connection has enhanced her research and broadened her employment options. “Experiencing how different historians think and contributing my point of view to the conversation has been valuable,” says Johnson, who attended a summer 2010 symposium at Warwick.

In addition to the stimulating, interdisciplinary discussions, Johnson valued learning how U.S. and British educational institutions differ. “For instance, the British academy takes a more traditional approach and students are encouraged to know as much as possible about a certain topic,” she says. “In America, we’re more comfortable wandering around accumulating knowledge. We look at topics across different theoretical paradigms and how those can be portable across a century or a discipline.”

Firsthand Experiences

“Successful programs like VWIC are based on multiple strands of interest that are woven together,” says Joel Harrington, Vanderbilt’s associate provost for global strategy and professor of history. “Vanderbilt is always looking for ways to enhance the international dimensions of our scholarship and teaching in strategic ways that make the most of our strengths. The catalyst [for these programs]
is always faculty relationships and driven by research and teaching.”

Harrington says discussions are ongoing about expanding collaboration with Warwick into the sciences and other areas where the two institutions dovetail.

One strength for Vanderbilt students is working directly with materials in British libraries and experiencing what they’ve read firsthand. The Coventry Cathedral, for example, stands not far from the Warwick campus. “The sight of the bombed-out shell of the original cathedral, standing next to Basil Spence’s new Cathedral built after the second World War, recalls the devastation suffered by the British people during the war and the depth of their commitment to rebuild,” Epstein observes. “What better way to help students understand the resolute mood of the British people during the immediate postwar years?”

Likewise, for students in Warwick’s School of Comparative American Studies, stateside experience is irreplaceable. “Warwick scholars at Vanderbilt gain more than academic knowledge,” Schoenfield says. “They experience a particular slice of American culture, which adds depth and validity to their scholarship. Nashville figures importantly in American history and literature in ways more visible up close. Students gain an understanding of the forces that shaped the subjects of their research.”

The program also provides advantages to graduates in the world job market. A graduate student’s curriculum vitae that includes international collaboration makes a job candidate more attractive, Schoenfield notes. Jane Wanninger, MA’08, currently a doctoral candidate in English at Vanderbilt, agrees. “It’s important to build intellectual and professional networks, and to access a range of mentors and a base in Britain from which to conduct research,” Wanninger says. “In the time I spent in Warwick, I made valuable connections with other graduate students which gave me a more nuanced sense of the intricacies of transatlantic scholarship.”

Long term, Labbe says, the working partnership’s success will be measured by the passion of faculty and students. “We hope to see regular research workshops and symposia leading to sustained interinstitutional projects and annual graduate student visits and exchanges,” she says. “Within a few years, this should become an embedded aspect of each department.”

Watch The University of Warwick: Explore New Worlds
Watch “University of Warwick – A World Class Campus”

Your New TV is So Yesterday

Bryan Ringstrand with liquid crystals

“Our liquid crystals have basic properties that make them suitable for practical applications, but they must be tested for durability, lifetime and similar characteristics before they can be used in commercial products,” Kaszynski says. (Even so, commercial companies have already expressed interest.)

If they pass testing, the new class of liquid crystals could be added to the molecular mixtures used in liquid crystal displays. Their findings—the result of more than five years of work—adds to the scientific body of knowledge about liquid crystals.

The Powerful Prayers of Martin Luther King Jr.

Lewis Baldwin, professor of religious studies at the College of Arts and Science, has been fascinated by Martin Luther King Jr. since his high school days in Camden, Ala. In his fourth book about King, Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King Jr., Baldwin discusses how prayer and church life shaped King’s identity, thought, vision and sense of mission.

Baldwin explores the ways in which King redefined prayer during the civil rights movement and made it an instrument for social change by combining religion and nonviolent activism with prayer vigils, prayer marches, prayer campaigns and prayer rallies. Through these efforts, King widened his appeal to include not only the traditional black churches, but Catholics, Jews and the nonreligious as well.

You probably know someone who just can’t resist a good deal. Chances are they’re on a first-name basis with their UPS delivery person, have a closet full of unworn clothes, and every gadget under the sun stuffed in their kitchen drawers.

Two College of Arts and Science researchers, David Zald, associate professor of psychology, and Joshua Buckholtz, a Ph.D. candidate, have learned that people who act impulsively—perhaps buying everything they see advertised on television—may have higher-than-normal levels of a chemical called dopamine in their brain.

All healthy brains manufacture dopamine, which has important roles in behavior, cognition, voluntary movement, sleep, mood, attention, working memory, learning and more. Dopamine also affects impulsivity and even the urge to acquire things. In healthy brains, sensors keep dopamine at proper levels. But some people have a specific deficit in the way the brain regulates dopamine. In those brains, the levels increase and rash behavior increases as well.

“You can think of it as very similar to a thermostat,” Buckholtz says. “The brain has a number of different thermostats, which sense the levels of certain brain chemicals and adjust the output of those chemicals accordingly. We show that one particular thermostat-like mechanism—midbrain autoreceptor regulation of striatal dopamine release—is out of whack in people with high levels of trait impulsiveness.”

During their collaboration, Zald and Buckholtz scanned the brains of 32 healthy volunteers with varying levels of impulsivity. Those characterized as more impulsive were given a drug that releases dopamine and their brains were rescanned.

“The people who scored highest on our trait measure of impulsivity had upwards of four times the amount of dopamine released,” Buckholtz says.

Because dopamine is produced in the area of the brain associated with reward, excessive levels can lead to much more destructive behavior than overspending—it can cause a strong craving for stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine. Additionally, people who tend to seek rewards without considering the consequences may not be able to stop their actions.

A certain amount of impulsive behavior is a good thing, and can lead to creativity. However, Buckholtz and Zald hope that their findings will lead to a better understanding of—and better treatment for—certain psychiatric disorders that involve impulsive behavior. One outcome could be more targeted drug therapies that help the brain’s “thermostats” regulate dopamine levels.

Every human body is, even at conservative estimates, made up of trillions upon trillions of cells. Inside those cells is DNA, which serves as the body’s basic operating system—it keeps our hearts pumping, our lungs breathing, cells reproducing and even our hair growing. But DNA can also be damaged—by environmental toxins, radiation and medical treatments like chemotherapy. When that happens, DNA’s own enzymes immediately start the repair process on the cells.

Associate Professor of Biological Sciences Brandt Eichman, along with colleagues from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh, has discovered a new way that those cell enzymes detect and repair damage to DNA. Finding this new DNA repair mechanism could lead to improved treatments for a variety of diseases, including cancer.

“Understanding protein-DNA interactions at the atomic level is important because it provides a clear starting point for designing drugs that enhance or disrupt the interactions in a very specific way,” Eichman says.

This discovery could lead to chemotherapy drugs that attack cancerous cells without harming healthy ones. Another benefit might be fewer of the harmful side effects associated with chemotherapy treatments such as nausea, hair loss and debilitating fatigue.

Arts and Science graduate student Emily H. Rubinson assisted in the project. Detailed findings of Eichman’s research were published in the online journal, Nature. The research was funded by grants from the American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Nancy Farese was once again on foreign soil, reflecting on differences.

This time it was a Ugandan village on the banks of the Nile, watching a woman in a “teeny, tiny hut” without electricity use a new solar-powered flashlight. Candles mean danger when flammable malaria nets are nearby, and Farese, camera in hand, was struck by the nuance. It was not the poverty that caught her artful eye, however. It was the sparkling white apron the woman wore, a sign of dignity in a village with no running water.

“It was such a combination of being impressed by the way she presented herself and daunted by the environment she was in,” says Farese, BA’83. “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know if I could do this.’ She was so strong, so much stronger than I am. I love being put in situations that cause you to reflect on your own strength, resilience and morals. It feels healthy to me to do that.”

Farese was in Uganda documenting the works of a nonprofit called Living Goods (www.livinggoods.org). It’s a network of salespeople who offer products for personal hygiene and prevention and treatment of disease, and it’s just one in a long list of agencies Farese has touched.

Matching Photographers with Need

A photographer who first picked up her camera to take snapshots of her five growing kids, she went on to found PhotoPhilanthropy (www.photophilanthropy.org), an organization that helps match nonprofit organizations needing fresh images with photographers willing to take them. PhotoPhilanthropy’s mission is to change the world—one photo at a time.

Traveling for the Carter Center, Farese captured dignity and beauty in Ghana.

“The genesis of PhotoPhilanthropy was to put an award out there—to see if other people were doing this kind of work—and reward that kind of behavior,” Farese says. Launched in 2009, the Activist Award, which highlights photo essays of nonprofit work in various categories, drew 209 submissions from 63 countries in that first year. In 2010, there were 256 entries from 83 countries.

The initial interest and success helped Farese see she was on to something; in addition to the matching assistance, PhotoPhilanthropy also helps the photographers get their photo essays seen. The group encourages photographers to donate their efforts whenever possible; as for Farese, she splits her work between professional paid gigs and nonpaid adventures.

“We actually have a very specific protocol we suggest to all of our photo-philanthropists,” she says. “We work with students, adult amateurs and professionals, all levels of sophistication, and when you’re interacting with a nonprofit, you want them to realize that something very credible and positive can come out of this.”

Storytelling with a Purpose

Cate Biggs, a freelance writer and global issues consultant, met Farese in 2007 through a mutual acquaintance. As both were interested in using storytelling as a way to support groups doing important work in Africa, Biggs says, the two became fast friends.

“From the beginning, I think we recognized in each other a sense of humility about our roles as storytellers and a desire to always be reconsidering what we think we know—about others and the world,” Biggs says. The pair traveled in Liberia with Mercy Corps in 2009, documenting programs aimed at empowering women in a country now led by the continent’s first female head of state, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. They tacked on work for several other organizations while there, and in November 2010, went to Ghana and Liberia with The Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn. They’re now working on a book to help educate the public about The Carter Center’s efforts in peace, governance and mental health. The book’s second purpose, Biggs says, is “to inspire PhotoPhilanthropy’s base to hit the road.”

“Nancy is truly one of my favorite people in the world: a friend, mentor and model,” Biggs says. “I don’t know that I have ever met anyone like her, a blend of warm and gracious Southern manners, genuine compassion, professional rigor, sense of humor and deep intellectual curiosity. She is tremendously accomplished: fabulous kids, a community leader, a no-nonsense business woman, a superlatively talented photographer, a great sense of style, and all the while, really down to earth, open and downright fun.”

Amazing Stories Beautifully Told

Farese, who grew up in Georgia, now lives in San Francisco with her husband, fellow Vanderbilt grad Dr. Robert Farese Jr., MD’85, and family. The kids who first inspired her photography are now ages 16 to 24. When she’s not snapping photographs, involved in community activities or on the road, she enjoys reading, trail running and sharing stories with other Vanderbilt friends who live in the area. A French and economics major, Farese says her Arts and Science experience fostered numerous long-term relationships, similar to those relationships she builds now. She also credits her study abroad through Vanderbilt in France as helping her develop interest and comfort in being in different cultures and around different languages and people.

Farese photographed this woman and child at Phebe Hospital in Liberia.

She says she’s frequently surrounded by different cultures, languages and people today. “That’s now what I do a lot,” she says. Her list of travels, in addition to Uganda, Liberia and Ghana, includes Kenya, Tanzania, Haiti, and in 2011, Vietnam, with friend and fellow Vanderbilt alumna Liz Schwartz Hale, BSN’82, also a photographer.

“One thing I always encounter is this feeling of disbelief that I’m right here and experiencing this thing,” she says. “The camera, in some way, has become a tool that leads me to—or creates access to—really interesting cultural experiences.”

And she’s anxious for others to do the same. Recently, she returned to campus to share her work and experiences with undergraduate photography students.

“It’s eye-opening as Americans to see what people all over the world are doing to make people’s lives better and to address critical need in their communities,” she says. “There are amazing stories out there that can be beautifully told.”