John Braxton received the 2009 Chancellor's Cup from Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos on Oct. 14.
ON CAMPUS
John Braxton (above, right), professor of higher education, was presented the 2009 Chancellor’s Cup during a surprise classroom visit by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos (above, left) on Oct. 14. The award is given annually to a faculty member for significant contribution outside the classroom to undergraduate student-faculty relationships.
KUDOS
Carl E. Adams Jr., George E. Cook and Charles E. Fields Jr. each received the School of Engineering’s Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2009. The award recognizes alumni who exhibit distinguished achievement, significant service and excellent character.
The Chef James Bistro, a student dining facility located in Rand Hall, has been certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Commercial Interiors (CI) program of the U.S. Green Building Council. To achieve LEED-CI certification, the bistro was renovated using design materials located within a 500-mile radius of Nashville; using materials emitting little to no volatile organic compounds and with a high recycled content; and with 95 percent of its installed kitchen equipment Energy Star rated.
Ed Clark, a School of Engineering alumnus, has received the Dean’s Outstanding Service Award. Clark joined the engineering school’s Committee of Visitors in 1997 and served as its chair for the past eight years, stepping down in October.
Robert Dittus, chief of general internal medicine and director of the Institute for Medicine and Public Health, has been appointed to the newly created post of assistant vice chancellor for public health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and associate dean for population health sciences in the School of Medicine. The post combines elements of policy, advocacy and education.
Ashley Esser, a 2008 Vanderbilt graduate, has received a Fulbright Scholarship. Esser will teach English as a foreign language in Italy for the 2009-10 academic year.
Anita Jenious, interim director of the Opportunity Development Center, has been elected for a four-year term to the board of the National Industry Liaison Group, an organization of the nation’s foremost affirmative action officers from business, industry and education. Jenious will represent the Southeast region.
Elyn Saks, a 1977 Vanderbilt graduate and renowned legal scholar and mental health policy advocate, has been awarded a 2009 MacArthur Fellow “genius” grant.
Dexter Shurney, medical director of the Vanderbilt Health Plan, has been appointed to the board of directors of DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance, which promotes the role of population health improvement in raising the quality of care, improving health outcomes and reducing preventable health care costs for individuals with chronic conditions and those at risk for chronic conditions. Shurney will serve a three-year term.
Daniel Usner, the Holland M. McTyeire Professor of History, has been elected president of the American Society for Ethnohistory for 2010-11. The society is an international organization devoted to the interdisciplinary study of native peoples of the Americas. Usner has authored Indian Work: Language and Livelihood in Native American History, published by Harvard University Press. He also delivered “John Adams and Native Americans: Paradoxical Origins of Federal Indian Policy,” the Richard S. Wells Lecture in New Approaches to Early American History, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
Vanderbilt Dining and its efforts to build community through the Vanderbilt dining experience was the subject of the October cover story in Food Management magazine.
ON CAMPUS
Vivien Green Fryd, chair of history of art, received the Alumni Education Award on Oct. 14. The award is given annually by the Vanderbilt Alumni Association to a faculty member for substantial contribution to developing or participating in programs that further the education of alumni. Pictured (l-r) are John Hindle, president-elect of the Alumni Association Board; Arts and Science Dean Carolyn Dever; Fryd; and Alumni Association Board President Billy Ray Caldwell.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute receives $1 million endowment
Vanderbilt will expand its opportunities for lifelong learning, thanks to a $1 million endowment from The Bernard Osher Foundation.
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt has also received a bridge grant of $50,000 from the Osher Foundation to help meet its operating needs until the endowment has time to deliver meaningful income.
“In order to keep your brain healthy, you have to challenge yourself by continuing to learn throughout life,” said Norma Clippard, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt. “This program provides the perfect opportunity for seniors to accomplish this goal, and we are thrilled to expand it.”
The Vanderbilt institute offers non-credit classes that usually last six weeks during the fall, winter and spring. It reflects the university’s high academic standards, with current and retired faculty comprising 65 percent of its instructors. In addition, there are monthly “Lunch and Learn” lectures, day trips and special events, including an annual meeting of the membership with a prominent speaker.
Vanderbilt’s retirement learning program began in 1995, and received its initial support from the Osher Foundation in 2006. It now has approximately 800 members.
The Bernard Osher Foundation funds a national network of lifelong-learning institutes that target older adults. The foundation was started in 1977 by San Francisco Bay-area businessman and community leader Bernard Osher.
For more information about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt, visit
www.vanderbilt.edu/cngr/olli/index.html.
ON CAMPUS
The Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery has relocated from the Old Gym to Cohen Memorial Hall. The newly renovated space houses the university’s 6,000-piece art collection as well as classrooms and faculty offices for the history of art and classical studies departments.
ON CAMPUS
Cadets in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps participated in a rappelling exercise Oct. 1 at the Stevenson Center Molecular Biology Building. Vanderbilt’s Go Gold Battalion, as the Army ROTC is called, was recently ranked second in the nation among universities with officer education programs.
IN THE NEWS
VU receives grant for innovative global health research
Associate Professor of Chemistry David Wright and Professor of Biomedical Engineering Rick Haselton have received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support a research project titled “Coffee Ring Stain Diagnostics for Malaria.” The project seeks to develop a simple, low-cost diagnostic test for malaria infection suitable for locations that lack electricity, refrigeration and highly trained technicians. The idea is based on the phenomenon that causes coffee-ring stains on a kitchen counter: When a liquid (such as coffee) containing a suspension of fine particles evaporates from a flat surface, the particles tend to accumulate along the outer edge. In the proposed malaria test, liquid A is mixed with a blood sample and left to dry on a specially treated glass slide. Once dry, the slide is washed with liquid B. If the washing reveals a purple ring, the person is infected; if it washes clean, the person is not. The project is one of 76 grants in the third round of funding of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to help scientists explore bold and largely unproven ways to improve health in developing countries.
Small changes make big differences in climate change fight
While longer-term options are being developed, individual households can reduce overall carbon emissions by implementing a series of small changes, according to a new article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. These actions include lowering the temperature on water heaters and installing low-flow showerheads; replacing older furnaces with Energy Star models and changing HVAC filters; replacing large-screen plasma TVs with rear-projection or LCD units; using low-rolling resistance tires and maintaining autos regularly; carpooling and combining errands to reduce mileage; and reducing idling while driving. Researchers found these actions could reduce annual household carbon emissions in the United States by up to 37 percent. Jonathan Gilligan, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences and associate director of Vanderbilt’s Climate Change Research Network, and Michael P. Vandenbergh, professor of law and CCRN director, co-authored the study. Lead author is Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University.
Rock Band developer to speak Nov. 17
A developer of the Rock Band video game will speak at Vanderbilt as part of the Curb Creative Leadership Series, to be followed by a Rock Band competition for Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff. Eran Egozy, co-founder and chief technical officer of Harmonix Music Systems, will speak Nov. 17 at 4:30 p.m. in the Student Life Center. The talk will address creativity, the gaming industry and the cultural influence of interactive music-inspired games. The lecture is free and open to the public. The Rock Band competition follows at 8 p.m. in the Student Life Center Ballroom. The competition will benefit Nashville’s W.O. Smith Community Music School, which provides music lessons to children from low-income families. “We are honored to have Eran as our 2009 Curb Creative Leadership speaker,” said Steven Tepper, associate director of the Curb Center. “The series is intended to bring to Vanderbilt entrepreneurs and cultural leaders, like Eran, whose work and vision have transformed the way we experience art and media.” For more information, visit www.rockbandatvandy.com.
ON CAMPUS
Woodie Flowers, emeritus professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave a talk titled “On Shifting Away from Training Toward Education” in Wilson Hall Oct. 28. The lecture was part of the Chancellor’s Lecture Series, which brings to Vanderbilt and the wider Nashville community those intellectuals who are shaping the world today. To watch video of the lecture, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/news/video.
Send your news and notes to notes@vanderbilt.edu.
compiled by Kara Furlong
Posted 11/01/09
