VANDERBILTMAGAZINE

Vsummer2008

Pragmatist and Dreamer Nicholas Zeppos – professor, provost and now chancellor also: Ambassadors at Large Traumatic Brain Injury Political Animals V ITAL

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Contents

FEATURES 32 Natural-Born Optimist 44 When Vanderbilt went At Home in the World searching for its eighth chan- Combating drug trafficking, cellor, all trails led straight negotiating mega-deals, and back to Kirkland Hall. hustling deposed dictators out of Dodge are all in a day’s work when you’re a 38 U.S. ambassador. When War Comes Home 54 Vanderbilt therapists treat most patients with mild Candidates, traumatic brain injuries Scandalgates, by repairing memory. But Battleground States what do you do when the The men and women of memories are of roadside Vanderbilt’s Department of explosions and fallen Political Science dive into comrades? a historic election year.

DEPARTMENTS 5 DoreWays 60 10 1,000 Words Vanderbilt on 12 The Campus the Potomac 18 Sports Policy made in Washington 22 Collective Memory affects nearly everything on campus. Vanderbilt’s Office 24 Bright Ideas of Federal Relations works to 28 In Class make the university’s voice 66 The Mind’s Eye heard above the clamor. 70 S.P.O.V. 72 A.P.O.V. 74 The Classes 88 Southern Journal

COVER Nicholas Zeppos presides at his first Commencement as chancellor. See story on page 32. Photo by

John Russell. MIKE STEWART/' CORBIS SYGMA 2 Shattered Diplomacy

Think your job is tough? Try working with an angry mob of thousands right outside your office. While James Sasser, BA’58, JD’61, was U.S. ambassador to China, American-led NATO forces bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Chinese citizens reacted by violently protesting outside the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Sasser was trapped in the embassy for four days while his wife, Mary Gorman Sasser, BA’59, and son, Gray Sasser, JD’98, took refuge beneath a table in a nearby house. Read more about alumni who have served as U.S. ambassa- dors on page 44. Contributors

Editor Michael Lee Woodard GayNelle Doll Michael Lee Woodard, BS’90, came to Vanderbilt in 1978 on a football Art Director and Designer scholarship. In 1982 he left college to enter military flight training, later return- Donna DeVore Pritchett ing to complete his education. Woodard has spent his adult life involved in Editorial military flying all over the world and has also found time to earn a master’s For the Summer 2008 issue Associate Editor and Advertising Manager degree in political science from American Military University. He enjoys Phillip B. Tucker triathlons, reading ancient history, and flying with the Tennessee Army National Guard. Arts & Culture Editor Bonnie Arant Ertelt, BS’81 Ray Waddle Class Notes and Sports Editor Ray Waddle, MA’81, lives in Connecticut, where he is editor of Reflections, Nelson Bryan, BA’73 the theological journal of Yale Divinity School. A journalist for more than 20 VProduction and Design years, Waddle from 1984 to 2001 was religion editor of The Tennessean, to Assistant Director, Photography Services which he continues to contribute pieces about religion. His work has taken Daniel Dubois him deep into the Bible Belt and as far away as Yugoslavia and the West Bank. Photographers The author of Against the Grain: Unconventional Wisdom from Ecclesiastes, he also con- Steve Green, John Russell tributed a chapter on religion for the book Nashville: An American Self-Portrait. Designers Chris Collins, Renata Moore, Taylor Holliday Jenni Ohnstad Taylor Holliday is a Nashville-based writer and editor who specializes in Color Correction and Retouching the arts, food and travel. She earned a master’s degree in international affairs Julie Luckett Turner from Columbia University with a focus in media and communications. A for- Vanderbilt Magazine Advisory Board mer Wall Street Journal arts editor, she now freelances regularly for the Journal Roy Blount Jr., BA’63 as well as The New York Times and other national publications. Caneel Cotton, BA’88 Terry Eastland, BA’71 Hugh Owen Nash Jr. Robert Early, BA’71, MDiv’76 Hugh Owen Nash Jr., BE’67, is the author of Patriot Sons, Patriot Sam Feist, BA’91 Brothers, which tells the story of American Revolution figures Abner Nash and Frye Gaillard Jr., BA’68 Janice Miller Greenberg, BS’80 Francis Nash, and how three Nashvilles—including Tennessee’s capital—came G. Marc Hamburger, BA’64 to be named for Francis Nash. A native of Savannah, Ga., Hugh Nash is a part- Molly Henneberg, BS’95 ner in the Nashville engineering firm Nash Lipsey Burch LLC. He received his Ann McDaniel, BA’77 master’s degree in electrical engineering from Tennessee State University. Wendell Rawls Jr., BA’70 Edward Schumacher Matos, BA’68 Ario Hosseini Randall W. Smith, BA’84, MDiv’88 Ario Hosseini is a rising senior in the College of Arts and Science and the Potential advertisers interested in purchasing space in recipient of the Bernard Fensterwald Memorial Scholarship. He was born and Vanderbilt Magazine should contact Phillip Tucker, advertising manager, at [email protected] or reared in Lexington, Ky., after his parents left Iran in the wake of the Islamic 615/322-3989. Revolution. A neuroscience major, he is applying to medical schools this sum- Vanderbilt Magazine is published three times per year by mer. At Vanderbilt he founded and served as president of the Iranian Cultural Vanderbilt University from editorial and business offices at the Loews Vanderbilt Office Complex, 2100 West End Society, president of the Aikido Club, executive member of the Neuromajors Society and Ave., Suite 820, Nashville, TN 37203. Phone: 615/322- 1003. Web version: www.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbilt- the Middle Eastern Student Association, a member of the Multicultural Leadership magazine. Council, and a volunteer for teaching children in Nashville about science and mentoring E-mail: [email protected]. Please send address corrections to Gift Records Office, Vanderbilt high-school youth. University, VU Station B #357727, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235-7703. Vanderbilt Magazine is print- ed by Lane Press in Burlington, Vt. Additional Contributors: Melissa Carro, Stephen Doster, Lisa A. DuBois, Brenda Opinions expressed in Vanderbilt Magazine are those of Ellis, Jessica Ennis, Frye Gaillard, Larry Leathers, Jenny Mandeville, Ann Marie Deer the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the Owens, Missy Pankake, Jim Patterson, Kami Rice, Lisa Robbins, David F. Salisbury, Ryan views of the magazine or the university administration. Schulz, Bill Snyder, Cindy Thomsen, Whitney Weeks, Amy Wolf Vanderbilt University is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. Copyright 2008 Vanderbilt University 4 Summer 2008 DoreWays

From the Editor From the Reader Last-Name Basis Echoes from the Holocaust I especially appreciated “In the Face of anderbilt has had eight chancellors in its 133-year history, Destruction” by Lisa Robbins [Spring 2008 and I have known five of them. issue]. Harry Kahn, his wife Hannah West- Joe B. Wyatt had been chancellor for four years when I came to field, Erich Westfield, Ernest Freudenthal work at Vanderbilt in 1986, and he had a reputation as an excellent A forum for exchanging ideas V and others were classmates and friends of steward of Vanderbilt’s finances. The Texas native didn’t look the part mine. Through them I learned about a world of the academic, with his athletic physique and tan that revealed his love of outdoor far beyond my small town—and I’ve been pursuits—but he recognized early on how important Peabody could be both to trying to learn more ever since. Knowing Vanderbilt’s future and to American K–12 education. The thriving Peabody College them changed my life. I am grateful to Van- we have today owes a great deal to Wyatt’s vision. derbilt administrators, who knew how to I interviewed Alexander Heard when I was take good advantage of great human resources writing a historic piece about the Vanderbilt/ made unexpectedly available to them. Peabody merger, and I could see why alumni Betty Goldiamond, BA’44 who’d been students during his time as chancel- Chicago lor held him in such reverence and with such affection. He was thoughtful, erudite and gen- Thank you for your wonderful article, “In teel. the Face of Destruction.” The stories of those I interviewed Heard’s predecessor, Harvie who survived the Holocaust and ultimately Branscomb, a few months before he died at age thrived never cease to be an incredibly com- 103. I was writing a piece about Rhodes Schol- pelling tribute to the human spirit’s triumph ars, and I went to Branscomb’s home on a warm against all odds. winter day. The living room was like a sauna, One of the individuals you featured was but Branscomb had a chill, and he was fussing Inge Smith. Battle Ground Academy did a as he tried to turn on the fireplace. I remember profile about Inge in the Spring 2007 issue of his marvelous collection of Brazilian santos on ELLEN RUSSELL SADLER BGA Today. As you noted in your article, she the wall, a reflection of his work to build Vanderbilt’s relationships in South Ameri- ca. He was hard of hearing but related in rich detail the story of his first venture out- side the South at a fancy New York City cocktail party in 1914, where he dumped his drink in a potted plant in order to avoid getting tipsy. Gordon Gee was a gregarious man who used to drop by staff offices unan- nounced. He had a distinctive voice, and because my office was near the door, when I heard him on the hall I would pass the word down the line: “Look sharp; the chan- cellor’s on the floor.” He would flit through like a hummingbird, and had an amaz- ing facility for remembering names. Vanderbilt’s official “style,” I am told, is to refer to our new chancellor as Nicholas Zeppos. Zeppos arrived at Vanderbilt the year after I did, and I have never heard was the founding head of Harpeth Academy, anyone refer to him as anything but “Nick”—not “Chancellor Zeppos,” not “Provost which is today BGA’s Lower School. The new Zeppos,” not “Professor Zeppos.” Certainly not “Nicholas.” But “Nick” seems a bit lower school has been named for Inge. cheeky to someone of my generation who has always addressed faculty members by Thank you for the commendable work their titles, not their first names—although if you meet him on campus or in the you do to ensure the quality of Vanderbilt halls of Kirkland, that’s what he’ll ask you to call him. Magazine. Anyway, Zeppos is a name with pizzazz. I think we should use it in print whenever William R. Mott, MLS’78, PhD’80 possible—starting with my profile of him on page 32. Franklin, Tenn. —GayNelle Doll

Vanderbilt Magazine 5 I particularly enjoyed the last issue regard- (now gentrified and called “Clinton,” but not [Carl’s brother, Alan], unfortunately, was ing the Holocaust and World War II. I was in after the president) neighborhood of New either more dogged or had a higher guilt level— the European Theater and served in three York City. It had been an extraordinary expe- he nearly always finished [reading] every- campaigns as a paratrooper. What an experi- rience for a youngster from a rural West Ten- thing. But I too am beginning to think along ence that was! nessee town whose population did not reach the Sherlock Holmes lines: My brain has only Dr. Jack E. Keefe III, BA’39, MD’43 2,500. I’d gone there to work with brothers so much space, and whatever in the attic does- Pawleys Island, S.C. from a French religious community called n’t need to be there is going out. Taizé and lived in a Catholic church and then Eve Zibart, ’74 The Zibarts Remembered a Presbyterian church. I’d worked with street Washington Grove, Md. I am just short of tears as I have read and people and children, and I doubt I accom- re-read and even marked up your editor’s plished much in terms of helping others, but Before Inclusion Was Cool column [Spring 2008 issue, “Age of Consent”]. those people sure blessed me. And it was clear Your S.P.O.V. article “Leveling the Playing Grace Zibart touched me and changed my to me even then that the experience had changed Field” by Kelly Finan, Class of 2009 [Spring life. my life—though I did not yet know how or 2008 issue], is of great interest to me. I was When I was a law and divinity student at how much. fortunate to work my way through George Vanderbilt in about 1978, somehow I wound Grace told me I ought to write about the Peabody College during the World War II up catching a ride with Grace from the air- experience for your magazine’s predecessor, years, and had a fellowship in the Peabody port to the Vanderbilt area. I don’t recall how The Vanderbilt Alumnus. And with her help Demonstration School Preschool under the we wound up with her kindly letting me hitch- and editing, I did. (Actually, it wound up being direction of Irma Finker. I received this posi- hike into town. But in some grace-filled (and an article not only about that summer, but tion through Dr. Maycie Southall, who was Grace-filled) way, we came together. As we also the one before when I’d been a law clerk my major professor. Peabody was years ahead rode we talked about what I’d been doing. If I on a case trying to keep five innocent African of the times in work being done in its nursery recall correctly, I was returning from a sum- American teenagers from being executed.) school and in the Early Childhood Depart- mer of doing ministry in the Hell’s Kitchen That article was the first time I’d ever pub- ment. I took several courses from Dr. Leavell, lished anything outside of my native Weakley who was beginning to work with students County. And it led directly to me wanting to with special needs. do a Divinity School field placement on writ- I’m now an 84-year-old retired educator ing. That led to an unpublished book, and who has taught hundreds of children and eventually the path twisted and turned until countless teachers and teenage counselors three other book manuscripts were published. that working with special children is equally All because of Grace Zibart. I truly doubt rewarding and pleasing as working with any that any of those books would have been writ- child. The parents and children never forget ten, and I know for a fact that the article would the opportunity they had because the teacher not have been written, if not for Grace. So and school cared enough to make a differ- when you wrote about Grace and Carl, you ence. I have had special children in preschool touched me. And I thank you. classrooms for many years, and now I see Sen. Roy B. Herron, MDiv’80, JD’80 these young adults working in society, able to Dresden, Tenn. live good lives through a local independent- living program. The last 35 years of my teach- I was interested in reading, in your piece ing career were with the Atlanta Jewish about when to give up on [reading] a book, Community Center where I was a teacher, that you also were obliged to set aside Edith camp director, and director of early child- Grossman’s translation of Don Quixote. This hood services. My interest in working with makes me feel better somehow. the developmentally disabled students is still I also remember fondly the Zibarts. I did a major part of my volunteer life. not know them intimately but thought they When I entered college in 1941, only three were wonderful. schools in the United States offered a degree Dr. Bill Doak, ’53 in preschool education, including Peabody. Nashville The other two were Bank Street in New York and the University of California. We helped A belated note (I am nearly as behind on by beginning a beautiful thing. magazines as books) to say what a chuckle I Sylvia Glustrom Schwartz, BS’45 got from the Carl Zibart anecdote. Daddy Atlanta

6 Summer 2008 “Best Laid Plans” beneficial relationship with a fine The values I learned there have been the guid- Not Best-Liked Arti- preparatory school and citizens of its ing principles of my life. Those values include cle host city. compassion for the indigent, which I learned I always anticipateand enjoy Jim Gardner, BA’90 through MBA’s commitment to community every issue, but just finished Nashville service. Spring 2008 disappointed Please know that I love Vanderbilt. It has and embarrassed. [In the I am a 1976 graduate of Montgomery become one of this nation’s finest universi- Southern Journal piece titled Bell Academy. Professor Blackett’s ties, and there is much to admire about the “Best Laid Plans”], based not thoughtful historical piece about the school, including its remarkable history depart- on research but his own musings while driv- life of Montgomery Bell got my attention ment. ing by on Harding Road, Richard Blackett when it went beyond academic research and In the end, I guess I found it ironic that characterizes Montgomery Bell Academy as writing and expressed an unfounded opinion the Andrew Jackson Professor of History would “Bell’s plan gone awry” and as inaccessible to about my alma mater that portrayed MBA as indict MBA from his office behind the iron “poor indigent lads.” That portrayal is com- a school with “iron gates and manicured lawns” gates and manicured lawns of the Vanderbilt pletely unfounded and unfair to MBA. inaccessible to the indigent. campus. Perhaps, like Vanderbilt, it would be As a graduate and loyal supporter of both In truth, more than 20 percent of the boys a mistake to judge a school based on its land- MBA and Vanderbilt, I found that article to attending MBA receive financial aid, and the scaping or the biography of its founder. be unfair to the former and unworthy of the school’s financial aid budget is significant and Steven M. Zager, BA’79, JD’83 latter. Frankly, I feel certain that Bell would growing because of generous gifts. Like Van- Houston find that today’s MBA is truer to his vision derbilt, MBA must rely on donations to increase than the Commodore and the Bishop would the availability of financial aid because tuition The Spring 2008 issue carries comments find that Vanderbilt is to theirs. only covers a portion of the cost of educating that require a response from someone who The Rev. M. Dean Anderson, BA’81 a boy. knows a great deal more about Montgomery Trenton, Ky. There is much more to Montgomery Bell Bell Academy than does Professor Blackett. Academy than iron gates and manicured lawns. In 1912 my father, truly a “poor indigent It was with a degree of disappointment that I completed reading your otherwise inter- esting article on Montgomery Bell. You con- tend that “something went awry” with his plan to fund what became Montgomery Bell Academy, my other alma mater. Given the number of civic, business, academic, medical, military, legal, philanthropic, etc., leaders from all sorts of economic backgrounds that MBA has produced, my guess is that the Penn- sylvania Yankee Bell would be proud. My family experienced financial difficul- ties in the 1980s and sacrificed significantly to send me to MBA and Vanderbilt. Grants, need- and academic-based scholarships, and stu- dent loans paid for much of my college tab. I generated further cash flow by working jobs during the school year and during summer, spring and Christmas vacations. Citing Pro- fessor Blackett’s area of historical expertise, I hope you recognize the fallacy of stereotypes, at least as they apply to me in this instance. It puzzles me that an otherwise fine publi- cation would openly insult a sizeable loyal constituency of the university. I hope it isn’t a not-so-subtle hint that Vanderbilt has limited or no desire to continue a long and mutually

Vanderbilt Magazine 7 lad” from Cheatham County, actually did Headmaster, Montgomery Bell Academy Harry Howe Ransom, BA’43 cross Harding Road and enroll in Montgomery Nashville Professor of political science, emeritus Bell Academy on a financial aid scholarship. Nashville After graduating at the top of his class, he New Directions in Education began a very successful banking career here in I’ve been so impressed with recent editions. Nashville. The writing has always been top-notch, but Professor Blackett should also be aware what has inspired me is the depth and breadth that financial aid has continued to play a major of content. I particularly enjoyed the focus on role for the student body at Montgomery Bell nonprofits/social initiatives with respect to Academy without regard to race, religion or education [Spring 2008 issue, “Lost in Ameri- ethnicity. Further, many grateful alumni have ca”], including new models for urban schools made sure that nothing “went awry with Mont- and the Posse Foundation. I kept the edition gomery Bell’s plan” to aid “indigent boys” by to refer back to because I’m considering a funding financial aid scholarships well into career change after 17 years in affordable hous- the future. ing. Thank you, and keep it up! Professor Blackett’s research about Mont- Katherine Vanderpool gomery Bell, the individual, may be accurate, Provost, BA’87 but his comments about Montgomery Bell Wayland, Mass. Academy are far off the mark. James R. Kellam III, BA’60 Montgomery Bell Academy Class of 1956 Rockefellers at Vanderbilt Nashville Your “Collective Memory” article “Silent Partner” [Spring 2008 issue], about the Rock- The Magazine Goes to Class MBA and Vanderbilt University have enjoyed efeller family’s contributions to Vanderbilt, I really dig the magazine and thank you for a long and great relationship. I hope that bond reminded me of other Rockefeller contribu- making such a great effort. Logan Ward’s arti- grows stronger over time, and I also hope that tions. cle [Fall 2007 issue, “American Rustic”] was both Vanderbilt Magazine and Dr. Blackett In the early 1960s, John D. “Jay” Rocke- especially funny; I read it to my students, and will work harder to understand MBA’s com- feller IV, now a U.S. senator from West Vir- they erupted in laughter at the scene of Logan’s mitment to Nashville students and the larger ginia, spoke to my American Foreign Policy beheading of the hapless chickens. I also enjoyed community. We value our associations with class at Vanderbilt about the newly formed seeing the photo of professors Sherburne and people from many different backgrounds in Peace Corps. He was on a recruiting mission. Lachs [Spring 2008 issue, “Long Day’s Jour- Nashville, and our school celebrates these On another occasion I hosted his uncle, ney into Night”]. connections—as does Vanderbilt—with the Winthrop Rockefeller, who gave a political George Lawton Bevington, BA’90 larger worlds beyond our “hill” at 4001 Hard- science lecture on state and local government. Atlanta ing Road. We were proud to be mentioned in He had been governor of Arkansas. And in your magazine, but were disappointed that 1964–65 I was awarded a Rockefeller Foun- Where Are the Vanderbilt Artists? our school was not portrayed accurately. dation grant enabling a research year in Lon- I remember when I first saw Vanderbilt Bradford Gioia don. Magazine—it was one step up from being a mimeographed “zine.” It has been great to WITH MUSIC AND JUSTICE FOR ALL watch the design and content get better and Some Southerners and Their Passions better each year. Now it is actually fun to read. I would think Vanderbilt artists should be the Frye Gaillard author of Prophet from Plains: Jimmy Carter and His Legacy and Watermelon Wine: The Spirit of Country Music ones to illustrate the magazine instead of unknown commercial artists. “Indelible and often surprising portraits of everybody from Marshall Chapman to Billy Graham, Tipper Gore Donald H. Evans to Johnny Cash.” –Lee Smith Professor of art and art history, emeritus “It will buck you up, I believe, if you have strong feelings Joelton, Tenn. about the South.” –Roy Blount, Jr. “He gives us the measure of the best of the South for an entire generation.” –Susan Ford Wiltshire

At bookstores now www.VanderbiltUniversityPress.com

8 Summer 2008 More Sports, Please I still like the feel of paper in my hands. of it because it always includes some of the Your Spring 2008 issue was like—wow! The quality of your magazine is outstanding, best writing I read. James Edward French, BA’59 Great job! I’m hoping for more of these kinds and I read each issue with care. The Rev. Palmer C. Temple, BA’57 of fascinating articles. Please do an article in Frederick, Md. each issue regarding a former student-athlete Atlanta Vanderbilt Magazine is first-rate. I espe- and the impact Vanderbilt had on them. We Your product is the cially enjoy articles about the Fugitives—I lifelong Vandy fans eat those up. best reading material I know that is territory you have covered, but it Sheila M. Watts, BA’74 receive. (Still, if eventually forced to accept it is always interesting to some of us who are Greenbrier, Tenn. online only, I shall de-subscribe. That’s just not literature—or fun.) older. You’ve also hit home with me writing about Al Gore, the health-care crisis, South- In Praise of Print Michael B. Sonnen, BE’62 Redlands, Calif. ern politics and culture—and Africa; I have a Ah—there is nothing more beautiful than Uganda connection. One of the best things seeing the written word in print and not on Aw, Shucks about the magazine is its capacity to surprise. some computer screen! Great work, Vander- Thanks. Vanderbilt Magazine is very, very special. I bilt Magazine. You’re appreciated! John P. Booth, ’72 devour it the minute it gets here—it has a Kari Elizabeth Reeves, Tallahassee, Fla. BSN’78, MSN’98 remarkable range of information that res- Columbia, Tenn. onates with all sorts of folks. It brings our This is one of the best magazines of any Vandy experience roaring back to us. type, anywhere. Keep it up! I like old-fashioned magazines and don’t Dr. Ensor R. Dunsford Jr., MD’48 Cmdr. Samuel D. Johnson, BE’75 want my options limited to electronic read- Orange Park, Fla. Frederick, Md. ing only. Thanks! Keep up the great work. Lt. Col. Nina Wray Page, MSN’87 I usually put down whatever else I am doing I enjoy the magazine so much. As a 1950 Jackson, Miss. when a new issue arrives to read at least some graduate it is about the only way I have to know what is going on with the “cutting edge.” As Arlo in the comics says, “People have already retired from the professions we studied.” Susan B. Ridley, BA’50 Murfreesboro, Tenn.

I trust you are on the right track now. Early on, Vanderbilt Magazine did not think much of tradition or anything else old— including old alums, teachers, writers, etc. Jesse M.O. Colton, BA’50, JD’52 Nashville

The magazine is a real treat. I enjoy it immensely—it has improved 100 percent in recent years. Marcella Faulkner Mountjoy, BA’45 Williamsburg, Ky.

Letters are always welcome in response to contents of the magazine. We reserve the right to edit for length, style and clarity. Send signed letters to the Editor, Vanderbilt Magazine, VU Station B #357703, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235-7703, or e-mail [email protected].

Vanderbilt Magazine 9 Strawberry Fields Forever It took 5,000 pounds of sweet, ripe Driscoll strawberries to feed the masses at Vanderbilt’s Commencement on May 9. More than 3,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students received their degrees, and thousands more family and friends joined them at the Strawberries and Champagne Celebration following 1,000Wor000Worgraduation exercises. Photo by John Russell. ds 10

The Campus “ If you’ve been fortunate, you should share it. Taking it with you—or Children’s Hospital Namesake ships that changed the lives of honorary lifetime member of Remembered for Commitment and Caring students. the board of directors of the “He led Vanderbilt’s Shape Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s The former the Future campaign with a Hospital. chairman and vigor and passion that only The Shape the Future cam- chief executive he could possess, and he chal- paign was publicly launched in officer of Central lenged all of us to reach higher 2003 with a goal of $1.25 bil- Parking Corp. in our goals for this great lion. In late 2006 the Board of provided strong university.” Trust voted to increase the goal volunteer leader- A member of Vanderbilt to $1.75 billion in anticipation ship for Vander- University’s Board of Trust since of reaching the original goal bilt initiatives 1991, Carell and his wife, Ann, two years ahead of schedule. and numerous have long supported various A secondary goal of $100 mil- other causes. segments of the university, lion in bequests was reached “I cannot over- including undergraduate educa- in 2007, and the Board of Trust, state the impact tion, the children’s hospital that at Carell’s request, raised the Monroe Carell Jr. he has had on now bears his name, the School bequest goal to $150 million. during one of his Vanderbilt’s past, of Medicine and athletics. At The campaign is scheduled to frequent visits to the hospital that present and the time of his death, he was close Dec. 31, 2010. bears his name future,” said Van- leading the comprehensive, uni- When the Shape the Future

DANA JOHNSON derbilt Chancellor versity-wide Shape the Future campaign reached its $1 billion Monroe J. Carell Jr., Nicholas S. Zeppos. “Through campaign, which has experi- milestone in September 2004, BE’59, a Nashville executive his leadership on the Board of enced unprecedented success. an editorial in The Tennessean admired as much for his phi- Trust and enormous philan- Carell also served on the newspaper stated, “It is Vander- lanthropy as for his business thropic generosity, Monroe Vanderbilt Medical Center bilt’s spending of the money— acumen, died June 20 after a established one of the finest Board and the board of over- not its raising of it—that courageous battle with cancer. children’s hospitals in the seers for the Vanderbilt-Ingram should most impress this city,” He was 76. country and created scholar- Cancer Center, and was an noting that the campaign pri- Virtual Vanderbilt

Wanted: Triple the Research Volunteers www.vanderbilthealth.com/clinicaltrials Asthma? Sleep apnea? A spare tire around your waist? Whatever the malady, chances are Vanderbilt is studying it in a clinical research trial. This new Web site aims to at least triple the number of volunteers for clinical trials of new vaccines, cancer treatments, and a multitude of other areas. The beefed- up recruitment is an initiative of the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, established last fall with a $46 million award from the National Institutes of Health—the largest single government grant ever received by Vanderbilt.

12 Summer 2008 Summer2008“

holding on to it—doesn’t bring you any more happiness. —Monroe Carell Jr.

orities included need-based Carell was chief scholarships, faculty chairs engineer with the and residential colleges. Duck River Electri- Carell’s gifts to Vanderbilt cal Membership included the Ann and Monroe Cooperative before Carell Jr. Family Chair in Pedi- going to work for his atric Cardiology and the Carell father and a business Scholarship Fund. Perhaps his partner at Central most significant commitment Parking in 1967. to Vanderbilt was leadership Central Parking, of the campaign to raise $50 which had 10 park- million to help establish a new ing lots in Nashville children’s hospital, which pre- and Atlanta when viously had been housed within Carell began work Vanderbilt University Hospital. there, is now the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s world’s largest Hospital at Vanderbilt, which parking services opened in 2004, is recognized provider with more as one of the nation’s top than 4,000 parking pediatric teaching, research facilities. Carell sold and treatment institutions. Central Parking to In all, some $79 million has a group of private NORMAND COUSINEAU been committed to the Chil- equity firms in 2007. He Carell is survived by his wife, mental sciences, political dren’s Hospital as a result of resigned as executive chairman the former Julia Ann Scott, who science, law, engineering, the Carells’ generosity as well and, with his family, formed graduated from Peabody College business, management, eco- as Monroe Carell’s personal Carell LLC, a real-estate invest- in 1957, and by three children, nomics and nursing to investi- fundraising efforts and ment company. six grandchildren and a brother. gate one of the most important leadership. In 1998 Carell established a and most widely overlooked “His legacy will live on in fund to provide a total of eight Green Power sources of greenhouse gases: the lives of the countless chil- full-tuition scholarships to individual behavior. dren he helped to improve excellent, hard-working stu- Begins at Home “The Climate Change through the hospital that bears dents engaged in their commu- Although manufacturers Research Network is an inter- his name,” said Dr. Harry R. nity and committed to the are responsible for much of the disciplinary team conducting Jacobson, vice chancellor for broadening experience of work- greenhouse-gas emissions in research to understand the health affairs. ing while in college. In 2006 the the United States, individuals magnitude of the contribution A 1959 cum laude graduate Carell Scholarship Fund was largely contribute to the prob- from individuals and house- of the Vanderbilt School of expanded to include a baseball lem of climate change, too. So holds,” says Michael Vanden- Engineering, Carell received the scholarship. There are now 20 what can be done about it? bergh, professor of environ- school’s Distinguished Alum- Carell Scholars and two Mon- A diverse group of experts mental law. “Our goal is to nus Award in 2001. The native roe J. Carell Jr. Baseball Schol- at Vanderbilt University has identify the legal, economic Nashvillian served in the Navy ars; 14 have graduated, and created the Climate Change and social responses that can before enrolling at Vanderbilt, eight are still students. A new Research Network, which generate effective, low-cost where he earned a bachelor’s Carell Scholar will enter Van- combines researchers from emissions reductions by those degree in electrical engineering. derbilt this fall. the areas of earth and environ- individuals and their families >>

Vanderbilt Magazine 13 in their everyday lives.” Johns Hopkins University. He is Inquiring Minds Network participants are an authority on the physiologi- examining questions such as: cal and behavioral aspects of RNA Interference Heals Growth Deficiency Disorder Which individual behaviors stress. A native of Portsmouth, Vanderbilt researchers have demonstrat- release the greatest amounts of Va., he spent two years as a ed for the first time that a new type of greenhouse-gas emissions? research associate in pharma- gene therapy called “RNA interference” How do people perceive and cology with the National Insti- can heal a genetic disorder in a live ani- value climate-change risks, par- tute of Mental Health before mal. ticularly when they are remote? joining the University of Vir- Their study, published last fall by the What changes in the adminis- ginia in 1978 as an assistant journal Endocrinology, shows that RNA interference can “rescue” a strain of tration and staffing of govern- professor of psychology. He mouse that has been genetically engi- ment agencies will be required then rose to department chair neered to express a defective human if climate-change laws and before taking a leave of absence hormone that interferes with normal policies are adopted? to join the American Psycho-

DANIEL DUBOIS growth. When the gene that produces The Climate Change logical Association as executive the defective human growth hormone is inserted into the mouse’s Research Network is in the director for science. He has genome, it also stunts the mouse’s growth. But when a small early stages of establishing a served as editor of American snippet of RNA that interferes with the hormone’s production is national and international net- Psychologist and as founding also added, the mouse is restored to normal. work of researchers to help editor-in-chief of Stress. Find out more: www.vanderbilt.edu/exploration/stories/sirna.html answer questions that policy- makers and other individuals Liver Allocation System Lowers Death Rates may have regarding what they Vanderbilt researchers have found that the United Network for Organ Sharing’s (UNOS) adoption of an objective-only method of can do in their day-to-day lives allocating donated livers has lowered the number of deaths to shrink their carbon footprint. among patients on the waiting list. In 2002, UNOS adopted a sys- Find out more: tem using laboratory-based values to characterize a patient’s http://law.vanderbilt.edu/ need for liver transplantation. academics/academic-programs/ Previously, patients who spent the longest time on the waiting environmental-law/climate- list for a liver were often given priority. After the change, wait change-network/index.aspx times became less of an issue while severity of condition was pri- oritized. The change was the subject of great debate and prompted Arts and Science Vanderbilt researchers to examine the outcomes associated with Dean Named Provost the new liver allocation policy. Results of the study were released Richard McCarty, a distin- last fall in the Archives of Surgery. guished psychologist who has Richard McCarty Find out more: www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=6002 DANIEL DUBOIS led the largest school at Van- Melatonin Study Could Help Children with Autism derbilt University for the past Under McCarty’s direction Vanderbilt sleep researchers are reporting a relationship between seven years, has been named Vanderbilt embarked on a sig- good sleep and how much melatonin the body produces—the first provost and vice chancellor nificant faculty recruitment ini- in a series of research studies intended to help children with for academic affairs. tiative; undergraduate student autism spectrum disorders (ASD) “Richard embodies Vander- quality, diversity and selectivity sleep through the night. bilt’s values of excellence and were ranked among the highest “This suggests that children fairness,” said Chancellor in the country; and graduate with ASD who have decreased mela- Nicholas Zeppos in announc- student enrollment and diversity tonin levels have decreased levels ing the appointment in May. increased dramatically. of deep sleep,” says lead author “He is a scholar who is com- As provost and vice chancel- Dr. Beth Malow, director of the mitted to every aspect of our Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Cen- lor for academic affairs, McCar- ter. “We didn’t actually give the education mission.” ty will have responsibility for supplement; we measured natural McCarty received his bache- academic programs of the Blair levels of melatonin in the body. lor’s degree in biology and School of Music, College of Arts One could infer, based on what we found, that a supplement master’s degree in zoology and Science, Divinity School, might be good.” from Old Dominion University School of Engineering, Gradu- before earning a Ph.D. from ate School, Law School, Owen

14 Summer 2008 Graduate School of Manage- ment and Peabody College, and QuoteUnquote also will oversee student affairs, housing, admissions and finan- cial aid, and research. Carolyn Dever, executive dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of

English, is serving as interim dean of the College of Arts and Science until a new dean is named. There were no rules, there“ Powerful Magnet “was no hierarchy, there Attracts Support was no management. for Imaging Vanderbilt researchers —Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO have received a five-year, $5.7 of Cantor Fitzgerald, on how his firm rallied after 658 of 970 employees million federal grant to study perished in the World Trade Center. the human brain using one of Lutnick spoke at Commencement for the world’s most powerful the Owen Graduate School of magnets. The National Institute Management on May 9. of Biomedical Imaging and

Bioengineering grant repre- DANIEL DUBOIS sents the renewal of a Bioengi- neering Research Partnership the earth. Encased in 400 metric atoms, such as hydrogen, in the brain that are beyond the grant originally awarded for $4 tons of steel, the 7 Tesla scanner body tissues so they will absorb resolving power of convention- million in 2002 to study “inte- can generate brain images down energy from particular fre- al scanners, and can bring the grated functional imaging of to the molecular level. quencies of radio waves, caus- focus down to single columns the human brain.” The magnet interacts with ing them to resonate. By of neurons. But “it’s a complete measuring these mag- Ultimately, high-field mag- change of direction” this netic effects, scanners netic resonance and spectro- time, says John Gore, the can construct detailed scopy may enable researchers to grant’s principal investi- images of structures study the effects of drugs gator and director of the in the body and also on a wide range of brain dis- Vanderbilt University determine the levels orders, from chronic pain to Institute of Imaging Sci- of key compounds, Alzheimer’s disease, and to ence. “We want to focus including molecules help develop new drugs. on the challenges of the that are involved in The grant also will involve highest field in human signaling in the brain. researchers from the Vanderbilt imaging.” More powerful School of Engineering and The grant will support magnets require the Department of Psychology, development of “high use of higher frequen- as well as corporate partners field” magnetic resonance cy radio waves, and Philips Healthcare (which imaging and spectroscopy generate bigger sig- built the scanner), Invivo and using the institute’s 7 nals that can be used Resonance Research Inc. Tesla scanner, one of only to increase the resolu- Gore is Chancellor’s Uni- 13 in the world being tion — the detail — versity Professor of Radiology used in human studies. of the images. The 7 and Radiological Sciences and One Tesla is roughly Tesla scanner, for Biomedical Engineering, and 20,000 times the strength example, can reveal professor of molecular physi- John Gore of the magnetic field of DANIEL DUBOIS tiny blood vessels in ology, biophysics and physics.

Vanderbilt Magazine 15 Hair-Raising Performance Scott Avett of the Avett Brothers Band performs at Rites of Spring, an annual student-produced music festival to celebrate the end of the academic year. Headline acts for the April 18–19 event were Spoon and Lil Jon. Full-Time GLBT understanding in a way we Office to Launch were not able to do before.” The university also has Top Picks A full-time and fully staffed established a committee to office to support the gay, les- Coach Johnson Honored for Suicide Prevention Work advise the administration on bian, bisexual and transgender Head Football Coach Bobby John- issues that affect GLBT life on community at Vanderbilt will son was recognized during a cere- campus. David Boyd, associate launch this fall. The K.C. Potter mony in March for his efforts toward professor of medicine, health Center, named in honor of a youth suicide prevention when The and society, who led the task former dean of residential and Jason Foundation presented him force that recommended cre- judicial affairs at Vanderbilt with its Grant Teaff “Breaking the ation of the GLBT center, has who was supportive of the Silence” Award. been appointed chair of the GLBT community, will replace The award is given annually by committee. a part-time resource center. the American Football Coaches STEVE GREEN You’ll Love What Association (AFCA) and The Jason Foundation to the college coach who has done the most to promote youth suicide pre- We’ve Done with vention. Johnson was first told about the honor in front of the Place nearly 2,000 college coaches at the American Football Coach- Vanderbilt Magazine es Association convention in January. frequently receives requests Since its inception a decade ago, The Jason Foundation for additional copies, and we has worked with the American Football Coaches Association are happy to oblige by furnish- membership after data surfaced that youth most often turn to ing print copies at no charge. an educator—and specifically a coach—in times of crisis. But the quickest way to find an article or send one to someone Checkered Past else (and save a tree) is to visit us “It’s a pretty cute bug,” Lamar Alexander, BA’62, said last Nora Spencer online at www.vanderbilt.edu/ November at an event in Gatlinburg, Tenn., announcing the alumni/vanderbilt-magazine. discovery of a new species of insect to be named after the The office will be led by Nora If you haven’t been there former Tennessee governor, former U.S. secretary of educa- Spencer, who leaves a similar recently, you’ll find a totally tion, former Republican presidential candidate and current job at the University of Florida. revamped Web site with easier U.S. senator. There she oversaw support navigation and more interac- Like the trademark plaid shirts Alexander has worn in services, programming, strate- tive content, including the abil- political campaigns, Cosberella lamaralexanderi, or “Lamar gic planning, marketing and ity to access back issues, leave Alexander springtail,” sports a checkerboard coloration. The fundraising for GLBT affairs insect was first discovered in the Great Smoky Mountains. and served as a resource and Alexander grew up in nearby Maryville, Tenn. advocate regarding GLBT issues. The new office “not only Police Chief to Lead 2,000 Peers will provide support and Marlon C. Lynch, Vanderbilt chief of police, encouragement, but also the is the 2008–2009 president-elect for the type of visibility and advocacy International Association of Campus Law needed in the Vanderbilt com- Enforcement Administrators Inc. (IACLEA). munity,” says Shay Malone, Lynch joined Vanderbilt in 2005 as assis- assistant director of the Office feedback about individual arti- tant chief of police after serving as chief of Leadership Development cles, subscribe to RSS feeds and of police and director of public safety at and Intercultural Affairs. “It is much more. The only part of the University of North Carolina at Char- my hope that with a fully Vanderbilt Magazine you won’t lotte. He became chief of police at Vanderbilt in January staffed GLBT office, we can see online is class notes, which 2007. begin to address some of the is available only in the print Lynch earned a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State unique challenges GLBT stu- version of the publication in University and a master’s degree from Boston University, dents face here at Vanderbilt order to protect the privacy of both in criminal justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National and the need to educate stu- our alumni. Academy and the Northwestern University School of Police dents about awareness and Staff and Command.

Vanderbilt Magazine 17 JENNY MANDEVILLE Sports

Stroke of Magic A look at Vanderbilt athletics A simple change of short stick puts Curran back on the upswing. By RYAN SCHULZ

on Curran was in a rut. It was Feb. really gave him a different feeling and a lot SEC is a really strong conference with a lot of 19, 2008, and he had just completed more confidence.” strong players. It feels great to win such an his final round at the John Hayt Col- Armed with a new dose of self-assurance, award.” legiate Invitational, where he tied for Curran began his own version of “March Mad- So what kind of putter made the differ- J62nd—the worst finish of his colle- ness” at the Seminole Intercollegiate in Talla- ence? Sorry—but only Curran, his coach and giate career. hassee, Fla., March 2–4, where he earned medalist fellow players know the answer to that. To say it was uncommon territory honors for the first time in his career. He won But Curran has not been the only one who for the junior All-American would be the tournament with a 10-under 206, becom- has reaped the benefits of his play. The team an understatement. Curran, a human and ing the first Commodore to win a tourna- has profited as well. Since the start of March, organizational development major from Hop- ment since Luke List won the Mason Rudolph the Commodores have reeled off three straight kinton, Mass., was coming Intercollegiate in 2005. top-five finishes, including a victory at the off a 2007 season where he “He started rolling better Kauai Collegiate Cup. Prior to March, the finished eighth at the NCAA in Tallahassee, and that has team had only two top-five finishes in its pre- Championships, tied for sec- been the main kick-start for vious six tournaments. ond at the NCAA West Region- him because when he is mak- “Our backs are kind of against the wall in al, and tied for ninth at the ing putts, he is going to get terms of regionals and our ranking, so in order SEC Championships. on a roll,” Shaw says. for us to get where we want to be in regionals, In desperate need of a spark, Curran concluded the we have to step it up,” Curran says. “Thank- Curran decided to change month with a pair of runner- fully, we’ve been doing it. Sometimes it takes putters at the end of Febru- up finishes at the Kauai Col- something like that to get you in gear, and we ary. The results have been legiate Cup in Kauai, Hawaii, are really stepping up.” everything he hoped. and the Furman Intercolle- Although every team’s score is determined “From the equipment giate in Greenville, S.C. by totaling four of its five lowest rounds, Shaw aspect I really feel comfort- “Winning breeds winning,” believes that Curran’s play can account for able with what I’ve got in the NEIL BRAKE Curran says. “I hadn’t won more than just one of the team’s four scores. bag right now,” Curran says. “My putter has in a long time, and I felt like I was getting in a “We saw that in Tallahassee,” Shaw says. definitely helped out the past few weeks.” rut. Now, all of a sudden, I have a lot of confi- “The guys saw that he was lighting it up, and Helped out it did. In Vanderbilt’s three dence, and every time I go out, I feel like I can they needed to honor his good play by step- tournaments in March, he posted two run- win instead of just having a top finish.” ping up themselves. They don’t want to be ner-up finishes and a win. During that time Curran’s play has turned heads not only at dragging the team down. When Jon starts he shot par or better in eight of his nine rounds, Vanderbilt, but also across the SEC. Follow- playing well, it lifts everybody up. He knows while posting a stroke average of 70.4. ing his runner-up finish at the Furman Inter- how to rise to the occasion when we need “[Curran] was struggling most of the year collegiate, the league office selected him as him most.” V with his putting not being up to the level that SEC Men’s Golfer of the Week on March 31. Ryan Schulz is editor of Commodore Nation, it was at the end of last year,” says Head Men’s The honor was the first of his career. the monthly magazine of Vanderbilt Athletics. Golf Coach Tom Shaw. “Switching the putter “It’s a pretty cool honor,” Curran says. “The

Summer 2008 18 JOHN RUSSELL

2008 NCAA East Region Championship. Curran was selected to compete in the After posting four Top 10 finishes, Jon S PORTS

$50 Million Athletic Facilities Upgrade Begins It’s official. Vanderbilt is putting vice chancellor for university affairs and its money where its athletic needs student athletics, says each phase will be are. In a continuing effort to raise completed as money is available. If all goes the level of sports competition, as planned, the entire project could be com- the university has announced a pleted by 2013. “This is a self-funded oper- five-phase, multimillion-dollar ation,” says Williams. “We have to raise money renovation and building program. for it. If we tried to do it all at once, that The project has received enthu- would actually impede our programs.” siastic support from across the Phase I began in April. A summary of all university. John Ingram, MBA’86, five planned phases follows: is a member of the Vanderbilt Board Phase I: $11 million–$12 million of Trust and chairs the board’s • Memorial Gym basketball locker rooms athletics committee. “We want our coaches letes spend a lot of their time in the locker • Vanderbilt Stadium facility renovation to understand that we want them to win room. “What you remember as a player is • Hawkins Field Baseball Stadium expan- championships,” he said at a May 20 press the time you spend with your teammates.” sion to 3,700 seats conference. “Success is not a linear thing; “We’ve been good at times, and we want • Football synthetic surfaces at the John it’s a circle. In the past five to 10 years, we to go to the next level and be great,” says Rich Practice Facility and Wedgewood have changed the image of Vanderbilt from Head Women’s Basketball Coach Melanie Recreation Field one of lovable losers to serious contenders.” Balcomb. “We needed the next level in facil- Phase II: $11 million–$12 million The planned renovations and construc- ities.” • McGugin Center renovation: construc- tion will put Vanderbilt’s facilities on par “This is a vote of confidence in our pro- tion of the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of with the best in the SEC. “We’re in a little grams,” says Head Football Coach Bobby Fame, renovation of position and team bit of an arms race in this thing we call facil- Johnson. “When you invest, you give the meeting rooms for football, and renova- ities,” notes Head Men’s Basketball Coach teams at Vanderbilt a chance to compete.” tion of the athletic training room Kevin Stallings. Good facilities are good Total estimated cost for the upgrades is • Vanderbilt Stadium Renovation, includ- draws for prospective athletes, and the ath- upwards of $50 million. David Williams, ing rebuilding of Gates 2 and 3, construc- tion of an exterior facade along Natchez Where are they now? Trace, and development of a plaza in front of Gate 2 On the banks of the Cumberland River, overlooking the practice Phase III: $7 million–$8 million facility of the Tennessee Titans, sits Chip’s Place. And at Chip’s • Vanderbilt Stadium renovation of Gates Place you’ll find Chip Healy, ’68, former All-American linebacker for the Commodores and a two-year veteran of the old St. Louis 1 and 4 in north end zone of the stadium Cardinals professional football team. Chip’s Place is and construction of a plaza area the user-friendly nickname for Transitional Living Inc., • McGugin Center renovation to support a sober-living community he founded in 2000 to provide staff of the Stratton Foster Academic Cen- a drug- and alcohol-free place for men to live and ter area, and renovation to football coach- grow while recovering from their addictions. es’ offices, support staff offices and coaches’ “This was an old fish camp,” Healy says of the seven-building campus. “They were locker rooms a bunch of places people built after the war … Phase IV: $16 million–$18 million little cabins that were a nice place to get • Vanderbilt Stadium construction of north away from the city.” Healy himself benefited end zone building and seating, and addi- from a recovery program 11 years ago and believes he was led to find the property tion of synthetic turf in the stadium for a purpose. A father of two and • McGugin Center renovation of the foot- grandfather of four, he says a ball locker rooms, equipment rooms and typical successful stay at Chip’s athletic training room; Olympic sport Place lasts eight months. The locker rooms and meeting rooms con- men pay rent and are required to work and attend 12-step structed on second floor meetings. Find out more: Phase V: $1 million–$2 million www.chips-place.org • McGugin Center renovation and expan- sion of Hendrix Room dining facility; JOHN RUSSELL addition of offices and suites

20 Summer 2008 STEVE GREEN Sports Roundup

Football: NFL Draftees and 2008 Team Captains Men’s Basketball: The Chicago Bears took two Commodores in the NFL draft: Offensive lineman Big Record and Best Player Chris Williams, BS’07, was the 14th pick in the first round, and wide receiver The Commodores finished the season with a Earl Bennett was selected in the third round. They join former Commodore 26–8 overall record and advanced to the NCAA linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer, BS’03, on the Bears squad. Two-time Vandy Tournament for the second consecutive year. They captain and All-SEC linebacker Jonathan Goff, BE’07, was selected by the tied a school record by winning 25 regular-season New York Giants in the fifth round. Other Commodores signed as free agents: games and began the year with a 16–0 run, the best linebacker Marcus Buggs, BS’07, with the New York Giants and defensive start for a Vanderbilt team in school history. During end Curtis Gatewood, BS’07, with the Washington Redskins. On the home the season they knocked off then-No. 1-ranked front the Commodores chose their captains for the 2008 season: senior Tennessee in Nashville, the second consecutive year safety Reshard Langford, junior offensive lineman Bradley Vierling, the Commodores have beaten the No. 1-ranked team and senior wide receiver George Smith. in the nation. Senior Shan Foster was named Vanderbilt’s Most Valuable Player and SEC Player Women’s Basketball: Another Sweet Season of the Year, and was named a second-team All- The Vanderbilt women finished with a 25–9 record and won a American by the Associated Press. He leaves school-record 11 regular-season SEC games. They advanced to Vanderbilt as the school’s all-time leading scorer the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 round for the third time with 2,011 points and the all-time leader in in five years. Junior Christina Wirth was named first- three-pointers made and attempted. He also won team All-SEC, junior Jennifer Risper earned second- the 2007–08 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, team All-SEC honors, and freshmen Jence Rhoads selected by a nationwide vote of coaches, media and Hannah Tuomi were named to the All- and fans, presented annually to college basket- Freshman Team. ball’s outstanding NCAA Division I senior stu- dent-athlete. Freshman A.J. Ogilvy was named to the All-SEC second team and was a unanimous selection to the league’s All-Freshman team.

Women’s Tennis: Team Reaches Sweet 16 in NCAA Tourney The Commodores advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament, losing 4–1 to No. 6 Florida, and finished the season with a 20–6 record.

Men’s Tennis: Advance to NCAA Tourney The men reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament after beating Indiana 4–3, but bowed out after losing to Ole Miss 4–1. The team was ranked 29th in the nation and fin- ished with an overall record of 14–10.

Vanderbilt lacrosse finished the season with a school-record 13 victories and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. CollectiveMemory Vanderbilt’s roots revealed Chancellor Checkmates Bishops One hundred years ago, a grand schism of ideologies recast Vanderbilt’s future. By RAY WADDLE, MA’81

ho controls Vanderbilt on a new course—nonsectarian, free to pur- emeritus. University?” “Who founded sue excellence by its own lights. Even so, “My sense is the break was inevitable,” Vanderbilt—northern money those old tensions between free speech and adds Gulley. “Wor southern Methodists?” orthodoxy continue to play out in Ameri- No one saw conflict at first. Vanderbilt’s A century ago fierce questions about the can culture. The history of the Vanderbilt- original leaders, Methodist bishops of the status of Vanderbilt inflamed debate across Methodist crisis offers a tale of the clash of South after the Civil War, dreamed of a new the South. And the way they were answered— well-intentioned ideals and unforeseen out- university, inspired by church values, that decisively, painfully in 1914—has shaped comes. would become a national institution and IMAGES FROM VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS the destiny of the university and lead the South out of the disar- its divinity school, as well as reli- ray of defeat. gion and education in the South, It was never a simple propo- ever since. sition. Such a vision of higher It may come as news to recent education cost money, and there Vanderbilt alumni that their uni- wasn’t much in 1865. The war versity used to be a thoroughly had dealt a severe blow to region- Methodist institution, where al prosperity. The Methodists Methodist bishops patrolled board were the largest national Protes- meetings and piety was a facul- tant group and dominant in the ty credential. That was Vander- South through the Methodist bilt in its first decades, late in Episcopal Church South (MECS). the 19th century. Nevertheless, most of their own By the early 20th century, how- Dixie-based schools had shut ever, competing visions of the Methodist Bishop Holland McTyeire, left, envisioned a Vanderbilt inspired by down after the war. university’s future were in open church values. Chancellor James Kirkland wanted a nonsectarian university. But the dream wouldn’t rest. conflict. By 1871 progressive Methodist From the start, the mandate was to make “Church leaders wanted the institution leaders in Tennessee, including Bishop Hol- Vanderbilt a top-ranked university in the to be more integrated into the life of the land McTyeire, declared they would raise South and the nation. How to do it? The church, and the institution thought it need- money for a new first-class university, with involvement of church denizens at Vander- ed to be the best it could be—and that might a theological school attached. They were bilt’s beginnings supplied decisive leader- mean hiring non-Methodists,” says Frank convinced the New South needed a univer- ship, but it also introduced tensions that Gulley, PhD’61, emeritus professor of church sity to keep up with a rising middle class, were impossible to resolve: intellectual free- history at the Divinity School and a Methodist meet the challenges of an industrial econo- dom vs. religious tradition, national ambi- scholar, who contributed an essay about the my, and prepare clergy for a coming milieu tions vs. local responsibilities. crisis in Vanderbilt Divinity School: Educa- of modernism and urbanization. After a stormy series of lawsuits ending tion, Contest and Change, a 2001 book edit- Not all Methodists in the South agreed. in 1914, the Methodists washed their hands ed by Dale A. Johnson, the Drucilla Moore Many, maybe most, were ambivalent about of the university and Vanderbilt embarked Buffington Professor of Church History, a new institution of higher education and a

22 Summer 2008 11 days later. (See Gone With intellectual currents. the Ivy: A Biography of Vander- “The MECS had created a form of theo- bilt University, by Paul K. Conkin, logical education it could not control,” writes for the full story.) Nashville, church historian Glenn Miller in Vanderbilt already a Methodist hub (the Divinity School. publishing house was there), Church suspicions about Vanderbilt’s was the chosen location. direction increased as qualified non-Methodists The university was divided swelled the faculty ranks by the turn of the into five departments—aca- 20th century. A new arena of conflict then demic (arts and sciences), edu- emerged—within the Board of Trust. Guid- cation, law, medicine, theology ed by Chancellor James Kirkland, the board —and straightaway made furi- was growing confident that it should be free ous efforts to establish pat- from clergy influence to make decisions to terns of competency and build improve Vanderbilt’s academic standing. a reputation. Theology became The board’s view was that the Commodore, the “Biblical Department,” a not the church, founded the university. At term perhaps devised as “a the same moment, dramatic growth in Method- concession to fears among some ism increased the expectation that more in the church that this ven- bishops would be named to the board. But ture was going to develop the- Kirkland wanted more lawyers and busi- ological sophisticates who nessmen on the board, not bishops, Gulley could not communicate with writes. In 1905, Kirkland proposed redefin- the common people,” Gulley ing the board to be autonomous from church writes in Vanderbilt Divinity power. Some Methodist leaders took this as School. an act of disloyalty and creeping secularism. IMAGES FROM VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

school for ministers. An old assumption remained deeply persuasive: God would call the ministers God needed. Preaching skills and Bible reading were inspired by the Spir- it, not German models of education or the Ivy League example. Methodism had suc- ceeded as a populist frontier faith by empha- sizing right living and experiential religion. Higher learning leads to heresy, skepticism, elitism. But progressives replied that an “ecclesi- astical West Point” would forge a better grade of clergy, a forward-looking Southern cadre of ethical leaders. Graduates would fan out as Christian prophets to civilize the new gilded age of materialism. Slowly, though, as administrators got Through church publications and pul- And the progressives prevailed in 1875, more ambitious about building a faculty of pits, a campaign stirred to take back Van- the year Vanderbilt University opened, but distinction, hirings went against the ecclesi- derbilt. Confrontation came in 1910, when only because northern money came through. astical grain. Discontent was foreshadowed church delegates approved a Methodist com- New Yorker Cornelius Vanderbilt ultimately as early as 1878 in the case of geology pro- mission’s report that called for reclaiming provided nearly $1 million after meeting fessor Alexander Winchell. He was a strong the university. Kirkland and the board refused. visionary Bishop Holland McTyeire. The scholar, a good Methodist—and an enthu- The Methodists sued in Nashville’s David- aging Commodore was no churchman, but siastic evolutionist. Some administrators son County Chancery Court, arguing Van- he had been seeking a beneficiary for his suspected his notions might corrupt the derbilt belonged to the church. And they riches and was impressed by McTyeire’s plan. ministers-in-training across campus. So won—until the Tennessee Supreme Court Vanderbilt’s offer to fund establishment of Winchell’s contract was not renewed. It was reversed the Davidson Court decision on the university was made March 17, 1873, dawning on Vanderbilt leaders that it might March 21, 1914, ruling that bishops had no be difficult to protect students from fresh and was accepted by the MECS leadership continued on page 86

Vanderbilt Magazine 23 24 Research and scholarship roundup Br of a staph infection might might infection staph a of site the at present proteins that reasoned researchers The infections. staph against use to techniques new for search their in researchers of team a and Corbin, Brian fellow toral postdoc- Skaar, motivated point.” this at evitable in- is organism the of resistance antibiotic total and complete if as seems “Andimmunology. it and microbiology of professor assistant Skaar, Eric says Americans,” of health lic pub- the impacting pathogen bacterial important most United States. utable to HIV/AIDS in the the number deaths of attrib- Staphylococcus aureus) exceeds (methicillin-resistant MRSA strain antibiotic-resistant the by caused deaths of number food-borne illness. of and one four of leading causes skin and soft-tissue infections, leading cause pus-forming of hospital-acquired infection, the disease,heart the No. 1 cause of 1. to CombatWay Staph Stealing Food One 8 0 0 2 r e m m u S That dire outlook has outlook dire That the arguably is “Staph the estimates some By cause of cause infectious of made staph the leading cus aureus forms of Antibiotic Staphylococ- (staph) have -resistant ight Ideas

NEIL BRAKE “Because “Because we can tell exactly in internal organs like the liver. infected areas— —pimple-like fact that staph forms abscesses infections. bacterial localized fighting for option viable a is bacteria starve to metals binding that notion the zinc—supporting and manganese up sopping by bacteria staph of growth blocks cells immune-system certain inside protein a that discovered researchers bilt Vander- survive. to need they metals the particularly food, to their is “hide” foes these against themselves defend ies bod- our ways the of one And system. immune the and bug the between battle the to important be They They took advantage the of eat. to need bacteria Even

NEIL BRAKE focused on one that was partic- staph abscesses in mice. They teins specifically expressed in tors identified dozens of pro- Spectrometry Center, investiga- istry and director of the Mass Cohen Professor of Biochem- Richard Caprioli, the Stanley developed at Vanderbilt by imaging mass spectrometry, tion,” Skaar says. ent only at the site infec- of look for proteins that are pres- where the infection is, we can “ Using technology called The neutrophil gets the last laugh. last the gets neutrophil The acquired in hospitals. cause of deadly infections laboratory, is the leading in Professor Eric Skaar’s growing on a culture dish Staph bacteria, shown here

by binding—chelating— by protectin inhibits staph growth experiments series of that cal- kills bugs was unclear. growth in test tubes, but how it inhibit bacterial and fungal ogy. Calprotectin is known to bilt’s Center for Structural Biol- Physics and director of Vander- Professor of Biochemistry and Walter Chazin, Chancellor’s has been extensively studied by a calcium-binding protein that ularly abundant—calprotectin,

The team demonstrated in a

researchers examined mal mice. Then formation than nor- susceptible to abscess animals were more showed that those protectin gene and mice lacking the cal- investigators infected protectin’s role, says. Skaar food,” its stealing by bacteria the starves zinc. and ganese man- specifically metals, nutrient to antibiotics. dangerously resistant which are becoming staph infections, new ways to fight a team investigating Brian Corbin is part of Postdoctoral fellow To confirm cal- basically “It “ —Professor Eric Skaar

Poor Diabetes levels of metals in staph Management Portends abscesses in normal and cal- Portends protectin-negative mice. Free Health-Care Crisis manganese and zinc were strik- Basic lifestyle ingly absent in the abscesses of changes could save normal mice, but present in children with obe- abscesses missing calprotectin, 2. sity-related diabetes demonstrating the critical role from a lifetime of of calprotectin in binding these complications. But making ISTOCKPHOTO.COM two metals. changes in areas such as diet Calprotectin makes up and exercise is more difficult with Type 2 diabetes, most of percent perceived taking about half the internal content than adjusting to medical whom are overweight, shows insulin to be the most difficult of neutrophils, the primary management of the disease, many children and teens do not part, and 18 percent had the immune cells that respond to a a Vanderbilt study shows. possess good self-management toughest time adjusting to fin- staph infection. The researchers “Type 2 diabetes in children behaviors. Most children in the ger sticks for blood-sugar tests. propose that calprotectin is a is such a new problem that we study were either overweight or More than 80 percent of second weapon neutrophils don’t know a lot about these obese, with a body mass index patients reported taking med- employ as they wage battle in (BMI) at more than 85 percent ication regularly, and nearly 60 the abscess. First, neutrophils of the average for their age and percent monitored their glu- try to gobble up the bacteria. If weight. cose twice daily. However, they fail and die (staph is expert The study was conducted about 70 percent reported at secreting toxins that kill neu- by the Vanderbilt Diabetes watching at least two hours of trophils), then they spill their Research and Training Center, TV each day, and 63 percent guts, which are filled with working with patients at the said they did not currently par- metal-binding calprotectin Vanderbilt Eskind Pediatric ticipate in physical education sponges that soak up the metals. Diabetes Clinic. Rothman and classes. Children reported that “The neutrophil gets the last Shelagh Mulvaney, assistant barriers to making healthy laugh,” Skaar says. Russell professor of pediatrics and lifestyle changes included diffi- These findings suggest that Rothman nursing, along with physicians culty in dealing with cravings drugs which bind metals, as ANNE RAYNER and nurses from the diabetes or temptations, feeling stressed calprotectin does, would make kids,” says Dr. Russell Rothman, clinic, questioned adolescents or sad, and frequently eating good antibiotics. “If we can fig- assistant professor of medicine about their diabetes manage- outside the home. ure out how to make a mole- and pediatrics and deputy ment in a telephone survey. The study also found racial cule that transiently binds director of the Prevention and Respondents reported that disparities. African American metals and that can be targeted Control Division of the Van- medical management included patients had worse blood- to abscesses, I think that would derbilt Diabetes Research and daily medicines, blood-sugar sugar control and were slightly be a great drug,” Skaar says. Training Center. “This study is monitoring and injections of more likely to act like adoles- Findings are detailed in a one of the most comprehensive insulin. More children (37 per- cent peers without diabetes— study published in the Feb. 15 to date to examine who these cent) reported the most diffi- such as drinking sugary drinks issue of the journal Science, kids are and the challenges they cult part of managing their and eating junk foods with with Corbin as lead author and and their families face.” disease was changing health regularity. The reasons for the Skaar as senior author. The study of 103 adolescents habits like diet and exercise; 31 disparities are not clear, open->>

Vanderbilt Magazine 25 ing up the possibility for future tory. BBN Technologies, an Enabled Dissemination, not communication to land lines. surveys to explore reasons for advanced technology firm that only would help improve the “One of the great things the differences. was one of the original pioneers quality of complex systems but about complexity is that we “These results indicate chil- of the Internet, is the lead con- also increase tolerance for dis- can now build things that are dren are having a very difficult tractor for a team that, in addi- ruptions to ensure that troops so big, we can’t test them using time now, and so you might tion to Vanderbilt, includes in tactical situations get the conventional techniques and think it would be very difficult Boeing and the Institute for information they need on time tools,” says Schmidt. “But the to take care of themselves long- Human Machine Cognition. and intact. more we become reliant on term,” Rothman says. “This will these systems, the more we mean a major health crisis for need to become more certain the country to deal with later. they’re going to work. Our role We owe it to ourselves, as well as is to make sure they work as to these young patients, to find advertised.” better ways to help them man- age their obesity and diabetes.” Hedge-Fund Study The study’s findings were Reveals Distorted published in the April issue of Reporting the journal Pediatrics. Significant $2.8 Million Grant numbers of hedge- to Link War Fighters fund managers pur- 4. posefully and A computer routinely avoid New technology could help reporting losses by marking up freeze-up in the pilots, fighters and commanders office is a hassle. In a to communicate seamlessly. the value of their portfolios, fighter jet peppered according to research from the 3. GETTY IMAGES/CHECK SIX with enemy fire, it’s Vanderbilt Owen Graduate a matter of life and death. The Air Force has asked the Schmidt has spent his career School of Management. Getting the increasingly team to create technological developing ways to test the In the wake of the sub- large and complex systems improvements that, for exam- increasingly complex sys- prime mortgage crisis and its people have come to rely on to ple, would allow a convoy trav- tems—many of which were effect on global financial mar- interface and interact without eling through a hostile city to developed separately—that kets, the analysis adds to the shutting down has been the immediately access informa- have become integral to so debate over hedge-fund regula- focus of Doug Schmidt’s tion—from historical data to many facets of modern life. He tion. Most hedge funds—pri- career. As part of a recent Air up-to-the-minute traffic details has focused on testing these vate investment funds open Force grant, an engineering for the planned route. Even a large systems in a sort of simu- only to a limited range of school team led by Schmidt stalled truck along the road lated technological wind tunnel investors—are not registered with the Securities and will help develop a system to “We can now in order to get all the complex link war fighters seamlessly to build things parts to talk to each other. The Exchange Commission and are the Global Information Grid. that are so big, Air Force grant funds one of audited less frequently than Schmidt, professor of com- we can’t test four such projects Schmidt is other investment vehicles. puter science and associate them with con- leading at Vanderbilt. In-depth analysis of more ventional tech- chair of the department, and The software tools and plat- than 4,200 hedge funds found niques,” says his team are part of a $2.8 mil- forms developed at Vanderbilt a significant number of distor- Doug Schmidt. STEVE GREEN lion grant to develop a system are designed to empower pilots, tions—nearly 10 percent—in that will allow soldiers to access could create a life-threatening fighters and their commanders hedge-fund returns. These dis- information they need no mat- situation for the soldiers, so the to communicate with each tortions were absent in the ter where they are or in what need to access data and make other seamlessly. The software three months leading up to an circumstances, and regardless rapid changes using all avail- harnesses the powers of the audit or when funds were of their connection device and able technology is critical. Global Information Grid, invested in more liquid securi- available bandwidth. The prototype system under which includes all communica- ties such as common stock. The funding comes from the development for the Air Force, tions networks, from the Inter- Overall, funds tend to U.S. Air Force Research Labora- called Quality of Service net to cell phones to satellite report small monthly gains

26 Summer 2008 more frequently than Nicolas P.B. Heyneman, professor of European Union have been small monthly losses, Bollen’s research international educational pol- working to make university suggests the suggesting that hedge- purposeful icy at Vanderbilt’s Peabody degrees equivalent in hopes of fund managers tend to avoidance of College of education and facilitating transfer students round up returns to reporting hedge- human development, present- and greater mobility in the make sure they are fund losses. ed the results to a meeting of labor market. Ministers of edu- slightly positive, rather the Kazakhstan cabinet in cation from 29 European coun- than adjusting both STEVE GREEN February. tries in the Italian city of gains and losses. The study’s month or two of return infla- “Although educational cor- Bologna signed what has come results, say researchers, point tion would benefit from ruption existed under the Sovi- to be known as the “Bologna toward purposeful avoidance somewhat overvalued fund et Union, we hypothesize that it Process,” which was then of reporting losses. shares,” he says, “but investors was modest by comparison to opened up to other countries “This type of manipulation who deposit capital—which the level today,” the authors signatory to the European Cul- could result in investors under- would be the more usual said. Among the immediate tural Convention of the Coun- estimating the potential for response in such a situa- problems for the students is cil of Europe. Further future losses or overestimating tion—would likely suffer.” that a devalued degree adverse- governmental meetings have the performance of hedge-fund ly affects their earning power. been held in Prague (2001), managers,” says Nicolas P.B. Former Soviet Berlin (2003), Bergen Bollen, E. Bronson Ingram Bloc Corruption Corruption in the former (2005) and London Research Professor and associ- Soviet Union threatens (2007). Threatens Education the European Union’s ate professor of management. attempts to standardize But the taint of “Perhaps even more worri- Graduates of university degrees, scandal might some, this manipulation could universities in the warns Stephen abruptly halt that be indicative of even more seri- former Soviet Repub- P. Heyneman. process, Heyneman ous violations of an adviser’s 5.lic may find their says. “It is difficult to fiduciary responsibility.” degrees losing value imagine why a coun- Using data from the Center as corruption among higher try or a university for International Securities and education programs continues with a high reputa- Derivatives Markets, Bollen to rise, two Vanderbilt profes- tion would allow its and Veronika K. Pool of Indi- sors find in a new study pub- degrees to be made ana University’s Kelley School lished in the February issue of equivalent to those of of Business analyzed more than Comparative Education Review. a university or a uni- 215,000 hedge-fund return The study confirms what versity system with a observations from 1994 to many educators have learned reputation for cor- 2005. Their research debunks anecdotally: Educational cor- DANIEL DUBOIS ruption,” the authors the argument that historically ruption in the former U.S.S.R. Devaluation of degrees has said in the report. low numbers of fraud cases and other former communist serious international policy The study surveyed univer- prosecuted by the SEC indi- regimes has increased since the implications, degrades the sities in Serbia, Croatia, Bulgar- cates additional oversight is end of the Cold War. entire social system of those ia, Moldova, Kazakhstan and unwarranted. “Education corruption is countries, and decreases the the Kyrgyz Republic using the Investors should question among the most serious new likelihood that those gradu- Transparency International the accuracy of hedge-fund problems in economic develop- ates will be able to improve Corruption Perception Index returns, says Bollen, and exer- ment today,” says Stephen P. their economic standing, say for 2005. cise caution when using the Heyneman, co-author of the the researchers. Perceived cor- “By design, one function of number of positive returns as study along with Kathryn H. ruption also could jeopardize education is to purposefully a measure of fund perform- Anderson, professor of eco- funding from international teach the young how to behave ance. “If a hedge fund is nomics at Vanderbilt, and development-assistance in the future,” the study points inflating returns and conceal- Nazym Nuralyeva, lecturer in organizations that might out. “If the education system is ing losses, an investor who sociology at a university in rethink their participation. corrupt, one can expect future withdraws capital following a Kazakhstan. Since 1999 members of the citizens to be corrupt as well.” V

For more research stories, visit Vanderbilt’s online research journal, Exploration, at http://exploration.vanderbilt.edu.

Vanderbilt Magazine 27 InClass

Purified Minds, Sanctified Tongues

A spotlight on faculty and their work More than technique, good preaching requires recognizing one’s own tenuous grasp on the truth. By FRYE GAILLARD, BA’68

ometimes when Brad Braxton in the end, he said, good preaching is people was his father. For 33 years James is teaching his classes, when he’s inevitably rooted in substance—in those Braxton Sr. was pastor of the First Baptist talking about what it means to subtle understandings of healing and jus- Church in Salem, a place that had long be a preacher and the students tice that gradually grow deeper in the course been a symbol of hope. In 1867 a group of are clearly caught in his words, of a lifetime. freed slaves had laid the cornerstone of Shis mind will flash back to his Good preaching is, in part, a matter of the building, fulfilling a dream that had father’s church—to that white frame been made possible just a few years building in Salem, Va., with its stained- before. On New Year’s Eve 1862, for- glass windows and warm wooden mer slaves from all over the country, pews. His understanding of the min- many of them joined by white aboli- istry began in that place, and when tionists, came together in churches he started his journey through the and town meeting halls to learn if the world of academia—when he entered glorious news was really true. The the University of Virginia, then earned word had slowly spread through the his master’s degree at Oxford, and land that on Jan. 1, 1863, President later his Ph.D. at Emory—one of the Lincoln would issue his church elders quietly took him aside Emancipation Proclamation. and gave him a simple piece of advice. When the great moment came, “Boy,” she said, staring into his followed two years later by the end of eyes, “act like you’re from southwest the war, the former slaves quickly built Virginia. Don’t get educated away churches of their own, and for many from your people.” of them, one of the most sacred occa- On a recent afternoon at Vander- sions of the year was the Watch Night bilt, as the spring semester was start- service on New Year’s Eve. They sang ing to wind down, Braxton smiled as and prayed and reenacted the hopeful he told that story to his students. He waiting of their elders. And for young

was teaching a homiletics seminar DIANA ONG Brad Braxton growing up in Virginia, to a small and gifted group of future preach- academic study or biblical scholarship. the faith of his father was never more real. ers, and he said he wanted them to under- But in Braxton’s experience, there is just There was something about this commu- stand that being good in the pulpit was as much value in learning from the elders, nity of Christians that James Braxton served more than simply a matter of technique. from those ministers and laymen who are with such wisdom and grace. They seemed Yes, he videotaped their sermons and pored touched by grace, and somehow embody to understand the old sacred link between over gestures and choices of words, as a the wisdom that they preach. their tradition and the search for justice in coach might study the film of a game. But For Braxton the most important of those the world, and, along with their minister,

28 Summer 2008 JOHN RUSSELL A Rhodes Scholar and senior minister for the historic Douglas Memorial Community Church in Baltimore at age 26, Brad Braxton applies lessons he learned along the way as associate professor of New Testament and homiletics. He continues to guest preach as many as 25 sermons each semester. they believed that faith was a source of healing and strength. One of the church elders quietly took him As an associate professor of New Tes- tament and homiletics, Braxton often talks aside and gave him a simple piece of advice. about his father’s faith with his students. “I remember,” Braxton said in one of his “Boy,” she said, staring into his eyes, “act like classes, “how I learned my first homiletics from my father—the intonations, the ges- you’re from southwest Virginia. Don’t get tures, the words laced with love.” But even as a boy, he could see there was much more educated away from your people.” to it than that. There was also the need to be “honest and fair,” as his father liked to glas Memorial Community Church had tion of activism, a passion Braxton shared. put it, to look the members of his church developed a strong and active congrega- But the young minister wanted to make in the eye, and treat them with a kind of tion. It had been named for its founding his own mark. He began a series of Bible “intellectual charity,” particularly in moments minister, Frederick Douglas, who was him- study classes, complete with a syllabus, of disagreement or strife. self named for the great abolitionist. And reading list and exams, and he established Braxton carried those lessons on his after a long and distinguished career, Dou- an interfaith dialogue with the impressive academic quest, from the days when he glas was succeeded by Marian Bascom, a Jewish community in the city. He also started studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford to civil rights leader and colleague of Dr. a gospel choir to supplement the formal the pursuit of his Ph.D. at Emory. And Martin Luther King Jr. Bascom served 46 Sunday morning singing, and the energy when he ascended to the pulpit at the age years before retiring at the age of 70, and that came from all those things made it, of 26, becoming senior minister at an inner- Braxton knew he would be a hard act to he says, a highly satisfying time. city church in Baltimore, he felt that he follow. But the world of academia still called. was prepared for the job. In addition to his deeply intellectual In the summer of 2000, after a whirlwind Not that he expected it to be easy. Dou- sermons, Bascom had established a tradi- stay of five years, Braxton left his pulpit in

“ want to help other students Ihave the opportunities that I had.” —Ethel Battle, MSN’70

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30 Summer 2008 Baltimore to join the faculty at Wake For- Christian ministry: those pulpit procla- est University. He taught preaching and mations about justice in the world, and New Testament in the divinity school, before the pastoral care of their future congrega- Make moving again in 2004 to join the divinity tions. Your school at Vanderbilt. He was 35. And if He liked to begin each session with a there had been a certain restlessness about prayer—“Holy Spirit, purify our minds Message him, he found himself now in a comfort- and sanctify our tongues”—as well as a able place where he could apply the les- reminder about the need for humility in Matter sons he’d learned along the way. the face of the massive task set before them. “It’s an exciting community to be a “Each of us,” he declares, “has a tenu- Reach an exclusively Vanderbilt part of,” he says, “coming to a faculty where ous grasp at best on the truth.” Braxton audience by placing your ad in there is not only a strong commitment to often refers to his students as “colleagues” Vanderbilt Magazine. A full range justice, but a Ph.D. program in homiletics and says he learns from them every day. of sizes is available to fit your budget. and linguistics. I have outstanding col- “These students,” he concludes, “have done leagues, and our dean, James Hudnut- brilliant homiletic work.” For more information please Beumler, is deeply rooted in the life of the Braxton has written three books and is view our media kit online at church.” working on another, and has continued www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/ In the fall he will teach the courses Preach- to do guest preaching on his own, as many publications/mediakit or contact ing in the African American Tradition as 25 sermons each semester, including Phillip Tucker, advertising manager, and Interdisciplinary Approach to Preach- one last year at Westminster Abbey. at 615/322-3989 or by e-mail at ing and Worship. But one of his favorites He says he expects someday to return to [email protected]. is the seminar course he taught in the a full-time pulpit ministry. But for now at spring—Preaching, Healing and Justice, least, he has found at Vanderbilt a place where Advertise in in which he sought to tie together with the pieces of his life come together. V Vanderbilt Magazine. his students the two great callings of the

Vanderbilt Magazine 31 Natural-Born Optimist amela King Ginsburg’s first day as a law school student turned multiple teaching awards; and shaken the out to be even tougher than she expected. It was almost as if she trees for scholarship money. P Universities like Vanderbilt do not often had “PICK ME” stamped on her forehead. In class after class that choose their top leader from within their day, professors singled her out as the very first student they called on. own ranks. Vanderbilt has done it only once before: 71 years ago, when Oliver Carmichael By the time her Civil Procedure class rolled around in mid-afternoon, ascended from dean of the graduate school Ginsburg’s nerves were frazzled—but sure enough, the young professor to chancellor. Yet Zeppos has been so much at the cen- with the wild, curly black hair called on her, too, asking her to state the facts ter of every major initiative at Vanderbilt in of Pennoyer v. Neff. the last decade, it’s difficult to imagine Van- derbilt having made any other choice. He “Some people gasped and others snickered,” Ginsberg remembers. “I has spearheaded innovative efforts in under- threw up my hands, told him I did not understand the case, and suggested graduate admissions and financial aid, the planning process for The Commons and he call on somebody else. He was visibly stunned by the impertinence of College Halls of Vanderbilt, the Strategic the first student he ever called on.” Academic Planning Group, and develop- ment of new programs in neuroscience, law That August day in 1987 was not only est in our development as lawyers, and his and economics; Jewish studies; and medi- Ginsburg’s first day as a law student—it was sense of humor and knack of never taking cine, health and society. He has overseen the also Nicholas Zeppos’ first day as an assis- himself too seriously.” university’s Shape the Future fundraising tant professor. And neither could have known Nicholas Zeppos has matured and evolved campaign, helping raise more than $1.5 bil- that, because her name just happened to during his 21 years at Vanderbilt, but he has lion more than two years ahead of schedule. appear at the top of the second column on not lost the attributes that characterized New plans are on the drawing board for ini- the student roll, every professor had zeroed him that first day teaching law school. He tiatives in the environment, religion, health in on her as the first victim. has climbed the academic ladder from assis- care, and life sciences and engineering. Ginsburg’s law school career could have tant professor to associate dean for research “In my time at Vanderbilt, I’ve known been off to a rocky start, but Zeppos, she and faculty development at the Law School, professors who are brilliant intellectuals. remembers, “did not hold it against me. Months to associate provost to provost and vice chan- And I’ve known administrators who possess later, we had a good laugh when he told me cellor for academic affairs. He has served as a gift for making complex institutions run he had learned of my plight that day and Vanderbilt’s first vice chancellor for institu- well,” says John C.P. Goldberg, now associate was sympathetic.” tional planning and advancement, as interim dean for research at Vanderbilt Law School Ginsburg, JD’90, is now an attorney with chancellor and now chancellor. and one of the faculty members to whom the Cincinnati firm Ulmer & Berne. “I think That’s just the condensed version. He has Zeppos has been both a mentor and friend. his gifts as a professor,” she says, “were his written widely about legislation, adminis- “What makes Nick almost unique is that ability to accept students as humans with trative law and professional responsibility; he is exceptionally able on both scores. He is both strengths and foibles, his genuine inter- earned national renown as a scholar; won a first-class academic and a masterful leader.”

Below: Zeppos in his early days as a lawyer. Right: Eloping with Lydia Howarth at age 31.

Left: Zeppos, age 2, with older brothers Evan (left) and Jon (right). Their grandfather immigrated to Wisconsin from Greece around the time of World War I. Above: Zeppos at center with his brothers and cousin Joel.

34 Summer 2008 Zeppos peppers his conversations with returned. elope. “Eloping was one of the best things phrases like “wouldn’t it be great if … .” He “He and others in our family came through I’ve ever done,” Zeppos says cheerfully, “espe- pounds the table frequently as he talks, in a Ellis Island. There was a big migration west cially since it was with Lydia. I got married way that reveals enthusiasm rather than anger. to Detroit and Chicago among Greeks,” Zep- relatively late. I was 31. By then we had both His natural exuberance masks a Midwest- pos says. “I’m sure they knew somebody in lived away from our families for some time erner’s ingrained modesty, a deftness for Milwaukee and went where the jobs were.” and were working all the time. We thought, turning any conversation around to focus The area was Green Bay Packers and Chicago why spend a lot of money and a lot of time?” on the other person or on the institution. Cubs country by the time Nicholas Zeppos Zeppos remembers filing a brief in the Sec- “I think I’m a pretty good lawyer, a pretty came on the scene. He developed an early ond Circuit that day and meeting Lydia and good professor, and I hope to be a pretty interest in both sports and history. “I love her “bridesmaids” at the Gallery Place Metro good chancellor,” he allows. “But I don’t like history, and I love the history of civiliza- station. They headed off to get married and being the center of attention. I love doing all tion,” he says. “I thought I would teach his- were back at work the next day. the work that comes with being chancellor. tory.” Zeppos discusses the practice of law with But there’s nothing inherently important At the University of Wisconsin, he grad- passion, crediting great mentors along the about me. Vanderbilt is so much more than uated Phi Beta Kappa in 1976, with a history way. He first practiced in Washington, D.C., the chancellor.” major and a growing interest in the law. He at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, and then worked “Anyone who meets Nick will immedi- enrolled at the University of Wisconsin Law for more than five years at the Justice Depart- ately observe two things about him,” says School, served as editor-in-chief of the Wis- ment, taking a substantial cut in pay to go Goldberg. “First is his love of knowledge. consin Law Review, and was outstanding grad- from private practice to the government. “I I’ve spent my life around academics and have uate of his class. He thought he would be the was in court all the time. Each case was like a never met anyone who is more widely read kind of lawyer who helps people who most challenging law school exam, and when I and more intellectually curious. Second, need it. stood up to argue I was privileged to say, ‘I there is his love of humanity. Most of us like Zeppos met his future wife, Lydia Howarth, represent the United States of America.’ That to tell the people we meet about ourselves. in Madison, where she developed her skills was an honor and well worth the cut in pay. Nick is more interested in learning what is as an academic editor. They married in Wash- I learned so much and am grateful for being going on in others’ lives and minds. Really, ington, D.C., when Zeppos was practicing able to represent our nation in court.” these two qualities are the same one—he is law and Howarth was working at National Among his law career highlights: “Argu- insatiably interested in the world around Geographic. ing before then-Judge Antonin Scalia was an him.” “We lived in Dupont Circle, and I would intense and demanding experience. Judge walk Lydia to work and then get on the sub- Richard Posner taught a cerebral seminar, A Lawyer Called to Teach way and head down to the Justice Depart- and then-Judge Stephen Breyer was the con- ow a youthful 53, Zeppos grew up ment,” Zeppos remembers. “One of our regular summate and reflective professor but cared Nin Milwaukee, the youngest of three ‘romantic dates’ was meeting after work at deeply about the real world. brothers in a family just one gener- the Washington Monument and then run- “I’m intellectually drawn to the law and ation removed from its Greek origins. His ning home together along the mall and through its intersection with politics, history, philos- grandfather, who was born in Athens, left Rock Creek.” ophy, psychology, biology, sociology,” he for America with his four brothers and never Busy with their careers, they decided to adds. “It is the ultimate multidisciplinary

Above: Story time with sons Benjamin (right) and Nicholas. Above right: Zeppos, with Benjamin (left) and Nicholas, says he likes Nashville both for its creative vibe and its long golf season.

Vanderbilt Magazine 35 Left: Zeppos and Lydia Howarth attend the Symphony Ball in Nashville. Center: Howarth is flanked by sons Benjamin and Nicholas.

“I always tell students, work for something bigger and more important than you,” says Zeppos, shown here at a Vanderbilt Visions event.

area, yet it has a practical side.” the life of the law school, he was a generous, ted to the undergraduate experience,” Zep- But he still felt called to teach, and in 1987 constructive and inspiring mentor. I have pos says. “Why not build on that? he headed south to Vanderbilt with Lydia vivid and fond memories of the hours I spent “My hope is that all these great young- and their 8-month-old son, Benjamin. “I as Nick listened patiently to my half-baked sters in America—rich, poor, black, white, had never been in Nashville. I found that ideas, then steered me—sometimes gently, north, south, east, west—will say, ‘I’ve been Vanderbilt mirrored the wonderful things sometimes not so gently—toward a better blessed with the ability to achieve in school. about the region: community, civility and way of thinking through a problem.” I want to be a leader. I’m a hard worker. I warmth. There’s something very special about Zeppos is proud to have raised his chil- should look at that place called Vanderbilt.’ this region of the country and its sense of dren in Nashville. “This is a wonderful com- And we work with them to develop their being nice to each other as opposed to every- munity for families. My only disappointment human potential.” thing being zero-sum and dog-eat-dog. was that our second son, Nicholas, could not He believes the university needs to exam- “People want to be here. Vanderbilt bears be born at Vanderbilt. They were on diver- ine its role in educating the next generation a lot of the qualities and characteristics of sion and had no room for us.” of scholars, scientists and researchers and this region, and I like that. It distinguishes Now, he says, “We’ll have at least two how Vanderbilt’s undergraduate, graduate us,” he says, speaking like someone who has freshmen beginning at Vanderbilt this fall and professional schools can feed into each just gone on the local chamber of commerce who were with my younger son at Vander- other, and that graduate studies deserve more board. bilt’s preschool since age 1.” emphasis and more resources. “It’s one of the most entrepreneurial, cre- “It goes back to our core mission and aspi- ative cities, and it’s a lot more interesting What Happens Next rations: research, discovery, teaching and than cities where other universities are located. hat can those students expect with healing,” he says. “We are a research univer- Faculty love it.” WZeppos as their chancellor? Stu- sity, and we want to take a more prominent His first year at Vanderbilt, Zeppos claims, dent debt is clearly a top priority, place in training the future leaders in research, his students gave him teaching evaluations and the university is stepping up efforts to policy, and at the great educational institu- that were “brutal.” But, he adds, “Student make Vanderbilt accessible. tions of the world.” evaluations are pretty reliable indicators. What parents care about for their col- Ever the optimist, Zeppos publicly tells There’s a myth that they’re not good predic- lege-bound children, Zeppos believes, is not audiences that Vanderbilt will go to a bowl tors, or that you can inflate grades and get only the intellectual and academic challenge game this year “absolutely. I don’t make pre- your evaluations up. That doesn’t work. of academia, but the kind of adults they will dictions—I make promises.” Where you really get evaluated is when you become—ethically, emotionally and socially. He embraces wholeheartedly the integra- read your students’ examinations. The ulti- “That’s what Vanderbilt has always cared tion of athletics into student life begun under mate feedback is when you read a great set of about, and that’s what our strategy and mis- his predecessor, Gordon Gee. “An important examinations.” sion are.” part of leadership in America is athletics,” he By the time John Goldberg joined Van- Beginning this fall all first-year students says. “Some years a third of our freshmen are derbilt’s law faculty in 1995 as an entry-level will live in The Commons, Vanderbilt’s first athletic-team captains. Part of what distin- professor, he says, “Nick was already one of step in making residential life at the heart of guishes Vanderbilt is our sense of balance. the school’s leading lights. Although he was the Vanderbilt experience. “We have small The kids have multiple interests—they are incredibly busy with his own work and with classes and great teachers who are commit- interesting intellectually and also service-

36 Summer 2008 oriented community leaders. Athletics is a tom.” His speeches often draw on his love of In the face of a weak stock market, a hous- critical part of our culture and our balance.” the ancient classics and of history. “I like to ing industry in crisis, and a long list of other His ability to step out of a scholar’s com- refer to things that I know about, that are economic woes making headlines every day, fort zone and look at the university’s needs important to me, because I think my only Vanderbilt is about to bite off a very big obli- as a whole is part of what has elevated the value as a speaker is to talk about things that gation in scholarship assistance. The Mon- former professor to the halls of Kirkland. In are in my heart and in my mind.” roe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital is undertaking 2001, Gordon Gee appointed Zeppos as Van- He has a richly textured voice and a sin- a $203 million expansion. The athletics depart- derbilt’s first vice chancellor for institutional cerity that makes you believe Vanderbilt really ment has just announced a planned $50 mil- planning and advancement. Up to that point, can and does change the world. This is impor- lion in facilities upgrades. And that’s just the Zeppos says, “I had not been involved with tant business, he is saying, even though he tip of the iceberg. fundraising at all. I think the reason some seems to be incapable of taking himself too “I graduated from law school in 1979,” provosts don’t become president is that they seriously. Zeppos says. “I have lived through stagfla- don’t enjoy it. Vanderbilt is in the final 30 months of its tion and hyperinflation. I’ve lived through “I always emphasize that the word phi- university-wide Shape the Future campaign, probably the highest unemployment since lanthropy doesn’t mean ‘give me money.’ It stretching toward a goal of $1.75 billion. the Great Depression. I’ve lived through reces- means ‘love of humanity.’ I’ve had wonderful During a recent address, his first since being sion, stock market crash, the insolvency of training, from the most junior development named chancellor to a crowd of develop- the American banking system. I’ve seen the officers at Vanderbilt to our most senior peo- ment and alumni relations staffers at Van- Internet bubble, I’ve seen 9/11. I’ve seen wars— ple. derbilt, the room is hushed as Zeppos outlines popular and unpopular. I’ve seen the sub- “I’ve worked with Martha Ingram and the university’s ambitious goals and lofty prime crisis. And I think of Chancellor Kirkland Monroe Carell Jr. and other fabulous philan- mission. and Chancellor Carmichael dealing with thropists. What I’ve learned is that people “There are challenges ahead,” he says. “I wars who have been blessed with resources want think we’ll meet them, just like my predeces- and depression and plagues and epidemics. I to make a difference in somebody else’s life sors met them. We’re one of the greatest uni- think of Chancellor Heard during the Civil and in society.” versities in the world, part of a very small Rights Era and the Vietnam war, the oil embargo, Ingram is chairman of the Vanderbilt group of Research 1 universities that edu- hyperinflation, the Peabody merger. These Board of Trust, which unanimously elected cates undergraduates. It allows us to focus great institutions endure and lead.” Zeppos as Vanderbilt’s eighth chancellor in on leadership and educating the whole per- Nicholas Zeppos is clearly enjoying the March. “Chancellor Zeppos is both a vision- son. I believe very deeply that it really mat- challenge. ary and a pragmatist,” she says. “He is a deeply ters for Vanderbilt to be here, to thrive, and “I plan on finishing my career here,” he ethical person whose guiding principle is, to have the resources to heal and teach and says. One of the perks of being chancellor, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’” discover.” he adds, is the option of being buried on Somewhere in the crowd a cell phone shat- the Vanderbilt campus. The University as Utopia ters the quiet with a jaunty tinkle. A crim- “I’m thinking 50-yard line.” V eppos refers to universities as a kind son-faced staffer scrambles for her purse. Z of utopia “of intellectuals who don’t “Is that the ice cream truck?” Zeppos asks think it has to be a race to the bot- gleefully.

Vanderbilt Magazine 37 38 8 0 0 2 r e m m u S war WHEN COMES COMES HOME

RUSSELL KLIKA By MELISSA NORTON CARRO, BA’85

Two years ago most Vanderbilt therapists had never seen victims of improvised explosive devices. Now, like their soldier patients, they’re in uncharted territory.

June 28, 2006, Iraq. As the Humvee passed through the streets, Command Sgt. Maj. David Allard spotted the Taliban in their distinctive cloaks. Noth- ing unusual about that—yet something told Allard to look back. He shifted his weight forward and turned his head just in time to see the Taliban aim the improvised explosive device. “Punch it!” David urged the driver. Seconds later the IED exploded right behind Allard, narrowly missing his spine.

April 24, 2008, Nashville. Command Sgt. Maj. David Allard rounds his ninth lap on Peabody College’s tranquil green campus. Physical therapist Lisa Haack stops him mid-jog to check his vitals. Heart rate 140. Headache and dizziness at level 4. Cause for concern.

Same war, different fight.

Vanderbilt Magazine 39 U.S. ARMY PHOTO/STAFF SGT. RUSSELL LEE KLIKA n hour’s drive northwest of Nashville, the sprawling agencies across the country treating soldiers, and Fort Campbell A Fort Campbell U.S. Army installation, which straddles has quickly come to depend on the expertise of Pi Beta Phi, which the Tennessee-Kentucky line, is home to the 101st Air- provides rehabilitation for neurological impairment with a special borne Division. Most of the division’s 26,000 enlisted men and emphasis on traumatic brain injuries. women are infantry. They are front-line soldiers, prime candidates Fort Campbell has its own hospital, Blanchfield Army Commu- for the signature injury of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and Iraq: nity Hospital—but the 66-bed facility can offer nothing like the traumatic brain injury as a result of improvised explosive devices. wealth of resources down the road at Vanderbilt. According to San- An estimated 11 percent to 20 percent of returning U.S. combat dra Schneider, director of the Pi Beta Phi Rehabilitation Institute troops suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Soldiers on a tour (PBPRI), Fort Campbell initiated the partnership when it asked of duty in Iraq may have experienced dozens of improvised explo- the Brain Injury Association of Tennessee what programs were sive devices (IEDs), and although not every blast injury is fatal, the available. The PBPRI is known for its strong brain injury program, residual damage is real. which works with an array of specialty clinics like the Vanderbilt It has been just more than one year since the Vanderbilt Bill Sleep Disorders Center and the Vanderbilt Headache Clinic. In Wilkerson Center’s Pi Beta Phi Rehabilitation Institute saw its first addition, PBPRI has on-campus resources in the Vanderbilt depart- patient with TBI as a result of an improvised explosive device deto- ments of neurology, trauma and internal medicine. nated in Iraq. Vanderbilt is one among only a handful of civilian Now entering its third decade, the PBPRI has a long history of treating mild to severe brain injuries. But last year, in taking on this new group of patients with injuries unlike anything its therapists had seen before, the PBPRI was navigating uncharted territory. “In April 2007 we started to receive our first referrals because “In the Army, soldiers have learned that ‘pain is weakness leaving the body.’ It’s ingrained in them, so it’s very hard for them to admit they need help.”

—Andrea Ondera, physical therapist

there was nothing in place to treat them at Fort Campbell,” says Schneider, who is also an associate professor of hearing and speech sciences. “Families and friends of the soldiers would say that their soldier just didn’t seem the same. The soldiers themselves would complain of sleeplessness, headaches and dizziness. We knew we were seeing a new phenomenon.” What made the brain injuries so distinct from other “tradi- tional” TBIs was the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The combination of TBI and PTSD created a treatment conundrum. “Most all the soldiers sent to us who have been in a combat zone have PTSD,” says Schneider. “In treating most patients with mild traumatic brain injuries, we work on memory deficits. Some- times, however, as the soldiers share their stories with the therapist, their memories are just too painful—and those memories trig- gered PTSD. These are, after all, individuals who were almost killed by blasts and sometimes watched soldiers in the same vehicle lose their lives.” The uniqueness of these soldier patients—their injuries and NEIL BRAKE their road to recovery—has prompted the Pi Beta Phi Rehabilita- David Allard works out as part of his therapy with therapist Lisa Haack at tion Institute to customize treatment regimens. PBPRI staffers Pi Beta Phi Rehabilitation Institute. Therapy can run as high as $50,000 per soldier, and insurance usually pays only part of the cost. found that even some of the tools often used to treat traumatic

40 Summer 2008 Find Out More While many organizations, both military and civilian, provide help for soldiers, too many are not getting the services they need. They may live too far away from facilities that could help them. They may not recog- nize the symptoms of PTSD and TBI. And sometimes professionals are not trained to recognize the signs, either. Pi Beta Phi Rehabilitation Institute at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilker- son Center is an interdisciplinary outpatient rehabilitation clinic serv- ing persons with acquired brain injury. Services of the Institute are geared toward older teens and adults who have an acquired neurologi- cal impairment, with a primary emphasis on those who are recovering from traumatic head injury and stroke. An individualized, structured NEIL BRAKE program is designed for each patient. “Every single one of these guys wants to go back,” says PBPRI Director To learn more, call Sandra Schneider, director of the Vanderbilt Sandra Schneider. “They feel an obligation to their units.” Bill Wilkerson Center's Pi Beta Phi Rehabilitation Institute, at 615/936-5044. Or visit www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=pibetaphi. brain injuries might dredge up disturbing recollections. Personal For information about traumatic brain injury or to locate TBI digital assistants like PalmPilots help TBI patients compensate for resources across the country, visit the National Brain Injury Associa- memory loss by using the electronic devices to make lists, record tion Web site at www.biausa.org. directions and take notes. But for some soldiers, PalmPilots are too much like the devices used to detonate an IED. Even seeing the PalmPilot can send them into combat mode. “Many aspects of ordinary daily life can be extremely stressful to a returning soldier,” says Jenny Owens, PBPRI occupational tionally over—like a car wreck, for instance. These soldier patients therapist. “More than one soldier has told us of being somewhere are still living the war. They know the war is continuing without like a mall with his family, hearing a loud noise like a balloon pop- them and that their buddies are still in Iraq. It’s so difficult to move ping, and diving to the floor with his family to take cover. The on. experiences of war are so fresh that they see potential threats every- “The soldiers experience great anxiety because they define where.” themselves as soldiers,” adds Zelek. “So they think, ‘If I’m not a sol- For Kristin Hatcher, speech pathologist, the soldiers’ unpre- dier, then what do I do?’” dictable behavior makes treatment challenging. “These individu- als are hyper-vigilant to everything going on. You never know The Soldier Mentality what’s going to disrupt,” she says. “We’ve learned to watch for fire One would think that a soldier narrowly escaping death would drills, audiovisual speaker noise—anything that’s going to send never want to return to war. Ironically, though, the desire to go them into combat mode.” back to Iraq is a prime motivation. The soldiers feel an obligation Counseling is therapeutic and has become a critical part of the to their unit, making them some of the most committed, driven soldiers’ treatment, yet PBPRI therapists have learned that the patients Vanderbilt has ever seen. emotions counseling unearths can cause agitation. Case in point: One of Hatcher’s patients had witnessed 32 IED “Sometimes, particularly after their vestibular/PT treatment, blasts and wanted to get better so he could redeploy. “How do you the soldiers may be dizzy or have headaches, and are unsafe to prepare someone to return, with such deficits?” she asks. drive back to Fort Campbell. We have learned to schedule that This is not a rhetorical question. PBPRI staff must prepare sol- therapy first or give them breaks to avoid putting them in an unsafe dier patients not only for ordinary daily activities, but for a return situation,” says Dominique Herrington, clinic coordinator. “The to the frontline. In occupational therapy, for instance, Owens traffic and distance they travel to our facility already provide a level works with patients to maximize independence in daily activities. of stress that we don’t normally see in civilian patients with brain Previously, she had never rehabilitated anyone to return to a dan- injuries. gerous situation. Now she prepares soldiers to continue being “Think of the typical personality of a soldier: aggressive, adven- scouts. turous. They may be off the battlefield, but they’re still engaging in “Scouts are the first soldiers to enter a building and clear it, so risky behaviors like extreme sports.” they must be watchful for any signs of IEDs or other dangers,” Some of the anxiety stems from the soldiers’ frustration at Hatcher explains. “For these soldiers I tailor occupational therapy being back home, points out Anita Zelek, social worker and case to their duties—giving them maps to identify the best routes. manager with Pi Beta Phi. “Anyone with PTSD experiences anger, “We go on ‘missions’ where we follow a route, making sure the but for these soldiers there isn’t one specific event that is now emo- soldier is attending to landmarks, signs, etc. Even counting the

Vanderbilt Magazine 41 number of trash cans can simulate the type of attention to detail within the system to get the treatment the soldiers need through that is needed in war.” Tricare, the insurance plan for the U.S. Department of Defense. In the arena of physical therapy, Lisa Haack is not just rehabili- Although tating a patient back to normal conditions. She is rehabilitating Vanderbilt commends both the Department of Defense and Tri- soldiers to return to 100-degree heat with 90-pound packs—an care for funding most of the soldiers’ needs, there are still gaps. enormous hurdle for patients like David Allard with constant Take Spc. Juan Zapata, for instance. He was patrolling the headaches. streets for insurgent activity when he suffered a blast injury. He served another six months before leaving Iraq in November 2006. Warriors in Transition He returned home shell-shocked and suffering from multiple Although he’s working on building endurance, David Allard is not vision problems due to his concussion. returning to Iraq. Through the course of his therapy at Pi Beta Phi, Post-trauma vision syndrome caused photophobia, or light sen- he not only improved physically, but made an enormous psycho- sitivity. Driving at night has been compromised for Zapata, and logical leap. A 24-year veteran of the Army, David realized his headaches are relentless. In addition, he has an accommodative dys- injuries could make him a liability for men in his command. Rather function—meaning it’s difficult for his eyes to shift focus. Arguably than redeploy, David answered the military’s call to set up a War- one of Zapata’s greatest challenges, though, is his difficulty in orient- rior Transition Unit (WTU) at Fort Campbell. ing. Established in August 2007, the WTU is Fort Campbell’s response to the TBI phenomenon in soldiers returning from duty. Currently, more than 700 soldiers are in the WTU. The partnership among When therapists told one soldier the Department of Defense, PBPRI and Fort Campbell has grown as the three work together to rehabilitate injured patients. to bring in his medications, he “We know anecdotally that there are Vietnam vets who are homeless because they are still dealing with PTSD,” says Schneider. brought a tackle box—full of his “Currently, data shows there are 1,600 homeless individuals who served in the Iraq war. The Army has recognized the significance of more than 35 pills a day.

“Because of visual-spatial deficits related to post-traumatic vision syndrome, he has navigational problems,” says Owens. “This is a tough blow for an individual with such a talent for navigation. He had built a career in the Army around those skills.” Fighting the System In November 2007—more than a year after sustaining his TBI—Zapata saw a Fort Camp- bell doctor who referred him to Vanderbilt for speech and occupational therapies. Apply- ing a team approach to patient care, Van- derbilt recognized that Zapata also needed a physical therapy consultation because he suffered from vestibular/balance dysfunc- tion. With his extensive vision issues, Zap- ata also needed to see a behavioral

NEIL BRAKE ophthalmologist. Because he didn’t have a Juan Zapata performs an eye test with therapist Jenny Owens. Post-trauma vision syndrome has case manager, the PBPRI team had to navi- caused Zapata to experience light sensitivity and relentless headaches. gate the bureaucracy themselves to get Zap- ata the treatment he needed. doing something now to help returning soldiers. No one can wait “The Tricare worker said Juan needed to see someone on base— 15 years to figure out what’s needed.” but those specialized services don’t yet exist,” explains Anita Zelek. In addition to the jobs for which they’re trained, each PBPRI “It took several months of making calls before we got the insur- therapist finds herself in the unfamiliar role of advocate. The num- ance company to agree to cover the other services for Juan.” ber of case managers at Fort Campbell has increased from three to Vanderbilt also was able to refer Zapata locally to obtain eye- 28, but more are needed. At Vanderbilt the therapists must work glasses with special prisms in them.

42 Summer 2008 Although Zelek and others at Vanderbilt often are able to help soldiers like Zapata get the services they need, they sometimes hit roadblocks. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, for instance, does not recognize cognitive therapy as a service, although the com- pany does in other states. All payers will, however, cover medica- tions. That’s why over-medication is a real problem. When Pi Beta Phi therapists told one soldier to bring in his medications, he brought a tackle box—full of his more than 35 pills a day. “With TBI patients, memory’s an issue, so often these patients can’t remember which medications they’ve taken,” notes Schnei- der. “This can lead to accidental overdoses.” When the War Becomes Personal Soldiers come to Vanderbilt only after they’ve fought their own private war—a war in which they deny their symptoms, deny any- thing is wrong. “In the Army the soldiers have learned that ‘pain is weakness leaving the body,’” says Andrea Ondera, PBPRI physical therapist. “It is ingrained in them that ‘pain reminds you you’re alive,’ so it’s very hard for them to admit they need help. “We validate for them that what they feel is real — and that physical reasons are behind those feelings.” As demand for its services has increased, PBPRI is growing accordingly. And staffers have traveled to Alabama, Illinois, Nevada and North Carolina to share what they’ve learned with medical and rehabilitation professionals elsewhere. “Training others is the best thing we can do,” Schneider says. “We owe these soldiers the best of the best. I could spend every waking hour dealing with our military obligations—and I would do anything in the world for them.” NEIL BRAKE For the dedicated professionals at PBPRI, this war has become Rebuilding a Life, One Step at a Time intensely personal. In the face of each soldier, the therapists see Spc. Juan Zapata will never forget April 8, 2006. their brothers. Sons. Friends. Soldiers come to depend on the Pi “I remember thinking it was a beautiful day—nice and sunny. Beta Phi team as therapists, advocates, confidants and friends. The That’s the last thing I remember before waking up. Up until then I felt therapists receive e-mails from soldiers who have redeployed. The almost invincible. I had raided so many houses, been shot at so many younger therapists, all contemporaries with soldiers, share a com- times, but I felt like nothing could happen to me.” mon generational bond. And each of the team members at Van- The IED that blew the front end off Zapata’s vehicle, however, derbilt feels rewarded beyond measure. changed all that. “I feel I’m serving my country,” says Haack, age 33. “Some peo- “At first I felt unsafe when I wasn’t with my battalion,” he says. ple may build up a tolerance to what’s going on over there, but not “I’ve had a lot of anxiety and feel distant from everyone. There’s no joy us. Our soldiers show us the shrapnel that came out of their heads; anymore. All the things I used to take pleasure in are gone now.” we hear the stories and relive those experiences with them.” Through the therapy Zapata is getting at the Pi Beta Phi Rehabili- David Allard, conscientiously pursuing his treatment, leads by tation Institute, his orientation is improving, as is his vision. He’s mak- example. He has even adapted a war tradition for the Warrior ing plans to return to school—perhaps to become a career counselor or Transition Unit and Pi Beta Phi. “In the Army you get a coin for benefits counselor. He wants a role in which he’ll help other soldiers. excellence, and you have to carry it on you at all times,” he explains. “He has already given so much to his country, but he has tremen- “I’ve given coins to my therapists. They’ve earned them. They’d dous gifts yet to use,” says Jenny Owens, Pi Beta Phi physical thera- best not forget them.” pist. On the coin is this inscription: I am a warrior in transition. My As with so many returning soldiers, it’s a slow recovery—emotion- ally and physically—and a large part of Zapata’s heart is still in Iraq. job is to heal as I transition back to duty or continue serving the “I was with the First Battalion, 506th infantry regiment, and nation as a veteran in my community. This is not a status but a mis- they’re still in Ar-Ramadi, Iraq,” says Zapata. “I’m proud of what we sion, because I am a warrior and I am Army strong. did over there. I wish everyone understood how much good is being The therapists at Pi Beta Phi Rehabilitation Institute are not done.” likely to forget—or to leave their coins behind. Like the soldiers —Melissa Norton Carro, BA’85 they treat, their work is a mission. V

Vanderbilt Magazine 43 At HOME At least 12 Vanderbilt alumni have served as United States ambassadors. As the top American in a foreign country for a period of three to four years, it was their job to explain, promote and defend U.S. foreign policy and American values. In practice that meant mounting a Southern charm offensive on unfriendly Chinese leaders, speaking truth to power to the embarrassment of a corrupt Panamanian government, and personally whisking a Haitian in president to safety after a military coup. It meant engineering a mega-sale of American- made Apache helicopters, educating local people on how to run their new democracies, and weathering a four-day siege as thousands violently

protestedIt meant not an only American witnessing bombing. but having an glitzier assignments). Only one is a woman, impact on the end of the Cold War, the end which also reflects the makeup of the For- of South African apartheid, the Bosnian War eign Service prior to the 1990s. and the Iraq War. For one of our ambassa- Several were part of a “tandem couple,” dors, it even meant leading the Foreign Serv- meaning both spouses were in the Foreign ice itself into a very changed post-Cold War Service and coordinated their assignments. world and the next era of diplomacy. All of them, however, credit their spouses, Of the ambassadors profiled here, five who accompanied them to all their posts, were career diplomats and two were political with sharing the job. “It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle,” appointees from outside the State Depart- said one. The whole family must be onboard, ment—similar to the overall proportions of which requires a lot of sacrifice. roughly two-thirds career ambassadors (for They all loved serving their country, and which politics traditionally plays no role in grew to love the countries they served in. appointment or confirmation) to one-third Among them they speak 16 languages and political ambassadors (who generally get the have served in every corner of the world.

44 Summer 2008 KAADAA / IMAGES.COM the WORLD Pack your black tie, your Berlitz, and your bullet-proof vest.

By TAYLOR HOLLIDAY ALVIN ADAMS, LLB’67

Ambassador to Djibouti, 1983–85 Ambassador to Haiti, 1989–92 Ambassador to Peru, 1993–96

“You sometimes have to do difficult things publicly. The [Peruvian] president was embarrassed by comments I made about human rights and democracy. But by the time I left, things were a lot better.”

COURTESY OF ALVIN ADAMS randson of a New York governor, personal risk, to protect the safety and well- was needed most was where democracy and son of a flamboyant Pan Am exec- being of President Aristide during the Sep- free elections were under threat. utive, and U.S. ambassador to three tember 1991 coup in Haiti.” When he arrived for duty at Haiti’s Port- Gfar-flung countries before the age Adams never sought the limelight, instead au-Prince airport, he made his intentions of 50, Alvin Adams is the kind of old-school making a career going places no one else clear by speaking directly to the people in foreign service officer you might see in the wanted to go. He was U.S. ambassador to Creole (unheard of for a foreign ambassa- movies. Djibouti, a “hot as hell” Islamic country on dor) and putting the military government The opening scene would find him per- the edge of Africa; Haiti, the least devel- on notice that it was time for Haiti to have sonally escorting a deposed president out oped and most volatile country in the West- democratic elections for the first time in its of an inflamed country in the dead of night, ern Hemisphere; and Peru, where fierce history. Even though the president refused sitting with him on a runway, waiting hour homegrown terrorist organizations with a at first to accept his credentials and Adams after hour for a U.S. rescue plane, and hop- special hate for Americans meant he never couldn’t shake anyone’s hand for fear of ing he could keep trigger-happy soldiers at made a move without 15 bodyguards. deadly voodoo powder, he ultimately suc- bay. Why did he accept these assignments? ceeded in helping bring elections to Haiti, Our leading man would soon receive a “It was fun,” he says. “And I was asked to.” leading to Aristide’s first presidential elec- U.S. State Department Citation with Award Foreign service officers take an oath to tion in 1990. for Valor “for acts of heroism, taken at great go where they are needed. And where Adams In Peru, where the president had thrown out the legislature, “we were quite deter- mined that the country would remain dem- ocratic,” Adams says. “The U.S. had been very critical of President Fujimori, which did not help me in developing personal relations up-close and friendly. “But you’re not his representative to Wash- ington,” he continues. “You are Washing- ton’s representative to him. You sometimes have to do difficult things, say difficult things publicly. The president was very embar- rassed sometimes by the comments I felt I had to make about human rights and democ- racy. But I’ll give him credit: By the time I left, things were a lot better.” Some people would give Adams a lot of credit, too. Former Secretary of State George Shultz called him “one of a special cadre of ROBERT CHINN Foreign Service professionals—the shock Top: Adams answers questions during a street press conference in Haiti. Above: Now a Honolulu troops of our diplomacy — with the grit, resident, Adams hosts a weekly program on Hawaii Public Radio called Business Beyond the Reef and serves as counselor to the president for international affairs at the Bishop Museum. savvy, imagination and hard-headedness needed by this department.”

46 Summer 2008 “In the long term, our world success when the government became more democratic would be more likely. would be more secure if we Because of his long relationship with the had secure states through- new Namibian leaders, including President Sam Nujoma, McCallie was sent to Namibia out Africa. As we’ve seen, as ambassador not long after it gained inde- states with ineffective pendence from South Africa. As one of his first acts, he lined up training when the leader government and constant of the Upper House asked him for help in turmoil are hotbeds for educating parliamentarians, who’d never had a chance to participate in the demo- incubation of terrorism.” cratic process. Africa has never been a top priority of the U.S. government, says McCallie—a chal- lenge for any ambassador there. “I wanted to get more aid and assistance,” he says. “I thought that if we were to be as good as our MARSHALL word about what we believe in, about the MCCALLIE, BA’67 values of our country, then we would invest in economic and political development in Ambassador to Namibia, 1993–96 these countries. I argued that in the long term, our world would be more secure if we had secure states throughout Africa. As we’ve COURTESY OF MARSHALL MCCALLIE seen later, states with ineffective govern- ment and constant turmoil are hotbeds for in the American South.” incubation of terrorism.” McCallie was in South Africa for the begin- Despite witnessing firsthand a lot of that rom the segregated American South, ning of the end of apartheid, when Presi- turmoil, McCallie has never given up hope Marshall McCallie ventured out dent Frederik de Klerk released African National for Africa. “I saw some leaders who clearly into the world to spend almost his Congress leader Nelson Mandela from prison were capable,” he says. “Mr. Mandela in any Fentire career in sub-Saharan Africa, and began negotiating with black political group of world leaders would be stellar, an serving in Zambia and South Africa before parties. Economic and moral pressure from enormous moral figure. I saw a level of car- becoming U.S. ambassador to Namibia. the U.S. played a part, McCallie says, and ing and compassion in Africa that we don’t His first stop after a global-minded upbring- the American taxpayer played a critical role see in the news — wonderful family rela- ing in Chattanooga, Tenn., was Vanderbilt, by helping fund college educations for South tionships and community relationships where he participated in the Vanderbilt-in- African people of color so the possibility of from which I felt good things could grow.” France semester abroad and credits Alexan- der Marchant’s Western Civilization course Top: McCallie digs a and Henry Swint’s Historiography course hole in dry Namibian (“a marvelous lesson in skepticism” of writ- soil, with President Sam Nujoma at center. ten history) with greatly broadening his “President Nujoma was world. keen on planting trees During his Vanderbilt years the univer- in areas decimated by sity began to integrate black students. A overgrazing,” says Mc- quarter-century later, says McCallie, “when Callie. Right: Now an I got to South Africa as deputy chief of mis- active conservationist, sion, which is essentially deputy ambassa- McCallie and his wife, dor, they were going through much of what Amye, BA’66, enjoy hiking and studying the we had gone through in the ’60s in the United trees and wildflowers States—opening up to people of every eth- near their home in nic background, finding the richness of Brevard, N.C. ethnic diversity—and going through the

difficult negotiating process that I had seen MICHAEL AARON HOGSED

Vanderbilt Magazine 47 “In times past, if you bombed somebody’s embassy and killed their diplomats, it was an act of war. But we had built a relationship of mutual trust.”

JAMES SASSER, BA’58, JD’61

Ambassador to China, 1995–99

GREG BAKER (AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS)

oming from outside the diplomatic one of the most important countries in the ple reacted violently. service, political ambassadors typ- world, and it was dangerous not to estab- “Thousands and thousands of them ically have to learn on the job, estab- lish a working relationship. Before long he descended on the embassy and the ambas- Clishing their foreign-policy credentials had escorted President Jiang Zemin on a sador’s residence,” says Sasser. “I was unable with the world watching. It was no differ- momentous 1997 visit to the U.S., and con- to get out of the embassy for four days and ent for Jim Sasser in China, despite the fact vinced President Clinton that it was smart four nights. All our cars were destroyed, that he’d been a three-term U.S. senator to make his well-received reciprocal trip to fires were set, and all the windows broken from Tennessee, chairman of the Senate out. Budget Committee, and seemingly next in “My wife [Mary Gorman Sasser, BA’59] line to be majority leader before his upset and son [Gray Sasser, JD’98] were at the loss to Bill Frist in 1994. residence,” he continues. “They took refuge There were some who doubted Sasser in another little house in the compound, had the expertise to be ambassador to China which had bars on the windows, and they at a time when relations between the two got under tables and spent the night there countries were all but hostile, reported The while the crowds continued to assault the New York Times in 1998. But “the new warmth building.” in Chinese-American relations,” the paper Eventually it quieted. “In times past,” he continued, “is in part a personal victory for says, “if you bombed somebody’s embassy Mr. Sasser. … By all accounts Mr. Sasser and killed their diplomats, it was an act of personified the American effort to create war. But we had so strengthened the rela- friendlier ties despite the deep differences tionship between the two presidents, Presi- over issues like human rights. His Southern dent Jiang knew in his heart that President style — polite, charming and attentive — Clinton would not do that on purpose. We was an evident hit with President Jiang Zemin, had built a relationship of mutual trust.” who also valued his closeness to his old Ten- PAMELA LEPOLD nessee colleague, Al Gore, in the White House.” China sooner rather than later. Top: Sasser needed all his Southern charm When President Clinton first called to The new and improved relations between and diplomatic skills during his stint as ambas- ask if he would be interested in being an the two countries were tested soon enough sador to China. In 1999, after American-led NATO forces inadvertently bombed the Chinese ambassador, recalls Sasser, “I told him, no, I when, in May 1999, American-led NATO embassy in Belgrade, the people of Beijing would not—unless I can be ambassador to forces inadvertently bombed the Chinese erupted in violence outside the U.S. embassy. China.” embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo War, Left: Nowadays Sasser is a consultant who China, Sasser realized, was becoming killing four embassy staff. The Chinese peo- divides his time between Tennessee and Washington, D.C.

48 Summer 2008 rian Carlson reached the top ranks of the Foreign Service through an BRIAN CARLSON, expertise in public diplomacy—the BA’69 art of winning hearts and minds B Ambassador to Latvia, 2001–05 through strategic communication and cul- tural and educational exchange. At the U.S. by itself.” Information Agency (USIA), Carlson started the organization’s public diplomacy pro- “If we don’t invest today in grams in the newly liberated states of East- ern Europe and the former Soviet Union. public diplomacy, I’m worried By the time he became ambassador to the about what we’ll get 25 years former Soviet republic of Latvia, he’d seen firsthand what could be considered public from now. You can’t walk up to diplomacy’s greatest success: the end of the somebody and say, ‘Let me tell Cold War. you about the war on terror.’” “The old regime of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact fell down because we under- mined it from beneath and within,” says

Carlson. “In our cultural and educational PAMELA LEPOLD exchange activities, we brought people from But cultural diplomacy remained a pri- Unfortunately, in times of budget cuts these countries to the United States, expand- ority for Carlson, who once there learned like those the Foreign Service weathered in ing contacts with artists and writers, and that famed American artist Mark Rothko the 1990s and again today, cultural and edu- sent performers and exhibits of art abroad. was born in Latvia and that the 100th anniver- cational programs are among the first to All that human contact we insisted upon sary of his birth was approaching. He went go. In 1999 the USIA was abolished. and pushed for—we started to see things to the National Gallery of Art in Washing- That may prove to be a mistake, Carlson come around.” ton and, with the help of the State Depart- warns, in times of trouble. “If we don’t invest During Carlson’s time in Latvia, the coun- ment and a year’s worth of lobbying, finally today in public diplomacy, I’m worried about try was invited to join the European Union got an exhibition of 21 Rothko works sent what we’ll get 25 years from now. You can’t and NATO, and he worked constantly to to Riga, Latvia, and exhibited at the state art walk up to somebody and say, ‘Here, let me help get it ready for NATO membership. He museum. (Latvia owned no Rothko paint- tell you about the war on terror.’ You have likened Latvia to a greenhouse, recovering ings, which have repeatedly set records at to come at it through relationships. It’s all from the Soviet years and growing its econ- auction.) about relationships.” omy at 8 to 12 percent a year. “Add free- “It told them America cared enough to Carlson is now involved in a movement market economics and incentives, and it’s send the very best,” he says. “It played very in Washington that is calling for a semi- amazing how an economy will just start up well.” independent, public/private institution that would bring in people from academia to provide a reserve of ideas and innovations to help bolster America’s relations and rep- utation abroad. “To see,” he says, “if we can’t get back a little bit of what we seem to have lost.”

Left: Carlson and his wife, Marcia Nightingale Carlson, BSN’69, with Latvian Bishop Anton Justs at the dedication of a partnership between Latvian and American churches. The rural parish in Eglaine has emerged from the Soviet repression of religion with assistance from an American church in Texas. Top: Still with the State Department, Carlson now serves as senior liaison for strategic communication for the undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs. COURTESY OF BRIAN CARLSON

49 LINDA ELLEN WATT, BA’73

Acting Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, 1997–99 Ambassador to Panama, 2002–05

COURTESY OF LINDA ELLEN WATT “It’s our job to carry out the government’s foreign policy. If you don’t agree with our policy on Cuba or Darfur or Iraq, your choice is to hit your pillow, kick your cat, or find another line of work.”

hen I came into the Foreign hurting our international reputation and “ Service in the mid-’70s, there driving foreign investors away.” ‘‘ was a lot of stereotyping of Watt’s main goals in Panama were build- Wwomen,” says Linda Ellen Watt. ing trade relations, maintaining canal secu- “There weren’t women ambassadors. And rity and combating drug trafficking, but more important, you never saw a woman she also supported women’s efforts in busi- deputy chief of mission, who is really the ness and community development and spent manager and leader and often the most sen- a lot of time with the poor and the voice- ior career person. Never.” less. Not until the late ’80s and ’90s were women “Americans have had an image in Latin represented in significant numbers. Though America, and Panama specifically, as being she had few role models herself, Watt was elitist or arrogant and only interested in one of the trailblazers, serving first as act- business and politics and strategy,” says ing Watt. “It was my absolute mission to disa- ambassador to the Dominican Republic buse Panamanians of that stereotype.” and then as ambassador to Panama. Certain U.S. government policies will Watt, who studied Spanish and history always be unpopular abroad, and it’s an and participated in the Vanderbilt-in-Spain ambassador’s job to support those policies program, got to Panama not long after the publicly irrespective of her personal views U.S. had turned over control of the Panama or political beliefs. Canal to the Panamanians. There was quite “That’s a point of professional pride among a sense of excitement as the country looked members of the Foreign Service,” Watt says. DAVID COULTER forward to a more equal relationship with “We realize that no one elected us, and it’s Above: Now chief operating officer of the the United States rather than one of big our job to carry out the government’s for- Episcopal Church, Watt was a foreign service officer for 30 years, working in Russia, brother/ eign policy. If you don’t agree with our pol- Nicaragua, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica little brother, she remembers. icy on Cuba or Darfur or Iraq, your choice and Ecuador as well as the Dominican Republic But at times the Panamanian govern- is to hit your pillow, kick your cat, or find and Panama. She lives in New York City. ment still needed big brotherly — or sis- another line of work.” Top: Watt visits with schoolchildren at the terly—advice. In a speech to Panama’s Chamber Watt herself says she couldn’t have found Galeta station of the Smithsonian Tropical of Commerce that prompted a crisis for a better line of work. The hardest part for Research Institute near Colón, Panama. Panamanian politicians, according to the her, as for most diplomats, was the impact local English-language newspaper, Watt the job had on family. “If it’s a strong mar- “blasted the pervasive culture of corruption riage and strong family, it will be strength- in Panamanian politics and warned that it’s ened, but if it isn’t, it’s not going to work.”

50 Summer 2008 “The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was when the secretary of defense assured the Dutch, “If you get in trouble, we’ll get your sitting there stillborn. We kept knocking on doors until we found people out.” somebody with enough power to get something to happen.” It’s anyone’s guess what may have hap- pened if they had, “but they never asked to get out,” says Dornbush. TERRY DORNBUSH, BA’55 A war effort he had more control over proved to be the one thing of which he is Ambassador to the Netherlands, 1994–98 most proud during his service. “The Inter- national Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had been authorized by the U.N. in May 1993, and when I arrived in March 1994, it was just sitting there stillborn. It was our embassy that energized Washing- ton. We kept knocking on doors until we finally found somebody with enough power to get something to happen … and we got 21 temporary staff members who came in to give this thing life.” Dornbush also engineered a business deal, bringing together President Clinton and the Dutch prime minister, in which the Dutch and, consequently, the British pur- chased a combined $900 million of Ameri- can-made Apache attack helicopters over a competing French-German helicopter— despite European Union loyalties. “It was an economic competition,” says Dornbush, “and that’s my cup of tea.” SEBASTIAAN WESTERWEEL Dornbush helped convince the Dutch Air Force ppointed by President Clinton to If Ambassador Dornbush thought he to purchase American-made Apache helicop- ters. Below: Dornbush (center), who once be U.S. ambassador to the Nether- was going to have a trouble-free post focused served as regimental commander of the Vander- lands, Terry Dornbush was not so on growing business between the two coun- bilt Reserve Officer Training Corps, prepares to Amuch a “Friend of Bill” as a “Friend tries, he was soon to learn that every posi- fly on a Dutch F-16 fighter jet. Left: Dornbush of Al,” having served as vice chairman of the tion representing the U.S. in a foreign country divides his time between his homes in Amster- Georgia campaign when Gore ran for the can suddenly involve matters of life and death. dam and Atlanta with his wife, psychologist Marilyn Pierce Dornbush, BA’55. presidency in 1987 and, at Gore’s request, During the Bosnian War and Srebrenica working for the Clinton/Gore ticket in 1992. Genocide, when 400 Dutch U.N. peacekeep- But afterward, says the Vanderbilt eco- ing troops were the only force that stood nomics major, investment banker, global between 10,000 Serb troops and their Mus- real-estate developer and cancer activist, “it lim targets, Dornbush was drawn into con- turned out I was not the only one who worked troversial decisions and responses made by on the campaign who wanted a government both the American and Dutch governments. job.” Of the 3,300 jobs that were presiden- No one knew at that time that the largest tial appointees, he learned, only about 160 mass murder in Europe since World War II were ambassadorships. He lobbied for the was taking place, with the killing of more Netherlands post because of strong ties between than 8,300 Bosnian Muslims. But it was clear that country and his home city of Atlanta, that the Clinton administration was trying where there are more Dutch businesses than to avoid committing ground troops to that in New York or Chicago. war, even though Dornbush was present COURTESY OF TERRY DORNBUSH

Vanderbilt Magazine 51 all the positive things he thought they could “We are living in a world accomplish. “I wasn’t expecting any kind of meltdown,” he says. completely different from Within a few months a political in-fight the world we lived in caused the Turkish lira to lose half its value, sending Pearson to bat for Turkey at the during the Cold War. Since International Monetary Fund to negotiate we’re the strongest single a loan rescue package. Then came the ter- country in the world, we have rorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, after which Turkey went to bat for the U.S., joining the a responsibility diplomatically.” war effort in Afghanistan. It wasn’t until the Iraq War that the two PAMELA LEPOLD countries found they could no longer play ball. It was up to Pearson to ask the Turkish government to allow U.S. ground troops to W. ROBERT PEARSON, BA’65 enter Iraq through Turkey. “My principal rea- soning was that—not trying to be ideological Ambassador to Turkey, 2000–03 about the war so much as the relationship— Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service, 2003–06 I thought that whatever happened, it would be far better for the United States and Turkey obert Pearson grew up on a farm other words, emphasis is moving away from to be working together than to find them- near the tiny town of Bells, Tenn., those coveted jobs in European capitals toward selves on different tracks.” to become deputy chief of mission hardship posts and hardscrabble places where Turkey put the decision to a democratic Rin Paris, deputy chief of mission to representatives of American policy and val- vote and decided not to allow access to Amer- NATO, ambassador to Turkey and, finally, ues can make a real difference. ican ground troops, straining U.S.-Turkey director general of the Foreign Service, respon- “By the middle of this century, the com- relations. As the Iraq War progressed, the sible for the careers of 50,000 fellow diplo- bined population of all of North America, gap between the two countries widened mats and for setting the path the Foreign including Mexico, and all of Europe, includ- and anti-American sentiment in a once- Service would follow in the new millennium. ing Turkey, will be 10 percent of the world’s strong ally escalated dramatically. That path, he explains, is out of the devel- population. Take a look at the ‘second-tier’ By that time Pearson was back in Wash- oped world and — in greater and greater countries,” Pearson says. “China, the Philip- ington, leading the Foreign Service into a numbers—into the developing world. In pines, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Turkey, future in which diplomacy seems more impor- Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Mexico, Brazil, tant and imperative than ever. V Chile … If we don’t succeed in convincing those people that an open economic system But Wait—There’s More and democratic values are the better choice, These alumni have also served as then American national security will be ambassadors: severely damaged. “My point,” he continues, “is that we are William Cabaniss, BA’60 living in a world that is completely differ- Ambassador to the Czech Republic, 2003–06 ent from the world we lived in during the William Prentice Cooper Jr., ’15 Cold War. Since we’re the strongest single Ambassador to Peru, 1946–1948 country in the world, we have a responsi- (Died in 1969) bility diplomatically to place ourselves where Marion Creekmore, BA’61 things that happen in the world are going Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of to have the gravest consequences, either for Sri Lanka and to the Republic of Maldives, good or for bad.” 1989 –92 COURTESY OF ROBERT PEARSON Pearson got a taste of this new world Guilford Dudley, BA’29 Above: On their first trip to Ephesus, Pearson order serving as ambassador to Turkey as Ambassador to Denmark, 1969–71 and his wife, Margaret, visit the site of the ancient library. Top: Having retired in 2006 the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and (Died in 2002) from 30 years as a career diplomat, Pearson Iraq. He had arrived in Turkey in Septem- Thomas Ferguson, BA’55, JD’59 now heads the international business division of ber 2000, feeling the country was stable and Ambassador to Brunei, 1987–89 a large Washington, D.C.-area consulting group. on the right track and looking forward to

52 Summer 2008 A New Way of Seeing Things

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” —Henry Miller

In 2009, embark on a world of adventure with family, friends, fellow alumni, and the Vanderbilt Travel Program! Sponsored by the Van- derbilt Alumni Association, 10 exciting, culturally rich destination packages are planned—each featuring a Vanderbilt professor who will offer an exclusive “beyond the classroom” experience. Whether it’s the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn that intrigues you, Canada’s majestic St. Lawrence Seaway or the dramatic coast of Turkey that inspires you, or the ancient wonders and culinary tradi- tions of the Mediterranean or a family adventure into Ecuador’s high- lands that entices you, the Vanderbilt Travel Program offers something to suit everyone’s taste in 2009. To receive a 2009 travel brochure, please e-mail us at [email protected] and provide your full name and mail- ing address. 2009 Destinations ¥ Tahiti and French Polynesia • Waterways of Holland and Belgium • Spain • The Blue Voyage: Turkey and the Turquoise Coast • South Africa • Canada’s Historic Cities and Waterways • Family Trip: Highlands of Ecuador and Enchanted Galapagos • Ancient Wonders and Culinary Traditions of the Mediterranean • Provincial French Countryside • Patagonia Contact us to find out more! • 615/322-2929 www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/travel KEVIN RECHIN

54 Summer 2008 Candidates, Scandalgates and Battleground States

John Geer Christian Grose Bruce Oppenheimer Mitchell Seligson Neal Tate JOHN RUSSELL JOHN RUSSELL JOHN RUSSELL STEVE GREEN JOHN RUSSELL

Election fatigue, you say? These scholars can’t get enough.

By LISA A. DUBOIS

he economy is floundering. The housing industry is in crisis. Gas and Tenergy prices are skyrocketing. The country is faced with immigration issues, burgeoning debt, an unpopular war, and an unprecedented election year in which an African American, a woman, and a former P.O.W. emerged as the top competitors for the presidency. It’s both an unsettling and an inspiring time to be an American. It’s also a terrific time to be an American political scientist. More and more often, faculty members in Vanderbilt’s political science department are con- tributing to the public debate, adding an academic’s perspective about political events, both here and abroad. From The Washington Post to The Los Angeles Times, it’s a rare day in this election year when at least one Vanderbilt political science faculty member isn’t called upon for insight and analysis. And given the current backdrop of change, tension and expectation, Van- derbilt political science students are more engaged in politics than they have been in decades. Professors are using the current election as a teaching tool to examine fundamental political science theory in real time.

Vanderbilt Magazine 55 Christian Grose has taught at Vanderbilt tricts—including formerly since 2005, and every year he delivers lectures popular incumbents running about conventions and delegates. Often stu- in Republican strongholds. dents find the subject matter dry. “But now “We examined the impact it’s very exciting,” says the assistant professor of Iraq war deaths on the con- of political science. “They’re asking probing gressional vote in the Novem- and detailed questions about past Demo- ber 2006 elections,” Grose cratic and Republican conventions.” explains. “We found that the Political science scholars offer perspec- majority of the American pub- tives that students don’t get by watching net- lic had moved against the war work news programs or reading popular blogs. in Iraq, and thus this Bruce Oppenheimer, professor of politi- issue helped the Democrats. cal science, follows political races all across … Specifically, for every two the country and, using empirical models, local soldier deaths in a con- makes predictions about election outcomes. gressional district, the Repub- “Conventional wisdom isn’t always right,” he lican candidate did about says, citing the 2006 congressional elections 1 percent worse in the 2006 as an example. Election watchers claimed election compared to the 2004 that Demo-crats had a chance to win control election in the same district.” of the House of Representatives because of The 24-hour news cycle the declining popularity of the Bush admin- has altered the blueprint for JOHN RUSSELL istration—but they wouldn’t win control of political races, which means Vanderbilt is increasingly bringing in outside experts like Roy Neel, the Senate. that students are actually help- BA’72, former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore, to teach “I said that the Democrats had a good ing professors form a clearer classes in political science. chance of winning both the House and the vision of the modern politi- Senate,” Oppenheimer recalls. “That was based cal process. Vanderbilt undergraduates pro- War, the Middle East. Vanderbilt’s fifth chan- on an analysis of the totality of all the things vide a window into the attitudes of their cellor, Alexander Heard, was considered a that were going on. And I was right.” generation, particularly when it comes to brilliant political scientist who was named by President John F. Kennedy to serve on the While the media tend to look at the larger numbers in opinion Commission on Campaign Costs. In 1940 political science, which previ- polls, political scientists may be more curious about the minority ously had been part of the same department as history at Vanderbilt, became a depart- who say they won’t support particular candidates. ment in its own right. In the 1950s and ’60s, under the leadership of renowned political While the media tend to look at the larger accessing communication channels like tele- theorist Avery Leiserson, the political science numbers in opinion polls, Oppenheimer and vision, alternative radio and the Internet. department at Vanderbilt was considered his colleagues often focus on the smaller num- “They’re much more savvy than I am at among the top 20 in the nation, going head- bers. Suppose, for example, that 80 percent of using those resources,” Grose says. “Which is to-head in prestige against much bigger pro- polled voters say they don’t have a problem good for me, because they clue me in on things grams at Harvard, Princeton, and the University voting for an African American or a woman. that are appearing on YouTube and Web blogs. of Michigan. News outlets will overwhelmingly tout the Then I’ll hear about it in the mainstream majority opinion. Oppenheimer, however, is news a month later.” Troubled Waters more curious about the minority of voters Political science has been one of the most In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the depart- who say they won’t support those candidates. popular majors on the Vanderbilt campus ment became increasingly embroiled in an “In a landslide election it’s not a big deal,” for decades, and for many years it has been internal battle on a variety of issues, includ- he says, “but in a close election, you’d better the second most popular major (after eco- ing the merits of applying quantitative and find out who that 20 percent is.” nomics) in the College of Arts and Science. mathematical methods to an essentially soft Academicians are particularly adept at Currently, between 275 and 300 undergradu- science. Personalities clashed, feelings were teasing out the subtle factors that influence ates are majoring in political science. Many hurt, egos were bruised. people’s behavior. Oppenheimer and Chris- will use the experience as a foundation for Administrators eventually took the dra- tian Grose published research in the Legisla- law school or careers in the public arena. matic step of placing the department in receiver- tive Studies Quarterly (November 2007) Since as early as the 1920s, Vanderbilt polit- ship, meaning that an outside chairman ran correlating how the number of casualties ical science professors have been weighing in the department and faculty members were among hometown soldiers worked against on the most important issues of the day: the not allowed to make hiring or firing deci- Republicans running in congressional dis- League of Nations, World War II, the Cold sions. Amid the turmoil, several respected

56 Summer 2008 faculty members departed for calmer waters. had signed three new faculty members. Three has been both exhilarating and exhausting. Some believed university administrators had years later they had increased that number to Tate will take a sabbatical year beginning in overreacted to the kinds of problems politi- eight. By the fall of 2008, an additional seven the fall to focus on his comparative research cal science departments were experiencing new faculty members will be on board, arriv- interests, examining the judicial processes in nationwide. ing from Duke, Princeton, Stanford, and the foreign countries. Geer will serve as acting In 2003, Neal Tate, who had been dean of Universities of California at Berkeley and chair in Tate’s absence. the graduate school at the University of North Davis. Their research interests span the spec- Even during its most obstreperous days, Texas in Denton, accepted the challenge to trum from minority politics to international the political science faculty continued to main- take the helm of the unruly political science relations to the presidency and executive pol- tain a high standard of excellence. Geer, for program at Vanderbilt. “The faculty mem- icy. example, became editor of the Journal of Pol- bers who remained, both tenured and tenure- “We could hire seven people in a year. itics, one of the most respected publications track, were very supportive of me,” Tate says. That’s not hard,” says John Geer, Distinguished in the discipline, and he continues in that “So we started out trying to recruit new and Professor of Political Science. “But hiring role today. excellent faculty as our first priority,” not seven people of this caliber is unprecedented.” Faculty members also have become open only to fill in the existing gaps, but also to Brokering peace agreements and growing to creative teaching strategies. Over the last expand. the political science department by more few years, the department has enlisted any By the end of that academic year, they than 50 percent in such a short period of time number of outside experts to serve as adjunct

On the Trail, 24/7 Young alumni have front-row seats to this year’s historic primary.

hen producer/reporters Fernando Suarez, BA’01, and Eloise Harper, BS’02, started covering U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s Wpresidential campaign last fall, they could have passed for contestants on the reality show The Amazing Race. Clinton flew around Iowa and the country on a chartered plane, while Suarez and Harper, working for competing television networks, dashed madly after her, patching together commercial flights and speeding down interstates in rented white Pontiacs, GPS units at the ready. “We didn’t even have time to eat,” Suarez says. “It was all about From left: CBS producer/reporter Fernando Suarez, BA’01; ABC producer/ beating Clinton to an event.” reporter Eloise Harper, BS’02; and Fox News colleague Aaron Bruns. The demands of a 24/7 news culture led the networks to assign “embedded” producers to this year’s presidential campaigns: young, off- developed such detailed knowledge of the campaign that they instantly air staffers charged with finding the news buried in the repetitive routine recognize the smallest changes in rhetoric, message and mood. of stumping for votes. As the eyes and ears of their networks (he works Their cameras always at the ready, these reporters can catch unscripted for CBS, she for ABC), Suarez and Harper attended every event to which moments that once never would have been recorded. Harper’s video of Clinton allowed press access, with laptops and video cameras in tow. Clinton reacting to flags falling behind her after a press conference last “We have to write and shoot and do radio,” Harper says, noting that November got hundreds of thousands of hits on ABC’s Web site. this includes several blog entries a day. “We worry about all the plat- Suarez hopes his experience encourages other Vanderbilt students forms.” who may have an interest in journalism. The reporters’ logistics eased up once the campaign began organiz- “There’s no official journalism program at Vanderbilt, but you can ing travel, food and lodging for the press corps, but the grueling schedule do this,” Suarez says, crediting Professor Richard Pride’s class in polit- did not. When we tracked down Harper and Suarez in April, they were ical journalism with piquing his interest in the field. more than six months into a regimen of 12- to 20-hour workdays. Suarez went to work in journalism immediately after graduation. Suarez had just one day free between late October and Super Tuesday in Harper spent her first year out as a financial analyst, but quickly real- March. ized she wanted to change careers. Both made quick progress at their “There are tough moments, but you realize there is nowhere else networks, learning the ropes as bookers and fledgling producers. Now you’d rather be,” Suarez says. “We’ve been to more than 40 states, to so they are at the center of the political universe, helping to break stories many corners and rural areas. It gives you an amazing picture of the that could affect the course of this country for years into the future. country. There are so many different concerns that people have.” Harper and Suarez are not sure what comes next. Having proved Suarez and Harper, who knew each other at Vanderbilt, were delighted their skills, smarts and tenacity covering this historic election, both are to meet up on the trail. Together with another young reporter from Fox, poised for bright futures in broadcast journalism. they logged the most time on the road with Clinton’s press corps. They —Lisa Robbins

Vanderbilt Magazine 57 professors. Roy Neel, BA’72, former chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore; Harold Ford Jr., former U.S. representative and current chairman of the Democratic Leadership Coun- cil; and Republican party strategist Vin Weber, who spearheaded policy for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, have taught (or team- taught with Geer) political science courses and special seminars. During the spring 2008 semester, for example, Roy Neel taught a course on presidential transitions. “Mr. Neel should know that subject mat- ter better than anybody,” Tate says. “He had the chance to plan a transition in great detail and begin executing it, before Al Gore was ultimately declared to have lost the 2000 elec- tion.”

Unconventional Wisdom NIEL BRAKE Scholars are playing an important role in Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, center, speaks to an American political leadership proffering nonpartisan evidence, theories class taught by former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, right, who now chairs the Democratic Leadership and conversations about the issues central to Council. At left is John Geer, professor of political science. our country, particularly as the United States grows increasingly polarized between red is off,” says Geer. “For example, people are The economy is struggling, and that means and blue voters and between the haves and claiming that the Democrats are going to tear John McCain faces more of an uphill battle have-nots. themselves apart and McCain is holding a than any poll is suggesting.” “Because tempers are running so high, slight lead in the polls. As political scientists, Geer is in familiar territory when making evidence that political scientists gather, ana- we know this isn’t true. This is not a partisan claims that contradict conventional wisdom. lyze and discuss becomes even more impor- statement, but the state of the economy struc- Author of In Defense of Negativity: Attack Ads tant, because oftentimes conventional wisdom tures the campaign at the presidential level. in Presidential Campaigns (University of Chicago Press, 2006), he sees attack ads as usually doing more good than harm by stirring up Men Who Would Be President fresh ideas and generating essential debates. Sometimes, he says, the most qualified can- n four of the six most recent presidential campaigns, Vanderbilt alumni have watched one didate will only get traction if he or she raises of their own vie for his party’s nomination. I doubts about the other side. “Rather than Al Gore was a front-runner in the 1988 Democratic race, winning on Super Tuesday. hand-wringing about the ill effects, this strikes Gore served two terms as vice president before running for the top slot again in 2000. Gore me as a good thing,” he insists. received his party’s nomination and won the popular vote but ultimately lost the 2000 race, The men and women of Vanderbilt’s depart- one of the most controversial elections in U.S. history. ment are jumping feet-forward into the fray, Gore attended Vanderbilt University Graduate School in 1971–72 and Vanderbilt Law trying to weigh in objectively on many of the School from 1974 to 1976, when he left to run for Congress. flashpoint issues that affect us all. Whether Former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, BA’62, ran in the 1996 Republican primary they are studying American elections, foreign race, finishing third in the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. In 2000 Alexander judiciaries, immigration issues or floor-fights ran again. He now serves as the senior U.S. senator from Tennessee. at nominating conventions, political scien- Early in the current election cycle, Fred Thompson, JD’67, was considered the pre- tists essentially illuminate the “science” part ferred candidate for many conservatives. The actor and former U.S. senator dropped out of of political science, providing data and non- the race in late January. partisan analysis that may make us all better Then there’s Ross Perot. The Texas billionaire never attended Vanderbilt—but four of citizens. And that, perhaps, is the most valu- his five children did, and one grandchild, Henry Ross Perot III, is a rising senior in the Col- able contribution an academic political sci- lege of Arts and Science. Ross Perot made history in the 1992 presidential election as the ence department can make. most successful third-party candidate since Teddy Roosevelt, winning nearly 19 percent of “We think this is one of the best places in the popular vote. He went on to found the Reform Party and ran as its nominee in 1996, win- the country to work if you’re a political sci- ning 8 percent of the popular vote. entist,” says Neal Tate. “Which means it’s one —GayNelle Doll of the best places to study if you’re a political science major or a political science graduate student. And we’re very proud of that.” V

58 Summer 2008 A Delicate Balance from both sides of the divide. “We have a saying in LAPOP explores globalization, Ecuador: When America sneezes, Ecuador gets a immigration and democracy. cold,” says graduate student Daniel Montalvo. “Whatever happens in the next few months with the merica’s political scholars keep a close American election will determine the future of the eye not only on our own democratic relationship between Ecuador and the United States.” Aprocess, but on attitudes about democ- Many people in South America, Montalvo adds, racy worldwide. And Vanderbilt political scien- resent the U.S. open-market policy because, since its tists studying the level of citizen support for implementation, poor countries have been flooded democracy in other countries have turned some with foreign products. As a result, local manufactur- interesting findings. ing has dried up and local economies have suffered. Mitchell Seligson, Centennial Professor of “We can show, through these public-opinion Political Science and founder and director of surveys, Ecuadorians’ opinions about their political LAPOP (the Latin American Public Opinion system,” Montalvo says. “You now see in the U.S. that Project), recently received up to $11 million in people are complaining about these same open-mar- grant support in new and continuing funding ket policies that are causing some people in this coun- DANIEL DUBOIS through 2014 to support a project known as try to lose their jobs. It’s a problem of globalization.” the AmericasBarometer, a series of surveys con- “As academics we can try Through LAPOP, Vanderbilt is also collecting ducted throughout North, Central and South to find ways to decrease and analyzing information that catapults it into the America and the Caribbean that explores atti- the conflict instead of immigration debate. Jon Hiskey, associate professor tudes about democracy in various regions. of political science, notes a correlation between the exacerbating it.” In 2006–07, LAPOP interviewed more than impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement 34,000 people in 22 countries (including the —Diana Orces, graduate (NAFTA) on certain states in Mexico and waves of student from Ecuador U.S. and Canada) to measure their democratic illegal immigrants entering the United States. values and behaviors. Partnering with university scholars and think During the past 15 years, the corn-producing southern states in Mex- tanks in those nations—and also receiving support from the United ico have been hardest hit by NAFTA—the same states that also spawn Nations Development Program, the Inter-American Development Bank, the greatest number of undocumented workers. “Once Mexico was and the Center for the Americas at Vanderbilt, the LAPOP group in pushed to eliminate subsidies on corn, these producers started migrat- Nashville includes a team of 11 political science Ph.D. students. ing,” Hiskey says. The team collects and analyzes data to determine, among other Another graduate student, José Miguel Cruz from El Salvador, was things, whether people in a particular region prefer a system of democ- recruited away from Oxford’s Ph.D. program and studies crime and vio- racy or a dictatorship, their experience with street-level corruption and lence in Central America. He says on-the-fly immigration policies often crime, whether they prefer a centralized or decentralized form of govern- aggravate, rather than alleviate, problems in the United States. ment, how much they trust their political systems, and how tolerant they Cruz cites deportation policies in which the U.S. captured Salvado- are of diversity. ran gang members, deported them, and then simply released them into In 1998, Bolivia was the darling of policymakers, says Seligson, the streets of Central America. Without jobs or income, they reformed because it was making tremendous strides toward a decentralized gov- their gangs, collected guns and ammunition, and are now considered a ernment. However, the LAPOP survey numbers didn’t match the rheto- major security threat in the region. “The U.S. has to understand that it ric. LAPOP assessments showed that people didn’t believe such reforms is partially responsible for creating this monster by implementing these were having any impact. policies, without thinking about all the implications,” Cruz says. “Those opinions did not fall on welcome ears,” Seligson recalls. “The Ecuadorian graduate student Diana Orces believes these issues high- policymakers said, ‘We’ve reformed Bolivia.’ A few years later the place light the importance of spreading democratic values, and that it will be was in flames. Presidents were being dismissed. There was a series of impossible to deport the 11 million undocumented workers in the Unit- protests with a lot of violence. That level of discontent was clear to us in ed States. “That’s why you have to have a democratic attitude,” she many ways from the surveys we did. We said, ‘Even though the reforms says. “You have to assist them and tolerate them until you find the solu- in institutions have been important, the average citizen is not getting the tion. You have to mitigate the conflict between citizens and immigrants. message.’” As academics we can try to find ways to decrease the conflict instead of Because many of the LAPOP graduate students are from Latin Amer- exacerbating it.” ica, South America and the Caribbean, they are able to approach problems —Lisa DuBois

Vanderbilt Magazine 59 VANDERBILT ON THE POTOMAC have their say. their have advocates university before not but protocols— medical to loans student from everything affects Washington By By W HITNEY W EEKS , BA’94 ,

PHOTO BY DANIEL DUBOIS unkin’ Donuts. Cornell. The American Frozen Food Insti- “The level of interaction and importance tute. and impact of what happens in D.C. on D Vanderbilt is tremendous,” says Beth For- Georgia Tech. The Snack Food Association. University of tune, interim vice chancellor for public affairs. “Virtually everything that happens Michigan. The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute. The on campus—except what gets taught in University of Texas and University of California systems. The American the classroom—is affected by policy made and debated in Washington. Changes in Peanut Council. University of North Carolina. These are but a few of the tax law, the debate about Medicare reim- thousands of companies, associations and universities that maintain bursement, labor issues, environmental issues, immigration—at some point all full-time federal relations offices in Washington, D.C. these things impact Vanderbilt.” Since the early 1990s, Vanderbilt’s Office While many Americans have come to regard “lobbying” and “special of Federal Relations has existed as an embassy interest” as dirty words, others see personal, professional contact with of the university in the nation’s capital. The office sits a block away from Union lawmakers as the best way to ensure that vital concerns are advanced at Station and within a stone’s throw of the the federal level. From U.S. Capitol. Its staff—all full-time employ- ees of research grants to student Vanderbilt’s Division of Public Vanderbilt Federal Relations Affairs—as well as frequent vis- loans, approximately one- staffers work within a stone’s throw of the Capitol Building, itors from campus, wave high third of Vanderbilt’s $2.5 congressional offices, the the Vanderbilt flag and bring a Supreme Court, and the bit of black and gold to the Belt- billion annual operat- Library of Congress. way. ing budget depends Their main job is advancing legislative issues of interest to directly on federal monies. the higher-education commu- nity and to Vanderbilt, working And because the federal alone as well as in conjunction government foots the bill with a number of associations, including the Association of Amer- for much of what hap- ican Universities and American pens on certain areas of Council on Education. For the higher-education community, campus, part of the chal- the greatest concerns involve indi- vidual institutional autonomy lenge lies in convincing and academic freedom on cam- decision makers that less puses. For Vanderbilt there is a more specific focus on research is more when it comes to funding, elements included within oversight and regulations. the Higher Education Act and, at least for this Congressional Vanderbilt and its peer session, tax issues. With research funding awarded institutions view a phys- to Vanderbilt faculty and staff ical presence in the nation’s by countless federal sources, the office must carefully monitor capital as crucial. budget hearings and budget pro- posals at the congressional level SHANE STEZELBERGER as well as at such federal agen- cies as the National Institutes

62 Summer 2008 for Health and the Departments of Educa- tion, Defense and Energy. When the time comes to weigh in on funding issues, the appropriate Vanderbilt representative—a dean, a department chair, or a direct recip- ient of the federal funding in question— can be in Washington and meeting with the Tennessee delegation on very short notice. The goal is always to make certain Ten- nessee’s lawmakers understand the real impact of any funding decisions— both to Vanderbilt and to the citizens of Tennessee and the country. Dave Piston, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, professor of physics, and director of Vanderbilt’s W.M. Keck Free-Electron Laser (FEL) Center, is one such Vanderbilt representative. He has made scores of trips to the nation’s capi- tal, sometimes to discuss FEL medical research programs that received extensive funding from the Department of Defense for sev- eral years, and sometimes to join researchers JOHN RUSSELL from other universities in advocating for greater federal funding—across all rele- “Capitol Hill is an oral culture, and you talk in vant departments and agencies—for research in the life sciences and physical sciences. broad strokes. You’re meeting with people who His trips to Washington have involved meetings with program managers and budget have 15 to 20 meetings a day—and that’s on top executives at the Pentagon; numerous mem- bers of the Tennessee congressional dele- of what they’re supposed to be doing.” gation and their staffs; and staff members —Professor Dave Piston of various congressional committees that oversee federal policy and spending on research. “There’s a need to educate the Depart- targeting endowments of certain colleges Vanderbilt and the higher-education com- ment of Defense and Capitol Hill about all and universities. From access and afford- munity, they also work closely with an array the great things we’re doing,” says Piston, ability to illegal file-sharing on campus to of people hundreds of miles away. who is also a member of the Vanderbilt teacher training standards, these two areas “The best representatives of Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human cover an array of issues large and small. are the people actually doing work in areas Development. “Even if people have been And then there are the policies that touch impacted by federal laws and regulations,” constantly informed, they still want to know everything else. Immigration laws affect- says Jeff Vincent, who recently retired as the latest and greatest in what we are doing. ing Vanderbilt’s international faculty and assistant vice chancellor for federal rela- You absolutely don’t want to be out of sight, students, regulations issued by the Envi- tions and executive director of the Wash- which then means you’re out of mind.” ronmental Protection Agency concerning ington office. “Whenever possible we prefer But Vanderbilt’s interests in Washing- radioactive materials used at the Medical having administrators, deans, faculty, even ton extend well beyond research funding. Center, and reimbursement rates for fed- students telling Vanderbilt’s story. They The federal relations staff constantly mon- erally subsidized medical care all have been have credibility because they are the peo- itors policy issues encompassed in the Higher issues tackled by the Office of Federal Rela- ple impacted by what happens in Wash- Education Act, officially known as the Col- tions in the recent past. ington.” lege Opportunity and Affordability Act While Vanderbilt’s Washington staffers Maybe it’s Doug Christiansen, associate (H.R. 4137), as well as new tax guidelines keep one eye on legislation that could affect provost for enrollment management, explain-

Vanderbilt Magazine 63 ing how proposed changes to a student loan year in federal research funding and con- tions staff as yet another unwelcome intru- law will affect Vanderbilt’s students. Or per- tracts for engineering education and research. sion upon a crammed schedule, U.S. Con- haps it’s Beverly Moran, professor of law Galloway’s trips to Washington are timed gressman Jim Cooper, in whose district and sociology, meeting with members of to coincide with the annual American Soci- Vanderbilt sits, says that having Vanderbilt’s the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss ety of Engineering Education colloquium, voice among those of his constituents is a her research on race and tax policy. What- attended by engineering deans from across big plus. ever the issue, the federal relations staff believes the country. When Galloway meets with “They are persistent and sometimes relent- one of its most important roles is connect- members of the Tennessee delegation, he less,” Cooper says, “but that’s good because ing the end user on campus with Washing- makes certain his message about the impor- sometimes Congress is a bunch of slow learn- ton policymakers. tance of funding engineering research explic- ers, and we need reminders.” When these connections aren’t made, itly emphasizes engineering as a tool of Whether finding an undergraduate stu- Vanderbilt risks being left out, says Ken- economic development for both the state dent to offer testimony about an issue before neth Galloway, dean of the School of Engi- and the nation. Congress or providing requested informa- neering. At stake is up to $40 million each Far from seeing Vanderbilt’s federal rela- tion about a particular topic, the Office of Federal Relations serves as a resource for Tennessee’s congressional delegation as well as for Vanderbilt alumni in other leg- “I can see any congressional staffer I want—but islative or administrative positions. What- ever the national concern, the assumption they don’t want to hear from an association guy. is that the topic can be addressed intelli- They want to hear from the chancellor or the vice gently and thoughtfully by a member of the Vanderbilt community. Vanderbilt, say president for research or a faculty member.” federal relations staffers, has an obligation to offer itself as a resource, to become a —Pat White, vice president, American Association of Universities voice in these national conversations. Camilla Benbow, dean of Peabody Col- lege, is one Vanderbilt voice who is often asked her opinion about legislation affect- ing math and science education and K–12 schools in general. She jokes that Wash- ington is her home away from home because she is either traveling there every two to three weeks or working on an assignment at the request of someone there. Her goal, she says, is to help the senator, representa- tive or committee craft and refine ideas that result in better policy, which in turn will truly benefit schools. “It is a good gut check for reality,” says David Cleary, staff minority director of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families led by U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, BA’62. “We have a close relationship with the dean of the No. 2 school of education in the country. I think that’s an important relationship to have.” Having practitioners like Benbow join the conversation in Washington is impor- “At the end of the day in Congress, tant to the organizations that promote edu- the words you never want to hear are, ‘We never heard from you guys,’” says Jeff Vincent cation, agrees Pat White, vice president of (left), retiring assistant vice chancellor for federal relations. the American Association of Universities, DANIEL DUBOIS

64 Summer 2008 Faculty members are viewed as the most credible representatives of the university in Washington. Here, Carol Swain, professor which advocates on behalf of major research of political science and professor of law, testifies universities. before a Senate committee. “I can see any congressional staffer I want—but they don’t want to hear from an association guy,” says White. “They want to hear from the chancellor or from the vice president for research or from a faculty member. To the extent that Vanderbilt makes its contacts available to the higher-educa- tion community, we are able to succeed. By tradition and history, Vanderbilt has always stepped up to help advance higher educa- tion. “Higher-education research and, indeed, institutions like Vanderbilt University and their missions, remain articles of the Amer- ican faith,” adds White. “Virtually anyone you talk to understands the importance of higher education and research, not just for DANIEL DUBOIS quality of life and quality of fellow citi- zens, but because of its connection to civic Reform, Ala., spent last summer in the city Relations transforms itself into a little piece life, business, engineering and technol- with the Vanderbilt Internship Experience of Vanderbilt for visitors. Whether serving ogy—things that contribute to national in Washington (VIEW), which pairs a pub- as a classroom, a reception venue for newly values and principles.” lic service internship with academic work. admitted students, or audition space for In addition to advocating policy and mon- For these eight weeks each summer, the Office high school seniors competing for accept- itoring legislation, Vanderbilt’s Office of of Federal Relations converts its conference ance into the Blair School of Music, the office Federal Relations also works with campus room into a classroom for the VIEW stu- and its staff stand ready to do almost any- visitors who come to dents, their profes- thing when company from Nashville is in Washington, helping sors and guest town. them adjust to the lecturers. Christina West, director of federal rela- “D.C. is such a tions, has been in Washington for nearly 10 peculiar warp and Christina West woof of the nation’s discusses proposed place of activity, and years. Having worked in nearly every Wash- capital and its poli- legislation during a when you’re in the ington capacity possible—from congres- tics. forum on federal area where the office sional staffer to private-sector lobbyist to “Capitol Hill is a student aid. West is located, tons of current director of Vanderbilt’s Office of different culture from assumed the role of people are coming Federal Relations—she still considers Wash- director of federal anything I’ve ever in and out from the ington an amazing city full of incredible relations in June. experienced,” says subway, from the opportunities. Dave Piston. “It’s an Capitol, from Union “When I get tired of seeing the U.S. Capi- oral culture, and you Station,” says Smith. tol, that’s when it is time to leave Washing- talk in broad strokes. “When you walk into ton—and I’ve never gotten tired of seeing You’re meeting with the office, though, it,” West says. “Some people are infected by people who have 15 it’s like walking onto Potomac Fever, and I’ve got it.” to 20 meetings a day, campus. There are That’s a good thing, since the coming and that’s on top of pictures of folks giv- months and years will be anything but dull what they’re supposed DANIEL DUBOIS ing testimony before for higher education. Complex issues like to be doing. Academ- Congress, but also affordability, access, competitiveness and ics really, really like what they do. They are lots of campus photos. It was neat to walk academic freedom loom large on the leg- passionate, they love it—and while that in and always see the Vanderbilt ‘V’ with islative horizon. Vanderbilt’s Office of Fed- works well if you’re teaching 18-year-olds, the acorn at the same time you’re in an office eral Relations, the university’s embassy 600 it does not work well in D.C.” that is definitely high performing and geared miles to the northeast, stands at the ready V Wyatt Smith, a Peabody sophomore from toward the pace of Washington.” to weigh in whenever necessary. Not infrequently, the Office of Federal

Vanderbilt Magazine 65 TheMind’s “ Be unreasonable. Demand stuff of the world, and if they don’t Film: Brothers’ Dedication Subject of New Documentary One rainy evening 10 years ago, Patri- cia Opiyo, a pregnant woman from the remote village of Lwala, Kenya, went into labor with a breech birth. “Her relatives put her in a wheelbarrow and pushed her to get to the main road to flag a ride to the hospital 40 kilometers away,” recalls Dr. Milton Ochieng’, MD’08, who was a teenager at the time, “but she hemorrhaged to death before they reached the highway.” The unborn baby died, too. That incident is one of the reasons Mil- ton and his brothers, Fred and Maurice, who grew up in Lwala, have since toiled to fulfill their father’s dream of building a health facility there. On April 2, 2007, that dream came true with the opening of the Lwala Community Health Clinic. DANA JOHNSON Now a much wider audience will hear their story. Barry Simmons’ film, Sons of Lwala, which documents the story of the Ochieng’ brothers and the Lwala clinic, year nursing student at St. Joseph’s College premiered at a special fundraising showing of Nursing in Syracuse, N.Y., worked at the at Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Lwala Clinic with a couple of student vol- Center (TPAC) in March. The documen- unteers. One day a pregnant woman named tary will be shown in other cities to raise Lillian entered. money and also may be entered at film fes- “It was a breech birth,” Milton says. “We Milton nodded. Her death and the help- tivals. tried to call a taxi, but with the violence in lessness he felt at the time were seared into “We hope the film will help us raise enough this part of Kenya, all the roads were blocked.” his memory. money to fund the clinic for two years,” With a medical procedure book and cell- “Do you realize you just delivered Patri- says Milton. phone call to the obstetrician mother of cia’s granddaughter?” During its first two months of opera- one of the volunteers, Milton and Fred (a “I felt in that moment my father’s dream tion, up to 1,500 patients streamed into the current Vanderbilt medical student) per- had come full circle,” says Milton. “We’ve clinic. Civil unrest in Kenya has forced peo- formed the first breech-birth delivery at come a long way, but we still have a long ple to flee populated towns for rural areas, the clinic. The result—a baby girl weighing way to go.” resulting in numbers swelling from around nearly 8 pounds, born Dec. 30, 2007. Find out more: www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/ 60 patients a day to more than 100. As a “Do you remember Patricia Opiyo, who lwala and www.sonsoflwala.com result, the need for funding has increased. died in that wheelbarrow years ago?” Fred —Stephen Doster Last December during the winter break, asked. Milton, Fred and their sister, Flo, a second-

66 Summer 2008 Eye “ B do it, then change the world to suit the demands. —Rock musician, social activist, and Vanderbilt Nichols-Chancellor’s Medal recipient Bob Geldof in his 2008 Senior Day address May 8

Music: psychology professor Paul Dokecki brought might seem an unlikely venue: the com- Monday Night Jazz Band Keeps his drums, English professor Emerson Brown mons area at Bellevue Center mall. But with Swinging … Every Tuesday played clarinet, and law professor Bob Cov- the mall’s impending closure this year, they’ve When Lane Denson—Episcopal clergy- ington joined on piano. had to find a new home. This spring they man by day, cornet and flugelhorn player “The four of us started meeting at St. started a weekly session at Caesar’s Ris- by night—started playing with the Mon- Augustine’s, learning how to play together, torante Italiano, a cozy place tucked into day Night Jazz Band, he hardly could have getting our style,” Denson remembers. “Mon- the corner of a strip mall a few miles south predicted how long it would last. day night was the only night we could all of the Vanderbilt campus. “We’re a band of volunteers,” Denson make it. That’s how we got the name.” They play on Tuesdays now, but, to par- says of the group, which for almost 20 years The band’s roster has changed over the aphrase a classic, their name is here to stay. has brought the music of the Great Ameri- years. Denson and Dokecki now are joined —Lisa Robbins can Songbook to Nashville’s west side. “Some- by guitarist Lee Maxwell, a Peabody alum- times it amazes me we’ve played together nus; Garnett “G.R.” Davis, who plays bass for so long—that people who do some- for the band and teaches tuba at the Blair thing else for a living have stayed with it School of Music; and Larry Taylor, a pro- this way.” fessional guitarist and bassist. (Pianist Ed Denson co-founded the band when he Farley, professor of theology, emeritus, of was chaplain at St. Augustine’s Chapel on Vanderbilt Divinity School, retired from the Vanderbilt campus in the late ’80s. Peabody the band this spring.) But the band’s reper- toire, the standards that dominated American popular music from the 1920s into the 1950s, has held steady. “We play a lot of the great show music, like ‘Take the “A” Train,’ ‘Don’t

Get Around Much Anymore,’ ‘Love STEVE GREEN Tom Kimmel, singer-songwriter and artist-in- Is Here to Stay’ and ‘Stardust,’” says residence for the “God in Music City” project, Denson. “People usually like what with artist Lisa Silver at the project’s culminat- they hear. They’ll say, ‘We didn’t ing concert at Second Presbyterian Church know anybody played this music here in Nashville.’” God Plays Music City Taylor, who played professional- ly for more than 20 years, seems to One Saturday last February, a curious revel in the technical demands of busload from Vanderbilt got a taste of that the music. “It’s sort of like doing a old-time religion—and many of the vari- crossword puzzle every day,” he says. eties of religion to be found in Nashville. “It improves your vocabulary. These That day scholars involved with the “God are tunes with good construction. in Music City” initiative watched the choir If you play them every day, you will at Corinthian Baptist Church rehearse a improve the technique. I’ve been rousing program, heard the organist at Christ doing it so long, it’s just part of me, Church Episcopal belt out a magnificent Lane Denson, foreground, I guess.” organ fugue, and visited stately houses of and Larry Taylor of the For almost 12 years the band played worship including Holy Trinity Greek Ortho- Monday Night Jazz Band regular Monday night gigs at what dox Church and Congregation Micah. STEVE GREEN >>

Vanderbilt Magazine 67 City project. “Our goal of opening ety of religious musical expression as pos- up understanding and breaking down sible, and then help them sort it out. barriers and stereotypes was hap- “The class became a focus group that pening that day.” helped the professors learn something,” God in Music City was an inter- says John McClure, the third principal inves- disciplinary class. It was a series of tigator of the project and Charles G. Finney events including glimpses into the Professor of Homiletics at Vanderbilt Divin- worlds of country music videos, gay ity School. “It’s given me ideas for further Christian music and the blues; it projects.” was a double CD compiled and Already there’s talk of a book about the released by Greg Barz, associate pro- project. Pingree plans to explore the team- fessor of ethnomusicology and a teaching employed in the class for a new principal investigator of the God in project, and Barz founded a record label to Music City project; and it was an release a God in Music City CD. experiment in team-teaching and “This won’t stop,” says Volney Gay, co- experiential learning. director of the Center for the Study of Reli- “I think the role that music-mak- gion and Culture. “This train is moving ing plays in our houses of worship down the tracks.” Odessa Settles was a featured deserves our serious attention, and I Find out more: www.godinmusiccity.org artist during the final concert think the God in Music City project —Jim Patterson of the “God in Music City” is a huge step in the right direction,” project in April. says Dale Cockrell, professor of musi- JOHN RUSSELL cology in the Blair School of Music. Visual Art: Robin Jensen, the Luce Chancellor’s Pro- God in Music City was one project of Safe Haven for Artists fessor of the History of Christian Worship the Music, Religion and the South study When the E. Bronson Ingram Studio and Art, led the tour. group of the Center for the Study of Reli- Art Center was completed in 2005, it pro- “In the space of six hours, we experi- gion and Culture, a transinstitutional cen- vided a dedicated home for the newly inde- enced seven different structures and radi- ter at Vanderbilt dedicated to developing, pendent studio art department. Not long cally different kinds of music associated promoting and increasing faculty research afterward a major in studio art was added with substantially different theologies,” at the intersections of religion and culture. to complement the minor that already exist- says Allison Pingree, director of the Van- The God in Music City course was struc- ed. After three academic years in the build- derbilt Center for Teaching and one of three tured to expose students to as great a vari- ing, Michael Aurbach, professor of art and principal investigators of the God in Music

Books and Writers war experience was first published in 1882. This new edition incorporates images of Summer, with its sultry temperatures that the life-altering decisions of young adulthood Watkins’ recently found handwritten manu- invite a slower pace, seems to offer additional in 1941, as America inches closer to war. The script, with his own proposed edits and addi- time for reading a good book. For something New York Times’ Janet Maslin calls Earley’s tions overseen by his great-granddaughter, with a Vanderbilt connection, take note of prose “beguilingly crisp and unfettered” in this alumna McAllister. these recent releases by faculty, alumni and sequel that chronicles childhood’s end. Vanderbilt University Press. Playing the Co. “Aytch”: First Changes: The Blue Star: A Novel Tennessee Regiment or a Milt Hinton’s Life (2008, Little, Brown and Side Show of the Big Show in Stories and Company) by Tony Earley, (2007, Providence House Photographs Samuel Milton Fleming Publishers) by Sam R. (2008, Vanderbilt Associate Professor of Watkins; edited by Ruth Hill University Press) English Fulton McAllister, BA’68 by Milt Hinton, David G. Berger and Holly Maxson It’s been eight years since readers met the When Ken Burns’ The Civil War debuted on character of 10-year-old Jim Glass, the PBS in 1990, its viewers were treated to the Bassist Milt Hinton is legendary as a musi- anchor of Earley’s acclaimed debut novel, Jim authentic voice of Sam R. Watkins, chronicler cian whose career spanned seven decades of the Boy. In The Blue Star, Jim, now 17, faces of the “Maury Greys,” whose memoir of his jazz history, but he also knew how to wield a

68 Summer 2008 director of undergraduate stud- The department’s classes are also attract- ies for the studio art program, ing more non-majors. “As Vanderbilt still sings the new building’s evolves—which it is—we’re getting stu- praises. dents who are more open to taking studio “It gives us a safe place to work,” art classes,” notes Aurbach. “I think art is he explains, speaking literally. The one of the best vehicles for the general new studios have proper ventila- education of humanity.” tion and sinks, floors sealed to allow Because the credits required for the for clean-up, and appropriate quan- studio art major are fairly unrestrictive, tity and placement of electrical the major’s students are able to study other outlets. Student and faculty stu- subjects, which, Aurbach says, informs dio space previously was housed their creative work. In addition to train- in Cohen Memorial on the Peabody ing students as visual artists, the studio College campus. “Cohen was art major can also prepare students for a designed as a museum,” says Aur- “regular” profession: One recent graduate bach. His studio, in which he worked from the pre-architecture track is now on large-scale sculpture, was studying on scholarship at Harvard Uni- on Cohen’s third floor. The build- versity. ing has no elevator. His back is Other perks include the center’s perma- happy to have a new building nent gallery space and a studio for each with 8-foot-tall double doors and senior in the major, which is rare for an art elevators. program. Since the studio art depart- From the pleasing fountain splashing Noah Walcutt, a 2008 ment relocated to a more cen- into a rockscape at its entrance to the nat- engineering school graduate, tral spot beside the Student ural light gracing its hallways to its well- won this year’s $25,000 Life Center, the major has grown equipped studios, the E. Bronson Ingram Margaret Wooldridge Hamblett Award with this interactive to include about 30 students. Studio Art Center is a welcome and well- sculpture that combines art, Aurbach expects more growth, used space for Vanderbilt’s artists. Says music and engineering for but he says the program’s size Aurbach, “This is a place where, if stu- therapeutic purposes. is nice and the major is attract- dents want to pursue their artistic inter- STEVE GREEN Walcutt ing students with diverse artis- ests, they can—and in a grand way.” tic interests. —Kami Rice

camera. His photos document life on the road events and stymies critical reflection, fueling Breach of Peace: with Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday’s last a kind of paranoid patriotism that results in Portraits of the recording session, and jazz icons Louis extreme forms of violence. 1961 Mississippi Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, Freedom Riders among others. Many of his stories are includ- Epistles: Poems (2008, Atlas & Co.) ed with his music on an enclosed CD. (2007, Sarabande Books) by Eric Etheridge, BA’79 by Mark Jarman, Centennial With news of Tennessee State University’s Women as Weapons of War: Professor of English and finally granting degrees to its former students Iraq, Sex and the Media director of the Creative who participated in the Freedom Rides, a book (2007, Columbia University Writing Program like this provides a vital link to the past. More Press) by Kelly Oliver, In beautiful prose poetry, Jarman, inspired by than 80 contemporary portraits share space W. Alton Jones Professor St. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians, explores with original mug shots (including that of the of Philosophy the central mysteries of existence through Rev. James Lawson, Distinguished University In her latest book Oliver looks at the U.S. fas- collections of metaphors about belief. Says Professor) in this book that chronicles those cination with sex, violence, death, and its rela- poet Grace Schulman of Jarman’s work, arrested during the spring and summer of tionship to live news coverage and embedded “[He] writes passionately of doubt and belief, 1961 in Jackson, Miss., on the charge of reporting, particularly in regard to the U.S. making of the two poles one desire to know all “breach of the peace” as they challenged campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Such he can in a world without certainty.” the state’s segregation laws. reporting, she argues, naturalizes horrific

Vanderbilt Magazine 69 S.P. O.V.* Student Point of View

* Tarof and Sweet Tea I speak fluent “y’all.” And I can decipher Osama bin Laden’s words, even without captions. By ARIO HOSSEINI, CLASSOF 2009

urning 21 seemed like it was riences differed drastically from those of There were also Persian versions of activ- going to be a big deal. After all, my friends’ families. By the time they turned ities that made my upbringing unique. A I was finally reaching the gov- 30, my parents had lived through a govern- lifelong soccer player as well as a champion ernmental “go-ahead” that mental overthrow, a revolution, and an emi- high school coach, my father transferred his teenagers and college students gration halfway around the globe. relationship with soccer to me when I was Tacross the country seem to long Most people can tell from my name alone just 3. As my high school years approached, for. And yet April 24, 2008, turned out to be that my heritage lies outside this nation’s I signed up for wrestling—a sport that is a nothing special—only a date on which the great borders. Born and raised in Lexing- historic source of national pride (as well as numbers on my ID officially qualified me ton, Ky., I am the first-generation American frequent Olympic medals) in Iran. for the things my receding hairline and 5 from my family—quite literally. My mother, When friends came to my home, they o’clock shadow already could give me. The father found themselves in a world of Persian rugs balding, the touch of gray in my sideburns, and older sister traveled to the United States and paintings, bombarded by an abundance the stresses of post-gradu- from Iran in 1983. The of food and hospitality. There is a common ate planning, the uncomfort- Islamic Revolution left my word in Persian culture for excessive kind- able glances I can now attract father, who worked for a ness: tarof. To finish your dinner is a must, just by standing near a group Western company, without to forgo seconds almost an insult. While of freshman girls at a party— a job, struggling to support dinner with friends often consisted of eat- have all started to make me my mother and older sis- ing out or deliveries, the average Persian feel old already. ter, who was only 2 years dish would take at least two or three hours To tell the truth, I spent old. Having spent his col- to prepare. When guests were coming, meal my 21st birthday studying, lege years abroad in Lex- preparation could take the entire day as well and the day afterward tak- ington, my father returned as the night before. I had to finish my school ing exams. to the city with them to start lunches in half the amount of time as other But in an hour of reflec- a new life. I was born four kids; the other half I spent explaining to my tion the evening after my birth- years later, and my younger classmates what it was I was eating. day, a feeling not only of sister two years after that. Nevertheless, my appreciation for my change but also of signifi- In many ways I had a cultural inheritance has increased as I have cance came over me. Think- JOHN RUSSELL childhood that could be con- grown older. When I was 9, I spent a sum- ing about my experiences thus far and the sidered standard for an American boy. I was mer with family in Iran. I can remember hardships I was preparing to undertake in heavily involved in sports, spent a great deal seeing all the relatives I had only heard about the coming years, my mind turned to my of time hanging out with friends and class- before, though I strain to recollect my impres- parents. mates at the movies and the mall, listened sions of the place itself—the people, the They have often reminded me of what to all the current Billboard hits, and adopted landscape, the streets, or the atmosphere in life was like for them at my age, in lectures signature regional alterations to my speech Tehran, the capital city. What I remember much like those many children hear from like “y’all” and “good Lord” for a period of best is that which Iranians like my family their parents. But I knew my parents’ expe- time. have continued in America: the abundance

70 Summer 2008 and importance of get-togethers change of facial expression when with family and friends, the telling I tell a person I’m from Iran. of stories and jokes, the gath- I know what it’s like to be erings around large tables of “randomly” yet consistently food and desserts, the play- selected for special screen- ing of music, and the recita- ings at the airport, or to make tion of ancient poetry over sure I shave right before I a cup of tea. head out to catch a flight. Over time my ability Even though I’m not even to recognize a fellow Arab, having a surname Iranian has become that’s separated by two increasingly uncanny. letters from the word There’s always some- “Hussein” seems to be thing about the hair: enough. the naturally jet-black Nonetheless, were color (or reddish or it not for these experi- blonde augmentation ences, good and bad, I am for many women who have certain I would not have ERIC WESTBROOK been in the U.S. for some encountered, nor even sought time), the thick mustache out, the others who have under the protruding noses fundamentally shaped me of older men, the darkened into the person I am today. shadow of stubble on a I will graduate in one year’s younger one’s face. time with a degree consist- The dead giveaway, though, ing of a main course of neu- is always the eyebrows. It is what roscience with side dishes of ancient and modern traditional psychology and philosophy painters employ to capture theJOHN RUSSELL clas- along the way. In a quest to bet- sic Persian complexion: the broad, ter understand the human mind, wide arc of the elegant female, and the brain and being, I have sought to learn thick, slightly lowered band of the man, more about myself as well. who consequently conveys a tinge of auster- Armenian, Urdu, Turkish and Hindi—idioms In many ways it seems my life of balanc- ity. whose regions reflect this ancient influence. ing cultures has led to a lifestyle of balanc- Not only have I used this sixth sense to Today it’s one thing to read translations ing interests. While my high school period identify Iranians among groups of people, I from news coverage of infamous people like was busy with these various activities— also have developed an interest in deter- Osama bin Laden. It’s a completely different wrestling, cultural organizations, violin, art, mining the heritage of all sorts of individu- feeling to be able to turn away from the tele- volunteer work and the like—the greater als. I’ll even attempt, on occasion, to guess vision and still decipher what he’s saying. part of my career at Vanderbilt, I hope, will the heritage of my classmates. The experience of being Iranian-Ameri- have been spent not only furthering my growth One of my parents’ greatest gifts was can has not been free of negative conse- and education, but those of the community bestowed before I was even conscious of it. I quences. In the same way that the Iranian as well. For that reason, in my sophomore was about 5 years old when I realized my hostage crisis brought unwanted attention year, I founded what is now known as the other friends could not understand the lan- to my mother, father and older sister in the Iranian Cultural Society at Vanderbilt. guage my parents were using around me— early 1980s, the events of Sept. 11 and the Beneath the ever-looming tension and Persian, also known as Parsi or Farsi. I have voice of bin Laden evoked an even greater complexity of international politics and often thought about how strange and fasci- sense of distrust, hate and misunderstand- media coverage lie a very ancient civiliza- nating it has been to understand another ing. Before the end of that fateful day, stu- tion and tradition in Iran about which the language even before I was capable of mak- dents had already destroyed my father’s car majority of people in the Western Hemi- ing my earliest memories. in the high school parking lot. In subse- sphere—including myself—know far too As I grew older I realized I could under- quent weeks they would petition to be removed little. It is a blessing to have lived in a place stand a tongue that had been virtually from his classroom and send him threaten- where these rich cultures and traditions unchanged for thousands of years and shared ing messages. have sprouted and grown through my life. by my ancient ancestors. Because I could While I have been surrounded by good My hope is that one day I may return to that understand Persian, I could also understand friends and caring people most of my life, I other half of my identity and share my expe- V bits and pieces of languages such as Dari, still know what it feels like to see the subtle rience with others.

Vanderbilt Magazine 7 1 A.P. O.V.* Alumni Point of View * Mortar Fire and Ice Cream My year in a palace near the Tigris By MICHAEL LEE WOODARD, BS’90

hen the Black Hawk ration for the next leg of the flight to Kuwait. Tallil, I visited the Italians who were working helicopter I was flying After settling in at Camp Udari Kuwait, we nearby in their hanger. Three flight-suited landed at the American completed a short training syllabus and pre- maestros—apparently fresh from their naps— Wbase near Al Qayyarah pared to fly to our base camp up north near were very startled to see me. I was embar- in early October 2005, Al Qayyarah, site of an old Iraqi air force rassed at having surprised them, but neither ending my role in Operation Iraqi Freedom, installation. of us really seemed to mind. They were gre- it came as welcome relief from the madden- Americans call it “Key West” because the garious fellows in the way you might imag- ing pace of the previous 12 months. Arabic word Qayyarah sounds like “key.” ine Italian aviators to be. In the future I would Naively, I had believed that this deploy- “Key West” was a natural evolution. Although learn the importance of being able to rest ment would have little effect on me. During the area sounded exotic, Club Med it wasn’t. anywhere, as the Italians had. my 23 years in the service, I have com- Our first days in Key West were hectic, pleted assignments in Europe and all and the learning curve was steep. We were over the United States. As a pilot I was replacing a regular Army unit from New York. removed from the immediate cruel- Their young pilots had accumulated a career’s ties of war. I thought I would do my worth of experience and were ready to go year and go home. home. We spent orientation flying with them As it turned out, I couldn’t have and learning our way around. Skimming been more wrong. The coming year along the desert floor and weaving our way in Iraq would prove to be totally out to the landing zone was the routine for safe of my experience, although at the time flights. The low altitude helped reduce the I did not realize it. possibility of taking fire. The Army guys Alerted for deployment in 2004, were good people and went the extra mile to my National Guard unit, N Troop 4/278 make sure we were ready. ACR, is a fascinating collection of cit- Shortly after arriving in Key West, we were izen soldiers who serve because they asked to provide two crews to the commander want to. Our pilots have years of expe- of coalition forces in Northwest Iraq. This rience, and our crew chiefs are highly was my assignment. We operated out of Sad- trained experts. “Guard” units evolve COURTESY OF MICHAEL WOODARD dam’s presidential site in Mosul, a city best into stable, close-knit fraternities. The flight up-country from Kuwait revealed described by one word: brown. The desert After training at Fort Bragg, we flew out a homogeneous and vast landscape. Occa- comes right up to the city limits, and build- to Iraq in the latter part of October 2004. sionally, you’d see a few camels or small vil- ings are a brownish earth-tone color. The The feeling of disorientation that comes lages, but nothing else. It has a certain beauty Tigris River bisects the town and, aside from with transcontinental flight was taking hold that I think you have to see to appreciate. the mountains to the north, it is the major by the time we landed in Germany in prepa- Southeast of Baghdad, while refueling at geographic feature in the area.

72 Summer 2008 territory for me. My crew became my brothers, and each of us would have done anything for the other. Even my Iraqi friends offered normalcy in an abnormal situation. We shared holiday traditions, treats from home and thought-provoking con- versation. Some of the Iraqis took enormous risks to help us. You feel marooned in the Middle East, and home is a distant abstract thought. Life is lived in the moment. There is no tomorrow and no yesterday. There is just “now,” and only your crew matters. Rank dissolves, and your team operates with a satisfying sense of ERIC WESTBROOK purpose. You lose track of Now, Saddam’s former palace is known while approaching the Green Zone heliport days, confidence builds, as FOB (Forward Operating Base) Courage. in Baghdad late one night. A pair of recon- and you feel bulletproof. It is addictive. Occupied during the invasion, the grounds naissance helicopters passed in opposition, All of this changes when it’s time to go on were suggestive of a small college campus, so close to our Black Hawk that our rotors leave, about midway though your tour of except now sandbags were everywhere. Pro- overlapped, narrowly missing a collision. duty. You are extracted from this madness in tecting the perimeter was a 15-foot wall bris- My crew laughed it off and talked about how a rush of jet transports, and you arrive home tling with guard towers and machine guns. we’d rather be lucky than good. only hours after dodging small arms fire. Hard-core infantry units lived here now. Days were long, often many in a row with- American excess is too much now. I was home, These young men daily left the safety of the out a break. We did just about everything— on leave, and yet my mind remained back base to fight in Mosul, where they learned flying from the Syrian border to the Iranian with my unit where I was needed. how cheap life was in the Middle East. They frontier, transporting troops, evacuating Afterwards, we told lies about great times were good at what they did. Units like these wounded, and hauling media and political we’d had back home, only to later learn the do the “heavy lifting” associated with Ameri- stars who had come to check on the war. We difficult truth: No one really did. can policy in Iraq. It is messy work. never closed, and there was no saying no. When my leave ended and I returned to In a place like this, death is troublesome Being gone so far away and for so long Iraq, temperatures daily rose over 125 degrees because it is so random. As an example, while understandably creates changes in perspec- and terrorists were more active in attacking picking up wounded we began taking fire. tive. After about three months in Iraq, one our base. A long, hot summer lay ahead of Mortar rounds landed just outside our heli- begins to appreciate what separation from us in more ways than one. copter’s rotors. home really is. During this period the deep The things that one becomes accustomed Fortunately, we escaped that day, but every- bonds of friendship seen only in combat to are amazing. Small arms and mortar fire one didn’t. An incoming round careened begin to form. Contact with home becomes seem routine. During the usual assault one inside a bunker where a young soldier had less frequent. E-mail, packages and phone evening, I headed for the safety of a bunker taken cover. It detonated and took his life. I calls can only do so much. with a freshly scooped bowl of ice cream in think of those moments often, about what Gradually, I began to see Iraq as my home, my left hand. On the way I tripped and impaled his family would do now. No happy reunions and these people with whom I lived and worked the palm of my right hand on the edge of a for them. Moments like these torment those were now like my family. Military life has counter. Blood gushed as I headed off for who remain for a long time. always required a good deal of separation, stitches, sewn by a disgruntled reservist medic Survival while flying in a combat zone is but a deployment of this length and under who had just signed up for some college sometimes a matter of inches. I realized this these conditions was definitely uncharted continued on page 86

Vanderbilt Magazine 73 TheClasses “ Bill Livingston, BA’70, has covered five summer and two winter

74 Summer 2008 Olympics, the Super Bowl and the World Series. “

Sam McCleskey, BE’51

JOHN RUSSELL A Growth Business

It’s a fact of life: For some people, earning a living means deal- ing with death. Sam McCleskey has spent most of his career as the country’s premier builder of mausoleums. The earliest mausoleum was built between 353 and 350 B.C. for King Mausolus in present-day Turkey, and it is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. McCleskey’s modern creations are pretty wondrous, too. His company is now building a three-story structure in Los Angeles that will house 40,000 caskets. But that’s just the latest project in a long career. “I’ve been responsible for designing and building more than 700 large community mausoleums in 32 states,” says McCleskey, who is a 2007 Distinguished Alumnus of the Vander- bilt School of Engineering. “The smallest we’ve built is about 300 casket spaces, and the largest [prior to the Los Angeles project] is 10,000 casket spaces.” Today McCleskey serves as chairman of the board of McCleskey Construction Co. and isn’t as involved in the day-to- day operations of the company. An avid traveler, he has visited all seven continents. But he remains fascinated by his profession. “Above-ground burial has a long history. It just happened that when I came into the business in 1958, there was an upswing. And we’re still in it today.” —Cindy Thomsen

Vanderbilt Magazine 75 T HE C LASSES “ Wynona Bice-Stephens, EdS’90, EdD’94, announces the adoption of E

76 Summer 2008 f Elise Rose Stephens, who joins six brothers and three sisters. “

The Rev. Becca Stevens, MDiv’90

DANIEL DUBOIS A Place to Heal

On Sunday mornings, former prostitutes and drug addicts fill the pews alongside Vanderbilt faculty, staff and students for services at St. Augustine’s Chapel. They share their stories and take com- munion together, finding commonalities in what some would think are very different worlds. It’s part of the healing for the women of Magdalene, a two- year residential program that helps women get off Nashville’s streets, off illegal drugs, and out of the cycle of abuse. Magdalene is the brainchild of Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest and chaplain of St. Augustine’s. The program includes housing, counseling, 12-step meetings, classes on parenting and financial management, spiritual guidance and employment opportunities. In its first 10 years, more than 100 women have successfully completed the Magdalene program. All have a crim- inal record. Thirty percent are HIV-positive or Hepatitis C-posi- tive. All have endured rape, and most have a history of childhood sexual abuse. Of those who enter Magdalene, two and a half years later 75 percent are still clean and sober. Magdalene sustains itself through private donations and through Thistle Farms, a cottage industry that produces bath and body products and candles. All aspects of the business are han- dled almost exclusively by the women of Magdalene. “It isn’t about making people feel sorry for these women,” Stevens says. “It’s about inspiring others to make changes in their own lives.” Find out more: www.thistlefarms.org. —Whitney Weeks

Vanderbilt Magazine 77 T HE C LASSES “ Lara Peirce, JD’97, is a policy adviser with the U.S. Department of Justice,

78 Summer 2008 assisting in implementation of the Adam Walsh Act. “ Alumni Association News

Johns Hopkins Surgeon Named Vanderbilt Distinguished Alumnus Dr. Levi Watkins Jr., MD’70, associate dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and professor of cardiac surgery, is this year’s recipient of the highest honor bestowed upon an alumnus of the university: the Vanderbilt Alumni Association’s Distin- guished Alumnus Award. First presented in 1996, the award recognizes an alumnus or alumna whose accomplishments and contributions have had a broad positive impact on humankind— and who has made the choice to go beyond a successful vocation to do something of greater benefit to the universal community. Levi Watkins embodies these noble traits. Watkins broke new ground in 1966 when he enrolled as the first African American student of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Four years later, when he received his medical degree, he was still the only one. Since that time he has had a remarkable career, and his achievements have been recognized by Vanderbilt repeatedly through the years. In 1998 the School of Medicine awarded him the Vanderbilt Medal of Honor for outstanding alumni, and the school established an annual Levi Watkins Jr. Lecture on Diversity in Medical Education. In 2002, Vanderbilt established a professorship and associate deanship in his name at the School of Medicine. The next year Watkins was named to the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust. Levi Watkins’ entire career has been punctuated by important “firsts.” At Johns Hopkins he was the first African American person to serve as chief resident in cardiac surgery, as professor of cardiac surgery, and as associate dean of the School of Medicine. In 1980 he performed the world’s first human implantation of the automatic implantable defibrillator—a procedure that has been repeated more than a million times worldwide since then. Watkins defined the role of the renin-angiotensin system in con- gestive heart failure, leading to today’s common clinical use of angiotensin blockers in treating the disease. He helped revolution- ize the culture for postdoctoral education in America by working to establish the nation’s first postdoctoral association. He even graduated first in his class in high school. Growing up in Montgomery, Ala., Watkins was exposed to wide- spread prejudice and to the early Civil Rights Movement, which sealed his commitment to racial equality, particularly in medicine. Now living in Baltimore, where he has been named “Best Citizen” by the city’s mayor, Watkins has been awarded four honorary doctor- ates and has earned numerous other accolades because of his med- ical experience and interest in worldwide human rights. For information on how to nominate an individual for the 2009 award, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/alumni-association.php.

Vanderbilt Magazine 79 T HE C LASSES “ Brooke Vaughan, BS’03, has been selected to join a 14-member, all-female philanthropy Alumni Association News

CoRPs Wants You! The Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Alumni Relations teamed up a number of years ago to form the Alumni Recruitment Committee (ARC), an effort to involve alumni in the process of recruiting students for Vanderbilt. Over time the ARC’s success has led to expansion of the program, incorporating several new initiatives—and now it has a new name better reflecting its breadth: Commodore Recruitment Programs (CoRPs). Through CoRPs, the admissions office invites alumni around the globe to participate in vital recruitment efforts such as the Alumni Interviewing Program (AIP), college fair activities, contacting admitted students, and “Vanderbilt and You” receptions. You are invited to join the other 2,700 Vanderbilt alumni who already have registered with the admissions office to help in the recruitment process. Last year nearly 1,400 alumni interviewed approximately 3,200 Vanderbilt applicants across the United States and on several continents. Through these interviews, alumni personal- ize the admissions process and give prospective students an inside glimpse of life at Vanderbilt. Alumni from major markets and small cities alike represented Vanderbilt at local college fairs last year, speaking with interested students and their parents about the admissions process, and about academic and student life on campus. College fairs allow the admis- sions staff to reach many students in one easy setting, often providing these families with their first Vanderbilt contact. “Vanderbilt and You” receptions offer admitted students a chance to meet alumni as well as other admitted students from their area. Last year alumni hosted and attended these receptions in 39 cities— including the first international reception in Shanghai. These events offer alumni an exciting opportunity to be part of a student’s deci- sion-making process as he or she embarks on the journey to college. It’s easy to get involved with CoRPs. Just go online to www.van- derbilt.edu/admissions/alumni to register with the admissions office. Or you may request information by e-mailing [email protected]. We look forward to working with you!

In April the first international “Vanderbilt and You” reception took place in Shanghai, hosted by A.J. Spaudie, BS’97, and Nancy Wang, MBA’05.

80 Summer 2008 team that plans to summit three of Africa’s highest peaks in a three-week period. “

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Vanderbilt Magazine 81 T HE C LASSES

Alumni Association News

Heartfelt Thanks The Offices of Undergraduate Admissions and Alumni Relations owe a special thanks to alumni who have assisted with the student recruit- ment process by volunteering their time to interview applicants, repre- sent Vanderbilt at college fairs, contact admitted students, and help coordinate “Vanderbilt and You” receptions. We are grateful for all your volunteer efforts on behalf of Vanderbilt, and we appreciate your continued dedication to your alma mater.

Welcome to the Class of 2012 Summer Send-Off Parties for incoming students are taking place in more than 35 cities throughout the summer. These informal events, planned by local alumni chapters nationwide, welcome students and their families into the Vanderbilt community. Local alumni and current parents and students are also invited to the gatherings, which provide an opportunity for students and alumni to share their Vanderbilt expe- riences and answer questions that new students and their parents have about the university.

Nashville Meets the Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos was guest of honor May 12 at a Chan- cellor Celebration sponsored by the Nashville Vander- bilt Chapter. PEYTON HOGE

Students and Alumni Come Together Last year the Office of Alumni Relations launched a series of new initiatives designed to bring alumni and current students together, increasing students’ awareness of and access to Vanderbilt’s alumni network. Since that time, these student/alumni programs—many now with waiting lists—have engaged more than 2,500 students and 350 alumni volunteers. This fall the momentum continues. Planned are more “Opening Dores” dinners, at which five alumni and 12 current students with similar academic interests come together on campus to share a fami- ly-style meal—and alumni share their advice about transitioning to the world of work after college. A panel led by alumni, called “After VU: Where My Vanderbilt Degree Has Taken Me,” is also planned to give students an overview of the diverse career paths available with a Vanderbilt degree. Vanderbilt Law School alumni, admissions staff, and current Law School students also will lead a panel providing real- word advice about choosing and applying to law school. The new Vanderbilt Student Alumni Association continues to grow, too, with upcoming fall events including a Seniorfest fun day on “Almost Alumni” Lawn and a “Halfway There” celebration for sophomores to mark their new status as upperclassmen during the second semester. As before, alumni volunteers are needed to make Student/Alumni Programs a success. If you’d like to help, contact Lauren Schmitzer, associate director of alumni relations, by calling 615/322-2042 or e-mailing [email protected].

82 Summer 2008 Vanderbilt Magazine 83 T HE C LASSES

84 Summer 2008 Vanderbilt Magazine 85 Collective Memory continued from page 23 The divorce of 1914 was felt most acutely Methodists. Though not a majority, once power over the school. Legally, anyway, the there. Many universities had slowly drifted again Methodists eventually represented Commodore had founded Vanderbilt after away from their denominational origins— the largest single group of students at the all. Harvard from the Puritans, for instance. religion school. (That statistic holds true The Methodists wasted no time disown- But the Methodist break with Vanderbilt today in the Vanderbilt Divinity School, ing the school and calling for the formation appears to be unique in education annals, the name for the School of Religion since of two new church-based Southern univer- historian Glenn Miller suggests in Vander- 1956.) sities. They would become Emory Univer- bilt Divinity School. Its abruptness forced By the 1990s prominent Nashvillian and sity in Atlanta and Southern Methodist the Biblical Department to reinvent itself Methodist businessman Cal Turner Jr., BA’62, University in Dallas. to survive. The department quickly was issued substantial gifts to Vanderbilt. They One Divinity School professor looks back renamed the School of Religion and embarked made possible the chair in Wesleyan stud- on the crisis with a sense of loss. on a new adventure in theological, inter- ies and the Cal Turner Program for Moral “There was hubris on both sides,” says denominational identity. Leadership in the Professions. Last year he Douglas Meeks, the Cal Turner Chancel- The timing was intriguing. The School gave $2.9 million more to the divinity school lor’s Professor of Wesleyan Studies and pro- of Religion reorganized during a period for Methodist student fellowships. fessor of theology. when a national ecumenical spirit was gain- “If this program can have an impact on “But I don’t think the split was inevitable. ing ground, and Christian activists hoped the clergy leadership of the church, that If a few progressives and moderates in the to reform America to improve race rela- will have a multiplier effect on our soci- church had prevailed, it’s possible the rela- tions, housing conditions and labor laws. ety,” Turner announced last year. “These tionship could have continued. It’s inevitable Vanderbilt’s School of Religion would emerge men and women who become effective min- that there is tension, but it all depends on as a voice of liberal Christian reform in the isters will have great impact on the lives of who the leaders are.” South, a moderating force in the midst of others, who will in turn have great impact Post-1914, the university was free to move conservative religion, unrestricted by any on the lives of others, and so on for many forward (and freer to pursue grant money sectarian doctrinal dictate. years to come.” without sectarian restrictions). But the new To survive, though, it needed new rela- A long, turbulent saga over a univer- freedom intensified a drama in one campus tionships with church life, and the decades sity’s future, and the role the church should corner—the Biblical Department. It was after 1914 witnessed various initiatives— play in it, was now the distant past. V now bereft of Methodist support or a steady with the YMCA, the Disciples of Christ supply of Methodist students. denomination, rural churches and with

A.P.O.V. continued from page 73 For now we tried to make sure our replace- began to get reacquainted. It was a happy money. I still have the scar, which reminds ments had the knowledge to be successful, time for us. I passed on the military’s C -130 me of the ribbing I got about the lengths as our predecessors had done for us. ride, choosing instead to drive home and that I’d go to for a medal or a bowl of ice Before we left, the general gave a very just look at America on the way. As we made cream. nice send-off by saying that we would be our way through East Tennessee, I began to In August 2005 rumors about going home missed. In the military no one is indispen- enjoy the clean, cool air of the mountains. I began spreading, but I didn’t give them much sable, so this was high praise. We had earned realized how much I had missed my home thought. Finally, in September we learned official awards for our actions; however, and family. Most people don’t get the oppor- our replacements were in Kuwait and would they pale when compared to the respect tunity to see the rest of the world from the be flying up any day to relieve us. We knew and trust our colleagues placed in us. This perspective I have, but if they did they would then that we had to at least think about going bond exists only among those who endure realize as I do what a beautiful country Amer- home. the hardships of this path. ica is and how very fortunate we are to be It sounds strange, but when we were asked The next morning we flew to “Key West,” here. about staying until January if Gen. Rodriquez joining friends we’d left there the year before. After a few days at home, someone told or Gen. Bergner needed us, everyone instantly During those last days I thought about home me that it would be all right to look back at said yes. Such was our dedication to the a lot. For me, coping had required complete my time in Iraq because remembering those mission, but really more so to each other. withdrawal from American life to live fully who don’t come home is important. But, I Living near violent death as we had for in Iraq. Now all that would need to be was cautioned, “Don’t stare.” so long had a price that would someday reversed—quite a psychological workout. From time to time I think I will look demand to be paid. So as the end neared, After a few days we flew to Kuwait, deposited back on that lifetime lived in Iraq that year. we vowed to leave this experience behind, our unit’s helicopters on a ship, boarded a Staring won’t be a problem because there in Iraq. It would not be fair to anyone to jet, and flew to Fort Bragg, N.C. I slept all are still 160,000 troops deployed and I’m bring this home. the way. still in the military. It doesn’t take a genius The new guys would learn this as I had. My wife drove over the next day, and we to know what that means. V

86 Summer 2008 Southern Journal continued from page 88 George Washington assigned his person- was exploring the vast lands to the west. of the province, Francis grew in stature and al physician to care for Nash, but the gener- Boone convinced North Carolina judge Richard popularity. Francis married Sarah (Sally) al could not be saved. After enduring a bumpy Henderson that the time was right for west- Moore, granddaughter of the colonial gov- and painful 30-mile wagon ride, Nash died ern investment, and in 1775 Henderson ernor of South Carolina. four days later at nearby Towamencin on and several others, including North Car- Francis Nash was handsome and athlet- the road to Valley Forge. He is said to have olinian James Robertson, struck a bargain ic and presented a striking image on horse- bled through two feather beds. with the Cherokee Indians. For 2,000 pounds back, according to William Richardson Davie, Nash’s funeral was attended by Ameri- sterling and another 8,000 pounds in goods, lawyer, soldier, and founder of the Univer- can Revolutionary War heroes Washington, the Cherokees deeded over more than 20 sity of North Carolina. History indicates Lafayette and Pulaski; Generals Nathanael million acres, which included about two- that Francis’ appearance did not go unno- Greene, Anthony Wayne and John Sullivan; thirds of present-day Kentucky and much ticed by the local barmaids. and 11,000 continental soldiers. Francis of Middle Tennessee. As members of North Carolina’s ruling Nash left behind a wife and two young daugh- Francis Nash had served in Henderson’s class, with the advantages of birth, wealth, ters. What a terrible price this 35-year-old court, and two others investors, Thomas education and marriage, Francis Nash and officer paid for our country. Hart and William Johnston, had been asso- his brother, Abner, served in the colonial Abner’s slight physique and poor health ciates of Nash in Hillsborough. It is likely assemblies of Royal Governors William Tryon made him unfit for battle, but he demon- that Thomas Hart’s brother and partner, and Josiah Martin. strated no less love for his country than his Nathaniel Hart, knew Francis as well. The In 1771, serving under Gov. Tryon, Fran- brother. One contemporary described him State Record of North Carolina in 1784 record- cis Nash proved himself courageous in the as “vehemence and fire” in the courtroom. ed an act calling for the establishment of a Battle of Alamance, fighting a band of “reg- While Francis Nash fought the king’s army, town to be called “Nash-Ville, in memory of ulators”—backcountry farmers who had Abner was serving as the first speaker of the patriotic and brave General Nash,” on organized an armed rebellion to protest North Carolina’s House of Commons. the Cumberland River near the French Lick. abuse by the provincial government. Ala- Following his brother’s death, Abner Nash Two other towns also would come to be mance would forever change Francis Nash’s was elected North Carolina speaker of the named for Francis Nash: Nashville, Ga., and worldview. The king’s governor hanged one senate, and then governor. He was inaugu- Nashville, N.C. of the rebels, James Few, near the battlefield rated governor the very day Charleston fell Francis Nash’s final resting place, howev- and executed several more regulators in Hills- to the British. His term spanned the debacle er, is at Kulpsville, Pa., a few miles from the borough—all without trial. at Camden and the successful battles of Kings place where a cannonball felled him. Many Over the next five years, Francis Nash Mountain, Cowpens and Guilford Court- years later, in 1935, Nashville, Tenn., experi- attended the not-so-clandestine provincial house. enced what must have been a media frenzy congresses, where grievances against King In the fall of 1786, Abner, who had endured when a movement to remove Gen. Nash’s George III were debated. When North Car- the ravages of tuberculosis for most of his body to the city named in his honor caught olina signed the Declaration of Independ- public life, traveled to New York to repre- fire. The Daughters of the American Revo- ence, Nash was appointed colonel in North sent North Carolina in the Congress. His lution got involved. There were letters to the Carolina’s Continental Army and later became consumption worsened. editor, telegrams, and even a special tele- brigadier general. “Congress has not yet elected a Presi- phone exchange set up by Southern Bell to After the defense of Charleston in 1776, dent owing to their [sic] being too few States receive votes in favor of the proposed removal. Nash returned to North Carolina to recruit. on the floor,” wrote Virginia Congressman But the body was never moved. He marched his nine regiments, consisting William Grayson to James Monroe on Nov. Today Francis Nash’s grave remains in of 2,000 men, north to join George Wash- 22. “Mr. Nash of N. Carolina, who lies dan- Pennsylvania, where he fought his last bat- ington, arriving in Philadelphia in time to gerously ill, is talked of generally, & noth- tle. The only marker commemorating him attend the first Fourth of July celebration. ing but his death or extreme ill health I am in Nashville, Tenn., is a bronze plaque down- Nash served at the Battle of Brandywine persuaded will prevent his election [as pres- town at the Fort Nashborough facsimile on Creek and then at Germantown, both in ident of Congress].” First Avenue. the defense of Philadelphia. At German- Abner Nash, age 46, died a few days later. My ancestor never could have predicted town, as Francis marched his troops behind Had he lived, he likely would have become that he would lend his name not only to a Washington’s caravan, a 6-pound cannon- president of the Congress, and no doubt city he had never visited, but to an enduring ball flew out of the smoke and fog and over would have signed the United States Con- style of music. Nashville’s phone book lists Washington’s head. The ball struck Nash’s stitution for North Carolina nine months more than 50 households of Nashes. Most, I horse in the neck and crushed Nash’s thigh. later. suspect, do not trace their names back to Both fell to the ground, with the brigadier Tennessee did not become a state until my ancestors and know little of the man for general pinned under the dead horse. Maj. 1796. While Francis Nash was fighting the whom their city is named. V James Witherspoon was killed instantly British and Abner was helping establish a when the same ball struck him in the head. fledgling new government, Daniel Boone

Vanderbilt Magazine 87 SouthernJournal

Reflections on the South Meet the Ancestors My Revolutionary forebears put the “Nash” in Nashville. By HUGH O. NASH JR., BE’67

n 1962 my decision to apply to war, particularly in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering made South where it is over- little or no sense. I had grown up in shadowed by the War Savannah, Ga., and knew little about Between the States. Few Vanderbilt and even less about Nashville of this generation can I— except that the city was named for name a single Revolu- my ancestor Francis Nash. tionary War general other When I informed my high school guid- than George Washing- ance counselor of my college choice, I was ton and perhaps told that I should not aim so high. That did Lafayette. it. I applied, and against all odds, Vander- Periodically, I would bilt, my singular choice, accepted me for write an article for The early admission. Tennessean about Brig. Alexander Heard had just been named Gen. Nash, who gave his Vanderbilt’s chancellor. My mother had life for his country and dated him as a high school student in Savan- his name to Nashville. nah, and she assured me that if I ever land- In 2001 the Francis Nash ed in jail, “Alex” would get me out. Chapter of the Daugh- Despite my excellent prep-school train- ters of the American Revolution (DAR) asked and the naming of Nashville, Tenn. ing, I took a beating in Melvyn New’s fresh- me to address its members on the occasion History makes no record of either broth- man English class. Words like “trite,” of its 70th anniversary. er ever visiting the area that would become “redundant,” “clichéd,” “hackneyed” and Rather than filing away my talk after- Middle Tennessee. How, then, did Tennessee’s “verbose” continued to appear in red pen- wards, I kept writing. The Tennessee State capital city come to be called Nashville? cil on my English compositions. I was, how- Archives provided much information about My fifth great-grandfather, John Nash, ever, permitted to opt out of Western the North Carolina history of the two Nash owned a 13,000-acre tobacco plantation in Civilization—discretion being the better brothers, and the Library of Congress and Prince Edward County, Va. His sons, Fran- part of valor (another cliché). the University of Virginia provided online cis and Abner, sold their inheritance to Upon my Vanderbilt graduation in 1966, transcriptions of letters that proved invalu- seek their fortune. Francis relocated to Hills- I returned to Savannah and worked there able—letters to (and from) Abner and Fran- borough, N.C., in 1763. The two brothers for eight years before moving my family to cis Nash, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, dammed the Eno River, built a grist mill, Nashville, where I had accepted an engi- and members of the Continental Congress. and invested in several other Hillsborough neering position. Back in Nashville my inter- My book, Patriot Sons, Patriot Brothers (2006, businesses. Abner moved on to New Bern, est in Francis Nash and his older brother, Westview Publishing Inc.), places the lives where he would become perhaps the best North Carolina Gov. Abner Nash (my fourth of Francis and Abner Nash in the historical trial attorney in the Province of North Car- great-grandfather), led to what would become context of the defense of Philadelphia, the olina. my all-consuming passion: the American Southern campaign of the American Revo- Francis was appointed superior court Revolutionary period. lution, the Continental Congresses, the draft- judge at the age of 21. As Hillsborough grew As my interest grew I became acutely aware ing of the North Carolina and U.S. constitutions, to become the political and cultural center that the American Revolution is a forgotten the settling of East and Middle Tennessee, continued on page 87

88 Summer 2008

Qualities over quantity.

By design, we produce a relatively small supply of MBAs. But, each year, our graduates are in very high demand. Perhaps it’s because the companies who hire them prize the qualities they consistently find in our students. As some of the world’s smartest and best-known organizations will tell you, a little Vanderbilt goes a long way.

© 2008 Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management Vanderbilt is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university.