VANDERBILT MAGAZINE

Vsummer 2006

Full Throttle Fonda Huizenga has landed two women’s world records for blue marlin fishing. And she’s just getting her feet wet. aalsolso: ROTC in Wartime A PPeaceworker’seaceworker’s Sacrifice FrFrankank & the Commodore V ITAL

Every gift counts. Every year. In fact, every gift is vital…and truly makes a difference every day in the life of Vanderbilt.

With your participation in the Vanderbilt Fund, you decide what particular area of Vanderbilt you’d like to support. You can choose to give to a specific college or school. Or, you may want to participate in your class Reunion gift or give to a donor society. Whatever matters most to you.

Just know that your support to any area, eative Services in any amount, will count greatly toward Vanderbilt’s continued success, every year. anderbilt Cr

www.vanderbilt.edu/thevanderbiltfund 1-866-882-FUND Photos by Peyton Hoge and V

Contributors e r 2006 issu Interim Editor e John Bloom GayNelle Doll Writer, comedian and actor John Bloom, BA’74—better known umm Art Director and Designer as his alter ego, Joe Bob Briggs—got his start reviewing movies in a newspa- Donna DeVore Pritchett per column that was later picked up by the New York Times Syndicate. He

or the S has written for National Lampoon, Rolling Stone, Playboy and the Village

Editorial F Arts & Culture Editor Voice. His latest book is Profoundly Erotic: Sexy Movies That Changed History. Bonnie Arant Ertelt, BS’81 He has hosted two shows on cable television, has appeared on some 50 talk shows, and has appeared as a commentator on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Class Notes and Sports Editor Nelson Bryan, BA’73 Michael McGerr Science Editor Michael McGerr, the first Paul V. Mc Nutt Professor of History David F. Salisbury at Indiana University-Bloomington, specializes in the social, cultural and polit- V ical history of the modern United States. He is currently writing a history of the Production and Design Production and Advertising Manager Vanderbilts, once the richest family in the world, for Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Phillip B. Tucker His books include The Decline of Popular Politics: The American North, 1865– 1928 (Oxford University Press, 1986) and A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Chief Photographers Neil Brake, Daniel Dubois Progressive Movement in America, 1870–1920 (The Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 2003).

Assistant Designers Kara Beth Mann Amy Blackman, Chris Collins, Kara Beth Mann graduated from Vanderbilt’s School of Michael Smeltzer, Suzanna Spring Engineering in May with a major in chemical engineering and a minor in Color Correction and Retouching environmental engineering. She was president of the Society of Women Julie Turner Engineers during the 2004–05 academic year. In 2004 she was the North American Strongman Society’s women’s champion. In May, ESPN2 aired a Vanderbilt Magazine Advisory Board Roy Blount Jr., BA’63 documentary series, Timeless, that covered her strongwoman experience. She now works Caneel Cotton, BA’88 in the Edison Engineering Development Program at General Electric in Cleveland. Terry Eastland, BA’71 Robert Early, BA’71, MDiv’76 Paul Kingsbury Sam Feist, BA’91 Nashville freelance writer Paul Kingsbury, BA’80, is co-editor Frye Gaillard Jr., BA’68 of Will the Circle Be Unbroken, a multi-author pictorial history of country Janice Miller Greenberg, BS’80 music to be published by Dorling Kindersley (DK) in September. In 2005 his G. Marc Hamburger, BA’64 Wendell Rawls Jr., BA’70 profile about country singer Brad Paisley was anthologized in The Music City Edward Schumacher Matos, BA’68 Reader 2005: Great Writing on Country and Bluegrass Music. His work has Michael Schoenfeld appeared in Dwell, Delta Airlines Sky, American Songwriter and Entertainment Weekly.

Advertisers interested in purchasing ad space in Vander- J. David Woodard bilt Magazine should contact Phillip Tucker, advertis- ing manager, at [email protected] or 615/322-3989. J. David Woodard, PhD’78, holds the Thurmond Chair of

Vanderbilt Magazine is published quarterly by Van- Government in the Department of Political Science at Clemson University derbilt University from editorial and business offices at in South Carolina. He teaches courses in American politics and political 110 21st Ave. S., Suite 1000, Nashville, TN 37203. Phone: 615/322-2601. Fax: 615/343-8547. E-mail: vanderbilt- theory and serves as a political consultant for aspiring GOP candidates. [email protected]. Please send address corrections to Gift Records Office,Vanderbilt University,VU Station B During the 2003–04 academic year, he was a visiting professor at Vanderbilt 357727, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235-7703. where he completed research for a book, The New Southern Politics. Opinions expressed in Vanderbilt Magazine are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Magazine or the University administration. Additional Contributors: Doug Campbell, Lisa DuBois, Terryl Hallquist, Jeff Vanderbilt University is committed to the principles of Havens, John Howser, Nancy Humphrey, Bridgette Kohnhorst, Elizabeth P.Latt, Princine equal opportunity and affirmative action. Copyright 2006 Vanderbilt University Lewis, Leigh MacMillan, Melissa Marino, Jonathan Marx, Joseph Mella, Melanie Moran, Ann Marie Deer Owens, Jim Patterson, Kathy Rivers, Cindy Steine, Marsha Tardy, Todd Vessel, Ray Waddle, Whitney Weeks

4 Summer 2006

DoreWays s a e d g i

From the Editor in From the Reader g n Brawn, Brains and Beauty a Evolution and Creationism Based on the remarks printed in y and large, we avoid anything that could be called a “Science Friction” [Spring 2006 issue, p. 60], “theme” issue in Vanderbilt Magazine, on the theory that we’ll draw it appears Vanderbilt’s panel discussion was um for exch in more readers with a smorgasbord of subjects than a steady diet of sto- very one-sided. I read with interest the piece ries on a single topic. But as I look over the contents of this issue, I A for noting the holes in intelligent-design theo- Bthink I see a theme emerging: strong women. ry, but looked in vain for something com- You’ll notice the first of our strong women on the cover, in the sun- parable pointing out the major flaws and tanned person of Fonda Huizenga, who wrangles with needle-nosed fish four times her contradictions in the theory of evolution. weight. And in the S.P.O.V. you’ll learn about Kara Mann, BE’06, the North American How can you have a “discussion” when one Strongman Society’s 2004 women’s national champion, whose idea of a good time is viewpoint is completely missing? pulling a jet or hoisting a couple of Mini-Coopers. Many of America’s elite universities are It was a woman’s strength of conviction that played so “sophisticated” that they see nothing wrong a crucial role in the founding of Vanderbilt Univer- with ignoring opposing views on the major sity, as you’ll learn in Michael McGerr’s entertaining issues of our day. I have always hoped that story about Cornelius Vanderbilt. Frank Crawford, Vanderbilt, somehow, might be different. I the Commodore’s second wife, was so influential in trust this one-sided panel was an aberration, moving her husband to think finally about philan- rather than a trend. thropy during his last years on earth that the univer- I did find it amusing that Professor Le- sity recently named one of its new residence halls Stourgeon thinks it preposterous that all for her. humans could be descended from Noah, but This issue also offers a surfeit of females who apparently has no difficulty believing we are are less virtuous than Frank Crawford Vanderbilt all descendents of the first two fish to crawl but are strong women nonetheless. As McGerr tells out of the ocean. What faith! it, Cornelius Vanderbilt’s fraternization with two JIM HSIEH Jay A. Yoder, MBA’83 buxom con artists—one of them the first woman in U.S. history to run for president— Westfield, Mass. also played important roles in influencing the Commodore to redeem his name. Then there is Bettie Page, Peabody College’s 1944 graduate, who continues to gen- I enjoyed the Spring 2006 Vanderbilt erate intense interest decades after retiring as the nation’s first famous pinup model. Magazine, particularly the article “When She was the subject of a major motion picture released earlier this year, The Notorious John T. Scopes Came to Peabody” [p. 40] by Bettie Page. A Nashville girl raised in poverty and molested by her small-time crimi- Frye Gaillard. I was a graduate student at nal father, Bettie set her sights on the full Vanderbilt scholarship that went each year Peabody in April 1970 and was among the to Hume-Fogg High School’s valedictorian. Instead, she graduated second in her class standing-room-only crowd for the afternoon and went to Peabody, working as a secretary to Professor Alfred Leland Crabb. But for presentation by Mr. Scopes. most of her subsequent career, Bettie eschewed the traditional job opportunities avail- In addition to the information provid- able to women of the day and instead turned to modeling and films. Famous though ed by Mr. Gaillard, I have a recollection of she is, she’s not the type to win the Distinguished Alumna Award. Mr. Scopes’ presentation that put the whole Finally, in Lisa DuBois’ article about the ROTC, you’ll read the story of Heather Monkey Trial in a different perspective. Grayson, who joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps to help pay her Vanderbilt Mr. Scopes did talk extensively about teach- tuition and wound up in Kuwait. When three men under her command were killed by ing evolution in a high-school classroom explosives during a hot ordnance cleanup, Grayson faced court-martial. She was acquit- in violation of Tennessee law. However, he ted, and to help herself work through the trauma and guilt, she created a one- stated that the major reason the issue came woman off-Broadway show. to trial in Dayton, Tenn., was that the city Strong women—from Vanderbilt’s founder’s wife to today’s alumni. fathers were worried about the declining GayNelle Doll economy of Dayton. Knoxville and Chat-

Vanderbilt Magazine 5

tanooga were growing, and Dayton was dying. and in his talk at Peabody, he defended that tain age but is incapable of doing so at birth. Officials felt that a major trial would draw principle with humility and passion, predict- It is not a mere matter of creationism over national media attention and help the local ing that the issue was almost certain to come evolutionism. As de Chardin so aptly put it, economy. It was under this pretense that Mr. up again.] “Man alone constitutes the last-born, the Scopes agreed to teach evolution as a substi- freshest, the most complicated, the most sub- tute teacher and be charged with violating Your article “Science Friction” tle of all the successive layers of life.” state law. provided an astute analysis of the perpetual This convergence of spirit and matter in Keep up the good work with the maga- dispute between creationism and evolution- a continually changing universe shows man zine. ism. Contributors were insightful as well as to be not a static or end product but rather James Goetzinger, MA’69, PhD’72 informative. I quickly realized it would con- a promising link in an evolutionary process Santa Fe, N.M. stitute “must” reading for my graduate phi- seeking reunification with a universal will. If losophy class at Ottawa University, where this sounds too much like church-driven doc- [FRYE GAILLARD REPLIES: James Goetzinger makes an interesting point in his letter. All the each week we deliberate the polemics of sim- trine, the reader must be reminded that de literature on John T. Scopes and his famous ilar existential issues. The problem with full Chardin’s writings were banned by the Catholic trial—including Scopes’ own autobiography— consensus on such matters is simply that each Church. All his works were published posthu- makes it clear that the city fathers of Dayton argument is predicated, in varying degrees, mously. were, in fact, motivated by public relations in on a priori assumptions. What makes total agreement in this mat- their decision to challenge the new state law on In light of the above, I would like to take ter difficult, if not nearly impossible, is not evolution. And it’s also clear that Scopes, then the issue of creationism (or intelligent design) the absurdity of the proposition but the fact versus evolutionism to the next level. In The a young teacher who was new to Dayton, was that we do not yet know all the variables. Time Phenomenon of Man (c. 1930s), Teilhard de aware of those motivations and did not object and evolution will tell. Chardin refutes the notion of an inherent Vanderbilt Magazine for to them. But then as later, Scopes was genuinely Thank you to conflict between creationism and evolution- an inspiring article. concerned with the issue of academic freedom, ism. Evolution, he contends, is evidenced Robert F. Schambier, EdD’85 throughout the universe and is well beyond Peoria, Ariz. dispute. The only remaining question is that of First Cause. Reading Dr. Moffett Consistent with the notion of intelligent Wow! The Spring ’06 Vanderbilt Mag- design, de Chardin contends, human beings azine —what a treat. Two articles really hit incurred the capacity to contemplate cause home with me: The first is “Meeting Dr. Mof- and effect, and thus the meaning of existence, fett” [S.P.O.V.,p. 64]. What a warm and beau- when they were inspirited or imbued with tiful human being (the interview being none a soul. It was at this point that they began too soon, either). But what are the names considering a purposive life and the possi- of some of his poems, and where might they bility of a First Cause. This spiritual awak- be found? ening, if you will, could have occurred at any The second article is “Science Friction” point in the evolutionary process, just as the (excellent description). I have been doing child develops the capacity to reason at a cer- research for an article about the Scopes Mon-

Reach an exclusively Vanderbilt audience by Make placing your ad in Vanderbilt Magazine. Your A full range of sizes is available to fit your budget. For more information please view our media Message kit online at www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/ Matter publications/mediakit; or contact Phillip Tucker, advertising manager, at 615/322-3989 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Advertise in Vanderbilt Magazine.

6 Summer 2006

key Trial and was most interested to find that John T. Scopes had actually spoken in Nashville on the Peabody campus in 1970. And, to the end he had defended his cause—“The Fundamental Right of Men to Ask Questions.” Virginia Perry Johnson, BS’49 San Jose, Calif.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Read one of Dr. Moffett’s poems, “Night Nurse,” in the Summer 2005 issue of Vanderbilt Medicine by going to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltmedi- cine/vumc_summer05/department6_1.htm.] Love the Magazine, Hate the Jumps I loved your Spring 2006 issue of Vanderbilt Magazine. I found the articles very interesting and informative, and I read it from cover to cover. However, I found one component very annoying. While reading each article, I had to stop in the middle and thumb to the back for the remainder. Is this necessary? I know there is a format/mar- keting reason why the larger commercial magazines do it, but is it necessary for your (private/educational) magazine to do it? Why not put each article in one place, and then move on to the next one? Thank you for your good work. Brad Darnall, BA’64 Raines (“Round up the usual suspects!”). tion on the crew of the Enterprise in the 1930 Brentwood, Tenn. Harold, as many know, not only invent- race, and she became the first woman in his- ed the game of contract bridge, but also is tory to race on board an America’s Cup boat Vanderbilt Lineage arguably the greatest yacht racer of all time. during an actual defense. They were married With the greatest deference to, and He successfully defended America’s Cup three in 1933. She also was a member of her hus- respect for, Emeritus Professor Walter Sul- times—a record that still stands. He skip- band’s winning crews in 1934 and 1937. livan, and solely in the interest of historical pered the Enterprise in 1930, the Rainbow John R. Brancato, JD’67 accuracy, I offer one minor correction to his in 1934, and the Ranger in 1937. Considering Navarre, Fla. “Visitors from Far and Near” [Spring 2006 that America’s Cup racing has occurred only issue, VJournal, p. 7]. Harold Vanderbilt was 31 times since it began in 1851, I’d say that Those who enjoyed Walter Sullivan’s not Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt’s grand- owning 10 percent of the victories is not remembrance of the formidable Mrs. Van- son. Rather, he was a great-grandson. Harold’s insignificant. The next America’s Cup race derbilt may also like to read my late classmate father was William Kissam Vanderbilt, whose occurs in 2007. Allen Gunn’s (BA’56) tale of Chancellor Harvie own father was William Henry Vanderbilt, Harold avoided marriage until he was 49. Branscomb’s dinner for a group of 1956 sen- Harold’s grandfather. In turn, William Henry’s The woman he married was a slim, attractive, iors at which Harold and Gertrude Vander- father was the Commodore. athletic 32-year-old blonde by the name of bilt were the guests of honor. Gunn’s account I had the pleasure and honor of meeting Gertrude Conaway, the daughter of a Philadel- appears in “VU ’56 at 45,”a collection pub- Mr. Harold Vanderbilt in 1965, in Chancel- phia society family (“Mrs.Vanderbilt” in Pro- lished for our 45th Reunion in 2001. A PDF lor’s Heard’s office in Kirkland Hall, an event fessor Sullivan’s entertaining memoir). file may be found at www.wam.umd.edu/~cal- I chronicled in a series of essays about Con- They met in 1929, when she was 28, dur- mon/vandy56.htm.“Dinner with the Chan- suelo Vanderbilt, Harold’s sister. I have two ing training for the 1930 America’s Cup defense. cellor” is on page 88. lasting memories of that meeting. One, Mr. Gertrude loved to sail as much as Harold, and Douglas Connah, BA’56 Vanderbilt, then 81 to my 22, was a total gen- she was good at it. In fact, either for that rea- Baltimore tleman. Two, he looked like a tall Claude son or for another, Harold gave her a posi-

Vanderbilt Magazine 7

Quinq Pride Another uncle, Jack [Clayton] Holladay, Thank you for running an article I commend all of you for publishing BA’50,MS’71, was the most loyal Vanderbilt about the nation’s nursing shortage that details an outstanding edition [Spring 2006]. I have sports fan I ever saw. [See “’Dores Who Love the current situation, different perspectives, been watching Amy-Jill Levine on CNN and Too Much,”p. 54.] From 1945 until 1995, and the many ways Vanderbilt University appreciate her work immensely. Glad you he did not miss a home football game and School of Nursing is trying to help solve included such a nice write-up on her [In Class, rarely missed one on the road. Three nights the problem [Spring 2006 issue,“Critical Con- “Common Ground,”p. 26]. after a triple bypass in late dition,”p. 46]. As a mytho-poet I find the 1994, his son wheeled him I am writing because of a miscommuni- discussions on “intelligent from the hospital to the cation that resulted in the Vine Hill Clinic’s design” and “evolution” stadium to keep his streak being described as hosting four to five stu- fascinating. I think Father going. He loved the uni- dents a year. In fact, we generally have two to Edward Malloy’s position versity and its sports teams three students rotating through our site on is nearest to mine, but so much that when he a weekly basis. Most students are assigned to every one you included is died, in January 1998, he the clinic for multiple weeks and/or months. provocative [“Science Fric- was buried in a Vanderbilt We are proud of all our programs and are tion,”p. 36]. jacket, in Vanderbilt col- always looking for new ways to educate our My former wife, B. ors, and wearing a Van- students while also serving unmet health- Kate Baldwin Haggerson, derbilt watch. care needs in the community. With the VUSN- BSN’49, was a public He had a unique rit- run Vine Hill clinic, we’ve struck a successful health nurse for 25 years. ual for the (few) times balance of both. The clinic serves up to 20,000 I used to be a frequent Vanderbilt defeated UT mostly low-income and uninsured patient visitor to Mary Kirkland in football. Since the game visits each year. We can do that because of Hall and still keep in touch with some of the was usually played in cold weather, he invari- the students who work with our faculty. We Class of ’49. It is interesting and very under- ably wore a wool knit toboggan to the game. typically have 40 Vanderbilt nursing students standable that the School of Nursing now Afterwards, if Vanderbilt won, he would sur- rotate through each year working with a pre- awards only master’s degrees in nursing. I reptitiously make his way down to the 50- ceptor. On top of that, the clinic frequently have served on several doctoral committees yard line, douse his toboggan with lighter hosts nursing, master of public health and in the Arizona State University School of fluid, burn it, and bury its ashes at mid- physician’s assistant students from other uni- Nursing and have tried to keep up with trends field. This worked very well until the advent versities as well as medical students and man- in both nursing and nursing education. Your of artificial turf; when Vandy won in Knoxville agement students. “Critical Condition” article [p. 46] is most in 1975, he dutifully made his way to mid- Vine Hill has gained a reputation among informative. All the articles in the Spring 2006 field and, somehow escaping the eyes of the the area’s nursing educators outside the Van- edition are interesting and make me proud security guards, burned his hat and scattered derbilt community as a well-run clinic that to be a Quinq of Vanderbilt University. the ashes. He would have been quite pleased offers a great training ground for a wide vari- Nelson L. Haggerson, BA’49 last November. ety of health-care students. Thanks for bring- Professor, emeritus Bob Holladay, BA’77 ing this issue to the forefront and for clarifying Arizona State University Tallahassee, Fla. Vine Hill’s strong involvement in educa- Tempe, Ariz. tion and community service. Corrections Bonnie Pilon Family Matters There was an article about the Senior associate dean for practice Your Spring 2006 issue was full of VU-UT game in the Sports section of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing items relating to my family in one fashion or Spring 2006 issue [p. 18]. It says Moses another. Robert Allen [“The Education of Osemwegie intercepted the last pass. Actual- Letters are always welcome Robert Howard Allen,”p. 28] from Carroll ly, it was Jared Fagan. Moses was rushing the in response to contents of the magazine. County, Tenn.—as was my father’s family— UT passer, causing him to under throw. We reserve the right to edit for length, was raised by kinsmen, and it was my uncle, All of us fans would like to see the record style and clarity. Send signed letters to Wendell Holladay (former dean of the Col- set straight. Great magazine! the Editor, Vanderbilt Magazine, VU lege of Arts and Science and provost), who Bill Goodson, BA’57, MD’60 Station B #357703, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, was instrumental in obtaining his admission Grandfather of Hamilton Holliday, #53, Nashville, TN 37235-7703, or e-mail to Vanderbilt. Donald Davie, a dear friend, Class of 2008 [email protected]. used to tell me that Wendell had made pos- Huntsville, Ala. sible one of the highlights of his career.

8 Summer 2006 VJournal e if mpus l a n c es o v i ect sp r e Another Country on the Other Side of Town P They had nothing in common, these rarefied students and hardened prisoners, except family, empathy, and a yearning to heal the world. By RAY WADDLE, MA’81

ast spring semester I course each semester there in order to give turned from the magnolias and ministers-in-training a vivid idea of mod- iPods of campus and convened ern criminal justice and empathy with the the Vanderbilt Divinity School voiceless incarcerated. L writing seminar at a different I was eager to begin, but questions lingered: venue altogether—a different Would it be possible to conduct a writing class country, the Riverbend maximum security of such disparate demographics? Would the men’s prison across town. prisoners know how to write? Could our dis- Each Monday afternoon a dozen of us— cussions of prison life and spirituality, here on

divinity students and a few Vanderbilt students the grounds of a state prison, be candid? JIM HSIEH auditing the class—met at the prison’s front As it turned out, my anxious questions were entrance, as if to make a border crossing into beside the point. Other answers, other ques- another nation, the largely forgotten province tions, prevailed. help inmates break the cycle of bitterness of America’s incarcerated. (Almost 700 are Arranging our chairs in a circle, we sat each and self-defeat. Rahim, a prisoner for 15 years, housed at Riverbend Maximum Security Insti- week in a mixed arrangement of prisoners and had journeyed from Christianity through Islam tution; 2 million are now imprisoned in the grad students, never one group divided from to his current eclectic reverence for life. He United States, more than any other country.) the other.The prisoners, I quickly realized, were wanted to improve his self-expression so he We were allowed to bring in no money, attentive, serious, and conscientious about could become perhaps the nation’s first hip- no food, no wallet or cell phone, only our completing the weekly writing and reading hop prison minister. Inmate Ed, editor of the books and notebooks for class. Courteous, assignments. I was regularly accosted by inmates Maximum Times prison newspaper, wanted to ungrinning guards frisked us and dispatched giving me anguished explanations about why improve his editing skills and the conciseness us through airport-style security gates and their work should have been better that week. of his writing. razor-wire corridors. After making our way They were always the guys dressed in jail- Another, Fred, had been on death row outside across a long treeless courtyard, we house denim shirts and jeans, but this sartori- for seven years, but his sentence was recently finally arrived at a generic classroom, where al detail lost its stigmatizing power at the first reduced to a life term. He stoically said he had a half-dozen violent offenders and other session. For a couple of hours a week, we were lots to express:“I feel good about life because inmates awaited us with smiles, handshakes all writing colleagues, wrestling with words to there is a God.” and bear hugs. get elusive thoughts down right. My job was All these guys had received permission from I didn’t know what to expect. The aim to urge everyone to look at writing as a way to the warden to attend these classes. They had of this “Writing About Religion” seminar is become accountable for their own beliefs. I demonstrated trustworthiness; most had jobs to write about spiritual matters—personal invited them to write in order to confront their on the grounds of the prison itself. faith or public controversy—with clarity, own dreads and hopes and tell stories no one My challenge every week was to find an accuracy, fairness and verve. Normally, I teach had heard before. I dared them to attempt to issue that sparked conversation between wea- only divinity students these things. This time get their work published. ried prisoners and privileged graduate students Vanderbilt Divinity administrators asked me Each week brought revelations. of religion. This got easier as everyone got to to do it at the prison, where the School has One prisoner, Al, who’d been locked up 25 know each other: Pre-class greetings and post- been nurturing a formal presence, holding a years, said he does a lot of spiritual writing to continued on page 83

Vanderbilt Magazine 9

1,000Words1,000Wo r d s Too Cool for School

Freshmen Nick Lee (left) and Mike Banasiak take time out from studying for finals on a warm April day to enjoy a makeshift slip-n-slide in the Kissam Quad. Photo by Daniel Dubois.

10 TheCampus Summer2006“ “ I was able to give patients narcotics before I was even the legal drinking age. —MICHAEL GOOCH, School of Nursing Founder’s Medalist

Man Earns School of Nursing later spent time job-shadowing at River Park Hospital in Vanderbilt’s Robert Penn War- Founder’s Medal for First Time in the local hospital’s emer- McMinnville. He hopes to ren Center for the Humanities A bit of history was made Flight nurse, is a trailblazer in gency department. continue with community is planning a yearlong seminar at Commencement in May many ways. He grew up on a From then on he knew he education and outreach and on black European studies in VANDERBILT MAGAZINE thanks student-produced Versus magazine for when Michael Gooch became farm in Goodspring, Tenn. wanted to pursue a health-care perhaps guest-lecture at the 2007–08. sharing these campus favorites from its 2006 “Best of Vandy” reader poll. the first man—and the first As a freshman in high school, career. He attended Columbia Vanderbilt School of Nursing. Southern culture cannot flight nurse—ever to earn the the former Boy Scout joined State Community College to He’s also exploring options to be taught apart from African- Best Professor: Best Gordon Gee Bowtie: School of Nursing’s Founder’s the Explorer Post through the earn his associate’s degree and, pursue a doctoral degree. American culture, says Jay James Lovensheimer, Pink with Green Polka Dots Assistant Professor of Musicology Medal, recognizing the year’s local emergency medical serv- at age 20, was working in the Clayton, chair of the English With more than 700 different bowties, when highest-achieving graduate. ices office, and was allowed to emergency department and Five Prominent department.“The South is the For a professor who prefaces his class with a will we see him wear this one again? story about how he was a homeless substance Gooch, a Vanderbilt Life- go on ambulance runs and critical-care unit at the local African-American seedbed from which African- Scholars Join abuser 20 years ago, he sure has come far. Best Place to Study on Campus: hospital.“I was able to give American music, literature, art Teaching music history courses here at Van- Buttrick Hall patients narcotics before I was Faculty and cuisine rose and spread. derbilt, he brings musical excitement to all After its long-awaited renovation, Buttrick even the legal drinking age,” Vanderbilt This is part of Vanderbilt’s Vanderbilt students. Hall opened its doors last fall to reveal crisp, clean enclaves lit by sunlight. Buttrick offers Gooch says. has hired five re-imagining how to teach Best Greek House: comfortable leather chairs without the He earned his bachelor’s prominent American literature.” Beta Upsilon Chi somber, soporific silence of the Baseball degree from Middle Tennessee African- Baker, who leaves Duke BYX is in its fourth year on campus and this Glove lounge. State University after attending American University to become a distin- year had more new members than any other paramedic school. That’s when scholars in a guished university professor at frat. BYX is the lone Christian fraternity on Best Vanderbilt Sports Moment: he got his first taste of what it’s blockbuster Vanderbilt, is one of the most campus and is known for its VU Football Beats UT 28–24 Baker island party thrown on like to be a flight nurse. recruiting wide-ranging intellectuals in Students unanimously picked the November Alumni Lawn in the triumph in Knoxville. Jay Cutler led the “I figured out what I needed coup that advances its efforts to America. He has written about spring. offense for a touchdown connection to Earl to get under my belt in order to be a major player in the study of Victorian and African-Ameri- Bennett with slightly more than a minute Worst Fashion Trend: become a flight nurse,”he says. African-American literature and can literature, rap music, the left in the game, and Jared Fagan ended the Uggs (second year in His strategy included working deepen scholarship of Southern legacy of Booker T. Washington game with an interception as UT threatened a row) as a paramedic in nearby and American literature. Hous- and the Harlem Renaissance. to steal a win from the Commodores.The Short for “ugg-ly”and by far Williamson County, and work- ton Baker, Hortense Spillers, Spillers, who leaves Cornell win was Vanderbilt’s first over Rocky Top the worst fashion trend ever to since 1982 and was especially sweet as the ing in the Vanderbilt emergency Charlotte Pierce-Baker, Alice University to become the make it to the big market.Van- Commodores eliminated any chance the department as an R.N. He Randall and Ifeoma Nwankwo Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt derbilt students have declared Volunteers had to go to a bowl game. worked his way into a position will begin work at the university Professor of English,“is one of this to be a winner only in the on Vanderbilt’s LifeFlight team during the fall 2006 semester. the most brilliant intellectuals sense that they never again want to see those shapeless in 2002. After that he jumped at The new hires are being working in literary criticism boots strut the campus. the chance to use Vanderbilt’s tapped by Vanderbilt to be and theory from the 1970s tuition-reimbursement pro- leaders in continuing efforts to onward,”says Clayton. She has Michael Gooch with gram to enroll in the School of pursue interdisciplinary stud- written about psychoanalysis Pierce-Baker leaves Duke to sociolinguistics for the English with the Wind, sparked a First School of Nursing Dean Nursing’s acute-care nurse ies, train minority scholars, and and race, how linguistics has become a professor of women’s department. Amendment court battle, and Colleen Conway-Welch practitioner program. reach out to historically black failed black women, and crucial and gender studies and profes- Randall, a former visiting her second, Pushkin and the Gooch will continue his colleges. Programs in collabo- essays on authors including sor of English at Vanderbilt. professor at Vanderbilt, returns Queen of Spades, was critically work with LifeFlight. He’s also ration with historically black Zora Neale Hurston, Margaret She was nationally acclaimed for a three-year term as writer- acclaimed in 2004. signed on with a Knoxville, colleges are already in place at Walker, Toni Morrison, Ralph for her 1999 book, Surviving in-residence. Her debut novel, Nwankwo, who leaves the Tenn.-based emergency depart- Vanderbilt in fields including Ellison, Gwendolyn Brooks and the Silence: Black Women’s The Wind Done Gone, a parody University of Michigan, was ment group and is working physics and medicine, and William Faulkner. Stories of Rape, and will teach of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone one of the most heavily NEIL BRAKE >>

12 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 13 recruited mid-career profes- international presence. In addi- care beds as well as several new {Inquiring Minds} sors in the country before tion to serving as chief enroll- {Virtual Vanderbilt} operating suites. The project’s Vanderbilt lured her to be an ment officer at Purdue, $234 million price tag includes associate professor of English. Christiansen was administra- renovations and upgrades to Helping Children Handle Emotions http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu May Improve Stuttering She is a specialist in Caribbean tively responsible for a wide other areas of the hospital, as Children who stutter often face greater challenges managing literature and culture with a range of programs, including Sycamores and Sassafras well as other buildings on the their behavior and emotions than other children—a finding that book soon to be published by admissions, financial aid, orien- Senior Lecturer of Biological Sciences Medical Center campus. offers new insight into how to help these children in a more the University of Pennsylvania tation, new-student programs, Steve Baskauf has spent years docu- VUH currently has 501 holistic way.“Stuttering, as it continues, can impact a child’s menting the trees and plants on Press. learning communities, early adult beds and is the largest academic, emotional, social and vocational potential and devel- Vanderbilt’s campus, which holds the access programs, the registrar, hospital in Middle Tennessee. opment,”says Vanderbilt psychologist Tedra Walden, a co-author distinction of being a designated of the research. University Names and enrollment-management Including the Monroe Carell Jr. New Enrollment national arboretum. Now Baskauf has The research team also included Vanderbilt researchers Jan analysis and reporting. He also come up with an interactive Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital at Vander- Karrass, who was first author of the research; co-author Edward Strategist had coordinating responsibility University Arboretum tree tour.The bilt and the Psychiatric Hospi- G. Conture, director of graduate studies in the Department of Douglas L. Christiansen, in the areas of space manage- site receives between 1,000 and 2,000 tal at Vanderbilt, VUMC is Hearing and Speech Sciences; and Corrin Graham, Hayley Arnold, Purdue University’s top ment and academic scheduling, page views per day. Several national licensed for 805 beds. Kia Hartfield and Krista Schwenk.The research will soon appear DANIEL DUBOIS in the Journal of Communication Disorders but is available online admissions and enrollment- the bursar, graduate school organizations have endorsed the site, With occupancy rates at now at www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00219924. management executive, has admissions, and international including PBS’ Web site and the jour- VUH routinely around 90 per- been named Vanderbilt’s students and scholars. He held nal BioTechniques. As a companion to the Web site, Baskauf has created a CD-ROM that is cent, the addition is needed to Study to Weigh In on Grapefruit Diet senior enrollment strategist in an appointment as assistant available for $1.50 at the Vanderbilt Bookstore. (Support from The Mapheus Smith Tree keep pace with demand. High Vanderbilt researchers have launched a two-year study a newly established position professor in Purdue’s college of Fund, established to support Vanderbilt’s trees, helps keep the cost of the CD low.) Baskauf occupancy levels over the past to determine how consumption of grapefruit and grape- views the site as a resource for educators and plant lovers alike, including those who come designed to enhance the uni- education. five years have overtaxed the fruit juice affects appetite, dietary intake, across it as they try to identify a mystery plant from their own yard or garden. weight loss and body composition. versity’s admissions and finan- Christiansen earned a doctor hospital’s capacity, resulting in “The myth of the grapefruit diet has cial-aid efforts. of philosophy degree in higher patient diversions and exten- been around for decades,” says Heidi Sil- Christiansen, assistant vice education administration, a sive use of holding areas for ver, research assistant professor at Vander- president for enrollment man- master’s degree in public March 31–April 5 in Dallas. director of debate. Sandoz is a coach and one of the two most patients who would otherwise bilt’s Center for Human Nutrition and the study’s principal investigator.“But in all this agement and dean of admis- administration and a bachelor’s Team members senior Katie senior lecturer in the Depart- prestigious national awards be admitted. time, there has never really been any solid science to support sions at Purdue, will become degree from Ryzoc and junior Phil Rapp- ment of Communications recognizing contributions to Pending state approval, con- this assumption, other than one study completed by the Scripps associate provost for enroll- the University mund cleared to the final tour- Studies. national education, community struction could begin this fall Clinic in California in 2004.” ment and dean of admissions of Utah in nament bracket at the national In intercollegiate debate, and competitive success. and is expected to be complet- Funded by the Florida Department of Citrus, the Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt, where he will Salt Lake championship—the equivalent one resolution is chosen for the ed in phases, with completion study will use a total of 4,158 white-marsh grapefruits and 893 City. He Third Bed-Tower targeted for 2012. The new bottles of grapefruit juice that are being shipped each month oversee the offices of under- of a college basketball team year. This year students from from Florida. graduate admissions and finan- consults with being invited to the NCAA across the country debated Plan Takes Shape tower would consist of eight cial aid beginning in August. universities tournament. Ryzoc was chosen whether the United States Vanderbilt University patient-care and two mechani- Christiansen Engineers to Help Air Force “Doug Christiansen already throughout for the CEDA’s National All- should pressure China on eco- Medical Center is moving for- cal floors above the existing Use Global Information Grid has an exceptional track record the United States on enrollment American Debate Squad. nomic, trade and diplomatic ward with longstanding plans one-story emergency depart- Vanderbilt engineers are working on software to harness the as an enrollment executive in a management and revenue- During spring break, Van- issues. During the year the stu- to add a third bed tower to the ment. The project also involves power of the Global Information Grid to help pilots and other soldiers communicate with their commanders more effective- very competitive environment, generation funding models. derbilt juniors Courtney Gould dents must approach the topic main hospital. The 11-story relocation and expansion of existing cardiac catheterization ly.The GIG includes all communications networks, from the as well as a national reputation Debate Team and Russell Ross beat more from several perspectives— tower would be built atop Van- Internet and landlines to cell phones and satellites. Douglas C. for academic excellence and than 80 debate teams from col- both for and against the pro- derbilt University Hospital’s labs and cardiac “hybrid” >> Schmidt,Vanderbilt professor of computer science, is principal integrity,”says Provost and Takes National leges and universities across the posed resolution. Emergency Department and investigator of a group of U.S. researchers that has received Vice Chancellor for Academic Championship country to win the CEDA’s At the novice national tour- would add 141 additional acute- a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Air Force Research Labo- Vanderbilt’s debate team ratory to tackle the multidimensional challenge of developing Affairs Nicholas S. Zeppos. “He 2006 Novice National Debate nament, Gould was also present- software that enables U.S. military commanders to use the dis- is a brilliant, thoughtful, ana- had a record season this past Tournament at West Virginia ed with the fifth-place Speaker parate resources of the GIG in an effective fashion. lytical and creative leader who year, competing in 15 tourna- University. Award. Ross ranked 17th in the “The software we are creating not only will broaden com- will help us build on Vander- ments and more than 300 Gould’s and Ross’ win is the same category. munications capabilities by utilizing the GIG to augment air- bilt’s tremendous success in debate rounds, and winning first national debate champi- Sandoz received the 2006 force communications technology such as war-fighters’ radio, recent years.” more than 60 awards. onship for Vanderbilt since the John A. Jacobsohn Memorial landline and satellite communications,”says Schmidt,“but also will ensure that all communications are delivered according Under Christiansen’s leader- The team ended the season 1980s.“The squad really pulled Award for career contributions to commander priorities and are protected from interception ship, applications for admission by competing in the Cross together, and it has been an to education through debate. and disruption.”Vanderbilt is teaming with Carnegie Mellon to Purdue increased 48 percent, Examination Debate Associa- amazing effort on everyone’s She also received the CEDA’s University in the project. resulting in improved academic tion’s (CEDA) 2006 National part,”says M.L. Sandoz, debate 2006 Galentine Award, given to quality, ethnic diversity and Championship Tournament team coach and the University’s an outstanding female debate

14 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 15

T HE C AMPUS

stand cultural differences and “Clinical sleep

the global context of Ugandan research is becoming {To p Picks} “ It was some guy named “ issues and development. more recognized as an George Bush. Four years Vanderbilt students have important investiga- Peabody Dean Nominated to George Bush. Four years National Science Board “ later I married his son. helped residents in Louisiana’s tive tool,”says Beth “ later I married his son. Camilla P.Benbow has been nominated by rural Washington Parish clean Malow, associate pro- President George W. Bush and confirmed up in the aftermath of Hur- fessor of neurology by the U.S. Senate to the National Science Board. Benbow is the Patricia and Rodes —First Lady Laura Bush, recalling the ricane Katrina and worked in a and director of the Hart Dean of Education and Human Devel- nnameame of the commencement speaker medical and dental clinic start- Sleep Research Core

opment at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. DANIEL DUBOIS at her own 1973 graduation ceremony ed by a Vanderbilt medical stu- as well as director of The National Science Board provides advice to the president (which she skipped) at the University dent in Xela, Guatemala. A trip the Vanderbilt Sleep and Congress on matters related to science and engineering of Texas. Mrs. Bush was speaker at is also planned to Lwala, Disorders Center. “It in addition to its oversight role for the National Science Vanderbilt’s Senior Day on May 11. Kenya, where students will help really spans many dis- Foundation, which funds approximately 20 percent of all another Vanderbilt medical ciplines, including federally supported basic research conducted by America’s student build a clinic in his neurology, pul- colleges and universities. home village where people fre- monary medicine, Cottrell Scholar to Use Award for quently have to walk miles to psychiatry and pedi- Research, Minority Recruitment receive medical care. atrics. This core was A Vanderbilt physics professor is one of 13 young scientists For more information visit established to develop named a 2006 Cottrell Scholar, a $100,000 fellowship the Kampala Project Web site at collaborations among KRT/OVIE CARTER designed to encourage early career science researchers who http://web.mac.com/gregory. researchers with very specific sleep and circadian rhythm show promise. Keivan Stassun, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was on the list of winners released in May by

NEIL BRAKE studies,”says David Robertson, barz/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html. clinical interests, allowing them the Research Corp. to add a sleep component to director of the General Clinical Stassun plans to use some of the funding to support his operating rooms, relocation of oldest and one of the largest served as program director for Sleep Core Adds to their research.” Research Center. research on the process of star formation.The rest will go Research Arsenal The core currently has nine toward expansion of the Fisk- a clinical research unit, and the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) the Kampala Project and made Magazine Wins Two addition of 14 new operating programs in the nation. The the trip with the students. It didn’t take long for ongoing studies, which include Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, a partner- examining the effects of treat- National Awards suites. university’s Office of Active Students in Kampala Vanderbilt’s Sleep Research ship between Fisk and Van- Vanderbilt Magazine won Citizenship and Service, which worked with nongovernmental Core to fully awaken. Not yet a ing sleep apnea in people with derbilt universities that Students Spend coordinates ASB, also helps organizations to help those year old, the core—housed in epilepsy; studying how sleep both a gold medal and a silver allows minority students in Summer in Uganda students, faculty and staff plan infected with and orphaned Vanderbilt’s General Clinical patterns in children with medal in the “Best Articles of the sciences to earn a mas- About 20 Vanderbilt other service trips across the by HIV/AIDS. They took a Research Center—is support- autism impact their daytime the Year”category of the 2006 ter’s degree in physics at Fisk and then a Ph.D. in a related University students spent the country and around the world. preparatory course this spring ing numerous clinical research behavior; and assessing how national Circle of Excellence science at Vanderbilt. Stas- competition sponsored by the summer working with health The Kampala Project is a designed to help them under- efforts. circadian/sleep rhythms sun directs the program, organizations in Uganda as partnership among impact protein content in Council for Advancement and which this fall will include its part of that country’s response the Office of Active human blood. Support of Education. first students from a second to HIV/AIDS. Citizenship and Two sleep rooms in the core Out of 265 entries in this historically black university, Uganda’s HIV/AIDS Service, the School are equipped with digital mon- category, 22 were recognized North Carolina Agriculture and Technology State Univer- response is viewed as a model of Medicine’s Insti- itoring technology. Studies also with awards. Vanderbilt and DANIEL DUBOIS sity in Greensboro. in sub-Saharan Africa, and tute for Global can be done off-site or in Johns Hopkins University were work continues there to help Health, and the patients’ homes. In the case of the only schools to win both a Meltzer Chairs International Mental Illness Meeting the more than 500,000 people Center for Medi- one current study, the research gold and a silver medal. Dr. Herbert Meltzer chaired the national organizing commit- who the Centers for Disease cine, Health and takes place in Vanderbilt’s Med- Vanderbilt’s winning articles tee for the biennial meeting of the world’s largest neuropsy- chopharmacology organization, held in July in Chicago. An Control estimates are infected Society. ical Intensive Care Unit were “Take the Side Road, ” a estimated 4,000 psychiatrists, scientists and mental-health profile of alumnus Roy Blount with HIV. The students helped “Our aim is to (MICU), where researchers are officials from 30 countries attended the in these efforts in the country’s foster lifelong civic looking at how quality of sleep Jr. written by Dale Keiger (gold 25th Congress of the Collegium Interna- capital, Kampala. involvement may affect outcomes in the medal, Fall 2005 issue), and tionale Neuro-Psychopharmocologicum The Kampala Project on among our stu- MICU and how different types “One Chocolate at a Time,”a (CINP). Meltzer, a former CINP president, Global Citizenship is an exam- dents,” says Mark of sedation and medication profile of alumna Katrina is the Bixler/May/Johnson Professor of Psychiatry, director of the Division of Psy- impact sleep quality. Markoff written by Rachel ple of Vanderbilt’s efforts to Dalhouse, director chopharmacology, and professor of pharma- expand its nationally recog- of the Office of “No area of clinical research Morton (silver medal, Summer cology at Vanderbilt. nized commitment to service Active Citizenship Vanderbilt students in Uganda meet members of The Nile Beat dance is more productive and com- 2005 issue). troupe at the home of Kyabazinga, the king of the Basoga people. pelling at the moment than learning. Vanderbilt has the and Service, who COURTESY OF GREGORY BARZ

16 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 17

ics t le th t a l rbi

Sportse d n a t V

k a Close to Home

A loo Local recruit, All-American pitcher David Price sets his sights on the big leagues. By NELSON BRYAN, BA’73

n the early days of what, to date, is particularly fond of the family-friendly arship. My parents were really happy.” has been a stellar baseball career, David rounds of golf they play.“Actually, golf is prob- In his first year as a Commodore, Price Price could be found in the backyard. ably my favorite sport, then baseball. I’ve was named a Freshman All-American by Wait, front yard. Nope, backyard … never had any lessons or anything. I just like both Baseball America and Collegiate Base- front yard.“My mom always tells the to go out there and hit it. I hit it a lot with my ball magazines. He logged 92 strikeouts in story about when I was 3 years old,” dad and my brothers and my uncle. It’s a big 69.1 innings, holding opponents to a .207 I family thing. My mom plays, so it’s fun.” average against him. Price recalls.“We lived in a one-story house, and I had a Wiffle ball I would hit over At Blackman High School in Murfrees- “He had a very good freshman year fol- the house, run around to the other side and boro, Price had a 0.43 ERA with 151 strike- lowed by a great summer with Team USA,” hit it back. All day long.” outs and was a two-time Rutherford County said Coach Tim Corbin in the off-season. And so it began for David Price, Vander- MVP pitcher, Co-District 7 AAA Pitcher of “Although just a sophomore, David is a very bilt’s 6-foot-6, flame-throwing left-handed the Year, and three-time Rutherford County good leader and an excellent competitor.” pitcher. During the ensuing years he pro- Male Athlete of the Year. In the summer of 2005, Price was invited gressed through coach pitch With college looming, he to join Team USA for a taste of baseball with (age 6) and kid pitch (age 9).“I was uncertain where his next an international flavor. “It was a lot differ- either pitched or played first,” start would be. A conversation ent,”he says.“We did a lot of traveling. I had he says.“We always pitched off with one of his older brothers never been out of the country.” an artificial mound—a green may have been pivotal in his Price continued to garner regional and plastic thing with a mound on decision to attend Vanderbilt. national honors during his 2006 sophomore it. It was weird.” “My brother said,‘What do stint. He was named the Southeastern Con- Price’s father and coaches you think about going to Van- ference Pitcher of the Week and the National made sure the young southpaw derbilt?’ I said, ‘I’ll never go Pitcher of the Week on a number of occasions. took care of his pitching arm to Vanderbilt. They’re not any “Any time you get recognized for accom- and didn’t get too fancy too good. It’s just not something plishments in the league, that’s good,” he soon.“I basically just threw fastballs. I guess I see myself doing.’”To the contrary, Coach says.“Especially in the SEC. Nationally, that’s I started throwing curve balls around seventh Tim Corbin led the Commodores to the nice. I guess I expect it of myself. When I grade. All kids mess around when they’re 10 NCAA super regionals that year.“They had don’t get it, I’m kind of disappointed in or 11 trying to flip a curve ball while they’re a promising year coming up,”Price contin- myself. I expect that every week.” playing catch, but never in a game.” ues.“I got to thinking, If I stay around here, Life after Vanderbilt will still include a Price’s family has always been a source of my family could continue to watch me play leather-covered sphere for Price, who majors strength and direction in his life. His parents and all my friends—everybody who’s been in sociology. “Major League Baseball, obvi- and two older brothers and their families all a part of my baseball life growing up. I guess ously, has been my dream since I was young, live within a short distance of each other in I didn’t want to go far away. I wasn’t going so that’s a top priority on my list. I’ll definite- David Price was named Murfreesboro, Tenn. “I spend a lot of time to go to MTSU, and I hate UT. It didn’t take ly be getting a chance to play Major League SEC Pitcher of the Week and National Pitcher of the with all of them,”says Price.“We hang out a me long to realize I wanted to come here. My Baseball. After that, I’ll just retire and play golf Week several times during

lot, do a lot of family get-together stuff.”He first visit on campus, they offered me a schol- all day.” PHOTOS BY NEIL BRAKE his sophomore year.

18 Summer 2006

S PORTS

2006 Commodore Cutler, Griffin Named Baseball Season Athletes of the Year {Sports Roundup} Is a Hit Future pro quarterback Jay Cutler and soc- The Commodores played another cer standout Tyler Griffin were named Van- impressive season of baseball, log- derbilt’s Male and Female Athletes of the Year ging a 38–27 record, advancing to for 2005–06. the SEC Tournament Championship Cutler finished his Vanderbilt career as the Men’s Golf: List Earns Women’s Lacrosse: Williams averaged 12.7 points per game and game, and playing the NCAA Re- SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year and was First-Team All-SEC Honors Four Commodores Make led the SEC in three-pointers made per game. Sherwood made 81 percent of her free throws, gional Tournament in Atlanta. In drafted by the Denver Broncos as the 11th Junior Luke List was one All-Region Team and led the nation in field-goal percentage with the process, several players received pick in the NFL draft. His final collegiate pass of eight men’s golfers to Four members of the women’s lacrosse team 66.4 percent. The Commodores finished the was a game-winning touchdown at Tennessee. earn All-SEC recognition earned All-Region recognition from the awards for their efforts. season with a 21–11 record. Freshman third-baseman Pedro Goalkeeper Griffin was named the SEC by a vote of the league’s Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches coaches. He notched Association in May. Senior Kate Hickman and Alvarez and sophomore pitcher Defensive Player of the Year after setting school Men’s Basketball: Foster seven top-10 finishes, win- sophomore Sasha Cielak were first-team hon- David Price were All-American and records with 14 shutouts (also an SEC record) ning medalist honors orees, and junior Molly Frew and sophomore Named First-Team All-SEC All-South Region picks. Alvarez NEIL BRAKE and 0.45 goals against average. Vanderbilt’s three times during the Margie Curran were named to the second team. Sophomore wing player athletes of the year are selected by a vote of List Foster was named Collegiate Baseball’s Na- season: at the Mason Hickman ranks third at Vanderbilt in goals Shan Foster earned first- tional Freshman of the Year, first- the senior athletic staff administrators. Rudolph Championship, the All-American scored and points. Cielak led the team with team All-SEC selection by team All-American by Baseball America, and Several players were drafted by major- Classic, and the New Year’s Invitational. caused turnovers and ground balls this season. the league’s coaches last SEC Freshman of the Year and All-South league teams at season’s end. Senior pitcher Frew was chosen as a team captain, and Curran March. He is the first Com- Region by the American Baseball Coaches Matt Buschmann and senior catcher Brian 2006 Football Schedule led the team in assists with 23. The team ended modore to earn the honor Association. Price was a third-team All- Hernandez were drafted by the San Diego Sept. 2 at Michigan the season with a 6–10 overall record. since Matt Freije did so in American choice by the National Collegiate Padres. Junior pitchers Casey Weathers and Sept. 9 at Alabama 2004.The men finished the Women’s Basketball: Davis season with a 16–13 record. Baseball Writers Association and a first- Greg Moviel were picked by the Detroit Tigers Sept. 16 Arkansas Named to SEC First Team team All-South Region pick. and Seattle Mariners, respectively. Sept. 23 Tennessee State Cutler Grif Griffinfin Sept. 30 Temple Junior point guard Dee Bowling: Peloquin Named NEIL BRAKE NEIL BRAKE Davis Oct. 7 at Ole Miss Davis was named to the National Rookie of the Year Meyer Honored by Oct. 14 at Georgia All-SEC first team, and Freshman Michelle Peloquin was named a first- {Where Are They Now?} Metro Council for Oct. 21 South Carolina (Homecoming) sophomore center Liz team All-American and winner of the national Oct. 28 at Duke Sherwood earned the Rookie of the Year Award by the National Lifesaving Effort Nov. 4 Florida inaugural Sixth Woman of Tenpin Coaches Association. She is Vanderbilt’s You remember Scotti Madison, BA’81. Nov. 11 at Kentucky the Year Award. Junior Baseball player. Stalwart performer on Vanderbilt’s Athletic trainer Mike Meyer was recognized first bowling All-American and the only fresh- 1980 SEC Championship team. by Nashville’s Metropolitan Council and the Nov. 18 Tennessee guard Caroline Williams man on the team. She rolled a 212 average First-team All American. First- National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) was named to the All-SEC over 64 games, second best in the NCAA. team All SEC. Third-round draft for his efforts in sav- second team. Davis led the conference with 6.9 Classmate Tara Kane was selected to the hon- pick of the Minnesota Twins. And ing the life of Vander- assists per game, placing third nationally. orable mention team. he still owns the Vanderbilt career bilt men’s basketball home run record with 49. Today Scotti’s still at the top of his player Davis Nwankwo game. He’s been named the top in early March. agent—among 50,000 agents—with Aflac Nwankwo, a redshirt Insurance for four consecutive years. He lives in freshman, collapsed at Acworth, Ga., with his wife, high-school senior Meyer

the beginning of bas- STEVE GREEN daughter, and his 6-foot-3-inch, 15-year-old son. He’s been coaching Little League baseball ketball practice March 6 when he suffered for eight years and watched the cardiac arrest. A student athletic trainer Commodores play Georgia Tech this retrieved an automated external defibrilla- year in the NCAA Regional tor, and Meyer resuscitated Nwankwo by Baseball Tournament. “I’m really administering one shock and two rescue pleased with Coach Corbin and breaths. the direction they’re heading,” he says of the present-day team. He also stays Meyer also was named the NATA Division busy marketing Triggerlite, a self-recharging I Athletic Trainer of the Year at the associa- Garret Westlake, MEd’04, played for and flashlight. And he started Georgians Need tion’s annual symposium in June. now coaches Vanderbilt’s Ultimate Frisbee team. (Yes, it is a sport, and they do play Summers, an organization designed to “stop the He has been an assistant trainer with the other college teams.) creep of year-round schools in Cobb County.” men’s basketball and women’s golf programs since joining Vanderbilt in 2003. PHOTOS BY NEIL BRAKE

20 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 21 VanderbiltHoldings explosion of a nearby bomber in his “This was something new, a movie own squadron, killing the 10-man crew, about real life,”says Sarah Howell, a he made a sudden decision. retired professor of social history at les b i “Succeed or not, I simply had to at Middle Tennessee State University,

lect least try to do what I really wanted to who has researched Mann’s career.“It l o do,”he declares in an essay for the cat- suddenly made Mann a national fig- d c

n alog called The Papers of Delbert Mann. ure. But he remained very versatile.

s a That meant giving professional the- He was friendly, supportive of his actors, n o

i ater a try. Mere months after the war’s but he also had high standards.” end, on Coe’s recommendation, Mann He worked with all the big names lect l arrived at Yale Drama School, immers- —Cary Grant, Sophia Loren, Burt Lan- Co Delbert Mann, Uncut ing himself in the technicalities of stage caster, David Niven, Eva Marie Saint, and theater. Bogart and Bacall. His own favorite An Oscar-winning director shares vignettes from an era when quality In 1949 Coe invited Mann to New actors included Fredric March, Henry mattered more than ratings. By RAY WADDLE, MA’81 York to become a director for him in the Fonda, Lee Remick and Jean world of “an astonishing new miracle, Simmons. atch by batch, year after “Mr. Mann is a very thorough director itus status. For years, during regular board live television.”Mann had never seen a The collection includes year, Hollywood director Del- who had a sense of history about what he was meetings, the Special Collections staff looked TV show, been in a studio, or owned a TV materials from a 1979 made- bert Mann delivered the off- doing,”says Kathy Smith, associate universi- forward to a visit from Mann, who would set. But he recognized its similarities to the- for-TV movie, All Quiet on camera artifacts of a charmed, ty archivist. drop off his latest bundle of manuscripts for ater. Live TV meant no retakes, no room the Western Front, which crowded career—TV scripts, Turning 86 this year, Mann still resides in the mounting collection.“Vanderbilt gave me for error—a “trapeze work without a net,”he Mann considers his most Bfilm cast lists, celebrity photos, Los Angeles. The boxes come less frequent- everything—a sense of myself, the courage says. And the audience added an exciting rewarding and challeng- memoirs—to Vanderbilt. ly now, but they all made their way to Van- to pursue dreams, a liberal, non-career-ori- dimension, as they shifted from passive view- ing film. It was based on In Box 5 you’ll find scripts for the ented education,”Mann says. ers to active participants in something unique Erich Remarque’s anti- 1957 movies Desire Under the Elms Delbert Mann was born in and unrepeatable. Mann dove in, directing war novel about the slaughters of and Lee at Gettysburg. Boxes 92–94 Lawrence, Kan., in 1920 but moved dozens of hour-long productions at NBC for World War I—a book close to the heart of feature five volumes of memoir. Box with his family to Nashville for his Playhouse 90 and other prestigious venues. Mann’s father, Delbert Sr., who had been a 70 contains background papers for high school years, where he attend- teacher at Nashville’s Scarritt College. He had a 1965 film he almost did: The Oskar ed Hume-Fogg High and got in the manuscript.“It exist- served as a medical orderly in France during Schindler Story. hooked on the school’s drama club. ed for roughly a decade, the Great War and saw the suffering done by The files provide a glimpse of Hol- He credits a teacher, Inez Alder, from the late 1940s to the trench warfare and mustard gas. The son hon- lywood magic but also a hard look who directed the school plays and late 1950s, and was cen- ored the father with a realistic movie rendi- at the real work behind the glamour. taught him to overcome his shy- tered in New York City. It tion shot in Czechoslovakia, an Iron Curtain And they provide something else: ness as a public speaker. provided an unprecedented nation where the book was much beloved. a tour through post-war American At Vanderbilt he slogged and never-to-be-repeated Film officials there urged Mann to come. But culture, as witnessed by a tall, bash- through course work and met his opportunity for young this was in the middle of the Cold War; ship- ful Nashville kid who adored com- future wife, Ann Gillespie, but he actors, writers and direc- ping explosives from England into Eastern munity theater, helped shape the never shook the theater bug. The tors to learn and practice Europe for the battle reenactments took del- golden age of live television in the university had no dramatic arts ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE DELBERT MANN COLLECTION, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES. their craft in professional icate diplomacy with the skeptical Soviet- 1940s, soared into motion pictures curriculum then, so he found an The Mann Papers chronicle these years. but pressured circumstances.” style security forces. in the 1950s, and later pioneered off-campus outlet for his passion Boxes contain correspondence, scripts, cast One of those early TV shows, in 1953, was And there was the matter of the missing made-for-TV dramas. with local community theater. lists and scene breakdowns for more than the story of a lonely Bronx butcher named German army hats. Living in Brezhnevian The Papers of Delbert Mann, 175 There he met mentors, notably 100 TV productions, including Darkness at Marty. A year later Mann would get the chance deprivation, the Czech extras kept stealing boxes’ worth, today serves as a cor- Fred Coe, who would become a Noon, Our Town, Vincent Van Gogh, and The to reshoot it as a feature-length film. Marty, them. nerstone of the Jean and Alexander television director and one day Day Lincoln Was Shot. There are video copies the movie starring Ernest Borgnine, was rev- “They disappeared by the dozens despite Heard Library’s Special Collections give Mann his first directing break. of his TV dramas and movies. Yet the heart olutionary. In an era of big-budget escapism, all efforts of our wardrobe department to Department. The collection is nation- (In the late 1980s, Mann estab- of the holdings is his multi-volume memoir film noir and war propaganda, here was a check them in along with other items of attire ally known as a meticulous, precocious exam- derbilt because of Mann’s abiding affection lished the Fred Coe Artist-in-Residence Series manuscript, some 1,400 pages, which take quiet movie about ordinary people, their at the end of each day,”Mann writes in the ple of early TV and film documentation, for the university and the city. at Vanderbilt to honor his friend.) the reader through his TV days and film romantic dreams and family dilemmas. It memoir. “The extras learned one English attracting scholars, students and budding He is a 1941 graduate (B.A. in political sci- After Vanderbilt graduation, though, career. (A shorter, published version is his won Oscars for best picture, best actor (Borg- word, spoken with a dramatic shrug of the directors who come to sift through the pri- ence) who became a member of the Vander- World War II interrupted everything. Mann 1998 autobiography, Looking Back … at Live nine) and screenwriting (Paddy Chayefsky)— shoulder: ‘Lost!’ We had practically no caps mary materials of an extraordinary career that bilt Board of Trust in 1962 at the height of his flew B-24 bombers over Germany, a daily Television and Other Matters.) and for the director, one Delbert Mann. It left by the end of the shooting.” began in Nashville nearly 70 years ago. career. He remains on the board, with emer- risk of life. When he witnessed the mid-air “Live television was unique,”he explains was his first movie. continued on page 83

22 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 23 Bright Ideas “ up d

oun We found minor differences in overall intelligence, but in a timed situation, females have a big advantage. —STEPHEN CAMARATA

ship r “ r a l o Vaccine may and most women never go on to The next step is to see if the cervical cancer is slow, and Girls Have The findings come at a time Females of all ages score d sch have an abnormal Pap smear or vaccine works in the general women may already be infected higher on tests that measure

n guard against when parents, educators and Advantage in processing speed. cervical cancer cervical cancer. The vaccine population, and to make sure but not develop an abnormal Timed Tests the media are paying more ch a r boosts this natural immunity, there are no side effects and that Pap smear for several years.” attention to the troubling a A vaccine to pro- completely preventing the viral it’s effective in larger groups of There are 9,500 new cases of Research achievement gap between males

Rese tect women against infection. The vaccine also people, Jones says.“But it is still cervical cancer each year in the attempting to shed and females in U.S. schools. cervical cancer was blocks infection of two other important that women continue United States, and almost light on the ques- “Consider that many class- 1. approved in June by strains of HPV responsible for to get their regular Pap smear 50,000 cases a year of cervical tion of how male room activities, including test- the Food and Drug 90 percent of genital warts cases. screening. Even if everyone is dysplasia. Cervical cancer kills 2. and female brains ing, are directly or indirectly Administration after a 40- The women who participat- being vaccinated 15 years from about 240,000 women in the differ has found that timing is related to processing speed,”the month trial of 4,000 young ed in this trial had not been now, we still might have 30 per- world each year, and about everything. researchers wrote. “The higher women at 13 U.S. sites, includ- exposed to HPV.Half were vac- cent of the current number of 3,500 in the United States alone. In a study involving more performance in females may ing Vanderbilt. cinated with the HPV vaccine women with cervical cancer Although the vaccine will than 8,000 males and females contribute to a classroom cul- The vaccine works by pre- and half with a placebo. They because the current vaccine is most likely be marketed as a ranging in age from 2 to 90 ture that favors females, not venting infection by four were followed up in six-month directed against only the two cancer vaccine, rather than a from across the United States, because of teacher bias but strains of the human papillo- intervals with clinic visits and most common types of HPV, sexually transmitted disease Vanderbilt researchers Stephen because of inherent differences mavirus (HPV), the most Pap smears, and those with which cause 70 percent of cervi- vaccine, its effectiveness against Camarata and Richard Wood- in processing speed [in males common sexually transmitted abnormal smears were evaluat- cal cancer. In addition, the pro- genital warts may be an impor- cock have discovered that and females].”An additional disease. About 20 million peo- ed further with colposcopic gression from HPV infection to tant advantage to patients, females have a significant question is whether this finding DANIEL DUBOIS ple are believed to be infected evaluations or biopsies. Jones says. “The onset of infec- advantage over males on timed is linked to higher high-school moderate difficulty. Though differences between males and with HPV, according to the “Over the past 15 tion with virus to cancer is tests and tasks. The differences dropout rates for males and males and females showed simi- females in any age group. National Institute of Allergy years, there has been probably five to 10 years. The were particularly significant increased special-education lar processing speed in kinder- The research appeared in and Infectious Diseases. increasingly clear evi- onset of genital warts is six to among pre-teens and teens. placement for males. garten and preschool, females the May/June 2006 issue of the The Vanderbilt portion of dence that cancer of the eight weeks. That’s a much “We found very minor dif- In a new article, Camarata became much more efficient journal Intelligence. Camarata the study, led by principal inves- cervix is caused by a more prompt and visible ferences in overall intelligence, and Woodcock focus on under- than males in elementary, mid- and Woodcock compiled their tigator Dr. Peter Wright, process, and warts affect but if you look at the ability of standing differences in process- dle and high school.” results through an evaluation enrolled 51 young women men, too.” someone to perform well in a ing speed between males and Males scored lower than of three sets of data collected between the ages of 16 and 26, The vaccine is not inexpen- timed situation, females have a females. females in all age groups in from 1977 to 2001 as part of mostly Vanderbilt undergradu- sive, costing $360 for the three big advantage,”Camarata says. tests measuring processing the Woodcock-Johnson Series ate students. Wright is professor doses that are required. The “It is very important for teach- speed, with the greatest dis- of Cognitive and Achievement of pediatrics, microbiology and virus,”says Dr. Howard FDA has approved the vaccine’s ers to understand this differ- crepancy among adolescents. Tests. immunology and pathology, Jones III, director of use in girls and young women 9 ence in males and females But the study also found that Camarata and Woodcock and director of the division of gynecologic oncology to 26 who test negative for the when it comes to assigning males consistently outper- plan to conduct further studies pediatric infectious diseases. and one of the study’s virus and are without cervical work and structuring tests. To formed females in some verbal to measure brain activity using The vaccine, Gardasil, manu- investigators. dysplasia. truly understand a person’s abilities, such as identifying tools such as functional magnet- factured by Merck & Co. Inc., “We’ve been able to “We spend an awful lot of overall ability, it is important Camarata Woodcock objects, knowing antonyms and ic resonance imaging and event- protects against the two types identify over time that money evaluating and treating also to look at performance in synonyms, and completing ver- related potential tests to better of HPV responsible for about 70 it’s the HPV virus that patients with cervical dysplasia,” untimed situations. For males, “‘Processing speed’ doesn’t bal analogies, debunking the understand which brain areas percent of cases of cervical can- causes cervical cancer, but Jones says. “There’s a lot this means presenting them refer to reaction time or the popular idea that girls develop are playing a role in processing cer cases. Although many we’ve never been able to prevent of excitement here, especially with material that is challeng- ability to play video games,” all communication skills earlier speed and how these areas react women are infected with HPV, it. This vaccine allows us, for the among those of us who have ing and interesting but is pre- Camarata says.“It’s the ability to than boys. differently in males and females. their normal immune defense first time, to prevent the infec- been involved in testing this sented in smaller chunks effectively, efficiently and accu- The researchers found no “We know there are different mechanisms get rid of the virus, tion of HPV in women.” vaccine.” without strict time limits.” rately complete work that is of significant overall intelligence paths to competence, and we >> GETTY IMAGES 24 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 25 believe there are fundamental senior author on the study, Chin to have a choles- understood, mutations in some entists are just beginning to been for their common roots in gle-celled organism, discovered differences in how male and Chiang, associate professor of terol molecule part of the Sonic hedgehog sig- decipher at the molecular level. rural Iowa.“We grew up 12 miles several inositol kinases in 1999 female brains end up getting cell and developmental biology. attached to work naling pathway are high on the Vanderbilt investigators have from each other, but we went to and 2000. They were interested organized,”Camarata says.“Our The developmental protein properly.“In fact, list of suspects. In addition to discovered a new player in this different schools and never met,” in the roles they might play in next studies will give us some at work here, named “Sonic Sonic hedgehog is limb deformities, errors in Sonic developmental routine: one of recalls Wente, who joined the disease and development, and insight into where these process- hedgehog” after the video game the only protein hedgehog signaling are involved the genes involved in regulat- Vanderbilt faculty in 2002. intended to move to mam- ing differences are occurring.” character, was discovered in the known to be modi- in a number of other human ing left-right organ placement When Wente’s group attend- malian cell culture and mouse- Camarata is a deputy direc- early 1990s and shown to have fied by cholesterol,” conditions including cancer and in zebrafish. Researchers pre- ed its first Vanderbilt Program in model systems to find out. tor of the Vanderbilt Kennedy important roles in patterning Chiang says. a condition known as holopros- dict that the gene will play a Developmental Biology scientif- Appel and Wente do not Center for Research on Human the developing embryo, includ- Because choles- encephaly, a congenital malfor- similar role in all vertebrates, ic retreat, Appel, aware of the expect their findings to lead to Chin Chiang: WithoutWithout Development, a professor of ing proper digit patterning. terol is typically cholesterol,cholesterol, mouse digits mation of the forebrain. including humans. Iowa connection, made it a pri- therapies for correcting laterali- hearing and speech sciences, Chiang led early studies show- found in cell mem- don’don’tt develop normally. Chiang is now examining About one in 10,000 individ- ority to speak with Wente’s post- ty defects in human beings. But and an associate professor of ing that mice without Sonic branes and thought DANA JOHNSON the role of cholesterol-modified uals in the U.S. suffers from lat- doctoral fellows and students, since the inositol polyphospate special education. Woodcock is hedgehog developed only a to “tether” proteins to cells, sci- place, digits. The second, or Sonic hedgehog in the develop- erality defects, meaning their and a collaboration was born. signaling cascade plays multiple a member of the Vanderbilt single digit—a thumb on the entists speculated that choles- “index,”digits were stunted ing brain and spinal cord.“We organs are not in the normal One of the areas of interest in roles in human disease and Kennedy Center and a visiting front paw (or a “big toe” on terol might inhibit the and misshapen, appearing are finding some surprises,” could offer targets for therapeu- professor of hearing and speech the back paw). movement of Sonic hedgehog more similar to a thumb than Chiang says,“suggesting that tic intervention, it’s important sciences. He also is a research The Sonic hedgehog protein through the developing tissue. a normal second digit. The the function of cholesterol is to understand all its many roles, professor at the University of is produced by a specialized This unique modification might researchers also examined mice different in these different tis- they say. Southern California. group of cells located at the pos- explain why concentrations of in which only half of their sues.”The continued study of Wente says it is especially The research was funded in terior part of the developing the protein were high at the site Sonic hedgehog proteins could the wide-ranging actions of Zebrafish are gratifying that a discovery her part by an endowment from limb bud, which eventually of its production and then attach to cholesterol. Those Sonic hedgehog promises to prized for researesearchch laboratory made in a very sim- the Scottish Rite Foundation develops into the pinkie finger tapered off with increasing dis- mice developed normal digits expose the incredible secrets of because they ple model organism—budding develop quickly of Nashville and by a grant two through five (index the developing embryo and and their embryos yeast—is now offering insights from the National Institute through pinkie), but had dupli- could provide clues for prevent- are transparent. to development in a multicellu- of Child Health and Human A and D show cation of these digits anteriorly. ing devastating birth defects. lar vertebrate organism. The normal mouse limb

e The findings suggested that

Development. r Yina Li, Huimin Zhang and inositol kinases that she and her o embryo digits. F B and E are Sonic hedgehog without choles- Ying Litingtung were co- collaborators found in yeast had Cholesterol: malformed. terol traveled further than nor- authors on the paper. The been sought for many years in Thumbs Up for C and F have mal, triggering the abnormal research was supported by mammalian systems, she says. extra, ectopic NEIL BRAKE digit duplications. Chiang and Digit Development digits. (Courtesy grants from the National Insti- “It really reinforces the power limb of Chin Chiang colleagues confirmed this tutes of Health and the March positions. And the heart, which the Wente laboratory is a family of using simple-model organ- ind Although H and the PNAS.) microscopically, showing that of Dimes Foundation. depends upon coordinated left- of signaling molecules called isms to get a handle on some of cholesterol has a the protein spread out more right signaling for its complex inositol polyphosphates. This these molecules before moving bad rap as the sticky, evenly across the limb bud in Symmetry May looping and connection to the series of small molecules is gen- to more complicated multicellu- 3. fatty substance or toe. At the site of its synthesis, tance from the synthesis site. mice lacking cholesterol-modi- Be in the Genes vasculature during develop- erated by actions of enzymes lar systems.” responsible for Sonic hedgehog concentrations But previous studies in mice fied Sonic hedgehog compared ment, may be particularly called inositol kinases and phos- Wente and Appel credit the clogging arteries, Vanderbilt are high. It then diffuses out suggested that cholesterol pro- to normal animals. From the out- prone to defects in left-right phatases. Disturbances in inosi- Zebrafish Initiative funded by researchers have found that the across the developing limb bud, moted the movement of Sonic “We found that, without side, human beings asymmetry. Some researchers Vanderbilt’s Academic Venture attachment of cholesterol to an and the declining concentra- hedgehog, a counterintuitive cholesterol, Sonic hedgehog look symmetric— have speculated that certain Capital Fund with making their important developmental pro- tions (or gradient) of the pro- proposal given cholesterol’s sup- moves more readily, far from its 4. our left and right congenital heart defects may collaborative studies possible. tein controls development of tein dictate the identity of the posed tethering ability. To try site of synthesis, all the way to sides mirror each result from mutations in left- The investigators are also grate- fingers and toes in mice. With- other digits. and clear up cholesterol’s role in the anterior part of the limb other. But inside, it’s another sto- right patterning genes. ful to Christopher V.E. Wright, out cholesterol, mice developed “Questions have remained digit patterning and the Sonic bud where it is normally never ry. The heart is on the left, as are Vanderbilt investigators professor of cell and develop- extra digits, as well as digits in about what regulates the Sonic hedgehog gradient, Chiang and detected,”Chiang explains. the stomach, pancreas and didn’t set out to find a left-right mental biology and director of the wrong places. hedgehog gradient,”says Chi- colleagues created mice with an When Sonic hedgehog trav- spleen. The liver and gall bladder asymmetry signaling pathway, Wente Appel the Program in Developmental PHOTOS BY DANA JOHNSON Their study, published online ang.“And we’ve been working altered form of the Sonic hedge- els to tissue where it normally are on the right. Even the left say leaders Susan R.Wente, Biology, and David W. Piston, in the Proceedings of the Nation- on that for a number of years.” hog protein to which cholesterol would be absent (as it does and right hemispheres of the professor and chair of cell and tol signaling can result in professor of molecular physiolo- al Academy of Sciences (PNAS) One clue about this regula- cannot attach. when cholesterol is missing), brain have subtle but important developmental biology, and diseases including cancer of the gy and biophysics and director in April, helps to clear up some tion came when other They found that mice lack- extra digits may form—a condi- physical differences. Bruce H. Appel, associate pro- brain, prostate and skin, and of the W.M. Keck Free-Electron of the conflicting data about researchers discovered Sonic ing cholesterol-modified Sonic tion known as polydactyly. This left-right asymmetry fessor of biological sciences. neurological disorders. Laser Center, for their insight cholesterol’s controversial role hedgehog’s rather unusual hedgehog developed with mal- Although the causes of poly- results from an intricate Wente and Appel may never Wente and collaborators, and technical assistance over in limb development, says the requirement—the protein had formed and ectopic, or out of dactyly in humans are not fully developmental process that sci- have worked together had it not working in yeast, a simple sin- the course of the project.

26 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 27 k Inor Class d their w n ty a ul ac n f

t o To Infinity and Beyond igh l t As teacher, researcher and science fiction writer, Robert Scherrer

A spo takes imaginative leaps into the cosmos. By JONATHAN MARX

cience is a discipline of verifi- corns prancing through the scenery.” that’s making the universe accelerate.” able facts and hard mathematical This kind of disciplined daydreaming has Scherrer’s eagerness to tackle new ideas calculations, but it’s also a realm served Scherrer well during his nearly two- pretty well defines the man, says his colleague where imagination is key to mak- decades-long career as an academic. The chair Scott Dodelson, a professor at the University ing new advances. All scientists have of Vanderbilt’s Department of Physics and of Chicago and a researcher at Fermilab, the Sto indulge their creative side, to Astronomy since 2003, he spent the previous Chicago-based laboratory specializing in par- push past the limitations of estab- 14 years at Ohio State University, where he ticle physics.“If you look at the body of Bob’s lished knowledge. For most, though, science earned that school’s Alumni Award for Dis- work going back 20 years, it’s not just one fiction writing would be a frivolous specialty,”Dodelson says. “Cosmology is a pursuit, an exercise that takes away broad topic, and Bob has been contributing from valuable research time. For Van- in many different areas. That’s a striking thing derbilt physics professor Robert Scher- about his work—how diverse he’s been.” rer, it’s a natural extension of the work Scherrer’s scholarly pursuits go into realms he does in the classroom and the lab- as infinitesimal as subatomic particles and oratory, a chance to play around with as impossibly enormous as the universe itself. Scherrer: Teaching scientific concepts in novel ways. Dur- And yet, he points out, such research is funda- is one more way of keeping unanswered ing the last five years, this regarded mental to our basic understanding of human questions an active astrophysicist has quietly nurtured a experience. “We don’t think that ordinary part of the scientific sideline as a science fiction writer, pub- matter, the kind of stuff that you and I are discourse until they lishing regularly in the long-running made of, actually is the dominant kind of yield a solution. monthly Analog Science Fiction and matter in the universe. And so that is a very Fact and contributing to the semian- significant question: What is the universe nual journal Paradox. made of? That’s one of the fundamental ques- “There are some similarities tions of physics from ancient times, and it’s between doing theoretical physics and something we’re still trying to answer.” science fiction,”Scherrer observes.“I In the midst of such challenging queries, refer to both of them as disciplined day- tinguished Teaching in 1999. Broadly speak- Scherrer’s fiction writing gives him an out- dreaming, where you’re trying to get beyond ing, Scherrer’s field of study is cosmology, or let to come up with some playful answers. what we already know, but you can’t just the study of the universe as a whole. Within His approach is to toy with a scientific con- dream up anything. It has to be within cer- that area, though, he’s engaged a number of cept and see how it might work out if pushed tain confines.” And even science fiction, he topics. He’s explored the production of ele- to an extreme. “That’s the style of writing I explains, has its own measure of rules and ments during the first few minutes of the Big like—the ‘what if’ story, the idea-oriented guidelines. “It’s well known in physics that Bang; he’s studied the way galaxies cluster in story,”he says.“That’s just one of many ways you have to obey the laws of physics, but sci- the universe; and, most recently, he’s devoted to do science fiction, but it’s the closest to ence fiction writing has its own set of laws. his energies to understanding dark energy, doing science, I think.” You can’t have warlocks and wizards and uni- which he describes as “the hypothesized stuff continued on page 84

28 Summer 2006 DANIEL DUBOIS Vanderbilt Magazine

Smr06_ROTCfeature_P2 9/1/06 10:01 AM Page 30 Wa rriors in a Post-9/11 World

n a warm spring afternoon a group Oof Vanderbilt students gathers on a campus lawn at Edgehill Avenue. They are a jovial set—young, fit, relaxrelaxed.ed. But unlike their classmates, who are celebrating the balmy weather by wearing shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops, these students are covered head-to-toe in green camouflage, complete with helmet, rucksack and flak jacket. The juxtjuxta-a- position seems surreal. Within the safsafe,e, ivied cocoon of the univuniversity,ersity, a smsmallall cohorcohortt of collegians is preparing for combat.

PHOTO BY DANIEL DUBOIS Vanderbilt Magazine 31

Smr06_ROTCfeature_P2 9/1/06 10:01 AM Page 32

These men and women are members of college a year later, the United States began the Vanderbilt Army Reserve Officers Train- bombing strikes over Baghdad. Today’s young ing Corps, or ROTC. On this day they are people have been hurtling into early adult- conducting packing exercises for an upcom- hood in lockstep with these events. ing junket to Fort Knox, Ky., where they’ll Which is not to say that they equate Sept. practice scrambling aboard and disembark- 11 with the Iraq War. They are clear about the ing from Blackhawk helicopters. They’ll engage divergence. So what is driving some into a life in mock warfare, assess casualties, and be in the military? evaluated on their leadership skills as offi- “Everyone, civilian and military, felt patri- cers in training. In some ways it all seems like otic after 9/11,”says Thomas McCurdy, a a game. They laugh and joke and chat about mechanical engineering major from Dyer, weekend parties and chemistry exams. Yet, Tenn., and 2006 battalion commander for the the Iraq War is an imminent reality, infiltrat- Navy ROTC. “I don’t consider myself more ing their every move, their every decision. patriotic than other students because I joined Fully aware of the dangers and controversies ROTC. Everybody chooses to serve their coun- surrounding the conflict in the Middle East, try in different ways. This is how I choose these students have chosen to serve. to serve.” The scene is déjà vu with a twist. A gen- McCurdy hopes one day to be a pilot and eration ago the United States was embroiled fly fighter jets, and a Navy scholarship seemed in the Vietnam War. Although Vanderbilt the best way to reach that goal. “After we University was never a hotbed of antiwar invaded Iraq my freshman year, I knew there activism, protests and rallies were held at var- was a good chance I would be called into duty ious points from 1967 through 1972. Guest after I completed my ROTC training. Fly- lecturers counseled students on avoiding the PeoplePeople around VanderbiltVanderbilt are making a clear distinction betweenbetween the fighters ing fighter jets is inherently risky. If you’re draft and becoming conscientious objectors. and the figfight,ht, betbetweenween those setting the policy and those carrying out the policypolicy.. going to accept that risk, then you might as Protesters interrupted the annual Navy ROTC well accept the larger risk of flying them in Spring Review parade and later carried a cof- combat situations,”he says. NEIL BRAKE fin up the steps of Kirkland Hall to mourn the McCurdy’s Navy ROTC commanding offi- war dead. The debate grew so acrimonious to Midshipman 2nd Class Michael Ham- from the military.“In some ways they may be tude since Vietnam? David Darwin, a 2006 their belief in their mission—no matter what cer, Capt. Andy Johnson (who also retired at that university administrators openly consid- mond. Nobody protests. Nobody interrupts. even more dedicated than cadets in the past senior from Mississippi, activist, and former that belief stems from. We know that regard- the end of the 2006 spring semester after ered disbanding Army and Navy ROTC pro- who were not going through the program president of the Vanderbilt College Demo- less of what global situation we’re in, the mil- 26 years in the military), puts it this way: grams at Vanderbilt. As tensions escalated, or many years Vietnam weighed bit- under threat of war. Sometimes when there’s crats, explains why these soldiers have earned itary is important to the everyday lives of “Our midshipmen are always training for Navy ROTC commanders advised midship- F terly on the American conscience. not a threat of imminent conflict, students use the respect of their peers. “There’s really a every one of us.” war. That’s our job.” men not to wear their uniforms on campus. Returning soldiers were rarely wel- the ROTC as an easy way to go through col- broad spectrum of the kind of people who In other words, people around Vander- ROTC, Johnson says, often appeals to stu- “ROTC was the most visible symbol of the comed with parades, yellow ribbons or fam- lege on the government’s dime. With Iraq in are involved in the ROTC programs at Van- bilt, at least, are making a clear distinction dents who have grown up in scouting. It draws war,”explains Peter Brush, a former Marine ily gatherings. In 1973 Congress voted to end the equation, people who are in our program derbilt, and they have differing views on all between the fighters and the fight, between kids attracted to high adventure, such as devo- and now a librarian at Vanderbilt who has the mandatory draft. By 1975 American troops are aware of what could happen after they grad- sorts of things, including politics,”he says. those setting the policy and those tees of extreme sports. Tyler How- written about the campus during the Viet- had left Vietnam, and the United States set- uate and, in some respects, knowing that, per- “There are some members of ROTC who, on carrying out the policy. This ell, for example, graduated from nam era. tled into a period of relative peace, fragmented haps they are even more honorable.” a personal level, don’t completely agree with response seems to relate back high school in 1999 and spent Three decades later the Spring Review by brief conflicts in Kuwait, Somalia and Bosnia. Students interviewed for this story say their the policies of the administration and some to three seemingly disconnected the next four years trying to break of April 2006 couldn’t be more congenial. Today the Iraq War has renewed a wave of classmates discuss the war with them, but don’t who agree completely—and even they know incidents: the events of Sept. 11, into the Nashville music indus- Nearly 80 midshipmen in crisp dress-white antiwar activism. Because students are no chastise them for enlisting in ROTC. Their it’s a complex issue.” the end of the mandatory draft, try before changing his mind uniforms march in formation in a series of longer being forced to fight, it might seem parents support their decision but worry. One of Darwin’s roommates was in Air and the increased diversity of and getting an Army ROTC schol- field exercises to demonstrate “the discipline that those who voluntarily join the military “None of my friends says anything against Force ROTC. Another friend was a devoted the undergraduate student body. arship. He already had his license and intensity of the battalion.”Family mem- would be the target of protests. The opposite it,”says Tyler Howell, a senior at Belmont Uni- soldier in the ROTC and equally commit- When Vanderbilt’s Class of to fly small aircraft, and decided bers and former Navy ROTC members sit appears to be true. versity, cross-enrolled in Army ROTC at Van- ted to the platform of the Democratic Party. 2006 had just started its senior he could get a free college edu- under a tent and watch the ceremony. Friends, “Our cadets are fully aware of what they derbilt. “They are either neutral, supportive Darwin says, “I have never seen as part of year of high school, hijacked Thomas McCurdy, 2006 cation and come out of the expe- boyfriends and girlfriends snap photos and may be asked to do,”says Lt. Col. Bill Hedges, or silently against it. No one talks about it in political activism on campus a lack of sup- planes tore into the World Trade Navy ROTC battalion rience with the skills to fly small grin proudly. Midshipman 1st Class Thomas who headed up the Army ROTC program for a way I consider harassment.” port for choices ROTC members have made Center towers and the Penta- commander, hopes to planes and helicopters. fly fighter jets.

McCurdy formally relinquishes his command three years, through May 2006, when he retired What has caused the sea change in atti- in their careers. We respect their mission and gon. Shortly after they entered NEIL BRAKE “After I’m finished with the

32 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 33

Smr06_ROTCfeature_P2 9/1/06 10:01 AM Page 34

military, I’m hoping to get a job flying for a warriors seem to disappear States, but sometimes the units do y mid-2006, as Secretary of Defense ski patrol out West. I love to snowboard, and into the undergrowth. their training in Iraq. There’s a real BDonald Rumsfeld had come under I want to take people out heli-skiing and heli- Twenty minutes pass, possibility you could meet your unit fire by the American public, a series boarding,”he says. and the teams still have not in Iraq and introduce yourself as their of retired generals and other top brass called engaged. Suddenly, the area new platoon leader in a combat zone. for his ouster, as did a number of prominent OTC candidates must be willing to is alive with the cacophony I have two friends who graduated in business leaders who pressured him to step Rdance with danger. Guns, including of yelling voices and a bar- May 2005 who are already in Iraq.” down. This type of discord has little impact heavy artillery, are integral acces- rage of gunfire. POP! POP! Hayley Curry is a freshman from on the ROTC students, says Capt. Johnson. sories for anyone who signs up for the army. POP! Greensburg, Pa., also in Army ROTC. Each year Johnson asks former Vander- During spring semester Army ROTC At the end of the exercise, Her career plan is to become a mil- bilt Navy and Marine ROTC graduates to NEIL BRAKE instruction culminates in a mock warfare students return to the trucks, Lee Tilghman is the itary lawyer in the JAG (Judge Advo- share their military experiences with current practicum, the last training lab of the aca- hot, tired, dirty, thirsty — nation’s No. 1 field cate General) Corp.“A while back I students because he believes they have the

NEIL BRAKE In It for the Long Haul demic year. Cadets convene in a field bor- and splattered with white artillery cadet for 2006. decided that rather than fighting strongest influence on his midshipmen. For dered by a wild grove of trees and brush, load paint. They regale each other in the field, I want to fight our nation’s young officers, the primary locus of loyalty Vanderbilt’s ROTC program began in 1916 as part of a broad federal program for standard- up paintball guns, put on masks and caps, with stories of hits and misses. Some laugh legal battles in the courtroom,”she says. is to one’s unit, he says. izing officer training and for drawing the lion’s share of combat-ready reserve officers from and then split into two groups—freshmen delightedly. For others, this was clearly not a Petite, with sandy blonde hair, big blue Johnson is particularly proud of the America’s institutes of higher learning. Navy and Air Force ROTC programs were established and sophomores versus juniors and seniors. highlight of their college careers. eyes and a killer smile, Curry is vice president alumni’s various antinarcotic and peace- later. Although some enter ROTC as sophomores or juniors, Vanderbilt students are typically From opposite ends of the field, students Lee Tilghman, a senior mathematics major of the Vanderbilt Swing Dance Club, which keeping missions. “Even with this conflict accepted into the program as freshmen and receive a full four-year scholarship, plus a stipend enter the thicket. The woods are verdant from from Birmingham, Ala., was deemed the No. allows her to express her “feminine side.”She’s going on, we sent marines to the Philippines for books and living expenses. spring rain, and the temperature rises well 1 field artillery cadet in the nation for 2006. also perfectly comfortable cradling an M-16. to dig kids out of that school after the mud- In return, after graduation they receive commissions to undergo specialized technical above 80 humid degrees. The soldiers, dressed “I’ll spend the next nine months in the army “I love firearms,” she says perkily. “I’m a life slide,” he says. “What other force on earth and tactical training for nine months to a year, and then are assigned to lead a military unit. in camouflage, belly-crawl with rifles poised. artillery shooting Howitzers,”he says. “Ide- member of the NRA. I have a .35 Magnum can respond that quickly and provide that Most are obligated to serve three or four years as active military officers, plus a comparable As the light refracts off the green leaves, the ally, I’ll train for a year at a post in the United at home that’s my baby.” kind of assistance?” number of years on reserve duty. ROTC students are committed to anywhere from eight to 10 Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Rob McGrath grad- years of future service in some combination of active duty, active reserve or National Guard, uated from Vanderbilt Navy ROTC in 1997 or inactive reserve. Obligations for aviators and pilots can be even longer. with a degree in engineering science. He has Some students participating in Vanderbilt ROTC are undergraduates at neighboring uni- spent the last nine years traveling all over the versities like Fisk, Belmont, Tennessee State, Lipscomb or Travecca Nazarene. Vanderbilt’s world, participating in “psychological oper- Air Force ROTC members train at Tennessee State University. ations” in various countries in Africa and ROTC cadets make up only about 1 percent of the Vanderbilt student body, including During a mock warfare Asia. While deployed to Tanzania as part of about 16 or 17 students in each freshman class. Typically, 35 percent of cadets drop out practicum,practicum, cadetscadets convene in a combined joint task force in support of between their freshman and sophomore years because ROTC obligations are layered on top a field, load up paintball guns, Operation Enduring Freedom, he took time of the normal demands of being a college student at a competitive school. The Navy ROTC and belly-crawl with rifles out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s program, however, currently has an 80 percent retention rate, the highest it’s been in years. highest peak at more than 19,000 feet. When As part of their required course load, students must take at least one ROTC course each poised. The rules of the game: he returned to his base after deployment to semester. Freshmen take classes like “Ethics, Leadership and Management,” while sopho- No fratricide. You must only Africa, he discovered that his unit was being mores and juniors sign up for technical courses like “Navigation,” “Ship Engineering” or kill opponents. sent to Iraq. Not wanting to be left behind “Weapons Systems.” Part of the Navy ROTC program includes a mandatory summer cruise and separated from his unit, he requested aboard an active-duty military ship. Army ROTC cadets may spend their summers at Air permission to join them. Assault, Mountain Warfare or Airborne School. Based in Fallujah, his primary role was in ROTC coursework has evolved over time. Once encouraged to take Russian, students now information operations, getting communi- are rewarded for proficiency in Middle Eastern languages and knowledge about the history cations out to the Iraqi people via television, of Africa and Southwest Asia.The lexicon has also changed.Today’s instructors teach about radio and print. Putting it simply, he says, IEDs—improvised explosive devices—and small unit tactics. Since naval missions no longer “The Iraq experience wasn’t fun at all.” center around tracking Soviet submarines in blue oceanic waters, lessons are adapted for a Once he returned from Iraq, he received “brown-water navy” that engages in coastal and inland operations. orders to go to Okinawa, Japan, where he’ll ROTC is about discipline and commitment. Several times a week cadets are up by 5:45 command a company for at least a year. a.m. for an hour of physical training before class. Vanderbilt ROTC students come from all McGrath says being on the move all the time walks of life, volunteer in the community, and are involved in student government, intramural has made it difficult to establish social rela- sports and Greek life.They participate in both conservative and liberal campus activities. tionships—a concern of every service mem- —LISA A. DUBOIS

34 Summer 2006 DANIEL DUBOIS Vanderbilt Magazine 35

Smr06_ROTCfeature_P2 9/1/06 10:01 AM Page 36

Lessons from Guantanamo, Baghdad and Kuwait

ber. “I wouldn’t mind coming home for a down the aisles to their seats, as the 129th During the 1987–88 school year, Heather Vin- “We were there at the leading edge of the degrees, and the sands were soaked with residue investigation into those responsible for 9/11, left by oil fires. One afternoon, after delicately while,”he says wistfully. Army Band from Fort Knox, Ky., plays lively cent, Martha Boyd and Heather Malogrides military music. Associate Provost Lucius Out- before things became ethically questionable,” disposing of “hot” ordnance, Grayson ordered ailey Snyder, a sophomore from law tells them, “Controversy and dissent are Grayson were Vanderbilt roommates. They’d she says. “Little did I know how nonexistent the her troops to wrap up their work and finish stor- K Birmingham, Ala., majoring in a healthy part of a democratic republic. Know become friends while training together in Army route to Al-Qaeda would be.” ing the weapons in a safe munitions dump. She chemical engineering, says the as you go forth that you carry the respect and had walked away when suddenly she was rocked ROTC, and shared the odd hours and rigors start of the Iraq War didn’t affect her decision love of the Vanderbilt community for your artha Boyd, now an associate with by a loud explosion. Three of her men were to join the Navy ROTC, but it did give her a commitment.” unique to military cadets. In the late 1980s the M the Nashville law firm Boult, Cum- killed in the blast. Nobody who survived saw reality check. She is most concerned about Guest speaker Maj. Gen. Gus L. Hargett Jr., threat of war seemed remote and improbable, mings, Conners & Berry, says she what had happened. assuming a position of leadership in the navy adjutant general of the Tennessee National didn’t take herself or her military obligations Military officials charged Grayson and her and they had joined ROTC as a practical way immediately after she graduates.“They throw Guard, tells a couple of heartwarming stories seriously at first. “I was probably one of the fellow officers with negligent homicide. Feeling you into a commission, and you have a job to about two men from the National Guard, both to get scholarships and see the world. Once worst cadets Vanderbilt ROTC had ever seen,” they were being made scapegoats, the officers she admits. “The first time I rappelled, I ended fought the charges and were acquitted. Heather do but don’t know how to do it,”she says.“You veterans of the Iraq War, both now amputees. they received their commissions, they followed have to rely on those below you, many of them The soldiers in the audience, healthy, deter- up dangling upside down and banging my head Grayson, at the time, was all of 24 years old. older than you, to teach you how to do your mined and idealistic, listen quietly. Less than separate journeys, evolving from goofy college against the wall.” After she completed her four-year obligation, job. It means everybody has to work together.” an hour earlier, they graduated from college. coeds into young women who were witnesses to The summer after her junior year, she she left the military and went to graduate school Senior cadet Howell is constantly asked his And already the topic has turned to amputees. attended Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. in theater. As part of her coursework, she creat- and participants in the horrors, the honor, and opinion about why the United States became Concluding the ceremony, Associate Uni- There she underwent a transformation. The sol- ed a one-woman show about her experiences involved in this war. He chooses not to have an versity Chaplain Rev. Gary White leaves them the far-reaching complexities of war. diers she met and their firm dedication to duty titled After the Storm. opinion, he says. with this prayer: “May your generation be impressed her. “I’d been out of the army for three years, and “I’m a real believer in the republic of the the generation that leads us to a world with- “That forced me to realize that I was going I thought this would give me a structure for regur- United States and the concept that we elect out war.” to be in charge of troops some day,” Boyd gitating all this crap I’d been feeling,” she says. people to represent our interests,”he says.“So eather Vincent started out as a recalls. “I saw that these are good people, and ew York actress Heather Grayson The show opened off-off-Broadway on Sept. I trust the decisions made by Congress, by n March 2003, when the United States H Vanderbilt ROTC cadet, meek and they deserve to have an officer who looks out for N thought ROTC would be an easy way to 7, 2001, and closed four days later, because the the leadership of the cabinet, and by the mil- initiated bombing raids over Iraq, a unsure of herself, cross-enrolled them and who knows what she is doing.” pay for Vanderbilt’s pricey tuition. An theater was located in the Ground Zero zone I English major and theater minor, she once itary advisers. I have to trust that the deci- group of Vanderbilt students gathered at Lipscomb University. By her sophomore She got serious, worked out to get in shape, cordoned off after Sept. 11. When it reopened sions they make are better than the ones I can in the lobby of Branscomb Hall to watch year, she had transferred to Vanderbilt, dou- and received a commission as a military intelli- rehearsed the balcony scene from Romeo and two weeks later, it was a hit with audiences— make by just watching CNN and Fox News. CNN’s night-vision feed. As events unfolded ble-majoring in biology and classics. gence officer. Later she was stationed in Ger- Juliet in her combat uniform because she had to men and women, hawks and doves. That’s what gives me peace in my mind and they expressed differing opinions about whether “Through ROTC I realized I had leader- many for three years, leading a platoon of 25 go to field practice afterwards. During this autobiographical play, 1st Lt. in my heart about what’s going on.” such military action was justified. More per- ship skills,” says Vincent, now an assistant Russian linguists. When she left the army after After graduation she was assigned to Karen Kokotis transforms from a “girly-girl” to “The Vanderbilt students are tremendous,” vasive, however, says David Darwin,“was this professor of classics at Eckerd College in St. six years of active duty, she remained in the Huntsville, Ala., for Explosive Ordnance School, a cocky commander to a young woman battling says Lt. Col. Hedges.“I believe the future of sense of concern, not for the politics of it, but Petersburg, Fla. army reserves. where she learned how to defuse live bombs, to salvage her reputation as a competent mili- Vanderbilt and of the American Army is secure for each other and for our friends. After her training year,Vincent complet- In 2004 she was called up and spent that bringing out the “adrenaline junkie” in her per- tary officer. because of people like them. What we ask of “I like to think that this sense of solidar- ed her payback tour of duty in Turkey and year commuting between Baghdad’s “Green sonality. Initially stationed in Germany, she was “… [E]very day people look at me and them is hard. It’s head and shoulders above ity will carry on for years and years. Some of Germany. At that time the army was reduc- Zone” and the Ministry of Labor in northeastern tapped to go to Saudi Arabia in 1990 when the they’re thinking, ‘You killed them. You killed what I was asked to do in training 24 years ago.” our respect for the soldiers is that we appre- ing forces, so she got out ahead of time and Baghdad, working with local civil authorities United States began marshalling troops in prepa- those boys.’ And that is never going to go away. ciate the sacrifice they choose to make. Know- returned to the United States for graduate and local civilians on reconstructing the Iraqi ration for the first Gulf War.The air strikes were As long as I’m in the Army …,” Kokotis muses n May 12, 2006, 30 young men and ing what they’re giving up for us brings us school. Still, she remained in IRR, or inac- government. “You’re never going to have peace so successful that the ground troops were not dis- to the audience. “… And the soldiers who don’t one woman, graduating seniors, arrive closer to the soldiers and to each other. Because tive ready reserve, and transferred into the unless the government institutions are function- patched for more than a month. think I’m guilty think I’m too safety conscious. I O Although the operation was successful, the at Langford Auditorium to receive the mandatory draft has ended, even those of Rhode Island Army National Guard. On ing—yet, how are you going to have a function- irritate them because … who wants an officer their insignia to become officers in the U.S. us who disagree with the administration’s poli- Sept. 11, 2001, she was ironing her uniform ing government if you don’t have peace?” she U.S. had left a mess in Kuwait and Iraq in terms around who won’t let them have any fun?” military. Before the commissioning ceremony, cies understand that there but for the grace as she watched the World Trade Center burn asks. “It was a frustrating experience.” of sub-munitions, such as grenades and mini- In the end, she has no regrets. “ROTC and Capt. Johnson asks them to stand together of God and the American soldier go I. on television. Having learned how to be an officer in Ger- landmines. Many sub-munitions won’t go off as Vanderbilt and the Gulf War made me who I am on stage for an impromptu photograph. He “Our generation will be the one to carry In 2002 she was deployed to Cuba and many during peacetime, where she was comfort- planned, which means somebody has to come today,” Grayson says. “I like who I am—scars, wants them all mixed together—army, navy, the burdens from 9/11 and the Iraq War,”he then to Guantanamo Bay in the role of deputy able, where mistakes were expected, and where along afterwards and either defuse, store or det- warts and all.” She acknowledges that the cadets marine, air force. continues.“There’s a big shift going on in the inspector general for Joint Task Force 160, the consequences of those mistakes were minor, onate them. Grayson was among the officers of her era were so much more naive than those of “As soldiers, they’ll be standing and fight- world right now, and in order to bring it all later re-designated JTF-GTMO, providing she holds tremendous admiration for today’s charged with clean-up. today. “When we ran around in ROTC with M- ing shoulder to shoulder,”he explains, while back to a world where we can feel safe, we have human relations assistance to 1,800 service ROTC students.“They are having to learn to lead She was in charge of 30 troops spread out 16s, we never actually imagined we’d be running cameras click and bulbs flash. to stick together. This has to be an age of com- members stationed there. She did not work in an environment where any mistake could be across the Kuwaiti desert during June and July around in the Middle East with M-16s.” Once the ceremony begins, students stride munity, or we’ll all fail together.” V with detainees. fatal,” she says. of that year.The temperature often reached 120 —LISA A. DUBOIS

36 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 37

The second time she entered a big-game sport-fishing tournament, Fonda Huizenga, BE’84, caught a quarter-ton blue marlin. In the process, she learned just how dangerous this sport can be. It was March 1996. Fonda and her husband, Wayne, were fishing in the Bahamas Billfishing Tournament, off Walker’s Key in the northern Caribbean. Fonda was in the chair at the back of the boat. After a good fight, she was reeling in what looked to be a very big marlin. As she got the fish close to the boat, Capt. Scotty Levins grabbed onto the line’s tough wire leader, the last 15-foot stretch of line leading to the hook and the fish. Pulling the fish in by the wire leader is known as “wiring,” and it’s a dicey job that requires not only padded gloves and strength but also quickness and finesse. Suddenly, the huge fish tugged. Levins dropped the line instantaneously, but as the line started whipping out, a loop snagged the finger of Levins’ heavy mesh glove and, with the strength of a crane, jerked him over the side. Call of the WildBlueMarlinWildBlueMarlin

38 Summer 2006 DANIEL DUBOIS

“I’m watching this in utter shock,”Fonda recalls five minutes later pulled his boat alongside; a doctor orld-record fishing for blue marlin isn’t as if it were yesterday.“It was my very first big fish, and by trade, he sutured up Levins on the spot. a rarefied sport just because it’s danger- all of a sudden my captain is gone!” And the fish? It was a 551-pound blue marlin, which ous and because it requires enormous As the fish raced away from the boat, it dragged proved to be the largest fish caught in the tournament. Wfocus, patience and stamina. It’s also Levins, gasping for breath, by his right arm along the “It was the first blue marlin I ever landed,”says Fonda. select because it costs thousands to participate. ocean surface and 50 yards out to sea. Instinctively, And with that, you might say she was hooked. “Men joke with my husband,‘Wow, you’re so lucky Fonda released the drag on her reel, allowing it to “The first time a rod went off and that line went you have a wife who fishes and hunts—and she Fonda was on the fast track to unspool freely. In doing so, she probably saved his life. scorching out, and I managed to get the rod over to doesn’t like to shop! And I remind them that in terms Procter & Gamble’s executive suite before life with Wayne Huizenga Jr. The slack on the line allowed Levins to pull himself the chair and flopped into it and started reeling on a of expenditures, my fishing habit would blow away changed everything. toward the fish and loosen the tangle from his glove fish, I realized: Wow, this is just incredible! For those most women’s shopping budgets. When you start before he was dragged farther out. And then he swam of us who are adrenaline junkies, that’s right up there.” adding up transportation, fees for crews, fees for char- back to the boat. Today Fonda Huizenga owns two women’s world tering a boat, I can blow the socks off most women Incredibly, once he got back, Levins helped haul records for blue marlin fishing. And until it was recently going to Nordstrom or Macy’s in a hurry.” the fish into the boat once it was played out. At that eclipsed, she also owned a third women’s world record— Fonda can afford to fish for world records. In 1991 point, Fonda, though a newcomer to sport fishing, for Atlantic spearfish. Out of nowhere, Fonda has the former Fonda Hix married Wayne Huizenga Jr. could tell something was very wrong with her captain: become a top competitor in big-game sport fishing, (pronounced HIGH-zing-a, the name is of Dutch ori- “He was in full-bore shock,”says Fonda. Dazed, Levins and she is determined to collect more world records gin). Junior, as Fonda calls him, is the son of Wayne pulled his heavy glove off his right hand, and blood before she’s done. Huizenga Sr., the billionaire business magnate who poured out. developed such successful franchise businesses as Block- DANIEL DUBOIS “He had an arterial bleed,” says buster Entertainment, Waste Management and Auto introduced her to it. After her success in the Bahamas Fonda, who had majored in biomed- Nation, and who is the owner of the Miami Dolphins Billfishing Championships (she came in third in over- ical engineering as a Vanderbilt stu- pro football team and Dolphins Stadium. Wayne Jr. all points her first year, second the next year), Wayne dent.“I looked down at Scotty’s finger, works closely with his father and serves as president of decided to introduce her to light-tackle sport fishing, and the line had literally cut through Huizenga Holdings, the diversified company that man- because the lighter rods and reels are more maneuver- the glove and down into the meat of ages the family’s financial investments, residential and able and the lighter tackle requires more finesse than the finger—all the way down to the commercial real estate, and businesses such as the Miami brute strength. bone.” She immediately adminis- Dolphins and, as of 2004, Rybovich Boatworks, the In July 1997, off the coast of Madeira, Fonda caught tered first aid, pressing down on his leading sport-fishing boat builder since the 1940s. Fonda her first world-record fish completely by accident: While wrist, and then holding his arm up and Wayne have four children together—Savannah, going for tuna, she landed a 45-pound spearfish on an in the air. Fonda got on the radio Wayne III (Tres), Ainslie and Gerritt—and Fonda has 80-pound test line. It turned out to be a record Atlantic phone to put out an SOS for med- chosen to be a stay-at-home wife and mother. When spearfish catch for a woman, but it was a record Fonda ical aid. Miraculously, a fellow tour- she’s not chasing down blue marlin in Costa Rica. wanted no part of. “Of course, I’m covering my head nament fisherman responded and On a warm and sunny Thursday in early Decem- all the way into port,”she says with a rueful laugh.“The ber, I pay a visit to Fonda at her home in Fort Laud- last thing I wanted was a record on test that was heav- erdale, Fla. The Huizengas live at the point of a small ier than the fish! That’s very, very shameful.” island that juts into the Intracoastal Waterway. Their Her next world-record catch, though, was entirely “Blue marlins can come residence is a large, rambling house built in a Mediter- intentional. In May 1999, off Cape Verde, near Senegal ranean style. in West Africa, she caught a 350-pound blue marlin on out of the water and As I enter the foyer, I notice the room is flanked a 12-pound test line after more than an hour and a half by twin bronze sculptures of leaping marlins. While of fighting. Proving it was more than beginner’s luck, cartwheel. I’ve seen them waiting in the sitting room, beside me I see what I grad- three days later she caught a 289-pound blue marlin ually realize is the tail of a huge fish. The span of sickle- on 8-pound test, just 7 pounds shy of the previous come up under the boat, shaped tail is as broad as my outstretched arms. (I later women’s record. Less than a year later, somewhere off learn this is the tail of Fonda’s 551-pound blue mar- Costa Rica, she set the women’s Pacific record for blue and— whoosh—go lin.) Across the room are eight long spears—the bills marlin on 8-pound test line with a 180-pound fish— from eight of the fish Fonda has caught since 1996, five this one after a two-and-a-half-hour fight that Fonda straight up in the air. in tournaments plus three world records. describes as “an epic battle.” For all her success in a man’s sport, Fonda is no Ama- This fight seems to have included everything: One I’ve seen ’em attempt zon. A slender blonde of average height, she’s dressed of the boat’s engines went dead shortly after she hooked casually in shorts and sneakers. Her look is as down to the fish, then her line got caught under heavy-gauge to come into the boat, earth as she proves to be. 600-pound-test stationary longlines anchored to buoys Though Fonda is a native Floridian, she claims by absent fishermen, and then she had to untangle line business end first.” she had no interest in sport fishing until her husband that had gotten snagged on her pole. During all of this,

40 Summer 2006 GETTY IMAGES V anderbilt Magazine 41

her delicate 8-pound line frayed, and Fonda worried “Blue marlin for me is the epitome of a game fish. other things, using fishing line that has been weighed whether it would hold the fish. A blue marlin is like being hooked up to a thorough- and certified. The angler’s scale for weighing the fish “I’m just shaking at this point,”says Fonda.“I take bred race horse,”she says.“Violently fast runs. Whooosh! must be calibrated and certified by the IGFA as well. up the slack, and—my gosh, I couldn’t believe it— Lightning-quick changes in direction and speed, just Then, after the fish is caught, the line and tackle are the fish was still there. I started reeling line in, and I requiring a whole lot of fast reaction. weighed by the IGFA again. look and the section of my 8-pound line that went “They can literally come out of the water and cart- “After a record like this,”says Fonda, “every per- abrading down that 600-pound line came up. And you wheel. I’ve seen them cartwheel. I’ve seen them go back- son on the boat signs a legal affidavit that everything could literally see the fray marks in the line. wards. I’ve seen them come up under the boat, was done by the rules, and we all know the rules. We “So as I reel up, I see that frayed section come on and—whoosh—go straight up in the air, right in front have a list of them. And then all the terminal tackle— and go onto the reel, take a few more wraps and— of us. I’ve seen ’em attempt to come into the boat, busi- the hook, the leader, the swivel tip and, I believe, 10 whew—I’m OK. Even if it breaks down there, I’m OK. ness end first. There have been a couple of times when to 15 feet of the line—have to be coiled up and sent in. I’ve got line covering it now. I’m all right. So the fish we’ve hit the deck.” Measurements have to be made. This entire process has takes a run. And that line just goes, and I just watch it Light tackle doesn’t give an angler any opportunity to be videotaped, pictures have to be taken. The docu- go out. And then I get it back on. It probably came to overpower the fish. Marlins bigger than 100 pounds menting process takes a couple of hours.” off and on three or four more times before we finally could easily snap the line if they only knew how weak This sort of exactitude would drive some people got the fish. In a battle like this, with a fish on light line, it was. With light tackle, the whole idea is to wear the crazy. But Fonda likes details and precision. And she Fonda’s two you gain and lose, gain and lose. We finally got that fish fish down with finesse. “You’re no longer able to use wants to have everything precisely ready on every youngest of at like 8 o’clock at night.” your muscle,”says Fonda.“It’s all skill, touch. … Remem- trip. That’s why, says house manager Joey D’Amico (an four children, According to The Blue Water Bait Book by Capt. ber the physics of 8-pound line: If the fish exerts 8 experienced fishing-boat captain himself), when she’s Gerrit (right) Samuel Earp and Capt. William Wildeman,“There are pounds of force on it, or if I exert 8 pounds of force on not fishing, he stores Fonda’s fishing line and reels in and Ainslie, probably more anglers who would rather catch a blue it—either way—the line’s gone.” the family safe. “That way, I know it’s safe,”he laughs. pick up tips from a pro. marlin than any other species in the ocean. This is Not surprisingly, then, light-tackle fishing for But he’s not kidding. because his size, speed, bad temper and rarity make blue marlin turns out to be a sport with exacting require- In addition to the meticulously prepared fishing him about the toughest challenge in big-game sport ments. Strict weight and line rules are set by the Inter- tackle, one needs a highly maneuverable boat capable DANIEL DUBOIS fishing.” Fonda couldn’t agree more. national Game Fish Association. These include, among of going in reverse at quick bursts of up to 13 knots. Then one needs an experienced crew, including a wire- undergraduate major in electrical engineering. man to pull in the wire leader; at least two gaffers to sink Upon graduation in 1984, she went to work as an Fonda Fishing in the hooked gaff poles necessary to pull in fish weigh- engineer with Procter & Gamble—first in a Jackson, ing more than 100 pounds; and a captain who can antic- Tenn., food plant; then in Phoenix, where she headed {An Angler’s Glossary} ipate the movements of the fish and keep the boat as a team manufacturing the Equal sweetener; and ulti- Fonda earned the 180-pound trophy close to the fish as possible. This last requirement is cru- mately in finance for P&G. She was on the fast track to (right)(right) afterafter aa two-and-a-half-hourtwo-and-a-half-hour epicepic angler—fisherman leader—the last length of line (10 to 15 feet) to the cial because of the delicacy of the light-tackle line. the executive suite. “I had my sights set on becoming battle with an indefatigable blue marlin, hook; usually twisted wire for big-game fishing; also a stalled engine and a frayed line. “I’m just a glorified winch,”Fonda readily admits. vice president for that company,”she says. a stalled engine and a frayed line. billfish—ocean fish with a bill or sword called “the wire” “The captain’s doing the real thinking. It’s 25 percent me At which point, Wayne Huizenga Jr. entered her life. on its snout: marlin, sailfish, swordfish, at most; the rest is the captain, the boat and the crew.” Or rather re-entered, because the two had dated one spearfish longlines—stationary, baited fishing lines in the ocean summer as teenagers who attended rival high schools that have been anchored to a buoy, allowing the fisherman t seems Fonda has always relished a good chal- back in South Florida. Later when they went their sep- break off—to lose a fish to a broken line to leave the line unattended; the bane of deep-sea anglers lenge and a little risk. Born and reared in the South arate ways, they stayed in touch. drag—tension on the line going into the record fishing—deliberately fishing for certain species Florida town of West Palm Beach, she regularly In 1989 she left Procter & Gamble and took another reel; adjustable at the reel on predetermined tackle weights in hopes of landing a Iplayed tackle football with the local boys—until engineering job in South Florida with Cordis Corp., fish of record-setting size for that class of tackle age 13, when her father stepped in and organized a girls’ this time overseeing the manufacture of coronary angio- gaffer—a crew member who uses a han- football league for Fonda and her friends. plasty balloon catheters. Two and a half years later, she dled hook to haul a fish on deck after a tackle—fishing gear, including rod, reel, line, leader At Vanderbilt she chose to major in biomedical engi- married Wayne and left Cordis. wireman has pulled it alongside the boat and hook neering because her father suggested to her that it was The funny thing is, for the longest time she didn’t realize that Wayne’s father was a billionaire business- International Game Fish Association probably the most difficult engineering major. “Bio- test line— fishing line that has been tested for its man and that Wayne Jr. was taking his rightful place as (IGFA)—the not-for-profit organization med was just as challenging and just as rigorous as he breaking point in pounds of force (e.g., 8-pound test his father’s right-hand man within the Huizenga fam- that sets rules and officially certifies had said it would be,”says Fonda. “And that truly was line has been tested to withstand 8 pounds of force) ily enterprises. At one point, Fonda recalls, Junior tried world records for both freshwater and not my forte area, but I’m such a darned optimist to tell her about his father’s rapidly expanding new ocean sport fishing wire—see “leader” and so focused that I was willing to bear down on it to compensate for where my gifts did not lie.”She also was video-rental business.“I was going,‘Yeah,great, so you knots—measure of ocean-going speed; wireman—the crew member responsible for pulling in determined to get a bachelor of engineering degree (at own a couple of video stores. OK.’It was called Block- 1 knot is equivalent to 1.15 mph (e.g., the wire leader hand over hand when the fish has been the time, Vanderbilt’s biomed program culminated in buster Entertainment. It never even registered with me.” 13 knots equals 15 mph) reeled in close to the boat a bachelor of science degree) and completed a second When she finally realized what Junior had been DANIEL DUBOIS —PAUL KINGSBURY

42 Summer 2006 V anderbilt Magazine 43

gently trying to tell her all along—that he and his you should see in the ocean everywhere but don’t. But have done this their whole lives and have never caught father were extremely successful and prosperous busi- me and the fish? It’s just a predator-prey relationship.” a record fish.” nessmen—Fonda had an emotional moment. “The Wayne Jr. is an indulgent husband who seems to find In addition to her dedication and focus, Brown realization hit me that life with this man would look his wife’s lust for blue marlin amusing. He was the one thinks her analytical nature and engineering back- very, very different than life as a career P&G person. who got her started.“I just thought sport fishing would ground give her an edge.“She understands the theory It would entail more responsibility; it would entail be a neat thing we could do together,”he says, adding of the drag, she understands the theory behind the things that I had not been trained for financially, with a laugh:“And then she pushed me out of the way!” leverage of the rod, she understands the theory that the socially or emotionally.” It turns out Wayne and Fonda have different more line that’s out there, the more strain is gonna be Fast forward to 2006. There is no getting away from approaches when it comes to deep-sea fishing.“When on the line.” the fact that Fonda and Wayne Jr. are incredibly afflu- I fish, I’ve got the radio on playing music,”says Wayne. In her quest for world records in blue marlin fish- “I’m either 100 percent here, or I’m 100 percent ent. Their luxurious home is maintained by a staff of “I’ll take a break, make lunch, take a nap. When she’s ing, Fonda has chosen to fish in the Pacific off Costa out there on the edge. seven. During the hottest months, the family packs up fishing, she’s got her eyes fixed on the water. She’s very Rica in rented charter boats. Annually now since 2000, Moderation is not a word and moves to their summer home in the mountains of focused on the results. Her intensity is incredible. Most she has been making trips each February to the small in my vocabulary.” North Carolina for six weeks and to a rental house in people would not enjoy it, frankly, the kind of fishing Costa Rican fishing village of Puerto Carrillo. the Bahamas for three weeks. she’s doing. But she just loves it. She’s on a mission Fonda has three key reasons for going there: The And yet, Fonda seems as down to earth and self- when she’s out there, and she is either going to accom- village is quietly beautiful, the ocean there is much aware as a mom in your local PTA. She prepares the plish it, or leave at least knowing that she did every- calmer than the choppy Atlantic, and the rules govern- family meals herself six nights a week. She is fully and thing she could to accomplish it.” ing Pacific sport fishing are less restrictive than in the deeply involved in rearing her kids. Most important of So intent is Fonda on her world-record goals that Atlantic. Because of U.S. federal marine conservation all to her is her Christian faith. “We don’t frequent Wayne doesn’t go with her.“Me, I am strictly by nature laws, explains Capt. Bobby,“In the Atlantic Ocean now, the social scene, we don’t frequent the nightclubs, we all or nothing,”says Fonda.“When I go fishing, it’s the you cannot kill or boat a blue marlin that’s under 99 don’t drink,”she says.“We are Christ-centered, and we only thing I will leave my children for, and I will leave inches long. So all the really light tackle records that are try, by the grace of His spirit, to center all our activities them for seven to 10 days a year. My husband calls it left in the 6- and 8-pound class would still have to be on Him and for Him.”The Huizengas attend the non- a character fault. He says, ‘You should be able, Fonda, a 300-plus-pound fish.”And a fish that size, Capt. Bobby denominational Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale. says, is very tough to catch on light test line. Because Through the multimillion-dollar Huizenga Family the fish are more plentiful in the Pacific, those restric- Foundation, they support a number of charities that Fonda seems as down to tions don’t exist. DANIEL DUBOIS are tied into Christian outreach, such as HIV clinics in Fonda now has her sights set on the 6-pound test expect me not to take things apart. Haiti, various branches of the United Way, the Salva- earth as your local PTA record for blue marlin. To get it, she’s willing to endure “Most of the villagers there look at me and go,‘It’s tion Army, the Broward [County, Fla.] Partnership for all sorts of hardships that most weekend anglers gringa loca again. It’s that blonde chick; she comes here the Homeless, the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County, mom. She prepares family wouldn’t put up with. “She’ll sit there on the back of once a year, and she goes running by.’ as well as Calvary Chapel itself and its community out- the boat, and she doesn’t move,”says Capt. Bobby. “My Spanish is workable. I speak fishing Spanish, reach efforts. “We’re just stewards of all this money,” meals six nights a week. “She’ll barely even get up to go to the bathroom. And restaurant Spanish, and enough Spanish to get me says Fonda.“It’s God’s.” she’ll sit there for 10 hours a day, in 100-degree sun, through casual conversation. My conversations down When you come right down to it, her biggest quirk— She is deeply involved in whether it’s rough or not.” there get kind of interesting. Let’s see: I’ve been pro- of which she is very aware—is her fanaticism when it Generally, she and her hired-out crew are on the char- posed marriage to, given gifts, invited over. One time comes to fishing for blue marlin. rearing her kids. Her biggest ter boat from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day for 10 days.“The when I was probably two and a half miles out on my boats I’m fishing on don’t have air conditioning, they run, I was given a 5-pound watermelon.”She laughs at n Ernest Hemingway’s novella The Old Man and quirk is her fanaticism when don’t have TVs, they don’t have microwaves,”says Fonda. the memory. “It became the lead weight that I had to the Sea, the elderly Cuban fisherman who is the “These are stripped-down, hard-core fishing boats. carry all the way back.” story’s protagonist catches an enormous blue it comes to blue marlin. “When I’m out in the water, we have no music play- These days, Fonda only goes out once a year in Imarlin in an epic battle that goes on for four days. ing, we wolf down our food in about 30 seconds, and her quest for world records. “Yeah, I have the where- During the struggle the old man repeatedly calls the we’re hard-core about watching lures. Most of the time withal to go out fishing any time and at any place I want fish his brother, praising the fish’s nobility and charac- to go out and fish for something else, or be able to tag you’re in a sitting position, watching four lures. So this to go. And I have a husband who—God bless him— ter. I ask Fonda if she feels a similar kinship with the these nice fishies and let them go.’ But, unfortunately, is my time to get back with God. I sit and I pray, and I would probably tell me to go. And I know that if I leave marlin she hunts. I’m not capable of that middle ground. I’m either 100 go through the events of a whole year. I think about my my family once a month, and go fishing for a week “They’re prey,”she says with a guilty laugh. “But if percent mommy and 100 percent here, or I’m 100 per- friends, my family, my life. This is the time when God somewhere, I’d probably have a whole lot more records. I don’t play the game right, I’m prey. Or at least a vic- cent out there on the edge. Moderation is not a word and I basically have a 12-hour conversation.” But my kids—I only have this little bit of time to grow tim. I understand the food chain very well. I enjoy being in my vocabulary.” To prepare for this daily marathon of fishing, Fonda these little people into what the Lord wants them to be. out there, especially in Costa Rica. You see humpbacked “She’s got phenomenal focus,”says Bobby Brown, runs for an hour every morning at dawn before she And so I’m willing to say, the blue marlin aren’t going whales, and you see orca. You see sometimes five species Fonda’s boat captain for her world-record fishing trips fishes, along the dirt roads and hills of sleepy Puerto anywhere. They’re gonna be out there.” of dolphins. Sea turtles that are huge. Schools of fish since 1996. “That’s why she’s done what she’s done in Carrillo. “You can’t put a personality type like me in With an attitude like that, the next record catch is the size of city blocks. You see things down there that such a short amount of time. There are people who the back of a boat for 12 hours,”she wisecracks, “and surely only a matter of time. V

44 Summer 2006 V anderbilt Magazine 45

The Commodore’s Strange Gift

HOW TWO MEN OF GOD,

TWO SHADY SISTERS,

AND A WOMAN NAMED FRANK

INFLUENCED THE WORLD’S RICHEST MAN

TO FOUND VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY.

By MICHAEL MCGERR

he founding of Vanderbilt University is an extraordinary story, T an unexpectedly salacious tale worthy of a primetime soap opera. Sex plays a leading role; so does sanctity—enough for a contemporary presidential campaign. And there are spirits: Ghosts flit in and out of the founding of a Methodist university in Nashville in 1873. Then there is the founder himself: Cornelius Vanderbilt, the grasp- ing, hard-driving Commodore, richest man on earth, and one of the

This page, clockwise from least likely benefactors of higher education. The Commodore’s found- top: Holland McTyeire, ing donation to his namesake university was truly a strange, fortunate Charles Force Deems, Victoria Woodhull, Frank gift—a reminder of the complexity of the human mind and heart and, Crawford Vanderbilt, Tennessee Claflin ultimately, the best investment this great speculator ever made.

V anderbilt Magazine 47 Cornelius Vanderbilt was born in the right tatious charitable gifts. Like most wealthy Sophia gone, with his old friends dying off, and messages from the dead to ease his mind. Fortune Tellers and place at the right time—on a Staten Island men of the day, the Commodore believed the new widower was lonely. He had little inter- Vanderbilt’s longing for contact with the Fortune Hunters farm in 1794, across the bay from what would charity sapped the morals of its supposed est in spending much time with his children. departed was hardly unusual in post-Civil piritualism had a further appeal for become the leading city of the United States beneficiaries. His gift to the public was the But Vanderbilt was still “wonderfully well pre- War America. Like the Commodore, mil- SVanderbilt, who remained, as a reporter on the leading edge of the industrial revo- ships he launched, the trains he sped, the cargo served,”a reporter noted in the summer of lions of his countrymen mourned the death delicately observed, “much of a ladies lution. Starting as a teenager with a simple he carried, the jobs he created. 1869.“He steps as light as a shadow, and looks of family members on the nation’s battle- man”: The movement was largely dominated one-masted periauger, Vanderbilt built a That was an increasingly controversial posi- more fresh than some man of fifty.”With- fields. Told by their ministers that the dead by women. Séances usually took place in the fleet of sailing vessels and then an armada tion. In “An Open Letter to Com.Vanderbilt” out a wife, the Commodore had more free- were near at hand, many people wanted to woman’s sphere, the home, because 19th- of steamboats and steamships. By the 1850s in 1869, Mark Twain sarcastically abused the dom than ever to pursue his fancies and his believe those spirits could communicate with century Americans typically died there, rather his ships cruised as far west as California and millionaire. “Go, now, please go, and do one appetites. The result was a period of instabil- the living through mysterious rappings and than in hospitals. In Victorian eyes, women— as far east as England; the title “Commodore,” worthy act,”the writer begged. “Go, boldly, ity and experimentation. Ouija boards. seemingly so passive, so spiritual, so angelic once a sarcastic putdown, had become an grandly, nobly, and give four dollars to some Sophia’s death intensified the Commodore’s Vanderbilt was a bit skeptical about the themselves—were ideal vessels for com- awed tribute to this capitalist worth more The Commodore’s great public charity. It will break your heart, interest in the spirit world, the place where spirits. He enjoyed the spiritual physicians’ munications from the dead. Some women than $10 million. no doubt; but no matter, you have but a little his mother, Phebe, and his one beloved son, ministrations without having to trust their found service as spiritual physicians and Typically, that wasn’t enough for Cornelius willingness to drive while to live, and it is better to die suddenly George, a victim of the Civil War, already communications from the dead. The Com- mediums attractive because it was a rare Vanderbilt. Getting out of the ship business, and nobly than live a century longer the same dwelled. More than ever the widower con- modore sometimes asked his mother and chance to cast off their seeming passivity and he transferred his energies to railroads, the competitors to the wall Vanderbilt you are now.” sulted “spiritual physicians,”who used the his wife for advice about the children. seek careers, influence and power. newest edge of the industrial revolution. By The stubborn railroad king never would magnetic power of their hands to ease his body Not long after Sophia’s death, the Com- the late 1860s, well into his 70s, the Com- was frightening. have said it out loud, but he had already begun modore had become a “railroad king,”ruler to come to the same conclusion. At an age of an iron empire stretching from Manhat- He had little time for when men hardly ever changed, the Com- tan across New York State towards Chicago. modore had begun one last effort to remake His pride and joy, the New York Central Rail- his eight daughters and himself. Without knowing it, he had already road, helped make him fabulously rich. At set out on the route to Vanderbilt University. some point in the 1870s, his fortune reached little patience with two In the summer of 1868, the Commodore $90 million to $100 million, the largest in and Sophia had gone their separate ways as America and most likely the world. of his three sons. so often before. He had headed north for his annual stay at fashionable Saratoga, with its A Hard Man in Love When his wife balked at round of horse races and card games; she, feel- with His Own Name ing unwell, had traveled to the quiet waters of hen and now, the Commodore was a moving to Manhattan, Lebanon Springs at the eastern edge of the Tdifficult man to like. Pursuing profit state. There were waters in Saratoga, too, remorselessly, he reveled in risk and he put her in an asylum but by then the Vanderbilts had been married loved economic combat. His willingness to for nearly 55 years. drive competitors to the wall was frighten- until she changed her mind. The waters didn’t help, so the 73-year-old ing. He was no more lovable at home. A stern Sophia journeyed back to New York where father and a misogynist, he had little time for she suffered a stroke. Racing back on his spe- his eight daughters and little patience with drove himself hard, even in old age. Self-con- cial train at the unheard-of speed of nearly two of his three sons. When his wife, Sophia, trolled, he lived fairly plainly; his only extrav- a mile a minute, the Commodore stayed with balked at moving to Manhattan, he put her agance was his speedy trotting horses. his wife until a second, unexpected attack in an asylum until she changed her mind. His obsession, especially in old age, was killed her on Aug. 17. But, as I’ve found in researching a history keeping the name Vanderbilt alive. The Com- However strained their relationship, mar- of the Vanderbilt family, the Commodore was modore had a peculiar fascination with his riage had helped structure Cornelius Vander- also a compelling figure, frequently misunder- own blood; his wife, Sophia, was his first cousin bilt’s life for more than half a century. With stood. In an age of unregulated economic com- not once but twice over, the blood relative of petition, he had an essential integrity. Rather both the Commodore’s father and mother. An 1870 cartoon depicts the Commodore stand- old-fashioned, he offered no sanctimonious Obsessed with his name, Cornelius Van- ing astride two railroads competing with indus- MPI/GETTY IMAGES platitudes about the virtues of capitalism. derbilt had not done the obvious thing to trialist James Fisk (1835–1872) for control of Strong, courageous and incisive, Vanderbilt memorialize it: He hadn’t made large, osten- the Erie Railroad.

48 Summer 2006 V anderbilt Magazine 49 modore met two of the most attractive spir- skipped town to avoid the trial, so she was ford was the widow of a well-respected mer- Tecumseh Hotel in London, Ontario, mid- kers” early in 1870. Supposedly the world’s itualists of them all—Mrs. Victoria Wood- never convicted.) chant and federal marshal from Mobile, Ala. way between Niagara Falls and Detroit. There first women stockbrokers,“Woodhull, Claflin hull and her unmarried sister, Tennessee When Vickie had a vision to head for New Martha’s 30-year-old daughter, Frank Arm- a Methodist clergyman married him—not & Co.”caused an immediate sensation. Thou- Claflin. Vickie and Tennie were the extraor- York City in 1868, Tennie went along. By strong Crawford, had been divorced before to Tennie Claflin, not to Martha Crawford, sands flocked to get a look at “The Bewitch- dinary daughters of Roxanna “Roxy” Claflin, October, less than two months after Sophia the Civil War, her marriage the victim of but to Frank Crawford. ing Brokers.” a religious fanatic and mesmerist, and her Vanderbilt’s death, the sisters had opened interference from her own family. Like many Woodhull, Claflin & Co. made much of its brutal husband, Reuben “Buck” Claflin, a their “Magnetic Healing Institute and Con- Southerners, these husbandless Crawfords The Commodore and apparent connection to Cornelius Vanderbilt. notorious horse thief, blackmailer and servatory of Metaphysical, Mental and Spir- had seen their resources dwindle with the the Virtuous Woman A prominently displayed portrait of the Com- swindler. Shady and shiftless, the Claflins itual Science.” fortunes of the defeated Confederacy. Frank he wedding of America’s richest man modore reassured customers. Rumors spread had roamed about Ohio before the war. Vickie They were feminists; they were frauds; had taught music to help support the family. Tto a woman 45 years his junior pro- quickly that Vanderbilt was “the aider and and Tennie, beaten and starved by their cruel they were unique. And one day, not long after Mother and daughter were attractive women, voked wonder and amazement. The abettor, if not the full partner, of the firm.” father, found solace and a kind of power in their arrival in New York City, Victoria Wood- but nothing like the exotic Vickie and Tennie. press chuckled over the railroad king’s lat- The press eagerly presented the sisters as “Van- the spirit world. The intense, erratic Vickie hull and Tennessee Claflin turned up at Cor- Nevertheless, the Crawfords had some- est “speculation,”his “last and most notable The second Mrs. Vanderbilt derbilt’s protégés.” easily fell into deep trances; the ebullient nelius Vanderbilt’s house in Washington thing those free-love advocates lacked—a consolidation,”and clapped its forehead in Vickie and Tennie’s venture became an Tennie, eight years younger, specialized in Place. The Commodore admired the “clas- good bit of the Commodore’s genetic code. amused disbelief at the relative ages of the implored this most eminent embarrassment for the Commodore. The fortune-telling, premonitions and visions. sic-countenanced”Victoria, but he was even Like Vanderbilt and his wife, Sophia, Martha bride and groom. idea of female stockbrokers was controver- In 1853, at the age of 15, Vickie escaped more attracted to the voluptuous, 22-year- and Frank were direct descendants of the sea It was Frank who made the marriage of American “swearists” sial.“In short,”a reporter declared,“the spec- by eloping with her physician, Canning Wood- old Tennie, who, as a reporter once remarked, captain Samuel Hand and his wife, Phebe. acceptable. The new Mrs. Vanderbilt was an tacle of these Broad street brokers is a disgusting hull, who turned out to be a philandering, “displayed in the most aggravating way a Accordingly, the Crawfords had a special fas- unusual woman, an elegant enigma. She had to clean up his language. and unnatural one.”Vickie and Tennie’s career heartless drunk. Bearing two children, Vickie wondrous shirt front.” cination for Cornelius Vanderbilt, the man a man’s name—her father’s tribute to his as magnetic physicians and clairvoyants came supported her family by becoming an actress, Soon the Commodore began giving them who had married his first cousin and now revered business partner, Frank Armstrong. She got him to cut down on out in the papers. Tennie told the press that a prostitute, and a “clairvoyant medium and stock tips and apparently accepted $10,000 yearned to commune with her spirit. Martha But the Commodore’s tall wife was grace- she had expected to marry the Commodore. magnetic healer.”She also became a passion- of their money to manage on their behalf. and Frank were both his and Sophia’s blood fully feminine, her black hair and blue eyes card games and séances. The sisters’ notoriety increased when they ate advocate of women’s rights and sexual Vickie became his “magnetic doctress.” relatives—first cousins once and twice removed, lending her a quiet, winning dignity. She began publishing Woodhull and Claflin’s freedom. According to the sisters, Tennie became Van- respectively, of the Vanderbilts. The Craw- sang, she dressed well, and above all, she Most of all, she went to work Weekly, a forum for their outspoken views Tennie, meanwhile, had remained her derbilt’s “housekeeper” and ministered to a fords had visited their New York cousins the loved God. Frank was, a religious paper on women’s rights and free love. Vickie won father’s little meal ticket. From town to town variety of his needs. There were unsubstan- year before Sophia’s death. Now the Com- noted, “an accomplished Christian lady, a on his soul. still more notoriety by launching a well-pub- the Claflins hawked “Miss Tennessee’s Mag- tiated rumors of a sexual relationship between modore got to know mother and daughter worthy member of the Methodist Church, licized campaign for president of a nation netic Life Elixir,”a supposed cure for cancer the Commodore and the “ample” young red- even better, and soon the rumor began to cir- and an active worker in Church and Sab- that denied women the vote. and other ailments. In Illinois in 1863, Ten- head he called his “little sparrow.” culate that the railroad king would marry bath School work.”No one doubted Frank a church. The Commodore certainly knew If Frank felt anger or embarrassment over nie was charged with manslaughter when In the meantime, the Commodore was the widow Crawford. Vanderbilt’s faith. Normally, divorce per- what he was getting in Frank. He surely could the Commodore’s involvement with Vickie this hideous, burning salve killed a woman socializing with another pair of women. On the morning of Aug. 21, 1869, the manently clouded a woman’s reputation in have found a less devout helpmate such as and Tennie, she shared her feelings only in suffering from breast cancer. (The Claflins Forty-nine-year-old Martha Everitt Craw- Commodore turned up in the parlor of the Gilded Age America; but Frank, clothed in the “ample” Tennie Claflin. But the Com- private. As the saga of the “bewitching bro- her dignity and her piety, seemed eminently modore, in a sign of some inner change, had kers” unfolded, Frank quietly intensified her respectable. Somehow no one, at least in chosen Frank. campaign to reform the Commodore and public, questioned her motives in marry- The second Mrs. Vanderbilt quickly set save his soul. An astute judge of her aging They were feminists; they were frauds; ing the Commodore. to reforming her new husband. Frank firmly husband, the second Mrs. Vanderbilt skill- Frank’s piety legitimated the union implored this most eminent of American fully pushed him towards something he had they were unique. The Commodore but raised an interesting question about “swearists” to clean up his language. She per- always disdained—a sizeable act of charity. Cornelius Vanderbilt. As a religious writer suaded him to buy new clothes and new car- Soon after arriving in New York, Frank and admired Victoria, but he was more gently put it, the Commodore “had been a pets. She got him to cut down on card games her mother had begun attending an unusual very worldly and even profane man.”Thanks and séances. Most of all, she went to work fledgling church devoted to newcomers to the attracted to voluptuous Tennie, to his mother, he believed in the existence of on his soul. city. The pastor, Dr. Charles Deems, was a God and the authenticity of the Bible. With Frank had some unexpected help in her Southern Methodist, but his “Church of the who, as a reporter remarked, his stern demeanor, his sharp blue eyes and reform crusade. Despite his marriage, the Strangers” was nondenominational. The con- his white cravat, the railroad king was often Commodore did not sever all his ties to Vic- gregation of this “free, independent church “displayed in the most aggravating way mistaken for a minister or a bishop. Still, toria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin. There of Jesus Christ” met in rented rooms, up three Cornelius Vanderbilt had never shown any was no more magnetic doctoring, but the sis- difficult flights of stairs at New York Univer- a wondrous shirt front.” interest in organized religion, much less joined ters opened up shop as “bankers and bro- sity, not far from the Commodore’s house.

50 Summer 2006 V anderbilt Magazine 51 The Church of the Strangers grew quickly, relented and accepted the gift. The Church of Deems, a frequent guest at the Vanderbilt I had twice as much brains as they had maybe, himself publicly dragged back into the saga thanks to Dr. Deems, a short, powerfully built the Strangers bought its new building in July house. One evening the subject of education and yet I had to keep still, and couldn’t say of Vickie and Tennie. Subpoenaed to testify North Carolinian with a gift for simple, direct 1870, two months after the appearance of came up. “I’d give a million dollars today, anything through fear of exposing myself.” in an investor’s suit against the sisters for preaching. Before long, Frank began telling Woodhull and Claflin’s Weekly. Doctor,”Vanderbilt vowed, “if I had your The conversation continued a while before fraud, Vanderbilt declared that he had not the Commodore how hard it was to climb News of the Commodore’s gift stunned education!” Deems wondered whether the Deems, always canny with the Commodore, given them “any authority … to use my name those stairs at New York University. the public.“Commodore Vanderbilt has just Commodore, a multimillionaire with only figured a way to provoke his benefactor.“Let in their business.” As fiercely independent as the Commodore, done a good deed, unsolicited,” marveled a grade-school education, really meant what me tell you,” the minister said accusingly, Against the backdrop of continual reminders Deems himself made no effort to solicit a Harper’s Bazaar. he said. “I’ve been among educated people “that you are one of the greatest hindrances of the Commodore’s folly in taking up with donation from his parishioner’s fabulously Not one to rest on her laurels, Frank con- enough to see its importance,”Vanderbilt to education that I know of.”Surprised, Van- Woodhull and Claflin, Frank and Deems finally wealthy husband. This reticence was surely tinued her quiet work on Cornelius Vander- admitted. “I’ve been to England, and seen derbilt asked what he meant.“Why, don’t you succeeded in bringing the multimillionaire careful strategy; Frank and Deems knew Van- bilt’s soul. Now she had an ally in Charles them lords, and other fellows, and knew that see, if you do nothing to promote education, together with Bishop McTyeire. In March derbilt did not respond well to requests for to prove to the world that you believe in it, 1873, the Vanderbilts hosted the Bishop at 10 charity. But in truth, the minister didn’t much there isn’t a boy in all the land who ever heard McTyeire, like Deems, Washington Place as he convalesced from sur- care for the Commodore. “I regarded him,” Frank, clothed in her of you, but may say, ‘What’s the use of an gery. Once more Frank had proved an astute Deems recalled, “as an unscrupulous gath- education? There’s Commodore Vanderbilt; was just the Commodore’s judge of her husband: McTyeire, like Deems, erer of money, a man who aimed at accumu- dignity and her piety, he never had any, and never wanted any, and was just the Commodore’s sort of man. A lating an immense fortune and had no very yet he became the richest man in America.’” sort of man. A driving, driving, focused leader, the rather introverted pious concern as to the means.” The cleric seemed eminently Vanderbilt, taken aback, wondered what to bishop played his cards close to the vest, just was also, he admitted,“a little afraid” of the do. Deems moved in on his goal: “Suppose focused leader, the rather like Vanderbilt. The Commodore sized up imperious railway king. respectable. No one, at least you take that money and found a university.” McTyeire quickly.“The greatest railroad lawyer Finally visiting the Commodore, Deems Artfully, the cleric added the finishing touch: introverted bishop played I ever knew was destroyed,”Vanderbilt told began to change his mind about this “unscrupu- in public, questioned her The new institution could be called the “Van- the bishop,“when you entered the ministry.” lous gatherer of money.”For his part, Van- derbilt University.” his cards close to the vest, Frank, meanwhile, played her part. Dri- derbilt decided he approved of Deems’ religious motives in marrying The Commodore was interested, but ving past the Astor Library with the Com- “orthodoxy,”as well as the minister’s refusal Deems’ notion languished. Following a sug- just like Vanderbilt. modore one day during McTyeire’s visit, she to ask for money. One day, rather abruptly, the Commodore. gestion from Vanderbilt, the minister explored spoke feelingly of “how much had been done the Commodore told Deems to come see him the feasibility of a Moravian school, dedi- for the young men of the North, while the few the next evening. Unintentionally playing cated to the faith of the Commodore’s fore- Finance” and their family turned on their institutions of learning left in the South were hard to get, the minister explained he had bears. But the Moravians lacked the kind of former benefactor in 1871. That spring Ten- struggling under the burden of debt, and the other commitments for the next several strong leader Vanderbilt believed necessary nie and Vickie’s mother, Roxy, set out to vast majority of the young men in that sec- evenings. Vanderbilt wasn’t used to being told to run “so great a work.”Deems turned, then, blackmail the Commodore, along with some tion were denied even such privileges as these to wait, which made him that much more to the idea he and Frank had no doubt had other well known New Yorkers. Then Ten- poorly equipped institutions provided.”When interested in Deems. When they did meet, all along—the longtime dream of a South- nie took the stand to testify in a typically his wife told him she “longed” to help these Vanderbilt quizzed the minister about his ern Methodist university in Nashville. One bizarre Claflin family brawl, Roxie’s lawsuit young Southerners, the Commodore asked plans for a building and then offered to give of the leaders of the movement for this “cen- against one of Vickie’s former husbands. “I how. She replied simply,“A university.” it to him. tral university” was a Southern Methodist … have humbugged a great many rich peo- The Commodore, who had done a great bishop, the Rev. Dr. Holland N. McTyeire, ple, Vanderbilt included,” Tennie proudly deal for two women of the North, now knew A First Great who was a friend of Charles Deems and both announced.“Commodore Vanderbilt knows what he needed to do for this woman of the Act of Charity a kinsman by marriage and former pastor my power.” South. Before McTyeire left New York, Van- his new business of philanthropy of Frank Vanderbilt. But the Commodore Next it was Vickie’s turn to tweak the derbilt gave him a written offer of a $500,000 Twasn’t so easy. To Vanderbilt’s amaze- didn’t take the hint and invite McTyeire to Commodore in public. In a highly publi- endowment to support the Methodist “Cen- ment, Deems suspected some devious come see him. cized address in February 1872, Woodhull tral University” in or near Nashville. Before financial stratagem or a trick to make him a compared the railway king to a thief. Rail- the month was out, the board of trust of kept man, a “chaplain.”The minister angrily Revenge of the ing against “these railroad magnates,” she the projected Central University accepted the turned down the first large act of charity the Bewitching Brokers declared,“It is a crime for a single person to Commodore’s offer and renamed their insti- Commodore had ever attempted.Vanderbilt hen Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee steal a dollar, but a corporation may steal tution “Vanderbilt University.”(A later, sec- made clear he had no use for a chaplain and TClaflin once again provided their spe- millions of dollars, and be canonized as ond donation brought the Commodore’s total wanted Deems to maintain his independ- cial kind of help. No longer associ- saints.” gift to nearly $1 million.) ence. In a comic scene, the minister finally ated with the Commodore, the “Queens of As late as 1875, the Commodore found continued on page 86

52 Summer 2006 ALL IMAGES COURTESY VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES. V anderbilt Magazine 53

Tom Fox was kidnapped in Baghdad on Nov. 26, 2005. His body was found near a west Baghdad railroad line on March 9, 2006.

There were gunshot wounds in his head and chest, and police said the body showed signs of torture. A group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. Three other peacemakers who had been kidnapped with him were later safely released. Tom Fox was an unlikely hero. After graduating from Peabody College in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in music education, he spent two decades playing clarinet for the United States Marine Band. As a Quaker he became a committed peace activist, and in September 2004 he went to Iraq with a group from Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Chicago-based violence-reduction program. There was little hint during his years at Peabody that Fox would become an activist.“Tom was a very quiet person back then,”says Frank Kirchner, an adjunct associate professor of saxophone at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music who met Fox while both were studying music at Peabody.“He was a man of few words, but when he spoke it was usually something very intuitive and insightful.” Fox, who was 54 at the time of his death, lived in Springfield, Va., and is survived by two children. Reprinted here are edited excerpts from his blog,“Waiting in the Light.” To read the complete blog, go to www.waitinginthelight.blogspot.com/.

WAITINGIN THE LIGHT

54 Summer 2006 SHARIF TARABAY

If Jesus and Gandhi are right, then I am asked Oct. 1, 2004 to risk my life and, if I lose it, to be as forgiving First Impressions of Baghdad as they were when murdered by the forces of You should take these first impressions of Baghdad with several grains of salt. I have Satan. I struggle to stand firm, but I’m willing only been in the city for seven days and have never been to the Near East before. I have to keep working at it. only been part of a Christian Peacemaker Team [CPT] for 50 days. And I have no pre- vious background in peacemaking, having life and, if I lose it, to be as forgiving as couple of lights and the television for an addi- spent the last 10 years working for a natural they were when murdered by the forces of tional three to four hours. Imagine: You have foods company and the remainder of my Satan. I struggle to stand firm, but I’m will- to structure your home life around two hours adult life as a musician. ing to keep working at it. of electric power a day. “Do not lie, and do not do what you hate” Their son stays with a grandmother who (Gospel of Thomas, v. 6). This saying of Jesus, Nov. 30, 2004 lives very close to his school to avoid walking as is the case with so many of his teachings, through areas that have numerous instances seems so obvious. Yet the longer I consider Imagine of kidnapping and robbery. The rest of Nuir’s it, the greater its subtle truth becomes. Last week Maxine Nash and I visited a friend family lives in a second-story apartment, and After stripping away all the rationales for of the team at his home. Nuir (not his real their daughter can’t play outside in their neigh- the invasion of Iraq, what is left is the reality name) invited us for dinner and to spend the borhood. Imagine: Your children are confined that the current U.S. administration felt night. Trying to put it in the context of what inside your home at all times. Their only out- compelled to invade from a basis of hate. I is normal in North America really strained side activity is when you visit a relative who can envision them saying, “Saddam is evil. my imagination. has a walled enclosure. We hate evil. Therefore, we need to rid the Nuir picked us up after dark to minimize Nuir has a small shop selling stationery world of this evil man and his cronies.”Sad- the possibility of being seen going into his items, and business is suffering. Many cus- dam and his associates built palaces and en- house. Maxine and I wore Iraqi head cover- tomers live outside the Baghdad area. Ban- KRT/ELIZABETH MALBY/BALTIMORE SUN claves where they lived in luxury while Artillery and oil fires create a haze throughout Baghdad in this 2003 photo. ings to minimize the likelihood someone dits force cars off the road to rob passengers. across the Tigris River over a million resi- might see him bringing Westerners to his Religious extremists look for foreigners or dents of Baghdad lived in poverty and forces keep the population in a state of fear myself to become fearful, I disconnect from CPTers standing firm against the overt aggres- home, since that would make Nuir a poten- people from religious sects other than their squalor. He maintained control of the coun- and uncertainty. God and connect with the evil force that encour- sion of an army, be it regular or paramilitary. tial target for insurgent retaliation. Imag- own to assault or kill. Imagine: Your customers try by devoting huge amounts of material Do not do what you hate. ages flight. I take Gandhi and Jesus at their But how do you stand firm against a car ine: You live in North America and invite can’t reach your business for fear of being resources to his military and security forces, word: If I am not one with God, then I am one bomber or a kidnapper? Clearly, the sol- friends who are visiting from Japan to your robbed or killed. a decision that allowed the city’s infrastruc- Oct. 22, 2004 with Satan. I don’t think Gandhi would use dier being disconnected from God needs to home. You tell them not to arrive until after You might imagine this family’s circum- ture to deteriorate. And most hateful of all that word, but Jesus certainly did, on numer- have me fight. Just as clearly, the terrorist dark and to wear the caps and jerseys of the stances are worse than others’.Actually, they was his use of imprisonment and torture to Fight or Flight? ous occasions. The French theologian Rene being disconnected from God needs to have local high-school football team to help them are better than most. keep Baghdad living in a state of fear. “If an attacker inspires anger or fear in my Girard has a very powerful vision of Satan that me flee. Both are willing to kill me using dif- blend in. Most of the American and Iraqi interim heart, it means that I have not purged myself speaks to me:“Satan sustains himself as a par- ferent means to achieve the same end—that On the way to and from their home, we Jan. 24, 2005 government officials have sequestered them- of violence. To realize nonviolence means to feel asite on what God creates by imitating God in end being to increase the parasitic power saw lines of cars, some stretching for miles, selves in palaces and enclaves, which has within you its strength—soul force—to know a manner that is jealous, grotesque, perverse, of Satan within God’s good creation. waiting to get gas. There is a major fuel cri- The Rock of Foundation served to disconnect them from the popula- God. A person who has known God will be inca- and as contrary as possible to the loving and It seems easier somehow to confront anger sis in the country. Imagine: You get up in the I was able to spend 10 days with the CPT proj- tion. These officials are devoting a signifi- pable of harboring anger or fear within him obedient imitation of Jesus.” within my heart than it is to confront fear. middle of the night or spend the night in line ect in Hebron, Palestine. My flight to the U.S. cant amount of material resources to main- [or her], no matter how overpowering the cause If I am not to fight or flee in the face of But if Jesus and Gandhi are right, then I waiting for the gas station to open. Or you [for a return visit] left from Amman, and I tain both military and contracted security for that anger or fear may be.” armed aggression, be it the overt aggression am not to give in to either. I am to stand firm pay 20 times what you have been paying, needed to travel through Jerusalem. I left Hebron organizations while the already marginal in- — Gandhi to Badshah Kahn’s Khudai Khid- of the army or the subversive aggression of against the kidnapper as I am to stand firm knowing it will affect the food and other neces- early on Jan. 6 so I would have time to walk the frastructure continues to deteriorate. And in matgar officers; from A Man to Match the terrorist, then what am I to do? “Stand against the soldier. Does that mean I walk sities you can purchase that week. sacred spaces of Judaism, Islam and Christian- the continuing cycle of hatred creating more His Mountains by Eknath Easwaran firm against evil” seems to be the guidance into a raging battle to confront the soldiers? We spent most of the night with kerosene ity. I had read about the deep, rich and tur- hatred, there are elements that use terrorist of Jesus and Gandhi in order to stay con- Does that mean I walk the streets of Bagh- lamps for light because their neighborhood bulent history of that rock and the city it anchors. tactics to try to destabilize the American When I allow myself to become angry, I nected with God. But here in Iraq I strug- dad with a sign saying “American for the Tak- is getting only about two hours of electricity It is called the “Even Shetiyah”(Rock of Foun- forces and the interim government. Their disconnect from God and connect with the gle with that second form of aggression. I ing”? No to both counts. But if Jesus and per day. He has a battery-powered converter dation) in the Jewish faith. It is the site where actions and the response by the American evil force that empowers fighting. When I allow have visual references and written models of Gandhi are right, then I am asked to risk my that gives the family enough power to run a Abraham, the father of both Jews and Muslims,

56 Summer 2006 V anderbilt Magazine 57

Behind the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, stands the Dome of the Rock, an important site for Muslims.

resisted, the kidnappers opened fire, riddling many spiritual teachers say it is the only a revered leader. But I have heard many say in Iraq. As is the case with many U.S. military his body with bullets. Our visitor helped take authentic place to be. Not staking out any that while they lived under the threat of vio- and civilians working in the Green Zone, the the body to the morgue. ground for myself creates the possibility of lence with Saddam, they preferred that life to colonel has never set foot on a street in Bagh- Later, another young man who is both a standing with anyone. The middle of nowhere the bloodshed, chaos and anarchy that sur- dad. He has never been inside the home of college student and a journalist visited us. He is the one place where compassion can be round them now. an Iraqi family nor seen any of the country’s told us that a car bomb detonated within sev- discovered. The constant challenge is recog- No one seems to offer a solution that does historical or cultural sites. eral hundred feet of his house. Two people nizing that my true country of origin is the not entail more guns, more restrictions on driving near the booby-trapped car were killed. middle of nowhere. basic human rights, more soldiers, more June 21, 2005 The driver died instantly, but the passenger barbed wire and concrete barricades, more died as the young man and friends tried to May 17, 2005 “security” and less freedom. Sooner or later For the Sake of Our Children get him to a hospital. the insurgency will run out of suicide bombers Our apartment is across the street from a park. Yesterday we met with an Iraqi human It Was a Fairly Quiet Day in Baghdad and weapons. Sooner or later the ringleaders Many evenings around the time we are gath- rights worker who documents issues of detainee In Baghdad today, four clerics (three Sunni and will be captured or killed. But what will remain ering for supper, a mother and her three chil-

KRT/ALLEN HOLDER/KANSAS CITY STAR abuse. He gave us information about a 13- one Shi’a) were assassinated. The bodies of two will be one of the most restrictive, oppressive dren walk by our living-room window. The year-old boy who is being detained along with other Sunni clerics who had been abducted last police states in the world. western sun illuminates her face and the faces was led by God to renounce human sacrifice. While Jerusalem is God’s city, it must be information on inhumane living conditions week were found. A suicide car bomber deto- of her young children. I don’t know her, but It is the site of the Two Temples of Jerusalem under the stewardship of God’s children. If at the Multi-National Force detention camps. nated his vehicle in the Abu Cher market, killing June 6, 2005 in a way I feel I do. She looks tired. So many, of which now only the Wailing Wall remains Jerusalem and the rock that is the foundation The ability to feel the pain of another nine Iraqi national guard troops and injuring many people here in Iraq are so very tired. She as the most sacred site in Judaism. It is the place of the world belong to the world, then it should human being is central to any kind of peace- 28 civilians. Two engineering students were Tunnel Vision looks a bit fearful. Will today be the day insur- where Satan took Jesus to tempt him. It is the be administered by the world. It needs to be making work. But this compassion is fraught killed when a bomb (or rocket) struck their “Iraqis always seem to have lots of guns in gents set off a car bomb near the park? Will site of the Dome of the Rock, and it was from a world city under the care of the United with peril. A person can experience a feel- classroom at a local school. The dean of a high their houses.”A U.S. Army colonel was mak- today be the day young men of the Iraqi National that rock that the prophet Mohammed made Nations. Only a world body can begin the ing of being overwhelmed. Or a feeling of school in the Shaab neighborhood was assas- ing reference to how prevalent gun owner- Guard, riding like cowboys in the back of their his Night Journey into the seventh heaven. work to heal centuries of anger and hatred. rage and desire for revenge. Or a desire to sinated. One judge, two officials from the Min- ship is in Iraq. We were meeting in his office pickup trucks, get trigger happy and start As I walked the plaza, it was as if I were With much hard work and after many gen- move away from the pain. Or a sense of istry of Defense, and one official investigating in the Green Zone. Draped across his high- shooting with her and her children in the line walking into the epicenter of three faiths. Before erations, there can come a time when faith- numbness that can deaden the ability to feel corruption in the previous Interim Govern- back chair was an ornate leather holster with of fire? Yet day after day I see her taking her me was the Dome of the Rock where I felt the ful Jews, Muslims and Christians can work anything at all. ment were assassinated. In all, 31 dead, 42 injured his service revolver. children to the park. Underneath the fatigue children of Ishmael looking for solace as they together to care for the city. How do I stay with the pain and suffering and 17 abducted. Compared to some days in mourned the loss of their homeland. To my Listening must replace shouting. A com- and not be overwhelmed? How do I resist the Baghdad, the number of dead and injured was right I felt the energy of the Wailing Wall as mitment to peace must replace the failed her- welling up of rage towards the perpetrators fewer. Children walked to their schools and How do I stay with the pain and suffering the children of Isaac mourned the passing of itage of violence. As Abraham, the father of of violence? How do I keep from disconnect- people went to work. Shops opened for busi- their Temple. To my left I felt the pain of the all three faiths, came to see that God did ing from or becoming numb to the pain? ness, and the seemingly endless parade of mil- and not be overwhelmed? How do I resist the Via Dolorosa as the other children of Isaac not require human sacrifice as a means of After eight months with CPT, I am no itary, police and private security vehicles went mourned the suffering of Jesus on his final worship, Abraham’s children must come to clearer than when I began. I have to struggle about their business. welling up of rage towards the perpetrators of journey in this world. see that the rock and the city are whole and harder each day against my desire to move Imagine if these events took place in one All the children of Abraham see this site cannot be broken up and divided. away or become numb. Simply staying with day in Washington, D.C. A state of emergency violence? How do I keep from disconnecting as being at the center of their faith. All the the pain of others doesn’t seem to create any would be declared, and martial law would be children of Abraham see the rock as being an April 27, 2005 healing or transformation. Yet there seems to imposed. Civilians would stay home, and or becoming numb to the pain? important symbol of their faith. All the chil- be no other first step into the realm of com- some might leave the area. There would be dren of Abraham don’t see the rock as belong- The Middle of Nowhere passion than to not step away. nothing else on the media except coverage ing to anyone else. What should be seen as Today Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq of the bloodshed. Life as normal would cease, “Our young technician can barely keep and the fear, I can sense the hope and the the epicenter of God’s love and compassion was visited by a young Iraqi man whose fam- “Becoming intimate with the queasy feel- as the populace would look to its govern- up with the demand,”the colonel said, describ- courage in her heart. It reflects on her chil- for all humans has been the site of conflict, ily raised more than $20,000 from contribu- ing of being in the middle of nowhere makes ment for leadership in bringing the chaos ing the work of a sergeant who is an expert dren as does the setting sun reflected on the bloodshed and hatred. tors worldwide to pay for medicine for the our hearts more tender. When we are brave under control. The populace would demand in constructing artificial limbs. No one in nearby Tigris River. The city is a microcosm of the conflict hospitals and clinics at Fallujah. He has asked enough to stay in the nowhere place, then com- that this complete breakdown of the social Iraq, the colonel said proudly, has the equip- She gives me courage to face the overwhelm- between the three monotheistic faiths. Can that CPT accompany the delivery of the sup- passion arises spontaneously.” fabric be mended immediately. ment or expertise that this young man has. ing difficulties of life in this broken land. She it be the model for the nonviolent resolution plies into the city. During his visit he gave us — from The Places That Scare You When the U.S.-led invasion tore away the Yet there did not seem to be an acknowledge- is living in the present moment fully aware of of that conflict? Whose city is it? It’s God’s the grim news that four people he knew have by Pema Chodron façade of the state of Iraq, a torrent of reli- ment of why there is such a demand for arti- the dangers and uncertainties, and yet she has city, and not the sole possession of any of died in the last several days. The day before gious, ethnic, tribal and cultural tensions that ficial limbs in Iraq at this time. not given up hope, she has not given in to God’s children. It belongs to all and needs to his visit, the father of a friend became a tar- Being in the middle of nowhere really had festered for generations was unleashed. The colonel said his unit would be going despair, she has not let herself be driven into be open to all. get for kidnappers. When his friend’s father does create a very queasy feeling, and yet so I have not heard one person say Saddam was home at the end of the month after a year hiding by men with guns and bombs. She

58 Summer 2006 V anderbilt Magazine 59

Tom Fox was a novice to peacemaking when he entered Iraq with a CPT Team in 2004.

teaches me how to live fully conscious of the swallowed poison that will harden or embit- a study to look at Iraqi casualties since the ment’s campaign of ridding Iraq of foreign horrors of today and still be able to envision ter me. Or perhaps I have been blessed with beginning of the U.S.-led invasion. Weapons terrorists is going. a future of promise, peace and plenty. a homeopathic remedy of absorbing just using bullets have killed the vast majority But why Iraqi Palestinians? They are easy enough poison to begin to cure me of my own of human beings in Iraq and everywhere else to find. Most live in two large compounds in July 12, 2005 subconscious racist and colonialist tenden- wars are being waged. The study stated that Baghdad. They are defenseless. Iraqi Pales- cies and then be able to help others cure them- 40,000 Iraqis have probably died from vio- tinians are barred from owning firearms. They Sanded in Baghdad selves. Time will tell. lence since March 2003. And 70 percent of have no political clout. They can’t vote, own Three days in the Baghdad airport waiting to those casualties were innocent non-combat- property or own a car. They are small in num- see if the sand and dust would let up enough Aug. 30, 2005 ants, mainly women and children. bers: The total population in Iraq is around to allow flights was more stressful that I imag- The only “something in my life” I can hold 23,000. Saddam used them to promote his ined. A number of internationals were in the This Sad Wearing Away of the Heart onto is to do what little I can to bring about political prestige with Sunni Arabs in the Mid- same predicament. Some were private security “I must have something in life which will fill the creation of the Peaceable Realm of God. dle East by giving them subsidized housing, contractors who work for large international this vacuum and prevent this sad wearing away It is my sense that such a realm will always a fact that was resented by many Iraqis. They firms like DynCorp and KBR and are paid sub- of the heart.” have natural disasters. It is the “man-made” were forced out of those apartments during stantial sums (many $1,000 a day) to protect — Elizabeth Blackwell disasters we are called upon to bring to an end. the first months of the U.S.-led invasion. international facilities and personnel. Others So here we are gathered around a camp-

worked for NGOs and organizations that were I was planning to send the update from Oct. 21, 2005 fire in the desert. We spent the first night sleep- PHOTO COURTESY OF CPT business related, such as a firm that did man- last week for the Christian Peacemaker Team ing on the sidewalk at the Syrian side of the agement training for Iraqi entrepreneurs. in Iraq, but it was simply too much bad news: Faces of Desperation border crossing. Trucks roared by all night to explain the litany of ills that continue to of remembrance, resistance and resilience. I was dismayed by what seemed to be racist a suicide bomber in our neighborhood; a We are gathered around a campfire sharing making sleep almost impossible. Yet several afflict his city one year after the U.S.-led assault The cleric said that a number of civic lead- and colonialist statements by almost every friend of the team with typhoid from the chai tea and fellowship. “We” consists of 19 said it was the best night’s sleep they had got- took place. ers had come to him with a proposal for an contractor or entrepreneur I talked with. drinking water in the city; the uncle of a col- Palestinian men, women and children (ages ten in months. No sirens, no gunfire, no house “All the men in the mosque were from my action in remembrance of the anniversary. Having grown up in the Southern U.S. with league who died from the intense heat due to 1 to 13) who have either been born in or have raids in the middle of the night, no one being neighborhood. They were not terrorists.” Their proposal was to raise funds for relief a racist father, it was a bizarre experience lack of electricity. It went on and on. lived most of their lives in Iraq.“We” also con- hauled away by Iraqi security forces perhaps Words from a young man who said he left efforts for victims of the earthquake in Pak- hearing almost the same comments being And then today the incredible tragedy sists of three CPTers, one member of the Mus- never to be seen again. Now into our eighth a room of men either injured or homeless 30 istan. He said that a teaching of Islam is to made against Iraqis that I heard as a child on the bridge leading into Kadamiah in Bagh- lim Peacemaker Teams,and CPT’s translator day, we are living in tents provided by the minutes before the raid on his mosque, the always look to aid others in need before ask- being made against blacks. The same venom dad. A solemn religious processional turned (who is also Palestinian). We are camped at U.N. My teammate, Shelia Provencher, and same mosque shown in the now-famous ing for aid yourself. was coming out of their mouths as they den- our translator have started a one-hour “school” videotape of an American soldier shooting The cleric said he recently traveled to igrated the people, culture and societal norms I have heard many say that while they lived each day for the children. unarmed men lying on the mosque floor. another Middle Eastern country, and dur- of Iraq. I asked one man what he would do if the “There haven’t been any funds for home ing his visit he met with a cleric from Libya. Equally disturbing was the colonialist atti- U.N. and Syria were unable to reach a solu- reconstruction available since the change in The Libyan cleric said that in his city, and tude of most of the business internationals under the threat of violence with Saddam, tion and they were told to return to Iraq. Iraqi government last January.” The words in other places in Libya, parents are nam- (most contractors I talked to were South African Would he, and his family, return? “Never,”he of a civic leader from Fallujah as he showed ing newborn girls “Fallujah” in honor of the or English, and most businessmen were Amer- they preferred that life to the bloodshed, chaos said. “We will either stay here or die before CPTers the still-devastated areas of his city. city. The cleric said more than 800 girls had ican). Remarks like, “They don’t have a clue we return to the certain death of Iraq.”I can- There are no words. A city that has been been named Fallujah in his city alone. how it’s done in the West.”There seemed no and anarchy that surround them now. not imagine the level of desperation a per- demonized by Americans and many Iraqis, Words are inadequate, but words are all attempt at understanding, much less respect- son must reach in order to make such a using the words “the city of terrorists.”A city we have. Words like “collective punishment” ing, the culture of the people they ostensibly statement. And yet, I don’t need to imagine that its residents call “the city of mosques.” and “ghettoize” come to mind for the cur- are here to work with in partnership. into chaos and death. An event that would not the Al Walid border crossing between Syria it at all. I see it on the faces of the commu- A city that even its residents have to enter at rent state of life in Fallujah. I have to assume the racist attitudes of the have happened had not the events of the last and Iraq awaiting news of whether the Iraqi nity we are part of every day. checkpoints, often taking up to an hour to What words or deeds could undo the security contractors stem from the necessity two and a half years driven almost everybody Palestinians, who are currently barred from traverse. A city that is being choked to death massive trauma faced by the people of Fal- for a human being to dehumanize and mar- in Iraq to the precipice of uncontrollable fear. entering Syria, will be granted refugee status economically by those same checkpoints. lujah every day? Everywhere we went dur- ginalize other human beings in order to kill Is there something in life that will fill this by the United Nations, which will be recog- Tom Fox’s final blog posting: CPTers and a member of the Muslim Peace- ing the afternoon, young boys listened to them. The colonialist attitudes are harder vacuum and prevent this sad wearing away nized by the Syrian government. maker Teams came to Fallujah to meet with our words and the words of those with whom to grasp. Do we see Iraq the same way as of the heart? I have no idea, but I do know The new Iraq government’s security forces Nov. 8, 2005 friends and contacts to ask them if the city we were meeting. I kept wondering what was Kipling saw India, that of being “the white that my heart feels different when I consider have made Iraqi Palestinians primary targets was planning on doing something in remem- going on in their minds as they relived the man’s burden” to bring Western civilization the unknowable realms of disease and natu- for harassment, arbitrary arrest, torture- There Are No Words brance of the tragic events of last November events of a year ago and the ensuing trauma. to the uncivilized Arabs and Kurds? ral disaster compared to the man-made dis- induced confessions to crimes they didn’t “The ongoing difficulties faced by Fallujans when U.S. forces attacked their city of 300,000 What effect will these events have on their Those three days at the airport are woven asters that bring about death and destruction. commit and, in some cases, death. All in the are so great that words fail to properly express to root out, by U.S. estimates, 1,500 terrorists. lives as they grow up? deeply into my spirit. I’m wondering if I have Four months ago the U.N. commissioned name of demonstrating how well the govern- it.”Words from a cleric in Fallujah as he tried What we heard in response were words There are no words. V

60 Summer 2006 V anderbilt Magazine 61

TheArts Culture“ “ Academia must address these issues to be relevant. We owe it to the kids we’re teaching. —PROFESSOR CECELIA TICHI

Darshan Singh Bhuller has MUSIC: The Annual Appalachian VISUAL ARTS: Donald Woodman, Judy Chicago formed a company of 10 sea- This spring’s production by Celebration was performed by Throughout the spring semes- soned dancers who mirror the Vanderbilt Opera Theatre, the Blair folk music faculty, ter, 12 talented Vanderbilt stu- wider multicultural society and Mozart to Modern, juxtaposed including Butch Baldassari, dents and 13 local professional present thought-provoking scenes from Mozart’s operas mandolin; David Schnaufer, artists, ranging in age from 18 pieces encompassing pop cul- Cosi fan Tutte and Marriage dulcimer; and Bobby Taylor, to 60 and from diverse back- ture, classicism and abstract of Figaro in the first act oboe, who were joined in this grounds, worked with Chancel- concepts. with works by Mark fourth annual concert by lor’s Artists-in-Residence Judy Adamo, Kurt Weill Alison Brown, jazz banjo Chicago and Donald Wood- The Vanderbilt Dance and Carlisle Floyd in player, and the Peasall Sisters man on EVOKE/ Program held its second the second. of O Brother, Where Art INVOKE/ PRO- annual Summer Dance Thou? fame. VOKE: A Multi-

Festival June 8–17, providing media Project of NEIL BRAKE classes in ballet, jazz, modern, Discovery. The proj- museum-quality lighting California-based painter hip-hop, dance improvisation, ect, which premiered and ceiling tiles in the gallery, Albert Contreras, who in West African dance, capoeira April 21 and ran through upgrades to office and storage the last five years has re-estab- (Brazilian martial arts), May 13 at the Cohen areas, and the installation of lished himself as an artist of Bartenieff fundamentals Building on the Peabody a new sign above the front international renown, recently (dance conditioning) College campus, enabled entrance of the Fine Arts bequeathed to Vanderbilt 24 and yoga. In addition students and artists to find and Building. The gallery will works of art that are now hang- Phoenix Dance Theatre to daily classes, perform- expand their creative voices, reopen Aug. 17. ing in a single >> ance-based repertory classes resulting in a content-rich were offered. This year’s exhibition that grew out of At Sarratt Gallery, sculptor THEATRE & current events from personal faculty featured visiting each individual’s personal Aaron Hussey installed a DANCE: perspectives, presented at artists Kim Neal Nofsinger experiences, reflecting their mixed-media work that Vanderbilt Neely Auditorium in mid- In late March, and Taryn Packheiser deepest beliefs. remained on view through Juggling and Physical Arts April. Combining political (modern dance and hip-hop), The Vanderbilt Fine Arts the end of May. Hussey draws theatre with media trends, presented Juggleville at Ingram Kelli Reeves (jazz) and Gallery’s final show, Roy on figurative and architectural dramablog allowed students a Hall. This one-of-a-kind Randall Duval (capoeira). Villevoye: Propeller, was on forms to explore the human new mode of expression with- production featured juggling, view March through May and condition focusing out pretending to be fair and break dancing, physical come- featured photography, original on issues of balanced—immediate news dy and more. A portion of the films and an artist’s book by security and became immediate theatre. proceeds was donated to the Villevoye, a Dutch artist who insecurity. Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s has worked in the Asmat, a Hussey works in Phoenix Dance Theatre, Vanderbilt Hospital at Vanderbilt. virtually impassable swampy a wide variety of one of England’s leading con- Opera region along the southern coast media, including Vanderbilt University temporary dance companies, Theatre of Irian Jaya (New Guinea) in cast and fabricat- Theatre’s finished the Vanderbilt Great last production Indonesia, since the mid-1990s. ed metal, clay, Performances Series with a of the season was dramablog: The Fine Arts Gallery closed wood, plaster, master class and performance an exploration of the political for renovation following the concrete and, in mid-April. By fusing genres and personal, a student- exhibit. The renovation most recently, and forms, Artistic Director created piece exploring NEIL BRAKE will include installation of digital video.

62 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 63

T HE A RTS &CULTURE

skills—like cooking—to go unprecedented, and it changed think through this contradic- “From where I sit in an Eng- A CCOLADES with her fifth-floor walk-up, everything.” tion in our society. Faulkner’s lish department, I see students F. Hamilton Hazlehurst, emeritus Charlie forms a cooking club But how should any of this novella helps us do it.” who are getting worried about professor of fine arts and former with her friends. They convene change how a college professor In What Democracy Looks the issues brought up in Seattle, chairman of the department, joins once a month to share food approaches a poem, novel or Like, 27 essayists probe how realizing that things like global William Faulkner, David Bowie, and swap recipes, and to gossip short story? Tichi explains teaching about writers like warming and the World Trade Jackson Pollack and other luminaries about the drama of their new using William Faulkner’s story Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Organization might mean their in L’Ordre des Artes et des Lettres, an lives. Spooning is a tale of food, Old Man written in 1939, in Twain, Stephen Crane and futures are not as assured as order of France recognizing signifi- friendship, and what it takes to which a prisoner released dur- Langston Hughes can be revi- previous generations. Acade- cant contributions to the arts and lit- find the perfect recipe for ing the 1927 Mississippi River talized by viewing them in light mia must address these issues erature. Hazlehurst was honored July 13 at the U.S. romance. flood rescues others from the of the social justice issues to be relevant. We owe it to the Embassy in Paris with the title “officier” for his book flood, gets a job and proves raised by the 1999 protests kids we’re teaching.” Gardens of Illusion: The Genius of Andre Le Nostre, What Democracy Looks Like: himself rehabilitated, only to in Seattle. –Jim Patterson published in 1980 by Vanderbilt University Press and Works by Albert Contreras DANIEL DUBOIS reprinted four times. The book, recently translated into A New Critical Realism for a be returned to prison as an painting altogether, a dark “I’m always looking for ways French, profiles great gardens in France. Post-Seattle World (Rutgers escapee because government period that would last 25 years. to get art on campus beyond University Press), edited by officials don’t want it disclosed Cecelia Tichi, Robert L. Mode, associate professor of history of art, After resuming painting in the gallery,”says Mella,“so I that they pardoned UPCOMING has been named recipient of the Alumni Education 1997, Contreras is once again an passed the offer on to Judson the William R. a live prisoner. VISUAL ART Award. The award, which consists of an engraved julep artistic dynamo. He’s exhibited Newbern, Vanderbilt’s associate Kenan Jr. Professor “Faulkner fills cup and $2,500, is given annually by the Vanderbilt his work six times since 2001, vice chancellor for campus of English at that novella with Vanderbilt Fine Arts Alumni Association to a faculty member who has distin- twice each at the Daniel Wein- planning and construction, Vanderbilt, and indictments Gallery reopens Aug. 17 guished himself through long service to alumni. Mode berg Gallery in Los Angeles who deals with space allocation, Amy Schrager against what he with Views from the Col- has visited 12 alumni chapters around the country and and the Bill Maynes Gallery and he found a home for it.” Lang, professor calls ‘the criminal lection I, the first in a led art tours both here and abroad. in New York. –Jeff Havens of English and injustice system,’” three-part series of exhi- “I thought the panels humanities at Tichi says. “But bitions of art from the “Maggie Sullivan,” a portrait demonstrated a great sense of Syracuse, looks at modern critics are Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Collection. This show Rick Weaver, painting by color,”Joseph Mella, director BOOKS & the 1999 protests interested in the will feature a cross-section of work from Europe, Asia BS’80, has been selected for of the Vanderbilt Fine Arts WRITERS: in Seattle against world trade language about the flood and and the United States. the Outwin Boochever Portrait Gallery, says of the works Con- In Spooning, by Megan policies as a dividing line in say this guy is perfectly well off Competition 2006 Exhibition treras donated to Vanderbilt. DeSales, BS’97, and Darri our culture and advocates that in prison because he gets to THEATRE at the National Portrait “The work captivated me. … Stephens (Broadway Books, humanities educators need to play baseball on Sunday and VUT presents The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute, in Gallery in Washington, D.C., It got my attention not only Random House), Charlotte— adjust their approaches or risk have a hot dog now and again.” which an art student makes it her mission to transform where it will be on view from an artistic standpoint, a.k.a. Charlie—Brown, a irrelevancy. Tichi thinks the story a nerdy, insecure, overweight undergraduate into her through Feb. 18, 2007. The but also because recent college grad “For the first time on U.S. speaks to today’s criminal confident, stylish lover. LaBute won critical acclaim for portrait was one of 51 paint- of Contreras’s and newly minted this painfully pointed attack on current American val- ings chosen, from more than 4,000 entries, to form the soil, there was a major conver- justice system. own history.” New Yorker, is ues. The show runs Sept. 28–Oct.1, Oct. 5–8 and lead exhibition for the grand reopening of the National gence of different groups from “We have more than 2 mil- 11–12 at Neely Auditorium. Portrait Gallery, which has been closed for several years Each 12-by- eager to begin her all over the world, everyone lion people in prison, most for while undergoing extensive renovation. Weaver is a 14-inch panel grownup life. All from Korean farmers to Cen- nonviolent drug offenses. MUSIC painter and sculptor who lives with his wife and son in combines lush, kinds of “firsts” tral American fishermen to There is a conflict between our Charlottesville, Va. bold colors against await her in the U.S. steelworkers,”says Tichi. citizen selves, in which we want The Blair Signature a landscape of big city—her first Some had little money yet criminal offenders to be reha- Series presents music geometric shapes real job, first loves, traveled thousands of miles to bilitated and return produc- by Blair faculty com- untitled installation at Feath- 1969 he displayed his work in —an undeniably first heartaches confront the citizenry at this tively to society, and our posers, featuring works eringill Hall. group and solo exhibitions. His modern effort. and, most impor- World Trade Organization investor selves who want our by Michael Alec Rose, After receiving his degree work from that time period is There is a palpable tant, her first time meeting. Wakenhut or Corrections Cor- Michael Kurek, Michael from the University of Madrid in almost every major Swedish texture to each canvas; living on her own. When “They said to the world, poration of America stock to Slayton and Stan Link on in 1957, Contreras moved to museum, according to a Janu- the paint is layered so thickly Charlie’s mom subtly suggests ‘These policies are destructive do well. Sept. 30 in Ingram Hall. Sweden and quickly became an ary 2002 Art in America article. that Contreras at times applied that her daughter might want to us in our countries and “We cannot have both,” artistic sensation. From 1961 to However, in 1972 he stopped it with a spatula. to learn some grownup to the whole planet.’It was Tichi says. “We at least have to

64 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 65

S.P. O.V. I have done very

w well in this sport e i * without male t of V in o steroids or illegal t P n e d Strong Woman in a Man’s World supplements. My Stu * Real women do lift weights. By KARA MANN, BE’06 muscles have taken a healthy, fit shape. s a strongwoman I’ve ping full beer kegs. I love competing in strong- benefited my health. My muscles have taken achieved some pretty man and have been motivated to train con- a healthy, fit shape. I never would take steroids I am strong and unreal things I never tinually during the past four and a half years. or illegal supplements, which plague many thought I could do. I’ve During my senior year of high school, competitive sports. Doing so would be incon- pulled an A-4 jet that my then-boyfriend introduced me to the gruent to my core value of being a woman. I look feminine. A weighed more than 14,000 sport. I am always up for a challenge and so, I have done very well in this sport without pounds. I’ve flipped a 700-pound tire on with some hesitation, I agreed to try it. Like taking potentially damaging male steroids. NBC’s Today show. I’ve lifted a stone weigh- most young women I was reluctant to “get I feel strong—I am strong—and I look fem- ing 245 pounds, and I’ve pulled several big” or become a stereotypical power lifter inine, which is important to me. to being a woman in a male-dominated sci- SUVs and trucks. I’ve had my own docu- with masculine-looking muscles. Although Initially, the lifting aspect of strongman ence career: Ask lots of questions in class, mentary on ESPN2, part of a series called I was a three-sport varsity athlete during all was extremely tough for me. I started off sit up front in Thermodynamics, and defi- Timeless. As the 2004 national champion four years of high school, I had no real with light weights and mastered the move- nitely chalk up in the gym. GETTY IMAGES professional strongwoman in weightlifting experience. I ments under much scrutiny from training I’ve just been invited to the 27th annual the sport of strongman, I’ve had run cross country, played partners. When I increased the weights, I no ity, so during bitter New England winters, lifting outweigh any concerns about injury. Salute to Women in Sports Awards dinner, met the most amazing and basketball, and participated longer could rely on my athletic capabilities. we can train anytime. I also cross-train with Thanks to my genetic thumbprint, I know I an all-expense-paid event at the Waldorf- dedicated people—but most in multi-track events in I had to focus on technique. I discovered that running, cycling and climbing to stay active have to watch my weight like millions of Astoria in New York City that celebrates all of all, I am constantly chal- spring track. a background in physics helped me under- and give muscle groups some rest. I’ve had other women. Strongman training not only women in sports and thanks teams and indi- lenged in different ways. If you were to ask my par- stand and implement an effective technique bruises from stones and scratches from the has been a spectacular exercise program, viduals who have helped advance women in “Strongman” is the name of ents if they ever would have for successfully lifting and moving crazy tire, but those come with the sport and some but it’s an awesome stress reliever that helps sports. Celebrities from film and television a sport that requires feats of imagined their daughter objects with maximum speed. say they are like battle wounds. build more bone mass, often a problem and even members of the 2006 Winter strength, speed and stamina. competing in strongman, I Many men and women strongman com- Some women have asked me if I was ever for women. Olympics team will be there. And I’m excited Competitions involve multiple think they would say no, but petitors have emphasized to me the impor- concerned that a potential boyfriend might The idea of competing in strongman was to be starting with the Edison Engineering events that test an athlete’s they have always been tance of understanding techniques to help be uncomfortable with the idea of my being perfect for the new phase of life I was embark- Development Program at General Electric endurance. Every competition encouraging about any me improve—and more important, they stronger, or if boyfriends had problems with ing on when I arrived at Vanderbilt in 2002. in Cleveland at the end of the summer.

is different, but they usually AP PHOTO/MARK HUMPHREY endeavor I tackled. Once they helped keep me safe and reduced my risk of my competing. I can honestly say it hasn’t I entered the School of Engineering as a As I take on this new challenge in my include five or six timed maximum-distance were assured I was in good hands with my being injured. I was not allowed to touch the been an issue entering a new relationship. chemical engineering major and prepared career, I’ve already networked into the closely and maximum-weight events. Strongman is training partners, they started enjoying the implements (tires, stones, etc.) until I had Strongman doesn’t define who I am. But if myself for another challenge. Chemistry knit strongman family and found people not simple weightlifting or pumping iron at sport almost as much as I do. My mom and safety and technique under my belt. Art a man can’t cope with my interests, then he’s and math never came easily to me; I have to train with in Cleveland. It’ll be great to a gym in a static position. dad have made it to nearly all my compe- McDermott, a coach and mentor for me since not a man who would interest me! Some guys worked hard for every grade I received. I have my best stress relief during this new Competitors and promoters of competi- titions—a huge sacrifice because both of I started, has helped me constantly rework I’ve dated are strongman competitors. Shar- relied on the discipline and determina- phase of my life. I live a healthy lifestyle tions are always challenging strongman ath- them work, and traveling across the coun- and attempt to perfect my technique. He ing a healthy passion for something can be tion I apply to my strongman training and that includes good eating habits, and my letes to lift strange, heavy objects faster and try to competitions gets costly. But they also owns a personal training center in Wilm- tremendous. thrived in chemical engineering. In May, I strongman workouts are part of this. I try for longer distances. Events can range from know who can help them shovel the drive- ington, Mass., that is known in the strong- Women need to know that when lifting graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree to look at the big picture and choose activ- lifting a series of atlas stones or pulling a jet way or help move the car when it’s stuck in man community as the “strongman heaven.” safe, you don’t get huge all of a sudden just in engineering. Being a woman in a male- ities that support my goal of feeling and to dead-lifting a trailer with a cheerleader in the snow. All of the implements used—large tractor because you added an extra 45-pound plate. dominated sport can be hard sometimes, looking good. I hope others learn from read- tow. I once had to run a timed medley grip- I soon figured out that weight training tires, logs, yokes, etc.—are in his huge facil- If you lift “smart and safe,” the benefits of but my lessons learned there can be applied ing about my experience.

66 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 67

tress of her own universe—odd, since the une- cap, is second only to the Marilyn inaugural ducated Marilyn made millions and roamed issue among collectors. among the literati, while studious bibliophile But the Playboy spread turned out to be Bettie worked on the cheap for the raincoat the classiest job Bettie ever landed. Eventually, A.P. O.V. crowd, never received a royalty, and labored Irving Klaw and his sister Paula found a lucra-

w in obscurity. Obviously, the academics are tive market in made-to-order fetish photos, e i * looking at the iconography of her persona most of them involving whips, ropes and black V

f

o more than the details of her life. leather, that could fetch a premium when prop-

t

n Bettie loved to take her clothes off—years erly packaged. Bettie would end up making i o later she reminisced about it as liberating and 50 stag loops and posing for thousands of pic- P

i joyful—and that exuberance quickly attracted tures, most of them taken by Paula Klaw or n

m the attention of Richard Harrison, the pub- Bunny Yeager. Today they are among the most

u Cheesecake and Apple Pie l lishing impresario who turned out cheese- downloaded images on the World-Wide Web. A * The short career and troubled life of Bettie Page. cake magazines with names like Wink, Flirt, But like Truman Capote’s protagonist in Beauty Parade, Gaze, Eyeful and Titter.Bet- Breakfast at Tiffany’s, this Holly Golightly had By JOHN BLOOM, BA’75 (A.K.A. JOE B OB BRIGGS) tie’s “coming out” was on Harrison’s arm at both a dark secret past and a fear of public exposure. The sweet Peabody Girl had a child- et’s go get some Peabody sonification of what we’d been looking for— But Vanderbilt’s loss was soft-core pornog- hood full of Tobacco Road drama, as her phi- girls,”we would say, on date- all cheery smiles and playfulness, offering a raphy’s gain. Bettie was a blue-eyed brunette, Bettie Page is landering redneck father moved the family less nights in Barnard Hall, perfect body packaged in killer stiletto heels 5-foot-5, 36-23-35, and she’d been teaching from small town to small town through Ten- and what we meant by that and a naughty bustier, with an attitude that herself how to dress like a movie star ever since equaled only by nessee, Texas and Oklahoma. He stole a car in was,“Let’s go raiding across said “whenever you’re ready, boys.” she was a pre-teen. Tulsa and drove the family to Nashville, where “L 21st Avenue, where they aren’t The original “wink wink”girl actually had She thrived under the radar at the mostly he was eventually sent to prison. After he got Marilyn Monroe so stuck up and won’t treat us like freshmen.” her heart set on attending the mostly male female Peabody, commuting to campus, work- out, he bought a hardscrabble farm near The concept of the Peabody Girl, as it took Vanderbilt, which at the time offered few full ing on the yearbook, acting in school plays, in her status as a Nashville, and that’s where the family was liv- shape in our imagination, was a sweet fresh- scholarships for which women could compete. and assisting Professor Alfred Leland Crabb, ing when Bettie’s mother left him, angered by faced thing, all sandals and sweaters, apple One of those was always awarded to the vale- who taught in the education department. Her sex symbol. Since his impregnation of a neighbor’s daughter. cheeks and giggles … who would have wild dictorian at Nashville’s Hume-Fogg High hopes of teaching were dashed at her first stu- For a while she was able to provide for all five animal sex with us. This was in stark contrast School, and Bettie had labored assiduously to dent-teaching assignment. When she arrived children, but eventually she sent Bettie and to the Vanderbilt Coed, who wouldn’t have make straight A’s so she could land the top in the classroom, the high school boys assailed the year 2000, the one of her sisters to an orphanage. After a year any kind of sex with us or, for that spot. A cruel art teacher her with wolf whistles and catcalls and became Mom figured out a way to get them back matter, talk to us. changed the course of his- so uncontrollable that she realized she had a official Bettie Page home—but she’d allowed her ex to move into Like most freshman illusions, tory when she penalized Bet- handicap she’d never be able to overcome. She a vacant room. He used the opportunity to this one was based on grossly exag- tie for skipping a two-hour was just too damned sexy. Web site has received rape Bettie, at the age of 13, and then continue gerated conclusions from highly lab in order to attend a Today Bettie Page is equaled only by Mar- to molest her. To get away from him, Bettie unreliable evidence. As far as I rehearsal for the senior play, ilyn Monroe in her status as a sex symbol, and 626 million hits. became an incessant teenage volunteer, work- know, no one ever encountered and Bettie’s only B resulted she’s arguably even more popular among ing at the community center and spending the archetypal Peabody Girl, and in a grade point average of women than men. Since the year 2000, the offi- long hours at the library. School was her way if he did, he kept all knowledge 97.19—just .25 short of her cial Bettie Page Web site (www.bettiepage.com) New York’s Beaux Arts Ball in 1951, where she out of hell. Classmates at Hume-Fogg voted of her to himself. goal. She was salutatorian has received 626 million hits. appeared in fishnet stockings, impossibly high her “Most Likely to Succeed.”Bettie’s perfect

But Bettie Page, BA’44, was G instead, which entitled her Bettie also has attracted a ton of academic heels, twin telephone dials over her breasts— grooming, bright smile, and flirtatious ways N I R A H

the mythic Peabody Girl. Unfor- to the $100 Daughters of the attention. Madeleine Hamilton of the Uni- and little else. with men were in part an attempt to cover up L U A tunately, she’d already come and P American Revolution schol- versity of Melbourne has gone so far as to say In the same city where Marilyn was mak- psychological scars. gone 30 years before my time at Vanderbilt. arship … to Peabody. Her commencement that she’s at “the crux of the porn debate” ing liaisons with Elia Kazan, Joe Dimaggio and Bettie rushed into marriage while a junior Bettie had passed through Peabody in the early address was titled “Looking Forward,”and among feminists. That debate breaks down on Arthur Miller, Bettie’s father confessor became at Peabody, wedding a sailor who turned out 1940s. She was known for being sweet, shy, although no text of the original speech has familiar lines—Bettie is either a tool of male Irving Klaw, publisher of Movie Star News, to be jealous and possessive. After the mar- beautiful and studious, and then within six survived, I must assume that her gaze into the exploitation or a symbol of female empower- who specialized in nude photos distributed by riage crumbled, Bettie set off on her cross- years of graduation, she had become the hottest future did not include bondage fetish films ment—but what’s interesting is that Bettie subscription to “camera club”members, thereby country idyll that ended in New York. nude model in the history of sleazy photog- and a subpoena from Sen. Estes Kefauver’s Deconstruction splits about 50/50 along those eluding the obscenity laws of the day. The only Given the sheer volume of her work, her raphy. The men in the “amateur camera clubs” congressional committee investigating obscen- lines, with a slight edge toward empowerment, place Bettie and Marilyn appeared on an equal career was remarkably short—just seven years, who paid $10 each to photograph her in high ity. (A Tennessee senator persecuting a Peabody even among critics of porn. The same women level was in the pages of Playboy magazine, from 1950 to 1957, and only three or four doing heels and nothing else wouldn’t have known Girl! Scandalous! Actually, I have an explana- who see Marilyn as a child-woman fashioned where both were Playmates of the Month. Bet- her most famous work for Irving and Paula what a Peabody Girl was, but she was the per- tion for this: The man went to UT.) into a playtoy for men regard Bettie as the mis- tie’s issue, in which she’s clad only in a Santa continued on page 86

68 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 69

TheClasses “ “ Wendell ‘Sonny’ Rawls Jr., BA’63, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has been named managing director of the Center for Public Integrity.

ews for this section anniversary June 10, 2006. Mrs. Stone’s Wendell “Sonny” Rawls iors), approaching life after 55 with academic affairs at California State the “Lawdragon 500,”a list of the best should be sent by wedding gown and hoop are part of the Jr., BA, a Pulitzer Prize- enthusiasm, humor and an adventurous University, Long Beach. attorneys in the nation. He is a member mail to Nelson permanent collection at the Strong Mu- ’63 winning investigative spirit.“As long as it doesn’t involve a of the firm’s entertainment, intellectual Bryan, class notes seum in Rochester, N.Y., and her lace journalist, has been bungee cord,”she writes. In addition, she James H. Cheek III, properties and technology practice areas. Neditor, at Vander- wedding gloves are displayed in the named managing director of the Cen- notes that the first of her seven books, JD, an attorney with Mickey Sullivan, BE, ME’79, of bilt Magazine, VU Smithsonian Institution along with per- ter for Public Integrity in Washington, Oh Lord, I Sound Just Like Mama, cele- ’67 the Nashville law firm Nashville has been named among the Station B #357703, 2301 Vanderbilt sonal photos and memorabilia. Their D.C. He continues to serve as director brates its 20th anniversary in print this of Bass Berry & Sims, Top Ten Public Works Leaders in North Place, Nashville, TN 37235; by e-mail at honeymoon photos have been on exhibit of the International Consortium of year.“[It’s] a tortoise of a bestseller!” has been named to the “Lawdragon America by the American Public Works [email protected]; at the Eastman House and the Museum Investigative Journalists. 500,”a list of the best attorneys in the Association. or by fax at 615/343-8547. Please of Photographic Arts in San Diego. Dr. nation. He is a member of the firm’s include your degree, class year and, Stone was a pioneer in the use of Kathy Atkisson, BA, corporate and securities practice area. Thomas Baumann, BA, when applicable, maiden name. You hemodialysis/artificial kidney to treat has published a book ’66 announces the release also may send us news, submit a photo, people with chronic kidney disease. A under her professional Walter F.“Jack” Pratt of his third book, The ’64 40th Reunion ’72 access other class notes, or update renal-medical needle he used for kidney (maiden) name, Kathy Jr., BA, has been Akashic Light: Religion’s your address and other biographical biopsies also is housed in the Smithson- Sawyer, The Rock from Mars: A Detective October 20–21, 2006 ’68 named dean of the Common Thread (A.R.E. Press under the information electronically through Were You ian. The couple lives in Pittsford, N.Y., Story on Two Planets (Random House). Tony Johnston, Class Chair University of South pen name T. Lee Baumann). His other Vanderbilt’s free online alumni com- and has three children and 13 grandchil- View her Web site at kathysawyer.com. Carolina School of Law. He previously books include God at the Speed of Light: munity at www.dore2dore.net. Your Here During dren, the eldest of whom, David F. Clay, Lon Zimmerman, BA, has been elected Alan Cannon, BE, writes that he has was executive associate dean at the The Melding of Science and Spirituality submission may be posted in both is a pre-med junior at Vanderbilt. to the board of trustees of KETC-Chan- worked in engineering and construc- University of Notre Dame Law School. and Window to God: A Physician’s Spiri- Vanderbilt Magazine and on World nel 9, the community-owned PBS sta- tion for 34 years and is now a principal tual Pilgrimage. His first book is credited Dore2Dore’s password-protected tion in St. Louis. He also serves as a process engineer with BE&K Daniel Becton, BA, as being one of the inspirations for the Web site unless otherwise specified. War II? member of the board of directors for Engineering Co. in Birmingham, Ala. writes that his daughter, CBS television series Joan of Arcadia. ’56 the St. Louis Society of Association He has been married 35 years, has four ’70 Danielle, is graduating Shelley Cleveland Craig, BA, MA’73, has Executives and the American Marketing children, three grandchildren, a step- with a bachelor’s degree been named pastor/head of staff with 50th Reunion Association, St. Louis Chapter. grandchild and holds a second-degree from the University of Florida in Trinity Presbyterian Church in Topeka, QUINQ October 20–21, 2006 senior black belt in Taekwondo-style August and has been accepted into Kan. James J.H. Price, MA, PhD’77, Karin Dale Coble and Lou Todd, Class Lynn Shapiro Alpern, karate. Gary Reichard, MA, has been Florida’s veterinary school. Robert professor of religious studies at Lynch- Reunion October 20–21, 2006 Chairs BA, was honored last appointed executive vice chancellor and Llewellyn, dean of the college and vice burg College, is the recipient of the 2006 Carol Bearden Henderson, Quinq ’65 April as one of 12 chief academic officer of California president of academic affairs at Rhodes T.A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence Chair rchivists in the James J.“Judge” Griffin, Atlantans who best rep- State University by the SCU Board of College in Memphis, Tenn., received given by the board of directors of higher Special Collections BE, received the 2005 resent the spirit of the Celebrate Life Trustees. He previously served as the college’s Distinguished Service education and leadership ministries of Joe Thompson, BA’41,of Nashville A Entrepreneur of the Year Foundation of Atlanta (service for sen- provost and senior vice president for Medal during Commencement exercis- the Christian Church (Disciples of Department of ’57 is author of Tiger Joe: A Photographic Award at the Emory Uni- es last May. The award recognizes “able Christ). He was recognized for inspiring Diary of a World War II Aerial Reconnais- Vanderbilt’s Jean and versity Goizueta Business School alumni and selfless service to the college.” students toward excellence, belief in edu- sance Pilot (Eveready Press). As a senior Alexander Heard Library are dinner for outstanding entrepreneurial cating the whole person, continued at Vanderbilt, he was photographic editor conducting interviews for “Vandy Goes to War,” an oral history achievements in business. He earned the scholarly growth and personal faith. of the Commodore yearbook. Not only M.B.A. degree at Emory in 1962. Henry J. Swedlaw, BA, has been named project about Vanderbilt campus life during World War II. They did he have an eye for composition and ’71 senior vice president and head of the pri- recordable moments, but he also kept are interested in interviewing: Samuel L.Vance, BE, vate banking group with Regions Bank 35th Reunion detailed logbooks of all the shots and • Men and women who were enrolled as undergraduates at of Huntsville, Ala., in the Broward and Palm Beach, Fla., announces the birth of October 20–21, 2006 markets. carefully preserved the negatives. He is Peabody and Vanderbilt; ’58 still employed by Northwestern Mutual his first granddaughter, Don Baltimore, Class Chair Life Insurance Co. Robert M. Mitchum, • Men who were stationed in the area and did training at Samantha Ann Vance, on April 4, 2006, Byron Bangert,MDiv, BA’50,MS’51, has received the Sidney Vanderbilt while serving in the military; in Birmingham, Ala. B. Douglas Earthman, BE, has joined the DMin, has had a book Memphis, Tenn., law firm of Glankler published, Consenting to Powers Memorial Award, the highest • Men who came back to Vanderbilt or Peabody following the ’73 honor bestowed by the American Associ- Brown as a member, practicing in the God and Nature: Toward ation of Petroleum Geologists. He is rec- war using the GI Bill; and areas of real-estate law and transactional a Theocentric, Naturalistic, Theological ognized as a pioneer in developing the • Wives who lived on campus during this energized period of ’61 work. James McReynolds, MDiv, Ethic (Pickwick Publications). He is a disciplines of sequence and seismic post-war growth. DDiv’72, minister of the First Christian research associate at the Poynter Center stratigraphy. Eva Touster, PhD’51, pro- 45th Reunion Church in Weeping Water, Neb., has for the Study of Ethics and American If you are interested in participating, please call 615/322-2807 fessor of English, emerita, has had a book October 20–21, 2006 published two new books, Dancing with Institutions at Indiana University, of her poetry published, The Wind, the or e-mail [email protected]. Archivists are parti- Nancy Crockett Butcher and Robin Bipolar Bears and Passionate Joy (iUni- Bloomington, and is an ordained min- Rose, and the Stone. Gerald E. Stone, cularly interested in interviewing alumni who return to campus Beard, Class Chairs verse.com). W.Michael Milom,JD,an ister in the Presbyterian Church (USA). attorney with the Nashville law firm of Barbara Bennett, BA, JD’83, has been BA’54, MD’57, and his wife, Lois Greene Oct. 20–21 for Reunion/Homecoming. Stone, celebrated their 50th wedding Bass Berry & Sims, has been named to selected as one of the top life sciences

70 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 71

T HE C LASSES “ Lynn D. Anderholm, BS’74, MA’78, writes, ‘After a 13-year battle with Parkinson’s disease and dystonia, deep brain stimulation surgery has given me back my life.’ “ lawyers in Washington, D.C., by Legal management group, responsible for After more than 20 years of consulting Eric A. Kidwell, MLS, has has been named manager of licensure Times. She is an attorney with Hogan & leading the group’s sales and portfolio- engineering experience, she is the chief been appointed program and certification with Kindred Health- Harston. Helen Johnson Morris,BA, management efforts across the Pacific water regulator for the state of Georgia. ’85 coordinator for core cur- ’86 care in Louisville, Ky. James Holmes, married H.E. Crow in Atlanta on Northwest. She also oversees Mellon’s riculum at Huntingdon BA, is author of a new book, Theodore March 18, 2006. private banking services. Leigh Walton, Robert F.Brese, BE, College in Montgomery, Ala., where he 20th Reunion Roosevelt and World Order: Police Power JD, an attorney with the Nashville law has retired from the maintains his regular duties as director of October 20–21, 2006 in International Relations (Potomac Lynn D.Anderholm, BS, firm of Bass Berry & Sims, has been ’84 U.S. Navy with the rank the library. Gregory Lum, MLS, has been Cathy Stewart Brown, Class Chair Books). He is a former navy officer and MA’78, writes, “Hello named to the “Lawdragon 500,”a list of of commander. In appointed by the American Library Asso- veteran of Desert Storm and currently ’74 ’Dores. After a 13-year Alice Peterson, the best attorneys in the nation. She con- March 2006 he was sworn in as a mem- ciation to the 2007 Best Books for Young Michael T. Beckham, BA, an internist is a research associate at the University battle with Parkinson’s MBA’81 centrates her practice in corporate, secu- ber of the federal government’s Senior Adults Selection Committee. He current- practicing at Summit Medical Center in of Georgia’s Center for International disease and dystonia, I have undergone rities and health-care law matters. Executive Service and now serves as ly serves as librarian at Jesuit High School Nashville, has been elected a fellow of Trade and Security in the School of deep brain stimulation surgery at Johns director of security oversight for the in Portland, Ore. Larry Marquardt, MLS, the American College of Physicians, the Public and International Affairs. Gail Hopkins. The surgery has given me Jay Coogan, BA, has National Nuclear Security Administra- recently completed his 18th year as society of internists. The distinction Stenstad, MA, PhD’88, is author of back my life. If any ’Dore or a family joined the Philadelphia tion within the Department of Energy. library director at Des Moines Universi- recognizes achievements in internal Transformations: Thinking After Hei- member is contemplating this surgery ’80 law office of Duane Jeffrey Cares, BA’84,CEO of Alidade ty’s Osteopathic Medical Center. He and medicine, the specialty of adult medical degger (University of Wisconsin Press). and would like to ask questions, no Morris LLP as a part- Inc., has been named to the Harvard his wife have two children, Michael, a stu- care. Brian J. McKiernan, BE, has been She is a professor and chair of the holds barred, please contact me.” ner in the corporate practice group. W. Business Review’s 2006 list of Best dent at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, selected for promotion to colonel in the department of philosophy and human- Scott Parrish, BS, has joined Battle Breakthrough Ideas for his investiga- and Kevin, a student at Dowling Catholic U.S. Army and was one of seven field ities at East Tennessee State University Ground Academy in Franklin, Tenn., as tions in network warfare, in which the High School. His wife, Mary, is a project artillery officers selected to command a in Johnson City. vice president of advancement. Mark E. military uses information technology to manager with Wells Fargo Financial. brigade. He will assume command after ’76 Wheeler, BS, received an M.B.A. degree physically disperse their vehicles for Larry writes that he “would enjoy hearing completion of courses at the U.S. Army Laura J. Gerdes,BA, (with honors) in international business protection and to concentrate firepower from other Library School grads in Iowa War College. has joined the St. Louis 30th Reunion from the Helsinki School of Economics against traditional massed forces. A vet- or adjacent states.” Gerard O’Sullivan, law firm of Danna October 20–21, 2006 ’88 in Helsinki, Finland, last May. The pro- eran of the Gulf War, he is a command- MA, has been named vice president for Albert Bates Jr., JD, McKitrick as a litigation Jim Littlejohn, Class Chair gram included an additional exchange er in the Navy Reserves and is author of academic affairs at Neumann College in MBA, is an attorney associate, focusing on tort, employment, semester at the Warrington College of Distributed Operations: The Fundamen- Aston, Pa. He previously served nine ’87 with Reed Smith LLP in insurance, municipal and health-care Gertrude M. Novicki, JD, sends an Business, University of Florida. tals of Network Centric Warfare. He and years as dean of arts and science at Feli- Pittsburgh and was law. Wayne Guttry, BE, and Beth Guttry

update. She has five children (ages 25, DANIEL DUBOIS his wife, Betty, live in Newport, R.I., cian College in New Jersey. He and his named one of Pennsylvania’s Super announce the birth of Samuel Miles 23, 21, 21 and 17), a new job (three years with their two young children. wife have two sons. Lawyers for 2005. Terrance Dillon, BA, “Sams” Guttry on June 21, 2005. They ago), and a new marriage (eight years Blowing the Whistle ago). She retired from 25 years as a pros- Alice M. Peterson and her company’s counselors have heard ’81 ecutor and is executive director of a child advocacy center for sexually abused chil- it all: accounting fraud, abuse or intimidation of employees, 25th Reunion October 20–21, 2006 dren in Miami. Patricia A. Rogers, BA, is safety violations, sexual harassment, theft of company prop- one of five faculty physicians at the Shelley Long Cammack, Class Chair University of Texas Medical Branch at erty, discrimination, environmental noncompliance, and lying Galveston to receive the inaugural to employees, customers, vendors or the public. And that’s an Stephen W. Leslie, BS, a Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award abbreviated list. commander in the U.S. for exceptional skill in teaching the art of Navy, earned the M.A. Peterson is president of Syrus Global, an ethics and com- ’82 compassionate patient care to medical degree in national secu- students in actual clinical settings. pliance solutions firm whose flagship service is Listen Up, a rity and strategic studies from the Naval whistle-blower hotline system. “I was just amazed how great War College in Newport, R.I. His next Rich Lussky, BS, companies could have gone off track so badly and so quickly,” duty assignment will be with the Pacific received the master’s Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a liai- ’78 degree in public health she says, explaining why she launched her company in 2002. son officer for the Naval Warfare Devel- in maternal and child Syrus Global offers “an anonymous and confidential way opment Command. Elizabeth Musser, health from the University of Minneso- for people to speak up about wrongdoing, about sensitive BA, is author of The Dwelling Place ta’s School of Public Health last May. (Bethany House), her fifth novel. She He also was elected to Delta Omega, issues, about critical suggestions they would never put on the lives in southern France with her hus- the national honorary public health table in open dialogue.” band and two sons. society. He continues a full-time aca- Corporate America has suffered a body blow to its repu- demic role as co-medical director of the Karen L. Bice, MS, tation with scandals early in this decade, but “this didn’t hap- Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Hen- works in paleoclimate nepin County (Minn.) Medical Center. pen overnight,” Peterson says. “They started out with little ’83 research and climate things and, like a snowball, picked up more and more as they modeling at Woods James T.Lee, BA, mar- kept rolling along.” Hole Oceanographic Institution. She ried Judith Williamson and a multinational team of scientists ’79 on Nov. 12, 2005, in Flo- Submitters may contact Listen Up via phone, fax, mail or studied three long columns of sediment rence, S.C., where they Web (www.listenupgroup.com). They reach counselors with from the seafloor off Suriname. The live. He has three children from a previ- master’s degrees who are trained to promote open dialogue. results of that study indicate that cur- ous marriage: Hannah, 18; Laura, 15; rent climate models underestimate and Eleanor, 9. Nancy Pellegrino, BA, “We go over the top in terms of protecting confidentiality,” future ocean warming. Linda Danco has been promoted by Mellon Financial Peterson says. MacGregor, BE, is the watershed pro- Corp. to regional president for the state tection branch chief of the Georgia of Washington for its private wealth Environmental Protection Division.

72 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 73

T HE C LASSES “ Allison Maas, BA’93, and Brad Guyton, BS’93, were married two years minus one day after they reconnected at their Vanderbilt 10th Reunion. “ live in Appleton, Wis. Meta Newhouse, Corinne Miller Adams, moved to Colorado where she is the BA, of Denton, Texas, writes that she is BA, is married to Jordan chief nurse of Evans Army Community “now back in school again (at 40!), ’91 ’93 Adams, an on-air guest Hospital at Fort Carson.“Army life has working toward an M.F.A. in design for Home Shopping been good,”she writes.“It is good taking education with a minor in filmmaking.” 15th Reunion Network and other shopping channels. care of soldiers, airmen, marines, their She also notes her success with student October 20–21, 2006 Corinne is asset management advisor families and many others.” Matt Speltz, films,“the most notable of which was Parker Griffith, Class Chair and vice president with Family Wealth BA, and his wife, Abby, announce the landing the ‘Best Short Documentary’ at Elizabeth Fuller, MEd, has joined Advisor. They live in Jupiter and St. birth of their first child, Eva Rose Speltz, the Austin Film Festival in October.” LBMC Employment Partners, a human- Petersburg, Fla. Laura Creekmore,BA, March 21, 2006. They live in Manhattan, Mehmed Ozkan, MS, PhD’91, has resources outsourcing solutions firm, as writes that she welcomed Jacob Coleman N.Y. Eric Van De Water, BA, has been become a full professor at Bogazici Uni- a human resources outsourcing special- Creekmore into her family March 12, named a partner in the firm of Pursley versity, Biomedical Engineering Institute ist. Christine Bedingfield Kraeuter, BS, 2006. The family lives in Nashville. Mary Lowery Meeks in Atlanta. Elyse Marie in Istanbul, Turkey. and Robert Scot Kraeuter, BA’92, Boylin Fowler, BS, and Chad Fowler, Wilson, BS, married Robert Glenn Lesley announce the birth of Robert Lincoln BE’94, report the birth of their second Jr. on April 22, 2006. They live in Char- Shannon Davis Block- August Kraeuter on March 10, 2006. child, Macon Elizabeth, Aug. 30, 2005. lotte, N.C., where she is a senior vice er, BS, and W. Charles They live in Savannah, Ga. Sheila They live in Richmond, Va. Amy president with Wachovia Bank. ’89 Blocker Jr., announce Lachs, BA, married Scott Westfahl on Lehman Garlove, BA, and her husband, the birth of Mark Oct. 22, 2005, in Nashville. They live in Lee, announce the birth of a son, Addi- Jeremy Barnicle, BA, is Willoughby Blocker on Dec. 17, 2005, Boston. Beth Vessel, BA, and Michael son Hays, born Jan. 25, 2006, joining his communications direc- joining sister Catherine, 5. They live in Vessel announce the birth of a daughter sister, Emory Collins. The family lives in ’94 tor for Mercy Corps, an Bangkok, Thailand. Barry Booker, BA, in January 2006. They live in Brent- Louisville, Ky., where Amy is completing international humani- MBA’97, has joined Wells Fargo Com- wood, Tenn. Richard M.Wells, BA, has her residency in pediatrics. John A. tarian agency. He has traveled worldwide mercial Banking Group in Nashville as been named a partner in KPMG, an Haney, BS, and Hays Thompson Haney, in his job as the agency’s storyteller, over- vice president and relationship manag- Atlanta audit, tax and advisory firm. BA’94, announce the birth of William seeing a team of six communications er focusing on middle-market banking Thompson on Jan. 18, 2006. They live in professionals who work to help the pub- and commercial client relationships in Britt Autry,BE,and Dallas. Ashley LaRoche Heeren, BS, and lic better understand poverty, conflict Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Lisa Autry announce Jeff Heeren announce the birth of a son, and humanitarian crises all over the Alabama. Scott Carey, BA, a share- the birth of Coston Simon Bennett Heeren, Dec. 7, 2005, world. Amy Singleton Hammett, BA, holder with the Nashville law firm of ’92 joining brother Archer. They live in and Richard Austin Hammett announce James Autry on Dec. Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & 21, 2005. They live in Greenback, Tenn. Nashville. Jennifer Lambeth Hinds,BA, the birth of Natalie Kate Hammett on Berkowitz, has been named general Jill Taggert Baltz, BS, and Chris Baltz, and William Lyle Hinds III announce the Aug. 15, 2005. They live in Austin, Texas. counsel of the Tennessee Republican birth of twin daughters, Sarah Douglas Hays Thompson Haney, BA, and John A. REED HUTCHINSON BA, announce the birth of their daugh- Party. ter, Victoria Marie Baltz, Oct. 27, 2005. Hinds and Josephine Harris Hinds. They Haney, BS’93, announce the birth of their Fashion Forward They live in Brentwood, Tenn. Loraine live in Nashville. Ann Hart Wotton third child, William Thompson Haney, Patricia A. McLean, Gronberg Brown, BA, has been named Hunter, BA, announces the birth of her Jan. 18, 2006, joining siblings Holly and BA, has been elected Here’s proof that fun-loving fraternity brothers not only vice president, process management, third child, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Josephine Jack. They reside in Dallas where John is Jessica Brooke on Feb. 22, 2006, joining law, she has changed careers to become a ’90 partner in the Tampa, grow up, but can become wildly successful. Jay Furrow, with Gerson Lehrman Group in Austin, Hunter, Nov. 25, 2005. The Hunters live a director of finance for Benefitmail and brother Garrett Fiske, 3. They live in teacher. She starts this fall as a special- Fla., law office of in Atlanta. Allison Maas, BA, and Brad Hays is senior corporate counsel with BA’95, tapped three of his Pi Kappa Alpha brothers— Texas. Elizabeth Frein, BS, and Jay Tampa, Fla., where Ingrid teaches inter- education teacher with the Washington Phelps Dunbar. She practices in the Frein, BA, announce the birth of Alice Guyton, BS, were married Oct. 25, 2005, Affiliated Computer Services. Christo- mediate special education at Gen. Township Public School District in her Shane Whalen, BA’93; Marc Crossman, BA’94; and areas of insurance coverage and com- Goodwin Frein on Feb. 3, 2006, joining in Beaver Creek, Colo., two years minus pher Hudson, BE, MD’98, and Christiana Clarence Tinker Elementary School on hometown of Robbinsville, N.J. She and mercial litigation. Nick Sieveking,BA, Dustin Huffine, BS’96—to round out the management brother James. Steve Greene, BA, and one day after they reconnected at their Hudson announce the birth of George Macdill Air Force Base. Matthew F. her husband, Thomas Stuart Walls, have and his wife, Elizabeth, announce the team of Innovo Group. The former housemates are running Shelton Greene announce the birth of 2003 Vanderbilt 10th Reunion class Brooks Hudson on April 28, 2006. They Block, BA, and Elizabeth Benchea three children, including Caroline Eliza- birth of a child. They live in Nashville. party. Bill Miller, BA, has won the state live in Albuquerque, N.M., where Chris is Block, BS’96, announce the birth of their beth Walls, born May 2, 2006. Kira one of the hippest fashion companies around. Lindsay Cameron Greene on Feb. 23, 2006. They Russell H.Walker, BA, was promoted live in Nashville. Tim Marshall, BE, and race for president-elect of the Texas a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. son, Thomas Ferdinand, Feb. 15, 2006. Roberts, BA, and Jeremy Roberts,BA, to assistant managing editor for nation Lohan, Jessica Simpson and Nicole Ritchie are just a few his wife, Marianne, announce the birth Young Lawyers Association. He practices Zack McMillin, BA, writes that he has They live in Thibodaux, La. Tracy L. MBA’00,announce the birth of Charles and world news at washingtonpost.com of the thin, young, rich and famous who have been spotted of their third child, Isabella Jane Anne law in Texarkana, Texas, in the firm of moved from the sports section to the Delce, BE, is one of eight individuals to Thomas Roberts on May 8, 2006, joining in September 2005. J. Kent Waltman, Greer McCasland & Miller. He and his metro section of the Memphis, Tenn., Megan Peteet Roen wearing the company’s flagship product, Joe’s Jeans. Marshall, Sept. 1, 2005, joining brother be honored recently for outstanding brother Jack. ,BA, BA, has joined Birmingham, Ala.-based Troy, 9, and sister Victoria, 4. Tim is a wife, Jessica Len Johnson, BA, have Commercial Appeal newspaper.“Leaving business achievements and community married McLain Jay Forman II in Octo- Collateral Mortgage Capital’s senior Like any company, Innovo continues to evolve, and major in the U.S. Army, deployed in Iraq three children, Davis, Austin and Mason. Sports was not an easy decision,”he service at the 22nd Annual Quest for ber 2005. The couple lives in New management team as director of agency Furrow now spends most of his time working with another supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Jennifer Eikenmeyer Murasky, BS, writes,“but the more I sit in Metro, the Success Awards in Dallas. She is president Orleans where she is the pastry chef at lending. Richard Wells, BA, and MBA’94, and her husband, Andrew, more it feels like the right one. … The venture, an online teen portal called Varsity World. When not deployed, he and his family and owner of TinMan Enterprises, a Bayona restaurant and he is manager of Stephanie Wells announce the birth of reside in Richmond Hill, Ga. Meaghan announce the birth of David Andrew on opportunity to practice the kind of jour- metal fabrication company based in Fort corporate publications at JRL Enterpris- “In most businesses it takes a long time to build up Matthew William on March 4, 2006. Mundy Patterson, BS, MEd’95, and her Jan. 17, 2006. They live in Lafayette, nalism I most enjoy is really exciting for Worth, Texas. James Britton Gibson,BA, es. Casey Craven Russell, BS, and Hyde They live in Atlanta. Jennifer Tinnes trust, but the four of us already had it,” says Whalen, mother have started Singing Heart Press, Calif. Sheryl Rogers, BS, and Todd me.” Renee M.H.Yuen, BA, JD’97, has has been elected partner in the St. Louis Russell announce the birth of Matthew Zelmanski Rogers , BE, and Timothy David Innovo Group’s vice president of corporate development. a company that combines words and , BS’90, announce the birth of been promoted to director-senior coun- law firm Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin. McKinney Russell on Dec. 24, 2005. They Zelmanski report the birth of Zoie their first child, Winston Earl Rogers, on sel for Walt Disney World Co., for which Kristi Henzel, PhD, received the M.D. live in Chicago. Christopher Schwenk, “We speak the same language.” Last year the company’s images as greeting cards and poetry Katharine Zelmanski on May 8, 2002. prints. She lives in Nashville with her Dec. 19, 2005. They live in Nashville. she has worked since 2004. degree from the University of Louisville BS, and Angela J. Schwenk report the The year 2002 was a busy one for Jen- revenue passed the $100 million mark, proving once and husband, Jeffrey Boyd Patterson, and Diana Prunty Ruzicka, MSN, was pro- School of Medicine in May 2006. She was birth of Owen Cole Schwenk on May 27, nifer, as she also received an M.B.A. for all that people will pay hundreds of dollars for the per- their son, Taggart Boyd Patterson, 4. moted to colonel in the U.S. Army in Leslie Oak Alain,BA, matched to a residency in physical medi- 2005. They live in Bluffton, S.C. Tom degree from the University of Michi- August 2005 and, in October, took com- and Francois Alain Shumate fect pair of jeans. But Whalen isn’t surprised by their suc- Trista Lindsay Tilley, BS, writes that her cine and rehabilitation at University of , BA, has become a shareholder gan, Ann Arbor, graduating with high primary employment is raising and edu- mand of the U.S. Army Health Clinic ’95announce the birth of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh. in the Nashville law firm of Evans Jones distinction. cess. “Our business works because we really trust each cating her three children.“They’re bene- serving the European Command, Special Graham Philippe on Ameeta Lall, BE, married Christopher & Reynolds. He also was invited to join other.We know that each of us will get the job done.” fiting from my Peabody training in our Operations Command Europe, and April 24, 2006, joining sister Madeleine. Watkins on March 18, 2006, in Knoxville, the Harry Phillips American Inn of home school! Our lives are crazy and other units out of Stuttgart, Germany. In Ingrid Lang Beede, BS, and David Tenn., where they live. Lisa Papp,JD, Court. Stephen Skelton, BS’95, is author busy and loads of fun.” the summer of 2006, she and her family Newell Beede Jr. announce the birth of writes that after 10 years of practicing of a new book, The Gospel According to

74 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 75

T HE C LASSES “ Victoria Ritsa Arsenis, BS’98, married Constantine Dimitriades in Greece. They live in New Orleans where she is a pediatrician and he is a pediatric critical care physician. “ the World’s Greatest Superhero, which announce the birth of their second birth of Jeffrey Jordan Cunningham Jr. Jones, BS’99; and Jessica Downs Jones, Andrew Beshear, BA, married Britainy Other Vandy grads in attendance includ- “details the many metaphors between daughter, Caroline Rose Bowman, Nov. on Jan. 6, 2006. They live in Winston- BS’99. Jenny works for Yahoo! Music in Colman on April 1, 2006, in Los Angeles. {Alumni Association News} ed Rusty Lay, BS’99; Sarah Milks, BA’02; Christ and Superman.” Brannon Snod- 6, 2005. They live in Kirkwood, Mo. Salem, N.C. Ginger Dellenbaugh, BMus, Santa Monica, Calif. She and her hus- Vanderbilt groomsmen included Ryan and Carrie Cannon Wessel, BS’98. The grass Smith, BA, and Lathrop Smith, BS, Reuben Bueno Jr., MD, has joined the is a writer and singer with the band Wait- band reside in Marina Del Rey. Andrew Combs, BS; Eric Peterson,BA;Brian couple lives in Valdosta, Ga., where he is announce the birth of Lathrop Winches- faculty at Southern Illinois University still Baxter, located in Venice, Calif., and Webster Warner, BS, and his wife, Sarah Glyer, BS; and Jonathan Musser, BMus. You’ll Love What a real estate broker and she is an associ- ter “Winn” Smith IV on May 4, 2006. School of Medicine as an assistant profes- Vienna, Austria. The band’s Web site is Catherine Davis Warner, BS, are dividing The couple lives in Louisville, Ky., where ate with the law firm of Young Thagard John Tartikoff, BA, has been named an sor of plastic surgery. His practice www.waitstillbaxter.com. Jennifer Loren their time between Washington, D.C., Andrew is an attorney and Britainy We’ve Done with the Place Hoffman Smith & Lawrence. Nate associate at the Philadelphia law firm of includes pediatric and general plastic sur- DeSantis, BA, married Theodore Stanley and Asia this year. After earning an works in the office of the mayor. Michael Doolittle, BE, has been promoted to sen- Bazelon Less & Feldman, specializing in gery. Myria Emma Dawn Carpenter, BS, Kypreos on Jan. 15, 2006. They live in M.B.A. degree from Georgia Tech, Andy Edward Bowen, BA, MPH’05, MD’05, www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni ior designer with LandDesign, a civil the practice area of commercial litigation. is among 535 applicants selected out of West Palm Beach, Fla., where she is a real has been working with Google in Wash- married Lizza Connor on April 22, 2006, The Alumni Association is ramping up its Web presence engineering and landscape architecture 5,000 to receive a Presidential Manage- estate attorney. Jacqueline LaPan ington. Sarah was an associate director in Nashville, where they live while company in Charlotte, N.C. Cabrini A. to better connect alumni, parents and friends with each ment Fellowship for 2006. Matthew M. Edgerton, BA, and Colin Clark Edgerton with the fundraising consulting firm of Michael finishes his residency in internal LaRiviere, BA, received the M.D. degree Curley, JD, has been promoted to mem- announce the birth of Caroline LaPan Coxe Curry & Associates before moving medicine and pediatrics and Lizza pur- other and with Vanderbilt. Check out the newly redesigned in June 2006 from Ross University ’96 bership in the Nashville law firm of Bass Edgerton on Jan. 20, 2006. They live in to Washington. sues a career in the music industry. Alice home page, the “Chapters and Events” page, and individual School of Medicine and is in residency in Berry & Sims in its litigation practice Washington, D.C. Brice Englert,BE,and Corey, BS, has been recruited by chapter pages. And general surgery at Louisiana State Uni- 10th Reunion area. Carol Amelang Dawson, BA, and Philippa North Englert, BS, announce Eric Bakewell, BA, has Coty/Lancaster Group International to keep checking the versity–New Orleans. Courtney Dickens October 20–21, 2006 her husband, Laurence, report the birth the birth of Gillian Winnifred Englert on designed a Web site manage U.S. public relations efforts for Mankowski, BS, and Ken Mankowski site for even more Beau Bethune, Class Chair of Grace Aisling on Aug. 30, 2004. They July 22, 2005. They live in Austin, Texas. dedicated to his Aug. the Marc Jacobs, Vera Wang and Ken- announce the birth of Patrick Sullivan ’99 updated content. live in Nashville. Gargi Gajendragadkar Robert Copeland Filoon, BA, married 26, 2006, marriage to neth Cole fragrances. Her husband, on Dec. 15, 2005. They live in Columbus, William J. Burgin, BE, and Elizabeth R. Gandhi, BS, MD’01, and Ashish Dinesh Amy Rowena Tufts on May 20, 2006, at Melissa Addison: www.EricLovesMelis- Michael, is a principal engineer for Your comments are welcome as we work to be a valuable Ohio. Sarah E. Seljeskog, BA, is the Burgin announce the birth of William Gandhi, BS’98, announce the birth of the Old Whaling Church in Edgartown, sa.com. Eric and Melissa are both attor- Hazen and Sawyer in New York City. resource for the Vanderbilt community. newest deputy state’s attorney for the Augustus Burgin on April 20, 2006. They Shaan Ashish Gandhi on Sept. 21, 2005. Mass. He works in Boston as a financial neys in Los Angeles. He works with Zach Crockett, BMus, is pursuing a Pennington County State’s Attorney live in Columbus, Ga. Susan Huffstetler They live in New York City. Andrew Graf, analyst with Bank of America. Danielle Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Ph.D. degree as a graduate school fellow Office in Rapid City, S.D. Andrew Wade Cox, BS, and Wade Cox announce the JD, has been named a partner in the Leigh Hicks, BA, married Chad Alan Hedges, and she works with the firm of at the University of Minnesota. Among Sloss, BE, married Casey Lucille Abbott birth of their daughter, Brooke Cincinnati law firm of Griffin-Fletcher, Bishop on Oct. 15, 2005, in Asheville, Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan. Nina his many interests, he is a composer, on April 14, 2006. They live in Nashville Catherine, on Sept. 16, 2005. They live focusing on real estate law. Tysha N.C. Vanderbilt alumni in attendance Sanfilippo Collins, BS, and Kevin Collins computer programmer and interdiscipli- where he is co-owner of ClimbNashville, in Dyersburg, Tenn. Matt Karshis, BA, Stephens Huber, BS, and Todd Christo- included bridesmaid Kristen Marie announce the birth of siblings Patrick nary collaborator who “takes joy in all of an indoor climbing gym, and she is a and Kyoko Iwahashi of Osaka, Japan, pher Huber, MD’99, announce the birth Rosenthal, BA; Sarah Elisabeth Plun- John Collins and Kathleen Shea Collins life, but especially in music, nature and registered nurse at Vanderbilt Medical announce the birth of Lena Iwahashi of Henry Stephens Huber on Aug. 10, kett, BA; and Amy Christine Paulsmeyer on Oct. 28, 2005. They live in Gallatin, scholarship.” Gretchen Garland Center. Fred H. Smith, PhD, has been Karshis on Dec. 27, 2005. They live in 2005, joining brother William Crane. Harfst, BS. Danielle works in marketing Tenn. Jeff G. Gilbert, BS, has joined Fron- Ledgard, BA, has been named president awarded tenure and promoted to associ- Morristown, Tenn. Molly Martin They live in Nashville, and Todd is an for the Hanes brand after receiving an tenac Bank in St. Charles, Mo., as vice of JobSyntax, a software engineering ate professor of economics at Davidson Markey, BS, and Clyde Markey report otolaryngologist for Vanderbilt Medical M.B.A. from Wake Forest. Ellen Jane president of commercial lending. Grace recruiting and talent-consulting firm in College in North Carolina. the birth of Audrey Harper Markey on Group in Franklin. Amanda Restifo Waltemate Hodge, BS, and Ray Hodge, Huang, BMus, received a D.M.A. degree Redmond, Wash. Katherine Davis June 29, 2005, joining sister Zoey. Ellen O’Brien, BA, has been named director of BS’99, announce the birth of their in piano performance from the University Pauley, BE, married Michael Anthony Phillip K. Dillard, BS, Sarah Maxwell, BA, has been named marketing with The Booksmith Group in daughter, Mae Elise Hodge, Jan. 26, 2006. of Minnesota–Twin Cities in March 2005. Barecchia on June 18, 2005, in Chesa- redeployed from Kan- office manager with Vardon Capital Nashville. Lindsay Alexander Owen, Amy Lynn Kelly, BS, married Paul She currently is serving a one-year peake City, Md. They live in Alexandria, dahar, Afghanistan, in Francine A. Lee Owen III ’02 Management in New York City. BMus, and , BA’98, Thomas Golden on Jan. 28, 2006. She is appointment as assistant professor and Va. Meredith Shuey, BS, has been time for his one-year Pawelek Niemic, BA, and Michael announce the birth of their daughter, a director of sales development in the class piano coordinator at the University accepted to the Robert H. Smith School anniversary with his wife, Rebecca Lynn Niemic report the birth of Charles Langley Davis Owen, Sept. 8, 2005. They advertising sales group of AOL in New of Georgia in Athens. Jacquelyn Pando of Business at the University of Mary- Y’all Come Back McIntosh, BS’03, March 10, 2006. Thomas Niemic on June 8, 2005. They live in Greensboro, N.C., where Lee is the York City. Andrea Taylor McKellar, JD, Keeper, BE, and Kyle Keeper announce land in a part-time program. She works Phillip is a captain in the army and live in Chicago. Chris Peifer, BA, and assistant director of college relations at has been promoted to membership in the the birth of Isabel Alexis Keeper on Jan. as director of development for a non- Make plans now to attend Homecoming and Reunion served 11 months in Afghanistan as part Shannon Watson Peifer, BS, announce Guilford College and Lindsay teaches pri- Nashville law firm of Bass Berry & Sims 23, 2006. They live in Westerville, Ohio. profit company in Baltimore. Andrea Oct. 20–21, 2006. of Task Force Bayonet with the 173rd the birth of their second child, vate piano and voice lessons in her stu- in the firm’s litigation practice area. Katherine S. McClure, MEd, and C. Ben- Bouchey Young, BA, has been named Classes celebrating their reunions this year are 1956, Airborne Brigade. He and Becky live in Christopher Tice Peifer Jr., on Jan. 18, dio. Keith Weseli, BS, and Kelly Weseli Sarah Elisabeth Plunkett, BA, married nett McClure II announce the birth of president and CEO of the WNBA’s 1961, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996 and Vicenza, Italy, an hour west of Venice. 2006. Kevin Poirot, BA, has been pro- announce the birth of Grace Elizabeth Christopher Martin on May 13, 2006, in Nelson Bennett McClure on Dec. 24, Houston Comets. 2001. And, of course, Vanderbilt Quinqs are always invited. They regularly get together with Vander- moted to vice president, pre-construc- Weseli on March 13, 2006. They live in Dacula, Ga. They live in Braselton, Ga. 2005. They live in Germantown, Md. Taib bilt alumni Jared Purcell, BA; Andrew tion, with PWCampbell, a financial serv- Fishers, Ind. Brooke Reusch, BA, and Jason Reusch, I. Mohamad, BE, writes that he is current- Last year more than 4,500 alumni and friends returned Rouchka, BS’03; and Nathan Askwith, ices design/building firm in Pittsburgh. BA’99, announce the birth of a son, ly on study leave at Cranfield University, to campus. Come join the fun this October! BE, in the Alps for skiing and European John Otto Frederick Roehm III,BA, Victoria Ritsa Arsenis, Robert William Reusch, April 20, 2006. UK, finishing his doctoral degree.“Fourth recreation. Julie Heinitsh, MEd, has Jennifer Leigh Jennifer ’01 and Julie Margaret Holliday Roehm BS, married Constan- They live in Nashville. child coming soon,”he writes. Coming This Fall been named assistant vice chancellor for announce the birth of Graham Christian ’98 tine Dimitriades on Shapiro, BS, married Craig Handjian in Ann O’Connor, MSN, married Rob Grady 5th Reunion development at the University of North October 20–21, 2006 Caspar Roehm on Dec. 15, 2005. They Aug. 20, 2005, in Thas- Newport Coast, Calif., Aug. 6, 2005. Dixon on Oct. 15, 2005, in Mason, Ohio, Watch for The Loop, a new Carolina–Asheville. Nathan Monday, live in San Francisco. Heather Donlan sos Island, Greece. They live in New Vanderbilt alumni in the bridal party at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. They Philip Head, Class Chair BS, MBA’06,a data intern at Health Swartwood, BA, and Thayer Farrington Orleans where she is a pediatrician and included matron of honor Bronwyn Hay live in Charlottesville, Va., where she is a calendar of exciting Vanderbilt Forecasts in Nashville, won first place at Swartwood, BA, report the birth of twin he is a pediatric critical care physician. Beabeau, BS; bridesmaid Lisa Winches- nurse practitioner and home-health Hillary J. Bean, BA, has joined the St. Chapter events in your area, the 10th Annual International Opera- sons, Augustus and Hamilton, May 27, Jessica Burke, BA, of Clinton, N.Y., was ter, BS; and reader Diana DaCunha nurse with Martha Jefferson Hospital and Louis law firm of Armstrong Teasdale as to be mailed to you this fall. tion Case Competition at the Tepper 2005. They live in Cambridge, Mass. awarded a Ph.D. from Princeton Univer- Landa, BS. Other Vandy alumni in atten- he is a physical therapist for UVA/Health- a member of the firm’s corporate servic- For more information visit www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni. School of Business at Carnegie Mellon sity in November 2005 and currently dance included Lindsay Whiteway,BA; south Rehabilitation Hospital. es department, focusing on real estate University. Paul Okner, BA, has been Learie M. Bain, teaches in the department of Hispanic Jeanne Russo,BA;Jennifer Salvado and business services. Roger Budd III, Don’t miss out: Many chapter activities are also publi- named an associate at the New York City Heathie Taylor Alix Rowley Mackey Hannah Vaughan MEd’97, married Abebi studies at Hamilton College. ,BA; , BS’99; BA, and Leslie Kennerly, BA, were mar- cized through e-mail. Update your contact information, law firm of Starr Associates, specializing S. Davis on July 2, 2006. Cox, BA, and Chip Cox, BS, announce the Holly Gordon,BA;Becky Burgess, BS; Averitt, BS, has graduat- ried Nov. 5, 2005, on Jekyll Island, Ga. in commercial and residential real ’97 including your e-mail address, on www.Dore2Dore.net, She is the owner of Lea- birth of Ann Heatherington “Annie” on Camy Swafford, BA; Ellen Picanso, BA; ’00 ed from law school at Members of the wedding party included estate. Meredith Ward, BS, is a member banos, a silk-screening and graphic arts March 15, 2006. They live in Nashville. Megan West, BS’99; Lauren Lobrano, the University of Alaba- Tammy Cummings, BA’02; Leah Wise- or send your update to [email protected]. of the Ladies Professional Golf Associa- company in Pasadena, Calif. Drew Bow- Amanda Ring Cunningham, BS, and Jef- BS’99; Rachel Cleaver, BS’99; Kristen ma and accepted an associate position man, BA’02; Sarah Dash, BA’02; Aaron tion. Andrew S.Wilkins, BS, is a consult- man, BS, and his wife, Holly Magiera, frey Jordan Cunningham announce the Bell Van Marcke, BS’99; Liz Parden with Atkins & Associates in Atlanta. Vandiver, BA; and Stephen Felker,BA. ant with Deloitte Consulting in Boston.

76 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 77 T HE C LASSES

som Princess Program in Washington, the local alumni association of Kappa Al- D.C. She is a legislative assistant for Min- pha Theta. She is survived by four chil- nesota congressman Martin Olav Sabo. dren, including Thomas Weissinger Here’s one way to secure Rizwan Sunesara, BE, has joined Fuscoe Schlater III, BA’52,LLB’55; Mary Engineering in San Diego as a design Schlater Stumb, BA’57; and Louise Rose your future and ours. engineer. Stephanie Trautwein, BMus, Herbert, BS’67; 10 grandchildren, includ- ing Susan Cheairs Stumb Jones, BS’89, has been awarded a fellowship in the MEd’96; and 15 great-grandchildren. The Vanderbilt American Symphony Orchestra League Orchestra Management Fellowship Pro- Robert Bradley Ewin, BA’28,of Franklin, Charitable Gift Annuity Tenn., March 4, 2006. He is survived by gram, Class of 2007. Her host orchestra numerous nieces and nephews. When you establish a Vanderbilt Charitable Gift Annuity, assignments are with the North Carolina Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Grace Frierson Walker, A’28,of Nashville, you’re giving yourself income for life—guaranteed. April 28, 2006. At Vanderbilt she was a Orchestra and Dallas Symphony Orches- And you’ll also receive an income tax deduction. member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. tra. Marion Westby, BE, left his job at Survivors include two daughters, a son, 13 Ford Motor Co. in Detroit and moved to Benefits on a $10,000 Single-Life Charitable Gift Annuity grandchildren and 20 great-grandchil- Boston after being accepted into the dren. Harvard Business School. Age Annuity Rate Yearly Income Tax Deduction Margaret Keller Douglas, BA’32,of At- lanta, April 27, 2006. At Vanderbilt she 65 6% $600 $4,042 Krystal Grant, BMus, is was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorori- 70 6.5% $650 $4,353 pursuing a master’s ty and Phi Beta Kappa. Following gradua- degree in music compo- 75 7.1% $710 $4,749 ’05 tion she worked as a research assistant in sition at the State Uni- the departments of pediatrics and neuro- 80 8% $800 $5,147 versity of New York, Stony Brook. She surgery. She is survived by a daughter, a 85 9.5% $950 $5,440 was invited to present her honors Span- grandson and a great-grandson. ish paper from Vanderbilt,“Son Speaks: Roberta Luckett Drane Wood Jones, 90 11.3% $1,130 $5,859 Nicolas Guillen’s Motivos de Son and the BA’32,of Nashville, May 21, 2006. At Van- Music It Inspired,”at a graduate stu- derbilt she was a member of Delta Delta Please contact Vanderbilt’s planned giving dents conference hosted by the universi- Delta sorority. Survivors include two sons, professionals at 615/343-3113 or 888/758-1999 ty. Albert Merkel Jr., BS, a second four grandchildren and two great-grand- children. or by e-mail at [email protected]. Let lieutenant, has graduated from the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Olivia King Lowry, GN’32, of Columbia, them tailor a Charitable Gift Annuity just for you. Ga. Zach Nadolski, BMus, is playing the Tenn., April 13, 2006. She worked at Van- derbilt Hospital after graduation and was www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/plannedgiving part of Gaston in the Beauty and the Beast musical production at Walt Disney active with the Red Cross during World War II. Survivors include two daughters, World. Erika Lyn Olson, BMus, married five grandchildren, four great-grandchil- Ralph Blanco, BMus, March 11, 2006. Matt Piser, BA, has been promoted to dren and a sister. They live in Charleston, S.C., where she Camille Cook,BA,of senior actuarial associate with GEICO Martha Elizabeth Roberts Meyer, BA’33, is self-employed as a violin teacher and Mahtomedi, Minn., has Insurance in Washington, D.C. Kiah MS’34, of Franklin, Ind., March 23, 2006. earned a master of divin- Dennis Webster, BA, married Phillip he is self-employed as a piano teacher. As a Vanderbilt student she was a member ’03 Alexandra van Beuren, BA, married ity degree from Princeton Webster on Aug. 21, 2004. They of Alpha Omicron Pi, Phi Beta Kappa and Theological Seminary where she received announce the birth of Liam Anthony Kagan Coughlin on Sept. 18, 2005, in Mortar Board. During her teaching career a graduate-study fellowship in the Parish Webster on Feb. 27, 2006. In addition, Little Washington, Va. They live in she taught junior and senior high school Pulpit Ministry and the Jagow Prize in she was ordained a deacon in the Episco- Washington, D.C. Vanderbilt alumnae in in Nashville; at Sweet Briar College and St. Homiletics and Speech. She will partici- pal Church (USA) on May 15, 2006, and attendance included Danielle Anne’s School for Girls in Virginia; at the pate in the Parish Pulpit Ministry at the ordained a priest on June 24, 2006, in Throneberry,BA;Angeline Cione, BE; University of Tennessee in Knoxville; and University of Oxford in England. Brandi Westerville, Ohio. She serves the Diocese Sarah Lillo, BS; and Megan Johnston, at Stockton Junior College in California. Karasiewicz, BS, married Daniel Alford of Southern Ohio. BA’04. Holly N.Vick, MSN, married Survivors include two sons and four grandchildren. on Jan. 29, 2005, in Orlando, Fla. They Allen B. Myles on Oct. 1, 2005. They live live in Rapid City, S.D. Evan Mack, Michael Alan de Gen- in West Lafayette, Ind. Dorothy Lowe Willett Hopkins, BA’34, of BMus, is working on his D.M.A. degree naro, JD, has joined the Nashville, March 1, 2006. As a Vanderbilt student she was a member of Alpha Omi- at the University of Cincinnati’s College Houston law firm of Lisa Bryington, BMus, ’04 has been awarded a fel- cron Pi sorority. She was a Red Cross vol- Conservatory of Music. He has played Baker Botts. Emma lowship in the Ameri- unteer during World War II and a devot- piano with the Cincinnati Symphony Fricke, BS, and Stephen Nelson,BA, ’06 ed daughter, wife, mother and grand- can Symphony Chamber Players and the Cincinnati were married in the fall of 2005 in Gun- mother. Survivors include three children, Orchestra League Orchestra Manage- Symphony Orchestra. Cheryl Nichols, tersville, Ala. They live in Massachusetts seven grandchildren and two great- BS, has earned the J.D. degree from the where Emma is a special-education ment Fellowship Program, Class of grandchildren. 2007. Her host orchestra assignments University of Arkansas–Fayetteville and teacher and Steve is a consultant for Mildred Fite Woodward Rogge, BA’34,of are with the Grand Rapids Symphony, moved to Memphis, Tenn., to work at a acquisition with the State Department. Audubon, Pa., Feb. 27, 2006. She was a downtown law firm. Scott Overdyke, Kristin Goose, BA, of Louisville, Ky., has Spokane Symphony and Pittsburgh member of Phi Beta Kappa honorary fra- BS, is one of six recipients of the inaugu- been promoted to banking officer, inter- Symphony Orchestra. ternity and Gamma Phi Beta social sorori- ral John F. Kennedy Service Awards given nal auditor at Commonwealth Bank and ty. She was a psychological examiner, li- for “exemplary service and leadership in Trust Co. John Sands, BMus, has been censed by the state of North Carolina, and fulfilling the Peace Corps’ mission.”He accepted into the Ph.D. program in In Memoriam is survived by her husband, two nephews organizes and implements an indigenous architecture history and theory at the and a niece. coffee program in one of the most University of Pennsylvania. In his study Mary Louise Cheairs Hughes Schlater Esther M. Laursen Randolph, MA’36,of impoverished communities in Panama. he will examine the enigmatic relation- Rose, BA’27,of Nashville, Dec. 27, 2005. Fulton, Mo., Jan. 8, 2006. She was the first Ronald R. Petroff, BA, of Chagrin Falls, ship between architecture and music. She was the oldest living member of woman to teach at Westminster College Ohio, earned a J.D. degree from Ohio Allison Skowronski, BA, represented the Christ Episcopal Church, the Centennial and taught speech at William Woods Col- State University’s Moritz College of Law. state of Minnesota in the Cherry Blos- Club, the Junior League of Nashville, and lege. She retired as an associate professor,

78 Summer 2006 VJournal continued from page 9 being, a man with a family past, with a core Vanderbilt Holdings continued from page 23 class farewells were free-for-alls of socializing of empathy, a yearning to heal his world. We The Mann Papers paint a detailed picture and friendships in the making. all made Tom promise he would submit his of both the painstaking organizational skills Sometimes the prisoners wanted to talk essay to NPR. I hope the nation gets to hear and big-picture vision required of a modern about the stresses of their world behind bars. his voice someday. director. He or she must manage an unpre- Other times they were eager to leave their I get two questions from outsiders about dictable team of actors and crew, vet the script, inmate identities behind for a while and just this unusual class. First, did the prisoners pay tell a compelling visual story, and stay on be students. Discussion centered on the week- for their textbooks? No. They don’t have the schedule and budget. ly reading assigned—essays on sainthood or money. It’s up to the teacher to purchase the With the Delbert Mann collection, stu- religious violence—or a sample of their own books or get a discount from the publisher. In dents encounter the work of one of Holly- writing to share with the class. Once class time my case, a generous friend came forward as a wood’s beloved directors, one of the nice guys got started, someone would usually speak from benefactor, writing a check to cover the cost of in a tough business who, according to admir- the heart and silence the room. two dozen texts as well as some writing refer- ers, made his family (four children) a prior- One week I assigned them all to write a “This ence books for the bedraggled prison library. ity and stayed in touch with Nashville friends I Believe” essay of personal belief and submit The second question is always nervously across the decades. it to National Public Radio. One divinity stu- posed: Was there a guard in the room in case “I’m a lucky man,”he declares. “I have dent wrote about confronting his fears and dis- of “trouble”? No, a guard was stationed down been able to spend my life doing what I love covering trust in God.Another wrote about the the hall, never in class. I never gave the mat- to do the most.” strong example of her mother as a mentor. But ter thought. I was too busy running a class of And he’s sharing it with his alma mater. the essay I chose to read to the class was by serious writers. inmate Tom, a gruff (in truth, he was suffering But we visitors were all aware that these chronic back pain) prison veteran who’d been prisoners were convicted of awful crimes. Over of Jesus. In the New Testament, oddly, crim- incarcerated more than three decades. the course of the semester, some prisoners inal-justice issues keep turning up in the gospel Surprising everyone, he wrote a piece about disclosed details from time to time. Others story. John the Baptist went to jail. So did Paul. the healing power of touch. This was surely did not. We learned that one was convicted Jesus began his ministry with words from Isa- not the easiest subject to write about in the of multiple sexual abuse, another had killed iah, proclaiming “release to the captives.”And macho, posturing culture of a men’s prison. two people, and others were sentenced to long he was ensnared as a criminal in his last days. But he was undeterred. He declared he learned terms for rape, armed robbery or homicide. Some argue that those final hours on the cross the power of touch from his mother, who “had The emotions of a prison visit are com- with two other condemned men constitut- an enormous capacity to communicate love, plicated, I admit. I don’t minimize the vio- ed the faith’s first church service. empathy, trust, encouragement and support lence the inmates did to their victims and the Jesus also said, Visit the prisoners. He with only a touch of her soft hands and an victims’ families. I won’t sentimentalize their didn’t theorize about policies of incarcera- embrace of her arms.” own current states of reform, impressive though tion. He said visit them. He concluded:“I am an equal opportuni- they are. But any visitor is confronted with a Meeting for class on Monday after Easter, ty practitioner to both genders and to all ages, soul-searching question: Are these prison- we learned from the Riverbend guys that they races, nationalities and religious faiths. Despite ers real human beings or not? Will I equate were refused all visitors at Easter this year because an occasional crude comment from a stranger them with their crimes—that is, with the worst of a sudden lock-down by the prison. This was that something must be wrong with me for thing they’ve ever done—or are they some- traumatic to the prisoners who depend on that exhibiting such an unmasculine practice, I am thing more than that? vital family circle outside the walls. One pris- unashamed and unrepentant. I believe we are Society doesn’t want to deal with the ques- oner in the class said he was gratified that his on this earth to hold and comfort one anoth- tion. The prevailing national philosophy of “Vanderbilt family” was there that night after er, to love and respect each other as brothers incarceration is one of revenge, not rehabil- the unnerving snafu of the day before. and sisters of the same Creator. itation. Maximize the sentences, lock them At that moment I knew for sure that these “One way I manifest God’s light in me is up, and forget this “silent nation growing Vanderbilt-Riverbend classes are something to express it with the power of touch, a phys- inside us,”as writer E.L. Doctorow describes more than seminars and adventures in learn- ical gesture that says, ‘I understand,’‘I care,’ our burgeoning, costly prison population. ing. They’re experiments in mutual respect ‘I love,’and ‘You are not alone.’If I can con- But for several weeks this year, I saw a dif- across the difficult politics of race, class and tinue this spiritual practice in a crowded ferent side to the darkness, a room full of pris- fear in a nation determined to build bigger pris- Southern prison for more than 30 years, it oners in conversation with free-worlders, all ons every day. can succeed anywhere.” writers, all equals in their effort to come to I read the essay aloud and noticed tears in terms with their experiences and re-imag- Ray Waddle, MA’81, is a Nashville-based writer the eyes of some divinity students. Suddenly, ine old questions of faith and truth. and the author of Against the Grain: Uncon- this Riverbend inmate was a fellow human These students often invoked the example ventional Wisdom from Ecclesiastes.

Vanderbilt Magazine 83 In Class continued from page 28 true already, then it’s boring, right? And if it’s teaching as well. For him, the classroom offers For instance, in “Copernican Principle,” crazy, it’s not plausible. the same opportunities for inquiry and dis- Copernican Principle By Robert Scherrer Scherrer creates a kind of meta-science fic- “So what you’re trying to do is constant- covery as the laboratory. “When you teach, tion, where he applies scientific and mathe- ly hit the spot between stuff that sounds crazy it forces you to examine ideas you might not rofessor John Rapaport paced back and forth at the front of his to be living inside a computer than in the real world.” matical ideas to the very act of storytelling. and stuff that’s already known to be true. It’s normally look at,”he says. “Even when you P Astronomy 111 class, waving a sheaf of papers in the air.“Class,” “Well, Paul, you shouldn’t push these arguments too far.” In the story a professor struggles to get his the same when you’re doing physics research: teach very elementary subjects, like first-year he said,“your performance on the midterm exam was abysmal. “And what’s wrong with my argument?” asked Paul. half-asleep students to grasp the 16th-cen- You still have to balance between things that physics, you can incorporate things going on Let me correct a few of your misconceptions:Venus is not a star.The sun “Well, it’s just that …” John scratched his head.“Let me think about tury astronomer Copernicus’ notion that the are boring and things that are crazy. You want in forefront physics. And when you’re doing is a star.And Pluto is not, repeat not ‘Mickey’s dog.’” it—I’ll tell you tomorrow.” earth doesn’t occupy a special place in the to be able to extrapolate from what we present- research, it allows you to talk about impor- John dropped the exams on the lectern and surveyed the faces of his universe. One kid speaks up, ready to advance ly know, but not go so far out on the fringe tant things people are looking at today. You yawning students. Mike McNamara snored in the last row, his enormous alt Gustafson slurped a strand of egg noodles in the Chi- the idea that if humanity has been stripped that people think you’re a nut-case.” can bring those into the classroom and use forearms folded on the desk, his crew-cut head resting on his arms. Mike Wnese dive on High Street where he always met John for of its unique status in the cosmos, our exis- Even more challenging, Scherrer says, is them as examples and as a means of explain- had been the football team’s star linebacker until that unfortunate inci- lunch on Wednesdays.“That’s the problem with theoret- tence would be even more in line with the working his own specialized area of research ing how some of these principles work.” dent involving the Chevy dealer. ical types like you,” said Walt, pointing a chopstick at John.“An engi- Copernican Principle if it turned out we were into a piece of short fiction. Knowing the In a field where researchers are constant- “Mike, wake up!” neer like me is never going to start believing this kind of nonsense.” simply living in a computer simulation. Trou- subject so intimately can prove limiting. It ly reaching for new insights, Scherrer sug- Mike’s head shot up.“Yes, Professor Rapaport?” “But how can you prove it?” asked John. bled by the thought, and unable to come wasn’t until he’d published his sixth story, gests that teaching is one more way of keeping “Mike, today we’re going to discuss the Copernican Principle.” John Walt tried to pry open a plastic pouch of hot Chinese mustard with up with a counterargument to the student’s “Extra Innings,”that Scherrer had ever tried unanswered questions an active part of the picked up a green marker and wrote “COPERNICAN PRINCIPLE” on his fingers, gave up, and slit it with a knife.“Well for one thing,” said claim, the professor then suggests we could introducing cosmology into one of his plots. scientific discourse until they yield a solu- the whiteboard.“What is the Copernican Principle?” Walt,“if we lived in a computer simulation, these mustard pouches would just as easily be characters in a fictional story— The result was arguably his strongest piece tion. “On one occasion I was teaching the Mike stared, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping—a moose caught be a lot easier to open.” at which point Scherrer answers the ques- to date, mixing his good-natured sense of cosmology portion of a course for first-year in the headlights.“Uh, I don’t remember.” “Be serious,” said John.“I think the kid’s argument is basically tion, and the story, with a deft finish. humor with some of his abiding interests— students, and afterward I was thinking about “Did anyone do the assigned reading?” asked John.“Paul, please tell right—the Copernican Principle says we’re more likely to be living in a Stanley Schmidt, the editor of Analog Sci- namely, baseball and the expanding uni- something I’d said in the lecture and thought, me that you did the reading.” computer simulation than not.” ence Fiction and Fact, which during the course verse—in the story of a friendship that spans ‘Well, wait a minute, that ought to be some- Paul Kresge put down his newspaper,revealing a face covered with Walt shrugged.“Theories should follow reality, not the other way of its 76-year history has published stories from the summer of ’69 until the literal thing we could resolve.’I thought about it for metal studs—pierced ears, pierced nose, pierced lips. Did the man set around.” He cracked open his fortune cookie and pulled out the slip of by Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein, says end of the cosmos. a couple of weeks and came up with a solu- off airport metal detectors? But at least Paul thought for himself—he paper from inside.“Hey,look at this,” he said.“It says,‘The system will it’s not uncommon for science professionals If physics research and science fiction require tion to the problem and wrote a paper on it.” was the only one in class who ever challenged anything John said. be shutting down in five minutes. Please save your work.’” to submit stories to his journal.“I like to think a similar kind of balancing act, the demands Scott Dodelson, Scherrer’s colleague at “No,” said Paul.“I thought this week’s reading was boring. I read “What!” said John. He lunged across the table and tried to grab the of us as the magazine that puts equal empha- that come with writing each couldn’t be more Fermilab, recalls another time when Scher- Chapter 17 instead.” fortune, but Walt pulled it away from his grasp. sis on the words ‘science’ and ‘fiction.’We different, Scherrer says. For an academic who rer’s intellectual curiosity yielded some inno- “Not too smart, Paul,” said John. “Okay, class, I’ll just tell you “Sheesh,” said Walt.“I’m just kidding.” He popped the fortune want the science to be solid and important, must choose his words very deliberately, sci- vative results. “A few months ago we came what the Copernican Principle says. Copernicus showed that the earth cookie into his mouth.“You’re really wound up about this.” but we also want entertaining, well-put-togeth- ence fiction can be a liberating outlet.“Physics on this idea of analyzing baseball statistics in is not the center of the universe.The Copernican Principle says that “Well, what if they did shut us down?” er stories about interesting characters and research writing style has this very bloated, a particular way. Together we wrote up a com- we don’t occupy any special place in the universe.” John sketched a “Let me put your mind at ease,” said Walt. He slapped the table, interesting situations.” heavy use of passive voice and compound puter program, got a bunch of data and start- green spiral on the whiteboard and marked an X near the edge. rattling the dishes and knocking over a plastic cup. “There, does That, Schmidt explains, makes Scherrer nouns and qualifying of everything,”he ed analyzing it. Bob’s the first colleague I’ve “For example, the sun is not located at the center of the Galaxy. It that sound like a computer simulation to you? Ouch, it hurt, too.That’s a perfect fit for Analog. “He has a good mix- explains.“You don’t want to say anything for had in a long time who has that excitement occupies an unremarkable location about two-thirds of the way out reality.” ture of scientific speculation and entertain- sure because you might be proven wrong. not just for cosmology—some might call it from the center.” “Or it could just be a very convincing simulation of reality,” said ing stories, and I just wish he would write The fiction writing style is much more peppy just a plaything. He really got into it, and it “Wait a minute,” said Paul.“Last week you told us that our galaxy John. more of them! His stories certainly aren’t just and direct, and you try to use colorful, descrip- was fun to talk to him about it. I think that is larger than average. Doesn’t the Copernican Principle mean we should “Oh, it’s going to be hard to convince you, isn’t it? I’ll tell you what about scientific gimmicks. They’re very much tive things to suck the reader in.” enthusiasm for all kinds of things distin- live in an average-sized galaxy?” —suppose I can come up with an argument from the Copernican people stories, too.” Scherrer gave a talk at Fermilab on the guishes him.” John smiled.“Now you’re thinking, Paul.The Copernican Principle Principle that’s so completely absurd that it shows that the whole idea Finding that perfect mix of science and subject this past March. To point up the dif- It’s fitting, then, that Scherrer should wind says that the earth should orbit an average star.We’re just as likely to is preposterous.Will you give up and stop worrying then?” fiction is a challenge, Scherrer observes. “A ferences in writing styles, he took the open- up at Vanderbilt, a campus where he finds orbit one star as any other—” “Like what?” asked John. lot of people think it’s really easy to write sci- ing paragraph of “Extra Innings” and rewrote himself surrounded by colleagues who share “—and the bigger galaxies have more stars,” interrupted Paul,“so Walt leaned back in his chair.“Try this one,” he said.“Any advanced ence fiction if you’re a scientist because you it as if it were a science paper, riddled with his passion for learning.“The faculty here are we’re more likely to find ourselves living in a big galaxy.” civilization is going to produce an enormous number of works of fic- can just write the stuff you’re doing and stick hyphens and past participles. “Most of the really well-rounded and have a lot of intel- “Exactly!” said John.“Can anyone think of another application of tion. So the Copernican Principle says that we’re actually more likely it in a magazine. I think it’s actually harder, people at the talk had read a lot of science lectual interests,”he says. “They tend not to the Copernican principle?” to be fictional characters than real people. Now you have to admit that though, because when you know the subject fiction and had written physics articles, so it be quite so focused on their own narrow fields An awkward silence filled the room, broken only by the faint tick- that’s ridiculous.” so well, it’s a lot harder to make leaps of the was a natural thing to show them,”he says. of specialization—they’re interested in things ing of the wall clock above the whiteboard. Paul raised his hand.“I’ve John was silent for a moment and then chuckled. “That’s a good imagination. You’re constantly second-guess- “That got the biggest laugh of anything in beyond that.”And in the case of Robert Scher- got one for you,” he said.“I just read about this guy in England who one,Walt.” ing yourself. But if everything you write is the talk.” rer, a man who has devoted himself to study- claims that any advanced civilization will make computer simulations Walt laughed.“And the funniest thing is that when the story factual, then you might as well write it up as The energy Scherrer brings to pursuits ing the universe in all its infinitude, that that are just like real life. So if every civilization made a million of these ended, we would just disappear—poof! Now stop worrying and please a physics article. If it’s all stuff we know to be both scholarly and creative filters into his excitement for learning truly has no bounds. simulations, then the Copernican Principle says that we’re more likely pass the—”

Published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, March 2005. Reprinted with permission.

84 Summer 2006 Vanderbilt Magazine 85 Commodore continued from page 53 Carol. But that was fiction. Could a real cap- No, the aging Commodore, eager to per- Vanderbilt’s gift, one of the largest phil- italist like Cornelius Vanderbilt truly change? petuate his name, wanted it that way. So anthropic donations to that point in Amer- Could he become, like Scrooge, “as good a he and Frank danced a wonderful four-year ican history, commanded great attention. At friend, as good a master, and as good a man marital gavotte that ended in the creation the inauguration of Vanderbilt University in as the good old city knew, or any other good of Vanderbilt University. Nashville in October 1875, Charles Deems old city, town, or borough in the good old It was a far better investment than he read aloud the benefactor’s telegram of good world”? could have expected. Just about all the wishes: “Peace and good-will to all men.” The Commodore would never be some Commodore’s other plans for immortal- Then, “with great tenderness of feeling,” it real-life Scrooge, a dedicated philanthropist. ity came to naught. His beloved New York was reported, the reverend quoted Scripture: His gift to Vanderbilt University resulted Central Railroad no longer exists; his great “Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine from a strange train of circumstances, an family fortune is gone; hardly any male alms are had in remembrance of the sight of almost improbable run of luck. descendants, none of them famous, remain God.”With that blessing the audience broke But Vanderbilt University was not just to carry on the family name. Instead, it is out into cheers. an accident of marriage. Cornelius Vander- the former “Central University,” with one No doubt, more than one of the Com- bilt, flinty, determined and calculating, of the great sports nicknames, the Com- modore’s old antagonists snorted over news- did what he wanted to do. Marrying Frank, modores, that ensures the survival of the paper accounts of the inauguration in the Commodore knew she was different, name Vanderbilt. V Nashville.“Peace and good-will to all men,” knew she cared about religion and good indeed! It was too much like the miraculous deeds. The crafty veteran of so many stock This article is adapted from the inaugural transformation of another hard-hearted manipulations surely realized what Frank Founder’s Day Lecture presented March 16 businessman who had also spent some time was up to as she kept quiet about Woodhull by historian Michael McGerr at Vanderbilt with “spirits”: Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles and Claflin and lamented instead those flights University. Dickens’ enormously popular A Christmas of stairs and the needy men of the South.

A.P.O.V. continued from page 69 ly anyone looks at her history of mental ill- possible that a war was going on within her ver launched his obscenity investigation. Bet- ness—even though it raises questions about own heart? What we’re left with in the movie tie was subpoenaed to testify and sat nerv- just what state of mind she was in from 1950 is the Bettie Cult. And if we were to analyze ously for 16 hours in a Senate witness room, to 1957, when she was supposedly the world’s the tenets of that cult, they would be similar but was never called. The experience shocked most carefree nude model. (During one of to the ones Herman Melville attached to Poly- her, though, and she told Klaw she wasn’t her later episodes, she cried out that she need- nesian beauties in his early novels, to wit: having fun anymore. ed to be punished by God for all her sins. This Bettie’s naked insouciance is sex without If the first chapter in her adult life had alternated with episodes during which she guilt. Bettie’s friendly smirk means she does- been Holly Golightly, the second was more would decide she needed to kill somebody n’t judge herself. Bettie’s luminous blue come- Frances Farmer. She ended up in a second because God told her to do it.) At one point hither eyes mean she doesn’t judge me, either. marriage, to a Miami businessman named in the ’60s, she moved back to Nashville and Bettie’s simple pristine outfits mean she’s Harry Lear, but by this time she’d started to re-enrolled at Peabody, planning to get a mas- the most beautiful woman in the world but show signs of clinical schizophrenia. She ter’s degree in English, but she left after quar- doesn’t know it. Bettie’s willingness to do became fanatically and eccentrically religious reling with a professor about some theological things other models won’t do means she likes (telling her family there were seven gods and point. From then on, all her short educational everybody, even the outcasts. she was their prophet), strict to the point of stints were at Bible colleges. Bettie’s playfulness means she can do any cruelty with her stepchildren, and violent to All of this would be rich material for a crazy thing ever imagined in the realm of the herself and others. Charged with various psychologically complex Bettie Page film. sexual subconscious and it will never be dirty. crimes over a 10-year period—armed assault Unfortunately, Mary Harron’s recently released In fact, if there’s one quality that defines Bet- and attempted murder among them—she The Notorious Bettie Page is not that film. tie Page, it’s that she’s so clean. was hospitalized three times, the last time for Harron ends Bettie’s story in 1957, when she Bettie, in so many ways and to so many 10 years in an institution for the criminally leaves New York, and thereby fails to grapple guys, was and is the perfect woman. Her fans insane. When she was released, she was able with the heart of the matter. Expertly por- might not be able to describe exactly what it to control the disease with medication, and trayed by Gretchen Mol, the Bettie of the was that she had, but we know, don’t we? her symptoms followed the normal course, movie is the same Bettie rediscovered 20 years She was the elusive Peabody Girl, come lessening in intensity after menopause. ago and raised to the status of a cult goddess. to life. One fascinating aspect of the thousands Hers is a war against prudery, economic of articles written about Bettie is that hard- exploitation and faithless men. But isn’t it

86 Summer 2006

Southern Journal continued from page 88 views with black registrants, would not accept sons: death and politics.”The legacy of vote- queen; he was 67, and she was 22. a check from blacks to pay the poll tax bill, buying became a small but enduring piece of In reading documents of Heard’s inter- and required applicants to come back with American political history in the 1948 elec- views, sometimes one can almost see the skep- the exact change in cash before adding them tion for the junior U.S. senator from Texas. tical headshaking that must have accompanied to the voting rolls. When he was elected president, Life maga- the response to a question Heard posed of a In Memphis, Tenn., Alexander Heard inter- zine reminded Americans that Lyndon John- prominent banker, politician or community viewed black voters who told him about son won his senate seat with an “87-vote leader. For example, Jim Folsom had just been “boodlers,”or people who sold their vote to ‘landslide.’”That margin came from Box 13 elected governor of Alabama in 1946 as the local bosses associated with the E.H. Crump in Jim Wells County, when someone added Southern politics interviews were being con- machine in Shelby County. Ralph McGill, a loop to the “7” in the election-night total ducted. “We’ll just have to wait and see,”said another Vanderbilt alumnus who would sub- of 765 votes for Johnson, making the sum one person, but his silence was deafening. sequently serve as editor of the Atlanta Jour- 965 and giving him a statewide victory. The Once in the mid 1980s, when the press nal-Constitution, wrote of Memphis politics defense of the outcome by LBJ biographer asked Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards,“Who in his book, The South and the Southerner, Robert Caro is classic: “The Valley’s vote for is the greatest politician you’ve seen in your “There was never any restriction against LBJ was nothing more than the normal run lifetime?” the governor responded in a deep Negroes voting so long as they voted right.” of Texas politics.” Cajun drawl. “My lifetime, it would have to Corruption, especially at election time, Protection of local interests was para- be every time I shave and look at him in the was widespread in the region. In one mem- mount in the South. In 1947 Alexander Heard mirror I see him.”Edwards is now serving orandum, written just for Professor Key’s told how an illiterate character he named time in federal prison. reading, Alexander Heard explained how “Tom,”from Clayton, Ga., finally won elec- Lester Garfield Maddox made his politi- money from Georgia Power executives was tion to the state senate. cal reputation in opposition to racial inte- given to county judges to guarantee the votes The man ran for, and habitually lost, every gration. When elected governor of Georgia for the corporate candidate in the upcoming election he entered, for sheriff, county clerk in 1967, he celebrated by peddling a bicycle election. The memo also told of thousands or mayor. People sometimes threw a token backwards down Peachtree Street. of dollars being spread around the Florida vote his way, but since he couldn’t read it The Heard interviews took place in the panhandle in defiance of state campaign didn’t matter. But everybody loved Tom, a South before the Civil Rights Movement, finance laws. big rangy fellow with a penchant for wide- when African Americans faced a humiliating All of this chicanery was familiar. It was brimmed Stetsons and hoedown music; he and tedious process to vote. A meeting with a kind of bequest, a secret understanding of had been a bailiff at the courthouse for as an Alabama mail carrier, active in the NAACP, the “way things are done” in the South. Harp- long as anyone could remember. revealed that black registrants were subject er Lee alluded to it in her book To Kill a Mock- In 1946, just before the Democratic pri- to a “slow-down” process at the county court- ingbird. “In Maycomb, grown men stood mary, the county veterans got together and house. The registrar would leave during inter- outside in the front yard for only two rea- decided to back Tom for the state senate.“Why not?” they reasoned.“We’ve sent all the best people around to the legislature … and all they’ve ever done is put their hand in the till “Congratulations on an outstanding and line their own pockets.”Could Tom do (and constantly improving) publication! any worse? So the people of the county, accus- tomed to getting nothing from their gov- Thank you for keeping alumni connected to Vanderbilt.” ernment, decided to make it official. Of course, Tom won, and to quote Heard,“Sure enough, he did no worse than his predecessors.” “Great magazine! Reading it reminds me Willie Stark was right. No matter what, the abiding aspect of Southern politics was of the thought-provoking political science the “perfection of inaction.”Alexander Heard and communications classesV I took at Vanderbilt.” would have loved to interview Willie Stark. J. David Woodard, PhD’78, holds the Thurmond Chair of Government at Clemson University. Please consider making a tax-deductible Vanderbilt Magazine Voluntary Subscription gift of $35, $50, $100, or whatever amount VU Station B #357727 During the 2003–2004 academic year, he was you choose by sending your check, payable 2301 Vanderbilt Place a visiting professor at Vanderbilt where he com- to Vanderbilt Magazine, to: Nashville, TN 37235-7727 pleted research for a book, The New Southern Politics, from which this article is taken.

Vanderbilt Magazine 87

SouthernJournal th n the Sou s o n o i lect f

Re A Flaw in the Perfection of Inaction Southern democracy, as Alexander Heard discovered, boasts a rich tradition of chicanery and local color. By J. DAVI D WOODARD, PHD’78

illie Stark, the Sunshine” when he campaigned for office, central character in and then made it the state song when he was Robert Penn War- elected. ren’s matchless All Always, the dissimilarity with the rest of Wthe King’s Men, the country was racial. It came out in the worst described Southern ways, as in 1898 when South Carolina Sen. politics best: “‘If you mean to imply,’ I said, “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman declared on the floor ‘that politics, including that of your erstwhile of the U.S. Senate that the black race “must pals, is not exactly like Easter Week in the remain subordinate or be exterminated.” nunnery, you are right … politics is action The texture of Southern politics was cap- and all action is but a flaw in the perfection tured in a profound book, Southern Politics of inaction.’” in State and Nation (1949), written by V.O. The practice of democracy in the South Key, a venerable political scientist who never

has always been a little different from the way taught at Vanderbilt but whose picture still JIM HSIEH things were done in the rest of the country. hangs in Calhoun Hall. In academe, few books Sometimes the disparity came from the endure; this one has and for a good reason. Today the interviews are housed in the dirt-grinding, nerve-ending poverty that car- To map the political culture of the South, Special Collections Department of the Jean peted the region like the morning fog. “We Professor Key sent out two junior associ- and Alexander Heard Library, and when the had practically no money at all for thirty ates to interview 538 people in sessions aver- boxes talk they tell a fascinating story. Read- years,”wrote Ben Robertson in his 1942 mem- aging 70 minutes each. ing the transcripts from the perspective of oir, Red Hills and Cotton,“so we stayed home, One of those conducting interviews for 50-plus years is like taking a trip back in time, and worked in the fields, and sat on the piaz- the book was Alexander Heard, who would before shopping centers, fast-food restaurant zas and talked, and we fished and trapped later become chancellor of Vanderbilt. Heard chains and television plastered a homoge- rabbits and went to all-day singings and to worked from memorized questions and then nous character on the region. old Confederate reunions at the Courthouse.” typed up his notes with carbon copies each No other part of the country could rival Sometimes the differences were in the night. Every interview was coded and classi- the South when it came to flamboyant antics personalities of the people elected to public fied, sometimes with copies of state consti- and outlandish statements. Huey Long named office. Gene Talmadge, the fiery Georgia gov- tutional provisions, registration figures, poll a baldheaded opponent “Turkey Head,”and ernor, pulled off his coat, snapped his gal- tax data, clippings from newspapers, and Lyndon Johnson once said his political oppo- luses and said, “Sure I stole, but I stole for county-by-county primary and general elec- nent was so stupid he “couldn’t pour piss out you.”Kissin’ Jim Folsom, of Alabama, invit- tion returns. In those days, before Google and of a boot with the instructions written on the ed Life magazine reporters to breakfast in computers, this material was extraordinari- heel.” Given the history of the place, it was 1947, where he quickly killed two beers and ly difficult to obtain. “Key probably had a not surprising to hear that Louisiana Gov. smacked his lips loudly to declare,“The only greater impact on American political science Earl K. Long ran around with New Orleans thing better for breakfast than beer is whiskey.” than any other individual of his time or since,” stripper Blaze Starr, or that his wife had him South Carolina Gov. Strom Thurmond stood wrote William C. Havard in 1979, in his capac- declared insane for doing so. South Caroli- on his hands to impress his fiancée, and Gov. ity as chairman of the Vanderbilt Department na Sen. Strom Thurmond married a beauty Jimmy Davis of Louisiana sang “You Are My of Political Science. continued on page 87

88 Summer 2006

During his senior year at Vanderbilt, Alan Loprete, BS’03, lived on the 12th floor of Carmichael Towers II. “This commanding view provided a great vantage point to ROOM capture images of campus as the seasons changed,” says Loprete, who recently sent Vanderbilt Magazine these photos he WITH A VIEW took as a student. We liked them so much we’ve turned them into wallpaper that you may download by going to Vanderbilt’s revamped alumni Web site: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/alumni.