Several of your former staff members and
Issue 21 H Fall 2014
ALUMNI UPDATES … Several of your former staff members and classmates give a glimpse into their lives since the Vanderbilt days … see page 3.
tunnelvision A publication for alumni of student media at Vanderbilt University
LEADERS
HONORS
HONORING JIM LEESON
AWARDS AND HONORS
New Award and Endowment honors Leeson… page 2
More honors for Student Media in Fall… page 8 The Melodores see page 8…
YOU'RE INVITED! Vanderbilt Student Media will kick off its Create the Future capital campaign with a series of alumni gatherings that begin in the coming weeks.
NASHVILLE FEB.6 The first alumni gathering will be in Nashville from 6-8 p.m., Feb. 6 at the Patron Platinum Club inside the Bridgestone Arena. This event coincides with a national college sports reporting workshop that features many Vanderbilt alumni (see related story on page 8). Alumni workshop presenters scheduled to attend the gathering include Buster Olney (ESPN), Mark Bechtel (Sports Illustrated), Dan Wolken (USA Today), Rob Shaw (Facebook), Andrew Maraniss (author, Strong Inside), Mitch Light (Athlon Sports). Current students will be there, and all area alumni and family are invited.
NEW YORK CITY MARCH 13 The next event will be in New York City from 6-8 p.m., March 13 at Rosie O’Grady’s at 800 7th Ave. at 52nd St. This gathering will coincide with the Spring National College Media Convention at the New York Sheraton across the street, so current Vanderbilt media students attending the convention will be on hand to connect with alumni.
WASHINGTON, D.C. MARCH 20 Washington, D.C. will be the location of a gathering from 6-8 p.m., March 20 at The City Tap House, 901 9th Ave. This event will coincide with an educational trip for a limited number of current Vanderbilt students who will connect with area alumni and visit selected D.C. based media. These students will also attend the alumni reception. If you can join us, please RSVP at vandymedia.org
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photo by Bosley Jarrett
The Class of 2014 The auditorium at the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt was packed on Oct. 10 for the fifth Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Distinguished alumni inducted as the 2014 class were, pictured here, Dave Sheinin (1991), sports features and enterprise writer for The Washington Post; Alison Scholly (1990), chief operating officer, Chicago Public
Media; Chuck Offenburger (1969), former Des Moines Register columnist turned author and blogger; Bridget Kelley (1988), senior supervising editor of NPR’s All Things Considered; and Jeff Rothschild (1977), an engineer and entrepreneur who played a major role in Facebook’s technical success. Inductees were introduced by Andrew Maraniss (1992), and
awards were presented by current students in leadership positions in Student Media. The reception following the ceremony served as a celebration and a reunion for all in attendance. To submit a nomination for the Student Media Hall of Fame, please email the Selection Committee chair, Paige Clancy, at paige.clancy@vanderbilt.edu. H
creating the future Vanderbilt Student Communications has announced the launch of the Create the Future capital campaign, which seeks to raise $7 million over the next five years to create an endowment to support and advance the excellent work of the students in the 17 divisions of VSC. “Vanderbilt Student Media must look to private support to continue training and educating students in a media world that is changing more rapidly than anyone ever imagined,” said Director of Student Media Chris Carroll. “It is more and more difficult to generate funding from print, online, or broadcast advertising, yet the demand from students for the training, resources, and opportunities offered by Vanderbilt Student Media is at an all-time high.” For many alumni, their experience in student media was an enriching experience both professionally and socially, and it
helped to shape their later lives. The hope is those opportunities will be available to Vanderbilt students for generations to come, Carroll said. “During my years with The Vanderbilt Hustler, we taught each other, inspired each other, and had a tremendous amount of fun together,” said Neil Skene ’73, chair of the Create the Future campaign steering committee. “We still love to recall those days in stories we tell, many of which are true. I want to ensure these rich experiences with student media are preserved for future Vanderbilt students. “ “Please join us in this essential effort,” creating the future, continued on page 2
tunnel vision
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an alumni column…
bright lights
Music as Storytelling by Georgia Stitt, B.Mus., 1994
creating the future, continued from page 1
said Skene. “We know the goal is attainable, but we need your support to get there.” While universities have relied on private support for years, this is the first campaign of its kind dedicated to building an endowment solely for student media, according to VSC’s newly hired director of development and alumni relations, Brian McGuire. “Consistent with the leadership and entrepreneurial
spirit of Vanderbilt Student Communications and its alumni, VSC will be the leader in this space and the first to create an endowment to permanently and perpetually support the excellent opportunities students have enjoyed here for generations,” McGuire said. A handful of endowed funds have been created, which will be dedicated to supporting specific priorities in journalism, produc-
tion, training, and capital equipment. More information on the endowed funds can be found at supportvanderbiltmedia.com. To make a gift to one of the funds or to discuss creating another named endowed fund, please contact Brian McGuire, 615-3227166, brian.mcguire@vanderbilt. edu.
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Developing a Plan for the Future Georgia Stitt is the on-set music supervisor for the upcoming film, The Last Five Years, to be released on February 13, 2015. Her newest musical, Snow Child, is being written for Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and she has recorded three albums of her music: This Ordinary Thursday, Alphabet City Cycle, and My Lifelong Love. She lives in New York City with her husband, Jason Robert Brown, and their two daughters. www.georgiastitt.com
Twenty years ago when I was a student at Vanderbilt, I majored in music theory and composition. I am a pianist and a composer, and I spent long hours in the practice rooms at the Blair School of Music. It was a different kind of tunnel for us over there, but those of you who have pulled all-nighters in student media will understand: you bury yourself in your practice room/ computer workstation/darkroom and you work on your thing until you get a little better at it. You do that day after day after day and eventually you discover you suck a little bit less. I don’t think I realized then how significant the Tunnel was going to be in the shaping of who I would become. Many professors at Blair gave me a hard time because they believed if I had “extra” time I should be spending it on my music. There could always be more practicing, more composing, more playing in ensembles, more accompanying other musicians, more preparing recitals. And it’s true, if I had practiced more, I probably could have honed my performing skills in ways that would have made me more competitive with the future concert pianists and the budding classical music composers of my generation. But I liked spending that time with the people who worked in the Tunnel because they were storytellers. They were fun. In those days I felt like I had two parts of myself; there was the music-girl who spent hours writing dots on score paper and practicing Rachmaninoff in a tiny room with the window covered, and then there was the words-girl who wrote poetry in her journal and took English literature classes for fun. I was drawn to music composition because I understood the formal elements of it. Music has structure, as does poetry. The rules of harmony echo the rules of grammar. There are correct and incorrect ways to spell out your ideas, but within the boundaries of those rules you can find your voice, write with style, guide your audience in a direction they weren’t expecting to go. I discovered pretty quickly that practicing classical music all day wasn’t going to be enough for me. I was more interested in inventing the music than in performing it. Down in the Tunnel, I wrote for and eventually edited a section of The Hustler and I contributed to The Vanderbilt Review. It was during those years of learning how to put together a column that I began to understand the importance of editing. At the Alumni Column, continued on page 6
tunnel vision Tunnel Vision is published by Vanderbilt Student Communications, Inc.
Edited by: Chris Carroll and Paige Clancy Text by: Chris Carroll, Paige Clancy and Brian McGuire Photos by: Bosley Jarrett Layout and Design by: Jeff Breaux Printed by: Franklin Web Printing, Co. Please send address updates via mail, phone, fax or e-mail to: Vanderbilt Student Communications Attn: Alumni Mailing List 2301 Vanderbilt Place • VU Station B 351669 Nashville, TN 37235 615-322-7166 (p) • 615-343-2756 (f) brian.mcguire@vanderbilt.edu • www.vandymedia.org
Brian McGuire joined the VSC staff in the summer of 2014 as Director of Development and Alumni Relations, a newly created a position to handle development and alumni relations. McGuire came to VSC from Radford, Va., where he was Associate Director of Gift Planning at Virginia Tech. Before that position, McGuire had a 13-year career as a financial advisor with Valic Financial Advisors and AIG Retirement. McGuire began his post-graduate career as Coordinator of Student Media at Virginia Tech. He served as General Manager of the
student media corporation at Virginia Tech after it incorporated separate from the university. McGuire earned his undergraduate degree in English from University of South Carolina - Coastal Carolina College, where he was also editor of the Chanticleer student newspaper. He went on to earn a Master’s in Education from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he was also the graduate adviser to the Gamecock student newspaper. He earned the certificate in Certified Financial Planning from the Terry School of Business at the University of Georgia. While in the investment business, he was licensed by the NASD (now FINRA) as an Investment Advisory Representative with Series 6, 63 and 65. H
Honoring the legacy of Jim Leeson
Jim Leeson was kind, cranky, tough, intelligent, eccentric, curious and above all, a devoted mentor, according to accounts from the many students who admired him. Leeson, who died in 2010, served as the first consulting journalist at Vanderbilt Student Communications in the 1970s and 1980s. This spring VSC unveils a new annual student prize and endowed journalism education fund to honor Leeson’s legacy. Beginning this semester, The Jim Leeson Prize will be awarded annually to the student journalist at Vanderbilt University who best exemplifies the value of fairness and impartiality in reporting. Such reporting shows respect for all parties, especially on divisive and controversial issues, and a commitment to reporting facts as clearly, honestly, and thoroughly as possible. The Jim Leeson Prize is open to all students at Vanderbilt University who report for any news outlet, on or off campus. Winners will receive a $500 cash prize and have their names etched on a plaque that will be permanently displayed in the Sarratt Student Center. To help preserve an environment where the journalism Leeson practiced and taught will continue to thrive, VSC has also designated funds to
create The Jim Leeson Editorial Excellence Fund. Each year, more students arrive on campus with little-to-no experience in journalism. As the practice struggles to survive in a rapidly changing media industry, students often find VSC provides their first exposure to learning journalistic standards and ethics, interviewing and investigative techniques, writing and storytelling. Revenue from The Jim Leeson Editorial Excellence Fund will support student training on and off campus utilizing staff and visiting professionals and alumni. In his career as a journalist, Leeson wrote for the Associated Press in New York and Nashville. Later, Leeson was the editor of the Southern School News and the Race Relations Reporter, both funded by the Ford Foundation. At a time of racial strife, these publications provided the most comprehensive and unbiased reporting on school desegregation and the civil rights movement. These publications remain models of fair, open-minded, and comprehensive reporting. In his years at Vanderbilt, Leeson taught students the values of independence and fairness. Leeson believed in giving students the opportunity to “run their own show,” making mistakes along the way. But he always set high standards for reporting, with a particular emphasis on fairness, whatever the subject or controversy. Leeson’s students went on to serve as writers, editors, and executives for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Outside, Education Week, Bergen (N.J.) Record, Tampa Bay Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Congressional Quarterly, and United Press International, while others have found a niche writing books and working in business, the law, philanthropy, and academe. Tax-deductible contributions may be made to support the Leeson Prize and Editorial Excellence Fund by visiting supportvanderbiltmedia.org or by contacting Brian McGuire at brian.mcguire@ vanderbilt.edu. H
Issue 21 • Fall 2014
distant voices
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alumni updates…
A glimpse into a few lives that helped shape student media at Vandy 1953 William Anderson Spickard Jr H B.A. M.D., 1953, 1957 (Commodore yearbook) Spickard Jr lives in Nashville, TN, and said: Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry and finishing a book "The Craving BrainAndy Spickard Science, Spirituality and Recovery from Addiction"Andy Spickard, James Butler with Barbara Thompson
1955 Ormonde Plater H B.A., 1955 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Plater lives in New Orleans, LA, and said: Now living at Lambeth House, an independent living facility in uptown New Orleans. Ormond Plater
1957 Robert Francis Watson H B.A., 1957 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Watson lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and said: On December 31,2013 I retired after 54 years of the active practice of law, specializing in securities litigation. During that time I published over 100 articles and papers dealing with various aspects of securities litigation and securities law generally. On November 24th my wife and I celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary. We have three beautiful daughters, two of whom are lawyers married to lawyers. The third is a paralegal. We are also blessed with four wonderful grandchildren, two girls and two boys.
1958 David Halpern H B.A., 1958 (WRVU) Halpern lives in Santa Fe, NM, and said: For the past year, I have been serving as Artistin-Residence at Bandelier National Monument here in New Mexico. This is the 12th time I have served in this capacity with the National Park Service, and this time was particularly special because I was invited to help create this A-I-R program while serving as its first participant. It was also the only time I have been given the opportunity to serve for a full calendar year.(My art is photography.)
York City. Enjoying proximity to the Berkeley Rep, a coffeehouse named Freight and Salvage and our two grandchildren. The weather here sure beats what we lived with back east.
War Letters, published by NewSouth Books in Montgomery, AL
1966
Henry Hecht H B.A., 1969 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Hecht lives in New York City and Stamford, NY and CT, and said: My 35-year career in journalism ended 10 years ago, and it seems like a lifetime ago as I forge ahead with Career No. 2 as a tutor for the SATs and ACTs and also for writing. I've been blessed with two careers I love and the common denominator is the English language, which I never get tired of examining. This May I will start the five-year countdown to Quidnunc-hood. And I am proud to annouce that my i-phone ringtone is Dynamite, so call any time. I smile every time it plays.
Myron H. Jacobs H B.A., 1966 (VSC Board member) Jacobs lives in St Louis, Mo, and said: I was recently honored as physician of the year by Christian Hospital where I serve as Director of the Pulmonary Department. During my time as director the department has grown from ony 4 employees to more than 100. This department is the most sophisticated Pulmonary Department of any community hospital in Metropolitan St. Louis, rivalling many Medical School Departments. I have a faculty appointment at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis and am still active in Medical Education. I have been author or Myron H Jacobs, MD co-author on many medical papers. I continue to lecture and attend medical meetings in the field of pulmonary medicine and particularly pulmonary hypertension. I have been very active in community affairs and have served as President of the Central Agency for Jewish education. I have been active on multiple boards including the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, my synagogue, and other charitable endeavors. I recently was co-leader of a humanitarian mission to Cuba under the auspices of the Jewish Federation and the Joint Distribution Committee, and have been leader of a national mission to Israel. I have completed several dozen triathlons over many years and continue to be active with biking, swimming, golf, and skiing. My wife Randee and I have 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren. I am a regular attendee at my Vanderbilt reunion. My fraternity ZBT had a fantastic multi class reunion several years ago in Tucson Arizona. I continue to support the University financially because of the extraordinary atmosphere which I experienced during my time there and because of the manner in which it prepared me for my subsequent education and life.
1961 Catherine Young Turner H B.A., 1961 (Commodore yearbook) Turner lives in Woodbridge, VA.
1964 Litt Glover H B.A., 1964 (Commodore yearbook) Glover lives in Atlanta, GA, and said: My wife Cindy and I have moved from Newnan, Georgia (where I had resided all my life) to the Vinings section of Atlanta. We enjoyed our 50th reunion last October immensely. Currently I am involved in real estate development and construction with the Batson-Cook companies and Cindy is a homemaker. But most of all we love golf and being with our twelve grandchildren, who are scattered from Tampa to Atlanta to Westport, CT to London, UK.
Walker Fowler Todd H B.A., 1967 (The Vanderbilt Hustler WRVU) Todd lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and said: Our daughter, who lives and works in NYC, tells us that, in the old days, whenever she told people she was going to Nashville for the holidays (my family is from Murfreesboro), people would say, "Oh, well." Now when she tells them, they say, "Way cool!" Keep it up.--Walker Todd (B.A., 1966, reunion 1967)
Cindy Leigh Gardiner H B.A., 1968 (WRVU) Gardiner lives in Durham, NC, and said: After 40+ years working in communications for a public school system, Verizon and Blue Cross, I'm now semi-retired and working part-time from home as a communications consultant. From communications planning to grants, articles, media relations, almost any kind of writing -- I'm your woman. My husband Hank and I enjoy traveling, cooking and being with friends and family. Our daughter, a theater director/producer with a financial services day job, lives in Brooklyn, just a plane ride away. Our photographer son and pharmacist daughter-in-law live in Durham, where we get to share their 4-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter on a regular basis. I'm looking forward to my 50th Vandy reunion -- just a few years away!
1965 Joanna W. Foley H B.A., 1965 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Foley lives in Berkeley, CA, and said: Retired (for the present but maybe not permanently) from the practice of Clinical Social Work. Moved to Berkeley, CA from New
1970 Gregory Scott Hubbard H B.A., 1970 (WRVU) Hubbard lives in Burlingame, CA, and said: Prof. G. Scott Hubbard has been engaged in space R&D for more than 40 years - including 20 years with NASA that culminated in the role of Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center. Hubbard currently is a consulting Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University where he focuses on planetary exploration, especially Mars and also serves as the Director of the Stanford Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Transportation. Prof. Hubbard is Editor-in-Chief of the journal “New Space” devoted to the emerging entrepreneurial space industry. From 2002 to 2006 Hubbard was the Director of NASA’s Ames where he revived the Center’s capability in supercomputing and established NASA’s first University Affiliated Research Center with the University of California. Hubbard also signed the first agreement between NASA and Google for joint R&D. In 2003 he served as the sole NASA representative on the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, where he directed testing that demonstrated the definitive physical cause of the loss of the
1967
1968 Rock Textures, Frijoles Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico 2014
1969
Frye Gaillard (photo by Rachel Smook)
Frye Gaillard H B.A., 1968 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Gaillard lives in Mobile, AL, and said: Frye Gaillard, now writer in residence at the University of South Alabama, has a new book, Journey to the Wilderness: War, Memory, and a Southern Family's Civil
Photo of Scott Hubbard for his book "Exploring Mars". Photo permission by Hubbard
Columbia. In 2000 Hubbard served as NASA’s first Mars program director and successfully restructured the entire Mars program in the wake of mission failures. His award winning book entitled, “Exploring Mars: Chronicles from a Decade of Discovery”, describes his work on NASA’s Mars Program. Earlier in his career, Hubbard led a small start-up high technology company and was a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. During his NASA career, Hubbard received seven medals including NASA’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Presidential Meritorious Achievement Award. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and was awarded the Von Karman medal by the AIAA. Hubbard regularly serves on both National Academy and NASA Advisory committees. He continues his 50-year interest in music playing guitar in a jazz group. Bill Livingston H B.A., 1970 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Livingston lives in North Olmsted, Ohio, and said: "George Steinbrenner's Pipe Dream," my book Bill Livingston on the 1961-62 American Basketball League champion Cleveland Pipers, comes out in November 2015, Kent State University Press, $18.95. The story of the first leagye to use a threepoint shot and of the young Steinbrenner in his first pro sports venture; and of John McLendon, the legendary Tennessee State coach and first black coach of an integrated team in modern American sports; Bill Sharman of the Celtics who replaced McLendon and coached the team, which was almost expelled from the league for rules-breaking,to a championship, facing five
elimination games; Dick Barnett, later of the Knicks' famous 1970 champions; and others, including Connie Hawkins, Jerry Lucas, who signed with the team, thereby causing the NBA to tender an invitation to become a league member to the Pipers, until shaky finances doomed the franchise.
1972 Peggy Jo Shaw H B.A., 1972 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Shaw lives in Decatur, GA, and said: Peggy Jo Shaw '72 is the public relations director for Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta, the largest Episcopal day school in the country. She is also the author/editor or traditionally published books for chilP.J. Shaw (right) with fans of her Sesame dren from Dalmatian Street books at the Press/Piggy Toes Decatur Book Festival. Press/Intervisual Books under the name P.J. Shaw. She has written one nonfiction book on Martin Luther King Jr.: "Voices: Reflections on an American Icon Through Words and Song," edited by Neil Skene '73. Trudy Day H B.A., 1972 (Commodore yearbook) Day lives in Nashville, TN, and said: After a career in education including teaching, counseling, administration, and university leadership, I returned Trudy Day home to Nashville to coach school principals in the Middle Tennessee area, saving the best job for last! Barry L. Master H B.A., 1972 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Master lives in Fairview, NC, and said: The very best is being the grandfather of Molly Hillman of San Diego, California! In my non-grandparenting time, I continue to serve as a child support services ("IV-D") attorney. I have been a frequent faculty presenter at the annual conferences of the North Carolina Child Support Council and contributor to attorney listservs on North Carolina child support law and practice.
1973 Cleve Latham H Ed.D., 1973 (Versus magazine, Freshman Annual) Latham lives in Chattanooga, TN, and said: The Conference on Southern Literature is rolling around in April here in Chattanooga. Hard to believe how much this biannual conferLatham ence has grown and has come to mean to Chattanooga. A small group of us first got in going in the 70's. I'll never forget meeting the likes of Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, and Horton Foote. Always inspires me to get back to writing. I haven't had time for much more than a few stories, but I've enjoyed working with the Sewanee School of Letters in the summers and teaching fiction writing at my school. I still think I have a novel in me.
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Student Media at Vanderbilt at
vandymedia.org
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tunnel vision
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alumni updates… William L Pritchett H B.A., 1973 (Versus) Pritchett lives in East Palatka, Fl, and said: Retired Louis Michael Anzek (St John) H B.A., 1973 (WRVU) Anzek (St John) lives in Huntsville, AL, and said: Michael & wife Melanie are the owners of WAFN-FM Radio in the Huntsville AL Market for the past 18 years. Called the "Best Sounding Small Market Radio Station in America" by Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame DeeJay Scott Shannon, "FUN 92-7 FM" plays the "Greatest Hits of All Time". Station streams 24/7 at w w w. f u n 9 2 7 . c o m and is home to the #1 High School Football Broadcast in Anzek Alabama.
1974 Guy "Sandy" Burnette H B.A., 1974 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Burnette lives in Tallahassee, FL, and said: After graduating from Vandy, I attended FSU law school and earned a law degree. For the past 37 years I have been practicing law in Florida, in Tallahassee initially, as a prosecutor. I entered private practice in Tampa and worked for 21 years in the law firm of Butler Burnette & Pappas. After opening a Tallahassee office for that the firm, I decided to strike out on my own 12 years ago. My law firm is Burnette, Miller & Wollerman, LLC. I have offices in Tallahassee, Pensacola and New Orleans. I have continued my writing activities in a number of forms. Apart from the routine legal writing as an attorney, I have served on the editorial boards of several organizations, authored a text on Arson Prosecution, Enjoying my daily cigar! and have published papers and articles in a number of publications. In March I will celebrate my 40th anniversary with my wife, Susan Vass. We have two fine sons of whom I am especially proud. My older son is a sheriffs deputy in the Seattle, Washington area. My younger son just graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in Environmental Biology. We have a family farm near Cairo, Georgia where I spend as much time as possible. Life has been very good to me.
Douglas Burrows Swan H B.A., 1975 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, Versus magazine, Commodore yearbook) Swan lives in Oaklyn, New Jersey.
1976
Paul Jensen
Paul Jensen H B.S., 1976 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Jensen lives in San Francisco, CA, and said: currently working at MovieLabs, research arm of the US movie industry.
Irwin Kuhn H B.A., 1976 (Versus magazine) KUHN lives in Nashville, TN, and said: I have been practicing law in Nashville since 1984. Most recently I have been president of the Middle Tennessee Collaborative Alliance, a group that is promoting collaborative divorce in the Nashville area. My wife Diane and I have three children. Irwin Kuhn Our oldest focused on journalism at NYU, our youngest is about to start college. I have enjoyed a standing Friday lunch date with my middle child who has just finished Vanderbilt as a film major. Daniel Graves H B.E., 1976 (WRVU, Vandy and Peabody Choirs, Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity) Graves lives in Los Angeles, CA, and said: To keep the atrophy of retirement at bay, Daniel re-joined a band as their keyboard/ synth player, is continuing an avocation in Film/ TV/Voiceover acting, and occasionally doing "real work" as a part-time computer consultant. Oh, and for his 60th birthday, went Bungee Jumping into a canyon...
Sullivan
Thomas J Sullivan H B.A. M.D., 1977, 1981 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Sullivan lives in The Villages, FL, and said: I am relocating and will be working as an Orthopedic Surgeon at The Villages starting in February 2015.
1978 Kevin R McDonald H B.A., 1978 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, WRVU, The Vanderbilt Undergraduate Review (co-founder, editor)) McDonald lives in Albuquerque, NM, and said: In the past year, I have helped our daughter (A&S 2010) and son start their television show, Mountain Bike Mania, which Kevin McDonald at a TV aired over local station in Albuquerque, affiliates of ABC, New Mexico CBS, NBC, and Fox in 21 cities in 2014 (www.mountainbikemania.net). F. Scott Anderson H B.A., 1978 (Versus magazine) Anderson lives in Bloomington, IN, and said: I'm an RN working in an ECF (extended care facility) outside of Spencer, Indiana. I still love literary pursuits, although geriatric nursing is now my focus. I still think VERSUS was a heck of a magazine in its time. Allen Boyer penned an article on the Fugitives based on an interview with Alan Tate, still alive at that time, for which I was the driver to the interview. The VERSUS cover featured a picture of the Fugitives at Vanderbilt including John Crowe Ransom, Alan Tate and Robert Penn Warren.
1979 Stu Evans H B.A., 1979 (WRVU) Evans lives in Phoenix, AZ, and said: After 35+ years on-air, 22 of those as the afternoon drive host on KMLE, Phoenix, Stu started a completely different career in tech support and sales at Go Daddy, the world’s largest domain name provider and web host. Never ruling out a return to radio, Stu does voiceover work through Big Shoe STU-dios (www.bigshoestudios.com).
1975 David Douglas Boaz H B.A., 1975 (Versus magazine,The Freedom Writer) Boaz lives in Arlington, VA, and said: My book The Libertarian Mind: A Manifesto for Freedom was published by Simon & Schuster in February 2015. They also reisBoaz sued The Libertarian Reader. I remain executive vice president of the Cato Institute. Charles Austin Heffernan H B.A. M.B.A., 1975 (WRVU) Heffernan lives in HAGERSTOWN, Maryland, and said: Owner - Royal Aircraft Services, Hagerstown, MD. Two grandkids! Still biking, skiing, flying as much as possible. Happily married. Who could ask for more?
1981 Scott D Hornaday H B.A., 1981 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Hornaday lives in Owensboro, KY, and said: Kathy Lantz Hornaday and I have a daughter who is a freshman VU swimmer. We are pleased that she chose to be fourth generation VU.
1982 Carolyn Yamasaki Santo H B.S., 1982 (Versus magazine) Santo lives in Kailua, HI, and said: Living in Hawaii since 1983. Working in financial services industry since graduation. Currently have my own firm working with retirees, small business owners, etc. to help them make better financial decisions and grow and maintain wealth. Boring compared to the Versus days, but we all have to grow up. . .
1983 MIchael A Conger H B.A. J.D., 1983 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Conger lives in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.
1984 Erin Maloney H B.S., M.P.P., 1984 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, WRVU, Versus magazine, Commodore yearbook) Maloney lives in Ankara, Turkey, and said: Erin has been living and working at Bilkent University, in Ankara, Turkey, for 17 years.
1986 Gregory Mayback H B.E., 1986 (Commodore yearbook) Mayback lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and said: My firm was a finalist in the 2014 Most Effective Lawyers Intellectual Property category in Florida for our success in obtaining an injunction against Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse, and the Home Shopping Network (HSN) for selling counterfeit knives. The knives were labeled "Solingen, Germany" on one side, claiming to have been made in Greg Mayback the cutlery capital of the world, but they were actually made in China and were labeled "China" on the rear side of the knives. Michael A Gray H B.A., 1986 (WRVU) Gray lives in Falls Church, VA.
Daniel Graves 60th birthday - Bungee jump and zipline
1977 George Pallas H B.S., 1977 (WRVU) Pallas lives in Columbus, OH, and said: I earned a Master of Arts in American History from Norwich University (Northfield, VT) in June 2014. Ned Pillersdorf H B.A., 1977 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, Versus magazine) pillersdorf lives in Van Lear, Kentucky, and said: Successfully managed my wife Janet Stumbo re-election to the Kentucky Court of Appeals in 2014-wearing my VU jacket in photo.
Austin Heffernan Visiting Bejing China in 2012
Carlton Gass H B.A., 1977 (Commodore Yearbook) Gass lives in Miami, FL, and said: For the past 25 years, the Director of the Neuropsychology Division at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Miami, Florida and adjunct professor in the departments of Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
Stu Evans at the Grand Canyon
E. Thomas Wood H B.A., 1986 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, WRVU, Versus magazine, Commodore yearbook The Vanderbilt Review) Wood lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and said: Celebrated the centennial of Jan Karski's birth and the republication of Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust with 2014 speaking engagements at the Library of Congress, N.Y. Public Library, Loyola/ Chicago, St. Mary's/Halifax and other venues. Narrator for Karski & The Lords of Humanity, documentary film forthcoming in 2015 from director Slawomir Grünberg.
David C. Peeples H B.A., 1979 (Versus magazine) Peeples lives in West Memphis, Arkansas, and said: In 2014, I was re-elected to an eighth term to serve as City Attorney for West Memphis, Arkansas.
1980 Paul Kingsbury H B.A.,1980 (Versus, Hustler) – Paul is now Communications Director for The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee, where he has worked since 2006. He recently produced and directed 21 web videos with music artists in the Conservancy’s new “If Trees Could Sing” program. In the videos, the musicians (ranging from Reba McEntire and Ben Folds to Victor Wooten and Bela Fleck) talk about tree species they love and the benefits of trees for people. The videos can be viewed atwww.nature.org/iftreescouldsing. Paul’s most recent book, a collaboration with nature photographer Byron Jorjorian, was published in November. It’s called Treasures Untold: Uncovering Masterpieces of Nature Across Tennessee.
Photo is an animated still from the doc, depicting one of my interviews with Jan Karski in the early 1990s.
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Issue 21 • Fall 2014
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1987
1993
Jame Versfelt H B.A., 1987 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, WRVU, Versus magazine, Commodore yearbook, The Vanderbilt Review) Versfelt lives in Miami Beach, FL, and said: Working hard in the "glamorous rock star" life of an executive chef.
Nicole Ingalls Dubler H B.S., 1993 (Concert Choir, BSM) Dubler lives in Centennial, CO, and said: I am married with two children. Audrey is 14 and a freshman at Regis Jesuit High School girls Division, which is where I teach mathematics. TJ is a fifth grader. Keith Richard Thode H B.S., 1993 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, Versus magazine, Slightly Amusing) Thode lives in Grapevine, TX, and said: This summer, Keith became CEO & Chief Scientist of AdvanceNet Labs - a nonprofit organization dedicated to applying technology to solve social sector challenges. He recently won the Dallas Business Journal's Entrepreneur Pitch Tank for pitching his team's innovation, SafeNight, a mobile app to combat domestic violence. He also is a Partner at Social Venture Partners in Dallas, Treasurer at 121 Community Church and has recently been appointed to the Board of Finney Media. Keith also supports his wife of 16 years, Amanda Blaser Thode, with her work at the teenage ministry, Young Life, Europe. Keith and Amanda reside on Lake Grapevine in Texas with their two children, Micah (13) and Ruthie (10).
advantage of the professional independence to spend three months living in Paris, France. My writing work has since branched out to include collaborative memoir and autobiography. Visit heatherebert.com for more. Amelie Walker-Yung H B.A., 1997 (Versus magazine) Walker-Yung lives in Brooklyn, NY, and said: I am celebrating the 10 year anniversary of my business, Castle Builder Design.
1998 Rob Erickson H B.E., 1998 (Commodore yearbook) Erickson lives in Manhattan Beach, CA. Stephanie Clayton Thompson H B.S., 1998 (Commodore yearbook) Thompson lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and said: We just welcomed Caroline Rose to our family on July 11th, 2014, joining her big sister, Lillian Brooke. We also moved into the city, just a few blocks from Vanderbilt, and can here the football games from our back patio. Go Dores!
Robert Kerr H B.A., 1987 (WRVU) Kerr lives in Hollywood, Florida, and said: Hangin in Florida. Still listen to classical music, probably the same tunes. Nice and predictable.
Ryan Denzer-King H B.A., 2006 (WRVU) Denzer-King lives in Tucker, GA, and said: Ryan lives in suburban Atlanta with his wife and daughter. He works as a technical consultant for a business software firm and maintains a passion for Native language revitalization. Ricardo Brandon Rios H B.A., 2006 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Rios lives in Boston, MA, and said: Currently working as an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
2007
2008
Keith, Amanda, Micah (13) and Ruthie (10) Thode with their two dogs, Oreo and Kedzie, at their home in Grapevine, Texas
1994 Jon Bonnell H B.S., 1994 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, Versus magazine) Bonnell lives in Fort Worth, tx, and said: I'm a Chef/ Restaurant owner in Fort Worth, with my wife and 2 young kids. After graduating Peabody in 1994, I taught middle school and high school math and science for 2 years in Dallas before heading off to Culinary School in Vermont. I graduated in 1997, chefed around a few years, then opened my first restaurant in 2001. I'm now the chef and owner of 3 locations and the chef of Amon G Carter Stadium at TCU. Since becoming a chef, I gained plenty of weight until one specific day in 2007 when I decided to turn it around. I began running, caught the bug and have raced every distance from the 5k to the Ironman Triathlon. 45 pounds lighter, I'm now the healthiest I've ever been in my life. www. bonnellsrestaurantgroup.com
A recent photo taken by wife on halloween, my hollywood surfer costume. Hardee har..
1988
Lily and Caroline Thompson
2000 Jaime Lyon Cooper H B.S., 2000 (Commodore yearbook) Cooper lives in Fairhope, Al, and said: Jaime has joined EXIT Realty Lyon as a realtor serving Baldwin County, Alabama. She and her family reside in Fairhope, Alabama.
Jon Bonnell
Stephen Jenkins H B.A., 2001 (Commodore yearbook) Jenkins lives in Dublin, CA, and said: I am a ten year civil defense attorney in San Francisco at the national law firm of Manion Gaynor & Manning LLP practicing primarily in prodStephen Jenkins uct liability and toxic torts. I also have an active real estate broker's license. I am married with three young girls aged 6, 4, and 1.
Jonathan W Rodgers H B.Mus, 2002 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, Versus magazine, The Vanderbilt Review, Spoon magazine, VSC Board member) Rodgers lives in Nashville, TN, and said: Jonathan will graduate in May '15 with a masters in public policy. He continues to teach photography at Vanderbilt's Sarratt Art Studios and also continues to work with the Metro NashvilleDavidson County Health Department making sure children stay healthy. His photographic work created in Uganda is still on display at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital's Gallery of Excellence. Pop in and check in out!
Heather Anne Ebert H B.A., 1997 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, Commodore yearbook) Ebert lives in Nashville, TN, and said: In 2014, I contin-
With Sirius XM radio host Frank DeCaro (left) and writer-director Richard LaGravenese (center). Photo by Christie Conochalla
1992
ued my work as a full-time freelance writer, taking
My husband, Brett, and I on our wedding day in Palm Beach, FL.
Tyler Zimmer H B.A., 2008 (Orbis) Zimmer lives in Chicago, IL, and said: Tyler recently completed his doctorate in philosophy at Northwestern University. He is presently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Northeastern Illinois University. In addition to academic writing, he occasionally publishes pieces for broader audiences in venues such as the New York-based magazine Jacobin.
2009 Dustin James Swysgood H B.E., 2009 (WRVU) Swysgood lives in Baton Rouge, LA, and said: My wife and I bought our first house and moved to Baton Rouge earlier this year. She is attending LSU's Masters of Architecture program and will graduate in 2017. I continue to work for Baker Hughes in a sales management role.
2010
1997
Heather Ebert and mom Holly Rehrig at the Louvre in Paris
Madeleine (Pulman) Smithwick H B.A., 2008 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, InsideVandy.com, Commodore yearbook) Smithwick lives in Acworth, GA, and said: What a busy and wonderful year! Hit many of life's major milestones... Married in April to the love of my life, Brett. Became a Mum to his beautiful children, Saige (10) and Mason (7). Moved into a new home in June, and started a new job in July! I now manage all the advertising, marketing, contests and incentives for Nissan's Southeast Region and continue to be based in Atlanta. Life is a great whirlwind!
2001
2002
Alonso Duralde H B.A., 1988 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, WRVU, Versus magazine) Duralde lives in Los Angeles, CA, and said: In 2014, I became an Adjunct Professor at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. My work at TheWrap (where I am now Film Reviews Editor) and Outfest continues, and Linoleum Knife, the podcast that I host with my husband Dave White, passed the 250,000 downloads milestone.
Drew Watson H B.S., 1992 (The Vanderbilt Hustler WRVU) Watson lives in Kula (Maui), HI.
Taylor Smith H B.A., 2006 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Smith lives in Ann Arbor, MI - Michigan, and said: I live with my wife Carissa (Class of '05), my <1 year-old son Eli, and our dog Nashville in Ann Arbor, MI. I work as a Management Consultant for Deloitte Consulting and am still pulling for the Dores despite living in Wolverine-land. Glad to see VSM students and alum going strong!
Monika Blackwell H B.A., 2007 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, WRVU) Blackwell lives in college station, TX, and said: Monika is a marketing communications coordinator with the Texas A&M Foundation.
Me and a fresh sustainable bluefin tuna from Gulf of California!
Bill Carey H B.A., 1987 (The Vanderbilt Hustler) Carey lives in Nashville, TN, and said: In 2004 I founded Tennessee History for Kids, a non-profit organization that helps teachers cover state and local history as part of their curBill Carey riculum. Its web site, booklets, posters and videos are now being used in about 6,000 classrooms.
2006
Jonathan Rogers
Samantha Raya McDonald H B.A., 2010 (Vanderbilt Television) McDonald lives in Boston, MA, and said: This past Spring, my brother and I created and hosted the first season of our very own television show called "Mountain Bike Mania." We covered 10 professional mountain bike races all across the country! The show aired in 20 cities on local affiliates of ABC, CBS, and FOX. Now for the upcoming second season, we have partnered with USA Cycling and we will exclusively cover all of their professional downhill mountain bike races. The show will air in various cities across the US, such as Salt Lake City, Denver, and San Diego-- and will once again be on local affiliates of ABC, CBS, and FOX. You can check out clips of the show at www.mountainbikemania.net. I got to this point after several years working in television as a news reporter/ anchor. After reporting for Vanderbilt Television and graduating in 2010, I went on to earn my
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alumni updates… swimming-- which led to me quitting my news job and partnering up with my brother to create our sports TV show. I am passionate about my work, getting to work with my family, and going on adventures all the time. Thank you, VTV, for helping me get to this point! Angelica Fortney H B.A., 2010 (Vanderbilt Political Review) Fortney lives in Memphis, TN. Nikki Bogopolskaya H B.S., 2010 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, Versus magazine, InsideVandy.com) Bogopolskaya lives in New York, NY, and said: Nikki Bogopolskaya works in
Michael Warren H B.S., 2010 (The Vanderbilt Hustler, WRVU, InsideVandy.com, The Torch, VSC Board member) Warren lives in Arlington, VA, and said: My wife, Melissa, completed her Master's degree work at the George Washington University in May. In September, we welcomed our first son, Henry, to the world. I am still at the Weekly Standard as a staff writer, and in the last year I have covered the 2014 midterm elections and Congress. I've made regular media appearances on Fox News, C-SPAN, the Blaze, and several radio shows.
Nikki Bogopolskaya
brand partnerships for Foursquare, creating and managing custom partnerships for brands such as Mastercard, Bacardi, Pizza Hut and more. On
and I love protecting it daily doing I job I love. I couldn't be happier!
2012 Carol Chen H B.A., 2012 (Orbis) Chen lives in Chicago, IL, and said: I am in an M.S.Ed. program at Northwestern
I'm on Lamma Island in Hong Kong in January 2014. The entire island is car-free and you can hike the whole thing in a few hours... and then get back to eating dim sum all day, every day (almost literally).
2011
Samantha McDonald. Hosting the pilot season of my TV show Mountain Bike Mania, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Spring 2014.
masters degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Southern California in 2012. I spent a year at my first job as an anchor for a Fox station in upstate New York. Then in 2013, I moved up in the TV market ranks as a reporter for the CBS station in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was there that I found my passion for outdoor adventure: skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and
the side, she runs the fashion and lifestyle blog Sewfetch.com. In her free time she enjoys trying new restaurants, seeing live music, running and yoga, and scoping out New York's best vintage finds.
Jillian Hanneken H B.S., 2011 (Vanderbilt Political Review) Hanneken lives in Evansville, IN, and said: I graduated with a law degree from Tulane Law School, moved home, and I am now a Deputy Prosecutor in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. After beginning in lower-level general victim crimes, I now work in major felony court in the Drug Department. I adore living in the community I grew up in,
University studying higher education administration and policy. My internship is in institutional research analyzing data to help the university make informed decisions. I'm writing a thesis on the experiences of low-income students in college. In this endeavor, I use my journalism skills every day to get to the heart of a person's life story.
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College radio isn’t dying… it’s evolving by Logan Wilke, WRVU General Manager
In June, Georgia State’s college radio station, WRAS 88.5 FM, lost its daytime programming to Georgia Public Broadcasting. This is not an isolated case; college radio stations across the country are facing similar changes. In June 2011, despite the efforts of members and alumni, WRVU lost its FM license and moved programing entirely online to http://wrvu.org. I’m here to argue that after a few years of supposedly lying dormant in its grave, WRVU is very much alive, and anyone involved would be able to attest to that. In my taking over as general manager this academic year, part of my goal is for us to make it apparent that our wounds have healed, that the body of the station is fully resurrected and that the soul of WRVU — the community — is breathing and here to stay. In any industry or organization reliant on technology, change is inevitable. Across the board, the biggest reason for failure is an unwillingness to adapt to change. In business (and radio) the ability to be forward-thinking and proactive is the foundation upon which organizations achieve the greatest success. Thinking about this in terms of radio, I challenge any reader to go and ask any millennial where they get their music and come back with an answer that isn’t “the Internet.” While radio is unlikely to go away any time in the near future, as it undoubtedly continues to offer convenience and value, it’s clear that the current and future home of music is online or on a smartphone. At WRVU, we’ve embraced this future and have
been adapting our entire model to it. Furthermore, the range of opportunities that have opened up for WRVU as an organization since devoting ourselves to online-only radio has been immeasurable, specifically in terms of student opportunity and overall student experience. With the sale of the FM license, we now have an opportunity to focus entirely on the core of what participants and listeners alike admire about our organization: the community, the experience and the music. While nobody doubts some of the values of college radio — it offers exposure to local and upcoming bands, it serves as one of the easiest entry points into a subculture and it keeps us in touch with our communities — I get the sense that most people don’t believe these values can continue without an FM broadcast. However, these values are all absolutely consistent with what we do at WRVU, and none of that has changed since our going online-only. Is it slightly less of an easy entry point? Probably, yes, because it does now take extra effort on the listeners’ part; however, with so many easy ways to regularly listen — be it on one of our apps, on our website or on iTunes — any perceived loss is likely based more in nostalgia than in reality. The loss of our broadcast didn’t signal any sort of death. We’re still creating the same quality content as well as continually engaging in community-building activities. We’re able to fund group outings to concerts, offer internship opportunities through our local NPR station and host pretty much whatever campus events we want. Ultimately, we’re still able to offer students
Wilke, a junior from the cornfields of Indiana, is studying Sociology, English, and Corporate Strategy. He plans to go into managerial or brand strategy consulting after graduation. He’s been a part of WRVU since first arriving at Vandy, and he says his work with the organization has been crucial in driving both his personal and professional development over the years.
an experience and a community that seem to be written off as secondary to any benefit to listeners. And even then, that benefit is only an app download or URL entry away. For all the mourning about the death of college radio, I’ve still yet to see any solutions offered other than fighting “The Man” and keeping airwaves at all costs. Technological and social change is inevitable, and the only way for an organization to come out unscathed is to adapt and continue to evolve right along with it. Of course I would still love to be on air for all of Nashville to hear; I want more than anything to share our music and to give listeners access to our community and our awesome cohort of DJs; however, there’s no point in mourning a loss when instead we can focus on doing everything we can to thrive with what we have. The heart and soul of college radio is the community; it’s the past, the present and the future of radio, and that will never die. H
Alumni Column, continued from page 2
paper, you could have a great story, but if it was too long to fit the allotted space you had to trim it without losing the impact of what you meant to say. I eventually began to look preemptively for ways I could condense my thoughts. First I did it with words, then I started to do it with music. What’s the smallest amount of language/ music/time that you need to express an idea? Can you do it without compromising formal structure? What if you do it with words AND music, and you allow the music to say what the words left out? Now… what if you intentionally leave out words because you know the music’s got it covered? I currently make my living as a composer and lyricist for the musical theater. I have worked on Broadway shows, recordings, feature films, TV shows, and even cruise ships. (Okay, I worked on a cruise ship ONCE, and they paid me a FORTUNE and let me bring my kids. Don’t judge.) The jobs that come my way always require me to find ways to use words and music to tell stories. I
have come to identify myself as a musical dramatist. In all of the songs I’ve written, I can justify each musical choice – each note and rhythm and harmony and phrase length and tempo marking and cadence – as part of the story. The music is not accompanying the words; it is filling in the ideas that the words alone can’t express. Think about some of the musical theater pieces you (hopefully) know. In Les Miserables, in a moment of great crisis, Jean Valjean asks God to protect Marius, the man his daughter loves. In the song “Bring Him Home,” our hero begins with the words, “God on high, hear my prayer…” and the vocal line leaps up a full octave, the largest interval you can reach in the Western scale without starting over. The music is actually reaching heavenward, placing the singer in the most fragile and vulnerable part of his voice, and that is where he begins to pray. That same interval happens at the beginning of “[Somewhere] Over The Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy is reaching as far as she knows how to
reach, and the music is telling you how much it requires of her. Think of the theme music to Jaws, that crunchy minor second, the most dissonant interval there is, getting faster and faster as the shark gets closer and closer. What words could make you feel that way? Music as storytelling. How great is that? When I met with my academic advisor at the end of my freshman year I was lamenting the fact that music composition majors had to take significantly more liberal arts classes than other music majors. Unlike the piano or trombone or percussion majors, I was being required to take classes in philosophy, history, foreign language and poetry. Why on earth would our load be so much more demanding, I wondered? Dr. Michael Alec Rose, still one of my mentors and now one of my colleagues, replied with a statement that shaped the rest of my life. “It is not just our job here to teach you how to write music. It also matters that once you know how to write music, you have something to say.” H
Issue 21 • Fall 2014
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STRONG SHOWING The following is excerpted from “Strong Inside” by former Vanderbilt Hustler sports editor Andrew Maraniss (B.A., 1992). The book, which appeared on the New York Times bestseller lists in the civil rights and sports categories immediately after its publication in December by Vanderbilt University Press, is the highly acclaimed biography of Perry Wallace, the Vanderbilt basketball player who was the first African American in the Southeastern Conference. Maraniss, who attended VU on the Fred Russell – Grantland Rice sportswriting scholarship, interviewed more than 80 people during three years of research for the book, including Vanderbilt Student Media alumni Henry Hecht, Chuck Offenburger, Paul Kurtz, Kathleen Gallagher, Steve Kendall, Frye Gaillard, Van Magers, and Frank Sutherland. Follow Andrew on Twitter @trublu24 and visit www.andrewmaraniss.com for more on the book.
“The problem with controversy on the Vanderbilt campus is that there isn’t any. It is a dead issue.” So began an article that filled the entire front page of a special 1967 edition of the Hustler, an issue devoted to explaining “Why The Campus Sleeps.” As Perry Wallace and Godfrey Dillard prepared to make history, the irony was that they were doing so at a place that was not just highly resistant to change but seemed to repel even the very thought of it. Associate Editor Tom Lawrence detailed the frustration felt by leaders of both liberal and conservative student groups, campus organizations that found themselves with few members and even less energy. In a country experiencing polarizing social upheaval, how was it possible that vigorous debate was virtually nonexistent at Vanderbilt? “Both groups,” Lawrence wrote, “point their accusing finger at the student stereotype,” a portrait that would-be campus activists on both the left and right could sketch in an instant: the stereotypical Vanderbilt undergraduate was southern, wealthy, status conscious, career oriented, and intellectually uncurious. Apathy was so rampant that Hustler reporter Frye Gaillard felt compelled to educate his fellow student readers in the most basic of terms. His article, headlined “Issues of Controversy,” began as if he were addressing a Rip Van Winkle type seeking a primer on current events after decades of slumber. “On campuses where there is controversy,” he wrote, “debate centers generally on three topics: the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and intellectual freedom on campus.” Elsewhere in the special issue, Lew Coddington wrote that “Vanderbilt political organizations of the Right and Left are either dead or barely breathing,” left to “choke and die on a campus that will not support them.” Activity on the left had its moments, Coddington wrote. In 1963 a group of students picketed a popular off-campus restaurant to protest its whites-only policies. In 1965 eight students and faculty participated in the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march. A small Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter existed for less than a year, disbanding after attempts to engage the campus community on issues of race, free speech, and Vietnam failed to stir up any meaningful dialogue,
managing only to attract a bit of harassment from the Nashville Banner. On the right there was just one active student group, the Conservative Club. Its leaders, having grown accustomed to empty seats, were reluctant to invite speakers to campus, an unfortunate circumstance considering that the group’s charter mandated that the club do one and only one thing: bring in outside speakers. “It’s a bit embarrassing,” a club member told Coddington. If the stereotypical characteristics of Vanderbilt students were to blame for the lack of intellectual vitality on campus, so was the very nature of the campus itself. There was no central meeting place, no student union or activity center where students could meet to relax or debate the issues of the day. Plans for the construction of such a building—with promises of a bowling alley, billiards room, and Laundromat—were met with a measure of excitement but also the realization that only future students would reap the benefits. In the meantime, whether it was cause or effect, social life at Vanderbilt revolved around its Greek system, just as it had since the school’s first fraternity was chartered in 1883. One week, there were classes, exams, and frat parties, and then the next week there were classes, exams, and frat parties. And that was it. “Pretty much the entire social scene revolved around the fraternities and sororities,” recalled Sara Hume, a Tri-Delt from Nashville. “If you weren’t in a frat or a sorority, you were independent in a bad way.” Conformity was so prized that even national magazines were aware of the term “Typical Vanderbilt Coed,” describing the TVC as “an icicle wrapped inside a raincoat.” Sexist as the label may have been, the TVC moniker became common parlance among several waves of Vanderbilt students in the 1960s. Four decades later, Vanderbilt alums, without fail and without deviation, could detail the standard TVC look from head to toe: Leather Pappagallo loafers or Bass Weejuns. Knee socks. Plaid Villager skirt. McMullen blouse with a round collar, complemented with a sweater in the fall. Circle pin. Topped off with the signature flip hairdo, which coed Marshall Chapman dubbed a “‘banana roll,’ because you could set a banana in there and it wouldn’t go anywhere.” Whether it was fair to compare Vanderbilt women to icicles, the magazines had at least been accurate about the raincoats: dorm mothers prohibited female students from wearing slacks or shorts on campus, so on their
way to the tennis courts, girls wore trench coats to cover their legs. Facing increasing resistance on this particular issue from students in the winter of 1966, Dean of Women Margaret Cuninggim attempted to convey an open-minded attitude. “Of course we try to have flexibility,” she assured a Hustler reporter. “We would not look harshly on a girl wearing pants during a blizzard.” The 948 TVCs on campus for the 1966–67 school year didn’t just tend to dress alike; by and large, they had pretty much the same story. They came to Vanderbilt from Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, or Alabama. They majored in English, nursing, psychology, or history. They studied to become teachers and nurses. They came across as a bit snobby or prudish to the frat boys— hence the icicle comparison—a far cry from the more approachable and less bookish girls at the Peabody College for Teachers across the street. Even if you found a Vandy girl willing to let her guard down, the opportunities for much interaction were limited. Strict visiting hours in the campus dorms were enforced with such precision that the same scene played itself out in the lobbies of the girls’ dormitories virtually every weekend, Chapman recalled. “Dean Cuninggim or some dorm mother would come out and tell everybody they had to leave, and there would be this great protest,” she said, recalling the makeout scene on the Branscomb lobby couches, where three out of a couple’s four feet had to remain on the ground at all times. “It was kind of like last call for sex. Then the girls would head back up to their rooms, and the guys were all horny and everything and they were not ready to leave. So, on their way out, one of the guys would throw a brick through a window or break it with their fist. And every Monday, you’d see these big glass windows being carried into the lobby at Branscomb Quad, replacing the ones that had been broken over the weekend.” While protests over Vietnam gained steam on campuses from coast to coast, while racial violence erupted from Illinois to Mississippi, this was where Perry Wallace and Godfrey Dillard came to challenge a legacy of segregation: a campus so sedate that a girl could cause a stir by walking across campus in pants, where a guy couldn’t make out with his date after 11:00 p.m., where frat parties were the only form of entertainment, and where campus political groups didn’t invite speakers because they were afraid nobody would show up. Wallace and Dillard asked themselves fundamental questions about their mission at Vanderbilt. Who, other than the handful of other black students, would have any sensitivity to the dangers they were about to confront? Who would even have the slightest appreciation for the audacity of their mission? While change agents on other campuses could gain inspiration and protection from kindred spirits, even those focusing on other issues, Wallace and Dillard operated in no such atmosphere. At Vanderbilt, which zigged as other campuses zagged, the catalyst for changing the campus culture was not some shaggy-haired undergrad but a middle-aged man in a suit with the best office in Kirkland Hall. What Vanderbilt needed most, Chancellor Alexander Heard decided, was a little controversy. H
Excerpted from Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South, by Andrew Maraniss (Vanderbilt University Press). © Andrew Maraniss, 2014. Visit www.andrewmaraniss.com for more information on the book.
Issue 21 • Fall 2014
tunnel vision the alumni newsletter for student media at vanderbilt university
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Student Media Updates…
Charlie Euchner returns for Media Immersion
Awards recognize Student Media excellence Three divisions of Vanderbilt Student Media won prestigious Pinnacle College Media Awards at the Fall National College Media Convention, hosted by Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Association Oct. 29 - Nov. 2 in Philadelphia, Penn.
The Vanderbilt Hustler
PAID
FRANKLIN, TN PERMIT NO. 357
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
During Student Media’s annual Media Immersion workshop for new students interested in media, alumnus Charlie Euchner (1982) returned to serve as the instructor for student participants who were immersed in writing training. Media Immersion is a threeday workshop in August for students who are selected through a competitive application process to arrive on campus before move-in day to learn about various aspects of media, gain familiarity with campus early and get to know current Student Media staffers. Euchner, the author or editor of a dozen books currently serving as a case writer and editor at Yale School of Management, instructed a team of new students on writing and interviewing. The students split into pairs to interview Vanderbilt employees. They worked with Euchner to practice interviewing techniques and write and edit profiles of the employees. One student participant wrote to Student Media staff with appreciation and said, “Charlie stunned me with his knowledge and teaching skills. You all provided a wonderful welcome into Vanderbilt media. I'm definitely interested, and will probably be seeing you around soon.” H
1st Place: Best Four-Year Weekly Newspaper of the Year 1st Place: Best Breaking News Coverage 2nd Place: Best Social Media Presence 2nd Place: Best Sports News Photo 3rd Place: Best Photo Illustration
Vanderbilt Television
2nd Place: Best Viral Video 2nd Place: Best TV Entertainment Program 3rd Place: Best TV Promo/PSA
VandyRadio
2nd Place: Radio Station of the Year 2nd Place: Best Radio Newscast
Television Workshop features Student Media alumni Students from Vanderbilt Television in September attended the inaugural CMA National College Television Workshop at the John Seigenthaler Center in Nashville.
The workshop featured VTV alumni Sam Feist, '91, from CNN, Rachel Abeshouse, '13, from Nickelodeon, and Justin Smith, '03, from the CBS program Undercover Boss. Additional speakers represented Great American Country, CBS, The Nashville Predators, MTV and The Tennessee Titans. Attendees were taught video editing tips in a handson mac lab environment, toured a remote production truck and received on-site critiques of their work. The workshop opened with the presentation of CMA’s individual college television Pinnacle awards and closed with the keynote address delivered by Sam Feist, CNN Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief. Feature and breakout sessions varied, including topics such as career advice, developing an on-air presence and producing television news.
National Sports Workshop to bring prominent sports alums to campus A rare gathering of Vanderbilt student media alumni who are among the nation’s most accomplished sports journalists will headline the faculty of a workshop for college students in Nashville. The second annual College Media Association Sports Reporting Training Camp will be presented in conjunction with Vanderbilt Student Communications Feb. 6-7 at the Bridgestone Arena. Alumni who will teach include Buster Olney, ‘88, ESPN; Mark
CONGRATULATIONS TO
Bechtel, ‘93; Sports Illustrated; Tyler Kepner, ‘97, The New York Times; Dan Wolken, ‘01, USA Today; Rob Shaw, ‘04, Facebook; Mitch Light, ‘93, Athlon Sports; and Andrew Maraniss, ‘92, author of “Strong Inside” (see related story on page 7). The sports workshop was created to serve current Vanderbilt students. Recognizing the unique education value the alumni professionals presented, VSC decided to open the event to students, staff and faculty from other schools. The 2014 workshop quickly filled its 125 slots with attendees representing 49 universities in 21 states. That success prompted the move this year to larger space at Bridgestone Arena, and a partnership with the Nashville Predators that will send each attendee to its Feb. 7 NHL game.
The workshop is designed to elevate the game of college sports media students and teach them how to better inform and entertain followers, regardless of the platform. The two-day event will feature a series of sessions on topics ranging from interviewing and game analysis to social media and sports data analytics. More information about the event can be found at www.sportsreporting.org. Alumni guests in town for the workshop will be special guests at the Vanderbilt Student Media alumni gathering, 6-8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6 at the Bridgestone Arena’s Patron Platinum Club (see story of page 1 for more information). H
THE MELODORES! Vanderbilt a cappella group The Melodores dazzled both judges and audience members to win NBC’s The Sing-Off, which aired Dec. 17. Hailed as Vanderbilt’s newest national champs, The Melodores beat out five other teams to win the $50,000 grand prize, making them the first collegiate group to win the Sing-Off competition. Seniors Augie Phillips and Dan McNeill, pictured here, got plenty of airtime, especially McNeill, who sang “Take Me to Church” in the second round of the competition. The Melodores, a student organization not affiliated with Student Media, includes members who also have worked in Student Media. Phillips served as production manager at RVU Records recording studio and was a designer for The Hustler, and Austin Lyons is online director for WRVU student radio. H