Nine Vanderbilt University faculty members named to endowed chairs were honored for outstanding academic achievements last week during a celebration at the Student Life Center.
“An endowed chair is the highest academic honor that a university can bestow on its faculty,” said University Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Richard McCarty, Ph.D. “It’s really a broad array of talent that we honor today, and it’s a reflection of the great intellectual excitement that characterizes the Vanderbilt campus.”
Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, joined McCarty in honoring the new chair holders. They are:
- Isabel Gauthier, Ph.D., David K. Wilson Chair and professor of Psychology;
- Gary Henry, Ph.D., Patricia and Rodes Hart Chair and professor of Public Policy and Education;
- Ian Macara, Ph.D., Louise B. McGavock Chair and chair of the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology;
- Arnold Malcolm, M.D., MBA, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Radiation Oncology and chair of the department;
- Calvin Miller, Ph.D., William R. Kenan, Jr. Chair in Earth and Environmental Sciences;
- Paul Newhouse, M.D., Jim Turner Chair in Cognitive Disorders and professor of Psychiatry;
- Reed Omary, M.D., Carol D. and Henry P. Pendergrass Chair in Radiology and Radiological Sciences and chair of the department;
- William Pao, M.D., Ph.D., Cornelius Abernathy Craig Chair and director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center’s Personalized Cancer Medicine initiative; and
- Joseph Rodgers, Ph.D., Lois Autrey Betts Chair in Education and Humanities and professor of Psychology (Peabody College).
McCarty thanked “our generous donors who have made possible the recruitment and in some cases retention of these amazing scholars. Their generosity will allow Vanderbilt to continue to build a diverse and stimulating academic community for many years to come.”
The Dec. 12 celebration was the eighth in a series of events to honor the contributions of Vanderbilt faculty members who have been named to endowed chairs.
Since the University initiative to recruit and retain outstanding scholars and teachers was announced by Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos in August 2010, 85 endowed chair holders have been honored at institution-wide celebrations.
