Seven Vanderbilt University faculty members named to endowed chairs were honored for outstanding academic achievements March 19 during a celebration at the Student Life Center.
“Endowed chairs are the highest honor bestowed upon faculty members by their universities,” said Vanderbilt University Provost Richard McCarty, Ph.D. “The scholars we celebrate today have made enormous contributions, not only to their chosen fields of research but also to humankind.
“Thanks to the extraordinary support of many of our donors, we are fortunate to be able to honor them in this very special way today,” McCarty continued. “Such generosity means a great deal, especially to private research universities like Vanderbilt. … Over time, (it) ensures the future of the university and its faculty.”
Jeff Balser, M.D., Ph.D., vice chancellor for Health Affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, presented the six new endowed chair holders from the medical school. They are:
- Ariel Deutch, Ph.D., James G. Blakemore Chair in Psychiatry;
- Fred Lamb, M.D., Ph.D., Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Pediatrics;
- Kevin Osteen, Ph.D., Pierre Soupart Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology;
- Keith Wilson, M.D., Thomas F. Frist Sr. Chair in Medicine;
- Roy Zent, Ph.D., Thomas F. Frist Sr. Chair in Medicine; and
- Carl Zimmerman, M.D., Frances and John C. Burch Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
- McCarty introduced the new endowed chair holder from the College of Arts and Science:
- Laurence Zwiebel, Ph.D., Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences.
The March 19 celebration was the 10th in a series of events to celebrate Vanderbilt’s exceptional scholars who have been named to endowed chairs.
Since the major university initiative to recruit and retain outstanding scholars and teachers was announced by Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos in August 2010, 102 chair holders have been recognized at institution-wide celebrations.
