猎奇之家

>

Class Notes

猎奇之家 for this section may be submitted online through the or by email to vanderbiltmagazine@vanderbilt.edu. Please include your current name, name at registration, degree and class year. You also may send us news or update your address and other biographical information electronically through Vanderbilt鈥檚 online alumni community, VUconnect, at vuconnect.com. Your submission will be posted in Vanderbilt Magazine, print and online, unless otherwise specified, though we only use photos online due to space limitations in the print magazine. We reserve the right to edit for length, style and clarity.

These class notes were sent for inclusion in Vanderbilt Magazine between Dec. 1, 2025, and May 1, 2026. They will be included in the print fall 2026 issue.

Class Notes by Year

Class Notes: 1950s-1960s

  • 鈥�57

    Richard B. Johnston Jr.,听BA, MD鈥�61,听emeritus professor of pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine and National Jewish Health,听and collaborators Sir Nick Wald and the late Godfrey Oakley were recognized on March 10, 2026,听by听Research!America听with the Outstanding Achievement in Public Health Award. This award recognizes one or more individuals whose discovery played a pivotal role in advancing public health. Taken together, the complementary work of the three honorees showed that folate deficiency is the principal cause of neural-tube defects, and their work was instrumental in achieving mandated folic-acid fortification of the U.S. grain supply. This FDA-approved fortification prevented 33,000 U.S. neural-tube-defect pregnancies in its first 23 years with a听$9 billion听economic benefit. Over 80 countries have now mandated听food fortification, with prevention of an estimated 206,000 neural tube defects yearly.

  • 鈥�58

    Euclid Isbell,听BA,听in addition to publishing a 5-star joke book,听The Very Best Pearls of Humor and Wisdom,听Euclid听has听written 13 albums of music using AI. These are of multiple genres,听including jazz and big band,听and have been recently released听as听Copacetic Music by Sonny听on听streaming music services.听

  • 鈥�61

    Rollin Russell, BDIV, DMN 鈥�62, is听retired and living in Asheville, NC.听He听served as Conference Minister of the Southern Conference of the UCC after 20 years of parish ministry.听He also听served on the faculty of Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania听until retirement.听Rollin has听written听16听(and counting) op-ed articles in the听Asheville Citizen-Times.听He published a book,听Pulling Back the Curtain:听A Memoir of Christian Ministry听(Santos Books, 2025).听
    听

  • 鈥�65

    Edward P. Wasserman,听BE, was recently named to the Inaugural Class of Fellows of the American Institute of Steel Construction.听The AISC Fellows program celebrates those who have made enduring contributions鈥�hundreds of hours over many years鈥�to the steel design industry and to AISC, as committee members.听The听inaugural class听of 20 individuals included structural design academicians, consulting engineers and fabricators who have made significant contributions to the art of steel building and bridge design and construction.听

  • 鈥�66

    Nancy Jennings Allen, BA, of Dallas, debuted听her听short fiction collection,听A Method听of听Reaching听Extreme听Altitudes听and听Other听Stories, published by the University of New Mexico Press (2026) as part of its Lynn and Lynda Miller Southwest Fiction Series.

  • 鈥�68

    Michael Giltner,听BE, self-published his fifth novel, "Den of Wolves"听(2025). He discovered writing when he joined a听writers鈥�听group. The听book听helped him develop skills and learn more with each session.听

Class Notes: 1970s

  • 鈥�73

    William Colvin,听BA,听was awarded the Jac Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025 at the annual meeting of the Chattanooga Bar Association. 鈥淭his award is presented to a member who has demonstrated the highest standards of excellence for the legal profession; facilitate access to the justice system; served and supported the community; stimulated a feeling of respect, esteem and good fellowship among the members of the profession; maintained a high standard of ethics; represented the highest tradition of personal and professional excellence in Hamilton County; and has devoted significant amounts of time, efforts to activities that benefit the community and enhance the image and esteem of attorneys in Hamilton County.鈥� Bill served as听president of the Chattanooga Bar in 2017. He听was recognized with the President鈥檚 Award in 2018 and the Albert L. Hodge Volunteer of the Year award in 2020.

  • 鈥�79

    Robert E.听鈥�Bob鈥�听Beard,听BA, of Ivy, VA,听won election to the Albemarle County School Board in November 2025 in his first run for elected听office.

Class Notes: 1980s

  • 鈥�80

    Carolyn Allen Bern, BA,听of Montgomery,听AL,听was awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics 2025 Child Advocate Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the health and well-being of children in Alabama.听

    Chris Phipps,听BE, is听semi-retired. He听stays听active with an AI startup, mentor/advisor听startups, contract work for TAMU Health Science Center,听being a board member of a听foundation and work as an actor with听three听agents across the U.S.听He splits his听time between Dallas and Santa Fe, NM.

  • 鈥�82

    James Siburt,听MLS,听published his debut novel,听Murder Most Public: A U.S. Marshal Ward Wilkinson Murder Mystery Adventure,听in听2025.

  • 鈥�84

    Edward Lee Anderson,听JD,听published听his听first book,听Help! There's A Fire:听Reflections on Nashville's '80s New Music Scene,听in听2025.

  • 鈥�85

    John Crehore,听BA,听moved听from Charlotte to New Bern, NC,听at the end of January听2026, after finding听a听retirement spot on the shores of the Neuse River.听Crehore听runs听SIS Inc. remotely from Charlotte, returning听periodically听for on-site work.听The听Crehores听are now much closer to听their听daughter,听Mary Carlisle McMahan,听BS'16,听and her husband,听Casey,听and their son,听John.听听
    听

  • 鈥�88

    Annemarie Mullan听Whilton,听BA,听has become听a vocal advocate for substance use disorder treatment and breaking the stigma of silence.听She has听been featured nationally on PBS鈥櫶�Stories from the Stage; has had essays published in WBUR鈥檚听Cognoscenti听and听The North American Review; is a听Boston MOTH听StorySLAM听winner and a future Moth听GrandSLAM听contestant.听鈥�I feel that our听蹿补尘颈濒测鈥檚听journey with addiction has been long and confusing鈥�and I hope that my words can be of use to other alumni. I was chair of a local drug prevention organization for many听years,听so I know how prevalent the problem is, and how comforting it is for families to know they are not alone鈥�and that resources do exist beyond the confines of their insurance cards.鈥�

Class Notes: 1990s

  • 鈥�90

    Stephanie Barger Conner,听BS,听loves听living in Nashville and marvels听at the tremendous growth.听Her听work is at the intersection of government and arts funding.听Stephanie听serves听on the Tennessee Arts听Commission, which grants arts funds across the state, and on the board of Tennesseans for the Arts, which works with the legislature to protect that funding.听Her听two older children have moved back and are working here in Nashville.听厂迟别辫丑补苍颈别鈥檚听high school junior will leave听the nest听next year.

  • 鈥�93

    Lisa Uiberall-Noble,听BA, is听coming up on working for Teladoc Health remotely for听four听years.听She enjoyed seeing so many from听the Class听of 1993听at the Bowl Game in Tampa and at the SEC听tourney in Nashville. What a sports season it has been!听Lisa will be at the baseball听games鈥攊f you go, look for听her.听

    Holly Helmling Dinkel,听BS,听and听Scott听Dinkel,听BE鈥�95,听became grandparents for the first time in February听2026听to a sweet baby boy, Keaton Scott.听

  • 鈥�96

    Kelly Crawford,听BS, was awarded the Trade Member of the Year for 2025 by the Retail Design Institute,听an accolade she听also earned听in 2023. Since 2002,听she has been the听president and CEO of Visuality Inc.,听a visual merchandising brokerage firm based in Huntington Beach, CA.听

    听

    Myra Dingman Vandervelde,听BS,听has received three prestigious awards for creating听Dilemma,听Deloitte's internal ethics and compliance TV-streaming-style training series:听
    the听2025 Cannes Corporate Media and TV Award: Gold Dolphin (Internal Communication) and Silver Dolphin (Webisodes); a听gold in the 2025 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards under the Best Compliance Training category; the听New York Festival鈥檚 TV & Film Bronze Award in the Corporate Image Attitudinal Training category.听These awards highlight the innovative and impactful work Myra has听accomplished听in strengthening Deloitte鈥檚 unwavering commitment to ethics,听integrity听and transformative learning experiences.听Dilemma, launching season three in 2026, continues to spark meaningful conversations across Deloitte and to help foster a strong culture of ethical decision-making.

Class Notes: 2000s

  • 鈥�00

    Elizabeth Chamblee Burch,听BA,听recently published a narrative nonfiction book titled听The Pain Brokers: How Con Men, Call Centers, and Rogue Doctors Fuel America's Lawsuit Factory.听听The Pain Brokers centers on a scheme to lure women with pelvic mesh to south Florida to have it removed at seedy chiropractors鈥� offices to jack up the value of their settlement and听benefit听the plaintiffs鈥� lawyers,听doctors听and medical funders鈥攂ut not the women. Had women used insurance and a real听hospital, it would have cost them somewhere between $600 and $1,000. A spin through the removal mill ran $69,000 to $120,000.

  • 鈥�03

    Jordan Pettit, BS, MEd鈥�04,听joined Big Loud Records听in February听2026听as听co-president. The Nashville label is home to Morgan Wallen, HARDY, Ernest, Stephen Wilson Jr.听and听many others. This is a return to the record industry after spending听eight听years at Opry Entertainment Group and the Grand Ole Opry,听where he played a critical role in expanding the organization鈥�s programming strategy in his role as听vice听president听of artist听and听industry relations.听

  • 鈥�04

    David Garcia,听BS,听has joined Hyatt听as AVP RM & Distribution Analytics.听

    Julia Mortyakova,听BMU,听pianist, was awarded the 2026 Performing Artist Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission. The fellowship is a prestigious award of merit and honors Mississippi artists who听demonstrate听the ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field.听Julia听also received the 2025 Kossen Faculty Excellence Award from the Mississippi University for Women (The W), where she serves as听professor and听chair of the Department of Music. The Kossen Award honors a meritorious tenured faculty member who has听exhibited听excellence in teaching, scholarly or artistic achievement and service, and听demonstrated听a commitment to student success.听

    Julie J. Park,听BA听has published a new book on college admissions following the 2023 Harvard Supreme Court case:听Race, Class, and Affirmative Action: College Admissions in a New Era.听

  • 鈥�06

    David Dault's first book,听The Accessorized Bible, was published in January 2026. The recent rise in Christian nationalism and religious violence demands听new approaches听to scriptural interpretation that are rooted in nonviolence and moral seriousness. In听The Accessorized Bible, Dault,听MA, PhD鈥�09,听explores the ethical implications of how听people听use scripture as an accessory, whether as an accessory to fashion choices or as an accessory to crimes and violence against one another.

  • 鈥�07

    Kate听Kordek,听BS,听her husband,听Ben,听BE鈥�12, and Miles, age听4,听welcomed Ruby Elizabeth in April听2025.听They are enjoying life as a family of four in Marin County, CA.听

    Craig Pope,听MTS,听earned a听doctor of education听degree in curriculum studies from Georgia Southern University in May 2025.听Craig鈥檚听dissertation was titled "Walking on the Grey: An Existentialist Exploration of the Possibility of the Self in the System of the School." He and his wife, author Ashley Herring Blake, and sons Benjamin and William live on St. Simons Island, GA, and he teaches English at Brantley County High School.

Class Notes: 2010s

  • 鈥�11

    Joseph Wahl,听JD,听has听been named partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.听

  • 鈥�15

    Lee Hall-Perkins,听BA鈥�12,听MDV,听was quoted in听The Washington Post听regarding听new protest laws听affecting听political demonstrations.听Recently,听Hall-Perkins led a demonstration against cuts to听SNAP听and Medicaid signed into federal law.

  • 鈥�19

    Justin DeMello, BA, has been appointed to a new position: learning specialist at Brooklyn Prospect High School.

Class Notes: 2020s

  • 鈥�21

    Stephanie Jones Makowski, MBA,听and听Markus Makowski, MBA,听announce the birth of their daughter, Morgan Makowski. Born in July 2025, she was a good luck charm for Vanderbilt's historic football season. Anchor Down!

  • 鈥�25

    Jack Pitts,听BS, launched a new podcast,听The Making Of.听Gary Dennis,听MBA鈥�89,听was听the first guest.听In the episode, Gary reflects on his path from earning his undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech and MBA at Owen to working on Wall Street and later co-founding and building Mammoth Holdings, a multi-state car wash platform. He shares lessons on entrepreneurship,听leadership听and scaling an operating company over more than two decades.