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Class Notes

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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: 1950s-1960s

  • ’57

    Richard B. Johnston Jr.,BA, MD’61,emeritus professor of pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine and National Jewish Health,and collaborators Sir Nick Wald and the late Godfrey Oakley were recognized on March 10, 2026,byResearch!Americawith 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$9 billioneconomic benefit. Over 80 countries have now mandatedfood fortification, with prevention of an estimated 206,000 neural tube defects yearly.

  • ’58

    Euclid Isbell,BA,in addition to publishing a 5-star joke book,The Very Best Pearls of Humor and Wisdom,Euclidhaswritten 13 albums of music using AI. These are of multiple genres,including jazz and big band,and have been recently releasedasCopacetic Music by Sonnyonstreaming music services.

  • ’61

    Rollin Russell, BDIV, DMN ’62, isretired and living in Asheville, NC.Heserved as Conference Minister of the Southern Conference of the UCC after 20 years of parish ministry.He alsoserved on the faculty of Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvaniauntil retirement.Rollin haswritten16(and counting) op-ed articles in theAsheville Citizen-Times.He published a book,Pulling Back the Curtain:A Memoir of Christian Ministry(Santos Books, 2025).

  • ’65

    Edward P. Wasserman,BE, was recently named to the Inaugural Class of Fellows of the American Institute of Steel Construction.The AISC Fellows program celebrates those who have made enduring contributionshundreds of hours over many yearsto the steel design industry and to AISC, as committee members.Theinaugural classof 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.

  • ’66

    Nancy Jennings Allen, BA, of Dallas, debutedhershort fiction collection,A MethodofReachingExtremeAltitudesandOtherStories, published by the University of New Mexico Press (2026) as part of its Lynn and Lynda Miller Southwest Fiction Series.

  • ’68

    Michael Giltner,BE, self-published his fifth novel, "Den of Wolves"(2025). He discovered writing when he joined awritersgroup. Thebookhelped him develop skills and learn more with each session.

Class Notes: 1970s

  • ’73

    William Colvin,BA,was awarded the Jac Chambliss Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025 at the annual meeting of the Chattanooga Bar Association. “This 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.” Bill served aspresident of the Chattanooga Bar in 2017. Hewas recognized with the President’s Award in 2018 and the Albert L. Hodge Volunteer of the Year award in 2020.

  • ’79

    Robert E.BobBeard,BA, of Ivy, VA,won election to the Albemarle County School Board in November 2025 in his first run for electedoffice.

Class Notes: 1980s

  • ’80

    Carolyn Allen Bern, BA,of Montgomery,AL,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.

    Chris Phipps,BE, issemi-retired. Hestaysactive with an AI startup, mentor/advisorstartups, contract work for TAMU Health Science Center,being a board member of afoundation and work as an actor withthreeagents across the U.S.He splits histime between Dallas and Santa Fe, NM.

  • ’82

    James Siburt,MLS,published his debut novel,Murder Most Public: A U.S. Marshal Ward Wilkinson Murder Mystery Adventure,in2025.

  • ’84

    Edward Lee Anderson,JD,publishedhisfirst book,Help! There's A Fire:Reflections on Nashville's '80s New Music Scene,in2025.

  • ’85

    John Crehore,BA,movedfrom Charlotte to New Bern, NC,at the end of January2026, after findingaretirement spot on the shores of the Neuse River.CrehorerunsSIS Inc. remotely from Charlotte, returningperiodicallyfor on-site work.TheCrehoresare now much closer totheirdaughter,Mary Carlisle McMahan,BS'16,and her husband,Casey,and their son,John.

  • ’88

    Annemarie MullanWhilton,BA,has becomea vocal advocate for substance use disorder treatment and breaking the stigma of silence.She hasbeen featured nationally on PBS’Stories from the Stage; has had essays published in WBUR’sCognoscentiandThe North American Review; is aBoston MOTHStorySLAMwinner and a future MothGrandSLAMcontestant.I feel that ourڲ’sjourney with addiction has been long and confusingand I hope that my words can be of use to other alumni. I was chair of a local drug prevention organization for manyyears,so I know how prevalent the problem is, and how comforting it is for families to know they are not aloneand that resources do exist beyond the confines of their insurance cards.

Class Notes: 1990s

  • ’90

    Stephanie Barger Conner,BS,lovesliving in Nashville and marvelsat the tremendous growth.Herwork is at the intersection of government and arts funding.Stephanieserveson the Tennessee ArtsCommission, 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.Hertwo older children have moved back and are working here in Nashville.ٱ󲹲Ծ’shigh school junior will leavethe nestnext year.

  • ’93

    Lisa Uiberall-Noble,BA, iscoming up on working for Teladoc Health remotely forfouryears.She enjoyed seeing so many fromthe Classof 1993at the Bowl Game in Tampa and at the SECtourney in Nashville. What a sports season it has been!Lisa will be at the baseballgames—if you go, look forher.

    Holly Helmling Dinkel,BS,andScottDinkel,BE’95,became grandparents for the first time in February2026to a sweet baby boy, Keaton Scott.

  • ’96

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

    Myra Dingman Vandervelde,BS,has received three prestigious awards for creatingDilemma,Deloitte's internal ethics and compliance TV-streaming-style training series:
    the2025 Cannes Corporate Media and TV Award: Gold Dolphin (Internal Communication) and Silver Dolphin (Webisodes); agold in the 2025 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards under the Best Compliance Training category; theNew York Festival’s TV & Film Bronze Award in the Corporate Image Attitudinal Training category.These awards highlight the innovative and impactful work Myra hasaccomplishedin strengthening Deloitte’s unwavering commitment to ethics,integrityand transformative learning experiences.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

  • ’00

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

  • ’03

    Jordan Pettit, BS, MEd’04,joined Big Loud Recordsin February2026asco-president. The Nashville label is home to Morgan Wallen, HARDY, Ernest, Stephen Wilson Jr.andmany others. This is a return to the record industry after spendingeightyears at Opry Entertainment Group and the Grand Ole Opry,where he played a critical role in expanding the organizations programming strategy in his role asvicepresidentof artistandindustry relations.

  • ’04

    David Garcia,BS,has joined Hyattas AVP RM & Distribution Analytics.

    Julia Mortyakova,BMU,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 whodemonstratethe ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field.Juliaalso received the 2025 Kossen Faculty Excellence Award from the Mississippi University for Women (The W), where she serves asprofessor andchair of the Department of Music. The Kossen Award honors a meritorious tenured faculty member who hasexhibitedexcellence in teaching, scholarly or artistic achievement and service, anddemonstrateda commitment to student success.

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

  • ’06

    David Dault's first book,The Accessorized Bible, was published in January 2026. The recent rise in Christian nationalism and religious violence demandsnew approachesto scriptural interpretation that are rooted in nonviolence and moral seriousness. InThe Accessorized Bible, Dault,MA, PhD’09,explores the ethical implications of howpeopleuse scripture as an accessory, whether as an accessory to fashion choices or as an accessory to crimes and violence against one another.

  • ’07

    KateKordek,BS,her husband,Ben,BE’12, and Miles, age4,welcomed Ruby Elizabeth in April2025.They are enjoying life as a family of four in Marin County, CA.

    Craig Pope,MTS,earned adoctor of educationdegree in curriculum studies from Georgia Southern University in May 2025.Craig’sdissertation 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

  • ’11

    Joseph Wahl,JD,hasbeen named partner at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

  • ’15

    Lee Hall-Perkins,BA’12,MDV,was quoted inThe Washington Postregardingnew protest lawsaffectingpolitical demonstrations.Recently,Hall-Perkins led a demonstration against cuts toSNAPand Medicaid signed into federal law.

  • ’19

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

Class Notes: 2020s

  • ’21

    Stephanie Jones Makowski, MBA,andMarkus Makowski, MBA,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!

  • ’25

    Jack Pitts,BS, launched a new podcast,The Making Of.Gary Dennis,MBA’89,wasthe first guest.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,leadershipand scaling an operating company over more than two decades.