The people behind the names on the buildings
Ann and Roscoe R. Robinson
Rudolph
A. Light HallDr. Rudolph A. Light was a graduate of the School of Medicine,
a professor of Surgery, director of the surgical research laboratory, and a
member of the Board of Trust.
L. C. Langford AuditoriumLilburn Langford was a Clarksville native who
developed a chain of restaurants and soda fountains, some operated under his
name and some within department stores and drug stores. He is credited with
inventing the chocolate malted milkshake. After his death, his widow contributed
a substantial portion of the funding for the auditoriums construction,
which was completed in 1977.
Kim Dayani Human Performance CenterDr. Kioomars (Kim) Dayani was a native
of Iran who came to the U.S. to pursue his education and who graduated from
the School of Medicine in 1965. He founded a health care company in Kansas City,
and, following his death in 1981, his widow contributed substantively to the
construction of the health promotion facility that bears his name.
Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center for Otolaryngology and Communication SciencesThe
Bill Wilkerson Clinic joined hands with Vanderbilts Department of Otolaryngology
to form the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center as an integral part of VUMC in
1997. The Wilkerson Center traces its roots to the 1940s, when it was founded
by a prominent local physician Dr. Wesley Wilkerson. Bill Wilkerson was the
doctors son who was killed in World War II at the age of 19.
Ann and Roscoe R. Robinson Medical Research BuildingDr. Roscoe R. Ike
Robinson was vice chancellor for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt from 1981 to 1997,
and it was during his tenure that this building, originally known as the Medical
Research Building, was built. The building was named for Robinson and his wife
Ann in 2000.
Frances Williams Preston BuildingFrances Williams Preston is the Nashville
native who is CEO of the music licensing business Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI).
Because of her longstanding interest in cancer research and her involvement
with the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer, and AIDS Research, the
building, which opened in 1993 as Medical Research Building II, was named in
her honor in 2000. Prestons name is also on the Frances Williams Preston
Laboratories, which were founded in 1993 with funding from the T.J. Martell
Foundation for Cancer, Leukemia, and AIDS Research.
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer CenterA 1999 gift from the Ingram Charitable
Fund established the E. Bronson Ingram Cancer Center at Vanderbilt University.
E. Bronson Ingram was a longtime member of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust and
chairman of the board. He died of cancer in 1995. Bronson Ingrams widow,
Martha, is current chair of the Board of Trust and his son Orrin is on the Board
and is also chair of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Centers Board of Overseers.
Henry-Joyce Cancer
ClinicMrs. Kathryn Craig Henry contributed the funds to establish this
treatment center for people with cancer. It was dedicated in 1988 and named
in memory of Cornelius Abernathy Craig, her father; Douglas Selph Henry, her
husband; and Harry Alexis Jones Joyce, who was the first husband of Mrs. Henrys
daughter, Peggy Henry Joyce Wood.
Annette and Irwin Eskind Biomedical LibraryThe Eskind Library, dedicated
in 1994, is named for Dr. Irwin B. Eskind, clinical professor of Medicine (Emeritus),
and his wife Annette. Dr. Eskind is an alumnus of the medical school. He is
also a life member of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust, a member of the Medical
Center Board, and a former president of the Canby Robinson Society. Annette
Eskind is founder and president of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Education
Foundation and is a volunteer in numerous community agencies.
Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation HospitalThis hospital, a joint venture
between Vanderbilt and HealthSouth, opened in 1993. Its construction was supported
in part by a contribution from the estates of Hugh W. Stallworth and his wife
Anita Bevill McMichael Stallworth.
Monroe Carell Jr. Childrens Hospital at VanderbiltMonroe Carell
Jr. is chairman of Central Parking Corporation, past chairman of the Childrens
Hospital board of directors, and the chairman for the Campaign for Childrens
Hospital. He is also on the University Board of Trust and the Medical Center
Board and is currently heading the Universitys $1.25 billion Campaign
for the Future. He and his wife Ann made a substantial contribution toward
the construction of the new freestanding Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital
in 1999. Childrens Hospital was founded in 1961. It was originally housed
in Medical Center North, then in 1980 located to the 4th, 5th, and 6th floors
of the hospital. The new hospital is scheduled to be completed by fall 2003.
Mary Ragland Godchaux HallGodchaux Hall is the 1925 School of Nursing
building. Starting in 1934, it was known as Mary Kirkland Hall, named for the
wife of Chancellor James Kirkland. In 1958 the building was renamed Mary Henderson
Hall, after Mary Kirklands maiden name, because of the longstanding confusion
resulting from having two buildings on campus named Kirkland Hall.
Then, in 1971, following a renovation that converted the dorm space in the building
to other uses, the structure was again renamed, this time after Mary Ragland
Godchaux. Mrs. Godchaux was the wife of Frank A. Godchaux Jr., whose family
had helped fund the late 60s-early 70s remodeling of the building.
Patricia Champion Frist HallThis 1998 addition to the School of Nursing
is named for Mrs. Frist, who is a graduate of Vanderbilt, as is her husband
Dr. Thomas Frist Jr. The building was made possible by a $2 million gift by
the couple.
Vanderbilt Page-Campbell Heart InstituteThis institute was anchored by
Vanderbilts partnership with Nashvilles renowned Page-Campbell Cardiology
Group, which in turn was named after its founders, Dr. Harry Page Jr. and Dr.
W. Barton Campbell.
Selected Other Named Areas within VUMC
A.B. Hancock LaboratoryLocated in the Preston Building, the lab is named
for A.B. Bull Hancock, famed horse breeder of the legendary Claiborne
Farm in Paris, Ky. The laboratory was established in 1972 in his memory and
honor by his widow, Waddell Hancock, and a group of friends after his death.
The labs work focuses on prevention and early detection of cancer.
Elizabeth B. Lamb Center for Pediatric ResearchThis center, housed on
the sixth floor of Medical Center North, was established in 1990 by George and
Elizabeth Pat Lamb. George Lamb, who died in 2001, was a chairman
of United Parcel Service. Three of the Lambs four children attended Vanderbilt.
The Lamb Center focuses on virology research and scientific training.
The Joe and Howard Werthan BuildingThis addition to Medical Center North
on the 21st Ave. South side opened in 1972. At the time the VUMC office of News
and Public Affairs noted in a press release: The building was named in
memory of father-and-son members of a distinguished Nashville family. Joe Werthan,
the father, at the the time of his death in 1967, was honorary chairman of Werthan
Industries. His son, Howard M. Werthan, who died earlier the same year, was
vice president and secretary of the company.
Zerfoss Student Health CenterThis facility, at the back of Medical Center
North, opened in 1967. It was named in honor of Dr. Thomas B. Zerfoss, who was
a University physician from 1926 to 1962, and was the first and longtime head
of Student Health.
Galloway BuildingOn the south end of Medical Center North, visible from
the area around the awning entrance to the building, carved in marble, are the
words Galloway Building. When VUMC decided to relocate from downtown
Nashville to its present site in 1925, the Galloway name came along. Nashville-area
Methodist churches had funded the construction of a hospital at the downtown
site that was to partner with the School of Medicine. Construction began, but
money ran low, and, after an internal dispute about whether it would be better
to see through the construction downtown or seek new money and start over on
21st Avenue South, the decision was made to move VUMC to the main campus. There
were hurt feelings among many Nashville Methodists, who had given money for
the downtown hospitals construction, so, as a goodwill gesture, a wing
of the new VUMC building was christened the Galloway Building. Oh, and who was
Galloway? A Methodist bishop.
A.B. Learned LaboratoryAndrew Brown Learned graduated from Vanderbilt
in 1889 with a B.E. degree and was a lumber manufacturer in Natchez, Miss. He
was a regular contributor to Vanderbilt and in 1953 he gave a donation to the
University toward construction of the laboratory addition to VUMC.
Elliot V. Newman Center for Clinical ResearchDr. Elliot Newman was a cardiologist,
scientist, and teacher who was a pioneer in the development of medical engineering
and the use of applied mathematics and computer science to medical research.
His interest in applying science for the benefit of patients led to his receiving
grants from the U.S. Public Health Service, and led, in 1960, to the establishment
of the federally funded Clinical Research Center which bears his name.