2023 - Frank Walter, BA’78
Frank Walter is being recognized with the inaugural Vanderbilt Way Award. He has lived a life of service and is an ardent supporter of Vanderbilt. He has been deeply active in supporting the Vanderbilt Navy ROTC program as a leading volunteer, as well as the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He has also mentored students as a VUconnect career adviser and helped recruit the next generation of Commodores as a CoRPs alumni interviewer. Additional key volunteer roles include serving on the Alumni Association Board, in Reunion leadership, as the president of the Vanderbilt Navy ROTC Alumni Association, and on the Vanderbilt Real Estate Club advisory board. While at Vanderbilt, Walter was a Navy ROTC battalion commander, VUceptor and Kappa Sigma fraternity member. After graduation, he attended the U.S. Navy Supply Corps School and served on Adm. Hyman Rickover’s staff in the Supply and Fiscal Section of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Headquarters. He is the founding partner and president of Petrus Partners Ltd. in New York City.
2021 - Perry Brandt, BA'74, JD'77
Double 'Dore Perry Brandt received the alumni volunteer award for years of being a dedicated and enthusiastic ambassador and volunteer. He currently serves on the Vanderbilt Law Board of Advisors after completing his term on the Board of Trust as an alumni trustee and as president of the Alumni Association Board from 2016 to 2018. He was the Kansas City alumni chapter president from 2010 to 2014 and has hosted numerous university events and Summer Send-off Parties at his home. Brandt has participated in the CoRPs interview program since 2007 and has been a VUConnect career adviser for years. He has been a perennial Law School alumni class speaker, a Class Agent, a Law Firm Representative, an on-campus interviewer, a Law Reunion chair and a fundraising chair.
2020 - Tamara Baynham, BE'93
A dedicated volunteer leader, Tamara Baynham, BE'93, will receive the Alumni Volunteer Award. She has served as president of the Association of Vanderbilt Black Alumni, on the Alumni Association Board of Directors and on the School of Engineering Board of Visitors.
She also has volunteered for Reunion, Commodore Recruitment Programs and as a VUconnect career adviser.
2019 - John Hindle, BA'68, PhD'81
While John Hindle's extensive international business career included stints as a senior executive and adviser to companies in both the United States and Europe, he has always shined as a leader among Vanderbilt volunteers.
He has served Vanderbilt through many volunteer roles, including president of the London Vanderbilt Chapter, president of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board and as alumni trustee on the Board of Trust. He has also been a Giving Day Ambassador, a career adviser, and a Commodore Recruitment Programs (CoRPs) volunteer.
Hindle also actively supports the university through philanthropy. He is a member of the Oak Leaf Society, the Sarratt Society that recognizes those who have made a planned gift for the university, and was the inaugural Sarratt Society Chair for the Class of 1968's 50th Reunion.
2018 - Heiki Miki, MBA'96
Heiki Miki is a tireless supporter of Vanderbilt and the Owen Graduate School of Management. He manages global business for Shinagawa Refractories, a leading refractory manufacturing company in Japan. Miki has been an invaluable university ambassador for 15 years, representing the university at U.S. Embassy events, recruiting prospective students, and helping build awareness and connections for Vanderbilt.
Miki has served numerous terms on the Owen Alumni Board. He has championed Vanderbilt activities in Japan since 2008, and in 2015 started the official Japan Vanderbilt Chapter, which has played an important role in bringing Vanderbilt alumni throughout the country together and connecting them with the university. He was honored with the Owen Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.
2017 - Stephen Jones, BA'74, MD'78
Stephen Jones, BA '74, MD '78, is the recipient of the 2017 Vanderbilt Alumni Association Alumni Volunteer Award.
Jones is a retired major general with the US Army and has dedicated his time and counsel to mentoring Vanderbilt ROTC undergraduates and School of Medicine graduates entering military residency programs. He has also served on the Vanderbilt Medical Association Alumni Board and is a member of the Oak Leaf Society for philanthropic loyalty to the university.
2016 - Eileen Effinger, BA'75
Eileen Effinger, BA'75, is the recipient of the 2016 Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors Alumni Volunteer Award.
As a president of the Charlotte Vanderbilt Chapter, Reunion volunteer and Oak Leaf Society member, Eileen Effinger is a loyal supporter of Vanderbilt. Through educational, athletic and networking events she energized alumni and provided a venue for them to promote their businesses in the Charlotte area. Her collaboration with fellow chapter volunteers helped improve outreach in other cities. She spread this enthusiasm to her class and her sorority by encouraging them to attend Reunion, which strengthened their connection to the university.
2015 - John "Buddy" Fisher, BA'50
John "Buddy" Fisher, BA'50, is the recipient of the 2015 Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Director's Alumni Volunteer Award.
Fisher is a longtime supporter of Vanderbilt and, through many roles, has been a dedicated volunteer. He provided valuable leadership while serving on the Alumni Association Board and for many years served as the face of Vanderbilt in his hometown of Columbia, Tennessee, as the president of the Maury County Vanderbilt Club. He has also served as a volunteer for the Commodore Recruitment Programs since 2008. As his class weekend chair, Fisher helped connect his classmates to Vanderbilt and encouraged them to make attending their Reunions a priority. He even took the initiative to plan a 60th Reunion gathering for his class-a first for any volunteer. That commitment extended to his time as Quinq chair, a role he embraced as an opportunity to strengthen the ties between those who graduated half a century ago and their alma mater. View Fisher's award presentation from the 2015 Alumni Association Awards Ceremony.
2014 - Todd Jackson, BA'96
Todd Jackson, BA'96, EMBA'08, is the 2014 recipient of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Director's new Alumni Volunteer Award.
As founders and co-chairs of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Young Ambassadors, Jackson and his wife, EB, have helped raise $250,000 and award seven Discovery Grants to innovative cancer researchers. Those grants have generated an additional $2.4 million in research funding. He also helped increase volunteer and giving participation as president of the Owen Graduate School of Management Alumni Council and served as the fundraising chair for his fifth-year Reunion.
Young Alumni Vanderbilt Way Award Winners
2021 - Nicholas Lovinger, BA'15, and Jackson Vaught, BA'16
Nicholas Lovinger and Jackson Vaught are co-recipients of the young alumni volunteer award for their dedication in leading the New York City alumni chapter. Lovinger is also the current co-leader of Vanderbilt on Madison Avenue intern program, a VUconnect career adviser and a Reunion and student-alumni volunteer.
Along with leading the NYC alumni chapter, Vaught is a student-alumni volunteer, GOLD Council and VUconnect career adviser. He hosts almost every New York-based live and virtual alumni gathering.
2020 - Teresa Temkin, BA'11
The Young Alumni Volunteer Award will recognize Washington, D.C., Chapter President Teresa Temkin, BA'11. She also has served in leadership for the Miami and Wisconsin chapters, recruits undergraduate students through the Commodore Recruitment Programs and is helping to create the Vanderbilt Association of Hispanic and Latinx Alumni.
2019 - Matthew Wright, MEd'14
Matthew Wright's advocacy and passion for Vanderbilt has been instrumental to connecting alumni in Japan and recruiting international students.
As a founding member of the Vanderbilt Japan Chapter, Wright has actively worked to create a vibrant regional network of university alumni and parents. He identified the need for the chapter and generated enthusiasm through communications, meetings and organizing events. He has served as deputy president since February 2015.
He is also a volunteer for Commodore Recruitment Programs, representing Vanderbilt to high school students at college fairs hosted by the United States Embassy in Japan. As an Oak Leaf Society member, he is also a loyal philanthropic supporter of the university.
Wright is the academic director at Alpha Frontiers, a Tokyo-based company that helps guide students through the university application process.
2016 - Sara Tabor Simonds, BS'08, MAcc'09
Sara Tabor Simonds, BS'08, MAcc'09, is the recipient of the 2016 Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Director's Young Alumni Volunteer Award.
Sara Simonds is a passionate supporter of Vanderbilt as an Oak Leaf Society member and by serving multiple volunteer roles. She is co-president of the Atlanta Vanderbilt Chapter, weekend chair for the Class of 2008's fifth Reunion and helped organize her fifth Owen Reunion. Simonds keeps young alumni connected with the university as the G.O.L.D. Council president and a G.O.L.D. class agent. As a Giving Day Ambassador, she encouraged alumni to make the inaugural event a great success.
2015 - Hiram "Hi" Lewis, BS'99, MEd'01
Hiriam "Hi" Lewis, BS'99, MEd'01, is the recipient of the 2015 Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Director's Young Alumni Volunteer Award.
Many will remember Lewis as a quarterback and, later, graduate assistant coach for the Vanderbilt football team. He was a valuable member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, is an avid supporter for both the Commodore football and baseball programs, and is a great ambassador for the university. As a volunteer for the student-alumni series Opening Dores, he has shared his experience in commercial real estate and life after Vanderbilt with undergraduate students. He has also offered professional advice as a VUconnect career adviser. View Lewis' award presentation from the 2015 Alumni Association Awards Ceremony.
To learn more, and to nominate a deserving alumnus/na, visit our Awards Page.