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²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ Virtual School launches videoconference series

October 11, 2002

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Students in more than 30 Metro Schools will be linked to a variety of community and ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ leaders through a series of interactive videoconferences hosted by the ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ Virtual School. “We are focusing on the themes of authors, democracy and careers as we strive to make the videoconferences educational and engaging for these K-12 students,” said Jan Zanetis, director of the ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ Virtual School.

Authors lined up for October include Dr. Frank Boehm, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and author of Doctors Cry, Too; Tony Earley, whose books include Jim, The Boy and Somehow Form a Family; and Susan Wiltshire, author of Athena’s Disguises and Seasons of Grief and Grace.

Among the speakers in the democracy series are Helmut Smith, author of The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town and editor of The Holocaust and Other Genocides; Thomas Schwartz, an associate professor of history and author of the upcoming book Lyndon Johnson and Europe: In the Shadow of Vietnam; and Carol Swain, a professor of law and professor of political science who has written The New White Nationalism in America: Its Challenge to Integration.

The career videoconferences will highlight people who work at ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ. Participants include Francene Gilmer, director of the Career Center; Gail Williams, assistant director, Community, Neighborhood, and Government Relations; Michael Aurbach, professor of art; and Dwayne Sagen, assistant dean at the Blair School of Music and director of ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ Bands.

“Videoconferencing has become prevalent in Metro Schools, thanks, in part, to the efforts of the ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ University Medical Center STEP grant directed by Virginia Shepherd, Project DIANE, founded by Steve Shao; and ongoing teacher training from the ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ Virtual School,” said Zanetis. “This series of videoconferences links ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ to the community while demonstrating the most effective use of technology.”

To see the complete program schedule or for more information, contact Zanetis at (615) 343-8848 or visit the Virtual School web site at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/virtualschool/fallcat.htm.

For more information about ²¤ÂÜÊÓÆµ, please visit the News Service homepage at www.vanderbilt.edu/News.

Contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS, annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu

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