Vanderbilt University Honors Six Women Professors With Emerita Status

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee has conferred emeritus/a status on 22 professors. Of these, six are women.

Victoria A. Burrus was named professor emerita of Spanish. Professor Burrus joined the faculty at the university in 1986. She served as director of undergraduate studies from 1996 to 2009 and as chair of the department of Spanish and Portuguese from 2009 to 2017. Dr. Burrus holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education, a master’s degree in Spanish, and a Ph.D. in Spanish, all from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Terryl W. Hallquist was named professor of theatre, emerita. She joined the faculty in 1985. During her 33 years at the university, Professor Hallquist directed more than 60 theatrical productions and served as interim chair of the department of theatre. Professor Hallquist is a graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University, She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Deborah D. Hatton is a professor of special education, emerita. Before coming to Vanderbilt, Dr. Hatton was a senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina. She received a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Auburn University in Alabama, a master’s degree in visual disabilities from Florida State University, and a Ph.D. in special education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Leah S. Marcus holds the Edwin Mims Chair in English, Emerita at the university. Professor Marcus joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in 1998 after teaching at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Texas at Austin. Her latest book is How Shakespeare Became Colonial: Editorial Tradition and the British Empire (Routledge, 2017). Dr. Marcus is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at Columbia University in New York City.

Lillian B. Nanney was named professor of plastic surgery, emerita. She joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in 1980 and established the plastic surgery research lab and then the Morphology Core of the Skin Disease Research Center. In 2007, she was the founding director of the Academy for Excellence in Education at Vanderbilt. Professor Nanney is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. She earned a master’s degree at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in anatomy from the Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans.

Stephanie E. Spottswood is professor of radiology and radiological sciences, emerita. She came to Vanderbilt in 2005 as chief of pediatric nuclear medicine. Dr. Spottswood was promoted to full professor in 2012. In 2013 she was appointed associate vice chair for diversity, equity and inclusion. Professor Spottswood is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she majored in education. She holds a master of public health degree and a medical doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.