(Above) Dean Kenneth F. Galloway (left) and Chancellor E. Gordon Gee stand with the man of the hour-VUSE's 2001 Distinguished Alumnus, Monroe J. Carell Jr., BE'59. (Below) A) Monroe Carrell Jr. and engineering Carell Scholar Sara Miracle, BE'02, catch up before the event. B) Chancellor Gee expresses his optimism and confidence in the direction of the School during his first address to the crowd. C) Alice Lewis Henderson, Dick Henderson, Dan Barge, BE'43, and Alice Ann Barge, BA'48, pause in their conversation long enough to smile for the camera.

Dean Kenneth F. Galloway proudly reported on the School of Engineering's latest accomplishments during the Leadership Dinner held Feb. 9 at the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel. He also introduced two key figures in the life of the School and the University: first-year Chancellor E. Gordon Gee and the evening's honoree-Distinguished Alumnus and Board of Trust member Monroe J. Carell Jr., BE'59.
       "Our students continue to be the strength of our school," Galloway proclaimed. "This fall, we enrolled a freshman class of 360-259 men and 101 women. They had an average SAT score of 1322. This makes for our largest and, academically, our strongest class ever. It was also the strongest freshman class for any school at Vanderbilt."
       He also reflected on the engineering facilities now under construction. "This is a terrific event in the life of the School of Engineering. This facility requires financial support of our alumni and friends at a level we have never before achieved, and I am truly grateful. These are great times for the Engineering School. And it's a great time for Vanderbilt University."
       Galloway attributed much of the excitement on campus to the arrival and work of evening's next speaker, Chancellor Gordon Gee. Gee leapt onto the stage and addressed the gathering of Engineering alumni and friends for the first time, displaying his customary energy and humor and, for once, not alone in wearing his trademark bow tie at this black-tie event.
       "This great School of Engineering sits in the center of our campus and in so many ways represents the spirit of the University. It is small but mighty, and it certainly has moved-both in literal and figurative ways-mountains on behalf of Vanderbilt. And for that we are grateful."
       Gee further observed, "Our School of Engineering acts as an extension of the University into the wider world. Vanderbilt reaches out into the world with ideas. The ideas of the Engineering School are special because they are made manifest in the world."
       The chancellor closed by introducing Carell. "Three words that come to mind when I think about Monroe Carell: character, commitment and compassion. He talks with absolute passion about the needs of whom he calls 'our children'-about the needs of our students, about the needs of the University to educate young people so that they will be able to make a contribution to society. This is the most noble contribution that one can make, and Monroe Carell represents that."
       For his own part, Carell recalled the impact of the School in his life. "I had served in the Navy before entering the School of Engineering, and it was difficult to adjust-to get back into the school mode. I remember my first math test as if it were yesterday. I made a 70, and most of the other people made very high grades. I had been out of school then for five years, and I was very discouraged. If it hadn't been for my wife, I was ready to reenlist in the Navy, because I thought that it had passed me by. But Dr. [Walter] Graham, the head of the math department at the time and the professor teaching that freshman class, helped me to catch up. That was true of most of the professors that we had at that time, and I'm sure it's true again today. I stayed and ended up graduating cum laude. Nobody was more proud than my mother and father and my wife when I received that diploma. I was the first of the Carells to get a college education."
       Galloway and Gee made it clear that since the days of that first critical triumph at Vanderbilt, Carell has gone on to accomplish far more-both professionally and for his community.

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At a Glance-
Distinguished Alumnus Monroe J. Carell Jr.

Education: VUSE graduate, 1959.

Occupation: Chairman and retired CEO of Central Parking Corporation, the premier parking management firm in the world. When he joined his father at Central Parking in 1966, Carell has stated that he "knew very little about business, but the systematic way in which the School of Engineering trains you to think and to work gave me an advantage. An engineering education teaches you to persevere."

Service to Vanderbilt: Member of the Board of Trust; Chairman of the Budget Committee; Medical Center Board Member; Board Member and Past Chairman of Vanderbilt Children's Hospital; Children's Hospital Building Campaign Chair; Chair of upcoming $1 billion Campaign for Vanderbilt.

Support for Vanderbilt: $20 million leadership commitment to Children's Hospital Building Campaign, Monroe Carell Family Scholarship Program; Ann and Monroe Carell Jr. Family Chair in Pediatric Cardiology.

Community Service: Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Fine Arts Center Board Member; Trustee and Officer of the Urban Land Institute; Tennessee Performing Arts Center Board Member; Former Member of the Board of Governors of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce; Former Nashville Downtown Partnership Chairman.

Family: Married to Ann, a 1957 graduate of Peabody College. They have three daughters-Julie, Edie and Kathryn-and six grandchildren.