Dental and Vision Letter to Admins

TO THE ATTENTION OF:

Dean Mark Wallace and Provost Susan Wente,

The undersigned graduate employees request that Vanderbilt provide us with guaranteed, non-contributory dental and vision insurance.  We are delighted to hear of upcoming improvements to our existing health insurance, and are excited to know when those changes will happen and what the specifics of the changes will be. We also hope that as you work to improve our health plans you will remember that our vision and dental needs remain underserved.

Currently, Vanderbilt offers its graduate employees contributory dental and vision plans.  Neither plan fits the confines of our stipends, particularly since graduate employees do not receive annual cost-of-living raises.  In the absence of these raises, the relative cost of out-of-pocket vision and dental coverage increases each year and we are forced to forgo routine visits to dentists and ophthalmologists. Graduate employees applaud Vanderbilt’s recent recommitment to our educational opportunities, and its dedication to enhance graduate education with an additional $300,000,000 dollar fund! The plan laid out in the University proposal, “A New Vision for Graduate Education,” can make good on its name by eliminating graduate employee costs for dental and vision: A New Vision for Graduate Education…Now Complete with Dental and Vision!

One step toward improving the health of graduate employees is expanding our health coverage to include guaranteed, non-contributory dental and vision.  Further, in expanding our coverage, our graduate employment at Vanderbilt will improve considerably.  We ask that you respond to our request no later than April 21st, so that all graduate employees — those departing from and those remaining in Nashville — can schedule visits to dentists, orthodontists, and ophthalmologists before start of the Fall semester.

Respectfully,

1. Justin Hubbard, Department of History
2. Kelly Swope, Department of Philosophy
3. Sabeen Ahmed, 2nd year student, Department of Philosophy
4. Kyle Godbey, Department of Physics
5. Almond Sin, Graduate Department of Religion, Hebrew Bible
6. Sebastian Ramirez, second year student and instructor of record, Department of Philosophy
7. Jesse Montgomery, Department of English
8. Thomas Dabay, Department of Philosophy
9. Nathan Dize, Department of French and Italian
10. Tempest M. Henning, Department of Philosophy
11. Lacee Satcher, Graduate Student
12. Matthew Albertolle, Biochemistry PhD Candidate
13. Meagan Posterna, Cell and Developmental Biology
14. boomer trujillo, PhD Student, Philosophy Department
15. James Phelan, Department of English
16. Megan van der Horst, Department of Chemistry
17. Lam Pham, LPO/PhD Student
18. Frank Ciarliero, Department of Economics
19. June Jones, PhD Student
20. Jacob Lockhart, Graduate School in Chemistry, PhD Candidate
21. Lorena Infante, PhD in Biochemistry
22. Jacob Ruden, Department of Neuroscience
23. Marissa Jones, Department of Chemistry
24. Katherine McKenna, PhD Candidate in History
25. Margaret Ernst, Masters of Divinity
26. Gretchen Johnston, PhD student, Biochemistry
27. Xiaoge Zhang, Civil Engineering
28. Amy Shaw, PhD Candidate, Environmental Engineering
29. Michael Sekuras, Graduate Department of Religion, PhD Candidate
30. Hannah Ingersoll, Sociology PhD Student
31. Matthew Knowles, PhD Student
32. Monisola Vaughan, Graduate Student
33. Serena McMillan, PhD Hebrew Bible
34. Sofia Jimenez, PhD Candidate, Psychology and Human Development
35. Olivia Murray, PhD Student, LPO
36. Rachel A. Heath, Graduate Department of Religion, PhD Student
37. Mary Bridges, Department of History
38. Tam Bui, Economics PhD Student
39. Nergis Kara, Biological Sciences/Graduate Student
40. Shelby Johnson, Department of English, PhD Candidate
41. Rachana Nitin, PhD Neuroscience Student
42. Elizabeth Barna, Sociology PhD Student
43. Stephanie Castillo, PhD Student
44. Rose Perea, PhD Candidate, Astronomy and Physics
45. Kazi Tasneem, PhD Student, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
46. Kaitlen Cassell, Political Science PhD Student
47. ValaRae Partee, PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering
48. Juliet Larkin-Gilmore, PhD Candidate, Department of History
49. Philip Jesse Bertron-Lowe, MFA Candidate, Creative Writing
50. Nilay Taneja, Cell and Developmental Biology/ Graduate Student
51. Zeeshan Samad, Economics PhD Student
52. Terrance Dean, PhD Student
53. Sandra Arch, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology
54. Piyush Joshi, Department of Neuroscience
55. Eliana Peck, PhD Student, Philosophy
56. Sarah Garrison, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Psychology and Human Development
57. Maria Fornicheva, PhD Student
58. Eric MacPhail, PhD Student, Philosophy
59. Cassandra Scaffidi, Anthropology
60. Daniel Jeffries, PhD, Chemistry
61. Heng Dai, Department of BioSci, PhD
62. Jesse McCarthy, PhD Candidate, Department of History
63. Cara Bailey, Department of French & Italian
64. Rustam Gatamov, PhD Student, Department of Physics & Astronomy
65. Nicholas Holtkamp, Economics PhD Student
66. Young Eun Park, Department of Psychology, PhD Candidate
67. Peter Vielehr, Sociology
68. Amanda Lehr, PhD Student, Department of English
69. Wietske Smeele, PhD Candidate, Department of English
70. Ling Chen, Department of BioSci, PhD Candidate
71. Amanda Erwin, Cell and Developmental Biology PhD Student
72. Dan Reynolds, PhD Candidate, Department of Teaching & Learning
73. Paromita Nath, PhD Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
74. Noah Robinson, Clinical Psychology PhD Program
75. Stephanie Bimbaum, PhD Candidate, Department of Biological Sciences
76. Danielle Picard, PhD Candidate, Department of History
77. Febbie C. Dickerson, Graduate Department of Religion, New Testament
78. Trang Hoang, Economics PhD Program
79. Alex Oxner, Department of English, PhD Candidate
80. Bernes Karacay, Economics, PhD Candidate
81. Mariann J. VanDevere, Joint PhD, English and Comparative Media Analysis Practice (CMAP)
82. Lauren Brenzel, Department of Sociology, Graduate Student
83. Baig Abdullah Al Muhit, PhD Student, Department of Civil Engineering
84. Berna Munoz, Spanish and Portuguese, PhD Candidate
85. Samuel Rutter, MFA, Department of English
86. Saideep Nannapaneni, PhD Candidate, Civil and Environmental Engineering
87. Hanna Lipkind, PhD Student, Department of Philosophy
88. Alyssa Lowery, PhD Student, Philosophy Department
89. E. Kyle Romero, PhD Candidate, Department of History
90. Chelsey Dyer, PhD Student, Anthropology
91. Thushara De Silva, PhD Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
92. Lei Su, Hearing and Speech Sciences
93. Laura D. Vega, PhD Student, Department of Astrophysics
94. Meghan K. McGinley, Department of French and Italian
95. Emma Banks, PhD Candidate, Department of Anthropology
96. Terren Proctor, PhD Student, Anthropology
97. Rudraprasad Bhattacharyya, PhD Student, Civil Engineering
98. Kristina Lee, PhD Student, Department of Anthropology
99. Sara Eccleston, Community Research and Action
100. Chelsea Peters, PhD Student, Environmental Engineering
101. Fiacha Heneghan, PhD Student, Philosophy Department
102. Courtney Brown, PhD Student, English
103. Gloria C. Perez-Rivera, PhD Student, Department of Anthropology
104. Nadejda Isha Webb, PhD Student in English & CMAP
105. Ethan Gibbons, Sociology
106. Nathan Frisch, Department of Anthropology
107. Nicholas Chason, PhD Student, Department of Astrophysics
108. Rashid Yasin, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering
109. Brian McCray, PhD Student, Department of Anthropology
110. Rachel McKane, PhD Student, Sociology
111. Connie Wang, PhD Student, Philosophy
112. Yvonne Chen, Department of Sociology, PhD
113. Lauren Henry, Clinical Psychology
114. Jonathan Dusenbury, PhD Candidate, Department of History
115. Philip J. Pettis, PhD Student, Sociology
116. Hillary Taylor, PhD Candidate, Department of History
117. Kyle Hoing, Neuroscience, PhD Candidate
118. Jessica C. Lowe, PhD Candidate, History Department
119. Begum Erdogan, PhD Student, Department of Biological Sciences
120. Mara Kim, Biological Sciences
121. Sari Carter, PhD Candidate, Department of English
122. Anna Jacobs, Sociology PhD Student
123. Terrell Taylor, Department of English
124. Gabrielle Rushing, PhD Student, Cancer Biology Department
125. Brian Bender, Pharmacology
126. Aparna Shekar, PhD Candidate, Pharmacology
127. Anna Young, PhD Student, History
128. Mehmet Takar, Biological Sciences/Graduate Student
129. Kathryn E. Devine, PhD Student, French and Italian
130. Katherine Pullen, PhD Candidate, Sociology
131. Tessa Eidelman, PhD Student, Human and Organizational Development
132. Corey Roach, PhD Candidate, Neuroscience Dept.
133. Jason Smith, PhD Candidate, Religion
134. Darla Migan, PhD Candidate, Philosophy
135. Derek Price, Department of German, Russian, and East European Studies
136. Sarah Koellner, PhD Candidate, German
137. Talitha Frecker, PhD Candidate, Chemistry
138. Alex Korsunsky, PhD Student, Anthropology
139. Audrey Baydin, PhD Candidate, Physics
140. Lyn Radke, PhD Candidate, Philosophy
141. HeeJu Jang, PhD Student, Department of Political Science
142. Raquelle K. Bostow, PhD Candidate, French & Italian
143. Xin Zhang, PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
144. Audra Foshage, PhD Candidate, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
145. Miles Bryan, PhD Candidate, Department of Neuroscience
146. Vaishali Satpute, PhD Candidate, Neuroscience Program
147. Sang-Eun Cecilia Kim, Department of Political Science
148. Gourab Ghosh, PhD Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering
149. Laura Sellers, PhD Candidate, Department of Political Science
150. Keyada Frye, PhD Student, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
151. Eileen Shiuan, PhD Student, Department of Cancer Biology
152. Colby Chinowsky, PhD Student, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
153. Lauren Gibson, PhD Student, Department of Chemistry
154. Zachary Thomas Settle, PhD Student, Graduate Department of Religion
155. Kira Braham, PhD Student, Department of English
156. Joanna Huh, PhD Student, Department of English
157. Lauren Mitchell, PhD Student, Department of English
158. Braden Goveia, PhD Student, Department of Spanish & Portuguese
159. Amaryah Armstrong, PhD Student, Graduate Department of Religion
160. Andrew Krinks, PhD Candidate, Graduate Department of Religion
161. Srijata Chakravorti, PhD Student, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
162. Thushara Gunda, PhD Candidate, Environmental Engineering
163. Tatiana McInnis, PhD Candidate, Department of English
164. Sarah Cook, PhD Candidate, History Department
165. Slavi Goleva, PhD Student, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
166. Sophia Clark, PhD Student, German
167. Alper Arslan, PhD Candidate, Department of Economics
168. Kyle L. Harper, PhD Student, Department of Anthropology
169. Margaret Rox, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering
170. Megan Robinson, PhD Student, Sociology
171. Peter Capretto, PhD Candidate, Graduate Department of Religion
172. Kellie Cavagnaro, Joint PhD Program in Anthropology and CMAP
173. Katherin Chapman, Teaching and Learning
174. Gabriela Santos Guasch, Department of Biochemistry, PhD Candidate
175. Joe Luchsinger, PhD Student, Neuroscience
176. Kelsey Norris, MFA Candidate, Creative Writing
177. Josh Bleiberg, LPO/PhD
178. Lenie Torregrossa, PhD Student, Psychology Department
179. Kirill Zavalin, PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
180. Francisco Calvache Meyer, Clinical Psychology PhD Student
181. Israel Flores, PhD Student, Psychology and Human Development
182. Stephanie Straub, PhD Student, Department of English
183. David Elion PhD Student, Cancer Biology
184. Kelly Stewart, Graduate Department of Religion, PhD Student
185. Sean Bortz, PhD Candidate, Department of History
186. Hayden Janathan, PhD Student, Mathematics
187. Max Baumkel, PhD Student, English
188. Leonard Curry, PhD Student, Graduate Department of Religion
189. Kelly Knowles, PhD Student, Psychology
190. Nicolas Maeder, PhD Student, Economics
191. Laken Kendrick, PhD Student, Chemistry
192. Dylan Shropshire, Biological Sciences
193. Joseph Pendergraph, History, Graduate Student
194. Darwin Fu, PhD Candidate, Chemistry
195. Brandom Chisholm, PhD Student, Engineering
196. Dayi Bian, PhD Student, Electrical Engineering
197. Caroline Beard, PhD Student, Department of Spanish & Portuguese
198. Callie Dulin, Graduate Student, Department of Chemistry
199. Cole Brubaker, PhD Student, Civil Engineering
200. Ariana Shirvani, PhD Student, Sociology
201. Cherie’ Scurrah, Cell and Developmental Biology, PhD Candidate
202. Cassandra Awgulewitsch, PhD Candidate, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
203. Henry Gorman, PhD Candidate, History
204. Lauren Salay, Chemical and Physical Biology Program
205. Bianca Flores, PhD Candidate, Neuroscience
206. Casey Nielsen, PhD Candidate, Cell & Developmental Biology
207. Brandy Daniels, PhD Candidate, Religion
208. Christine Richter-Nilsson, PhD Candidate, Department of German, Russian, and East European Studies
209. Abbey Loehr, PhD Candidate, Psychology and Human Development
210. Ashish Koul, PhD Candidate, Department of History
211. Abby Broughton, PhD Student, Department of French & Italian
212. Charlie Geyer, PhD Student, Department of Spanish & Portuguese
213. Andrea Becker, PhD Student, Sociology
214. Dilek Dervishogullari, Department of Chemistry, PhD Student
215. Aaron Stevens, 2nd year PhD student, Department of Physics
216. Ryan Solava, Department of Mathematics
217. Sarah Miele, PhD Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering
218. Kadiri Vaquer, PhD Student, Department of Spanish & Portuguese
219. Assante Kamkwalala, PhD Candidate, Vanderbilt Brain Institute
220. Sarah Nelson, PhD Candidate
221. Lisa Madura, PhD Student, Department of Philosophy
222. Eva Biedron, MS Student, Earth & Environmental Science
223. Xiangming Sun, PhD Student, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
224. Don Rodrigues, PhD Candidate, English
225. Ashley Kim, Graduate Student, Sociology
226. Ashkan Bahrani, PhD Student, Graduate Department of Religion
227. Shreejit Sapre, Master’s in Civil Engineering (Construction Management)
228. Leah Dundon, Environmental Engineering
229. Vignesh Kumar Devendiran, PhD Candidate in CCE
230. Erika Nelson, PhD, Graduate Department of Religion
231. Brian O. Bernstein, PhD Student
232. Anna Sinervo, Graduate Student, Engineering
233. Jennifer Alexander, Graduate Department of Religion, Doctoral Student
234. Mikin Patel, PhD Candidate, Biological Sciences
235. Michelle Moon, Biological Sciences, PhD Candidate
236. Diego del Alamo, PhD Student, Chemical and Physical Biology
237. Jennifer Bagneris, English PhD Candidate
238. Jordan Nikkel, PhD Student, Mathematics
239. Caleb Jones, Graduate Student, Department of Chemistry
240. Lance Ingwersen, PhD Candidate, History
241. Cydnee Deveraux, MFA Candidate, Creative Writing
242. Jacob C. Brown, Spanish and Portuguese, PhD Student
243. Daniel Romero, PhD Student, Department of Spanish & Portuguese
244. Alison Lutz, PhD Student
245. Audrey Ynigez-Gutierrez, Department of Chemistry, PhD Candidate
246. Caitlin Eley, PhD Student, Teaching and Learning
247. Kylie Korsnack, PhD Candidate, Department of English
248. Kate Schaller, Department of German
249. Zachary Feldman, PhD Student, German
250. Yonathan Reches, PhD Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering
251. Peng Zhang, PhD Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering
252. Abigail Neininger, Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
253. Mohsin Rahim, PhD Student, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
254. Zhangxin Wang, PhD Student, Civil & Environmental Engineering
255. Harshini Devathi, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering
256. Darren Tinker, PhD Student, Mechanical Engineering
257. Abigail Do, PhD Student, Teaching & Learning
258. Yuanzhe Liang, PhD Student, Interdisciplinary Material Sciences 
259. Sylvia Morrow, Department of Physics and Astronomy, PhD Candidate