Who is Sarah Shannon Stevenson?
The library was officially named the Sarah Shannon Stevenson Science Library in September, 1976. The “engineering” addition came later. Mrs. Stevenson was known to enjoy a game of poker along with a glass of whiskey. She was the two-time President of the Junior League of Nashville. She was partial to crisp suits and white gloves. Her portrait, painted by Hungarian-American artist Sandor Bodo, shows her snappily dressed, replete with a gold lame shawl. It hangs inside the library to the right of the service desk next to her husband, Eldon B. Stevenson ’14, a member of the Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust from 1938 to 1968.
Each year on September 18th we celebrate this great lady and the library named in her honor.