Adrienne Babcock came to VUMC in 2016, bringing a mix of database and administrative skills. As an integral team member of Edge for Scholars (EFS) she orchestrated work-in-progress meetings, coordinated the behind-the-scenes organization of Grant Pacing Workshops, organized resources for early career faculty, and expanded Edge for Scholars’ reach. She managed the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) program and the Southern Community Cohort Study Data and Biospecimen Use (SCCS DBU) committee meetings, and for many years, she was responsible for posting funding opportunities. She was concierge for both the Edge Library and the Adrienne Babcock Funded Grants Library.
Adrienne’s detail-oriented nature served her well as proofreader of documents ranging from monthly newsletters to programs and slides for our big events like the EFS Translational Science Forum, not to mention almost any other communication that went out from EFS. There wasn’t a grant progress report that went in without going under her exacting eye for consistency in formatting, typos, and other small errors that could have a big impact. She was known for spotting problems other team members missed; no matter how many people had looked at a document, she could always find something to correct. Similarly, her attention to detail made her a fantastic manager of our extensive email database, an excellent distiller of information from massive spreadsheets, and record-keeper for our purchases.
She earned the admiration of those who worked with her because she gave maximum effort to help in whatever way she could to reduce administrative burdens for scholars using EFS resources. She cared deeply for her work, serving our team and Vanderbilt scholars by going over and above what was required to make sure that her responsibilities and tasks were met and performed at the highest level. Adrienne embodied the ethic of collaboration, trust, and determination, and possessed a contributor’s heart in abundance. Her determination to support our researchers modeled for us all the ethos of never giving up.
Adrienne had such a wonderful personality. She was quick-witted, goofy, great at problem-solving and extremely humble. In addition to being organized, punctual, communicative, on top of everything, and basically being spectacular at her job, her kindness, patience, and disarming demeanor made it easy and comfortable to work with her. She was never too busy to share her expert knowledge to teach teammates new processes or software applications. She was genuinely invested in helping others accomplish their goals. Adrienne’s impact on scholars’ careers will be large and lasting.
Outside the office, she loved movies, Disney parks, Winnie the Pooh, and was a connoisseur of fountain Diet Coke. She was a hair stylist in a former life and once or twice sneakily trimmed her bangs with her office scissors. She had a beautiful singing voice and met the love of her life, Michael Rivera, over thirty years ago in a guitar class. They had numerous bilingual fur babies who understood English and Spanish. Adrienne’s compassion for people and pets alike, and her devotion to advancing the team’s mission, are attributes we won’t forget.
She had such a caring spirit. Even in her most difficult moments, her caring and concern for others (family, friends, teammates) superseded what was happening in her life. A gentle gladiator is gone from our midst. There was no one on the planet who was as kind, helpful, and funny as Adrienne. Hers was truly a shining light that dimmed far too soon.
