Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development will bestow its 2025 Distinguished Alumna Award on Sharon Shields, PhD'76, during Commencement ceremonies on May 9. Shields earned her doctorate in health and physical education at George Peabody College for Teachers in 1976. At the University of Louisville, she completed her bachelor of science in health, physical education and psychology in 1971 and her master of education in education and exercise science in 1974.
Shields is senior associate dean of community and special projects and professor of the practice of human and organizational development at Peabody College. Her career at Peabody began during her graduate research assistantship while working on her Ph.D. After completing her doctorate, she became an assistant professor of health and physical education at George Peabody College in 1976. In 1979, Peabody College merged with Vanderbilt University. Shields is the only remaining Peabody faculty member from before the merger.
Since the merger, Shield's has held numerous leadership roles at Peabody and Vanderbilt. In 1987, she earned promotion to associate professor of the practice of health promotion and education and then professor of the practice of human and organizational development in 1993. She co-founded and helped lead the Vanderbilt Medical Center for Health Promotion (1982-1989) and the Kim Dayani Center in 1989. From 2002 to 2005, she served as assistant provost for academic service-learning. In 2012, she became associate dean for professional education and student engagement, and she was promoted to senior associate dean for student engagement and well-being in 2020. She also served as the inaugural faculty head of house for Murray House in the Martha Ingram Commons from 2007 to 2012, where she developed intergenerational programming, and interim director of the Susan Gray School from 2020 to 2022.
"In each of these roles, and in many others, Sharon has evinced a dedication to Peabody College and Vanderbilt University that is, in my experience, unrivaled," said Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development. "She is respected by her colleagues and beloved by the thousands of alumni and students she has taught, mentored, and befriended over half a century of service to Vanderbilt."
Throughout this time, innovation has been a defining feature of Shields' career. After becoming a full professor of the practice, she developed the interdisciplinary Health Promotion and Education Program, integrating Peabody College with Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the School of Nursing. During the early 1990s, she pioneered service-learning courses that emphasized experiential learning, and she co-led the training of numerous faculty in creating such opportunities. These efforts served as a predecessor to today's university-wide emphasis on immersion experiences.
Shields' scholarship has focused on health promotion and exercise science in addition to service learning. Much of this work has sought to address the nutritional needs of children, including those from indigenous populations. Shields has authored or co-authored numerous articles and book chapters and given more than 100 national and international presentations.
Over the years, her career has intertwined with her steadfast advocacy for people who are treated inequitably or are underrepresented. Most prominently, she has consistently spoken up for women athletes and the enforcement of Title IX. She has long been a member of the Athletic Department Women's Leadership Circle. Her efforts on behalf of women athletes were honored with an SEC Title IX Trailblazer Award in 2022.
Since 1990, Shields has received more than 30 honors and awards, including the Nutrition and Sport Science Board Service Recognition Award from the President's Council on Fitness (2015); the R. Tait McKenzie Award (2013) and AAHPERD Honor Award (2011) from the American Alliance on Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance; several awards from the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports; and the Harold Love Outstanding Community Service Award administered by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (1997).
Additionally, Shields has held leadership roles in various professional organizations, including the President's Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition Science Board Working Group on Nutrition and Mental Health, and as president of the National Association for Girls and Women in Sports. Among her service commitments within the university, Shields has been a member of the Next Steps at Vanderbilt Advisory Committee. And she has been involved in numerous committees at Peabody and Vanderbilt, including the Faculty Senate and the Peabody Faculty Council, through which she has advocated for faculty and students. With appreciation to Peabody College, Katherine Osten, BSN'73, and Shields also helped fund the creation of a preschool STEM laboratory at the Susan Gray School in 2024.
"I am deeply honored to be named the 2025 Distinguished Alumnus," Shields said. "Peabody College shaped my values, vision, and voice. The education I received at Peabody set the foundation for a life journey that has been filled with meaning, purpose, passion, and opportunity. The enduring lesson, though, has been to keep my feet in reality and recognize the needs of our world but also to have my heart in hope that the human condition can be enhanced through our collective efforts.
"I am grateful to have been on life's path with the students, staff, and colleagues that have journeyed with me and for this profound and humbling recognition."
Before pursuing her doctorate at Peabody College, Shields taught at a middle school in Jefferson County, Kentucky from 1971 to 1974. Her life-long motto, "Trust the Path. Live the Journey," has guided her since those early years and continues to guide her in leaving a lasting impact at Peabody and across Vanderbilt.
