Mary Margo Turner (Lankford) has joined Thompson Burton as a partner in the Nashville office along with members of her team, adding to the firm’s real estate and corporate law practice.

Turner has spent the past decade as a partner at Rudy Winstead Turner, PLLC, where she represented investors, developers and business owners in complex transactions.

Beyond her legal practice, Turner has been actively involved in various business ventures throughout her career. She was part of the inaugural class at Belmont University College of Law, where she earned her J.D. She also holds a B.A. in journalism and political science from the University of Mississippi.

Joining Turner at Thompson Burton are associate Andrew Noell and paralegal Christy Moore.

Noell focuses on commercial real estate and business law. Before moving to Nashville in 2023, he practiced at Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert, LLC in New Orleans, handling commercial litigation, real estate transactions and business law matters.

Moore, a paralegal who has worked with Turner for more than five years, holds an AAS from Nashville State Community College and a BBA from Belmont University.

Vanderbilt hires first dean for Connected Computing

Vanderbilt University has named Matthew Johnson-Roberson the inaugural dean of the College of Connected Computing, the university’s first new college to be established in more than 40 years. His appointment begins May 1.

Johnson-Roberson is director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. He will be working alongside all of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges to advance breakthrough discoveries and strengthen educational programing in areas like AI, computer science, social computing, digital humanities and data analytics.

Johnson-Roberson, who as a University Distinguished Professor will hold dual faculty appointments in the College of Connected Computing and the School of Engineering, is an expert in robotics, computer vision, machine learning and autonomous systems. At Carnegie Mellon, in addition to his role as director and department head of the Robotics Institute, he is a professor of computer science and the founder and director of the DROP Lab (Deep Robot Optical Perception), which researches 3D reconstruction, segmentation, data mining and visualization. Johnson-Roberson is also a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Earlier in March, Vanderbilt announced that trustee John Arnold, BA’95, and his wife, Laura Arnold, committed $25 million to provide foundational support for the College of Connected Computing’s faculty leadership, teaching and various strategic initiatives. The gift will establish an endowed dean’s chair for Johnson-Roberson and three additional chairs to support distinguished faculty leaders.

Manufacturing Engineers honor Bedekar again

Middle Tennessee State University associate professor Vishwas Bedekar is the recipient of the same national honor for the second time in three years.

Bedekar, coordinator for the mechanical engineering technology concentration in the Department of Engineering Technology’s bachelor’s degree program, is one of eight Society of Manufacturing Engineers Distinguished Faculty Advisor Award winners for 2024.

The award honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding dedication to mentoring students and advancing the manufacturing industry through education and research.

Bedekar, who earned the distinction in 2022, received a certificate and $250 toward professional development and chapter activities.

Bedekar’s research focuses on energy-harvesting materials and manufacturing processes. An author of more than 30 publications, he holds a U.S. patent and is faculty adviser for SME Student Chapter S239 and mentored award-winning robotics teams.

Bedekar, who joined MTSU in 2013, earned the MTSU Outstanding Teaching Award in August 2019 for the 2018-19 academic year. He holds bachelor’s (University of Mumbai), master’s and doctorate (University of Texas-Arlington) degrees.

Werner, CFA Joins Laffer as portfolio manager

Laffer Tengler Investments, Inc., a boutique investment management firm for high-net-worth individuals, institutional clients and platform advisers, has added Mark Werner as portfolio manager and strategy team member for the dividend growth strategy team.

Werner brings with him more than two decades of investment experience at asset and wealth management firms.

Werner’s background includes building and developing asset allocation strategies, conducting in-depth fundamental equity research across global markets and managing portfolios for both institutional and private clients.

Werner holds a degree in marketing from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in financial analysis and investment management from St. Mary’s College. He is a CFA charter holder.

Connico expands with two team members

Connico, a Mt. Juliet-based infrastructure and aviation consulting firm with 35 years of experience delivering expert cost estimating, program management, scheduling, project management and constructability planning services, has welcomed two new team members: Muhilan Subramanian as analyst II and Tarang Kumar as cost specialist.

Subramanian holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University and has a background in mechanical systems analysis and cost estimation. He will focus on the financial and functional impact of mechanical components, helping teams integrate them seamlessly into larger project scopes.

Kumar, a Certified Cost Estimating Professional (CEP) and Construction Estimator Certified (CEC), has nearly a decade of experience in estimating, scheduling and project management.

He earned a master’s degree in construction management from Carnegie Mellon University and has worked across a range of contract types.

Trevecca extends Boone’s tenure, endows scholarship

The Trevecca Nazarene University Board of Trustees has voted to extend the contract of Dan Boone, M.Div., D.Min., lengthening his term as president by four years.

The board also honored the longtime administrator by establishing the Dan and Denise Boone Endowment Scholarship, to be awarded annually to a Trevecca student of the couple’s choosing.

Boone has served as Trevecca’s president since 2005. During his tenure, he has overseen growth in the school’s enrollment, degree programs and facilities. Combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment has increased by more than 85%, including a record enrollment in fall 2024 and a record spring enrollment to begin 2025.

The school also has added 57 new degree programs and the conferral of more than 15,000 degrees. His administration has initiated and overseen campus improvements valued at more than $135 million, including the recent construction of a health sciences building and a new residence hall.

Boone earned a degree in religion from Trevecca in 1974. He has also earned a master’s in divinity from the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City and a doctorate in ministry from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.

Before joining Trevecca, Boone pastored Nazarene churches for more than 36 years. His service in ministry began in his early teens and included 14 years as senior pastor at College Church of the Nazarene in Bourbonnais, Illinois, just before his tenure began at Trevecca. He also previously pastored Trevecca Community Church located on Trevecca’s campus.

A member of the board of directors of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, Boone recently completed a term as the CCCU board chairman. He served on the Church of the Nazarene Court of Appeals from 2005-2017, is an alumnus of Leadership Nashville, and has chaired the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association; the Great Midwest Athletic Conference President’s Council; and ReThink Forward, Tennessee’s first state-approved charter school. Boone has also written more than 20 faith-based books and curriculum for two modular study courses.