University News and Communications publishes VUToday, a compilation of Vanderbilt mentions in the media, each weekday. Here, read a selection of those Vanderbilt news stories for the week of April 24. To subscribe to the daily VUToday newsletter, visit news.vanderbilt.edu/vutoday.
The Atlantic: How does race affect a student’s math education?
Lately, much of the discussion of race in math education has centered on the persistent underperformance of certain student groups, particularly black, Latino and indigenous youth, and their disparate access to honors, gifted and advanced mathematics courses. Yet a new paper disrupts those narratives by examining an unaddressed element of the equation—namely, the ways in which “whiteness” in math education reproduces racial advantages for white students and disadvantages historically marginalized students of color. Luis Leyva, assistant professor of mathematics education and co-author, is quoted from the paper.
National Geographic: Inside the bizarre life of the star-nosed mole, world’s fastest eater
For an animal that’s nearly blind, the American species of the star-nosed mole is astonishingly speedy: The world’s fastest eater, it can find and gobble down an insect or worm in a quarter of a second. The article includes comments from Ken Catania, Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences, who will present three decades’ worth of research at the Experimental Biology annual meeting in Chicago, part of a symposium on the world’s most extreme anatomy.
U.S. News & World Report: Consider different types of public high schools
Communities may be home to traditional public high schools and several publicly funded alternatives—including magnet, charter and career and technical schools and programs—that are free to residents. Currently, President Donald Trump’s administration aims to expand programs that allow families to choose a school—public or private—and use public money to pay for it. But many families may wonder what makes these alternatives distinct from their typical neighborhood public high school. Claire Smrekar, associate professor of leadership, policy and organizations, is quoted.
National Geographic: Humans in California 130,000 years ago? Get the facts
In an announcement sure to spark a firestorm of controversy, researchers say they’ve found signs of ancient humans in California between 120,000 and 140,000 years ago—more than a hundred thousand years before humans were thought to exist anywhere in the Americas. Tom Dillehay, Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, is quoted.
Nashville Post: Ingrams honor late father with $20M gift to VU
Three members of Nashville’s Ingram family—Robin Ingram Patton and Vanderbilt alumni John Ingram and Orrin Ingram—are donating a collective $20 million to name the university’s newest College Hall in honor of their late father, E. Bronson Ingram. The article quotes Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos and mentions Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust and The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons at Vanderbilt.