Nominations are now being accepted for the first cohort of the Chancellor’s Public Voices Fellowship, a new program designed to expand Vanderbilt’s global reach by amplifying the impact of faculty research through media training and enhanced strategic communications.
The program was the key recommendation from the April report of the Committee for Enhancing Voices in the Public Sphere, which was charged with identifying ways to disseminate the discovery and knowledge of Vanderbilt faculty to broader national and global audiences. The program also aligns with recommendations made by the International Strategy Working group report, which called for enhancing Vanderbilt’s international recognition.
“Vanderbilt’s research and discovery enterprise is developing new knowledge of great importance,” said Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente. “The Public Voices Fellowship program will pair our faculty with our top-notch leaders in the Division of Communications to develop custom programs to share our work with a global audience.”
Wente added that the entire campus community will benefit from a broader Vanderbilt profile, leading to more opportunities and collaborations with scholars around the world.
“We know that the public turns to research universities for valuable, credible knowledge and information,” said Vice Chancellor for Communications Steve Ertel, who served on the committee. “Through the fellows program, we will magnify the reach of faculty discovery in ways that create value in the public conversation. We believe this program will lay the groundwork for sharing Vanderbilt’s impact on a much larger scale.”
Through the semester-long program, the Division of Communications will work with each fellow to develop a customized communications and publicity strategy that aims to amplify the fellow’s work and profile with target audiences. The program will be highly tailored and will include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following types of activities:
- Communications trainings (i.e. media interview skills, social media, public speaking, op-ed writing)
- Content development, including written and visual content (i.e. op-eds, blog posts, photography, video, infographics, data visualization)
- Media relations
- Social media engagement
- Increased web presence
- Speaking engagements
Faculty nominations are due Nov. 19 and may be submitted by deans, department chairs or program, institute and center directors. Applications should be submitted by the dean’s offices via InfoReady. Faculty with a project or body of work at or near a stage for promotion to the broader public are ideal for this program. Potential fellows must commit to participate in all programmatic activities and stay on Vanderbilt’s faculty for at least one year after the fellowship has been concluded. For full eligibility requirements click here.
Selections for the fall 2019 fellows will be announced in January 2019. A call for spring 2020 fellows will be made in the spring 2019.