Chancellor Diermeier shares message encouraging staff to ‘dare to grow together this fall’

To the members of our staff:

Welcome to the 2023–24 academic year!

In any year, your work makes all we do at Vanderbilt possible, and there is a direct connection between your contributions and our university’s positive influence on society. I am grateful for your dedication and look forward to what we’ll accomplish together in the months to come.

FY 2023 was Vanderbilt’s strongest year ever by many measures, and this year promises to be even better:

• We’re continuing to celebrate our Sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of our founding.
• We’re bringing researchers, industry professionals and leaders from around the world to campus to explore the most pressing issues of our time—including AI and free speech, cyberdefense, health equity and the future of democracy.
• We’re expanding our global presence, which will raise our profile and increase our connections with universities, scholars, artists and innovators worldwide.
• We’ll debut Quantum Potential, a series of fresh take video portraits of Vanderbilt researchers who are changing the world.
• And today we are especially proud to launch Dialogue Vanderbilt, an initiative to promote civil discourse and better understand and address polarization. Dialogue Vanderbilt is the latest demonstration of our bedrock commitment to free expression and open inquiry. It reminds us that each of us has a role to play in ensuring that our culture of diverse thought and opinion thrives.

I hope you’re feeling as inspired as I am by the possibilities before us. My very best to all of you as we begin another year of “daring to grow” together.

Sincerely,

Daniel Diermeier
Chancellor