Five faculty members and two alumni were recognized at the 2026 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, April 8 – 12. Congratulations to Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, Laurie Cutting, Ellen Goldring, Luis Leyva, Chezare Warren, Lam Pham, PhD’20, and Walker Swain, PhD’16. Read the full announcement.
Phoebe Ahn, a special education doctoral student, joined the 18th cohort of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Research Doctoral Student Scholars.
Nicole Allen, professor of human & organizational development, was awarded Vanderbilt’s Lois Autrey Betts Chair in Education and Human Development. Alyssa Wise, professor of technology and education, was awarded Vanderbilt’s Margaret Cowan Chair.
Bridget Burns, EdD’17, was honored with the prestigious Clark Kerr Award for Distinguished Leadership in Higher Education, given by the Academic Senate of the University of California, Berkeley. Read Peabody’s interview with Burns.
Sarah Brown-Schmidt, professor of psychology and human development, was named to the governing council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Alexander Christensen, assistant professor of psychology and human development, and Kimberly Marble, assistant professor of the practice of psychology and human development, were recognized as 2026 “Under 10” alumni of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Department of Psychology. The award recognizes alumni who have made notable contributions within the first 10 years following the awarding of the degree.
The Vanderbilt Graduate School announced its 2025-26 awards: Laurie Cutting, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Special Education, for Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring; Julia Garon-Bissonnette for Postdoctoral Fellow of the Year; Ilana Horn, professor of mathematics education, for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring; Nicollette Mitchell for Outstanding Doctoral Student; and Tin Nguyen for Postdoctoral Excellence in Innovation.
Ellen Goldring, distinguished research dean, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor and professor of educational leadership and policy, was elected to the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement.
Nicole Joseph, associate professor of teaching and learning, received the Mathematical Association of America’s Mary P. Dolciani Award, honoring outstanding contributions to mathematics education.
Autumn Kujawa, associate professor of psychology and human development, received an Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABB). Kujawa and alumna Stephanie Al Otaiba, PhD’00, were named to the newest class of Association for Psychological Science Fellows.
Candice Storey Lee (Ed.D.’12), Peabody triple Dore and vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletic director, was named the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame’s 2026 Tennessean of the Year. Sports Business Journal also selected her as Athletic Director of the Year.
RaeAnne Lindsay, research coordinator in the Department of Special Education, received the 2025 Socrates Award, a lifetime cash grant supporting inspiring individuals living with paralysis.
Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez, associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs and graduate education, was honored with the 2026 Council for Exceptional Children Division for Research’s Distinguished Researcher from Underrepresented Groups Award.
Velma McBride Murry, University Distinguished Professor of Human & Organizational Development and Lois Autry Betts Chair in Education and Human Development, was honored with the 2026 APA Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology. Read more.
Bryson McGuire, lecturer in leadership, policy and organizations and serves as assistant director of teaching development and initiatives at AdvancED, and Chezare Warren, associate professor of leadership, policy and organizations and principal investigator of The Possibilities Project, were recognized as Black Male Educator Honorees by the Tennessee General Assembly. Read more.
The Tao of Montessori, a book by Catherine McTamaney, professor of the practice of teaching and learning, will be translated into Vietnamese.
Rich Milner IV, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Education, was selected as the 2026 honoree for the Gloria Ladson-Billings HBCU TAG Award for Excellence in Teacher Education. He also received the 2026 Mary Anne Raywid Award from the Society of Professors of Education.
Cynthia Osborne, executive director of the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center and professor of early childhood education and policy, was elected president-elect of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM), the nation’s premier public policy research association. Read more.
Deborah Rowe, Carolyn M. Evertson Professor in Teacher Education, received the prestigious 2025 Oscar S. Causey Award for outstanding contributions in reading research from the Literacy Research Association.
Three Metro Nashville Public Schools students from the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt’s (SSMV) senior class have been named as Top 300 Scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2026 competition. Read the full story.
