Reagan Villet

The life, music, writings and visual art of jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer Yusef A. Lateef will be celebrated Sept. 12–13, when Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music hosts the Yusef Lateef Symposium. The two-day conference will include panel discussions, viewings of the Yusef A. Lateef Collection housed at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, a film screening, visual art displays and live music performances. Read More

A new exhibit at Vanderbilt’s Central Library traces the evolution of the manifesto as a literary and artistic form, showcasing the bold declarations of poets, painters and provocateurs who reshaped modern culture. Revolution and the Arts: Manifestos from Symbolism to Surrealism is now on view outside the W.T. Bandy Center for Baudelaire and Modern French Studies study room on the eighth floor of Central Library. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives has completed a long-term project to fully digitize the Lamar Alexander Papers, which document the life and work of a significant figure in Tennessee and U.S. political history. Read More

James Hayes, Rekha Nagarajan and James Costanzo are the winners of the 2025 Cell Imaging Shared Resource Life Is Beautiful Image Contest. They worked with Jenny Schafer, CISR managing director and research associate professor of cell and developmental biology, Oleg Kovtun, research assistant professor of chemistry, and CISR senior research specialists Kari Seedle and Tegy Vadakkan to create these images as part of their individual research projects. Read More

The College Core provides students with a broad and deep education across the arts and the sciences. Built on the idea that students need to be equipped with fundamental capacities that will serve them beyond the classroom, the new curriculum will encourage exploration and curiosity, help students forge unexpected connections, and span across disciplines. Read More

The Curb Scholars program at The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy is taking on five new undergraduate students this semester. This program, inspired by the life and career of songwriter and entertainment figure Mike Curb, rewards students working in a variety of artistic spaces. Read More

Move-In is an exciting time for all students, and preparations are underway to welcome them back for the new academic year. Information on the schedule and other important details gathered here can help ensure a successful Move-In. Read More

Vanderbilt University has announced that the New York State attorney general has granted the approval necessary to close on the lease of its new campus in New York City. The approval is an important milestone in the agreement between Vanderbilt and the General Theological Seminary that enables Vanderbilt to operate on the historic block in the heart of the Chelsea neighborhood.    Read More

After 45 years, Vanderbilt Volleyball is back and you’re invited to witness history on Aug. 29 at Match 1! Join us as we take on Nashville neighbor Belmont at 7 p.m. on Wyatt Lawn on the university’s campus. Read More

Ultra-thin layers of gold and copper sulfide developed by Vanderbilt doctoral student Yueming Yan with Associate Professor of Chemistry Janet Macdonald and Stevenson Professor of Physics Richard Haglund could revolutionize medical imaging and environmental sensing. The energy exchange between the metal and semiconductor particles—resonant energy transfer—can convert infrared light into visible and ultraviolet colors. The nanoscale films "could replace bulky optical sensors with flexible, wearable or even implantable devices, thus transforming health and safety technologies." Read More

The Vanderbilt Biophotonics Center, led by Professor Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, developed a device called the PTeye that can help surgeons see patients' parathyroid glands—which have unpredictable locations—better during neck surgery by making the tissue glow! A large, multicenter clinical trial has provided evidence of its effectiveness, which the team hopes will improve the accuracy of endocrine neck surgery and improve patient outcomes. Clinical implementation of the device was pioneered by Dr. Carmen Solórzano, director of Vanderbilt Endocrine Surgery at VUMC. Read More

Three Vanderbilt faculty members are diving into a "chicken-and-egg" problem of type 2 diabetes: Does the disease change beta-cell subtypes? Or do changes in the cells cause diabetes? Guoqiang Gu, Emily Hodges and Ken Lau have come up with a new method of studying the subtypes that can track them through different stages instead of just once when they're fully developed. "Thanks to this and other research, it may be possible to one day create a diet supplement for pregnancy that could reduce the risk of diabetes for babies," Gu said. Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate has a new director—Hussam Mahmoud. Mahmoud, professor of civil and environmental engineering, joins Vanderbilt from Colorado State. VSEC's mission is to investigate energy, infrastructure, climate and systems to address the grand social and scientific challenges to ensuring a sustainable planet. The center was established in 2024 as a part of Discovery Vanderbilt; Associate Professor Hiba Baroud was the inaugural and interim director. Read More

Printer’s Fist, by Melissa Range, has been selected as the 2025 winner of the Vanderbilt University Literary Prize. The prize competition received more than 250 submissions. Printer’s Fist is scheduled for publication in March 2026 from Vanderbilt University Press. Range will be in residence for a week in spring 2026 to engage students, faculty and the greater community with her work. Read More

Philip Walker, director of Vanderbilt’s Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center, has been elected chair of the National Library of Medicine’s Board of Regents. Walker will serve a one-year term beginning Aug. 4. Read More

Vanderbilt University may nominate up to three tenure-track faculty per department for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's 2026 Sloan Research Fellowships. Read More

Vanderbilt University may submit only one application to the South Arts 2025 Arts in Community Grants. Read More

Vanderbilt University may nominate one candidate for the 2026 Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award. Read More

After concluding her term as associate dean for academic affairs for the Graduate School, Terrah Akard will return to her role as professor of nursing in the School of Nursing. Julián Hillyer, Centennial Professor of Biological Sciences, and Andrea Page-McCaw, Stevenson Chair and professor of cell and developmental biology, have been named associate deans for academic affairs. Read More

Five Vanderbilt researchers have received Seeding Success grants for early-stage projects that have strong potential for external funding. The program, managed by Research Development and Support, reflects the university’s commitment to advancing high-impact research across disciplines. Read More