Fall 2022

Melanie Hall Morris, BSN’83, MSN’86, found her calling in providing care for others. Obstetrics and women’s health have been her passion ever since she was an undergraduate student at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Now, as an assistant professor at the school, she researches innovative ways of facilitating the health… Read More

Religious liberty is one of the earliest civic values associated with the United States, yet defining and defending it has proved a centurieslong process. When divided opinions by the court claim to be speaking for religious liberty, it's because religious liberty under the Constitution contains both a right to freely exercise religion and a right not to be coerced via the state into accepting someone else’s religious practices. Read More

A poem by Cleve Latham, BA’73, EdD’98 Read More

To continue the legacy in education to which Bess Parks owes her own career, she wants to give back to those who need help paying for higher education. Through the establishment of two charitable remainder unitrusts and a retirement plan beneficiary designation, she’s found a way to do that and honor the memory of her mother, also a teacher. Read More

Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, a professor of religion at Wheaton College, has written extensively on food rituals and Jewish food for more than 20 years. His book "Gastronomic Judaism as Culinary Midrash" was published in 2018 (Rowman & Littlefield). He defines midrash as “a way of interpreting traditional stories and practices in new ways,” food being one of them. Now, he's turning his attention to Thanksgiving food myths and rituals. Read More

Amid the rush of the new academic year, we’re also preparing for a rare opportunity to pause and reflect. In 2023, Vanderbilt will mark the 150th anniversary of our founding—our Sesquicentennial. We’re planning a yearlong commemoration in which our entire Vanderbilt community will be invited to consider our past and, especially, to envision our future. Read More

Recently revived with NFL Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as host, College Bowl originally aired from 1959 to 1970, pitting teams of college students against each other every Sunday afternoon on NBC. In a bid to win five weeks in a row and thereby be declared a “retired undefeated champion,” teams answered rapid-fire questions on a mix of topics, from cold, hard facts to pop culture trivia. Read More

Psychologists and psychiatrists have sometimes struggled to keep up with the multiplying mental health challenges posed by the pandemic and other recent events, but through studies and interventions, Vanderbilt faculty members are providing new insights into the crisis—as well as the best evidence-based solutions for overcoming it. Read More

Terrance Dean, assistant professor at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, died Aug. 11 after an illness. He was 53. Read More

William J. Adcock, BE’50, the first Vanderbilt basketball scholarship recipient and a member of the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame, of Kirkwood, Missouri, died July 29, 2022. Read More

On a weekend blessed by perfect fall weather, nearly 6,000 alumni and their guests returned to Vanderbilt Oct. 6–9 for Reunion, the first since 2019. Read More

Alexis Garcia, BA'99, is executive vice president for the film group at Fifth Season, formerly Endeavor Content, the production company behind movies such as Cha Cha Real Smooth, Ambulance, The Peanut Butter Falcon and the Academy Award-recognized The Lost Daughter. Read More

Vanderbilt Magazine talks with Associate Professor of History Paul Kramer about his Writing for Social Change course, in which students complete their own pieces of social reporting on issues that matter to them, and why this kind of writing is, as he says, “necessary for any kind of substantial democracy.” Read More

The Vanderbilt Blair School of Music has secured $5 million in funding for the pilot phase of a comprehensive scholarship, the Blair Community Scholars Program, which will recruit highly talented students from underrepresented and vulnerable backgrounds. Read More

This past May, despite skeptics, politics and a global pandemic, Ingram’s Nashville SC opened the doors of the largest soccer-specific stadium in North America: Geodis Park, a 30,000-seat facility. Already a success in the league, having made the playoffs in their first two MLS seasons while playing elsewhere, the “Boys in Gold” finally have a home of their own, where they hope not only to become a community institution but also someday lift trophies. Read More

Vanderbilt held 52 Commodore Launch events this summer to welcome members of the Class of 2026, incoming transfer students and their families. Hosted by Vanderbilt alumni and parents, the annual gatherings are an opportunity to introduce new undergraduate students and families to the university community. Read More

Megan Piphus Peace, BA’14, MSF’15, is an accomplished ventriloquist and puppeteer who has performed in front of audiences across the nation, including on The Tonight Show and America’s Got Talent. In 2021, she made history as the first Black female puppeteer to work on the long-running children’s television show Sesame Street. Read More

Recent books written by alumni of Vanderbilt University Read More