Issues

The success of Aaron Berndtson and Zach Blitz contradicts every parent who has warned their teenager that they can’t make a living playing video games. The 2006 graduates, whose friendship was forged over Madden NFL and NCAA Football, now hold leadership positions on the cutting edge of the video-game industry. Read More

Kimberly Robinson, CEO and executive director of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, believes that the nation is on the brink of another exciting Space Age, similar to the 1960s. Read More

Warren Haviland, JD’69, and Karen Heffron funded a charitable remainder unitrust that will eventually establish the Warren E. Haviland and Karen M. Heffron Summer Stipend. The stipend will provide financial support to students at Vanderbilt Law School who are pursuing public interest careers. Read More

In a spirit of expanding our knowledge, I offer the following observations about how we made decisions as an organization, built trust within our community, and bolstered Vanderbilt’s reputation as an institution willing to confront difficult circumstances with hard work, compassion and commitment. Read More

General Motors' announcement that it would phase out combustion engines—the heart of its cars and trucks for more than 100 years—and move to an all-electric fleet by 2035 could have monumental implications for the global auto industry and broad efforts to combat climate change. The success of the initiative will depend on Vanderbilt alumni who hold key positions in the company. Read More

The first Black woman to receive an athletic scholarship from Vanderbilt, Bender was a member of the nascent women’s basketball program. Today she is the co-chairperson of the Black and Gold Club, Vanderbilt’s alumni association for former student-athletes. Read More

Alumna Alyssa Weinberg, cofounder of new music and contemporary dance collective Duende, creates new forms of expression as a composer inspired by artists in other disciplines. She also has written music for some of the country’s premier chamber ensembles, including Eighth Blackbird, So Percussion and Aizuri Quartet. Read More

Vanderbilt Blair School of Music, which offered online-only streamed concerts for most of the 2020–21 academic year, hosted two outdoor in-person performances on Wilson Lawn in April, including a production of Benjamin Britten's 'Albert Herring' by Vanderbilt Opera Theatre. Read More

Raver, an esteemed developmental psychologist who began her tenure as Vanderbilt’s provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs on July 1, 2021, talks with Vanderbilt Magazine about her path into higher education leadership and her aspirations to leverage the university's strengths to help solve the major challenges of today and those facing future generations. Read More

Dixon McDonald, BA'11, and teammates Jimmy Carroll, Todd Hooper and Jono Mawson rowed approximately 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands, just off the coast of Africa, to the Caribbean nation of Antigua in a boat only 28 feet long and a little more than 3 feet wide last December for the 2020 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. Read More

Jay Larry, BA’14, JD’17, recounts his Vanderbilt story and his involvement to create a more inclusive alumni community as president of LAVA, the LGBTQIA+ Association of Vanderbilt Alumni. Read More

Vanderbilt’s partnership with the National Museum of African American Music has moved forward with the university’s acquisition of a rich collection of photos, scrapbooks and more from the life and career of jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie. Read More

With the help of a Vanderbilt Strong grant and Vanderbilt’s Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, two Vanderbilt University instructors came together to create a boisterous country western musical comedy. The play, "Sloppy Bonnie," will run May 20–June 5 in the parking lot of Oz Arts Nashville. Read More

Martin, the first female rookie to complete the American Ninja Warrior course, will be competing in her eighth season of the popular NBC show this summer. Read More

Before he was the first African American from Vanderbilt to play in the National Football League, spending seven seasons with the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants, Doug Nettles was a very bored college cornerback. The frenetic offenses and complex passing games that are commonplace in modern football were no… Read More

The Valere Potter Chair and Professor of Violin leverages her vast experience to guide extraordinary talent. Read More

Afro-Cuban American artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and the Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice, a trans-institutional partnership that she founded at Vanderbilt University, have received prestigious awards this spring. Read More

Vanderbilt’s partnership with the recently opened National Museum of African American Music promises the potential of community-building discussions involving music, race, history and storytelling. Read More

A poem by Carlina Duan, MFA'19, the author of 'I Wore My Blackest Hair' (Little A, 2017) and the upcoming 'Alien Miss' (University of Wisconsin Press, 2021). Read More

As alumni, we can help graduating Commodores prepare for the new chapter in their lives by encouraging and supporting them with mentorship and internship and job opportunities. Let’s show the Class of 2021 what it means to be Vanderbilt for Life. Read More