MyVU

Julia “Jules” Ashworth (class of 2026) fell in love with the French language at an early age, when she took her first French class in the third grade. She continued to study French up until middle school, when she was required to take Spanish, but then re-enrolled in French as soon as she got to high school. Ashworth’s curiosity and wide-ranging interests led her to triple major in philosophy, communication studies, and French. Read More

Mentorship shapes every phase of student development at Vanderbilt, from the direction of students’ research papers to their careers and aspirations. But its impact is especially strong in the lab of F. Peter “Fred” Guengerich, PhD’73, in the department of biochemistry. Read More

Vanderbilt faculty, staff and students can gain free full access to Inside Higher Ed courtesy of the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries. This online news source provides daily updates, in-depth analysis and career resources for higher education professionals, covering topics such as federal policy, faculty issues, admissions, technology, AI and more. Read More

Commencement 2026 is May 7–8, and we are looking for staff marshals, also known as volunteers, to help celebrate our graduates and their families. Those who sign up to be a staff marshal can select positions across three events: Graduates Day at Memorial Gym or the Commencement Celebration at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center Indoor Practice Facility on Thursday, May 7, and undergraduate Commencement at FirstBank Stadium on Friday, May 8. Staff marshals play a vital role in one of the university’s largest and most prestigious and meaningful events.  Read More

Discovery Dialogues, a new podcast being launched April 6 by the Vanderbilt Graduate School, brings doctoral research and graduate student voices to the forefront. The podcast series spotlights the scholarship, ideas and academic experiences of Vanderbilt Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scholars through thoughtful, in-depth conversations with podcast host Nick Hyer, program manager for the Graduate and Postdoc Academic Success program. Read More

As 2026 Keegan Traveling Fellows, seven Vanderbilt students will embark on immersive global experiences designed to deepen their academic interests and broaden their perspectives through independent travel. Three postgraduate Keegan fellows will spend a year pursuing self-designed projects around the world, while four rising juniors and seniors have been named Summer Keegan Traveling Fellows and will participate in an eight- to 10-week international experience, pursuing immersive cross-cultural projects as part of Immersion Vanderbilt.  Read More

Read what inspires and motivates these graduate and professional students to make a positive impact. Read More

As the academic year winds down, Vanderbilt Campus Dining is already planning for the next. Take a few minutes to complete the Spring 2026 survey and share your thoughts on dining hours, service, menu options and overall experience. Read More

The Biodiversity Heritage Library has announced a new collaboration with Vanderbilt University’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries that will provide digital preservation support for the world’s largest open-access repository of natural history materials. Through the agreement, the Heard Libraries will contribute cloud infrastructure expertise and technical leadership for BHL, which serves as a foundational resource for biodiversity science, taxonomy and conservation research, with more than 63 million pages dating from the 15th to the 21st century. Read More

The annual Graduate Education Honors Banquet honored doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, excellence in academics, innovation and mentorship. The March 19 banquet recognized the outstanding achievements taking place across more than 50 graduate programs and departments. Read More

This year, we’re kicking off I ⚓ VU Week and the Giving Day excitement by getting Anchored in Community with a different kind of donation. Giving back starts with showing up to prove that “I Bleed Black and Gold” isn’t just a slogan — it’s one more way to give back. Read More

For centuries, the human brain has intrigued scientists and philosophers alike. It stores our memories and shapes our behavior—the center of learning, emotion and identity. Yet even after decades of research, much about how the brain works remains a mystery. “People have been fascinated with questions of how you learn and who you are—philosophical questions that all come back to processes in the brain,” says Lisa Monteggia, Lee E. Limbird Professor in Pharmacology and the Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute. Now neuroscience is at a watershed moment, with new tools poised to dramatically expand understanding of the central nervous system.   Read More

Vanderbilt Board of Trust member Robert “Bob” Levy, BA’72, and Diane vS. Levy are fueling a surge in momentum for Vanderbilt’s future in South Florida with a $6.5 million commitment. Their gift marks an important milestone in Vanderbilt’s expansion to its new graduate campus in West Palm Beach, establishing a strong foundation for academic excellence and strategic flexibility in the region known as Wall Street South. Read More

The humanities shape how we understand history, culture and the complex challenges facing society. In March, Vanderbilt advocates Paul Stob, director of the A&S College Core and professor of communication studies, and Ayla Faullin, a Vanderbilt junior studying English, traveled to Washington, D.C., for the National Humanities Alliance’s Humanities Advocacy Day. There, they met with congressional offices to advocate for continued federal support for the National Endowment for the Humanities. Read More

That spirit of shared responsibility anchored a recent collaboration among the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville Public Library’s Special Collections, Vanderbilt University and Tennessee State Parks, bringing history to life through dialogue, performance and community engagement. Read More

On March 24, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver honored scholars from across Vanderbilt at an endowed chair investiture ceremony. Read More

Vanderbilt’s dedicated institutional review board for social, behavioral and educational research soft-launched a year ago. The VU SBER IRB, now fully operational, strengthens Vanderbilt’s support for human-participant research while incorporating feedback from the research community.  Read More

For Hannah Richards, chemistry answered questions and opened doors. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management has been named the National Partner of the Year by America’s Blood Centers, in recognition of the school’s partnership with the organization to develop and deliver its Executive Fellows Program. Read More

Gentle caress, searing burn, jolting shock. All these are possible with the elemental power of touch. Read how Shan Meltzer studies touch from the cellular level through the nervous system to the brain, to find better ways to treat pain and physical injuries. Read More