Releases

Ege Kavalali, chair of the Department of Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, wants to know how the billions of cells in our brains talk to each other all day. Read More

See how mostly engineering students used design thinking to create a garment for a world-renowned artist in a premier global art show. Read More

Seven incoming first-year students and two rising sophomores have been selected for the Ingram Scholars Program. They were chosen from among a highly competitive pool of applicants for the prestigious merit scholarship, which is awarded each year to students who demonstrate academic excellence and a strong commitment to service. Read More

Meet the researcher who pioneered ways to protect online medical data and is training the next generation to advance tech in health and protect your privacy. Read More

Adugna Olani, senior lecturer in economics (Vanderbilt University) The Vanderbilt community is mourning the death of Adugna Olani, senior lecturer in economics, who died June 15, 2026, at the age of 45. Olani was a revered professor and mentor who had been teaching at Vanderbilt since 2018. Olani was… Read More

Jad Abumrad, Distinguished Research Professor of Communication of Science and Technology and creator of award-winning series like Radiolab, More Perfect, Dolly Parton’s America and Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, set out in life to be a composer. Perhaps a poet, maybe a fiction writer, but it was music, Abumrad said, that was “running through me constantly.” Read More

Eleven of Vanderbilt University’s most promising recently tenured faculty have been awarded spots in the 2026 Chancellor Faculty Fellows program. This year’s recipients demonstrate exceptional and innovative scholarly achievement. “These scholars represent the next generation of academic leaders, advancing the bold ideas and transformative research that are strengthening Vanderbilt’s… Read More

As a middle school math teacher on Chicago’s South Side, Chezare A. Warren, now associate professor of leadership, policy and organizations at Peabody College and principal investigator of The Possibilities Project, noticed something interesting. Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich In Vanderbilt’s Magnolia Makerspace on a breezy April morning, the school year was winding down for Roberts Academy for Dyslexia fourth and fifth graders. It was a time of year when young learners might be daydreaming about summer vacations and pool days. But that Tuesday, all… Read More

Bill Ivey, a guitar-playing folklorist who founded and was the first director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt, as well as former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts and longtime director of the Country Music Foundation, died Nov. 7, 2025, at his home in Nashville. He was 81. Read More

George Eric Core, scholar, editor and writer, died Oct. 14, 2023. He was 84. Read More

Avery Dickins de Girón bridges academic work with the wider Vanderbilt and Nashville communities, ensuring that cultural learning is shared and carried forward. Read More

College sweethearts Mary and Patrick Mudge facilitate connection among Atlanta-based Commodores. Read More

Roy Kramer, who was athletic director at Vanderbilt from 1978 to 1990 and then turned the Southeastern Conference into a lucrative national power as commissioner, died Dec. 4, 2025, in Maryville, Tenn. He was 96. Read More

Class is almost in session, Commodores!  As excitement builds for the academic year, now is the perfect time to stock up on essentials and celebrate becoming part of the Vanderbilt family.  The Vanderbilt Incoming Families Shopping Guide is a curated collection of apparel, headwear, accessories, residence hall essentials and game day favorites for new… Read More

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt invites the community to explore new ideas and connect with fellow lifelong learners through a wide-ranging lineup of summer courses for adults ages 50 and older. This summer’s offerings span history, literature, film, photography, wellness, gardening, religion and the arts. Participants can examine… Read More

Vanderbilt University alumnus Umar Sohail Qureshi, BS’25, has been selected as a 2026 Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University, joining one of the world’s most prestigious graduate leadership development programs. Qureshi, from Karachi, Pakistan, will pursue a Ph.D. in physics with a minor in computer science at Stanford’s School of Humanities… Read More

The Vanderbilt University Board of Trust elected a slate of new trustees during its annual spring meeting in early May. Philip Bredesen, Mark Howard Carter, BE’98, and Dina Powell McCormick will serve five-year terms beginning July 1. Todd Graham, BE’96, will serve a two-year term as the alumni trustee, bringing the alumni perspective to the board. Additionally, comedian and actor Nate Bargatze will serve as a community member on the Athletics Committee. Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich Imagine applying to a support service that turns down 66 percent of first-time applicants. Then imagine navigating that—a process which can involve multiple attempts, forms, taking time off work for meetings, and more—in English when it may not be your first language. That experience is the reality… Read More