Releases

Vanderbilt University has several events planned for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public during its homecoming scheduled Tuesday, Oct. 13, through Saturday, Oct. 17, when the Vanderbilt Commodores take on the Georgia Bulldogs at 11:20 a.m. central time. Read More

A collaboration between scientists at Vanderbilt University and the University of California, San Francisco has led to the first direct information about the molecular structure of prions. In addition, the study has revealed surprisingly large structural differences between natural prions and the closest synthetic analogs that scientists have created in the lab. Read More

Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons will be the first in a series of Tennessee gubernatorial candidates to address students in Vanderbilt University's "Introduction to Politics" class. Read More

Training and education, says Professor Woodie Flowers, are very different. "I think it is time to shift gears – to shift away from the ‘sage on the stage,'" says Flowers. Universities, he says, need to get out of the business of training. Read More

The sixth and final concert of the 2009 Bluebird on the Mountain series will feature singer-songwriters Don Henry, Kim Richey and Craig Carothers on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. Read More

The most ambitious attempt yet to trace the history of the universe has seen "first light." The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III), took its first astronomical data on the night of Sept. 14-15 at the Sloan Foundation telescope in New Mexico. Read More

Will Shortz, crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times and puzzle master on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, will give a public talk at Vanderbilt University Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. Read More

Enjoy a fall afternoon at Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory with a concert by the Blair Big Band on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 4 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, but reservations are required on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations may be made online at www.dyer.vanderbilt.edu. There will be a $10 parking fee per carload with a maximum of eight people per car. Read More

Jerry Fife, who has served as Vanderbilt's acting vice chancellor for administration for the past eight months, has been appointed to the role permanently after a national search by the university. His appointment is subject to approval by the Board of Trust. Read More

Peter C. Mancall, professor of history and anthropology at the University of Southern California, will examine the life, legacy and mystery of Hudson and discuss his recent book, Fatal Journey: The Final Expedition of Henry Hudson -- A Tale of Mutiny and Murder in the Arctic (Basic Books, 2009) on Monday, Oct. 12, at 4:10 p.m. in Wilson Hall, Room 126, at Vanderbilt University. A book signing will follow the lecture. Read More

Vanderbilt University alumna Ashley Esser has received a Fulbright Scholarship. She will travel to Italy to teach English as a foreign language for the 2009-2010 academic year. Read More

Tiki Barber, retired Pro Bowl running back, philanthropist and NBC correspondent, will speak at Vanderbilt University's Langford Auditorium Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. Read More

Concentration camp survivor Martin Weiss will speak during the 2009 Holocaust Lecture Series at Vanderbilt University, which is built around the theme "Barriers & Boundaries" for its 32nd year. Weiss, who was liberated by U.S. troops at the Gunskirchen camp in May 1945, will speak at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, in the auditorium at Vanderbilt Law School. Read More

Vanderbilt University's opportunities for lifelong learning will expand and thrive, thanks to a $1 million endowment from The Bernard Osher Foundation. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Vanderbilt offers non-credit classes that usually last six weeks during fall, winter and spring. Read More

Dunbar Ogden, author of the 2008 book My Father Said Yes: A White Pastor in Little Rock School Integration, will deliver Vanderbilt's annual Walter Murray Commemorative Lecture Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 6:45 p.m. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the multi-purpose room in The Commons Center. Read More

The investments portfolio of Vanderbilt University's endowment fell 16.3 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, one of the most challenging financial periods in modern American history. Read More

Elyn Saks, a 1977 graduate of Vanderbilt University and renowned legal scholar and mental health-policy advocate, was recently named one of 24 recipients of the 2009 MacArthur Fellow grants. Read More

Concerned with the dramatic decline in the traditional media's coverage of newsworthy scientific and academic activities, Vanderbilt has joined with 34 other top research universities to create Futurity.org, an online news channel designed to showcase the achievements of their scientists and engineers, medical researchers and scholars. Read More

This year's Health Care Business Alliance, titled "Leading Change: the Future of Health Care," will be held at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel on Friday, Oct. 2. Read More

Vanderbilt University is helping keep safe the thousands of people who live, work, learn or receive health care on the campus by being the first and only university in Tennessee to become certified as "StormReady" by the National Weather Service. Read More