Releases

Elenora Pertz, BMus’15 (Claudia Araujo) Pianist Elenora Pertz, BMus’15, has chased her musical dreams across continents, from the grand halls of Vienna to Berlin—and this past summer to Florence, Italy. As a collaborative pianist for some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, an innovative teacher and an… Read More

Salvatore Falletta (submitted photo) Warren Lowell (Vanderbilt University) Amy Owen Michelle Perdomo Douglas Ribeiro (Vanderbilt University) Jonathan Seiden… Read More

The Vanderbilt Board of Trust has voted to extend Bruce R. Evans’ (BE’81) term as chairman for an additional three years, ending on June 30, 2030. The resolution for the extension cited Evans’ pivotal leadership in guiding the board and university through significant changes, supporting the chancellor’s leadership through the university’s growth and adaptation in a rapidly changing educational landscape. Read More

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Vice Chancellor of People, Culture and Belonging Sydney Savion presented awards at the 2025 Fall Staff Assembly to a mix of inspiring individuals and teams who have made significant contributions through their community engagement, research and service. Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich In a game-changing partnership, Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development and the YMCA of Middle Tennessee are proving that effective reading interventions can come in all shapes—and ages. Reading Buddies is a peer-to-peer tutoring initiative spearheaded by Peabody researcher Jeanne Wanzek and Elizabeth… Read More

RESEARCH SPARK: Learn a key tool new faculty leader Kristina Thomas Dreifuerst is using to prepare the next generation of nurses. Read More

Andrew Nalani Andrew Nalani, assistant professor of human and organizational development, has joined the Bezos Family Foundation as an inaugural scholar of the Jackie Bezos Researcher in Residence program. Nalani began the one-year residency program on August 18, taking a leave of absence from his faculty position… Read More

By Jenna Somers In September, a delegation from Pakistan visited Vanderbilt University for the weeklong STEM-Powered Immersion Conference, hosted by Peabody College of education and human development. Six faculty members from Sukkur IBA University and Qasim Aslam, founder and chief executive officer of Beyond the Classroom, participated in a… Read More

RESEARCH SPARK: Get to know Shekhar Bhansali, new head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his vision for AI engineering education. Read More

By Jenna Somers   Families interested in enrolling their children in this study should contact the research team at vuhandsonplaylab@gmail.com or (615) 343-1079. Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal cause of cognitive disability, affects approximately one in 700 live births. Scientists have known the genetic etiology of Down syndrome for… Read More

Vanderbilt celebrated the 150th anniversary of its opening on the afternoon of Oct. 3 on Alumni Lawn. The Board of Trust, Vanderbilt leadership, deans, faculty, staff and students gathered to hear Sen. Lamar Alexander, Mayor Freddie O'Connell and Chancellor Daniel Diermeier speak on the momentous occasion before celebrating with streamers, live music and various food trucks. Read More

Key Takeaways:  Vanderbilt Peabody College will co-host the Global Education Deans’ Forum October 21 – 24 in Nashville.  The event will be co-hosted by Florida State University and the University of Kansas.  Leaders of education faculties from more than 30 colleges and universities… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Pediatric Belt Cane inventor. It was a little bit of kismet that led Vanderbilt Peabody College alumna Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Ed.D.’97, to the visual disabilities field. But it was a lot of passion and creativity that drove her to transform that field with… Read More

Policies adopted by states drive major differences in the resources available to families.   The first three years of life are critical for healthy development, yet families in some states have more than twice the resources of those in others—a gap created by state policy choices. Consider a single mother… Read More

Kevin M. Stack, Lee S. and Charles A. Speir Professor of Law, is the new senior associate provost for Vanderbilt University–New York City. Working in collaboration with Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives James Kellerhouse, Stack will oversee academic affairs for Vanderbilt’s New York City campus. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy recently conducted a national poll to gauge Americans’ opinions on topics related to institutions of higher education, including their confidence in those institutions, their current relevance, federal policies targeting them and the principle of neutrality. The results indicate that, despite frequent coverage of the escalating charges and accusations against institutions of higher education, Americans’ have confidence in them — and that confidence is growing. Further, Americans believe colleges and universities have a positive effect on the state of the country.  Read More

Social innovation reimagines organizations and systems through human-centered design principles and through leadership to create evenhanded, sustainable solutions to pressing challenges. Considered an emerging field within the past two decades, social innovation is one that Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development has been at the forefront of… Read More

Which new faculty member loves Lego? Get to know some of Vanderbilt’s newest faculty beyond their resume. Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich and Krystal Schmidt If you are an educator—or work with educators—then it’s likely you have encountered Section 504 plans. These plans support more than 1.3 million students with disabilities across the country, but they differ from Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs.  In the… Read More