Releases

The Peabody lawn has hosted many events—from farm-to-table dinners and outdoor classrooms to Peabody’s graduate student Commencement each spring. A regular-season volleyball match, however, had never graced the iconic mall. At least, not until Aug. 29, when Vanderbilt’s reignited volleyball program recorded its first win in its home opener. Read More

In May, at the American Collegiate Rowing Association National Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the Vanderbilt women’s varsity eights beat all challengers for the second year in a row. Read More

Jason Vadnos An increasingly globalized world needs young leaders who can bridge divides and help solve humanity’s biggest challenges. This year, Jason Vadnos, a third-year student in the Department of Human and Organizational Development (HOD) at Vanderbilt Peabody College was named a 2025-2027 recipient of the… Read More

'The River Will Be a Part of Us' by Justus Wayne Thomas, BA'80, chronicles the journey of a group of young people from the U.S. and Germany who launched a homemade raft on the Missouri River near Kansas City, determined to float to St. Louis and from there all the way down the Mississippi to New Orleans. Read More

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