Society And Culture

Leaders at the forefront of systemic change make a difference by thinking about how to shift old patterns that have kept people marginalized. Thirteen students nominated by deans across Vanderbilt this year got the chance to engage in such big-picture thinking as participants in the Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership’s interprofessional student fellowship. Read More

Vanderbilt Blair School of Music is among the winners of "DownBeat" magazine’s 45th annual Student Music Awards. For the first time in school history, the program received four awards in the same year, bringing its total number of awards from the magazine to nine over the past four years. Read More

Cindy D. Kam has been named dean of faculty affairs in the College of Arts and Science. Kam, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Political Science and director of the Research on Individuals, Politics and Society Lab, steps into the role as Kamal Saggi, Frances and John Downing Family Professor of Economics, moves into a new leadership position in the Office of the Provost. Read More

Art, research, social justice, and community are the cornerstones that support the life and work of sociology Ph.D. candidate Megan Jordan, MA’19. Read More

For the first time since the Vanderbilt Poll–Nashville was established in 2015, more than half of respondents say they believe the city is headed in the wrong direction. Davidson County voters are concerned about affordable housing and crime, but give positive marks to Mayor John Cooper and other local leaders. Read More

Vanderbilt University legal scholar Michael P. Vandenbergh has been named a 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellow and has been awarded $200,000 to support his research into overcoming political polarization to address the causes of climate change and the issues it is creating. Read More

Michael Kurek, who served 14 years as chair of the Department of Music Composition at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music, is only the second person to hold the distinction of composer laureate of Tennessee Read More

Blair School Dean Lorenzo F. Candelaria sees opportunities to revolutionize the experience of classical music in ways that cultivate new and diverse audiences for the art form. In some cases, it means taking the music to unexpected places.  Read More

Evelyn J. Patterson By: Celeste Malone The effects of racism and sexism lead to higher maternal mortality rates among Black women in the U.S. than previously realized, according to new research from Associate Professor of Sociology and Law Evelyn J. Patterson at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Jad Abumrad, a public radio icon, podcast pioneer and founder of Radiolab, will join Vanderbilt University to lead and advise on several areas of work, including the launch of a new podcast institute designed to become a national center of excellence for the evolving profession of digital narratives. Read More

In 2022, neurodiversity in the workplace is an issue capturing attention, as conversations on how to create more inclusive spaces for all continue among business leaders. Tim Vogus, deputy director of Vanderbilt's Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, focuses on research related to improving the workplace for people on the autism spectrum. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Symphony Orchestra and Vanderbilt's collegiate choirs will host a musical tribute to remember those who’ve suffered a loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. The concert will be on April 10 at 2 p.m. at the Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music.  Read More

The Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science has launched a new climate studies major. The major integrates the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities to give students a comprehensive perspective on climate change, its challenges and its possible solutions. Read More

Partnering with the Data Science Institute, Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center Director Rosevelt Noble is leveraging custom artificial intelligence techniques to identify common themes and topics for his book, "Lost in the Ivy," about the experience of African Americans at Vanderbilt. Read More

Xiu Cravens, professor of the practice of education policy, describes how her understanding of her culture, language and opportunities in China informs her work with Vanderbilt students. Read More

March 16 marked the one-year anniversary of the day a 21-year-old man went on a shooting rampage at three spas in the Atlanta area, killing eight people—six of them women of Asian descent. The shootings stoked outrage and fear among Asian Americans, who were already experiencing discrimination, racism and hate crimes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The act of violence led to dialogue at Vanderbilt and college campuses across the country and resulted in calls to create more inclusive spaces for AAPI populations.    Read More

To observe the first anniversary of the shootings that targeted Asian American women in Atlanta and the 40th anniversary of the killing of Chinese American Vincent Chin by white autoworkers, Vanderbilt’s AAPI employee affinity group will host an in-person event with author and activist Helen Zia, 12:30–2 p.m. March 24. Read More

During the first-ever public conversation between former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and sex trafficking victim and convicted murderer Cyntoia Brown-Long, the two agreed that significant improvements are needed in the criminal justice system. On March 15, Brown-Long and Haslam came together for Vanderbilt’s first public lecture at Langford Auditorium since the COVID-19 pandemic halted similar events for nearly two years.  Read More

The Initiative for Race Research and Justice at Vanderbilt Peabody College will host a virtual panel discussion to address actor Whoopi Goldberg’s recent comments about race, Jewishness and the Holocaust. The free event is scheduled for Thursday, March 24, at 6:30 p.m. CT. Registration is required.  Read More

Six women who have helped shape the university and its history are being honored as part of a new Women at Vanderbilt Portrait Project at the Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center. The portraits, commemorating women from the 19th century through today, will be unveiled at an event on March 14. Read More