Society And Culture
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Inaugural summer camp at Blair School of Music teaches kids to create video game scores
A pilot program launching at Vanderbilt Blair School of Music this summer will teach middle and high school students how to create music scores for video games. The program, called Music Tech, is designed to pave pathways to Blair, particularly for students in underserved communities who may not otherwise visit campus or interact with the music community. Read MoreJul 7, 2022
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The Front Lines of Forgiveness: Death row classroom experience challenges assumptions about mercy, justice
In two unique courses offered by the Divinity School, students explore issues around incarceration and punishment alongside 14 death row inmates at Tennessee’s Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Read MoreJun 23, 2022
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Q&A: Blair professor recounts recording experience on Elvis Presley album
As the summer blockbuster Elvis hits movie theaters June 24, Vanderbilt professor Kathryn Plummer relives an early career opportunity to play with the legend—and discusses how her experiences recording with some of the music industry’s greats translate into a unique teaching tool in the classroom. Read MoreJun 23, 2022
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First-ever longitudinal study on LGBTQ+ aging is window into seldom-studied community
A four-year longitudinal study of older LGBTQ+ people in the South is being conducted to better identify the sources of stress and resilience for this infrequently studied population. Read MoreJun 23, 2022
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Take me to church: Blair School of Music students in U.K. learn how religious music pays the rent
Vanderbilt students who are part of the inaugural Vanderbilt Choral Scholars program spent a week in cathedrals in the United Kingdom to better understand the community impact of church music in Europe. Read MoreJun 17, 2022
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Vanderbilt LGBTQ+ Policy Lab founders conduct first research on health effects of legal same-sex marriage
Leaders of Vanderbilt’s LGBTQ+ Policy Lab have provided the first comprehensive evidence on the effects of access to legal same-sex marriage. Their efforts revealed that marriage access impacted the LGBTQ+ community positively in multiple ways. Read MoreJun 16, 2022
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McGee gift to establish center that will leverage data science to study media narratives
A $5 million gift from Suzanne Perot McGee, BS’86, Patrick K. McGee, BS’85, and their family to the College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University will establish a new center dedicated to analyzing the media, using the cutting-edge tools of data science. Read MoreJun 9, 2022
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Richard Batey, BD’58, PhD’61: Sepphoris Scholar
The research of New Testament scholar Richard Batey, BD'58, PhD'61, into the ancient city of Sepphoris in Galilee broadens ideas about Jesus and gives a new perspective for understanding the Gospels. Read MoreJun 8, 2022
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WATCH: Diermeier discusses ‘State of the University’ in livestreamed address, Q&A
Chancellor Daniel Diermeier called on all Vanderbilt alumni and current parents to be ambassadors for the university during a virtual “State of the University” address on May 24. During the livestreamed event, Diermeier also participated in a Q&A session moderated by Tim Warnock, BA’84, president of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board. Read MoreJun 3, 2022
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Vanderbilt Poll: Approval for Biden and Lee—and for a 2024 Trump presidential run—drops as voter malaise simmers
In a sign that malaise over rising inflation and stressors related to pandemic recovery could be influencing Tennesseans’ attitudes toward elected leaders, support for President Joe Biden and Gov. Bill Lee has dropped among registered voters, according to the most recent statewide Vanderbilt Poll. Read MoreMay 26, 2022
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Cal Turner Program for Moral Leadership aims to train next generation to implement change
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 MoreMay 11, 2022
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Vanderbilt jazz program again honored by ‘DownBeat’ magazine
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 MoreMay 5, 2022
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College of Arts and Science names Cindy D. Kam as dean of faculty affairs
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 MoreMay 4, 2022
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Class of 2022: Megan Jordan works at the intersection of art and social justice
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 MoreMay 3, 2022
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Vanderbilt Poll: Nashville headed in the wrong direction
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 MoreApr 28, 2022
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Vandenbergh named 2022 Carnegie Fellow to tackle polarization and climate change
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 MoreApr 26, 2022
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Celebrated composer and Vanderbilt professor emeritus Michael Kurek named composer laureate of Tennessee
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 MoreApr 25, 2022
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Vanderbilt Blair School of Music performs children’s opera at zoo as part of mission to deepen community ties, engagement
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 MoreApr 18, 2022
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New Study: Black women face higher maternal mortality rates than previously determined
Evelyn J. Patterson 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. Even after controlling… Read MoreApr 18, 2022
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‘Radiolab’ founder Jad Abumrad to join Vanderbilt University
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 MoreApr 13, 2022