Spring 2025

Shirley Marie Watts of Nashville, a musician and a longtime librarian for the Blair School’s Anne Potter Wilson Music Library, died Oct. 21, 2024. She was 89. Read More

David Boaz, a foundational figure of modern libertarian thought who brought libertarian ideas into the mainstream, died June 7, 2024, at his home in Arlington, Virginia. He was 70. Read More

Excellence, the first principle set forth in the updated Code of Bylaws approved by Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust, along with our other two guiding principles—academic freedom and free expression, and growth and development—drives our core purpose: to provide transformative education and pathbreaking research. It is our foremost commitment and our steadfast promise in all that we do. Read More

Alumni remember K.C. Potter, emeritus dean of residential and judicial affairs, in their own words Read More

Vanderbilt's social media community tells us their favorite places on campus to snap pictures. Read More

After a car accident in 2022 forever altered Robby Barbieri's life, he refused to let anyone take his future. In fact, he worked to change countless lives for the better in his adopted home state by advocating for legislation that allows thousands of Tennesseans with disabilities to maintain careers and care for families. Read More

Five questions with Jacob Mchangama, one of the world’s leading authorities on the fundamental freedom of free speech Read More

Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English Major Jackson sees poetry as an art best appreciated in communion with others and approached through the senses as much as the intellect. He believes deeply in the power of poetry to break down barriers and foster understanding. Read More

Myria Carpenter, BS'97, president of the Association of Vanderbilt Black Alumni, takes a broad community approach to engagement. Read More

Vanderbilt's Dare to Grow Campaign has surpassed its initial fundraising goal, underscoring the incredible generosity of Vanderbilt’s donors and the widespread enthusiasm for the university’s vision. This early achievement has established a launching pad for bolder, more far-reaching impact throughout the remainder of the campaign. Read More

The cast of a plesiosaur, a large marine reptile that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, that was once a centerpiece of Vanderbilt’s natural history museum from the 1870s has been unearthed in the basement of Branscomb Quad. Read More

As founder and CEO of UpSmith, Wyatt Smith, BS'10, uses technology to help builders and technicians be more productive, master new skills to stay in the workforce longer and help solve the skilled workforce shortage. Read More

Through the transfer portal, which is part of what the NCAA calls the notification-of-transfer model, student-athletes have gained more autonomy to find a place that fits. While the name conjures sci-fi images, the portal itself is a transparent central database of student-athletes who are exploring transfers, accessible to coaches and administrators. It’s one more way for the best and brightest—a little older and perhaps a little wiser—to find Vanderbilt, which is a place that for 150 years has been about preparing you for where you’re going. Read More

Joanna Winston Foley, BA’65, brings the lack of racial representation in public art to light through advocacy and her website Representation Matters. Read More

Ann Marie, BA’64, and Martin McNamara III, BA’58, and their family recognized their many ties with Vanderbilt by creating the Martin F. McNamara Jr. Scholarship in honor of Martin’s father, a student-athlete who graduated in 1932. The scholarship benefits College of Arts and Science undergraduates. Read More

Sarah Catherine “SC” Perot, BS'13, has many roles, but they all work to expand and enhance alumni engagement, which benefits the entire Commodore community. Read More

Inspired by the spirit of civil discourse, Lise and Ed Spacapan generously support the Dialogue Vanderbilt Student Advisory Board, an intentional effort to consistently advance and more deeply imbed the university's long-held values of free expression, civil discourse and institutional neutrality across campus and beyond. Read More

Jazz has a long history in Music City. As long as Nashville has been a center for recording and education, it has drawn musicians of all types who found places to play—as well as to teach. Many have had connections to Vanderbilt Blair School of Music Read More

At Vanderbilt, people with autism aren’t only research subjects—they are key drivers of scientific discovery. Vanderbilt’s autism research centers and academic programs have fostered a collaborative ecosystem where neurodiverse scholars and scientists can thrive and bring their unique perspectives and abilities to bear on complex research challenges. Read More

An artistic testament to the Bicentennial Oak and those who sat beneath its branches Read More