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Vanderbilt officially launched the yearlong celebration of its 150th anniversary with a full slate of events on March 24 and 25. Among the highlights was a formal ceremony in Langford Auditorium where members of the Vanderbilt community took to the stage in academic regalia to recount details of the university’s founding in 1873 and reflect on key moments in Vanderbilt’s history. Read More

Stronger than at any other time in our history, we are positioned to do more than just meet the challenges of our times. We have what it takes to thrive and lead—to define and become the great university of this century. Read More

Since its founding in 1873, Vanderbilt has stayed true to its roots by breaking new ground in various ways, whether in its capacity to be a more welcoming and inclusive community, or in its pursuit of discoveries that help answer humanity’s most pressing questions. Here we present an illustrated guide to just a few of the many pioneering figures who have helped Vanderbilt dare to grow throughout its history. Read More

At Vanderbilt’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, the three-dimensional history of the university is collected and lovingly maintained by the staff of Special Collections and University Archives. Their mission is to “preserve the historical memory of the university”—memory that is found in the objects that, by their survival, attest to a timeline grounded in the space between West End Avenue and 21st Avenue South. Read More

The Vanderbilt Fusion Project, an initiative involving 40 undergraduates from 22 majors across three schools, is seeking to build a miniature nuclear fusion reactor—and make history. Read More

Psychologists and psychiatrists have sometimes struggled to keep up with the multiplying mental health challenges posed by the pandemic and other recent events, but through studies and interventions, Vanderbilt faculty members are providing new insights into the crisis—as well as the best evidence-based solutions for overcoming it. Read More

This past May, despite skeptics, politics and a global pandemic, Ingram’s Nashville SC opened the doors of the largest soccer-specific stadium in North America: Geodis Park, a 30,000-seat facility. Already a success in the league, having made the playoffs in their first two MLS seasons while playing elsewhere, the “Boys in Gold” finally have a home of their own, where they hope not only to become a community institution but also someday lift trophies. Read More

Megan Piphus Peace, BA’14, MSF’15, is an accomplished ventriloquist and puppeteer who has performed in front of audiences across the nation, including on The Tonight Show and America’s Got Talent. In 2021, she made history as the first Black female puppeteer to work on the long-running children’s television show Sesame Street. Read More

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 More

Gross never let supposed boundaries get in her way on the lacrosse field—which turns out to be a good way to redefine what is possible in any field. At Vanderbilt, the honorable mention All-American is not only helping to shape a program emerging as a national contender but also pursuing a passion for engineering that will shape her future. Read More

If you play tennis against Vanderbilt this spring, you will likely see a Ross on the other side of the net. Men’s or women’s tennis, it doesn’t much matter. And whether it’s Anna, a junior, or Michael, a freshman, you’re also likely to be on the wrong end of the score.   Read More

Kate Daniels has long been captivated by the connection between writing and the healing process. After earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, Daniels worked as a nurse’s aide at UVA Medical Center while she was in the process of applying to graduate school. The job was grueling,… Read More

Photography by Marc Olivier Le Blanc The opening poem in Focal Point, the debut collection by Jenny Qi, BA’11, navigates the fraught emotional space between a loving daughter’s grief over her mother’s death and a scientist’s clear-eyed inquiry into the disease-cancer-that caused it. Qi writes of “nights at a microscope in… Read More

Illustrations by Gary Bates From the Civil War to the battle over civil rights, the United States has seen levels of conflict in the past that have threatened to tear the country apart. But watching the violent attack on the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, Professor of Political Science… Read More

Brothers André, Keith and Kevin Churchwell, who were together for 15 years at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, are among the most accomplished physicians and administrators in the country. All three credit their father, Robert Churchwell, the first Black reporter at the Nashville Banner newspaper, as the inspiration for their success. Read More

Years before Vanderbilt basketball head coach Shea Ralph’s generation helped set a standard for women who aspire and act to change the world through sports, her mother, Marsha Lake, traveled to the Soviet Union as part of a team that represented the United States on the world stage for the first time in the Title IX era.   Read More

Moments after Vanderbilt defeated Alabama to reach the final of the 2021 SEC Men’s Golf Championship at Sea Island Golf Club in Georgia, Scott Limbaugh served up a seemingly innocuous answer to a question posed in a television interview. “We liked our matchups a lot,” Vanderbilt’s head coach told the… Read More

Vanderbilt professors Sheila Ridner and Barbara Murphy have contributed to the development of a first-of-its-kind device to treat head and neck lymphedema, a chronic disease common after cancer treatment that causes fluid buildup in the body and can complicate normal functions. Read More

In a spirit of expanding our knowledge, I offer the following observations about how we made decisions as an organization, built trust within our community, and bolstered Vanderbilt’s reputation as an institution willing to confront difficult circumstances with hard work, compassion and commitment. Read More

General Motors' announcement that it would phase out combustion engines—the heart of its cars and trucks for more than 100 years—and move to an all-electric fleet by 2035 could have monumental implications for the global auto industry and broad efforts to combat climate change. The success of the initiative will depend on Vanderbilt alumni who hold key positions in the company. Read More