Winter 2016

What’s remarkable about the M.F.A. program at Vanderbilt is that, although it’s among the best in the nation, it's not cutthroat like other highly regarded programs. In fact, Vanderbilt has adopted a model that seems the very opposite—one that fosters a tight-knit community based on feelings of cooperation and unity. Read More

With the completion of several major projects in recent years like The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, the Student Life Center, Warren and Moore colleges—along with the new Engineering and Science Building, now nearing completion—Vice Chancellor for Administration Eric Kopstain says several factors make this is an ideal time to embark on a new land-use plan. Read More

Traditional players in the legal industry continue to face significant challenges in adapting to the new terrain after the Great Recession. But at the same time, the shifting landscape has created substantial opportunities for new kinds of players—especially those with a technology focus. Read More

The latest offerings from Vanderbilt writers Read More

The Biophotonics Center is a state-of-the-art laser laboratory that serves as a kind of hub of cross-disciplinary research at Vanderbilt. Forty faculty members from across the university and VUMC—working on topics ranging from astrophysics to cancer treatments—have an affiliation with the center. Read More

Those who proclaimed the demise of printed books several years ago when e-readers were first introduced are now eating their words, as sales of traditional books have rebounded. There’s just nothing quite like the real thing. Read More

Consider inviting a student into your home to spend a holiday with you. It may seem daunting, but it’s not difficult. And it’s well worth the effort. You’ll certainly make a difference in the student’s life—as well as your own. Read More

Emison, a retired lawyer, is investigating an unsolved murder that took place more than 75 years ago. The murdered man, Elbert Williams, was a member of the NAACP who organized meetings of African Americans in West Tennessee’s Haywood County. He was found in a river and buried without autopsy in an unmarked grave. Read More

About two dozen Vanderbilt students and faculty from across the university have worked with a leading inter­national malnutrition research organization to produce Mani+, a nutritionally fortified peanut butter, to help combat childhood hunger in Guatemala. (MODESIGNS58/ISTOCK) Malnutrition is defined as a lack of food and calories. But really, it’s… Read More

Vanderbilt enjoyed a rare snow day Jan. 22 as Nashville got hit with 8 inches of the white stuff—the most snow that had fallen in the city since 2003. Read More

Each issue, Vanderbilt Magazine prints a handful of social media posts from alumni, students, faculty, staff and Commodore fans that include #Vandygram. Read More

Picasso continually pushed against prevailing artistic conventions, even his own previous work, to forge new creative paths that somehow remained unmistakably his own. That same idea of building upon the past to push further into the future runs deeply through this issue of Vanderbilt Magazine. Read More

Vanderbilt alumni are making a splash on Broadway, as evidenced by several recent graduates currently working both behind the scenes and in front of the lights in New York City productions. Read More

STEVE GREEN Dr. Noel Tulipan, renowned neurosurgeon and trailblazer in fetal surgery repair for spina bifida, died Nov. 2, 2015, after a long illness. He was 64. Tulipan, professor of neurological surgery, emeritus, in the School of Medicine and former chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center,… Read More

The P.O.V. essay written by Mallory McDuff, BS’88, about her experience in Professor Vereen Bell’s freshman writing class resonated deeply within the Vanderbilt alumni community and beyond. A Facebook post about the piece generated more than 35,000 page views of the story online. It also sparked plenty of memories that people shared on social media. Read More

Charley, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, and the cousin of former Vanderbilt football player Damien Charley, BS’99, came to Vanderbilt on a soccer scholarship but is even more accomplished in the triple-jump. She finished fourth in the nation at the Indoor NCAA Championships last March and, three months later, followed up with a third-place finish at the Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Read More

Vanderbilt announces nine additions to its Athletic Hall of Fame for 2015, representing the best of Vanderbilt’s athletic history. Read More

The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is receiving significant philanthropic support through a $3 million gift from the Country Music Association (CMA). The gift represents the association’s further investment in the health and well-being of children throughout the region and will be used to support Children’s Hospital’s four-floor, 160,000-square-foot expansion. Read More

Vanderbilt’s second annual Networking Night drew 920 alumni in 34 cities Nov. 5. The atten­dees represented a diverse range of university schools, class years and industries, each seeking to strengthen their professional connections. Read More

Vivé Griffith says her Vanderbilt years tie directly to her present leadership of the Austin, Texas-based Free Minds Project, which offers under-resourced adults a free, yearlong, college-level course in subjects ranging from history to Shakespeare, along with free books, child care and dinners. Read More