Vanderbilt Magazine

Freak accidents sever limbs. Tumors disfigure faces. And reconstructive plastic surgeons team up for their toughest challenges. Read More

When she was studying Shakespeare and Milton at Vanderbilt in the late 1970s, Nora Wingfield Tyson never dreamed she’d be making history one day. But last July in a cavernous aircraft-carrier hangar in Norfolk, Va., Rear Adm. Tyson did just that when she became the first woman in U.S. Navy… Read More

A collaboration between Vanderbilt and Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools on an Early Reading First project for preschool children has yielded “spectacular” results in a preliminary study, according to project leaders. “The big picture is that high-quality language and literacy instruction in pre-K can make a big difference,” says Deborah Rowe,… Read More

In this corner, weighing in at 150 pounds: Homo sapiens, creator of the bug zapper, the citronella candle, the rolled-up newspaper and Deep Woods Off! And in the opposite corner, weighing in at less than 5 milligrams: Anopheles gambiae, transmitter of 250 million new cases of malaria each year, possessing… Read More

U.S. health care exacts a heavy toll not only in terms of dollars, but also in the demand we exert on the world’s supply of surgeons. A decline in the number of international medical graduates practicing general surgery in the United States is contributing to a “crisis of urgency” as… Read More

Hearing loss now affects nearly 20 percent of U.S. adolescents age 12 to 19, a rise of 5 percent during the past 15 years, according to a new Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study co-led by Dr. Ron Eavey, director of the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center and the… Read More

Between 2003 and 2005, Vanderbilt physicians treated more than 50 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, Ky., with a common complaint. Each soldier had a history of shortness of breath, and each one—a former supremely fit soldier—was having trouble passing a running test. They also shared… Read More

First-year student R. Adams Cowley during a fall men’s lacrosse practice Soccer: Three Named ‘Players to Watch’ The Top Drawer Soccer website has included three Vanderbilt players in its “Top 20 Women’s College Players to Watch” list for the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference: seniors Molly and Megan Kinsella… Read More

The Commodores extended their year well beyond the regular season and came within one game of moving on to the College World Series. The team finished with a 46–20 overall record. After a 40–15 regular season finish, Vanderbilt exited the SEC Tournament with losses to LSU and Florida, but won… Read More

MATT FREIJE, BA’04 It’s autumn in Middle Tennessee, and Matt Freije, BA’04, is enjoying the cooler weather and outdoor chores at his home in Brentwood. He also enjoys the company of his wife, Amy, and their newborn son, Benton Matthew, born in March. “He’s keeping me busy,” Freije admits with… Read More

Ten new members were inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 3, 2010. They make up the third class to be named to the hall. The new members are: Ernest “Bucky” Curtis, BA’51 (football, 1947–1950), first-team All-American in 1950, when he led the nation in receiving. Shan… Read More

With his head down, Steve Tchiengang nonchalantly ambles through a group of students on the sidewalk near Rand Hall. His trip is interesting to watch. And at 6 foot 9 inches, it’s hard to miss, too. With a few graceful strides, he’s through the pack and well on his way… Read More

First-year students mix it up at the Student Organizations Fair held in August. Read More

This little goldfinch adds a bit of life and color to the “Tree of Learning” sculpture just outside the Central Library. The sculpture by Greg Wyatt is the centerpiece of the Garden of Great Ideas, bronzes sponsored by the Newington Cropsey Foundation and scattered throughout campus. Read More

Performance Pay Alone Doesn’t Raise Scores Rewarding teachers with bonus pay, in the absence of any other support programs, does not raise student test scores, according to a study by the National Center on Performance Incentives at Peabody College. This and other findings from a three-year experiment—the first scientific study… Read More

Vanderbilt’s commitment to graduate education is paying big dividends. Applications have risen by 36 percent during the past five years, from 5,203 in 2005 to 7,109 in 2010. The university made offers of admission to 13 percent of applicants in 2010, as compared to 17 percent in 2005. The… Read More

Vanderbilt’s Department of Pediatrics, in partnership with the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Department of Parks and Recreation, has been awarded a $12 million, seven-year grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for an ambitious project aimed at stopping obesity in preschoolers before it can take hold. The project,… Read More

Vanderbilt is among the top 20 medium-sized colleges and universities contributing the greatest number of graduating seniors to Teach for America’s 2010 teaching corps. According to Teach for America’s recently released annual rankings, Vanderbilt tied for 10th, up from 17th last year, with 36 graduates teaching this fall in urban… Read More

A 68-year-old male with advanced prostate cancer lies on the operating table. A 1,500-pound contraption looms over him, its metal arms extending like tentacles into tiny holes in his abdomen. At the opposite side of the room, his surgeon sits with face pressed into a large console, hands and feet… Read More

A new national center based at Peabody College is tasked with identifying key elements that make some high schools in urban districts more effective at improving outcomes for low-income and minority students, as well as English language learners. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has awarded $13.6 million over five… Read More