The Vanderbilt Story

Former linebacker Shelton Quarles coordinates pro scouting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Shaiza Rizavi is a New York portfolio manager who previously worked in international aid and development. Entrepreneur Jeremy Werthan runs a granite company in his native Nashville. Ryan Pickens teaches business at a small liberal arts college in… Read More

A couple of hours south of Nashville lies a place inhabited by manned rockets and moon rocks that gives witness to America’s stellar past and beckons young and old to come and contribute to its future. It is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama’s No.1 tourist attraction,… Read More

The abbreviated lives of Emily, BS’03, MEd’05, and Lauren Failla, BS’07, bear witness on an all-too-personal basis that out of tragedy comes triumph. The sisters, alumnae of Peabody’s human and organizational development program, died in tragic accidents, four years and half a world apart from each other. Their lives are… Read More

Good teaching and basic science breakthroughs would not be possible without institutions such as Vanderbilt, says Patrick Abbot, associate professor of biological sciences. Professors, in turn, understand the critical need to “participate in the maintenance and improvement of these institutions.” That’s where service, such as editing journals, jurying research or… Read More

On a chilly Friday night last November, the area underneath the wide expanse of the Jefferson Street Bridge in downtown Nashville became a scene of rare opportunity for the city’s homeless. The Salvation Army Soup Wagon was there, as could be expected, but some friends had joined them. A foldout… Read More

Vanderbilt University is a great place to work. There are a lot of reasons for this, and that’s what this list is about. Vanderbilt, the largest private employer in Nashville, combines great benefits, the cultural advantages of a major university, and the financial clout that makes staff and faculty coveted… Read More

Graduates Shannon Hoffman, Nehal Mehta and Karen White come from different backgrounds and have different interests, but each will use their significant talents and valuable lessons learned at Vanderbilt to affect change in the world. Read More

Vanderbilt Divinity School Dean James Hudnut-Beumler takes heart in the fact that when times are tough, his graduates offer comfort and guidance to an ailing world. Read More

Psychology professor Isabel Gauthier, an expert in the science of face recognition, relishes the process of discovery – and mentoring graduate students along the way. Read More

Kristen Keely-Dinger, BS’98, remembers March snow falling on the streets of New York, the sounds of babies crying and people screaming, and the stench of urine in the housing projects as she carried hot meals up flight after flight of stairs. As a Vanderbilt sophomore who had signed up for… Read More

My study-abroad experience began much like anyone else’s. I spent months preparing personal statements, making travel plans, and preparing for the cultural transition. I would be Vanderbilt’s first, and only, student participating in an Arabic-language study-abroad program at the American University in Cairo, a premier university renowned throughout the Middle… Read More

In the days before bank failures, stock-market tumbles and worldwide economic malaise, a college diploma—especially one from a top university like Vanderbilt—was a one-way ticket to financial security. These days, however, graduates are faced with less-than-certain job prospects. America’s 50 million Millennials represent the most educated generation ever, but they… Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach puts science in the hands of students Angela Eeds, director of the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt, gives instruction to Chelsea Guo and Augtonia Coleman, freshmen at Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School. Photo by Daniel Dubois They treated him like a rock… Read More

French professor Holly Tucker delves into the fascinating history of blood transfusions Watching the State of the Union address by President George W. Bush in 2006, Holly Tucker was struck by the president’s strong statements about interspecies stem cell research. In the speech, Bush called for “legislation to prohibit the… Read More

For 10 years Janice Dalton worked as a renal transplant/dialysis nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. In 2003, at the age of 54, she was diagnosed with renal failure, placed on dialysis and told she would need a kidney transplant. The tables had turned. Despite years taking care of patients,… Read More

Remembering Memorial Magic during March Madness through the eyes of some of the Commodore basketball team’s biggest fans. Read More

Blair’s involvement in training music teachers in Costa Rica brings rich rewards both in Central America and Nashville. Read More

From grade schoolers to grad students, Virginia Shepherd — a professor of pathology and medicine at the School of Medicine, professor of science education at Peabody College, and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach — shows tenacity that has changed lives. Read More

An unusual match-up between Vanderbilt students and former prison inmates is turning out to be a perfect fit. The students and former offenders are working together in a new business called Triple Thread. It’s the university’s first student-run company to be an official Vanderbilt merchandise vendor. But more importantly,… Read More

Why did you first become involved with VUcept? I became involved with VUcept because I believe in its mission. Being a first-year presents many challenges, and for me, my biggest challenge was losing my grandfather to leukemia only two months after coming to Vanderbilt. Read More