Alumni

More than 3,500 alumni and their guests returned to campus for Reunion and Homecoming events Nov. 2–5, capping off a year that—by many measures—stands out as Vanderbilt’s best ever. Read More

Vanderbilt faculty members Jad Abumrad, one of the pioneers of podcasting, and Jacob Mchangama, a leading expert on free speech, will take part in a thought-provoking discussion Nov. 2 as part of the Dialogue Vanderbilt initiative. “Freedom or Foolishness: Are Our Digital Lives Making Society Better or Worse?” is presented by the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries and the Wild Bunch Lecture Fund. Read More

An influential film and television editor, a politics reporter at The New York Times, an award-winning production executive, a leader in public service and a trailblazing community builder are the latest inductees to the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame. Read More

The Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors has announced its 2023 alumni award recipients. They will be honored during Reunion and Homecoming weekend Nov. 2–5. Read More

The Vanderbilt Alumni Association has welcomed new and returning alumni leaders to its board for three-year terms that started July 1. The Alumni Association’s mission is to engage Vanderbilt alumni in the life of the university, encourage lifelong connections and support the university’s goals. Read More

John M. Lutz, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations, has been reappointed for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2023, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier announced today. Read More

Zeno Power, a startup initiated through the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, has received a total of $30 million from the U.S. Department of Defense and private investors to develop and build a flight-ready radioisotope-powered satellite by 2025. It is expected to be the first launch of a commercially developed space nuclear system in history. Vanderbilt... Read More

Obituary for Kenneth Lewis “Ken” Roberts, BA’54, JD’59, of Nashville, emeritus member of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust and an active and engaged leader in the Nashville community. Read More

Books written by alumni that have recently been published Read More

Zeno Power, a startup initiated through the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, is on track to launch the first commercially developed space nuclear system in history. The satellite will be used by the U.S. Space Force to conduct first-of-its-kind mission types. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Board of Trust elected five new members on April 20 during its annual spring meeting. Lamar Alexander, BA’62; John Arnold, BA’96; Nina Kohler; Shaiza Rizavi, BS’91; and Jon Winkelried will serve five-year terms beginning July 1. In addition, Peter Marshall, BA’14, and Somto Okoye, BE’19, will begin two-year terms as a Young Alumni Trustee and a Young Alumni Leader, respectively. Read More

Mason Richards, BS'97, continues his quest to turn 'The Seawall' into a feature film. Read More

Derrick R. Spires, an associate professor of literatures in English at Cornell University, has a talent for making 19th-century newspapers and pamphlets feel as accessible as the latest social media feed. He explores the culture of the early 19th-century Black press in his 2019 book 'The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States' (University of Pennsylvania Press), which was recently released in paperback. Read More

The new fundraising initiative—the most ambitious in Vanderbilt’s history—will power the university’s most exciting and essential work to date. Read More

Carolyn Peck, BA'88, was a standout student-athlete who helped the Commodores beat Pat Summitt’s mighty Lady Vols. She also was the first Black women's basketball coach to win an NCAA Division I women’s basketball national championship—and, at 33, she was the youngest women’s basketball head coach to win a Division I title. These days she can be found behind a microphone for ESPN and the SEC Network. Read More

Dawn Bennett has found paths to servant leadership throughout her life, but it was decades before she made a leap of faith and enrolled in Vanderbilt Divinity School. In January 2020, she was ordained by Bishop Kevin Strickland to remain in Nashville and build The Table, a faith collective centered on LGBTQIA+ people and vulnerable identities. Read More

Students, faculty, administrators and alumni recently gathered on campus to celebrate the official naming of the university’s undergraduate business minor in recognition of Vanderbilt alumni Susan and Keith Hoogland, who made a $5 million commitment on behalf of their family in support of the program. Read More

Six pioneering members of the Vanderbilt community who played significant roles in the university’s history were honored at a portrait unveiling and reception March 25 as part of festivities kicking off Vanderbilt’s yearlong Sesquicentennial celebration. Read More

As she teaches the next generation of nurse-midwives, Vanderbilt School of Nursing faculty member and alumna Stephanie DeVane-Johnson looks at ways to increase the number of Black doulas, who provide emotional and physical support to women in pregnancy, during birth and throughout the postpartum period.  Read More

Krista Donaldson, BS’95, who directs Innovation to Impact at Stanford University’s Byers Center for Biodesign where her work focuses on ensuring design tools and processes are broadly applicable across global markets, will deliver the School of Engineering’s 2023 Chambers Family Entrepreneurial Lecture on Tuesday, April 4, at 4:15 p.m. at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, in the Engineering and Science Building. Read More