College Of Arts And Science

Major Jackson, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities, has been awarded the inaugural Patricia Cannon Willis Prize for American Poetry by Yale Library. Jackson was recognized for his acclaimed collection Razzle Dazzle: New and Selected Poems 2002–2022, published by W.W. Norton in 2023.   Read More

Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships honor extraordinary U.S. and Canadian researchers who stand out as the next generation of leaders for their creativity, innovation and research accomplishments. Tiriac, an assistant professor of biological sciences and Hooley Family Dean's Faculty Fellow in Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt, is part of the 2025 class. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Innovation Catalyst Fund has awarded seven new faculty-led projects, advancing translational research and innovation in health care, engineering and AI-driven solutions. Read More

A transdisciplinary team at Vanderbilt University seeks to identify Tennessee communities at risk of exposure to toxic man-made chemicals in their drinking water. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Carrie K. Jones and the University of Glasgow’s Andrew Tobin have received a prestigious £5 million ($6.2 million) Wellcome Trust Discovery Award to study how blocking the M5 muscarinic receptor in the brain could reduce opioid addiction while preserving pain relief. This groundbreaking international collaboration, supported by the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, aims to advance new treatments in the critical global health crisis of opioid use disorder. Read More

Vanderbilt alumni Jake Aronskind, BA’19, and Andrew Roth, BS’21, were named to the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 for creating and scaling successful businesses. Aronskind is CEO and co-founder of Pepper, a recipe sharing app. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the College of Arts and Science. Roth is the CEO and founder of dcdx, a global marketing research and strategy firm. He earned his bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development from Peabody College of education and human development. Read More

AdvancED spent it's first official year leveraging the collaborative potential of three university functions: online and lifelong learning, pedagogical support and educational technology. Look back at 2024's successes and milestones. Read More

Grants were awarded to 66 professors across seven schools and colleges to advise a total of 470 students during spring and summer 2024. This represents an increase of more than 40 percent in the number of faculty and students supported compared to the previous year.  Read More

Carlos Taboada, assistant professor of biological sciences, was among the 2024 Packard Fellows for Science and Engineering announced on Tuesday, Oct. 15. At the Taboada Lab, he and his team investigate the chemical, physiological and physical mechanisms that create different colors in frogs and the remarkable transparency of glassfrogs. Read More

Vanderbilt University secured four National Endowment for the Humanities grants totaling $330,696 to support projects ranging from Yiddish literature to the preservation of Special Collections. The grants highlight Vanderbilt’s leadership in humanities research and were facilitated by the university’s Research Development and Support team. Read More

With 1,100 enrolled students, the number speaks for itself—PSCI 1150: U.S. Elections is a hot commodity on campus. The elective course offered every four years by the College of Arts and Science is a highly anticipated deep dive into how elections work in the U.S., blending a robust  understanding of history with extensive research from political science. Read More

John M. Jumper, BS’07, is one of three scientists awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Oct. 9. Jumper currently is a senior staff research scientist for DeepMind, a London-based company that made a huge leap forward in solving the protein folding problem using artificial intelligence. He is the third Vanderbilt alumnus to win a Nobel Prize. Read More

In today’s world, collaboration is essential in solving problems, bridging the gaps between science, engineering, medicine and the humanities. By prioritizing cross-disciplinary collaborations, Vanderbilt walks the walk—not only across departments—but across schools and cultures. Read More

Stassun, who is also a founding co-director the Fisk-Vanderbilt Master’s-to-Ph.D. Bridge Program, was among the 2024 MacArthur fellows announced on Tuesday, Oct. 1. The fellowship, which is awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, aims to identify extraordinarily creative individuals with a track record of excellence in a field of scholarship or area of practice. Recipients also demonstrate the ability to affect society in significant and beneficial ways through their pioneering work or the rigor of their contributions, according to the foundation. Read More

With Portland, Oregon, as his base, second-generation Vanderbilt alum Jacob Grier, BA'04, consults in the spirits industry and writes books on topics from tobacco policy to mixology. His latest book on cocktails is 'Raising the Bar: A Bottle-by-Bottle Guide to Mixing Up Masterful Cocktails at Home' (Chronicle Books, 2022) cowritten with Brett Adams, bartender and curator of the selection at the Multnomah Whiskey Library. Read More

Elizabeth “Betsy” Sanner Ayala, BA’99, is the executive in charge behind many popular TV shows across the Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio of networks. After joining HGTV in 2016 and advancing her career to head Food Network in 2022, she now oversees the creation, production and release of all Food Network programming and operations. Read More

Meet some of our new faculty members and learn about their fascinating research. Read More

By Jenna Somers Metro Nashville Public School students enrolled in programs offered by the Collaborative for STEM Education and Outreach at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development experienced a summer of learning that sowed the seeds of budding scientists. The CSEO enhances STEM literacy through establishing… Read More

John Lachs, professor emeritus of philosophy and Centennial Professor Emeritus, died November 14, 2023, in Nashville. He was 89. Read More

A college education at a residential campus means more than a degree earned through successful completion of coursework and class projects. Student life beyond the classroom also provides a formative experience, and that is especially true for Sherry Chen, BA’15, who has served as president of the local Vanderbilt Chapter in Phoenix since 2018, connecting the community of Commodore alumni and parents. Read More