Commencement

Vanderbilt Magazine raises a glass of its own to the tenacious, accomplished and always adaptable Class of 2020. Cheers to you all. Read More

At a time when we are physically separate, the connections embodied by our One Vanderbilt community have become even more vital. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Class of 2020 is being celebrated through a series of special videos and messages from across the campus community, including web stories and social media posts spotlighting graduates’ achievements. All content is being posted to the Commencement website and the university's social media channels, culminating in a special message from Interim Chancellor Susan R Wente on Friday, May 8. Read More

Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente has appointed a new advisory group composed of students from the Class of 2020 to provide feedback and engage in planning their postponed Commencement ceremony and related events that will now take place in May 2021. Read More

Vanderbilt University has taken the extraordinary action—in order to protect the health and safety of the community—of postponing Commencement and all of its related festivities originally scheduled for May 6-8. The Class of 2020 will be formally celebrated next spring. Read More

Best-selling author, attorney and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy will receive the Nichols-Chancellor’s Medal when she speaks to Vanderbilt graduating students and their families in May 2020. Read More

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos looks ahead to his final Commencement ceremony as chancellor in this week's column. Read More

The Vanderbilt campus hums with a particular energy in the days leading up to Commencement. Randy Smith, a supervisor in Plant Operations, manages a team of housekeeping staff tasked with getting buildings ready to accommodate the more than 25,000 friends and family members who will be on campus celebrating graduates. Read More

From an Alternative Spring Break trip to renovate houses with Habitat for Humanity, to a Home Depot–sponsored web-coding hackathon, to a semester of study abroad that took him to cities such as Madrid, Marrakesh and Istanbul—Robby Perry’s time at Vanderbilt exemplifies just how much you can pack into four years. Read More

It was at Vanderbilt that Alexandra Vierling found her passion for nursing. But the idea of working at the intersection of health care and education was a seed planted long ago. Read More

Gabriela Alvarado began her graduate program intent on studying something microscopic, but she ended up developing a passion for understanding the bigger picture of her research. Read More

What does it take to run a growing health brand with a positively focused social media presence while excelling at academics and maintaining a social life? For Los Angeles native Sloane Chmara, it’s all about wellness. Read More

A Facebook query seeking Vanderbilt students who were pilots led Riley Ferguson to two of her closest friends and the founding of AviaDORES, a campus organization with the mission of making aviation accessible to VU students. Read More

Aya Abou-Jaoude has always planned to become a physician. But she says an eye-opening Vanderbilt course last year about refugee resettlement helped affirm her ultimate goal: to pursue pediatric medicine, with a particular focus on refugee health. Read More

Ben Scheer jumps imagination-first into big projects, and he’s not afraid of a lot of trial and error. The human and organizational development and economics double major has worked on dozens of entrepreneurial endeavors that focus on solving problems through technology. Read More

Creative writing and computer science classes in middle school and high school inspired Jasper Lu to pursue a liberal arts education at Vanderbilt, where he could explore all his passions and identify connections between them. Read More

Like many medical students, Kathleen Gallagher knew by the time she’d finished high school biology that she wanted to become a doctor. It was the tragedy of Sept. 11, however, that launched her journey into trauma surgery. Read More

As the only child of a university biology professor, Ananya Sharma’s talent in science came naturally. Yet, while navigating a STEM-specialized curriculum in high school, she discovered an interest in women’s studies. Read More

During his college search, Jarryd Bethea sought an institution that would combine great academics, strong school spirit, and a community where he could make an impact. He found that and more at Vanderbilt. Read More