Dare To Grow

Vanderbilt University has received a catalytic $30 million gift from John Addison, BE’01, and Shannon Addison, BS’02, to ignite a bold new era of innovation at the School of Engineering. Their visionary contribution serves as the lead commitment for Power the Impossible, a new $300 million fundraising campaign in support of the School of Engineering. Building on the remarkable momentum of the university’s record-breaking Dare to Grow campaign, Power the Impossible will position Vanderbilt Engineering among the world’s most influential, impactful and recognized engineering institutions of this century. Read More

The Vanderbilt experience is woven into the lives of Allyson Maske, BS’92, and Jim Maske, BE’93, MBA’99, who first met as undergraduates. Between them, they have attended four of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges, and their son, J.D., is a member of the Class of 2028 at Peabody College. The Maskes are on the Parent Leadership Committee and made recent gifts to Vandy United and Opportunity Vanderbilt in support of the university’s Dare to Grow campaign. Read More

Eight decades of Vanderbilt University history are commemorated in a new exhibit at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries. Dare to Grow, 1945–2025 is on view in the Central Library fourth-floor lobby through mid-February 2026. The exhibit explores Vanderbilt’s remarkable growth in faculty, facilities, enrollment and the quality of its students amid national and international crises, recessions, pandemics and other disruptions from postwar to present day. Read More

Jennifer and Marc Lipschultz have committed a landmark collection of nearly 5,000 photographs, featuring work from hundreds of photographers including Bill Owens, Danny Lyon, Berenice Abbott, Lalla Essaydi and Dorothy Norman, to the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art. In addition to its unique emphasis on photojournalism—including iconic wire press photos from WWII, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and beyond—the collection also spans urban street photography, portraits and other themes that are ideal for inspiring student immersion and a range of programming. Read More

A transformative gift from Vanderbilt parents Laurel and Cliff Asness of Greenwich, Connecticut, to the Vanderbilt Institute of National Security and the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation will have a significant impact on the future of national security and neurodiversity. The gift highlights the extraordinary support of the Vanderbilt community and underscores the ongoing momentum of the university’s historic Dare to Grow campaign which surpassed its original goal of $3.2 billion 20 months ahead of schedule. Read More

A transformational $20 million gift will elevate Vanderbilt University’s Center for Entrepreneurship into a best-in-class hub for entrepreneurial excellence that will serve as a beacon for aspiring founders and global business leaders alike. Read More

Spurred by the steadfast momentum of the Dare to Grow campaign and the generous support of the Vanderbilt community, the 2025 fiscal year was the strongest year of fundraising in Vanderbilt University’s 152-year history. In addition to raising $345 million in new commitments, the university also exceeded its ambitious goal to engage 100,000 alumni through the campaign’s call to “Give, Go, Help, Share.” Read More

In a powerful capstone to its legacy, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation is investing an additional $16.5 million in Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering and the Clark Scholars Program—building on a transformational partnership that began with the program’s founding in 2017. The Clark Foundation’s generosity also fuels Vanderbilt’s historic Dare to Grow fundraising campaign Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate has a new director—Hussam Mahmoud. Mahmoud, professor of civil and environmental engineering, joins Vanderbilt from Colorado State. VSEC's mission is to investigate energy, infrastructure, climate and systems to address the grand social and scientific challenges to ensuring a sustainable planet. The center was established in 2024 as a part of Discovery Vanderbilt; Associate Professor Hiba Baroud was the inaugural and interim director. Read More

Excellence, the first principle set forth in the updated Code of Bylaws approved by Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust, along with our other two guiding principles—academic freedom and free expression, and growth and development—drives our core purpose: to provide transformative education and pathbreaking research. It is our foremost commitment and our steadfast promise in all that we do. Read More

Vanderbilt's Dare to Grow Campaign has surpassed its initial fundraising goal, underscoring the incredible generosity of Vanderbilt’s donors and the widespread enthusiasm for the university’s vision. This early achievement has established a launching pad for bolder, more far-reaching impact throughout the remainder of the campaign. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School has received a generous commitment from Cal Turner Jr. and Hoyt R. Barnett for the new Turner-Barnett Program for Pastoral Formation, which will provide mentorship, scholarships and congregational connections that will fuel real-world impact in the changing field of congregational ministry. Read More

Vanderbilt Law School has received a gift from the Anbridge Charitable Fund to endow the creation of The Gail Anderson Cañizares Innocence Clinic, which will support the exoneration of wrongfully convicted individuals in Tennessee while providing students with hands-on case experience. The clinic, which will function as a course available to 2L and 3L students, launches in the 2026 spring semester and will coordinate with the Tennessee Innocence Project to source cases. Read More

Vanderbilt Law School has received a $10 million commitment from Sara J. Finley, JD’85, to advance Vanderbilt Law School’s leadership in the study of how law, regulation and policy impact equality, equity and opportunity for women. The gift will be used to establish a chair and to endow a program for research, education and advocacy relating to equal rights, equal opportunity and nondiscrimination. Read More

Since the start of the academic year, Vanderbilt has witnessed a rush of “Moments That Matter”—from surpassing giving goals ahead of schedule to an exhilarating football victory over Alabama. Contributing to these hallmark moments are Vanderbilt staff, a theme that speakers reflected on throughout the 2024 Fall Staff Assembly. On Thursday, Nov. 14, more than 570 staff members packed the room at the Student Life Center for the event, which was also livestreamed for a virtual audience. Read More

More than 3,200 alumni came together on Vanderbilt’s campus from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10 for Reunion and Homecoming. The weekend schedule featured more than 85 events designed to deepen connections among alumni, provide insights on current issues and celebrate the milestone class years ending in 4 and 9.   Read More

The Dare to Grow campaign, which was launched publicly in spring 2023, has eclipsed its $3.2 billion fundraising goal 20 months ahead of its target date of June 30, 2026, underscoring the generosity of donors, widespread enthusiasm for the university’s vision and boundless potential for the future. The news is both a celebration and a call to action as Vanderbilt looks ahead to deepening its impact in Nashville, across the nation and around the world. Read More

Camilla P. Benbow has been reappointed as dean of Peabody College of education and human development for a final three-year term, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver announced today. Benbow, who is Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, plans to retire at the end of her 30-year deanship on June 30, 2028, which will make her the longest serving dean in Peabody College history.   Read More

Roschke, a renowned expert in media literacy and misinformation, has been named the inaugural executive director of the McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies at Vanderbilt University beginning Oct. 15. Roschke will also hold a faculty appointment in the Program in Communication of Science and Technology in the College of Arts and Science. Read More

How well do you know VU? Try your hand at Vanderbilt trivia with our Dare to Grow crossword puzzle. Read More