Dialogue Vanderbilt

Dialogue Vanderbilt recently hosted an insightful fireside chat between Rabbi David J. Wolpe and Vanderbilt Divinity School Dean Yolanda Pierce. The Jan. 18 event was part of a series organized by Dialogue Vanderbilt that aims to foster open discussions about faith and how it influences people dealing with pressing societal issues.  Read More

Maha Elgenaidi, founder and executive director of the Islamic Networks Group, will visit Vanderbilt’s Rothschild Black Box Theater next month for a conversation with Divinity School Dean Yolanda Pierce. The discussion is expected to explore Elgenaidi’s perspective on the Israel-Hamas conflict and the theological context and historical backdrop shaping it, along with her advice on effective communication practices around deeply personal and polarizing topics. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Open Dialogue Visiting Fellows program is set to host a panel discussion on equity and dialogue in the aftermath of affirmative action on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m. in the Central Library’s Community Room. The event will feature distinguished professor and media commentator Melissa Harris-Perry.   Read More

This year’s MLK Day commemoration theme—“One Vanderbilt. One Nashville. One Dream.”—was a nod to the history of the university, which celebrates its sesquicentennial this year and where generations of Nashvillians have come together to learn and serve.  Read More

Hosted by the Open Dialogue Visiting Fellows program as a part of the chancellor’s Dialogue Vanderbilt initiative, Jonathan Rauch, a distinguished Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution, will visit Vanderbilt for a a thought-provoking discussion exploring the crucial role free speech plays in safeguarding the interests of minorities and fostering inclusivity and understanding within society. The event will be held on Monday, Jan. 22, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Read More

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney will share her views on the state of American democracy and the presidency, as well as her first-hand perspective on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and the ensuing Congressional investigation, in a compelling, exclusive conversation with Jon Meacham, Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Political Science and Pulitzer Prize–winning historian. Read More

Americans overwhelmingly feel that their political systems do not represent them, including compromise on abortion, and they are not confident the American political system accurately reflects their will, according to the latest quarterly Vanderbilt Unity Poll measuring Americans’ unity and beliefs on government and democracy. Read More

In just over a year, generative AI has emerged from a niche curiosity to a driving force in many of Vanderbilt’s classrooms. The Office of Faculty Affairs and Professional Education has launched several resources and programs related to generative AI, including an updated academic affairs policy, an online resource hub, a new teaching award and a pilot program for a secure, proprietary alternative to ChatGPT. These updates reflect AI becoming an established tool in classrooms and labs across the campus and give faculty ways to help equip students to best use generative AI for new lines of inquiry and scholarship.  Read More

The tournament, scheduled for Dec. 26 to Jan. 5, is recognized as the largest college debate competition in the world, attracting more than 400 teams from educational institutions across the globe. This is the third time Vanderbilt Debate will participate in face-to-face debates at the WUDC, having previously represented the university in 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand, and in 2022 in Madrid, Spain. The team’s participation underscores Vanderbilt’s commitment to fostering intellectual rigor and global engagement through the art of debate.  Read More

As part of Dialogue Vanderbilt, the debate team hosted an online event with the Rwandan National Debate Team on Nov. 29. Read More

Vanderbilt student Daniel Ardity earned a place on the U.S. Debate Team this year, an accomplishment that has allowed him to travel around the world while also continuing to hone his debate skills closer at home. Read More

Members of Vanderbilt Debate share how their participation on the team has contributed to a meaningful undergraduate experience. Read More

Launched this fall, the Open Dialogue Visiting Fellows program is a series to equip students for engaged and informed citizenship in a fractured world. The 12 student ambassadors will work closely with faculty and campus visitors to design programs for their peers, host visiting speakers and serve as representatives of the program to the Vanderbilt community. Read More

Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe and Rev. Naomi Nontombi Tutu, daughters of famed human right activist Desmond Tutu, will be on campus for 'Lunch & Learn: International Development and Global Peacemaking' to share their experiences and answer attendees’ questions about their work. The event will take place from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and registration is open to all members of the Vanderbitl community. Read More

A feature program about The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will make its Nashville Public Television debut on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 8:30 p.m. CT and will be available afterward on the PBS app. Directly following the premiere, at 9:30 p.m., Vanderbilt professor John Geer and Unity Project co-chairs Bill Haslam and Samar Ali will discuss what they’ve learned in the two years since the project’s inception.  Read More

Faculty from across the institution participated in an inaugural faculty advocacy workshop to inform participants on how Vanderbilt currently advocates on behalf of the university and share best practices to help faculty members who want to advocate on topics of interest. Read More

The former U.S. ambassador to Panama will headline the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy’s latest Lunch & Learn covering the “State of Democracy in the Western Hemisphere” on Thursday afternoon.  Co-sponsored by the Program in American Studies and Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx… Read More

Vanderbilt celebrated its “bedrock principle” of free speech through a series of panels and discussions Oct. 10–17 during the university’s inaugural celebration of national Free Speech Week. Read More

A free screening of Trustworthy, a new documentary chronicling a 5,300-mile journey across America to explore citizens' search for common ground amidst growing media skepticism, will be co-hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at the Belcourt Theatre from 3 to 6 p.m. CT.   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