Divinity School

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 Divinity School and the Wond’ry’s Fiber Arts Lab will host a collaborative service project with faculty, staff, students and local communities of faith to quilt mementos for families who have lost a loved one while discussing different faith traditions and pathways toward interfaith solidarity. The mementos will be donated to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for distribution. Read More

Vanderbilt Divinity School was recently awarded a $30,000 grant from the Wabash Center to study artificial intelligence and its impact. The project, “We Can Wait No Longer: Educating Theological Educators About Artificial Intelligence,” seeks to inform Divinity faculty of the mechanics behind AI and the latest advancements. Read More

A reimagined space at the Peabody Library will provide student, faculty and staff groups on campus a serene setting in which to meditate, reflect and practice mindfulness. Read More

An important focus for Vanderbilt Divinity School is supporting midcareer professionals who seek answers to complex questions about religion, humanism, ethics, life’s meaning and more. Read More

Vanderbilt University will host an acclaimed multimedia art exhibit celebrating more than 100 years of influential Black writers—from the end of the Civil War through the Civil Rights era—at several campus locations this spring.  Read More

Each semester, the Divinity School will invite a member of the clergy, a nonprofit leader or a social justice activist to be “in residence” with its community. Students will be exposed to experts who model the interdisciplinary, interfaith and justice work that is at the core of the Vanderbilt Divinity School community. Read More

From integrating literacy into music education to empowering teens to lead a more balanced digital life, seven innovative projects have been awarded funding through the fall 2024 cycle of the Community Engagement Collaboration Fund. Faculty and staff from 11 of Vanderbilt’s schools, departments and centers have joined forces with local nonprofits, schools and other community stakeholders to bring these initiatives to life.   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

The Divinity Library has launched a new version of its popular Revised Common Lectionary website. The RCL is a collection of weekly Bible readings centered on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ adopted by numerous church bodies and individual congregations to read concurrently each Sunday throughout the liturgical year. Read More

Thirteen innovative projects across seven colleges and schools have been selected for the spring 2024 round of Seeding Success internal grants. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation announced the recipient list on May 31. Read More

The Rev. James Morris Lawson Jr., a leader of the Civil Rights Movement who trained scores of activists during his time in Nashville—many of whom went on to prominence—and whose expulsion from Vanderbilt in 1960 led to national headlines and prompted some faculty members to resign in protest, died Sunday, June 9, in Los Angeles. He was 95. Read More

WATCH: See how members of the Class of 2024 are collaborating in powerful and unique ways. Read More

Sixty-six faculty members across seven schools and colleges received Provost’s Faculty Grants for Culminating Projects in Immersion, up 50 percent from the program’s inaugural year in 2023. The goal of the grants is to empower undergraduate students through immersive and impactful learning opportunities that take them from the studio to the lab, to an internship, to service learning in the Nashville community and beyond. Read More

The distinguished faculty members and deans representing eight colleges and schools were presented with medallions that symbolize the attainment of their positions and will become part of their official academic regalia. Chair holders contribute their expertise to real-world challenges, including climate change, political inequality and access to justice, artificial intelligence and ICU trauma.   Read More

“Celebrating 50 Years of Antoinette Brown Lectures” will be on display in the second-floor gallery of the Central and Divinity Libraries Building. A preview of the exhibit will be from 2 to 4 p.m., with the grand opening and a reception at 8 p.m. The Divinity School’s 50th annual Antoinette Brown Lecture featuring ethics professor Grace Y. Kao will be at 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt Divinity School’s “The Space,” Room G-29. Read More

Don Abram, the visionary founder of Pride in the Pews, will be the next speaker in the Dialogue Vanderbilt faith leader series. His conversation with Vanderbilt Divinity School Dean Yolanda Pierce is scheduled for 5 p.m. March 6 at the John Seigenthaler Center. Read More

Dialogue Vanderbilt continued its mission of fostering meaningful conversations with its second event in its series which aims to cultivate open discussions about faith and how it influences people dealing with pressing societal issues. The discussion featured Maha Elgenaidi, founder of the Islamic Networks Group, in conversation with Vanderbilt University Divinity School Dean Yolanda Pierce.  Read More

Recognizing the significant suicidality, post-traumatic stress, depression and moral injury endured by active military and veteran populations, Vanderbilt Divinity School has partnered with Integrative Mental Health, a national program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, to prepare chaplains for contemporary care challenges. 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