Duane Watson

Vanderbilt University has announced plans to establish an academic campus in San Francisco beginning in 2027, subject to necessary regulatory approvals. The planned campus expects to serve about 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students and support sustained faculty, staff and academic activity. It represents the next step in Vanderbilt’s strategic growth and builds on the university’s recent expansions in New York City and West Palm Beach by extending Vanderbilt’s distinctive academic model into one of the world’s leading centers of creativity, technology and entrepreneurship. Read More

The Greater Nashville Tech Council has announced the finalists for the 2026 GNTC Awards, highlighting exceptional talent from the Vanderbilt faculty, staff and alumni community. These awards honor innovation and excellence within Middle Tennessee’s the technology sector. Following over 200 public nominations across 15 categories, a panel of tech leaders and industry peers has selected the top three finalists in each category. Read More

Vanderbilt supports new faculty every step of the way—by connecting them with senior faculty who serve as mentors, observe their classes and provide valuable feedback, and proofread their grant proposals to make them stronger. These professors who joined Vanderbilt in the past few years shed light on how the university has helped them succeed.  Read More

Building on the success of her first term, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver is realigning her leadership team to enhance the university’s efforts in research excellence, student opportunities and global impact. Read More

The April Faculty Senate meeting will be Thursday, April 10, from 4:10 to 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be in the Faculty Commons Building’s second-floor event space.  Votes are scheduled as well as remarks from Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Vice Provost for Special Initiatives Duane Watson. Read More

Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Vanderbilt University’s Jesse Spencer-Smith to the Tennessee Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council, which was established last year to guide the ethical and effective use of AI in the state.  Read More

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver has appointed a committee to conduct a national search for the first dean of Vanderbilt University’s new College of Connected Computing. The dean will report to the provost and to Bruce & Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering Krishnendu “Krish” Roy. Read More

As vice provost for special initiatives, Watson will lead a multi-faceted effort to solidify the strategic underpinnings of the College of Connected Computing. He will also oversee the collaborative strategic planning for the college’s “hub and spoke” model, which aims to connect all computing-based scholarship in every college. Read More

In April, Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development hosted the panel discussion “Ethical and Equity Considerations in the Age of AI” as part of the Peabody Dean’s Diversity Lecture series. The session explored societal, ethical and moral questions regarding AI’s growing role in higher education, with special consideration of social justice, bias, equity and discrimination concerns. Read More