Federal Government

Americans saw an uptick in unity for the first time in over a year, with widespread agreement that the U.S. political system needs to be more responsive and an overall distrust of social media influencers, according to the most recent Vanderbilt Unity Poll measuring Americans' views of national unity and the democratic process. Read More

Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, commander for the U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service, will deliver the opening keynote address at the third Vanderbilt University Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats scheduled for April 17–18. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy’s latest Vanderbilt Unity Index shows the country continuing its trend toward more polarization, ending 2023 down nearly three points from the start of the year. Read More

Nathaniel C. Fick, inaugural U.S. ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy, will visit campus on Wednesday, Feb. 28, to participate in a fireside conversation to discuss national security issues from the cyberspace and digital policy perspective. Faculty and staff are invited to register and attend the event. Read More

Anne Milgram, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, will deliver a keynote address at the third Vanderbilt University Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats. Scheduled for April 17–18, the summit will bring together experts and thought leaders to discuss critical issues in the realm of modern conflict.  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

President Joe Biden’s nomination of Douglas Schmidt, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Computer Science, to become Director of Operational Test and Evaluation for the Department of Defense was formally submitted to the Senate on Dec. 4, 2023. Read More

Philippe Fauchet, the Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering at Vanderbilt University, met with members of Congress last week while in Washington, D.C., to emphasize the integral role that engineering research plays in strengthening the United States’ competitiveness and security. Read More

President Joe Biden announced Feb. 3 his intent to appoint Corey E. Thomas, BE’98, as one of 14 new members of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Read More

Overhaul of how political federal employees are appointed is urgently needed, says Vanderbilt Professor David Lewis Read More

An extensive new survey of federal executives led by Vanderbilt's David E. Lewis has resulted in suggestions on how the civil service system can be improved. Read More

Losing experienced employees from federal service jobs can have serious consequences, and there's a good way to lessen the chances of that happening, a new study shows. Read More