Impact Symposium

Actor, comedian and producer Aubrey Plaza; actor, producer and human rights advocate Laverne Cox; and engineer, comedian, author and inventor Bill Nye will be the featured speakers at Vanderbilt University’s 2021 Impact Symposium. This year’s event, which will be entirely virtual, is scheduled for consecutive Tuesdays beginning March 30. Read More

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay has withdrawn from her scheduled engagement for this year’s IMPACT symposium. Details regarding refunds for ticket holders and a potential replacement date for the event are still forming. Read More

Vanderbilt's 2019 Impact Symposium will feature Ava DuVernay, whose directorial work includes the Oscar-winning historical drama "Selma" and the Oscar-nominated "13th"; Abby Wambach, Olympic gold medalist and World Cup soccer champion; and Ta-Nehisi Coates, author of the best-selling "Between the World and Me," which won the National Book Award in 2015. Read More

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos reflects on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Vanderbilt's history of encouraging open dialogue, which continues today, in this week's column. Read More

A little more than two months after he spoke to nearly 11,000 people at Vanderbilt’s 1968 student-led Impact Symposium, presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy was assassinated in California. Frye Gaillard writes about serveing as Impact’s chairman and Kennedy’s host at Vanderbilt. Read More

A U.S. flag that became the backdrop for the early years of Vanderbilt’s Impact Symposium will be unfurled, refolded and preserved during a campus ceremony to honor veterans Nov. 12. Read More

Six alumni—Bruce Heyman, John Hindle, Scott Hubbard, Paul Kurtz, Richard McCord and Mary Margaret Oliver—are the newest members of the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame. Read More

Chris Matthews didn’t disappoint “Hardball” fans in his Vanderbilt appearance March 27, criticizing Democrats, evangelicals and candidates from both major political parties. Read More

Vanderbilt's Impact Symposium, one of the oldest university lecture series of its caliber in the nation, this year features Chris Matthews, best-selling author and host of MSNBC’s "Hardball"; Hasan Minhaj, comedian, actor and senior correspondent for "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah"; and Jessica Carbino, sociologist for the social and dating app Bumble. Read More

A lecture related to little-known African American sports history on Feb. 7 will lead off a series of events celebrating African American History Month at the Central Library. Read More

As the chairmen of the first five Impact sym­posia, we are delighted when articles about this important and unique Vanderbilt institution are published, most recently the “Speak Up” article written by Andrew Maraniss in the Spring 2017 issue. Read More

An Emmy-winning writer for 'The Daily Show,' three journalists whose careers have been shaped by innovation, and a woman judge who blazed new trails have been named to the Student Media Hall of Fame. Read More

Vanderbilt celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Impact Symposium, an event that will always be remembered as one of the signature moments in the university’s history. Read More

Van Jones, Ezra Klein, Shaun King and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will headline Vanderbilt University’s Impact Symposium March 27-29. Read More

The Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery presents “Race, Sports and Vanderbilt: 1966–1970,” which will showcase photographs, front pages from "The Tennessean," and related artifacts from this time period, beginning Friday, Sept. 23. Read More

Plenty of notable personalities visited Vanderbilt this past spring or showed some love to Commodore Nation on social media—and sometimes both. Read More

Two upcoming annual events will provide Vanderbilt faculty and staff with opportunities to hear from prominent speakers and experience world-class musical performances. Read More

Vanderbilt's Impact Symposium, one of the oldest university lecture series of its caliber in the nation, will feature best-selling author Azar Nafisi, Black Lives Matter activist and Teach For America Executive Director Brittany Packnett, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee and former Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner March 21-23. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Impact Symposium marked its 51st year with three nights of speakers March 16-18, including award-winning playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Impact Symposium is marking its 51st year with lectures by award-winning playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith, "Washington Post" columnist Eugene Robinson, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Read More