Jon Meacham

Vanderbilt Distinguished Visiting Professor of Political Science and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Jon Meacham has been awarded a National Humanities Medal, the nation’s highest honor for contributions to the humanities.    Read More

Walter Isaacson, the acclaimed author of the biographies Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life and professor of history at Tulane, will speak at Vanderbilt University on Thursday, Dec. 5, in conversation with John M. Seigenthaler, former news anchor and correspondent for NBC and MSNBC. The discussion will range from mis/disinformation to the art of historical biography to Isaacson’s 2023 biography of Elon Musk.  Read More

With 1,100 enrolled students, the number speaks for itself—PSCI 1150: U.S. Elections is a hot commodity on campus. The elective course offered every four years by the College of Arts and Science is a highly anticipated deep dive into how elections work in the U.S., blending a robust  understanding of history with extensive research from political science. Read More

Premiering Aug. 28, The Choice, produced by Dialogue Vanderbilt and featuring Pulitzer Prize–winning author and presidential historian Jon Meacham and Vanderbilt professor, polling expert and political scientist John Geer, will discuss the key moments and the many implications of the 2024 presidential election. Read More

In August 2023, the university launched Dialogue Vanderbilt, its core initiative to bridge divides, reestablish a vibrant culture of civil discourse and free expression, and showcase experts from on campus and around the world, leading the charge to build more engaged citizens and communities.  Read More

The Choice, produced by the Dialogue Vanderbilt, is a four-part podcast focused on the key moments and ramifications of the 2024 presidential election between former president Donald J. Trump and current President Joseph R. Biden. Vanderbilt’s Jon Meacham and John Geer will blend history and political science to offer insights and context about this rematch of the 2020 presidential contest. Read More

Pulitzer Prize–winning author and propaganda expert Anne Applebaum will visit Vanderbilt on March 5 for a discussion of the rise of autocracy in today’s geopolitical climate.  Read More

The Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the American Presidency has launched, with the goal of exploring the presidency through an innovative, comprehensive lens. Housed within the College of Arts and Science, the center will serve as a nationally recognized hub for innovative scholarship about the workings of the presidency. Read More

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney joined Pulitzer Prize–winning author and professor Jon Meacham, co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, to speak about the future of U.S. democracy at the inaugural event for the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the American Presidency. Read More

Nashville Downtown Partnership is teaming up with Vanderbilt University and Pinnacle Financial Partners to bring the esteemed author and historian, Jon Meacham, to downtown’s biggest business event. The Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon will be held Oct. 18 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at Music City Center. Read More

The Tennessee Legislature has recently garnered national attention with the attempted expulsion of three state representatives—and the eventual expulsion of Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Justin Pearson. The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy will host a virtual event on Thursday, April 13, at noon to discuss the broader historical, political and spiritual context and to explore legislative effectiveness at the state level and the potential long-term impacts of last week’s events. Read More

Bestselling authors Peter Baker and Susan Glasser will join Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian Jon Meacham for an evening of discussion Dec. 7 surrounding the legacy of the Trump presidency and the midterm elections’ potential impact on our country’s fractured politics. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy is launching a series of conversations and interviews this summer featuring experts on the important issues facing America today. Guests include New York Times national political correspondent Jonathan Martin, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Yuval Levin, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and more. Read More

Nearly 200 alumni and parent volunteers returned to campus April 1–2 for the annual Volunteer Leadership Weekend. The weekend’s theme, Vanderbilt in Classroom, Community and Conversation, was designed to give university volunteer leaders an inside view of changes underway at Vanderbilt and to provide firsthand insights from university leaders, faculty and students about how these initiatives improve the educational experience.   Read More

The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham discussed the complex intersection of religion and politics in American democracy on Jan. 13 as part of a virtual event hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy and Vanderbilt Divinity School. Read More

The Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham will discuss the intersection of religion and politics in the U.S. during a Jan. 13 discussion hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy and Vanderbilt Divinity School. Read More

Jon Meacham, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Professor of American Presidency at Vanderbilt University, was formally installed as Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral on Nov. 7. Read More

In remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will host a virtual discussion, “9/11: Two Decades Later,” on Friday, Sept. 10, at noon CT. The event will feature faculty historians and legal scholars Jon Meacham, Samar Ali and Ganesh Sitaraman. Read More

Vanderbilt University joined Nashville community leaders to pay tribute to the life and Nashville legacy of U.S. Rep. John Lewis with the formal dedication of Rep. John Lewis Way and a public celebration at Ryman Auditorium. Read More

Vanderbilt University will join with many community partners to pay tribute to the life and Nashville legacy of Rep. John Lewis on July 16 and 17 with the formal dedication of Rep. John Lewis Way and a public celebration at Ryman Auditorium. Read More