Op Ed

The Scholars Strategy Network, an organization of university-based scholars committed to using research to improve policy and strengthen democracy, will host an in-person workshop, “How to Write an Op-Ed,” on Wednesday, Jan. 25, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Sarratt 189. Read More

Academic institutions owe it to their students and faculty, and to society at large, to guard against radicalization and politicization of ideas by any group, no matter where it falls on the political spectrum, writes Chancellor Daniel Diermeier in this opinion piece. Read More

A new "USA Today" op-ed written by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier urges top universities like Vanderbilt to take a leading role in restoring “reason, rationality and honesty” into the national dialogue. Reflecting on this moment in America, Diermeier argues that universities should leverage their strengths in research and transformational education to reestablish faith in one another and our institutions. Read More

For years, the slow food movement has made the case for meals as a catalyst for community: the right ingredients plus sufficient time equals something much greater than the sum of its parts. The same equation holds true when it comes to educating our nation's future citizens, writes Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in this op-ed on CNN.com. Read More

Vanderbilt is in the midst of a construction boom, creating new living communities for undergraduates and the many faculty, staff, graduate students and visiting scholars who make its educational experience distinctive. "But the true work that we’re engaging in is making good on our commitment to shape America’s future leaders, one brick at a time," writes Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in "The Tennessean." Read More

In "The Conversation," Vanderbilt paleontologist Simon Darroch explains how computational fluid dynamics can help researchers understand some of the earliest life on Earth. Read More

For well over a century, innovations by America’s research universities have made America stronger, writes Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in 'The Hill.' Read More

Progress is still possible if both parties are willing to reach across the aisle, writes Suzanna Sherry in "The Tennessean." Read More

Mark Wait, the Martha Rivers Ingram Dean of the Blair School of Music, writes, "Trends in classical music, as in any other field, will come and go, but serious music is present in all ages, and in all places – including right now in Nashville." Read More

Christoph Zeller, associate professor of German, writes: "Looking back at the protest movement in Germany reveals parallels that help to understand the present." Read More

Vanderbilt has led a national drive to ensure that academic achievements, community service and hard work—not ability to pay—determine a student’s path to higher education, writes Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos in an opinion piece March 5. Read More

Explainer: the mysterious dark energy that speeds the universe’s rate of expansion Read More

Bob O'Dell reflects on the challenges of building the Hubble Space Telescope, launched 25 years ago. Read More

In the London School of Economics blog, Paige Marta Skiba writes that most people with outstanding payday loan debt spent or saved a tax rebate instead of using it to pay off debt. Read More

Dennis Hall writes that while 'The Imitation Game' film dramatizes technological discoveries that shortened World War II, there is a lesser known story about radar advances that brought us the microwave. Read More

Jane Landers, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of History, says that the breakthrough in U.S.-Cuban relations is long overdue, but Cuba must still address its profound social problems. Read More

James McFarland, assistant professor of German, Cinema and Media Arts, asks: How does Ridley Scott's strange and violent retelling of "Exodus" fit into our own moral universe? Read More

Human nature itself can undermine privacy laws that seek to balance the government’s interests in surveillance and protecting the country against terrorism with a citizen’s right to be left alone, argues Lydia Jones, adjunct professor of law. Read More

"No matter which (a)theistic background informs your theology, you may have to wrestle with the data astronomers will be bringing to houses of worship in the very near future," writes astronomy professor David Weintraub for The Conversation. Read More

"Ferguson is not a special case. It’s just evidence that race cleaves our nation, tensions simmer just below the surface, and far too many people who believe in justice are comfortable watching its miscarriage," writes Vanderbilt sociologist Tony Brown for The Conversation. Read More