Arts And Science Faculty Stories

When an “unsolvable” problem needs solving, put John Wikswo on the team. As director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education and University Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Physics, Wikswo is tackling questions crucial to the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, now with support from Vanderbilt's Innovation Catalyst Fund. Read More

RESEARCH SPARK: Meet new faculty Maya Singhal and see how their research could help us understand the impact of diverse community dynamics. Read More

Learn more about Prof. Jesús Ruiz and his family and why he's excited to be faculty head of Moore College. Read More

See the top songs on Gilbert Gonzales's playlist and learn why he wanted to be a faculty head of house. Read More

Learn about the newest faculty head of house and his special ties to Vanderbilt long before he became a professor. Read More

Tracy Sharpley-Whiting's research explores the interior lives of historical figures whose artistic influence shaped their worlds. Her impressive accomplishments led to her recent election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Read More

See how historian Jane Landers and her team are rescuing enslaved Africans’ stories from oblivion and honoring thousands of lives. Read More

Learn about the women who inspire Steven Townsend in his breakthrough research that puts a spotlight on women, their health and discoveries around the healing powers of breast milk. Read More

The image of a writer often conjures up visions of an author sequestered away crafting the perfect poem or buried under stacks of paper finishing their next novel. However, award-winning poet and Gertrude Conaway Professor of English Major Jackson believes it is a deeply collaborative process that relies heavily on community. Read More

Learn more about Dean Tim McNamara, what's kept him teaching and leading for 40+ years and what he loves to do most when he's not working. Read More

See how a passion to help underrepresented students ignited astrophysicist Keivan Stassun’s mission, earning him a MacArthur “genius” award. Read More

New faculty share advice to their younger selves we can all learn from! Read More

Meet some of our new faculty members and learn about their fascinating research. Read More

Jefferson Cowie, James G. Stahlman Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, was recently honored with a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship—in part, in anticipation of his upcoming project, tentatively titled Crosswinds of a Common History, which will take a visionary approach to historical nonfiction. Read More

With a prestigious new grant, archaeologist Ari Caramanica will explore what ancient people can teach us about dealing with the most pressing environmental issue of our time. Read More

Lorrie Moore, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English, won a National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction for her novel I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home. The award, considered to be among the most prestigious literary prizes in the country, adds to the lengthy list of accolades that her novel has received since it was published last fall. Read More

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art, has been awarded a 2023 MacArthur Fellowship for her work exploring personal and collective histories across the Caribbean. Read More

In a new book, 'Gilded Age Cocktails: History, Lore, and Recipes from America’s Golden Age,' Cecelia Tichi, research professor of English, explores the history of some of bartending’s most enduring recipes, as well as drinks created for business titans of the day, such as Cornelius Vanderbilt Read More

Jon Parrish Peede, BS’91, former director of the National Endowment for the Humanities, reflects on his respect for the late Vereen Bell. Read More

In a new study published in "Social Psychology Quarterly," Lijun Song, associate professor of sociology in Vanderbilt University’s College of Arts and Science, examines how the theories of “social capital” and “social cost” predict an individual’s life satisfaction. Read More