Arts And Science Faculty Stories

Kimberly Welch, associate professor of history and assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt University, has been awarded a 2022 Dan David Prize. The internationally renowned annual award, headquartered at Tel Aviv University, gives prizes of $300,000 each to nine early- to mid-career history scholars whose outstanding contributions expand knowledge of the past, enrich society in the present and promise to improve the future of the world.   Read More

Recognizing the long-term historical significance of the signs, posters and stickers encouraging COVID-19 health and safety protocols on campus over the past two years, Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies Shaul Kelner has collected these artifacts in a pop-up art installation on the third floor of Garland Hall. 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

Vanderbilt archaeologist and historical anthropologist Steve Wernke and postdoctoral fellow Giles Morrow are exploring the remains of a 16th-century church high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, all while giving Vanderbilt students a front-row seat to the research using virtual reality, artificial intelligence and geospatial technologies. Read More

Renã A.S. Robinson, associate professor of chemistry and Dorothy J. Wingfield Phillips Chancellor Faculty Fellow, has been named president of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. Read More

The humanitarian and military crisis in Afghanistan continues to erupt after the Taliban’s swift takeover of authority when the U.S. government began withdrawing troops earlier this month. In keeping with its mission to elevate facts and reasoned discourse, the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy promptly brought together military and political experts, including Lt. Gen. Scott Howell, a former commander of the Joint Special Operations Command in Afghanistan, for a live virtual discussion. Read More

Meet the new faculty head of E. Bronson Ingram College, Teresa Goddu, associate professor of English and American studies. Read More

Meet the new faculty head of West House, Emily Pendergrass, associate professor of literacy and director of reading education in the Department of Teaching and Learning. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will host a virtual discussion on Monday, June 28, at noon CT about the evolution of the U.S. Congress and how to find issues of common ground in a time of polarization. The discussion will feature current U.S. Rep. David Price and Vanderbilt political scientists Alan Wiseman and Larry Bartels. Registration is required.  Read More

With the help of a Vanderbilt Strong grant and Vanderbilt’s Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy, two Vanderbilt University instructors came together to create a boisterous country western musical comedy. The play, "Sloppy Bonnie," will run May 20–June 5 in the parking lot of Oz Arts Nashville. Read More

A series of trans-institutional courses designed through the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities is using Vanderbilt’s campus as a living lab, giving students—future historians, architects, archaeologists, curators and engineers among them—unique hands-on experiences. 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

On the last day of fall classes, Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies Shaul Kelner received a heartwarming surprise from his class of mostly first-year students. Read More

Vanderbilt students recently had the opportunity to make their own stylish and unique “designer” face masks at multiple mask-making sessions led by Vanderbilt costume shop manager and senior lecturer Alexandra Sargent Capps at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center. Read More

Writer in Residence in Theatre Krista Knight is taking a creative twist on COVID-19 protocols by teaching her Introduction to Writing for Stage and Screen course in an online, virtual reality world. Read More

As the new academic year approaches, Vanderbilt's faculty heads of house are revealing some things about themselves in this special portrait series. Meet Celso Thomas Castilho, associate professor of history and faculty head of Memorial House. Read More

As the new academic year gets underway, Vanderbilt’s faculty heads of house are revealing some things about themselves in this special portrait series. Get to know Melissa Gresalfi, associate professor of mathematics education and dean of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. Read More

As the new academic year approaches, Vanderbilt’s faculty heads of house are revealing some things about themselves in this special portrait series. Get to know Chalene Helmuth, senior lecturer in Spanish and Portuguese and faculty head of Sutherland House. Read More

As the new academic year approaches, Vanderbilt’s faculty heads of house are revealing some things about themselves in this special portrait series. Get to know Christoph Zeller, associate professor of German studies and of European studies and faculty head of West House. Read More