Peabody College

Chancellor Alexander Heard signs the historic Peabody-Vanderbilt merger agreement in the spring of 1979. Alexander Heard, an adviser to three U.S. presidents who, as Vanderbilt’s fifth chancellor, guided the university smoothly through the stormy period of the 1960s and 1970s without the unrest and violence that afflicted many college campuses,… Read More

Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development at Peabody, was elected to the executive committee of the National Science Board at its May meeting in Arlington, Va. The National Science Board sets policy for the National Science Foundation and advises the president and Congress on… Read More

The 2009-10 academic year is well under way and with it all the activity in teaching, research and service that characterize Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. Despite the economic uncertainty of the last year, Peabody continues to thrive. Read More

Visit Peabody College’s Web site at http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ Bonnie Arant Ertelt, Editor Donna Pritchett, Art Director Amy Blackman, Designer Lew Harris, Assistant Editor Nelson Bryan, Class Notes Editor Lacy Tite, Web Edition Design & Development Contributors: Kurt Brobeck, GayNelle Doll, Jennie Edwards, Kara Furlong, Jennifer… Read More

Innovative developmental cognitive neuroscientist Bruce McCandliss continues his research into educational neuroscience, the study of how a child’s brain might influence educational experience and how educational experiences might influence a child’s brain. Read More

Peabody’s early language development experts focus on teaching methods and curricula as a precursor to pre-K success. More than 45 years ago, Susan Gray conducted the first randomized clinical study with low-income children showing that an enriched environment could lead to gains in children’s language mastery. Her findings helped lead to the establishment of Head Start, a national school readiness program. Read More

Pay for performance Performance pay for teachers is indeed a viable way of improving the very stature of the profession. It has long been felt that undifferentiated, lock-step salary schedules serve equally well as disincentives. Highly motivated individuals who believe their growth and development will be impeded by preset pay scales… Read More

Warren Gorrell has always known that a great education is the first step toward success. Warren and his wife, Cathy, have made that first step a little easier for deserving Peabody students by endowing two scholarships. Read More

Peabody alumni may be surprised to learn that the college is using new ways to stay in touch with graduates day today, via Facebook, VUconnect, Twitter and YouTube. How is this tangle of newfangled social networking terms changing the face of alumni communications? Read More

Our 2008-2009 Donor Roll recognizes our donors, reflecting gifts made to Peabody College between July 1, 2008, and June 30, 2009. Read More

Rodes Hart and Orrin Ingram believe in Vanderbilt. As alumni, trustees, philanthropists and visionaries, they reflect on the opportunities—and challenges—of eliminating need-based loans and increasing scholarship endowment. Read More

Visit Peabody College’s Web site at http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ Bonnie Arant Ertelt, Editor Donna Pritchett, Art Director Michael Smeltzer, Designer Lew Harris, Assistant Editor Nelson Bryan, Class Notes Editor Lacy Tite, Web Edition Design and Development Contributors: Geordie Brackin, Kurt Brobeck, Xiu Cravens, Jennie Edwards, Jennifer Johnston, Melanie Moran, Ann Marie Deer… Read More

Connie Vinita Dowell, M.L.S.’79, with three decades of experience working in academic libraries, began her new position as the university’s first dean of libraries in March. Dowell previously served as dean of the library and information access at San Diego State University.  Connie Vinita Dowell, MLS’79, is Vanderbilt’s first… Read More

Two new faculty members, both in the Department of Psychology and Human Development, joined Peabody College in January. Professor Amy Needham, whose research emphasizes cognitive, motor and perceptual development in infants, came from Duke University.  Professor Bruce McCandliss conducts studies using fMRI and other technologies that place him on the leading… Read More

Peabody College of education and human development is the best graduate school of its kind in the nation, according to rankings released by U.S. News & World Report. “We are very pleased by this ranking, which speaks to the high quality of the college and especially our faculty, our students… Read More

The Susan Gray School has achieved national reaccreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Susan Gray School is one of the first programs in the nation to achieve reaccreditation under new, more extensive and more stringent NAEYC standards, which were released in the fall of… Read More

For the second year in a row, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognized the Peabody Reflector in January during its annual District III competition. The magazine won a Special Merit Award in the Alumni Magazines I division. Read More

Vanderbilt will serve as a research partner to the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a nonpartisan initiative established by former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist that seeks education reform in Tennessee. Frist was joined at the announcement by Gov. Phil Bredesen, Tennessee Commissioner of Education Tim Webb, Nashville Mayor Karl… Read More

Tracy Cummings, a graduate student in the Experimental Education Research and Training program, received the NASA Science Engineering Mathematics Aerospace Academy Award in Washington, D.C., last September. The Science Engineering Mathematics Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) is a national program with 22 sites in 17 states. Cummings worked with a team that… Read More

Dean Camilla Benbow and Claire Smrekar, associate professor of public policy and education, participated on the panel “To Ph.D. or Ed.D.? That is the Question” at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s annual meeting. Janet Eyler, professor of the practice of education and director of undergraduate studies for… Read More