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by Jenna Somers Jessika Boles After consulting with the palliative care team, Jessika Boles, MEd’08, found herself speaking with a mother about honoring her daughter’s legacy. “One of the ways we can do that is through handprint art, since handprints and fingerprints are unique to each person. Would you… Read More

As founder and CEO of UpSmith, Wyatt Smith, BS'10, uses technology to help builders and technicians be more productive, master new skills to stay in the workforce longer and help solve the skilled workforce shortage. Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich When top special education researchers, a cutting-edge dyslexia academy and research center, and influential school leaders converge at Vanderbilt University, big ideas are bound to emerge. That is exactly what happened at the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools Neurodivergence-Informed Schools conference, hosted by the Roberts Academy… Read More

Jeremy Payne, principal senior lecturer in the Department of Human and Organizational Development, has been awarded the 2024-2025 Chancellor’s Cup by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier for his steadfast mentorship and teaching of undergraduate students. For more than six years, Payne has mentored and advised undergraduate, professional, and graduate students, and has shown he is committed to developing personal connections with each of them. Read More

Lynn Fuchs Lynn Fuchs, Dunn Family Professor of Psychoeducational Assessment, Emerita, passed away on May 7, 2025. She was 75 years old. Throughout her career, Fuchs was recognized as one of the top scholars in special education and psychological sciences as well as a leading scholar in mathematical and… Read More

by Jenna Somers When a first grader has a spelling test on a Friday, they probably understand that the more they study throughout the week, the better they’ll perform on the test. They also probably understand that if they only study on Monday, then by Friday, they may not remember… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich With artificial intelligence being rapidly deployed across all sectors of public life, including education, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how younger children interact with AI algorithms. Future programmers will need to consider the social and ethical impacts of technology, contends Vanderbilt Peabody College of… Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Alexander Initiative, part of Peabody College of education and human development, has selected its inaugural cohort of Alexander Fellows. The immersive professional development experience for outstanding high school teachers from across the United States aims to revitalize U.S. history and civics education. Thirty teachers were… Read More

In March, students and faculty from Vanderbilt University and Tennessee State University took an environmental tour of Nashville, funded by the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy, and Climate. The students learned about the city’s history and recent sustainability projects to improve the environment. Yolanda J. McDonald The tour included… Read More

Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development’s expertise in designing and offering gifted education was highlighted in March when Peabody Global Initiatives and Chris Vanags, director of the Peabody Research Office, hosted a pair of Japanese visiting researchers. Hirokazu Kumazaki, professor in the Department of Neuropsychiatry at… Read More

Kathleen Hoover-Dempsey Kathleen Virginia Hoover-Dempsey, 82, passed away on March 24, 2025. She joined Peabody College in 1973 as professor of psychology and retired in 2013 as professor of psychology, emerita. During her career, she served several years as chair of the Department of Psychology and Human Development and as… Read More

H. Rodes Hart, BA’54, who had an insatiable appetite for learning and education and contributed to Vanderbilt’s growth through his philanthropy and more than 30 years of leadership on the university’s Board of Trust, died March 30. He was 93. Read More

As fewer people enter the education profession and high rates of principal turnover persist, school districts need strategic and systematic approaches to recruiting, hiring, and supporting effective school leaders. Principal pipelines may be the answer. Principal pipelines are a comprehensive and aligned system for identifying, developing, and supporting school leaders. Read More

By Jenna Somers Alex Astrella At age two Alex Astrella, MEd’23, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. His parents were told that he had little chance of graduating high school or becoming financially independent. Today, Astrella is the founder and CEO of Blu Star Productions, an award-winning film studio… Read More

The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University Peabody College of education and human development has launched the Early Childhood Governance Landscape, a new tool that illustrates how states structure early childhood governance—and what those choices mean for coordination, funding, and access to services for young children… Read More

The IRIS Center at Vanderbilt, which provides free online resources about teaching and learning, helped about 1.5 million people from all 50 states, more than 1,000 public school districts and more than 1,500 U.S. colleges and universities. That’s an increase of 15 percent over 2022, reflecting the growing importance of online instructional resources in today’s educational landscape. And its reach is even broader than that—hospitals, health care systems and justice systems logged in to benefit from its effective, evidence-based resources. Read More

Laurie Cutting, Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Special Education (Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt University) Laurie E. Cutting, a pioneering educational neuroscientist devoted to unlocking the mysteries of brain function in learning, has been named the 2025 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner from Vanderbilt University. The annual award honors… Read More

In two recent studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, moderate-severe TBI was associated with difficulties in communication, namely remembering spoken language and integrating information in gesture with speech. Both impairments can inhibit a person’s ability to understand and effectively communicate with others, but the research teams hope the studies’ findings could pave the way for improved therapies and assessments to help people with TBI communicate more easily in their daily lives. Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich Meghan Burke, professor of special education at Peabody College Only about 20 percent of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities currently access formal support services. Meghan Burke, professor of special education at Vanderbilt Peabody College, has built a career around growing that number, helping… Read More

By Jenna Somers and Krystal Schmidt Tennessee’s Education Freedom Act of 2025 takes effect in the 2025-2026 school year. In the first year, the Tennessee Department of Education will award 20,000 state-funded scholarships, commonly known as vouchers, to eligible families to support their children’s attendance at scholarship-accepting private schools. Read More