Samar Ali

To cultivate transformational connections across campus, the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will launch the Vanderbilt Unity Lab this spring. The Unity Lab will equip VU community members with the tools necessary to strengthen the bonds of cultural affinity and promote civil discourse. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to apply for program training positions. Read More

Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy hosted a live virtual discussion June 7 to discuss the nation's mass shootings and the continued divisiveness about gun violence and legislation. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy is launching a series of conversations and interviews this summer featuring experts on the important issues facing America today. Guests include New York Times national political correspondent Jonathan Martin, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Yuval Levin, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and more. Read More

Vanderbilt University and the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will host a live virtual panel discussion, “Facts and Evidence: Navigating the Gun Debate in America,” on Tuesday, June 7, at noon CT to discuss the issue of gun violence in America. Read More

As Russia unleashed an assault against Ukraine on Thursday, a panel of Vanderbilt experts brought context to the developments during a virtual event on the escalating conflict and its potential global implications. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Narrative 4 team is partnering with the Belcourt Theatre to present a film screening and panel discussion about the power of storytelling, empathy and reconciliation on Saturday, Nov. 13. Read More

In remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will host a virtual discussion, “9/11: Two Decades Later,” on Friday, Sept. 10, at noon CT. The event will feature faculty historians and legal scholars Jon Meacham, Samar Ali and Ganesh Sitaraman. 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

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy will host a virtual panel Aug. 26 on the crisis in Afghanistan—a timely and exclusive discussion featuring Vanderbilt faculty historians and foreign policy experts and retired Lt. Gen. Scott A. Howell, former commander of U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.  Read More

Vanderbilt University joined Nashville community leaders to pay tribute to the life and Nashville legacy of U.S. Rep. John Lewis with the formal dedication of Rep. John Lewis Way and a public celebration at Ryman Auditorium. Read More

Vanderbilt University will join with many community partners to pay tribute to the life and Nashville legacy of Rep. John Lewis on July 16 and 17 with the formal dedication of Rep. John Lewis Way and a public celebration at Ryman Auditorium. Read More

The Aspen Institute’s Socrates Program will host a virtual conversation, “Is National Unity Possible?” on Thursday, April 1, at 1 p.m. CT featuring the co-chairs of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy: former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Vanderbilt faculty members Samar Ali and Jon Meacham. Read More

The co-chairs of The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy appeared on MSNBC’s "Morning Joe" Feb. 4 to discuss the university’s nonpartisan initiative that aims to elevate research and evidence-based reasoning in the national discourse. Read More

On the heels of the launch of The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, several Vanderbilt University faculty have been tapped for their expertise relevant to the Biden administration’s transition, the presidential inaugural address and the predominant theme of unity in America. Read More

Former Vice President Al Gore and the 66th Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice each will provide timely conversations with Vanderbilt’s Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian and biographer, on Thursday, Jan. 14, to support the debut of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy. Read More

Samar Ali, JD’06, BS’03, has joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University as a research professor in political science and law. Her appointment was announced by John Geer, the Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science, and Chris Guthrie, dean and John Wade-Kent Syverud Professor of Law. Read More

After months of exploring how higher education could play a meaningful and active role in bridging longstanding partisan fissures, Vanderbilt University today launched the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, which aims to strengthen the nation’s democratic institutions by advancing evidence-based research in the national discourse on unity. Read More

Vanderbilt University is launching "Engine for Art, Democracy and Justice," a new initiative conceived by professor Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and focused on healing at a time of social unrest. Read More

The Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board announces its 2018 alumni award recipients: Samar Ali, BS’03, JD’06; Kimberly Bryant, BE’89; Krista Donaldson, BE’95; Rashed Fakhruddin, BE’91; and Heiki Miki, MBA’96. They will be honored Oct. 11 during Reunion and Homecoming Weekend. “These honorees include alumni who are recognized around the… Read More

To help ensure that Vanderbilt’s mission stays on track and is poised for future success, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos has convened a broadly diverse group of alumni leaders called the ’Dores of Distinction. Read More