Scholar Spotlight

There are ways to circumvent toxic group dynamics, creativity-resistant managers and even self-sabotage so that quality ideas can flourish, says Owen Graduate School of Management professor David Owens. Read More

The Owen Graduate School of Management’s David Owens examines why some great innovations fail “Creative people must be stopped!”  We may not actually hear these words spoken aloud in the weekly staff meeting, but sometimes it feels like an underlying corporate message. In many work groups, innovative ideas are aggressively… Read More

Amy-Jill Levine explores the shared heritage of Christianity and Judaism Amy-Jill Levine (Daniel Dubois/Vanderbilt) Amy-Jill Levine was always fascinated by Christianity. She recalls singing Christmas carols in public school in North Dartmouth, Mass.; joining friends to trim Christmas trees and hunt for Easter eggs. Then a schoolmate accused her,… Read More

Former State Department adviser Vijay Padmanabhan says there is no quick and easy answer when contemplating what to do about detainees. Read More

Sohee Park's schizophrenia research may lead to a greater understanding of the benefit of movement therapies such as yoga and dance for the 2.2 million people in the United States who suffer from this mental disorder. Read More

Sociologist Laura Carpenter examines the evolution of intimacy over the lifespan Did you know that sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in retirement homes? How about that some gay men who get the right to marry are apparently more likely to indulge in affairs, with the knowledge and consent… Read More

Sohee Park’s research explores the impaired and enhanced abilities of the schizophrenic brain Sohee Park (John Russell/Vanderbilt) The “rubber hand illusion” is not a new scientific method, but Sohee Park has used it to make some groundbreaking discoveries about schizophrenia. RHI, which was discovered in 1998, is… Read More

Vijay Padmanabhan helps tread the line between detainees’ safety and human rights Vijay Padmanabhan (Sandy Campbell/Vanderbilt) Candidate Barack Obama pledged in 2008 to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. But as President Obama runs for re-election four years later, it remains open. Vanderbilt law professor and former State Department… Read More

Steve Graham’s career-spanning research explores the value of writing instruction Steve Graham (John Russell/Vanderbilt) It’s that time of year when children are penning their letters to Santa, careful to recount their every Christmas wish. While the biggest challenge for competent writers might be narrowing their list, a significant number… Read More

Bruce Morrill researches the enigma of suffering Bruce Morrill, the Edward A. Malloy Chair of Catholic Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School. (John Russell/Vanderbilt) Consider a young mother. Say she is a practicing Christian, stricken with inoperable cancer and has six painful months to a year to live. Is God… Read More

Anthropologist explores modern Africa and black immigrant experience in America Jemima Pierre (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt) In her interactions with black immigrants over the years, Jemima Pierre said she discovered a surprising sentiment. “They told me, ‘I never knew I was black until I came to the U.S.’ I found that… Read More

Frank Wcislo examines how we consider Russia and its leaders two decades after the Cold War           Frank Wcislo, associate professor of history (John Russell/Vanderbilt)         As Soviet Russia disintegrated in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Frank Wcislo and other… Read More