Sesquicentennial

In celebration of GIS Day on Nov. 19, the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ GIS Lab created “Mapping Vanderbilt’s Past, Present, Future,” an interactive story map that documents how the university’s campus has been imagined, built, contested and reshaped across its 150-year history. Read More

The vocals of Brandi Carlili and the Alabama Shakes backed by SistaStrings washed over the crowd of nearly 2,000 concert attendees as Strengthening Ties: Vanderbilt @ 150 brought the Sesquicentennial celebrations to a joyous conclusion for the entire university community on Sunday, Nov. 9, at The Pinnacle. Read More

Eight decades of Vanderbilt University history are commemorated in a new exhibit at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries. Dare to Grow, 1945–2025 is on view in the Central Library fourth-floor lobby through mid-February 2026. The exhibit explores Vanderbilt’s remarkable growth in faculty, facilities, enrollment and the quality of its students amid national and international crises, recessions, pandemics and other disruptions from postwar to present day. Read More

Vanderbilt celebrated the 150th anniversary of its opening on the afternoon of Oct. 3 on Alumni Lawn. The Board of Trust, Vanderbilt leadership, deans, faculty, staff and students gathered to hear Sen. Lamar Alexander, Mayor Freddie O'Connell and Chancellor Daniel Diermeier speak on the momentous occasion before celebrating with streamers, live music and various food trucks. Read More

V150 continues with a celebratory roster of events commemorating the university’s opening in 1875. The slate of fall festivities kicks off with Arthur Brooks’ Commodore Classroom on Sept. 19, continues with the V150 Sesquicentennial Ceremony and Celebration on Oct. 3 and culminates in a star-studded concert on Nov. 9 featuring headliners Brandi Carlile and Alabama Shakes. Read More

What do a Commodore ID Card, a piece of the Bicentennial Oak, a baseball signed by two-time national championship-winning head baseball coach Tim Corbin, and a video of the 2019 Carmichael Tower implosions all have in common? They are among more than 150 items that future generations will discover in a Vanderbilt time capsule to be opened in the year 2174. Read More

In keeping with the Sesquicentennial spirit, we celebrate our past, present and future—from our important and long-standing function in the city of Nashville, to the holistic education and opportunities to innovate that our students receive from Immersion Vanderbilt, to our mastery of the cutting-edge technologies that will define our shared future. Read More

Special event to honor the Class of 2024 will take place on April 6 from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Student Life Center Ballroom. Admission is open to seniors, and tickets will be available for $5. Read More

As part of Vanderbilt’s Sesquicentennial celebration, a time capsule will be placed in Kirkland Hall. All university community members are invited to submit a digital note about your aspirations for Vanderbilt’s future for possible inclusion in the new time capsule. Read More

This free exhibit is part of ongoing Sesquicentennial celebrations and features rare items from Heard Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives. Read More

See how more than 200 students and faculty came together through 19 interdisciplinary hands-on courses to turn the historic Vaughn home into a living laboratory, unveiling "hidden narratives" of Vanderbilt's and Nashville's past. Read More

Vanderbilt University continues to celebrate its Sesquicentennial with events and exhibits across campus, as well as with a new virtual platform and interactive photo mural that allow alumni, friends and fans of the university to celebrate the 150th anniversary from anywhere in the world. Vandyverse, a unique Vanderbilt experience best viewed on a desktop or laptop computer, lets users explore the Vanderbilt campus through virtual exhibits and engaging content that highlight key aspects of the university’s past and present. Read More

A new timeline highlighting key milestones in Vanderbilt University’s 150-year history has been added to the Sesquicentennial website. Read More

Join students and faculty from the Department of Anthropology to learn more about Vanderbilt’s early history through archaeological excavation on the grounds of a service workers’ cabin once located behind the first faculty residences on campus. Ongoing investigations at the Vaughn Home (currently the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities) will be open to the public on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Read More

In celebration of Vanderbilt’s Sesquicentennial, these pages are part of a story that’s 150 years in the making. It begins in 1873—a pivotal time in our nation’s history—when our visionary founders teamed up to build a great university in a war-torn city in Tennessee. In 2023, the story continues with Vanderbilt today and looks toward our global future together. Read More

Vanderbilt officially launched the yearlong celebration of its 150th anniversary with a full slate of events on March 24 and 25. Among the highlights was a formal ceremony in Langford Auditorium where members of the Vanderbilt community took to the stage in academic regalia to recount details of the university’s founding in 1873 and reflect on key moments in Vanderbilt’s history. Read More

Stronger than at any other time in our history, we are positioned to do more than just meet the challenges of our times. We have what it takes to thrive and lead—to define and become the great university of this century. Read More

Since its founding in 1873, Vanderbilt has stayed true to its roots by breaking new ground in various ways, whether in its capacity to be a more welcoming and inclusive community, or in its pursuit of discoveries that help answer humanity’s most pressing questions. Here we present an illustrated guide to just a few of the many pioneering figures who have helped Vanderbilt dare to grow throughout its history. Read More

"Spring Procession," a poem by Didi Jackson, assistant professor of English, read at Vanderbilt's Sesquicentennial launch in March. Read More

In 2022, as Vanderbilt’s 150th anniversary approached, recent graduates Allen Zeng, BA’23, and Richard Zhang, BA’23, set out to capture the essence of the university by photographing its community members. Collaborating with Professor of Art Vesna Pavlović and librarian Yvonne Boyer, the two developed the “Vanderbilt Self-Portrait” project, supported by a Sesquicentennial Grant from the chancellor’s office and a Buchanan Library Fellowship. Read More