Unity Project

Vanderbilt community members are invited to join the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy for its first Lunch and Learn, "What LatinX Means to Asylum Seekers," on Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Registration is limited to 25; lunch will not be provided. Read More

This Unity Dinner will center on the project’s pillar “Race in America: Toward a Nation of Equality.” This pillar focuses on the historical and present-day impacts of racism in America and how we can work toward a more equal and just society.  Read More

Students from seven Tennessee colleges and universities submitted poems exploring “What unity through American democracy means to me” for the second annual poetry contest sponsored by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy. The judges selected Vanderbilt senior Sophie Kaiser’s poem as the winner. Read More

John G. Geer, a distinguished political scientist, a dedicated teacher and a longtime administrative and academic strategy leader at Vanderbilt University, will take on a new role in the Office of the Chancellor. Geer has been named a senior advisor to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier on key strategic initiatives that promote democracy, free expression and open dialogue—all flagship priorities for the university. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy continues its Unity Dinner series with Unity Dinner: Hours of Hope on Tuesday, April 18, at 5:30 p.m. Please register to attend; space is limited. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy is launching Unity Dinners, a new series that aims to bring students, faculty and staff together in community and conversation around society’s most pressing issues. "Unity Dinner: Race in America" will be held on Thursday, March 23, at 5:30 p.m. in Buttrick Hall, Room 123. Read More

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who represented Ohio’s 13th Congressional District for 20 years, will visit Vanderbilt to discuss his efforts to work across party lines at an event hosted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. This in-person-only event will be in Wilson Hall, Room 103. Read More

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

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier participated in a conversation titled “The Path Forward for Academic Freedom in Higher Ed” as part of the world-renowned Aspen Ideas Festival on June 29. The panel set out to explore the “twin ideals of open inquiry and free expression” as well as higher education’s unique role in advancing these forces. Read More

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy has announced the formation of a 26-member advisory board spanning multiple backgrounds and fields—from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and biographer Walter Isaacson to Grammy-winning artists Faith Hill and Tim McGraw—that is committed to the project’s mission to elevate facts and evidence-based reasoning in American political discourse. Read More

Illustrations by Gary Bates From the Civil War to the battle over civil rights, the United States has seen levels of conflict in the past that have threatened to tear the country apart. But watching the violent attack on the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, Professor of Political Science… Read More