University History

In March, Vanderbilt University launched a refreshed visual identity designed to reflect the university’s forward momentum and to build pride and visibility across the institution, including its athletics program.”As we prepare to celebrate our 150th anniversary next year, it’s time for Vanderbilt to sharpen our expression of who we are… Read More

The only public acknowledgement of the Rockefeller family's financial support of Vanderbilt is found in an unlikely venue: the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Read more from this story in the latest issue of 'Vanderbilt Magazine.' Read More

When George Peabody College for Teachers first moved to its current location in 1914, across from Vanderbilt, no one talked about sustainability. Yet the idea became a centerpiece of the school’s mission to educate farmers, as well as to train the teachers who would educate the children of farmers. As a result, Peabody became the only teachers college in the United States to open a demonstration farm. Read More

Watch video of Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian T.J. Stiles speaking on “The Commodore’s Patriotism: Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Path to the Founding of Vanderbilt University.” Cornelius Vanderbilt, arguably the richest man in America when he died in 1877, played a major role in the development of the modern United States, according to… Read More

   T. J. Stiles/photo courtesy of Joanne Chan Cornelius Vanderbilt, arguably the richest man in America when he died in 1877, played a major role in the development of the modern United States, according to historian and biographer T.J. Stiles. The author of the award-winning biography of Vanderbilt, The First… Read More