Vanderbilt Magazine

NATHAN FISK CLASS OF 2026 Majors: Economics, Business, HOD Hometown: Franklin, Tennessee “I’m a big skier, so I got Vail, Keystone and Sugar Mountain. I’m a big outdoorsy guy, too, so I have camping stickers and whatnot.”   LYDIA TAYLOR CLASS OF 2029 Majors:… Read More

Dear fellow alumni, As I prepare to transition from my honored role as president of Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board, I take great pride in the incredible, inspiring momentum we have built together. This journey has proven that we are truly stronger when we stand as one global community—One Vanderbilt. … Read More

Carl Manalo The distance from Carl Vincent Manalo’s high school in the Bronx to Vanderbilt’s campus was greater than the miles separating the two. “I was prepared with the grit and the persistence, and I was prepared enough to get into Vanderbilt, but there were certain things I didn’t know,”… Read More

Chancellor Daniel Diermeier (Elias Hassos) Vanderbilt was created in the wake of the Civil War to help heal the wounds of a divided nation—in the words of Cornelius Vanderbilt, to “contribute to strengthening the ties which should exist between all sections of our common country.” Now, as then, dialogue and… Read More

Renée Galá Growing up on a farm in Missouri, Renée Galá knew one thing for certain: She would go to college. Her parents prioritized education and ensured that Galá and her sister became the first in their immediate family to pursue higher education. Galá’s initial path led to a state… Read More

Olivia Miller Smith One of Olivia Miller Smith’s most thought-provoking undergraduate courses was called Prison Life. “We toured the Tennessee State Prison, a stark experience. All I could think about was the lost potential for those incarcerated,” she says.  Decades later, after working as a registered nurse at Vanderbilt… Read More

Alex Astrella, left, with the cast of his thesis film, “Free Play” When Alex Astrella was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 2, his parents were told that he had little chance of graduating high school or becoming financially independent. Today, he is a behavior therapist, a leader in… Read More

When Markus Schreyer joined Vanderbilt University as CEO of Vanderbilt Enterprises, he brought a world of experience—literally. His decades-long career in global hospitality took him from Tokyo to Marrakesh, Jaipur and Mexico City as he helped shape some of the most recognized luxury brands in the world. “What… Read More

At Vanderbilt, the future of AI isn't just a technical question — it's a moral one. Read More

When Vanderbilt University Provost C. Cybele Raver sits down with faculty to learn something new, her classroom isn’t a lecture hall or research lab—it’s the Quantum Potential podcast studio. Read More

When Jennifer and Marc Lipschultz committed nearly 5,000 photographs to the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art, they handed a group of Vanderbilt art history students a unique opportunity to step out of the classroom and into museum practice. Read More

At Vanderbilt, research doesn’t just live in the lab. It moves into the world in the shape of new tools, treatments and technologies that improve lives, support communities and expand what’s possible. Read More

Vanderbilt Magazine celebrates the lives and mourns the loss last spring of three Vanderbilt alumni who led with passion and generosity during times of transition and change: James Stephen “Steve” Turner, BA’69; Sylvia Sanders Kelley, BA'54; and H. Rodes Hart, BA'54. Read More

Jacob Alexander Schroeder, BA’22, of Boise, Idaho, died Dec. 6, 2024. He was 25 years old. He attended Vanderbilt as a Curb Scholar in Creative Enterprise and Public Leadership, was a Buchanan Library Fellow, chaired the American Enterprise Institute’s Executive Council at Vanderbilt, was a student government senator and a recipient of the Ainslie World Travel Fellowship. Read More

The leaves of trees lining our beautiful campus are blazing with autumnal color. Even these ancient arbors offer us a powerful example. Standing firmly rooted, they embrace change. Like all in our Vanderbilt community, they dare to grow. Spread the word about great things happening at Vanderbilt. Stay connected to our work and to one another’s, and share with us your own big ideas. Read More

Caleb Feiring, BA'15, who studied English, economics and history at Vanderbilt, is an entrepreneur with an interesting—and incredibly tiny—place to call home in New York City. Read More

The success of the Posse Foundation and its partnership with Vanderbilt is highlighted in 'Disrupt Everything—and Win: Take Control of Your Future' (Hatchette Book Group/Little, Brown and Company, 2025) by James Patterson, MA’70, and Patrick Leddin, associate professor at Owen Graduate School of Management. Read an excerpt of the book here. Read More

The Vanderbilt experience is woven into the lives of Allyson Maske, BS’92, and Jim Maske, BE’93, MBA’99, who first met as undergraduates. Between them, they have attended four of Vanderbilt’s schools and colleges, and their son, J.D., is a member of the Class of 2028 at Peabody College. The Maskes are on the Parent Leadership Committee and made recent gifts to Vandy United and Opportunity Vanderbilt in support of the university’s Dare to Grow campaign. Read More

The AAVA embodies the transformative power of connection and cultural identity—all from a place of gratitude. It strengthens the presence of the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American community through cultural celebrations and networking events, collaborating with student organizations to connect alumni with current Vanderbilt students. Joy Cox, BA’98, MD’02, is AAVA's president. Read More

Darryl Berger, BA’69, and his family, have hosted the New Orleans Commodore Launch for four decades, marked by hospitality, connection and Commodore pride. Read More