News Story Category
Humanities 20/20 Conference Generates Vision for Future of Humanities at Vanderbilt
Oct. 18, 2019—What is the future of the humanities at Vanderbilt? That question was top of mind for Holly Tucker, Mellon Foundation Chair in the Humanities and Professor of French, as she planned this year’s Humanities 20/20 mini-conference. Hosted by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, which Tucker directs, the event brought together 80 faculty...
Arts and Science welcomes 37 new full-time faculty
Oct. 15, 2019—The College of Arts and Science was pleased to welcome 37 new, full-time faculty members this year. These scholars hail from top universities around the world and represent some of the most innovative thinking and cutting-edge research in their respective fields. Their work ranges from Matthew Congdon’s study of moral psychology and metaethics to...
Professor, Chemist, Mentor: Steve Townsend, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Oct. 15, 2019—Steve Townsend’s office has a lot of the hallmarks you would expect to find in a chemistry professor’s office: models of chemical bonds sitting on the desk, academic and industry awards lining the bookshelf, and published papers pinned to the corkboard outside. But these ordinary items also hint at Townsend’s professional success. This year alone,...
Two College of Arts and Science alumni to receive Alumni Association awards
Oct. 7, 2019—Roy Blount Jr., BA’63, and John Hindle, BA’68, PhD’81, are among the six recipients to be honored by the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board. Blount will receive the Alumni Professional Achievement Award that recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through their professional accomplishments, and whose contributions honor the legacy of excellence at Vanderbilt University. “Roy is...
Nationally Known Scientists Outline Future of Space Travel at Physics Colloquia
Oct. 7, 2019—Humans have exploration in our DNA. That was the message of two recent physics colloquia led by nationally known scientist-authors: Les Johnson, a NASA technologist, and David Brin, an astrophysicist. Both spoke to near-capacity audiences in the Stevenson Center Lecture Hall at the end of September. Johnson, who earned his M.S. in physics at Vanderbilt,...
At the Intersection of Black Expressive Culture: Emily Lordi, associate professor of English
Oct. 2, 2019—Black feminist scholars. Bessie Smith. James Baldwin. Beyoncé. All have been the subject of Emily Lordi’s academic and public scholarly work.
Elsa Mercado Sanchez, PhD’20 | Stronger together: the future of VU’s Latinx community
Sep. 27, 2019—Elsa Mercado Sanchez has not always had a clear or easy path to the Ph.D. she is pursuing. She grew up in an urban, racially-segregated neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wis., with Mexican immigrant parents who didn’t speak much English. Education was a top priority for her parents, but college was never a guarantee. Mercado Sanchez’s parents...
“Works in Progress” Seminar Brings Together Top African American Studies Scholars
Sep. 25, 2019—Thames Street in Newport, Rhode Island is a picturesque street in a picturesque New England town. Upscale shops, Gilded Age mansions, and boutique inns draw in tourists every summer. But for a few days of the season, this small corner of Newport is also a hub for scholarly progress. On July 30, 2019, more than...
Center for Latin American Studies Hosts Annual Brazil Week Celebration
Sep. 18, 2019—The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) hosted its eighth annual Brazil Week September 9-13, with faculty and students from around Vanderbilt taking part in the celebration. CLAS began in 1947 as the Institute for Brazilian Studies, the first center of its kind in the United States. Then-Chancellor Harvie Branscomb was seeking a way for...
Janet Jernigan, BA’66: From activism to advocacy–a lifetime of caring
Aug. 16, 2019—A&S alumna and former head of Nashville nonprofit FiftyForward looks back on 50 years of work in the community Janet Jernigan has never seen herself as exceptional. As an undergraduate English major at Vanderbilt in the mid-1960’s, she saw herself as simply a reflection of all the other young women on campus. “I guess...