News Story Category
College of Arts and Science welcomes 31 esteemed new faculty in fall 2024
Aug. 21, 2024—Vanderbilt College of Arts and Science is honored to welcome for the fall 2024 academic term 31 new faculty members, adding to our growing community of accomplished and groundbreaking researchers and teachers. “We are thrilled that these leading scholars will be contributing to the college’s robust academic community,” said Timothy P. McNamara, Ginny and Conner...
Michelle Young: Modeling ethical practices in Peruvian archaeology
Aug. 20, 2024—By Ann Marie Deer Owens When Vanderbilt archaeologist Michelle Young travels to the Peruvian Andes to study ancient Indigenous societies, her itinerary is filled with much more than field surveys and excavations. “I put a priority on forging local partnerships based on communication and mutual respect with the Quechua-speaking and mestizo (mixed Indigenous-European) communities in...
Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science introduces new major
Aug. 7, 2024—In Fall 2024, the Program in American Studies will transition to the Program in Culture, Advocacy, and Leadership (CAL). CAL will provide students with the knowledge and skillsets to shape people, communities, and society for the better. Centered around dialogue, critical thinking, democracy, and civic engagement, CAL gives students the tools to make a positive...
Analyzing Evolutionary Trade-Offs in Immune Systems: Computational Biology with Reese Martin
Aug. 6, 2024—By Nick McCoy, Evolutionary Studies undergraduate communications assistant Reese Martin has always been drawn to biology and exploring the behaviors of different organisms. During his childhood, he dug in anthills, and now he observes the life history traits of flower beetles and other taxa. Martin’s new first-author paper, “Pleiotropy Alleviates the Fitness Costs Associated With...
Maymester Q&A: Exploring the intersection of climate change and tourism in Honduras
Jul. 31, 2024—Sophia Koss, Class of ’26, wanted to study abroad but wasn’t sure she could commit to a full semester away. The Vanderbilt Maymester program was the perfect solution. A double major in medicine, health, and society and anthropology, Sophia recently learned about the course Above and Below the Surface: The Caribbean between Climate Change and...
Maymester Q&A: Immersing in Italian culture
Jul. 24, 2024—Jacqueline Welsh, Class of ’26, has wanted to go back to Italy since living there during her childhood. She was interested in learning more about the country as an adult in an academic setting, so the Vanderbilt Maymester program was the perfect option. A double major in communication studies and English, Jacqueline recently explored Italy...
New study points to cause of Fetal Fentanyl Syndrome
Jul. 12, 2024—Adapted from an article written by John Keenan, University of Nebraska Medical Center Researchers at Vanderbilt, in partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nemours Children’s Hospital, have suggested an explanation, and possible pathway to prevention, for Fetal Fentanyl Syndrome. FFS causes distinctive physical birth defects, including cleft palate, distinctive facial features, and...
Heard that Bird: Creanza Lab develops free curriculum to teach birdsong identification
Jun. 28, 2024—Since 2020, a question has nagged at Nicole Creanza: What type of bird is singing in the background of Taylor Swift and Bon Iver’s song “Exile”? Creanza, associate professor of biological sciences, is an expert in the evolution of human language and bird songs, but she also enjoys trying to identify popular music by ear....
Seligson, Centennial Professor of Political Science, emeritus, has died
Jun. 21, 2024—Mitchell A. Seligson, Centennial Professor of Political Science, professor of sociology, emeritus, and founder of the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) Lab died June 1, 2024, in New York City. He was 78. Born in 1945 in Hempstead, New York, Seligson developed an interest in Latin America after meeting a foreign exchange student from...
Gilligan awarded spot in American Geophysical Union’s Voices for Science program
Jun. 21, 2024—When Jonathan Gilligan, professor of earth and environmental sciences, thinks about climate change, they think about people. Gilligan says that climate change causes a variety of weather patterns to undergo persistent changes, and those affect every aspect of peoples’ lives, as well as the workings of our society and economy more broadly. In March, Gilligan...