Publications
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The Grant Game
Internal grant programs at Vanderbilt—developed by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Provost C. Cybele Raver and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation and Chief Research Officer Padma Raghavan—are accelerating discovery of solutions for real-world challenges. Read MoreMay 12, 2025
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Open Space: Vanderbilt Alumni Propel a Vision for Space Travel That’s Accessible and Sustainable
Blue Origin and a handful of other private companies, like Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, are racing to develop low-cost, reusable rockets that are safe enough to regularly ferry humans—and other materials—to space and back again. At least a dozen Vanderbilt alumni are working in some capacity with David Limp, BS'88, and CEO of Blue Origin, to achieve the company’s sweeping vision. Read MoreMay 5, 2025
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A Collecting Partnership
With the impressive jazz collections at the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, Vanderbilt students and faculty can delve deep into the history of jazz and the lives, music and impact of its pioneering musicians. Read MoreApr 21, 2025
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A New Jazz Age
Vanderbilt University is becoming known as a place to study jazz performance and delve into jazz history through the acquisition of the extensive collections of Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef and Phil Schaap. Read MoreApr 21, 2025
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H. Rodes Hart, longtime Vanderbilt benefactor and trustee emeritus, 1932-2025
H. Rodes Hart, BA’54, who had an insatiable appetite for learning and education and contributed to Vanderbilt’s growth through his philanthropy and more than 30 years of leadership on the university’s Board of Trust, died March 30. He was 93. Read MoreApr 2, 2025
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Blending passions: how Vanderbilt alumnus Alex Astrella merges film and therapy to advocate for the neurodiverse community
By Jenna Somers Alex Astrella At age two Alex Astrella, MEd’23, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. His parents were told that he had little chance of graduating high school or becoming financially independent. Today, Astrella is the founder and CEO of Blu Star Productions, an award-winning film studio… Read MoreApr 1, 2025
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Lauren Egan, BA’17: On the Spot News
Journalist Lauren Egan, BA'17, reports on politics in D.C. for The Bulwark and formerly for Politico. She got her start on-air from war-torn Ukraine for NBC News. Read MoreMar 17, 2025
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Jen Bailey, MDiv’14: Keep the Faith
Jen Bailey, MDiv'14, founded Faith Matters Network, perhaps best known as one of the co-founding organizations of The People’s Supper, gatherings where people “build trust across lines of difference”—political, ideological, social, racial, generational, socioeconomic and religious—by sharing a meal, discovering commonalities and working through differences. Read MoreMar 17, 2025
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“Frost Flowers” an excerpt from ‘This is How a Robin Drinks’
Right now, these native “flowers” are blooming in Nashville—at least, until they melt, which is typically right after they form. Frost flowers are winter ephemerals. They happen when air temperature drops below freezing and warm groundwater rises to extrude itself through the conduit of a real flower stem, especially if that stem is a white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica). “Ice segregation” is the process at work. Water and vapor freeze on contact with air, and waves from within push older crystals forward and out. Read MoreDec 2, 2024
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Vanderbilt Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice awarded $1 million Mellon Foundation grant
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art, secured a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to advance the work of the Engine for Art, Democracy & Justice (EADJ), which she founded. Read MoreNov 21, 2024
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Vanderbilt emerita professor Charlotte Froese Fischer was a pioneer in computer science and physics
Charlotte Froese Fischer, a pioneer in the field of atomic structure calculations and an emerita research professor of computer science at Vanderbilt University, died Feb. 8, 2024. Read MoreOct 11, 2024
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This Magic Moment: Vanderbilt football takes down Alabama in historic win
Vanderbilt football takes down the Alabama Crimson Tide to give the Commodores their first win in program history over the top-ranked team in the nation. Read MoreOct 7, 2024
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Message from the Alumni Association President
Through Vanderbilt’s remarkable progress in its ongoing historic Dare to Grow campaign, we are charting a collective course that connects great minds with opportunities to offer solutions to the world’s biggest challenges. We are stronger together, and that strength continues through your alumni journey as Vanderbilt for Life. Read MoreOct 4, 2024
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Stronger Together
Vanderbilt's commitment to freedom of expression and civil discourse is inseparable from its collaborative spirit. It is at the heart of the Vanderbilt community. None of the transformative learning and discovery that we cherish as an institution of higher education can happen without it. At Vanderbilt, “unexpected collaborations” will always lead to great things. It is a function of who we are; it is, quintessentially, this community. Read MoreOct 4, 2024
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One Guest at a Time: Bernard Nomberg, BA’90, creates an oral history of Vanderbilt football
In January 2020, Bernard Nomberg, BA'90, launched the 'Conversations with Commodores' podcast, along with a Facebook group specifically for Vanderbilt football alumni and others close to the program—coaches, trainers, cheerleaders, etc. Today, the community has grown to around 500 members. For all who played, the stories that emerge on the podcast are their shared history. Read MoreOct 3, 2024
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Crossword puzzle: How well do you know VU?
How well do you know VU? Try your hand at Vanderbilt trivia with our Dare to Grow crossword puzzle. Read MoreOct 3, 2024
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Unexpected Collaborations: The best collaborations lead to new ways of seeing the world
In today’s world, collaboration is essential in solving problems, bridging the gaps between science, engineering, medicine and the humanities. By prioritizing cross-disciplinary collaborations, Vanderbilt walks the walk—not only across departments—but across schools and cultures. Read MoreOct 2, 2024
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At the Center of Everything: Vanderbilt hubs connect campus with communities across the country
New York City, Miami, Houston and Atlanta all share one common denominator. These cities are home to a Vanderbilt regional hub. The hubs are key to one of Vanderbilt’s signature initiatives: to grow the school’s footprint beyond the Nashville campus. Read MoreOct 2, 2024
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Lawson’s Legacy: Rev. James Lawson helped Vanderbilt navigate a vision of human dignity in an uncertain global era
With his deep understanding of nonviolent protest, the Rev. James M. Lawson (1928–2024) showed us the way forward for fighting injustice and left a legacy of courage and compassion. Read MoreOct 1, 2024