Dear College of Arts and Science friends:

As we move more deeply into the academic year, it seems appropriate to look back at the year just past. This information comes from my 2014 State-of-the-College presentation to staff, faculty and board of advisors.

Students

Our Class of 2018 has 1,014 students chosen from nearly 21,000 applicants. Our graduate programs accepted 15 percent of applicants. Economics and Medicine, Health and Society are our two top undergraduate majors this year, followed by psychology, English and the three biological science majors. Arts and Science is the largest school for undergrads (4,149 students) and the second largest for graduate students (845).

Graduates

About 55 percent of the Class of 2014 had been offered or accepted positions by Commencement. Another 32 percent are furthering their educations. Top fields for our grads were finance, health care, education and business.

Faculty

We have 96 endowed faculty chairs plus another five shared with other VU schools (No. 97 was awarded this week). The college has 43 endowed chairs in the humanities, 35 in the natural sciences and 18 in the social sciences. Our faculty received $41.2 million in external research awards. This year, we welcomed 14 new tenure-track assistant professors and one tenured professor. Looking ahead to the faculty of tomorrow, we invested more than $32 million in graduate student financial aid.

Infrastructure

We completed renovations in Stevenson’s math offices and classrooms, on Neely’s stage floor and windows, and for Garland’s roof. Our buildings now have security cameras monitored by the Vanderbilt Police Department.

Support

Alumni, parents and donors made unrestricted gifts totaling $2.8 million to Arts and Science. More than 10,000 donors made gifts, and the average gift was $2,232. Our 257 staff members provide daily support to 570 full-time faculty in 22 academic departments, more than 12 interdisciplinary centers, approximately 20 interdisciplinary programs and a variety of honors and scholars programs.

Thanks to everyone who makes the College of Arts and Science thrive, grow and succeed.

American Physical Society fellows
Victoria Greene and Julia Velkovska are new fellows of the American Physical Society, an organization of physicists dedicated to advancing knowledge and growth in the field.

Arts and Science in the news
Jonathan Metzl spoke to the media, including The New York Times and NPR, on his research into mental health and mass shootings (hint: it’s not what you expect). Ted Fischer’s findings about the good life appeared in USA Today and on PBS. Sports Illustrated ran an excerpt from Strong Inside, the story of Perry Wallace, BE’70, the SEC’s first black basketball player. The book by alumnus Andrew Maraniss, BA’92, is receiving rave reviews.