Dear members of the Arts and Science community:

Events of the past week around the world have shocked and saddened us, touching every member of the Arts and Science community. Closer to home, Vanderbilt has joined campuses across the nation in having wide-ranging discussion of diversity and academic freedom. These developments remind us in different ways of the importance of tolerance – to society and to our community.

I join Chancellor Zeppos and Provost Wente in affirming that the College of Arts and Science, like all of Vanderbilt University, is committed to diversity, inclusion and freedom from discrimination. (You can read the chancellor’s statement here and the provost’s statement here .) To preserve Vanderbilt as a great research university and a leader in creating new knowledge, we must ensure that members of our community can learn, teach, discover and speak with full academic freedom. We must also strive to preserve an environment that is safe, tolerant and welcoming for all members of the Vanderbilt community.

Some students have contacted me in recent weeks with questions and concerns. I want to hear their views and learn more about their experiences. Beginning in early December, I will hold monthly Talk with the Dean sessions. These open discussions will provide an opportunity for students to express their views and to engage in dialogue about issues and topics that matter to all of us.

The first hourlong meeting will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, in 103 Wilson Hall. At the beginning of the spring semester, we will announce a schedule for monthly meetings to continue in 2016.

With best wishes for peaceful and productive final weeks of the semester,

Laurie Benton
Dean, College of Arts and Science

Dig In

Arts and Science students are unearthing Vanderbilt’s earliest history in an archaeological dig on campus. Students in Associate Professor of Anthropology Steve Wernke’s archaeology course learn how to excavate while uncovering artifacts from some of the university’s first residents.

Arts and Science in the Media

Political Science’s Cecilia Mo discussed why Asian Americans don’t vote Republican in The Conversation , Huffington Post, New Republic and Fortune. Anand Taneja, assistant professor of religious studies, talked to The New York Times about a castle where people write to djinns (genies) for wish fulfillment. Biological Sciences’ Ken Catania’s new research into the secrets of electric eels captured global media attention, including Scientific American, Forbes and UPI.