William Gardner

Jason Merchant, a national leader in higher education and vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Chicago, will be the new Searcy Family Dean of the College of Arts and Science. An internationally renowned, award-winning professor in the... Read More

Among the artifacts librarian Mary McSparran selected from Vanderbilt’s Special Collections and University Archives for a pop-up exhibit last fall were a NASA space suit and a journal listing books about UFOs. Neither would seem a likely choice for a l... Read More

Being able to tell whether an image is real or generated by AI may be something you’re born with: object recognition. “It’s a stable trait that helps people meet new perceptual challenges,” study author Professor Isabel Gauthier said. “We were shocked ... Read More

Svalbard, Norway, a cluster of islands north of the Arctic Circle, is rich with paradox. A former international whaling base and subsequent site of extractive coal mining, Svalbard is now home to the Global Seed Vault, which stores more than one millio... Read More

Svalbard, Norway, a cluster of islands north of the Arctic Circle, is rich with paradox. A former international whaling base and subsequent site of extractive coal mining, Svalbard is now home to the Global Seed Vault, which stores more than one millio... Read More

Faculty experts Ole Molvig, assistant professor of history and cinema & media arts, and Jenny Davis, Gertrude Conoway Vanderbilt Professor of Sociology, respond to Vanderbilt students’ most pressing questions in this deep dive on all things artificial intelligence. Read More

Vanderbilt University has announced its fall 2025 recipients of the Seeding Success, Scaling Success and Rapid-Advancement MicroGrant Program awards, providing internal funding to help faculty launch new research directions, strengthen proposals and co... Read More

Two seniors in the College of Arts and Science and one Peabody College senior have been named 2026-2027 recipients of the Wattles Fellowship. The fellowship offers three women graduates from Vanderbilt University a one-year, fully integrated position i... Read More

The VCL Scholars serve as an integral part of the Vanderbilt Center for Languages' mission of fostering interdisciplinary work. Applicants may propose a program of research for publication, conference presentation, or the creation of a new academic ini... Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Center for Global Democracy is the new U.S. institutional home for the Comparative Study of Election Surveys, a leading global resource for understanding elections and democratic governance. This move strengthens Vanderbilt’s le... Read More

Vanderbilt University and EPB of Chattanooga, home of America’s most comprehensive quantum commercialization infrastructure, announced plans to establish the Institute for Quantum Innovation, further positioning Chattanooga—and Tennessee—as a national ... Read More

Vanderbilt University and EPB of Chattanooga, home of America’s most comprehensive quantum commercialization infrastructure, announced plans to establish the Institute for Quantum Innovation, further positioning Chattanooga—and Tennessee—as a national ... Read More

Some people may worry about being bitten by a snake or spider, but have you ever considered what would happen if a small black hole tried to pass through your body? An article by Professor of Physics Robert Scherrer in the International Journal of Mode... Read More

Timothy P. McNamara, Searcy Family Dean of the College of Arts and Science, went behind the scenes with Mackenna Guadagnoli (class of 2026) on the set of the Department of Theatre’s latest production and learned a few things along the way!… Read More

A&S astrophysicists are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the first gravitational wave detection, and the discoveries they have made since. Watch the experts explain what a gravitational wave is, and why even after a century, Einstein’s theory of relativity still rings true. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Center for Global Democracy is partnering with the University of Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies to carry forward one of the world’s leading surveys on democratic governance. Starting in October 2025, the Center for Global Democracy, with support from the Kellogg Institute, will… Read More

Say hello to Bethel Derege (Class of 2028) as she answers the same questions across two different semesters, for a peak into a first-year experience in the College of Arts and Science. Read More

Is love real? Does it make you sick? From their unique perspectives across the arts and sciences, hear three Vanderbilt professors’ hot takes on age-old questions of love. Featured: Matthew Congdon, assistant professor of philosophy; Ashleigh Maxcey, senior lecturer and research assistant… Read More

What do geology and filmmaking possibly have in common? How can they work together to help us understand the Earth and our place in it? Faculty members Lily Claiborne (Earth and environmental sciences) and Jonathan Waters (cinema and media arts) answer these… Read More

Peggy Lucas-McGowan is celebrating her 50th anniversary at the College of Arts and Science, all of which has been devoted to the Department of Physics and Astronomy. She has witnessed enormous changes since her start in 1974—from the advent of the computer to increased female representation in the sciences. Read… Read More