Faculty News

Nicole Creanza, associate professor of biological sciences 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… Read More

Thirteen innovative projects across seven colleges and schools have been selected for the spring 2024 round of Seeding Success internal grants. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation announced the recipient list on May 31. Read More

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. Read More

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… Read More

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… Read More

Gilbert Gonzales, associate professor of medicine, health and society, and Michael A. Lapré, associate professor of operations management, have been awarded the 2023–24 Chancellor’s Cup by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier for their remarkable teaching and m... Read More

Professor Jessica Oster has been named as a faculty head of Stambaugh House, joining six other faculty members who will start in fall 2024. Oster is an associate professor of earth and environmental sciences and director of graduate studies. She was na... Read More

Auer, senior lecturer of Asian studies, emeritus, died May 16, 2024 at age 82, as a result of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Read More

James Auer, senior lecturer of Asian studies, emeritus, died May 16, 2024, as a result of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 82. Auer founded the Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation at Vanderbilt in 1988, which was an active hub promoting cooperation between the two countries in the areas… Read More

“Woven Wind,” led by Vanderbilt art professor Vesna Pavlović, is a collaborative project that honors untold stories of enslaved people through art, archival research and community engagement. Funded by significant grants including a $40,000 NEA grant a... Read More

The Choice, produced by the Dialogue Vanderbilt, is a four-part podcast focused on the key moments and ramifications of the 2024 presidential election between former president Donald J. Trump and current President Joseph R. Biden. Vanderbilt’s Jon Meac... Read More

On May 3 and 4, the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator for Political Economy and Regulation and the Vanderbilt University Department of History hosted “How the New Deal Was Run,” a conference about the implementation of the New Deal programs that transforme... Read More

Carl H. Johnson, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences, along with a team of Vanderbilt scientists, have succeeded in adjusting the daily biological clock of cyanobacteria, making the blue-green algae a more prolific producer of renewable fuels, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, like insulin. The ultimate solar-powered machines, cyanobacteria… Read More

Vanderbilt University honored 27 retiring faculty members and one dean for their years of service by bestowing upon them the title of emerita or emeritus faculty during Vanderbilt’s Commencement ceremony on May 10 at GEODIS Park. Read More

A mere decade ago, decoding the genome of every organism in a major branch of the tree of life and deciphering their diets was a pipe dream. In a groundbreaking study, a team of researchers from Vanderbilt University, the University of Wisconsin-Madiso... Read More

Jefferson Cowie, James G. Stahlman Professor of History at Vanderbilt University, was recently honored with a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship—in part, in anticipation of his upcoming project, tentatively titled Crosswinds of a Common History, which will tak... Read More

After a rigorous nomination and review process, Vanderbilt University professors -- Jada Benn Torres, David Cliffel, Volker Haase, Janet Macdonald, Xiao-Ou Shu, Keith Wilson and Zheng Wei -- were named fellows of the American Association for the Advanc... Read More

With a prestigious new grant, archaeologist Ari Caramanica will explore what ancient people can teach us about dealing with the most pressing environmental issue of our time. Read More

Vanderbilt University has named Timothy P. McNamara, a visionary leader, trusted peer and mentor, as Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science for a two-year term beginning July 1. Read More

Sixty-six faculty members across seven schools and colleges received Provost’s Faculty Grants for Culminating Projects in Immersion, up 50 percent from the program’s inaugural year in 2023. The goal of the grants is to empower undergraduate students th... Read More