Faculty Research

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Leaders of Vanderbilt’s LGBTQ+ Policy Lab have provided the first comprehensive evidence on the effects of access to legal same-sex marriage. Their efforts revealed that marriage access impacted the LGBTQ+ community positively in multiple ways. The first-of-its-kind study, published last year, analyzed aspects of both marriage and health in… Read More

Today, June 19, marks 156 years since Union Army General Gordon Granger proclaimed freedom from slavery in the state of Texas—the last state where the Emancipation Proclamation was enforced. At the time, an estimated 250,000 people were still enslaved in Texas. What began as an annual celebration in Texas’ Black… Read More

Holly McCammon, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Sociology The history of women’s rights in the United States is inextricable from the history of social movements. In the nineteenth century, married women fought for legal personhood and the right to own property independent of their husbands. In the early… Read More

Allison Schachter, Chair of Jewish Studies and Associate Professor of Jewish Studies, English, and Russian and East European Studies (Vanderbilt University) Allison Schachter, an associate professor of Jewish studies, English, and Russian and East European studies,… Read More

The College of Arts and Science has announced the recipients of the 2021-2023 Dean’s Faculty Fellowships. Seven junior faculty members from diverse areas of expertise were recognized by the dean for their extraordinary promise in their respective fields. They join the existing group three faculty members who were awarded 2020-2022… Read More

Tiffany R. Patterson, Associate Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies From a young age, Associate Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies Tiffany Ruby Patterson loved to learn. She read voraciously throughout her childhood: a set of World Book encyclopedias purchased by her uncle, an entire… Read More

Associate Professor of Chemistry Renã Robinson For Associate Professor of Chemistry Renã Robinson, science has long been about helping people. She was an avid scientist-in-training throughout her childhood and went to college intending to become a cardiac surgeon. But when she got close to the end of… Read More

Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences Antonis Rokas in his lab. (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) Antonis Rokas, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The lifetime honor, first awarded… Read More

Department of Philosophy visiting scholar Emanuele Costa According to Department of Philosophy visiting scholar Emanuele Costa, people often see modern philosophy as ancient history. But the discipline, which covers the 1500s-1800s, is highly relevant to both today’s scholars and the public at large. “Modern European and… Read More

Katherine Friedman, associate professor and vice chair of biological sciences (Steve Green/Vanderbilt University) When Vanderbilt ramped down research activities early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Friedman Lab was better-positioned than many. Led by Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Biological Sciences Katherine… Read More

Vanderbilt University’s first ROTC cadet corps poses for a farewell photo near what is now the main entrance to campus. They left shortly after to serve in World War I. A little more than one hundred years ago, rows of young men stood at attention for a portrait in front… Read More

Joshua D. Clinton, Abby and Jon Winkelried Chair and Professor of Political Science (John Russell/Vanderbilt University) On election night, tens of millions of Americans will turn on their televisions, log onto the internet, or pick up their smartphones for a unified purpose: learning the identity of the next President of… Read More

Are student loans a smart way to pay for college? Is pawning jewelry ever a good way to acquire extra cash? And why do humans have so much trouble making smart financial decisions? Economics faculty Paige Marta Skiba and Lesley Turner are researching the answers to… Read More

Noam Lupu (Steve Green/Vanderbilt University) New research from Associate Professor of Political Science Noam Lupu challenges several common assumptions about white working-class support for President Donald Trump. Lupu conducted the research, outlined in the article “The White Working Class and the 2016 Election,” with… Read More

As public health officials tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, they face an overwhelming number of factors that affect the virus’s spread. Population density, economic challenges, adherence to social distancing measures—they all play a part in determining the rise or fall of infection rates. And the results of efforts to “flatten the… Read More

Rosevelt Noble presenting on Lost in the Ivy to students during Black History Month 2020. (Adrienne Burns/Vanderbilt University) On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger declared to the state of Texas—the Confederacy’s western frontier—that “all slaves are free.” June 19, shortened to “Juneteenth,” quickly became an annual day… Read More

Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science has long had connections to Latin America. Through the Center for Latin American Studies, the work of Latin American specialists in departments such as history and anthropology, and numerous student and faculty research trips, the college has forged strong… Read More

Amidst all the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, one constant has held: researchers across the College of Arts and Science have dedicated their efforts to understanding the virus, how to control it, and how it impacts our communities. Jennifer Trueblood, associate professor of psychology, and… Read More

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Steve Townsend Assistant Professor of Chemistry Steve Townsend has been named to this year’s class of Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awardees. Every year, the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation supports the careers of a select number of faculty in the chemical… Read More

Associate Professor of Art Vesna Pavlović has been awarded a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship to conduct research at the Archives of American Art (AAA) in summer 2021. The program provides support for outstanding visual artists from around the world, with the aim of inspiring… Read More