Vanderbilt University#Student life

File:Vanderbilt University campus circa 1875.png

File:Vanderbilt University in 1880 by HP Whinnery.png

File:Cornelius Vanderbilt.jpg

File:Kirkland Hall with two Towers.jpg

In the years before the American Civil War of 1861–1865, the Methodist Episcopal Church South had been considering the creation of a regional university for the training of ministers in a location central to its congregations.{{cite book |title=Chancellors, Commodores & Coeds: A History of Vanderbilt University |last=Carey |first=Bill |year=2003 |publisher=Clearbrook Press Publishing |location=Nashville, TN |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R-ls_Nq2dDgC |isbn=978-0-9725680-0-5 }} Following lobbying by Nashville bishop Holland Nimmons McTyeire, church leaders voted to found "The Central University of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South" in Nashville in 1872.{{cite book |last=Stowell |first=Daniel W. |date=1998 |title=Rebuilding Zion: The Religious Reconstruction of the South, 1863–1877 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mpgc1TxrwoC&pg=RA2-PA1863 |location=Oxford, UK |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-514981-4 }} However, lack of funds and the ravaged state of the Reconstruction Era South delayed the opening of the college.

The following year, McTyeire stayed at the New York City residence of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt's second wife, Frank Armstrong Crawford Vanderbilt (1839–1885), was a cousin of McTyeire's wife, Amelia Townsend McTyeire (1827–1891), and both women were from Mobile, Alabama.{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2015 |title=Women to the Rescue | Vanderbilt Magazine | Vanderbilt University |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/magazines/vanderbilt-magazine/2009/08/women-to-the-rescue/ |access-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017225333/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/magazines/vanderbilt-magazine/2009/08/women-to-the-rescue/ |archive-date=October 17, 2015 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.tnportraits.org/mctyeire-mrs.htm |title=Tennessee Portrait Project: Amelia Townsend McTyeire |publisher=Tnportraits.org |access-date=April 23, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140920/http://www.tnportraits.org/mctyeire-mrs.htm }}{{cite web |url=http://www.tnportraits.org/vanderbilt-frank-crawford-no6.htm |title=Tennessee Portrait Project: Frank Crawford Vanderbilt |publisher=Tnportraits.org |access-date=April 23, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140924/http://www.tnportraits.org/vanderbilt-frank-crawford-no6.htm }} Cornelius Vanderbilt, the wealthiest man in the United States at the time, had been planning to establish a university on Staten Island, New York. However, McTyeire convinced him to donate $500,000 to endow Central University in order to "contribute to strengthening the ties which should exist between all sections of our common country".{{cite web |publisher=Vanderbilt University |title=The History of Vanderbilt |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/history.html |access-date=May 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523140459/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/history.html |archive-date=May 23, 2007 }}

Vanderbilt eventually increased the endowment to $1 million (roughly ${{Inflation|USD|1|1872}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}), and though he never expressed any desire that the university be named after him, McTyeire and his fellow trustees rechristened the school in the Spring of 1873 in his honor.{{cite book |title=Commodore: The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt |last=Renehan |first=Edward J. Jr. |year=2007 |publisher=Basic Books |page=XV }} They acquired land from Confederate Congressman Henry S. Foote, who had built Old Central, a house still standing on campus.{{cite news |date=April 8, 2002 |first=Bill |last=Carey |title=Old Central built by former governor who slugged Jefferson Davis |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/News/register/Apr08_02/story12.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021115143903/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/News/register/Apr08_02/story12.html |archive-date=November 15, 2002 |newspaper=Vanderbilt Register |access-date=November 5, 2015 }}

The first building, Main Building, later known as Kirkland Hall, was designed by William Crawford Smith, and its construction began in 1874.{{cite book |last=Hoobler |first=James A. |date=2008 |title=A Guide to Historic Nashville, Tennessee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wq1PRKKVhd4C&pg=PA145 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |publisher=The History Press |page=145 |isbn=978-1-59629-404-2}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In the fall of 1875, about 200 students enrolled at Vanderbilt, and in October the university was dedicated. Bishop McTyeire was named chairman of the Board of Trust for life by Vanderbilt as a stipulation of his endowment. McTyeire named Landon Garland (1810–1895), his mentor from Randolph-Macon College, as chancellor. Garland shaped the school's structure and hired the school's faculty. Most of this faculty left after disputes with Bishop McTyeire, including over pay rates. When the first fraternity chapter, Phi Delta Theta, was established on campus in 1876, it was shut down by the faculty, only to be reestablished as a secret society in 1877.{{cite news |title=The Story of the Frats at Vanderbilt University |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/118784371/?terms=%22the%2Bstory%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bfrats%2Bat%2Bvanderbilt%2Buniversity%22 |newspaper=The Tennessean |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=January 12, 1908 |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=January 5, 2016 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=February 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208085621/https://www.newspapers.com/image/118784371/?terms=%22the%2Bstory%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bfrats%2Bat%2Bvanderbilt%2Buniversity%22 |url-status=live }} In 1880, Old Gym, a Victorian building designed by Peter J. Williamson, was completed and became the university's first gymnasium. By 1883, the Board of Trust passed a resolution allowing fraternities on campus, and more chapters were established in 1884.

Following the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition, a statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt, designed by Italian sculptor Giuseppe Moretti,{{cite journal |last=Goff |first=Reda C. |title=The Confederate Veteran Magazine |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=31 |issue=1 |page=60 |jstor=42623281 |date=Spring 1972 }} was moved from the grounds of the Parthenon to the Vanderbilt campus.{{cite web |title="Cornelius Vanderbilt" G. Moretti |url=http://cpc-fis.vanderbilt.edu/view.php?label=1 |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=December 23, 2015 |archive-date=November 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116174947/http://cpc-fis.vanderbilt.edu/view.php?label=1 |url-status=live }}

In 1905, Main Building (Kirkland Hall), which originally had two Victorian towers, burnt down and was rebuilt in an Italianate design with a single 170-foot tower after the university received donations totaling over $50,000.{{cite web |url=https://newsonline.library.vanderbilt.edu/2018/10/the-history-of-kirkland-hall-topic-of-new-exhibition/ |title=The History of Kirkland Hall Topic of New Exhibition |last=Sterkenburg |first=Sara |date=October 17, 2018 |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606032918/https://newsonline.library.vanderbilt.edu/2018/10/the-history-of-kirkland-hall-topic-of-new-exhibition/ |url-status=live }} There is speculation that the school initially intended to rebuild both towers of the original Kirkland Hall but lacked the funds to do so.

Many of the university's early leaders had prominent ties to slavery and the Confederacy before the Civil War. Frank Vanderbilt was "a Confederate sympathizer" during the Civil War.{{cite news |last1=Mediratta |first1=Avi |last2=Bub |first2=Sydney |title=The Legacy of Slavery at Vanderbilt |url=http://vanderbiltpoliticalreview.com/the-legacy-of-slavery-at-vanderbilt/ |access-date=June 16, 2018 |work=Vanderbilt Political Review |date=October 5, 2016 |quote=Although Cornelius Vanderbilt originally supported the Union, it was Frank Armstrong Crawford Vanderbilt, the Commodore's wife and a Confederate sympathizer, who supposedly convinced him to donate money for the founding of Vanderbilt University. The university named Crawford House, on the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, in her honor. |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015331/http://vanderbiltpoliticalreview.com/the-legacy-of-slavery-at-vanderbilt/ |url-status=live }} McTyeire was born into a slave-owning family and authored an essay in favor of slavery.{{cite news |last1=Fuselier |first1=Kathryn |last2=Yee |first2=Robert |title=The Legacy of Slavery at Vanderbilt: Our Forgotten Past |url=http://vanderbilthistoricalreview.com/legacy-of-slavery/ |access-date=September 19, 2017 |work=Vanderbilt Historical Review |date=October 17, 2016 |archive-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002120504/http://vanderbilthistoricalreview.com/legacy-of-slavery/ }} Garland owned "up to 60 slaves" before the Civil War.

One of the founding trustees, Hezekiah William Foote, was a Confederate veteran and the owner of four plantations in Mississippi, including Mount Holly.{{cite book |last=Glenn |first=Justin |date=2015 |title=The Washingtons: A Family History: Volume 1: Seven Generations of the Presidential Branch |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gpzwAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1897 |location=El Dorado Hills, California |publisher=Savas Beatie |page=1895 |isbn=978-1-61121-285-3 |oclc=898163692 }} The Treasurer of the Board of Trust from 1872 to 1875, Alexander Little Page Green, whose portrait hangs in Kirkland Hall,{{cite web |url=http://www.tnportraits.org/green-alp.htm |title=Vanderbilt Collection — Kirkland Hall: A.L.P. Green 1806–1875 |website=Tennessee Portrait Project |publisher=Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee |access-date=November 9, 2015 |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105151612/http://www.tnportraits.org/green-alp.htm }} was a Methodist preacher and a former slave owner.{{cite web |url=http://www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/aa-III.htm |title=Slaves Buried Between 1846–1865 |website=Nashville City Cemetery |access-date=November 9, 2015 |archive-date=December 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222105415/http://www.thenashvillecitycemetery.org/aa-III.htm }} His son-in-law, Robert A. Young, was a Methodist minister who served as the Financial Secretary on the Board of Trust from 1874 to 1882, retiring from the board in 1902.{{cite news |title=The Vanderbilt. Laying of the Corner Stone of the Great University Yesterday. Interesting Ceremonies and a Large Attendance. Addressed by Bishops McTyeire and Wrightman, Gov. Brown and Chancellor Morgan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/79872208/?terms=%22laying%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bcorner%2Bstone%22%2Bvanderbilt |newspaper=Nashville Union and American |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=April 29, 1874 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=November 22, 2015 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=January 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105151612/https://www.newspapers.com/image/79872208/?terms=%22laying%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bcorner%2Bstone%22%2Bvanderbilt |url-status=live }} The Elliston family, who owned slaves, donated some of their Burlington Plantation, in one of the first expansions of the campus.{{when|date=June 2018}}{{cite news |last1=Epstein Ojalvo |first1=Holly |title=Beyond Yale: These other university buildings have ties to slavery and white supremacy |url=http://college.usatoday.com/2017/02/13/yale-university-buildings-slavery-white-supremacy/ |access-date=April 7, 2018 |work=USA Today |date=February 13, 2017 |quote=But in 2012, a new college hall was dedicated to Elizabeth Boddie Elliston, whose family owned slaves and who, according to the university website, "donated segments of her plantation for the formation of the Vanderbilt campus." |archive-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408073517/http://college.usatoday.com/2017/02/13/yale-university-buildings-slavery-white-supremacy/ |url-status=live }}

During the first 40 years, the Board of Trust, and therefore the university, was under the control of the General Conference (the governing body) of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Tension grew between the university administration and the Conference over the future of the school, particularly over the methods by which members of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust would be chosen, and the extent that non-Methodists could teach at the school.

Conflicts escalated after James H. Kirkland was appointed chancellor in 1893. Then the Southern Methodist Church congregations raised just $50,000 in a campaign to raise $300,000.

Meanwhile, the Board of Trust voted to limit Methodist representation on the board to just five bishops. Former faculty member and bishop Elijah Hoss led a group attempting to assert Methodist control. In 1910, the board refused to seat three Methodist bishops. The Methodist Church took the issue to court and won at the local level. On March 21, 1914, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the Commodore, and not the Methodist Church, was the university's founder and that the board could therefore seat whomever it wished. The General Conference in 1914 voted 151 to 140 to sever its ties with Vanderbilt; it also voted to establish a new university, Southern Methodist University, and to greatly expand Emory University.{{cite web |url=http://pages.prodigy.net/nhn.slate/nh00073.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822033735/http://pages.prodigy.net/nhn.slate/nh00073.html |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |title=Vanderbilt University and Southern Methodism |first=Frank |last=Gulley |access-date=February 20, 2008 }}

Colonel Edmund William Cole, the treasurer of the Board of Trust, was a Confederate veteran and a railroad executive.{{cite journal |last1=Burt |first1=Jesse C. Jr. |title=Anna Russell Cole: A Study of a Grande Dame |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |date=June 1954 |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=127–155 |jstor=42621182 }}{{cite web |title=Cole Lectures |url=https://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/news/lectures/cole.php |website=Divinity School |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=September 19, 2017 |archive-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002165606/https://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/news/lectures/cole.php }} He is the namesake of the annual Cole Lecture; his marble bust and his wife's portrait can be seen in Kirkland Hall.{{cite web |title=Vanderbilt Collection – Kirkland Hall: Anna Virginia Russell (Mrs. E.W.) Cole 1846 – 1926 |url=http://tnportraits.org/cole-mrs-ew.htm |website=Tennessee Portrait Project |publisher=National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee |access-date=September 30, 2017 |archive-date=September 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915173058/http://www.tnportraits.org/cole-mrs-ew.htm }} His son, Whitefoord Russell Cole, who was the chairman of the Board of Trust from 1915 to 1934, defended Chancellor Kirkland's decision to split with the Methodist Church.{{cite journal |last1=Burt |first1=Jesse C. Jr |title=Whitefoord Russell Cole: A Study in Character |journal=Filson Club History Quarterly |date=January 1954 |volume=28 |pages=28–48 }}{{cite web |title=Whitefoord Russell Cole 1874 – 1934 |url=http://tnportraits.org/cole-whitefoord-russell.htm |website=Tennessee Portrait Project |publisher=National Society of Colonial Dames of America in Tennessee |access-date=October 24, 2017 |archive-date=November 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120095033/http://www.tnportraits.org/cole-whitefoord-russell.htm }} He is the namesake of Cole Hall, completed in 1949.

{{Clear}}

{{wide image|Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn LCCN2007662807.tif|880px|align-cap=center|Benson Hall, Kirkland Hall, and Furman Hall in 1909}}

File:Kirkland Hall, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn (74041).jpg

File:Furman_Hall_Postcard.png

In the 1920s and 1930s, Vanderbilt University hosted two partly overlapping groups of scholars who had a large impact on American thought and letters: the Fugitives and the Agrarians. Meanwhile, Frank C. Rand, who served as the President and later Chairman of the International Shoe Company, donated US$150,000 to the university in 1925;{{cite book |last=Hale Rand |first=Nettie |date=1940 |title=Rand-Hale, Strong and Allied Families: A Genealogical Study with the Autobiography of Nettie Hale Rand |location=New York City |publisher=The American Historical Company, Inc. |pages=15–20 }} Rand Hall was subsequently named for him.

In 1928, the construction of three more buildings was completed: Garland Hall, named for Chancellor Landon Garland; Buttrick Hall, named for Wallace Buttrick of the General Education Board; and Calhoun Hall, named for William Henry Calhoun, a silversmith and Odd Fellows Grand Master.{{cite news |title=Buildings Bear Leaders' Names. Garland, Buttrick and Calhoun To Be Honored at Vanderbilt. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/178879089/?terms=%22william%2Bhenry%2Bcalhoun%22 |work=The Tennessean |date=March 25, 1928 |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=registration |access-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308120025/https://www.newspapers.com/image/178879089/?terms=%22william%2Bhenry%2Bcalhoun%22 |url-status=live }}

In 1933, the United Daughters of the Confederacy donated $50,000 (roughly $925,166 in 2015 dollars{{cite web |title=The Inflation Calculator |url=http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ |access-date=May 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718031608/http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ |archive-date=July 18, 2011 }}) for the construction of Confederate Memorial Hall, designed by architect Henry C. Hibbs.{{cite news |last=Jaschik |first=Scott |date=May 5, 2005 |title=Confederates Defeat Vanderbilt: Appeals court says university must pay – if it wants to change controversial name of a dormitory. |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/05/05/vanderbilt |newspaper=Inside Higher Ed |access-date=November 21, 2015 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308145730/https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2005/05/05/vanderbilt |url-status=dead }} It was completed in 1935.

In the 1930s, Ernest William Goodpasture and his colleagues in the School of Medicine invented methods for cultivating viruses and rickettsiae in fertilized chicken eggs."Obituary (AP): Dr. Ernest Goodpasture Dead; Developed Vaccine for Mumps: Pathologist's Chicken Embryo Virus Led to Immunization Against Many Diseases". New York Times; September 22, 1960; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: pg. 27. This work made possible the production of vaccines against chicken pox, smallpox, yellow fever, typhus, Rocky mountain spotted fever and other diseases caused by agents that only propagate in living cells. Alfred Blalock, Professor of Surgery, and his assistant Vivian Thomas identified a decrease in blood volume and fluid loss outside the vascular bed as a key factor in traumatic shock and pioneered the use of replacement fluids for its treatment.McCabe, Katie [http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/stlm/article.doc "Like Something the Lord Made."] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212085552/http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/stlm/article.doc |date=February 12, 2012 }} The Washingtonian, 1999. This treatment saved countless lives in World War II, during which Vanderbilt was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/115-8thND/115-8ND-23.html |title=U.S. Naval Administration in World War II |publisher=HyperWar Foundation |access-date=September 29, 2011 |year=2011 |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112105122/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Admin-Hist/115-8thND/115-8ND-23.html |url-status=live }}

German biophysicist Max Delbrück joined the Department of Physics in 1940, and in the following year, he met Italian microbiologist Salvador Luria.{{Cite web |title=Max Delbruck at Vanderbilt |url=https://as.vanderbilt.edu/physics/delbruck/index.php |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=Department of Physics and Astronomy |language=en }} In 1942, they published on bacterial resistance to virus infection mediated by random mutation. The culminating Luria–Delbrück experiment, also called the Fluctuation Test, demonstrated that Darwin's theory of natural selection acting on random mutations applies to bacteria as well as to more complex organisms. The 1969 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to both scientists.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1969/delbruck/biographical/ |title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1969 |website=NobelPrize.org |access-date=March 26, 2019 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144035/https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1969/delbruck-bio.html |url-status=live }}

Shortly after the war, from 1945 to 1947, researchers at Vanderbilt University conducted an experiment funded by the Rockefeller Foundation where they gave 800 pregnant women radioactive ironPacchioli, David, (March 1996) [http://www.rps.psu.edu/mar96/science.html "Subjected to Science"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130110005232/http://www.rps.psu.edu/mar96/science.html |date=January 10, 2013 }}, Research/Penn State, Vol. 17, no. 1{{cite news |title=Experiment subjects to get $10.3 million from university |first=Karin |last=Miller |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/90207291/?terms=%22vanderbilt%2Buniversity%22%2B%22radioactive%22 |newspaper=The Santa Cruz Sentinel |location=Santa Cruz, California |date=July 28, 1998 |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=October 12, 2015 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308120832/https://www.newspapers.com/image/90207291/?terms=%22vanderbilt%2Buniversity%22%2B%22radioactive%22 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=1940s study gave radioactive pills to 751 pregnant women |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/19705619/?terms=%22vanderbilt%2Buniversity%22%2B%22radioactive%22 |newspaper=The Galveston Daily News |location=Galveston, Texas |date=December 21, 1993 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=October 12, 2015 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185357/https://www.newspapers.com/image/19705619/?terms=%22vanderbilt%2Buniversity%22%2B%22radioactive%22 |url-status=live }} without their consent. In a lawsuit the women received $9.1 million from Vanderbilt University and $900,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1998.

File:Aerial image of the Old Gymnasium.jpg

File:Old Science Hall.jpg

In the early 1950s, some of the first women graduated as engineers. Women's rights advocate Maryly Van Leer Peck graduated as the first chemical engineer in 1951 after not being able to study this field at Georgia Tech where her father was president.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YeO2AgAAQBAJ&dq=%22van+leer%22+kkk&pg=PA146 |title=Girls Coming to Tech |date=January 14, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2014 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-32027-6 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709035547/https://books.google.com/books?id=YeO2AgAAQBAJ&dq=%22van+leer%22+kkk&pg=PA146#v=onepage&q=%22van%20leer%22%20kkk&f=false |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Name |url=http://frontweb.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/vuse_web/alumni/alumni-bios/vanleerpeck-maryly.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=500 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=frontweb.vuse.vanderbilt.edu |archive-date=March 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327063034/http://frontweb.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/vuse_web/alumni/alumni-bios/vanleerpeck-maryly.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=500&width=500 |url-status=dead }} In 1953, Chancellor Branscomb orchestrated admission of the first African American student to Vanderbilt, in the School of Divinity.{{cite web |last1=Carey |first1=Bill |title=First African-American student left many legacies |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Register/feb10_03/20030212johnson.html |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=May 10, 2015 |date=February 12, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228005918/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Register/feb10_03/20030212johnson.html |archive-date=December 28, 2015 }} In 1960, under intense pressure from the Vanderbilt Board of Trust, especially James G. Stahlman, a Trustee and the influential editor of the local newspaper, Branscomb expelled Divinity student James Lawson. Lawson was a Congress of Racial Equality leader who organized sit-ins in defiance of Nashville's segregation laws. A dozen faculty members resigned in protest. Branscomb later re-examined his decision, regretting he did not consider referring it to committee to delay action for three months until Lawson's graduation.{{Cite book |last=Branscomb |first=Harvie |title=Purely Academic: An Autobiography |publisher=Vanderbilt University |year=1978 |location=Nashville, TN |pages=152–65 |language=English }} The school was placed on probation for a year by the American Association of Theological Schools, and the power of trustees was curtailed.{{cite journal |last1=Sumner |first1=David E. |date=Spring 1997 |title=The Publisher and the Preacher: Racial Conflict at Vanderbilt University |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=34–43 |jstor=42627327 }} The university took Stahlman's $5 million donation in 1972–1973,{{cite news |last1=Fontenay |first1=Charles L. |title=Stahlman Suffers Stroke; Condition Termed Critical |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/112583435/?terms=%22James%2BG.%2BStahlman%22 |access-date=December 17, 2017 |work=The Tennessean |date=May 1, 1976 |pages=1; 8 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=registration |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308204042/https://www.newspapers.com/image/112583435/?terms=%22James%2BG.%2BStahlman%22 |url-status=live }} and named a professorship in his honor.{{cite web |title=Jefferson Cowie, James G. Stahlman Professor of History |url=https://as.vanderbilt.edu/history/bio/jefferson-cowie |website=Department of History |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=December 18, 2017 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308061719/https://as.vanderbilt.edu/history/bio/jefferson-cowie |url-status=live }} In 2005, Lawson was re-hired as a Distinguished University Professor for the 2006–2007 academic year. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus for his achievements.{{cite news |last=Patterson |first=Jim |title=The Rev James Lawson to return as visiting professor |work=The Vanderbilt Register |date=January 30, 2006 |url=http://news.vanderbilt.edu/archived-news/register/articles/index-id=24339.html |access-date=January 10, 2007 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305015947/http://news.vanderbilt.edu/archived-news/register/articles/index-id=24339.html }}

In May 1962 the Board of Trustees approved a recommendation from Chancellor Branscomb to admit African Americans in all of the university's educational schools. The first black undergraduates entered the school in the fall of 1964. The university drew national attention in 1966 when it recruited Perry Wallace, the first African American to play varsity basketball in the Southeastern Conference (SEC).{{cite web |title=Perry Wallace |publisher=Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame |url=http://www.tshf.net/inductees/2003Wallace.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724113948/http://www.tshf.net/inductees/2003Wallace.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2011 |year=2003 |access-date=August 17, 2007 }} Wallace, from Nashville, played varsity basketball for Vanderbilt from 1967 to 1970, and faced considerable opposition from segregationists when playing at other SEC venues.{{cite web |url=http://www.vucommodores.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020713aaa.html |title=Wallace was first black player in SEC |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017221952/http://www.vucommodores.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/020713aaa.html }} In 2004, a student-led drive to retire Wallace's jersey finally succeeded.{{efn|Contrary to widely stated belief, however, Wallace was not the first African-American athlete in the SEC:

• Stephen Martin, who was attending Tulane University on an academic scholarship, walked on to Tulane's baseball team in his sophomore season of 1966 (1965–66 school year), and earned letters in that season as well as the 1967 and 1968 seasons. Martin is often overlooked as an SEC integration pioneer because his first season of 1966 was Tulane's last as an SEC member.{{cite press release |url=http://tulanegreenwave.com/news/2013/5/16/Tulane_Mourns_the_Passing_of_Integration_Pioneer_Stephen_Martin_Sr_.aspx |title=Tulane Mourns the Passing of Integration Pioneer Stephen Martin Sr. |publisher=Tulane Green Wave |date=May 16, 2013 |access-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130204338/http://tulanegreenwave.com/news/2013/5/16/Tulane_Mourns_the_Passing_of_Integration_Pioneer_Stephen_Martin_Sr_.aspx |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last=Maraniss |first=Andrew |date=2014 |title=Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South |publisher=Vanderbilt University Press |page=221 |isbn=978-0-8265-2024-1 |author-link=Andrew Maraniss }}
• At the same time that Wallace and another African-American basketball player, Godfrey Dillard (who transferred from Vanderbilt before playing in a varsity game),{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/sec/2004-02-19-sec-trailblazer_x.htm |title=An SEC trailblazer gets his due |last=Carey |first=Jack |date=February 19, 2004 |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=March 7, 2010 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604155342/http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/sec/2004-02-19-sec-trailblazer_x.htm |url-status=live }} enrolled as scholarship athletes at Vanderbilt, the University of Kentucky enrolled two African-American scholarship football players, Nate Northington and Greg Page. Since freshmen were not eligible to play varsity sports at the time, players who enrolled in school in 1966 could not play on varsity teams until 1967. Because the football season precedes the basketball season within the school year, both were set to become the first African-American scholarship athletes in the SEC, but Page suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury in a 1967 preseason practice and died from the complications on September 29, less than a week after Northington became the SEC's first black scholarship athlete when he played his first game for Kentucky.{{cite news |url=http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-football/article103568827.html |title=UK reveals sculpture honoring first black football players |first=Mark |last=Story |newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader |date=September 22, 2016 |access-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201082305/http://www.kentucky.com/sports/college/kentucky-sports/uk-football/article103568827.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://ukathletics.com/documents/2018/7/17/2018_KentuckyFBRecord_Book_WEB.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913074031/https://ukathletics.com/documents/2018/7/17/2018_KentuckyFBRecord_Book_WEB.pdf |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |title=Pioneers of Integration in the SEC |work=2018 UK Football Record Book |publisher=Kentucky Wildcats |access-date=September 12, 2018 }}}}

In 1964, Vanderbilt held its first IMPACT Symposium, which has since become a university tradition of hosting speakers in a multi-day annual symposium to discuss current events and topics of a controversial nature.{{Cite web |url=https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/speakers/ |title=Speakers |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=March 26, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308024915/https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/speakers/ |url-status=dead }} Participants have included Martin Luther King Jr., Allen Ginsberg, Stokely Carmichael, Strom Thurmond, Robert F. Kennedy, Margaret Thatcher, Madeleine Albright, Vicente Fox, Ehud Barak, and multiple Presidents of the United States.{{Cite web |url=https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/2014/02/19/impact-through-the-years/ |title=IMPACT through the Decades |date=February 19, 2014 |access-date=March 26, 2019 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308031149/https://studentorg.vanderbilt.edu/vpb/2014/02/19/impact-through-the-years/ |url-status=dead }}

In March 1978, Vanderbilt hosted the South African tennis team in Memorial Gymnasium for the Davis Cup.{{cite news |last1=Lorge |first1=Barry |title=USTA: No Choice On Davis Clash With S. Africa |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1978/02/01/usta-no-choice-on-davis-clash-with-s-africa/290ff3e4-d0f7-414b-82d7-65f9b201a735/ |access-date=July 10, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 1, 1978 |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828145357/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1978/02/01/usta-no-choice-on-davis-clash-with-s-africa/290ff3e4-d0f7-414b-82d7-65f9b201a735/ |url-status=live }} The match was disrupted by anti-apartheid protesters who chanted "Don't play with apartheid", and a copy editor for The Tennessean was removed by police.{{cite news |last1=Amdur |first1=Neil |title=U.S. Davis Cup Team Beats South Africa |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/20/archives/us-davis-cup-team-beats-south-africa-us-davis-cup-team-beats-south.html |access-date=July 10, 2017 |work=The New York Times |date=March 20, 1978 |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015223/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/20/archives/us-davis-cup-team-beats-south-africa-us-davis-cup-team-beats-south.html |url-status=live }}

In 1979, Vanderbilt acquired Peabody College, then called the "George Peabody College for Teachers", residing on 53 acres adjacent to the university.{{cite web |title=History of Vanderbilt University |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/about/history/ |access-date=March 23, 2015 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411085633/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/about/history/ |url-status=live }} Peabody College traces its history to the 1785 Davidson Academy.

File:Occupy Vanderbilt's Floating Tent.jpg

File:ZepposCollege.jpg

In the early 1980s, Vanderbilt University was an investor the Corrections Corporation of America prior to its IPO.Harmon L. Wray Jr., [http://beck.library.emory.edu/southernchanges/article.php?id=sc08-3_011 Cells for Sale] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201152305/http://beck.library.emory.edu/southernchanges/article.php?id=sc08-3_011 |date=February 1, 2016 }}, Southern Changes: The Journal of the Southern Regional Council, Volume 8, Number 3, 1989{{cite book |author1=Donna Selman |author2=Paul Leighton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qb3BAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 |title=Punishment for Sale: Private Prisons, Big Business, and the Incarceration Binge |location=New York City |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |date=2010 |pages=81–82 |isbn=978-1-4422-0174-3 |quote=Pre-IPO shareholders included Vanderbilt University, where Thomas Beasley received a law degree (and which has done some research favorable to private prisons). |access-date=September 17, 2017 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709035527/https://books.google.com/books?id=qb3BAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA81#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }} The company was co-founded by Thomas W. Beasley, a Vanderbilt Law School alumnus who was honored with a Distinguished Alumnus Award.{{cite web |title=Distinguished Award Recipients |url=https://law.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/founders-circle/distinguished-award-recipients.php |website=Vanderbilt Law School |access-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617042810/https://law.vanderbilt.edu/alumni/founders-circle/distinguished-award-recipients.php |url-status=live }}

In 1989, the university began offering Posse Foundation scholarships to groups of promising young leaders from urban backgrounds to increase their share of diverse students.{{cite news |title=How VU tackles tough job of lasooing more diversity |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/113192084/?terms=%22Posse%2BFoundation%22 |access-date=June 16, 2018 |work=The Tennessean |date=November 19, 1995 |page=58 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=registration |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815090954/https://www.newspapers.com/image/113192084/?terms=%22Posse%2BFoundation%22 |url-status=live }} By 1995, 4.23% of the undergraduate student body was African-American.

In 2001, the university determined to remodel the undergraduate experience by creating an academic residential college system. Since then Vanderbilt has been constructing new buildings and renovating existing structures to support the college system.{{Cite web |last=Dobie |first=Bruce |title=Campus Revolution |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/campus-revolution/article_93aa8858-ec60-5140-8da1-e079f9883c75.html |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=Nashville Scene |date=April 18, 2002 |language=en |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205205414/https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/campus-revolution/article_93aa8858-ec60-5140-8da1-e079f9883c75.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2018 |title=Vanderbilt to add 4 residential colleges in $600M project |url=https://apnews.com/article/853a24a8cfa94f48b7fbb44ebdf6a777 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=The Associated Press |language=en |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205205417/https://apnews.com/article/853a24a8cfa94f48b7fbb44ebdf6a777 |url-status=live }}

In 2002, the university decided to rename Confederate Memorial Hall, a residence hall on the Peabody campus to Memorial Hall.{{cite news |title=Confederate Memorial Hall renamed Memorial Hall |work=The Vanderbilt Register |date=September 19, 2002 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=3316 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212182347/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=3316 |archive-date=February 12, 2012 |access-date=May 24, 2007 }} Nationwide attention resulted, in part due to a lawsuit by the Tennessee chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.{{cite news |last=Latt |first=Elizabeth P |title=Court ruling supports Vanderbilt decision to change name of building |work=The Vanderbilt Register |date=October 1, 2003 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=6663 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212182351/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=6663 |archive-date=February 12, 2012 |access-date=May 24, 2007 }} The Davidson County Chancery Court dismissed the lawsuit in 2003, but the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled in May 2005 that the university must pay damages based on the present value of the United Daughters of the Confederacy's contribution if the inscription bearing the name "Confederate Memorial Hall" was removed from the building or altered.{{cite news |title=Appeals court rules on Memorial Hall dispute |work=The Vanderbilt Register |date=May 5, 2005 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=19550 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212182359/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=19550 |archive-date=February 12, 2012 |access-date=May 24, 2007 }} The Court of Appeals' decision has been critiqued by legal scholars.{{cite news |last=Brophy |first=Alfred L. |title=The Law and Morality of Building Renaming |work=South Texas Law Review |year=2010 |url=http://blurblawg.typepad.com/files/lmbr.pdf |access-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-date=January 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112215049/http://blurblawg.typepad.com/files/lmbr.pdf |url-status=live}} Brophy's article "concludes with a caution that renaming can lead to the forgetting of historical context and an observation that memory is more important than renaming" (p. 37). In late July 2005, the university announced that although it had officially renamed the building, and all university publications and offices will refer to it solely as Memorial Hall, the university would neither appeal the matter further, nor remove the inscription and pay damages.{{cite news |title=Vanderbilt drops suit over Memorial Hall |work=The Vanderbilt Register |date=July 25, 2005 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=20856 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212182403/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=20856 |archive-date=February 12, 2012 |access-date=May 24, 2007 }} In August 2016, the university agreed to remove the word "Confederate" from the building after "anonymous donors" donated $1.2 million to repay the United Daughters of the Confederacy.{{cite news |last1=Tamburin |first1=Adam |title=Vanderbilt to remove 'Confederate' from building name |url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2016/08/15/vanderbilt-remove-confederate-building-name/88771680/ |access-date=August 15, 2016 |work=The Tennessean |date=August 15, 2016 |quote=Anonymous donors recently gave the university the $1.2 million needed for that purpose; the Vanderbilt Board of Trust authorized the move this summer. |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709035549/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2016/08/15/vanderbilt-remove-confederate-building-name/88771680/ |url-status=live }}

In 2009, Vanderbilt instituted a no-loan policy. The policy states that any student granted admission and a need-based aid package will have an award that includes no student loans.{{cite web |title=Need-Based Financial Aid at Vanderbilt |url=http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2010/08/need-based-financial-aid-at-vanderbilt/ |website=Vanderbilt.edu |access-date=July 24, 2015 |archive-date=July 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724212116/http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2010/08/need-based-financial-aid-at-vanderbilt/ |url-status=live }} Following this, in 2015, Vanderbilt implemented Opportunity Vanderbilt, which committed the university to need-blind admissions, meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need of admitted students, and including only grants in awards.{{cite news |title=Donors give $200 million to support Vanderbilt financial aid program |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/105001318/?terms=%22opportunity%2Bvanderbilt%22 |access-date=June 16, 2018 |work=The Tennessean |date=May 14, 2015 |page=A5 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=registration |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814205426/https://www.newspapers.com/image/105001318/?terms=%22opportunity%2Bvanderbilt%22 |url-status=live }}

In 2011, the Oakland Institute exposed a university investment in EMVest Asset Management, a private equity firm "accused of 'land grabbing,' or taking over agricultural land used by local communities through exploitative practices for large-scale commercial export farming in five sub-Saharan African countries.{{Cite web |date=February 13, 2013 |title=Vanderbilt University Divests from "Land Grab" in Africa |url=https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/vanderbilt-university-divests-land-grab-africa |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=oaklandinstitute.org |language=en-US |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205205424/https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/vanderbilt-university-divests-land-grab-africa |url-status=live }} The revelation led to student protests in 2012.{{Cite web |date=June 8, 2011 |title=US universities in Africa 'land grab' |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/08/us-universities-africa-land-grab |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709035546/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jun/08/us-universities-africa-land-grab |url-status=live }} By 2013, Vanderbilt administrators had divested from EMVest.

In 2012, Vanderbilt built Elliston Hall in honor of Elizabeth Boddie Elliston of the Burlington Plantation.

In 2015, Vanderbilt opened a new innovation center, the Wond'ry, as part of its Academic Strategic Plan. The three-story, 13,000-square foot building is meant to serve as an interdisciplinary hub of knowledge for the Vanderbilt community, serving as the location of hackathons, partnerships with the Nashville Entrepreneurship Center, and several social venture programs.{{Cite news |url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/11/14/vanderbilts-wondry-spurs-school-wide-innovation/93292086/ |title=Vanderbilt's Wond'ry spurs school-wide innovation |newspaper=The Tennessean |access-date=December 28, 2016 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709035551/https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2016/11/14/vanderbilts-wondry-spurs-school-wide-innovation/93292086/ |url-status=live }}

In April 2024, Vanderbilt University students joined other campuses{{Cite web |title=From LA to NY, pro-Palestine college campus protests grow strong in US |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/4/27/from-la-to-new-york-student-protests-in-support-of-palestine-grow-strong |access-date=September 22, 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}} in support of Palestine by setting up an encampment on campus.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Kaitlin |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Vanderbilt University students protest in support of Palestine by camping on campus |url=https://fox17.com/news/local/2024-nashville-tennessee-vanderbilt-university-students-protest-in-support-of-palestine-by-camping-on-campus-davidson-county-middle-tn |access-date=September 22, 2024 |website=WZTV |language=en}} The protestors demanded that the university boycott companies that do business in Israel and demanded an end to what they call a Palestinian genocide.{{Cite web |date=May 1, 2024 |title=Vanderbilt University students mark 1 month in Pro-Palestinian tent encampment |url=https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/vanderbilt-university-students-mark-1-month-in-pro-palestinian-tent-encampment/ |access-date=September 22, 2024 |website=WKRN News 2 |language=en-US}} The protests escalated when the administration blocked a student vote on a BDS resolution.{{Cite web |last=Bacallao |first=Marianna |date=May 9, 2024 |title=What sets Vanderbilt's response to pro-Palestinian protests apart from other colleges |url=https://wpln.org/post/what-sets-vanderbilts-response-to-pro-palestinian-protests-apart-from-other-colleges/ |access-date=September 22, 2024 |website=wpln.org |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Latham |first=Angele |title=Vanderbilt University students protest, arrested at sit-in: What to know |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2024/03/28/vanderbilt-student-protest-over-israel-divestment-nashville-what-to-know/73130973007/ |access-date=September 22, 2024 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US}} Students were forcibly removed by police from a building and three were arrested for misdemeanor assault, with those three students later expelled.{{Cite news |last=Bacallao |first=Marianna |date=May 10, 2024 |title=Talking with a Vanderbilt senior expelled for role in pro-Palestinian protests |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/05/10/1250589763/talking-with-a-vanderbilt-senior-expelled-for-role-in-pro-palestinian-protests |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510210015/https://www.npr.org/2024/05/10/1250589763/talking-with-a-vanderbilt-senior-expelled-for-role-in-pro-palestinian-protests |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |access-date=September 22, 2024 |work=NPR}}  More than 170 faculty members opposed the university's response to the protests. With the start of the 2024–25 academic year, Vanderbilt required all first-year undergraduate students to attend mandatory meetings about the university's approach to free speech{{Cite web |date=August 24, 2024 |title=How College Campuses Are Trying to Manage Protests During an Election Year - The New York Times |website=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/24/us/universities-campus-protests-rules.html |access-date=September 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824102030/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/24/us/universities-campus-protests-rules.html |archive-date=August 24, 2024 }}

{{Infobox U.S. college admissions

|year = 2022

|ref = {{cite web |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/dsa/common-data-set/ |title=2022-2023 Common Data Set |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=August 26, 2022 |access-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-date=May 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515220122/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/dsa/common-data-set/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/#admission-to-vanderbilt |title=Vanderbilt At A Glance |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=August 26, 2022 |access-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-date=March 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301161850/https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/#admission-to-vanderbilt |url-status=live }}

|admit rate = 6.1%

|yield rate= 52.3%

|SAT EBRW = 730-770

|SAT Math = 760-800

|ACT = 34-35

|top decile =

|top decile change =

|top quarter =

|top quarter change =

|top half =

|top half change =

}}

File:CorneliusVanderbiltStatue.JPG

File:E. Bronson Ingram College.jpg

As of 2021, Vanderbilt had an enrollment of 7,111 undergraduate and 6,685 graduate and professional students, for a total of 13,796 students. Students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries attend Vanderbilt, with approximately 68% of the undergraduate student body coming from outside the South and 10% from outside of the United States. As of 2022, the incoming undergraduate class was 49% male and 51% female. Moreover, 12.7% of the class was classified as Hispanic, 11.9% Black or African American, 16.9% Asian, 6% other/two or more races, and 10.4% international. 88% of Vanderbilt's students graduate in four years and 93% within six years. 97% of first-years return for their second year.{{Cite web |url=https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/#enrollmentfall2018 |title=The Vanderbilt Profile* |website=Undergraduate Admissions |access-date=November 7, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301161850/https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/#enrollmentfall2018 |url-status=live }}

Vanderbilt lets undergraduates choose among 70 majors, or create their own, in its four undergraduate schools and colleges: the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and Blair School of Music. The university also has six graduate and professional schools, including the Divinity School, Graduate School, Law School, School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and Owen Graduate School of Management.{{Cite web |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/about/facts/ |title=Vanderbilt University |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=October 10, 2017 |archive-date=August 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819095228/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/info/facts/ }} As of 2021, Vanderbilt has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8:1.{{Cite web |url=https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/#alumni |title=The Vanderbilt Profile {{!}} Undergraduate Admissions {{!}} Vanderbilt University |website=admissions.vanderbilt.edu |access-date=February 9, 2018 |archive-date=March 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301161850/https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/profile/#alumni |url-status=live }}

The university's undergraduate programs are highly selective: in 2022, Vanderbilt's acceptance rate and yield rate were 6.1% and 52.3%, respectively. Vanderbilt is one of the most selective universities in the United States.{{Cite news |title='This class gives me hope': Class of 2026 overall acceptance rate drops to 6.1%, record low |url=https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/04/16/this-class-gives-me-hope-class-of-2026-overall-acceptance-rate-drops-to-6-1-record-low/ |access-date=June 27, 2021 |newspaper=The Vanderbilt Hustler |last1=Perrotta |first1=Rachael |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616101314/https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/04/16/this-class-gives-me-hope-class-of-2026-overall-acceptance-rate-drops-to-6-1-record-low/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Dado |first=Natasha |date=September 15, 2022 |title=The hardest colleges to get into for 2023, ranked |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/hardest-colleges-to-get-into/33/ |access-date=May 16, 2023 |publisher=CBS News |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516183045/https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/hardest-colleges-to-get-into/33/ |url-status=live }}

In 2015, Vanderbilt was ranked fifth overall and fourth among private universities in enrollment of National Merit Scholars.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/annual_report.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61&sessionid=27efde83-fe42-458f-be8b-2a82c2b3461f&cc=1 |title=National Merit Scholarship Corporation Annual Report, 2015–2016 |website=National Merit Scholarship Corporation |access-date=November 3, 2017 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107025006/https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/images/gid2/editor_documents/annual_report.pdf?gid=2&pgid=61&sessionid=27efde83-fe42-458f-be8b-2a82c2b3461f&cc=1 |url-status=live }} In its most recent annual comparison of admissions selectivity, The Princeton Review gave Vanderbilt a rating of 99 out of 99.{{cite web |publisher=The Princeton Review |title=Vanderbilt University |url=https://www.princetonreview.com/college/vanderbilt-university-1022817 |access-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-date=February 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228235630/https://www.princetonreview.com/college/vanderbilt-university-1022817 |url-status=live }} The class of 2023 included 231 National Merit Scholars and 116 valedictorians or salutatorians. Additionally, the class had standardized test scores that were well above average: the interquartile range (25th percentile – 75th percentile) of SAT scores was 1460–1560, while the interquartile range of ACT scores was 33–35. For students of the class of 2016 whose schools reported exact class rankings, 93% ranked in the top 10% of their class.{{cite web |url=https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2022/03/class-of-2026-regular-decision-summary-statistics// |title=Class of 2026 Regular Decisions Mailed Today | The Vandy Admissions Blog | Vanderbilt University |publisher=Admissions.vanderbilt.edu |date=March 23, 2012 |access-date=March 5, 2013 |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402055638/https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2022/03/class-of-2026-regular-decision-summary-statistics/ |url-status=live }}

According to the National Science Foundation, Vanderbilt spent $1 billion on research and development in 2021, ranking it 24th among American universities.{{cite web |title=Rankings by total R&D expenditures |url=https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingBySource&ds=herd |access-date=May 16, 2023 |website=ncsesdata.nsf.gov |publisher=National Science Foundation |archive-date=January 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113144205/https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=rankingBySource&ds=herd |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Zalaznick |first=Matt |date=January 6, 2023 |title=Billion-dollar business: These are higher ed's top 30 R&D performers |url=https://universitybusiness.com/r-d-research-and-development-billion-dollar-top-30-college-university-higher-ed-spenders/ |access-date=December 28, 2023 |website=University Business |language=en-US |archive-date=December 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231224165848/https://universitybusiness.com/r-d-research-and-development-billion-dollar-top-30-college-university-higher-ed-spenders/ |url-status=live }} In 2013, Vanderbilt University was ranked 12th in the country in funding from the National Institutes of Health.{{cite web |date=March 31, 2022 |title=Vanderbilt ranks 12th in annual survey of NIH funding; 2021 awards topped $445M |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/03/31/vanderbilt-ranks-12th-in-annual-survey-of-nih-funding-2021-awards-topped-445m/ |access-date=May 16, 2023 |publisher=Vanderbilt University |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516183046/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/03/31/vanderbilt-ranks-12th-in-annual-survey-of-nih-funding-2021-awards-topped-445m/ |url-status=live }} Its Institute for Space and Defense Electronics, housed in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, includes the largest academic facility in the world involved in radiation-effects research.{{cite web |url=http://ieee-npss.org/distinguished-lecturers/ron-schrimpf-ph-d/ |title=Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517131703/https://ieee-npss.org/distinguished-lecturers/ron-schrimpf-ph-d/ |url-status=dead }}

File:The Wond'ry.png

File:Olin Hall.png

Among its more unusual activities, the university has institutes devoted to the study of coffee and of bridge.{{cite web |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/bridge/hsvanderbilt.htm |title=Harold Stirling Vanderbilt |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306192906/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/bridge/hsvanderbilt.htm |archive-date=March 6, 2016 }} Indeed, the modern form of the latter was developed by Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, a former president of the university's Board of Trust and a great-grandson of the Commodore. In addition, in mid-2004 it was announced that Vanderbilt's chemical biology research may have serendipitously opened the door to the breeding of a blue rose, something that has long been coveted by horticulturalists and rose lovers.{{cite news |last=Harrison |first=David |title=A true scientific breakthrough: the blue rose |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3340712/A-true-scientific-breakthrough-the-blue-rose.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/3340712/A-true-scientific-breakthrough-the-blue-rose.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=May 23, 2004 |access-date=June 30, 2011 |location=London}}{{cbignore }}

In 2010, the Center for Intelligent Mechatronics at Vanderbilt began testing a powered exoskeleton intended to assist paraplegics, stroke victims and other paralyzed or semi-paralyzed people to walk independently.{{cite web |url=http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/10/exoskeleton/ |title=Advanced exoskeleton promises more independence for people with paraplegia |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=October 30, 2012 |access-date=November 29, 2012 |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105061927/http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2012/10/exoskeleton/? |url-status=live }} The Vanderbilt exoskeleton received funding from Parker Hannifin Corporation in 2012 and has since gone to market internationally.{{Cite web |url=https://www.popsci.com/indego-exoskeleton-gets-fda-approval/ |title=Lightweight Robotic Exoskeleton Approved By FDA |website=Popular Science |date=March 12, 2016 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020122222/https://www.popsci.com/indego-exoskeleton-gets-fda-approval/ |url-status=live }}

Vanderbilt was involved in the discovery of tennessine (Ts), element 117 on the periodic table, in collaboration with the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Moscow Oblast, Russia and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.{{Cite web |publisher=U.S. DOE Office of Science |title=Nations Work Together to Discover New Element |url=http://science.energy.gov/news/featured-articles/2011/127004/ |website=U.S. Department of Energy |year=2011 |access-date=January 5, 2020 |archive-date=September 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914174000/http://science.energy.gov/news/featured-articles/2011/127004/ |url-status=live }} It was officially named after the state of Tennessee by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics in 2016.{{Cite web |date=June 8, 2016 |url=https://apnews.com/bd44f5cccba04d4fbaec96273e06fb45 |title=Periodic table elements named for Moscow, Japan, Tennessee |work=Associated Press News |access-date=January 12, 2020 |archive-date=October 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022195852/https://apnews.com/bd44f5cccba04d4fbaec96273e06fb45 |url-status=live }}

The university's research record is blemished, however, by a study university researchers, in conjunction with the Tennessee Department of Health, conducted on iron metabolism during pregnancy in the 1940s.{{cite news |title=$10 Million Settlement In Radiation Suit |work=The New York Times |date=May 29, 1998 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801EEDD1138F93AA15756C0A96E958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fV%2fVanderbilt%20University |access-date=September 20, 2007 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709035528/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/29/us/national-news-briefs-10-million-settlement-in-radiation-suit.html |url-status=live }} Between 1945 and 1949, over 800 pregnant women were given radioactive iron. Standards of informed consent for research subjects were not rigorously enforced at that time,{{efn|See article on the Declaration of Helsinki.}} and many of the women were not informed of the potential risks. The injections were later suspected to have caused cancer in at least three of the children who were born to these mothers.{{cite news |last=Schneider |first=Keith |title=Scientists Share in Pain Of Experiment Debates |work=The New York Times |date=March 2, 1994 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903E0D8153AF931A35750C0A962958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=1 |access-date=July 5, 2007 }} In 1998, the university settled a class action lawsuit with the mothers and surviving children for $10.3 million.{{cite web |publisher=Lieff Cabraser |title=Vanderbilt University Radiation Class Action |date=July 27, 1998 |url=http://www.lieffcabraser.com/Personal-Injury/Accidents-Recalls/Vanderbilt-University-Radiation-Exposure-Class-Action-Lawsuit.shtml |access-date=April 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405212342/http://www.lieffcabraser.com/Personal-Injury/Accidents-Recalls/Vanderbilt-University-Radiation-Exposure-Class-Action-Lawsuit.shtml |archive-date=April 5, 2014 }}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-break}}

{{Infobox US university ranking

| THE_WSJ = 13

| Wamo_NU = 18

| USNWR_NU = 18 (tie)

| USNWR_W = 63

| QS_W = 248

| Forbes = 15

| THES_W = 92 (tie)

| ARWU_W = 66

}}

{{col-break}}

{{col-break}}

{{col-end}}

File:Old Gymnasium at Vanderbilt University.jpg

File:Oldmech.jpg

Vanderbilt consistently ranks among the top universities in the United States. In the 2025 edition of 'Best National Universities' by U.S. News & World Report, Vanderbilt ranked 18th in a tie with Rice University and the University of Notre Dame.{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities |title=Vanderbilt University |access-date=September 12, 2017 |archive-date=December 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223135332/https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities |url-status=live }} In 2024, Niche ranked Vanderbilt the 14th best college in America, and the 16th hardest college to get into in America.{{Cite web |title=2024 Best Colleges in America |url=https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=Niche |archive-date=September 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918223443/https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges/ |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=2024 Hardest Colleges to Get Into in America |url=https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/hardest-to-get-in/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |website=Niche |archive-date=May 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511013808/https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/hardest-to-get-in/ |url-status=live }}

In the 2024 graduate program rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Peabody College of Education the 2nd best national school of education,{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/edu-rankings |title=2024 Best Education Schools |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006210141/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-education-schools/edu-rankings |url-status=live }} the Vanderbilt University Law School the 14th best national law school,{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings |title=2024 Best Law Schools |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=March 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320195829/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings |url-status=live }} the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine the 5th best national research-oriented medical school,{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings |title=2023-2024 Best Medical Schools: Research |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614043430/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings |url-status=live }} the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing the 4th best national nursing school,{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/nur-rankings |title=2024 Best Nursing Schools: Master's |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=November 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105025447/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools/nur-rankings |url-status=live }} the School of Engineering the 41st best national engineering school,{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings |title=2024 Best Engineering Schools |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310063613/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings |url-status=live }} and the Owen Graduate School of Management the 18th best national business school.{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings |title=2024 Best Business Schools |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314003952/https://www.usnews.com/best%2Dgraduate%2Dschools/top%2Dbusiness%2Dschools/mba%2Drankings |url-status=live }} Additionally, U.S. News & World Report ranked Vanderbilt 1st in the nation in the fields of special education, educational administration, and audiology.{{cite magazine |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |year=2014 |title=Vanderbilt University |url=http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/vanderbilt-university-221999/overall-rankings |access-date=June 5, 2014 |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606222807/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/vanderbilt-university-221999/overall-rankings |url-status=live }} In 2024, the Owen Graduate School of Management was ranked 25th by Bloomberg Businessweek among full-time MBA programs.{{cite magazine |magazine=Bloomberg Businessweek |title=US B-Schools Ranking |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/business-schools/regions/us/ |access-date=June 29, 2024 |archive-date=April 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419175001/https://www.bloomberg.com/business-schools/regions/us/ |url-status=live }}

The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks Vanderbilt as the 64th-best university in the world. Additionally the ARWU Field rankings in 2022 placed Vanderbilt as fourth best in the world for Education and Library & Information Science, 14th in Law, and 20th in Political Science.{{cite web |date=May 16, 2023 |title=Academic Ranking of World Universities: Vanderbilt University |url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/institution/vanderbilt-university |access-date=May 16, 2023 |publisher=ShanghaiRanking Consultancy |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516183044/https://www.shanghairanking.com/institution/vanderbilt-university |url-status=live }} In the Times Higher Education 2016 World University Rankings, Vanderbilt is 87th. The 2023 QS World University Rankings ranked Vanderbilt 199th in the world.{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2023 |title=QS World University Rankings 2023: Top global universities |url=https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023 |access-date=May 16, 2023 |website=TopUniversities |archive-date=September 17, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917171555/https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2023 |url-status=live }} Human Resources & Labor Review, a national human competitiveness index & analysis, ranked the university as one of 50 Best World Universities in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.chasecareer.net/news_detail.php?id=61 |title=50 Best World Universities 2011 |publisher=ChaseCareer Network |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511100108/http://www.chasecareer.net/news_detail.php?id=61 |archive-date=May 11, 2011 }} Poets & Writers ranked Vanderbilt's English Department's MFA Program in Creative Writing 18th among the top 50 writing programs in the United States in 2010 and 14th in the United States in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.pw.org/content/top_fifty_mfa_programs_united_states_comprehensive_guide |title=The Top Fifty MFA Programs in the United States: A Comprehensive Guide |first=Seth |last=Abramson |date=November–December 2009 |publisher=pw.org |access-date=November 28, 2010 |archive-date=December 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203130340/http://www.pw.org/content/top_fifty_mfa_programs_united_states_comprehensive_guide |url-status=live }} Fortune magazine ranked Vanderbilt among the top 100 places to work in the United States, the only university on their list.{{cite journal |last=Levering |first=Robert |author2=Moskowitz, Milton |title=100 Best Companies To Work For |journal=Fortune |volume=159 |issue=2 |page=78 |date=February 2, 2009 |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2009/size/ |access-date=April 22, 2018 }} In 2018, Kiplinger's Best College Values rankings listed Vanderbilt as one of the top ten "best value" universities and one of the top five private universities for value.{{Cite news |url=https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=all |title=Kiplinger's Best College Values |work=www.kiplinger.com |access-date=February 22, 2018 |archive-date=February 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221033507/https://www.kiplinger.com/tool/college/T014-S001-kiplinger-s-best-values-in-private-colleges/index.php?table=all }} In 2020, Money's "Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value" rankings listed Vanderbilt as being the eighth-best value university in the nation.{{Cite web |title=The Best Colleges in America of 2020 by Money |url=https://money.com/best-colleges/ |access-date=August 28, 2020 |website=money.com |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708232353/https://money.com/best-colleges/ |url-status=live }}

Vanderbilt is ranked the 98th best university in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. Reuters ranked it the 19th most innovative university in the world.{{Cite news |last=Ewalt |first=David |date=October 23, 2019 |title=The World's Most Innovative Universities 2019 |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AMERS-REUTERS%20RANKING-INNOVATIVE-UNIVERSITIES/0100B2JP1W1/index.html |access-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516183044/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/AMERS-REUTERS%20RANKING-INNOVATIVE-UNIVERSITIES/0100B2JP1W1/index.html |url-status=live }}

Vanderbilt does well in non-academic rankings as well. In 2017 alone, the university was ranked first for happiest students, second for quality of life, fifth for most beautiful campus, and fifth for best-run college by The Princeton Review.{{Cite web |url=https://www.princetonreview.com/schools/1022817/college/vanderbilt-university |title=Vanderbilt University – The Princeton Review College Rankings & Reviews |website=www.princetonreview.com |access-date=August 3, 2017 |archive-date=August 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820230042/https://www.princetonreview.com/schools/1022817/college/vanderbilt-university |url-status=live }} In 2016, the university was listed by Travel + Leisure as having one of the most beautiful campuses in the country.{{Cite news |url=http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses |title=America's Most Beautiful College Campuses |work=Travel + Leisure |access-date=February 22, 2018 |archive-date=April 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421181644/http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-most-beautiful-college-campuses |url-status=live }} In 2016, Vanderbilt was ranked the third most intense college in the nation by Business Insider.{{Cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/most-intense-colleges-in-america-2016-4 |title=Work Hard, Play Hard: The 30 most intense colleges in America |work=Business Insider |access-date=October 10, 2017 |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011073255/http://www.businessinsider.com/most-intense-colleges-in-america-2016-4 |url-status=live }} In 2018, the magazine listed Vanderbilt as the fifth smartest college in America.{{Cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10#5-yale-university-average-sat-1498-47 |title=Here are the 50 smartest colleges in America |work=Business Insider |access-date=August 24, 2018 |archive-date=August 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825073903/https://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10#5-yale-university-average-sat-1498-47 |url-status=live }}

File:Bicentennial Oak.png

The Vanderbilt campus is located approximately {{convert|1.5|mi|km|1}} southwest of downtown in Midtown along both the city's bustling West End Avenue and 21st Avenue corridors. It has an area of {{convert|330|acre|km2|1}}, though this figure includes large tracts of sparsely used land in the southwest part of the main campus, as well as the Medical Center.{{cite web |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/what-we-do/green-building/land-use/ |title=Land Use |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-date=September 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909201604/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/sustainvu/what-we-do/green-building/land-use/ }} The historical core of campus encompasses approximately {{convert|75|acre|km2|1}}.{{cite web |title=History |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/about/history/ |website=vanderbilt.edu |access-date=March 22, 2015 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411085633/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/about/history/ |url-status=live }}

The oldest part of the Vanderbilt campus is known for its abundance of trees and green space, which stand in contrast to the surrounding cityscape of urban Nashville.{{cite web |publisher=Vanderbilt University |title=Facts about the Arboretum |access-date=March 12, 2014 |url=http://vanderbilt.edu/trees/about |archive-date=March 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312213342/http://vanderbilt.edu/trees/about |url-status=live }} The campus was designated as a national arboretum in 1988 by the Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta, and in 2020 it was accredited as a Level II arboretum by ArbNet.{{cite web |publisher=The Morton Arboretum |title=ArbNet, the Interactive Community of Arboreta: Vanderbilt University Arboretum |access-date=October 30, 2020 |url=http://arbnet.org/morton-register/vanderbilt-university-arboretum |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302061745/http://arbnet.org/morton-register/vanderbilt-university-arboretum |url-status=live }} Approximately 190 species of trees and shrubs can be found on campus. One tree, the Bicentennial Oak between Rand Hall and Garland Hall, was certified to have lived during the American Revolution and was the oldest living thing on the campus. The Bicentennial Oak succumbed to age-related decay and fell on November 12, 2022.{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2022 |title=Bicentennial Oak, beloved campus landmark, has died |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/11/16/bicentennial-oak-beloved-campus-landmark-has-died/ |access-date=January 31, 2023 |website=Vanderbilt University |language=en-US |archive-date=January 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131140246/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2022/11/16/bicentennial-oak-beloved-campus-landmark-has-died/ |url-status=live }} In December 2015, a hackberry tree fell, leaving 10 students injured with "broken bones and stitches."{{cite news |last1=Sherman |first1=Najahe |title=Broken bones and stitches: Parents injured by tree falling at Vanderbilt |url=http://wkrn.com/2015/12/22/broken-bones-and-stitches-parents-injured-by-tree-falling-at-vanderbilt/ |access-date=December 24, 2015 |work=WKRN-TV |date=December 22, 2015 |archive-date=December 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151224083715/http://wkrn.com/2015/12/22/broken-bones-and-stitches-parents-injured-by-tree-falling-at-vanderbilt/ }}{{cite news |title=10 Hurt When Tree Falls During Vanderbilt Tour |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/12/22/10-hurt-when-tree-falls-during-vanderbilt-tour |access-date=December 24, 2015 |work=Inside Higher Ed |date=December 22, 2015 |archive-date=December 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225175305/https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/12/22/10-hurt-when-tree-falls-during-vanderbilt-tour |url-status=live }} Additionally, in August 2022, a tree fell on Peabody Lawn, leaving two students injured.{{Cite web |last=Roslin |first=Noah |title=Tree falls on Peabody Lawn, two students injured |url=https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/08/23/tree-falls-on-peabody-lawn-two-students-injured/ |access-date=February 28, 2023 |website=The Vanderbilt Hustler |date=August 23, 2022 |archive-date=February 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228022723/https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/08/23/tree-falls-on-peabody-lawn-two-students-injured/ |url-status=live }}

File:Old Gym.png

File:Alumni Hall.png

In the northeast corner of the campus (the base of the fan) is the original campus.{{Cite web |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/econ/apet/images/campusmap.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=August 22, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912160918/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/econ/apet/images/campusmap.pdf |archive-date=September 12, 2014 }} This section stretches from West End Avenue south to the Stevenson Center and west from 21st Avenue to Alumni Lawn. The majority of the buildings of the arts and humanities departments of the College of Arts and Science, as well as the facilities of the law school, Owen Graduate School of Management, and the divinity school, are located in the original campus. Additionally, the Heard Central Library and Sarratt Student Center/Rand Hall can be found on the original campus.

Flanking the original campus to the south are the Stevenson Center for Science and Mathematics—built on a woodland once known as the Sacred Grove{{cite book |title=To Quarks and Quasars: A History of Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University |first1=Robert T. |last1=Lagemann |first2=Wendell G. |last2=Holladay |year=2000 |quote=They agreed that the preferred location would be the popularly named "Sacred Grove," a wooded, open area east of the Engineering School and north of the Medical School, more or less where the Stevenson Center now stands. |page=32 }}—and the School of Engineering complex (Jacobs Hall-Featheringill Hall). Housing the Science Library, the School of Engineering, and all the science and math departments of the College of Arts and Science, this complex sits between the original campus and the Medical Center. The Vanderbilt University Medical Center itself takes up the southeastern part of the campus. Besides the various associated hospitals and clinics and the facilities of the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, the medical center also houses many major research facilities.

West of the original campus and the Medical Center, Greek Row and the bulk of the Vanderbilt residence halls are found. From north to south, Carmichael Towers, Greek Row, Branscomb Quadrangle, and Highland Quadrangle house the vast majority of on-campus residents in facilities ranging from the double-occupancy, shared-bathroom dorms in Branscomb and Towers to the apartments and lodges in Highland Quadrangle. There are 20 residence halls and apartments across both campuses.

The design of the campus and buildings can be described as eclectic, with buildings of various styles and eras. The original 75-acre campus included 11 structures situated along ridge lines with sprawling views of downtown Nashville. The original campus gates are still located off 21st Avenue. Currently four of the original 11 campus structures still exist. One of these is Kirkland Hall, one of the more recognizable buildings on campus. Built in 1873, the original building had two Victorian towers. A major fire in 1905 severely damaged the building, and it was rebuilt in an Italianate design with only one tower. The building was named after Chancellor James Hampton Kirkland, who served as Vanderbilt's chancellor from 1893 to 1937.{{Cite web |url=https://newsonline.library.vanderbilt.edu/2018/10/the-history-of-kirkland-hall-topic-of-new-exhibition/ |title=The History of Kirkland Hall Topic of New Exhibition |last=Sterkenburg |first=Sara |date=October 17, 2018 |access-date=November 21, 2019 |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808063546/https://newsonline.library.vanderbilt.edu/2018/10/the-history-of-kirkland-hall-topic-of-new-exhibition/ |url-status=live }} In recent years campus planners have strived to preserve the landscape and buildings like Kirkland Hall to keep the original core and maintain a compact, walkable campus.[https://www.vanderbilt.edu/futurevu/history.php Campus Land Use / Master Planning History at Vanderbilt] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210003108/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/futurevu/history.php |date=February 10, 2018 }} Downloaded February 9, 2018.

Memorial Gymnasium, Vanderbilt Stadium, Hawkins Field, McGugin Center, and all the other varsity athletic fields and facilities are to be found in the extreme west of campus. The Student Recreation Center and its associated intramural fields are located south of the varsity facilities.

{{wide image|Owen Graduate School of Management.png|880px|align-cap=center|View of the Owen Graduate School of Management}}

File:PeabodyLibraryVandy.JPG

Directly across 21st Avenue from the Medical Center sits "Commons", home to the Peabody College of Education and Human Development. The design of the Commons campus was inspired by the classical lines of Thomas Jefferson's design for the University of Virginia and the architecture of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. The National Historic Landmarks program designated the central lawn and surrounding buildings as a historic district in 1965.{{Cite web |title=NY Architects Design Vanderbilt University's Historic Peabody College for Teachers - Education Update |url=http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2014/JAN/HTML/col-vanderbilt.html#.Wn293OjwaCo |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=www.educationupdate.com |archive-date=June 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180606065410/http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2014/JAN/HTML/col-vanderbilt.html#.Wn293OjwaCo |url-status=live }} The Commons campus also includes the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons freshman residences. All freshmen live across the 10 various dormitories of the Ingram Commons.

On September 6, 2024, Vanderbilt University entered into a lease agreement to occupy the General Theological Seminary campus in Chelsea, Manhattan pending approval from the government authorities. Vanderbilt made it clear that General Theological Seminary would continue to occupy some space on the New York City campus, but would remain a separate entity. The use of this location has not been announced.{{cite web | last=Hitson | first=Hadley | title=Vanderbilt takes over New York seminary for nationwide expansion | website=The Tennessean | date=September 26, 2024 | url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/2024/09/26/tennessee-vanderbilt-new-york-seminary-nationwide-expansion/75397323007/ | access-date=September 30, 2024}}

Vanderbilt University, as a private corporation, is wholly governed by an independent, self-perpetuating Board of Trust. The board comprises 45 regular members (plus any number of trustees emeriti) and the chancellor, the university's chief executive officer.{{cite web |title=Membership and Procedures of the Board of Trust |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/boardoftrust/bylaws/mandp.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201103526/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/boardoftrust/bylaws/mandp.html |archive-date=February 1, 2009 |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=November 21, 2008 |access-date=January 7, 2009 }} Each trustee serves a five-year term (except for four recently graduated alumni, who serve two two-year terms). Bruce R. Evans is the board's chairman.{{Cite web |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/boardoftrust/members.php |title=Members |website=Board of Trust |access-date=December 2, 2017 |archive-date=December 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224522/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/boardoftrust/members.php |url-status=live }}

Daniel Diermeier has served as chancellor of Vanderbilt University since July 1, 2020.

{{Main|List of Chancellors of Vanderbilt University}}

Since the opening of the university in 1875, only nine individuals have served as chancellor.{{cite web |title=History of the Office |publisher=Vanderbilt University |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/history |access-date=January 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908234856/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/history.html |archive-date=September 8, 2006 }} Landon Garland was the university's first chancellor, serving from 1875 to 1893. Garland organized the university and hired its first faculty. Garland Hall, an academic building on campus, is named in his honor.

The next chancellor was James Kirkland—serving from 1893 to 1937, he had the longest tenure of any Vanderbilt chancellor. He was responsible for severing the university's ties with the Methodist Church and relocating the medical school to the main campus. Vanderbilt's Main Building was renamed Kirkland Hall after Kirkland left in 1937.

The longest-tenured chancellor was followed by one of the shortest-tenured. Oliver Carmichael served Vanderbilt for just nine years, 1937 to 1946. Carmichael developed the graduate school, and established the Joint University Libraries for Vanderbilt, Peabody, and Scarritt College. Carmichael Towers, a set of high-rise dormitories on the northern edge of campus, were named for Chancellor Carmichael.

Carmichael's successor was Harvie Branscomb. Branscomb presided over a period of major growth and improvement at the university that lasted from 1946 until 1963. He was responsible for opening the admissions policy to all races. Branscomb Quadrangle is a residence hall complex named for the chancellor.

Alexander Heard, for whom the campus's 10-library system (with 3.3 million total volumes) is named, served as chancellor from 1963 to 1982. During his 20-year tenure, the Owen Graduate School of Management was founded, and Vanderbilt's merger with Peabody College was negotiated. He also survived calls for his ouster because of his accommodating stance on desegregation.

Joe B. Wyatt was the chancellor who served immediately after Heard, from 1982 until 2000. Wyatt oversaw a great increase in the university's endowment, an increase in student diversity, and the renovation of many campus buildings. Wyatt placed great emphasis on improving the quality of faculty and instruction, and during his tenure Vanderbilt rose to the top 25 in the U.S. News & World Report{{'}}s annual rankings for the first time.{{cite web |title=Joe B. Wyatt 1982–2000 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellorsearch/wyatt.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402134304/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellorsearch/wyatt.html |archive-date=April 2, 2012 |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=December 13, 2008 }} The Wyatt Center on Peabody's campus is named for Wyatt and his wife.

Gee was appointed chancellor by the Board of Trust in February 2000. After allegations of lavish spending in 2005, the Board of Trust established a committee to monitor his personal spending more closely.{{cite news |last=Duncan |first=Walker |title=WSJ: Vandy Making Sure Gee isn't Puffing Away Millions |work=The Nashville Post |url=http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2006/9/26/iwsji_takes_a_hard_look_at_vanderbilt_chancellor_gordon_gees_spending_habits |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114103654/http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2006/9/26/iwsji_takes_a_hard_look_at_vanderbilt_chancellor_gordon_gees_spending_habits |archive-date=January 14, 2010 |date=September 26, 2006 |access-date=January 10, 2007 }}

After Gordon Gee's departure in 2007, Zeppos was named interim chancellor.{{cite web |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=36123 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023063117/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=36123 |archive-date=October 23, 2013 |title=Register |publisher=Vanderbilt.edu |access-date=April 23, 2014 }} He was named chancellor suo jure on March 1, 2008, by the university's Board of Trust.{{cite web |url=http://www.wate.com/story/7952517/longtime-vanderbilt-academic-nicholas-zeppos-appointed-chancellor?redirected=true |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309024252/http://www.wate.com/story/7952517/longtime-vanderbilt-academic-nicholas-zeppos-appointed-chancellor?redirected=true |archive-date=March 9, 2014 |title=Longtime Vanderbilt academic Nicholas Zeppos appointed chancellor |publisher=Wate.com |access-date=March 5, 2013 }} In April 2019, Zeppos announced his intention to resign from the chancellorship on August 1, 2019.{{cite news |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/Vanderbilt-s-Chancellor-Will/246037 |title=Vanderbilt's Chancellor Will Step Down |author=Zipporah Osei |newspaper=The Chronicle of Higher Education |date=April 2, 2019 |access-date=June 12, 2019 |archive-date=December 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210045153/https://www.chronicle.com/article/Vanderbilt-s-Chancellor-Will/246037 |url-status=live }} On December 4, 2019, it was announced that Daniel Diermeier would be the next chancellor. Diermeier took office on July 1 of the next year.

File:Childrens-hospital-Vanderbilt.jpg

File:Medschooldoorway.JPG

Until April 2016 Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) was a component of the university, but is now an independent organization. The Medical Center continues to cooperate with the university and many clinical staff serve as faculty members at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.{{Cite web |last=Fletcher |first=Holly |title=VUMC's split ushers in 'bright' era of change, growth |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/health-care/2016/04/30/vumc-starts-as-independent-health-system/83705444/ |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US }} As of April 2016, VUMC comprised the following units: Vanderbilt University Hospital, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, Vanderbilt Clinic, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital, Eskind Biomedical Library, Vanderbilt Sports Medicine, Dayani Human Performance Center, Vanderbilt Page Campbell and Heart Institute.{{cite web |title=Vanderbilt University Medical Center |url=http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/about/ |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=July 2, 2007 |archive-date=April 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407140835/http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/about/ }}

Before splitting with VUMC, Vanderbilt was the largest private employer in Middle Tennessee and the second largest in the state with over 23,000 employees.{{cite web |url=http://www.nashvilleareainfo.com/homepage/relocation-expansion/major-employers |title=Major Employers |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728074941/http://www.nashvilleareainfo.com/Homepage/relocation-expansion/major-employers |archive-date=July 28, 2015 }}{{cite web |url=https://news.tn.gov/node/12959 |title=Middle Tennessee's Largest Private Employer Bolsters Veteran Hiring Initiative with Paychecks for Patriots — TN.gov Newsroom |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714000724/https://news.tn.gov/node/12959 |archive-date=July 14, 2015 }} Approximately 74% of the university's faculty and staff were employed by the Medical Center. In 2008, the medical center was placed on the Honor Roll of U.S. News & World Report{{'}}s annual rating of the nation's best hospitals, ranking 15th overall in the country.{{cite web |url=http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-hospitals/articles/2008/07/10/best-hospitals-honor-roll |title=Best Hospitals Honor Roll 2008 |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017221951/http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-hospitals/articles/2008/07/10/best-hospitals-honor-roll |url-status=live }}

The College of Arts and Science confers the Bachelor of Arts degree on undergraduates, and, in conjunction with the Graduate School, the Master of Arts, Master of Science, and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees on graduate students. The college occupies nearly 1.1 million square feet in 23 buildings across the Nashville campus.{{Cite web |url=http://as.vanderbilt.edu/overview/ |title=Overview | College of Arts and Science | Vanderbilt University |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111134941/https://as.vanderbilt.edu/overview/ |url-status=live }}

The school is the oldest and the largest of Vanderbilt's constituent colleges.{{Cite web |url=https://as.vanderbilt.edu/about/ |title=College of Arts and Science |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523210357/https://as.vanderbilt.edu/about/ |url-status=live }} The college played host to two notable literary movements, the Fugitives and the Southern Agrarians; John Crowe Ransom was a member of the English department.{{cite web |url=http://www.english.illinois.edu/MAPS/poets/m_r/ransom/chronology.htm |title=A John Crowe Ransom Chronology |website=www.english.illinois.edu |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=February 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208191355/http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/ransom/chronology.htm |url-status=dead }} Robert Penn Warren is an alumnus of the college,{{Cite web |url=https://www.robertpennwarren.com/ |title=Robert Penn Warren |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=October 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023092624/http://www.robertpennwarren.com/ |url-status=live }} and the school still hosts the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities.{{Cite web |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/rpw_center/ |title=Home Page |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220191505/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/rpw_center/ |url-status=live }}

The college provides a liberal-arts-based education that requires the completion of 14 courses. The general requirements of the curriculum are outlined in the AXLE (Achieving Excellence in Liberal Education) framework. These include courses in Humanities and the Creative Arts, International Cultures (along with proficiency in a foreign language), History and Culture of the United States, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Perspectives, and three writing courses.{{Cite web |url=http://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/axle/ |title=AXLE |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523210350/https://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/axle/ |url-status=live }}

The college provides academic resources and funding to several research centers, including the Center for Latin American Studies, the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions (CSDI), the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, and the Max Kade Center for European and German Studies.{{Cite web |url=http://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/research-centers.php |title=Research Centers | Academics | College of Arts and Science | Vanderbilt University |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523210451/https://as.vanderbilt.edu/academics/research-centers.php |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://as.vanderbilt.edu/europeanstudies/ |title=Max Kade Center for European and German Studies |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=May 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523210431/https://as.vanderbilt.edu/europeanstudies/ |url-status=live }}

The most popular majors are economics; medicine, health, and society; political science; neuroscience; and psychology. The college also provides advising for pre-professional tracks, such as pre-med, pre-law, and pre-nursing.{{Cite web |url=http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2015/10/pre-professional-studies-at-vanderbilt/ |title=Pre-Professional Studies at Vanderbilt |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111134943/https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2015/10/pre-professional-studies-at-vanderbilt/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=http://as.vanderbilt.edu/pre-law/ |title=Home |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227125459/http://as.vanderbilt.edu/pre-law/ |url-status=live }}

File:Warren College.png

File:CommonsCVanderbilt.JPG

File:Sarratt.png

In the early 2000s, Vanderbilt made a decision to convert its residence halls into an academic residential college system.{{Cite news |last=Weber |first=Bruce |date=July 29, 2007 |title=The Residential Collage |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/education/edlife/cornellweber3.html |access-date=February 5, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921001946/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/education/edlife/cornellweber3.html |url-status=live }} The intent is to form "a cohesive and growing network of residences that spark creativity, build community, support student success, and extend educational opportunities beyond the classroom." The first phase of this conversion was opening in 2008 of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, which brought together all first-year students in 10 adjacent houses, each house guided by a faculty head of house, living among the students in a faculty apartment. It is planned that in their sophomore year, students will enter a Residential College that will be their home for the remainder of their undergraduate years. This residential option expands on the experience provided during students' first year on The Commons. The first two upperclass colleges are Warren College and Moore College, which opened in 2014. They were constructed on the site of pre-existing dormitories known as the Kissam Quadrangle{{cite web |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/collegehalls/about.php |title=About the College Halls |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722063808/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/collegehalls/about.php |archive-date=July 22, 2015 }} E. Bronson Ingram College, on the site of the former Vanderbilt and Barnard Halls, opened in 2018. Zeppos College, Rothschild College, and Carmichael College opened in 2020, 2022, and 2024 respectively - on the former site of the Carmichael Towers.{{cite web | url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ohare/rothschild-college/ | title=Rothschild College | date=November 4, 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ohare/nicholas-s-zeppos-college/ | title=Nicholas S. Zeppos College | date=December 18, 2019 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ohare/oliver-c-carmichael-college/ | title=Oliver C. Carmichael College | date=August 19, 2024 }} The new College Halls are intended to complement the earlier communities, The McGill Project, Mayfield Lodges, and McTyeire International House.

Two of the new residence halls have received LEED silver certification and the new Commons Dining Center has received gold certification, making Vanderbilt the only university in the state to be recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council.{{cite press release |title=Vanderbilt first university in Tennessee recognized for "green" building |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=August 17, 2007 |url=http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/newspub/bjfTyg?id=36730 |access-date=September 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209032042/http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/newspub/bjfTyg?id=36730 |archive-date=February 9, 2012 }}{{cite press release |title=Vanderbilt University goes for the gold and wins for 'green' building efforts |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=June 18, 2008 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/myvu/news/2008/06/16/vanderbilt-university-goes-for-the-gold-and-wins-for-green-building-efforts.60447 |access-date=June 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906213735/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/myvu/news/2008/06/16/vanderbilt-university-goes-for-the-gold-and-wins-for-green-building-efforts.60447 |archive-date=September 6, 2008 }} The university expects all five of the new residence halls and one renovated residence hall to eventually receive LEED recognition.{{cite news |last=Sisk |first=Chas |title=Seven Vanderbilt buildings to get 'green' certification |url=http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070903/BUSINESS02/709030330/1045/NEWS05 |work=The Tennessean |date=September 3, 2007 |access-date=September 3, 2007}}{{dead link|date=November 2015 }} The total cost of The Commons construction project is expected to be over $150 million.{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Princine |title=Living and learning at Vanderbilt to undergo major transformation |work=The Vanderbilt Register |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=31832 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328201711/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=31832 |archive-date=March 28, 2013 |date=June 13, 2005 |access-date=July 1, 2007 }}

Generally, undergraduate students are required to live in dorms on campus, with first-year students all living in the ten resident halls of The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons and all upperclassmen living on the main campus.{{cite web |title=Residential Requirement |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ResEd/main/housing/housing-policies/the-residential-requirement-for-all-undergraduates/ |website=vanderbilt.edu |access-date=March 22, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402091234/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ResEd/main/housing/housing-policies/the-residential-requirement-for-all-undergraduates/ |url-status=live }} Exceptions are made for students living with relatives in Davidson County, students with health exemptions, married students, and some students with senior standing.

File:Vanderbilt Sailing Club Homecoming Regatta.jpg]]

The university has over 430 student organizations, ranging from academic major societies and honoraries to recreational sports clubs, the oldest of which is the Vanderbilt Sailing Club.{{cite web |url=http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/sailing/history.php |title=Vanderbilt Sailing Club – Historical Background |publisher=Vanderbilt Sailing Club |access-date=July 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808212023/http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/sailing/history.php |archive-date=August 8, 2016 }}

One publication, The Vanderbilt Hustler, was established in 1888 and is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Nashville.{{cite web |url=http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/42/2320/5671 |title=Vanderbilt Hustler |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709040115/https://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/42/2320/5671 |url-status=live }} In Langford v. Vanderbilt University (1956), a student sued the university for libel;{{Cite web |title=Langford v. Vanderbilt University |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/tennessee/supreme-court/1956/287-s-w-2d-32-1.html |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=Justia Law |language=en |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205205414/https://law.justia.com/cases/tennessee/supreme-court/1956/287-s-w-2d-32-1.html |url-status=live }} the Tennessee court dismissed the lawsuit, concluding the university was not the owner of the newspaper.{{cite news |last=Russell |first=Kirk |title=Who is responsible for student press? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/37924367/?terms=%22langford%2Bvs.%2Bvanderbilt%2Buniversity%22 |newspaper=The Argus (Fremont, California) |date=January 15, 1969 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=July 16, 2015 |archive-date=October 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017221951/http://www.newspapers.com/image/37924367/?terms=%22langford%2Bvs.%2Bvanderbilt%2Buniversity%22 |url-status=live}} {{Open access }} Additional student publications include those published by the College of Arts & Science, such as the Vanderbilt Political Review and the Vanderbilt Historical Review, as well as the Vanderbilt University Law School, which publishes three law reviews; the flagship journal is the Vanderbilt Law Review. The on-campus radio station, WRVU, represents the student body by playing a range of music from bluegrass to choral, with a focus on non-mainstream music.{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Kelly |author2=Sam Patton |title=Letter: Greer column fails to mention diversity of campus radio station |work=The Vanderbilt Hustler |date=April 4, 2007 |url=http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/3976 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128111049/http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/3976 |archive-date=November 28, 2011 |access-date=April 26, 2007 }}

Vanderbilt also has a large performing arts community spanning every genre of the arts with multiple organizations representing each category. There are dance groups covering contemporary, tap, hip hop, Latin, and Bhangra styles as well as numerous theatre, improvisation, spoken word, music and singing groups including the 2014 Sing-Off champion male a cappella group, The Melodores.{{cite web |url=http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/12/melodores-sing-off-champs/ |title=Melodores are 'Sing-Off' champs |author=Kara Furlong |work=Vanderbilt University |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-date=July 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730235439/http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/12/melodores-sing-off-champs/ |url-status=live }} Performing arts organizations comprise over 1,000 students and are represented by the Vanderbilt Performing Arts Community, which supports groups by sponsoring performances and awards.

The student body is governed by Vanderbilt Student Government, which includes Senate, Judicial, and Executive branches. The organization is responsible for the distribution of nearly $2 million in funds set aside by the university to fund student organizations.

Vanderbilt's Greek system consists of 14 fraternities and 9 sororities.{{Cite web |title=National Pan-Hellenic Council |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/greek_life/meet-the-greeks/national-pan-hellenic-council/ |access-date=July 23, 2024 |website=Vanderbilt University |language=en}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/greek_life/meet-the-greeks/interfraternity-council/ |title=Interfraternity Council |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-date=October 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002071449/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/greek_life/meet-the-greeks/interfraternity-council/ |url-status=live }} As of the 2021–22 academic year, 20% of men were members of fraternities and 26% of women were members of sororities, or 23% of total undergraduates were actively involved in the Greek system.

In 1980, several Vanderbilt students, one of whom was African-American, decided to hold Nat Turner Day to protest Kappa Alpha Order's celebration of Old South Day, when KA brothers dressed as Confederate States Army personnel.{{cite news |last1=Shoulders |first1=Carolyn |title=Black To Lead Protest of Fraternity Dixie Ball |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/112025076/?terms=%22nat%2Bturner%2Bday%22 |access-date=June 16, 2018 |work=The Tennessean |date=April 2, 1980 |archive-date=August 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815092402/https://www.newspapers.com/image/112025076/?terms=%22nat%2Bturner%2Bday%22 |url-status=live }} The university administrators sided with KA, banned Nat Turner Day, and let KA parade in their Confederate costumes.{{cite news |last1=Suddath |first1=Claire |title=Where the Freaks Are |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/article/13010627/where-the-freaks-are |access-date=June 2, 2018 |work=Nashville Scene |date=August 26, 2004 |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015606/https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/article/13010627/where-the-freaks-are |url-status=live }} The African-American student was called a homophobic slur and beaten up by the KA chapter.

On November 4, 2010, two anonymous former members of the Vanderbilt chapter, an alumnus and a senior student, alleged they were evicted from Beta Upsilon Chi, a Christian fraternity, for being gay.{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2011 |title=Former Beta Upsilon Chi members allege unfair treatment based on sexual orientation | InsideVandy |url=http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/15386 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209080908/http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/15386 |archive-date=December 9, 2011 }}{{Cite web |date=November 12, 2010 |title=Vanderbilt Christian Frat Ousted Gays | News | The Advocate |url=http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/11/09/Christian_Fraternity_Accused_of_Antigay_Discrimination/ |access-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101112052014/http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/11/09/Christian_Fraternity_Accused_of_Antigay_Discrimination/ |archive-date=November 12, 2010 }}{{Cite news |first=Melissa |last=Wright |title=US fraternity comes under fire for expelling gay members |publisher=Pink Paper |date=November 10, 2010 |url=http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/4247/10/11/2010/us-fraternity-comes-under-fire-for-expelling-gay-members.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319054830/http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/4247/10/11/2010/us-fraternity-comes-under-fire-for-expelling-gay-members.aspx |archive-date=March 19, 2012 }}

In the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2011, four Christian student organizations were placed on probation due to non-compliance with the university's nondiscrimination policy, which requires student groups to accept all students and forbids them from requiring that their officers share the "beliefs, goals and values" embodied in the group.{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/professor-says-vanderbilt-suppressing-christian-student-groups-amid-shutdown-threats/ |work=Fox News |title=Professor Says Vanderbilt Suppressing Christian Student Groups Amid Shutdown Threats |date=September 26, 2011 |access-date=October 12, 2011 |archive-date=October 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015030012/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/26/professor-says-vanderbilt-suppressing-christian-student-groups-amid-shutdown/ |url-status=live }} Controversy continued to surround this issue throughout 2011 and 2012, culminating in a proposed state law exempting student organizations from nondiscrimination policies. Although the bill passed both houses of the Tennessee Legislature, it was vetoed by Governor Bill Haslam.{{cite web |title=Tennessee Senate Bill 3597 History |url=http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB3597&ga=107 |access-date=July 25, 2012 |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711043726/http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB3597&ga=107 |url-status=live }}

In March 2015, three swastikas, a symbol of Nazi antisemitism, were found spray-painted in the elevator and basement inside the house of Alpha Epsilon Pi, one of the historically Jewish fraternities on campus.{{Cite web |last=Tamburin |first=Adam |title=Swastikas painted in Jewish fraternity at Vanderbilt |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2015/03/17/vanderbilt-hate-crime-jewish-fraternity-swastikas/24887351/ |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709040052/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2015/03/17/vanderbilt-hate-crime-jewish-fraternity-swastikas/24887351/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |agency=Reuters |title=Three swastikas were spray-painted in a Jewish fraternity at Vanderbilt University |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/r-swastikas-painted-in-jewish-fraternity-in-tennessees-vanderbilt-university-2015-3 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205205414/https://www.businessinsider.com/r-swastikas-painted-in-jewish-fraternity-in-tennessees-vanderbilt-university-2015-3 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |title=Vanderbilt University investigating Swastikas painted in Jewish fraternity |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/vanderbilt-university-investigating-swastikas-painted-in-jewish-fraternity-394193 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com |language=en-US |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205205416/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/vanderbilt-university-investigating-swastikas-painted-in-jewish-fraternity-394193 |url-status=live }} The campus Hillel chapter called it "a malicious attack intended to bring to mind the horrors of the Holocaust, to force us to feel different, endangered and isolated."{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2015 |title=Swastikas painted on Jewish frat house at Vanderbilt |url=https://www.jta.org/2015/03/17/united-states/swastikas-painted-on-jewish-frat-house-at-vanderbilt-university |access-date=February 5, 2022 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205205416/https://www.jta.org/2015/03/17/united-states/swastikas-painted-on-jewish-frat-house-at-vanderbilt-university |url-status=live }} The news, characterized as a "hate crime" by university officials, made national and international headlines, including in Israel.

A 2015 survey reported that 20% of undergraduate students were sexually assaulted in 2014–2015.{{cite news |last1=Tamburin |first1=Adam |title=Vanderbilt survey: Hundreds encounter sexual assault |url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2016/01/26/vanderbilt-survey-hundreds-encounter-sexual-assault/79354560/ |access-date=January 30, 2016 |work=The Tennessean |date=January 26, 2016 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709040051/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/education/2016/01/26/vanderbilt-survey-hundreds-encounter-sexual-assault/79354560/ |url-status=live }} Meanwhile, as of 2015, The Tennessean reports that the university is "under review by federal education officials, spurred by six current and former female students who filed a complaint about how Vanderbilt has handled cases of sexual misconduct."

In April 2016 and June 2016, two former Vanderbilt football players were found guilty of charges related to the videotaped rape of an unconscious woman in a dorm room.{{cite web |url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/06/18/vanderbilt-rape-trial-brandon-vandenburg/86052710/ |title=Brandon Vandenburg guilty on all counts in Vanderbilt rape retrial |website=The Tennessean |first=Stacey |last=Barchenger |date=June 19, 2016 |access-date=June 20, 2016 }} Cory Batey was convicted of aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery, facilitation of aggravated rape, and attempted aggravated rape,{{cite web |url=http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2016/04/09/jury-cory-batey-guilty-vanderbilt-rape-retrial/82769934/ |title=Cory Batey found guilty of aggravated rape in retrial |website=The Tennessean |first=Stacey |last=Barchenger |date=April 9, 2016 |access-date=June 20, 2016 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709040055/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2016/04/09/jury-cory-batey-guilty-vanderbilt-rape-retrial/82769934/ |url-status=live }} while Brandon Vandenburg was convicted of aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery, and unlawful photography.{{cite web |url=http://wreg.com/2016/06/18/brandon-vandenburg-found-guilty-on-all-charges-in-vanderbilt-rape-case/ |title=Brandon Vandenburg found guilty on all charges in Vanderbilt rape case |website=WREG-TV |date=June 18, 2016 |access-date=June 20, 2016 |archive-date=June 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620170609/http://wreg.com/2016/06/18/brandon-vandenburg-found-guilty-on-all-charges-in-vanderbilt-rape-case/ |url-status=live }} The two are among four former football players charged with crimes related to the case.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-vanderbilt-football-player-convicted-rape-20160618-snap-story.html |title=Former Vanderbilt football player again convicted of rape |website=Los Angeles Times |date=June 18, 2016 |access-date=June 20, 2016 |archive-date=June 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160620045650/http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-vanderbilt-football-player-convicted-rape-20160618-snap-story.html |url-status=live }}

In July 2020, a white fraternity brother from Delta Kappa Epsilon was caught on video utilizing a racial slur along with white Kappa Alpha Theta sisters, wearing what appeared to be a mock durags. Hundreds of students dropped out of their fraternities and sororities, writing op-eds condemning their own fraternities and sororities for the student newspaper, The Vanderbilt Hustler.{{Cite web |last=Schulman |first=Max |date=July 14, 2020 |title=SCHULMAN: Drop. - The Vanderbilt Hustler |url=https://vanderbilthustler.com/2020/07/14/schulman-drop/ |access-date=August 29, 2023 |archive-date=August 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230829223514/https://vanderbilthustler.com/2020/07/14/schulman-drop/ |url-status=live }} The controversy surrounding this sparked a national "Abolish Greek Life" movement at multiple other universities, including but not limited to the University of Richmond, Duke University, Emory University, American University, Northwestern University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.{{Cite news |last=Marcus |first=Ezra |date=August 1, 2020 |title=The War on Frats |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/style/abolish-greek-life-college-frat-racism.html |access-date=August 25, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=August 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825014309/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/style/abolish-greek-life-college-frat-racism.html |url-status=live }}

In February 2021, the university released a statement regarding the death of a construction worker at the Rothschild College construction site.{{Cite web |last2=Oung |first2=Katherine |last1=Lele |first1=Aaditi |title=Construction worker found dead on Rothschild College construction site |url=https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/02/23/construction-worker-found-dead-on-rothschild-college-construction-site/ |access-date=April 27, 2023 |website=The Vanderbilt Hustler |date=February 23, 2022 |archive-date=April 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230428033909/https://vanderbilthustler.com/2022/02/23/construction-worker-found-dead-on-rothschild-college-construction-site/ |url-status=live }} Additionally, the university confirmed in February 2023 to The Vanderbilt Hustler that there had been another on-campus construction death in July 2021 at the Owen Graduate School of Management. The university stated that the deaths were of natural causes and not work-site related. Students have since organized the "Dores Worker Solidarity Network", which aims to improve construction practices in Nashville amid worker deaths and wage disputes on campus.{{Cite web |last=Freed |first=Benjamin |title=University acknowledges another on-campus construction death, students launch Dores Worker Solidarity Network |url=https://vanderbilthustler.com/2023/02/23/university-acknowledges-another-on-campus-construction-death-students-launch-dores-worker-solidarity-network/ |access-date=February 28, 2023 |website=The Vanderbilt Hustler |date=February 23, 2023 |archive-date=February 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228023834/https://vanderbilthustler.com/2023/02/23/university-acknowledges-another-on-campus-construction-death-students-launch-dores-worker-solidarity-network/ |url-status=live }}

In 2024, university administrators blocked the Vanderbilt Student Government from voting on a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions resolution following Israeli invasion of Gaza. Students protested with sit-ins, including a protest in which the university expelled three, suspended one, placed 22 students on disciplinary probation.{{Cite web |last=Ratangee |first=Brina |date=April 6, 2024 |title=Three students expelled following Student Accountability hearings, faculty criticize university response - The Vanderbilt Hustler |url=https://vanderbilthustler.com/2024/04/06/three-students-expelled-following-student-accountability-hearings-faculty-criticize-university-response/ |access-date=July 23, 2024}} Additionally, the university police department arrested a Nashville Scene reporter, who was released just hours later after a judge found no probable cause for his arrest; The Nashville district attorney additionally stated that he wouldn't charge a reporter for doing their job.{{Cite web |last=Friedman |first=Adam |date=June 5, 2024 |title=Vanderbilt-commissioned report on Nashville Scene reporter's arrest continues to blame him • Tennessee Lookout |url=https://tennesseelookout.com/2024/06/05/vanderbilt-commissioned-report-on-nashville-scene-reporters-arrest-continues-to-blame-him/ |access-date=July 23, 2024 |website=Tennessee Lookout |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Ramirez |first=Alejandro |date=March 26, 2024 |title=Scene Reporter Arrested at Vanderbilt University |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/scene-reporter-arrested/article_522c14b8-eba6-11ee-b344-ebb6b5f6f03e.html |access-date=March 26, 2024 |website=Nashville Scene |language=en |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709040051/https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/scene-reporter-arrested/article_522c14b8-eba6-11ee-b344-ebb6b5f6f03e.html |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Vanderbilt Commodores}}

File:Vanderbilt Commodores.svg

File:VanderbiltAlabamaSunset.jpg in 2024 during the historic upset win against Alabama]]

File:Memorial Gymnasium, Vanderbilt University, August 2023.jpg in 2023]]

File:Hawkins Field.JPG in June 2007]]

Vanderbilt is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and for a half-century has been the conference's only private school.{{cite web |url=http://lubbockonline.com/stories/042207/col_042207044.shtml |title=SEC's only private school, Vanderbilt, thriving without athletic director – Lubbock Online – Lubbock Avalanche-Journal |first=Teresa M. |last=Walker |website=lubbockonline.com |access-date=August 22, 2014 |archive-date=January 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080125121659/http://lubbockonline.com/stories/042207/col_042207044.shtml |url-status=live }} The university fields six men's and ten women's intercollegiate teams and has won five NCAA championships.{{cite web |url=http://vucommodores.cstv.com/ot/nav-sports.html |title=Sports |publisher=Vanderbilt University Athletics |access-date=May 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316053456/http://vucommodores.cstv.com/ot/nav-sports.html |archive-date=March 16, 2009 }}{{cite web |url=http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=vanderbilt&s=all&id=221999 |title=College Navigator – Varsity Athletic Teams |publisher=National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education |access-date=May 20, 2009 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604091126/http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=vanderbilt&s=all&id=221999 |url-status=live }} With about 7,000 undergraduates, the school is also the smallest in the conference; the SEC's next-smallest school, Mississippi State University, has nearly twice as many undergraduate students. Additionally, the school has outside conference memberships in two women's sports that the SEC does not sponsor. The women's lacrosse team plays in the American Athletic Conference.{{cite press release |url=http://theamerican.org/news/2017/10/11/GEN_1011175626.aspx |title=American Athletic Conference to Sponsor Women's Lacrosse Beginning in 2019 |publisher=American Athletic Conference |date=October 11, 2017 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |archive-date=February 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226213051/http://theamerican.org/news/2017/10/11/GEN_1011175626.aspx |url-status=live }} In bowling, a sport which the NCAA sanctions only for women, Vanderbilt is a member of Conference USA. Conversely, Vanderbilt is the only SEC school not to field teams in softball and volleyball, though the university plans to reintroduce the latter during the 2025–26 academic year.{{cite news |last=Patton |first=Maurice |title=Success may add teams at Vandy |work=The Tennessean |date=May 14, 2007 |url=http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070514%2FSPORTS0602%2F705140359%2F1002%2FSPORTS&template=pdaart |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715232947/http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070514/SPORTS0602/705140359/1002/SPORTS&template=pdaart |archive-date=July 15, 2012 |access-date=May 24, 2007 }}{{Cite web |date=April 19, 2022 |title=Vanderbilt Adds Volleyball as Varsity Sport |url=https://vucommodores.com/vanderbilt-adds-volleyball-as-varsity-sport/ |access-date=March 2, 2023 |website=Vanderbilt University Athletics - Official Athletics Website |language=en-US |archive-date=April 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420000952/https://vucommodores.com/vanderbilt-adds-volleyball-as-varsity-sport/ |url-status=live }}

Both basketball teams play in Memorial Gym, built in 1952.{{cite web |url=http://www.vucommodores.com/facilities/memorial-gym.html |title=Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site — Facilities |publisher=Vucommodores.com |access-date=March 23, 2015 |archive-date=March 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315070416/http://www.vucommodores.com/facilities/memorial-gym.html }} Vanderbilt's home court advantage has been nicknamed "Memorial Magic".{{cite web |url=http://www.vucommodores.com/genrel/011707aaa.html |title=The Magic of Memorial is Historical |publisher=Vucommodores.com |access-date=March 5, 2013 |archive-date=May 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527181651/http://www.vucommodores.com/genrel/011707aaa.html }}

The university is unique in NCAA Division I in that for several years the athletics department was not administered separately from other aspects of campus life; Vice Chancellor David Williams, who was over intercollegiate athletics, also was university counsel and in charge of other aspects of undergraduate campus life such as intramural sports.{{cite magazine |last=Bechtel |first=Mark |title=A Process of Elimination: Vanderbilt has found greater sports success since losing its athletics department |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=June 6, 2007 }} Despite fears that Vanderbilt would lose coaches and recruits or would be forced out of the SEC, the university experienced considerable success after the change; 2006–07 was one of the best in the school's athletic history. At one point, seven of Vanderbilt's 16 teams were concurrently ranked in the Top 25 of their respective sports.{{cite press release |title=Seven Vanderbilt teams ranked in Top 25 |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=February 23, 2007 |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases/2007/2/23/seven-vanderbilt-teams-ranked-in-top-25 |access-date=May 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327193634/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news/releases/2007/2/23/seven-vanderbilt-teams-ranked-in-top-25 |archive-date=March 27, 2008 }} Women's bowling won the NCAA championship, bringing the university its first team championship since the advent of the NCAA.{{cite web |title=Vanderbilt Bowlers Make History |publisher=Vanderbilt University |url=http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/w-bowl/recaps/041407aab.html |access-date=April 14, 2007 |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929224549/http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/w-bowl/recaps/041407aab.html }} The baseball team qualified for the NCAA Super Regionals in 2004, had the nation's top recruiting class in 2005 according to Baseball America,{{cite web |last=Kimmey |first=Will |title=Vandy Recruits Stay For Top Recruiting Class |work=Baseball America |date=October 11, 2005 |url=http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/051011vandy.html |access-date=January 10, 2007 |archive-date=September 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234858/http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/051011vandy.html |url-status=live }} made the NCAA field again in 2006, and won the 2007 SEC regular-season and tournament championships. Vanderbilt was ranked first in most polls for a large portion of the 2007 season, and the team secured the top seed in the 2007 NCAA tournament.{{cite press release |title=Vanderbilt Awarded No. 1 National Seed |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=May 28, 2007 |url=http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/052807aae.html |access-date=May 29, 2007 |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727232956/http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/052807aae.html }} In more recent years, the team has reached the pinnacle of college baseball winning the College World Series in both 2014 and 2019. The team's triumph in 2014 was the school's first national championship in a men's sport.

Vanderbilt's intercollegiate athletics teams are nicknamed the Commodores, in honor of the nickname given to Cornelius Vanderbilt, who made his fortune in shipping.{{cite news |title=Commodore Vanderbilt's Life |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1877/01/05/80358542.pdf |newspaper=New York Times |date=January 5, 1877 |access-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308063338/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1877/01/05/80358542.pdf |url-status=live }} The term commodore was used by the Navy during the mid-to-late 19th century. A commodore was the commanding officer of a task force of ships, and therefore higher in rank than a captain but lower in rank than an admiral. The rank is still used by the British Royal Navy and other Commonwealth countries, but the equivalent modern-day rank in the U.S. Navy is rear admiral lower half. Since the term was used most during the 19th century, Vanderbilt's mascot, "Mr. C", is usually portrayed as a naval officer from the late 19th century, complete with mutton chops, cutlass, and uniform.

In addition to Mr. C, Vanderbilt fans often use the cheer "Anchor down!" accompanied by the "VU" hand sign, created by extending the thumb along with the index and middle fingers (essentially identical to the Serbian three-finger salute).{{cite web |url=http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2013/09/vu-football-traditions-101/ |title=VU Football Traditions 101 |access-date=August 3, 2015 |archive-date=July 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717154940/http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2013/09/vu-football-traditions-101/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main list|List of Vanderbilt University people}}

File:Muhammad Yunus, World Economic Forum 2009 Annual Meeting.jpg|Nobel Peace Prize-winning social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus (PhD, 1971)

File:John n garner.jpg|32nd Vice President of the United States John Nance Garner (Law, 1886)

File:Al Gore, Vice President of the United States, official portrait 1994.jpg|45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Al Gore (Div, 1971–72){{efn|No degree earned.}}

File:John Jumper, 2024 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.jpg|Chemist, computer scientist, and Nobel Prize laureate John Jumper (BS, 2007)

File:James Patterson.jpg|American author James Patterson (MA, 1970)

File:Michael Gernhardt.jpg|NASA astronaut Michael L. Gernhardt (BS, 1978)

File:Adena Friedman, President, NASDAQ (40040735371).jpg|President and CEO of Nasdaq, Inc. Adena Friedman (MBA, 1993)

File:Robert Penn Warren.jpg|Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the King's Men Robert Penn Warren (BA, 1925)

File:Andy Beshear 2024 (cropped).jpg|63rd Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear (BA, 2000)

File:Greg Abbott 2024 (cropped).jpg|48th Governor of Texas Greg Abbott (JD, 1984)

File:Kim Dickens (36145412405) (cropped).jpg|Actress Kim Dickens (BA, 1987)

File:CharlesSoong.jpg|Chinese businessman and patriarch of the Soong family Charlie Soong (Div, 1885)

File:Thomas F. Frist Jr. May, 2010.jpg|Billionaire physician and entrepreneur Thomas F. Frist Jr. (BA, 1961)

File:Bill Bain.jpg|Founder of Bain & Company Bill Bain (BA, 1959)

Alumni who have served as heads of state, prime ministers, and heads of government include José Ramón Guizado, 17th President of Panama,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/03/archives/jose-guizado-65-expanama-head-president-in-55jailed-in-murder-then.html |title=Jose Guizado, 65, Ex-Panama Head – President in '55—Jailed in Murder, Then Exonerated |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 3, 1964 |access-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114215535/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/03/archives/jose-guizado-65-expanama-head-president-in-55jailed-in-murder-then.html |url-status=live }} Thomas C. Jefferson, first Premier of the Cayman Islands,{{Cite web |url=https://as.vanderbilt.edu/economics/ |title=Home |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=July 13, 2022 |archive-date=July 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713202825/https://as.vanderbilt.edu/economics/ |url-status=live }} Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, 15th Prime Minister of Somalia,{{cite news |last=Gettleman |first=Jeffrey |title=Somalia Names New Prime Minister |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/africa/24somalia.html |access-date=June 23, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 23, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626195247/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/world/africa/24somalia.html |archive-date=June 26, 2011 |url-status=live }} and Chung Won-shik, 21st Prime Minister of South Korea.{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-04-mn-190-story.html |title=Students Rough Up S. Korea's Premier: Unrest: Newly appointed Chung Won Shik is kicked, pelted with flour, eggs on campus. |date=June 4, 1991 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308213049/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-04-mn-190-story.html |url-status=live }}

Notable U.S. political figures who have attended Vanderbilt include two U.S. Vice Presidents (John Nance Garner{{cite web |last=Patenaude |first=Lionel V. |title=Garner, John Nance |website=The Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |date=March 8, 2002 |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fga24 |access-date=April 5, 2007 |archive-date=July 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721104546/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fga24 |url-status=live }} and Nobel Laureate Al Gore{{cite web |last=Gore |first=Al |title=Al's Bio |url=http://www.algore.com/bio.html |access-date=May 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070517020545/http://www.algore.com/bio.html |archive-date=May 17, 2007 }}), Supreme Court Justice and U.S. Attorney General James Clark McReynolds{{cite web |url=https://supremecourthistory.org/history-of-the-court-timeline-of-the-justices-associate-justices/ |title=Timeline of the Justices: Associate Justices |publisher=The Supreme Court Historical Society |access-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-date=October 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007042027/https://supremecourthistory.org/history-of-the-court-timeline-of-the-justices-associate-justices/ |url-status=live }} U.S. Secretary of Commerce Mickey Kantor,{{Cite web |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2004/09/07/mickey-kantor-to-discuss-role-of-politics-in-trade-policy-also-will-examine-outsourcing-of-jobs-in-vanderbilt-speech-59589/ |title=Mickey Kantor to discuss role of politics in trade policy, Also will examine outsourcing of jobs in Vanderbilt speech |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604145338/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2004/09/07/mickey-kantor-to-discuss-role-of-politics-in-trade-policy-also-will-examine-outsourcing-of-jobs-in-vanderbilt-speech-59589/ |url-status=live }} Director of the National Economic Council Allan B. Hubbard,{{Cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/hubbard-bio.html |title=Allan Hubbard, Former Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director, National Economic Council |website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=October 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003013642/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/hubbard-bio.html |url-status=live }} U.S. Commissioner of Education John J. Tigert,{{Cite web |url=https://president.ufl.edu/about/past-presidents/john-j-tigert/ |title=John J. Tigert - President - University of Florida |website=president.ufl.edu |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=April 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406223801/https://president.ufl.edu/about/past-presidents/john-j-tigert/ |url-status=live }} U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John Wesley Snyder,{{Cite web |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/media/v-r-smith-filling-station-13498/ |title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143836/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/media/v-r-smith-filling-station-13498/ |url-status=live }} U.S. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander,{{cite web |title=Notable Alumni: Politics/Government |publisher=Vanderbilt University |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/randomAlumniPol.php |access-date=May 24, 2007 |archive-date=April 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090409101750/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/randomAlumniPol.php }} two White House Chiefs of Staff, John R. Steelman{{Cite web |url=https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/personal-papers/john-r-steelman-papers |title=Steelman, John R. Papers | Harry S. Truman |website=www.trumanlibrary.gov |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102171927/https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/personal-papers/john-r-steelman-papers |url-status=live }} and Jack Watson,{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/23/archives/formidable-leader-of-carter-transition-team-jack-hearn-watson-jr.html |title=Formidable Leader of Carter Transition Team |date=November 23, 1976 |work=The New York Times |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604145650/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/23/archives/formidable-leader-of-carter-transition-team-jack-hearn-watson-jr.html |url-status=live }} as well as 53 members of the United States Congress, 18 ambassadors, and 13 governors, including Governor of Texas Greg Abbott{{Cite web |url=https://law.vanderbilt.edu/news/greg-abbott-84-elected-governor-of-texas/ |title=Greg Abbott '84 elected governor of Texas |date=November 5, 2014 |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224154856/https://law.vanderbilt.edu/news/greg-abbott-84-elected-governor-of-texas/ |url-status=live }} and Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear.{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/357f0e6196414923acee9ee7aebdf8b8 |title=Beshear set for 'next chapter' as Bevin concedes in Kentucky |author-first1=Bruce|author-last1=Schreiner|date=November 14, 2019 |website=The Associated Press |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=November 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117002146/https://apnews.com/357f0e6196414923acee9ee7aebdf8b8 |url-status=live }}

Other leaders in foreign government who graduated from Vanderbilt include Baso Sangqu, President of the United Nations Security Council;{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2009/bio4066.doc.htm |title=New Permanent Representative of South Africa Presents Credentials {{!}} Meetings Coverage and Press Releases |website=www.un.org |access-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821223121/https://www.un.org/press/en/2009/bio4066.doc.htm |url-status=live }} Redley A. Killion, Vice President of Micronesia;{{Cite web |url=https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/graduates/ |title=Vanderbilt Graduates {{!}} Undergraduate Admissions {{!}} Vanderbilt University |website=admissions.vanderbilt.edu |access-date=April 28, 2017 |archive-date=July 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728203344/https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/graduates/ }} Pedro Pinto Rubianes, Vice President of Ecuador; Yoo Myung-hee, Minister for Trade of South Korea,{{Cite web |url=http://english.motie.go.kr/en/am/minister/TradeMinister/TRADEMINISTER/TradeMinister.jsp |title=Minister For Trade | Minister & Vice Ministers | Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy |website=motie.go.kr |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143836/http://english.motie.go.kr/en/am/minister/TradeMinister/TRADEMINISTER/TradeMinister.jsp |url-status=live }} Yeda Crusius, Governor of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul;{{Cite web |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/conversation-governor-the-state-rio-grande-do-sul-yeda-crusius |title=A Conversation with Governor of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Yeda Crusius | Wilson Center |website=www.wilsoncenter.org |date=April 2008 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604151313/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/conversation-governor-the-state-rio-grande-do-sul-yeda-crusius |url-status=live }} Wang Tso-jung, President of the Control Yuan of the Government of the Republic of China;{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Yun-Ping |title=DPP decries Soong's proposal |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2003/06/15/2003055308 |access-date=May 1, 2017 |work=Taipei Times |date=June 15, 2003 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604151116/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2003/06/15/2003055308 |url-status=live }} Soemarno Sosroatmodjo, Governor of Jakarta, Indonesia;{{Cite web |url=https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/3eb925fe-438e-11e4-859c-0050568939ad |title=Visit to Singapore - Governor of Jakarta Dr. Soemarno … |website=www.nas.gov.sg |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143832/https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/3eb925fe-438e-11e4-859c-0050568939ad |url-status=live }} Kwon Hyouk-se, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service of South Korea;{{Cite web |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2020/07/488_99604.html |title=Preventing an economic ice age |date=November 27, 2011 |website=koreatimes |access-date=May 1, 2024 |archive-date=June 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612211046/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/biz/2020/07/488_99604.html |url-status=live }} and Ihor Petrashko, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.{{cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/untested-agricultural-executive-takes-over-as-ukraine-s-new-economy-minister/30494213.html |title=Agricultural Executive Takes Over As Ukraine's New Economy Minister |work=rferl.org |date=March 18, 2020 |access-date=April 15, 2020 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709040056/https://www.rferl.org/a/untested-agricultural-executive-takes-over-as-ukraine-s-new-economy-minister/30494213.html |url-status=live }}

Influential figures outside of elected office include civil rights movement pioneer James Lawson,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/education/04lawson.html |title=Activist Ousted From Vanderbilt Is Back, as a Teacher |last=Emery |first=Theo |date=October 4, 2006 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 5, 2017 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107120222/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/education/04lawson.html |url-status=live }} Nobel Peace Prize-winning father of microfinance Muhammad Yunus, who is also currently serving as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh,{{Cite web |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/11/11/muhammad-yunus-phd71-awarded-george-washington-university-presidents-medal/ |title=Muhammad Yunus, PhD '71, awarded George Washington University President's Medal |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604145341/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/11/11/muhammad-yunus-phd71-awarded-george-washington-university-presidents-medal/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Muhammad Yunus takes oath as head of Bangladesh's interim government |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/8/muhammad-yunus-takes-oath-as-head-of-bangladeshs-interim-government |access-date=August 8, 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}} Scopes Trial chief counsel John Randolph Neal Jr.,{{cite web |url=https://law.utk.edu/2016/01/12/neal/ |title=The law professor who rarely bathed, got fired from UT, and was lead counsel in the Scopes Monkey trial |last=Ruuska |first=Luis |date=January 12, 2016 |publisher=University of Tennessee College of Law |access-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-date=April 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417095951/https://law.utk.edu/2016/01/12/neal/ |url-status=live }} Chinese theologian T. C. Chao,{{cite journal |last=Glüer |first=Winfried |year=1982 |title=The Legacy of T. C. Chao |journal=International Bulletin of Missionary Research |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=165–169 |doi=10.1177/239693938200600406 |s2cid=148575716 }} Watergate prosecutor James F. Neal,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/us/23neal.html |title=James F. Neal, Litigated Historic Cases, Dies at 81 |first=Bruce |last=Weber |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 22, 2010 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624150243/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/us/23neal.html |url-status=live }} Yun Chi-ho, Korean political activist and thinker during the Joseon Dynasty,[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/03/21/100257080.pdf "100 Koreans Freed; But Baron Yun Chi-ho and Other Prominent Men Are Found Guilty,"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308080815/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/03/21/100257080.pdf |date=March 8, 2021 }} New York Times. March 21, 1913. and Charlie Soong, who played a significant role in the Xinhai Revolution.{{Cite web |url=https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2014/05/29/charlie-soong-returns-to-china/ |title=Charlie Soong Returns to China |last=McDonald |first=Amy |date=May 29, 2014 |website=The Devil's Tale |access-date=March 2, 2019 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626200449/https://blogs.library.duke.edu/rubenstein/2014/05/29/charlie-soong-returns-to-china/ |url-status=live }}

Prominent alumni in business and finance include Time Inc. Chairman and CEO Ann S. Moore,{{Cite web |url=https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=2004 |title=Story Details - Alumni - Harvard Business School |website=www.alumni.hbs.edu |date=January 2006 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604144633/https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=2004 |url-status=live }} American Airlines Group CEO Doug Parker,{{Cite web |url=https://business.vanderbilt.edu/dbpages/bio-non-faculty/ |title=Bio Non Faculty DB Page |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604144603/https://business.vanderbilt.edu/dbpages/bio-non-faculty/ |url-status=live }} Hilton Hotels CEO Matthew J. Hart,{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/1445803 |title=Matthew J Hart, Hilton Hotels Corp: Profile and Biography |website=Bloomberg.com |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322032212/https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/1445803 |url-status=live }} NASDAQ CEO Adena Friedman,{{cite news |title=Adena Friedman returns to Nasdaq |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/nasdaq-managementchanges-idUSL3N0NY1EU20140512 |newspaper=Reuters |date=May 12, 2014 |access-date=July 10, 2021 |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517222055/https://www.reuters.com/article/nasdaq-managementchanges-idUSL3N0NY1EU20140512 |url-status=live }} J.P. Morgan & Co. CEO Henry C. Alexander,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/12/15/archives/henry-c-alexander-first-head-of-morgan-guaranty-dies-at-67-law.html |title=Henry C. Alexander, First Head Of Morgan Guaranty, Dies at 67; Law Partner Was Turned Into Banker by J. P. Morgan 2d -- Developed New Tactics |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 15, 1969 |access-date=June 13, 2022 |archive-date=June 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612205819/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/12/15/archives/henry-c-alexander-first-head-of-morgan-guaranty-dies-at-67-law.html |url-status=live }} American Express Chairman Ralph Owen,{{cite web |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/archived-news/register/articles/index-id=5799.html |title=Vanderbilt University Daily Register |website=news.vanderbilt.edu |access-date=January 11, 2018 |archive-date=September 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921011951/http://news.vanderbilt.edu/archived-news/register/articles/index-id=5799.html }} founding engineer of Facebook Jeffrey J. Rothschild,{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/02/28/meet-jeff-rothschild-the-hidden-facebook-billionaire-old-enough-to-be-zuckerbergs-dad/ |title=Meet New Billionaire Jeff Rothschild, The Engineer Who Saved Facebook From Crashing |first=Ryan |last=Mac |website=Forbes |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143835/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/02/28/meet-jeff-rothschild-the-hidden-facebook-billionaire-old-enough-to-be-zuckerbergs-dad/ |url-status=live }} General Motors President Mark Reuss,{{Cite web |url=https://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/news/2019/general-motors-names-alumnus-mark-reuss-company-president/ |title=General Motors names alumnus Mark Reuss company president |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=February 22, 2019 |archive-date=February 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223074402/https://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/news/2019/general-motors-names-alumnus-mark-reuss-company-president/ |url-status=live }} Bain and Company founder Bill Bain,{{Cite news |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/01/22/vanderbilt-alumnus-who-founded-bain-company-dies/ |title=Vanderbilt alumnus who founded Bain & Company dies |first=Ann Marie Deer |last=Owens |website=Vanderbilt University |date=January 22, 2018 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=July 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709040555/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2018/01/22/vanderbilt-alumnus-who-founded-bain-company-dies/ |url-status=live }} Boston Consulting Group founder Bruce Henderson,{{Cite web |url=https://www.hbs.edu/leadership/20th-century-leaders/details?profile=bruce_d_henderson |title=Bruce D. Henderson |website=Harvard Business School |access-date=September 1, 2022 |archive-date=September 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901061458/https://www.hbs.edu/leadership/20th-century-leaders/details?profile=bruce_d_henderson |url-status=live }} Perot Systems Chairman Ross Perot Jr.,{{Cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/h-ross-perot-jr/ |title=H. Ross Perot, Jr. |website=Forbes |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143831/https://www.forbes.com/profile/h-ross-perot-jr/ |url-status=live }} Dollar General CEO Cal Turner Jr.,{{Cite web |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ctp/about/calturner.php |title=Cal Turner, Jr. |website=Cal Turner Program |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143837/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/ctp/about/calturner.php }} iHeartMedia CEO Mark P. Mays,{{cite web |url=http://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/Accomplishments.aspx |title=Alumni Award: Previous Recipient |publisher=The Hotchkiss School |date=2004 |access-date=March 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310133421/http://www.hotchkiss.org/alumni/Accomplishments.aspx |archive-date=March 10, 2015 }} Emerson Electric CEO David Farr,{{Cite web |url=https://www.emerson.com/en-us/about-us/leadership/dave-farr |title=David N. Farr {{!}} Emerson US |website=www.emerson.com |access-date=September 24, 2018 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308145602/https://www.emerson.com/en-us/about-us/leadership/dave-farr |url-status=dead }} Eastman Kodak President William S. Vaughn,{{Cite web |url=http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/corp/kodakHistory/1960_1979.shtml |title=Kodak history |access-date=November 19, 2018 |archive-date=August 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831150715/http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/corp/kodakHistory/1960_1979.shtml |url-status=live }} and Sotheby's CEO Michael Ainslie.{{Cite web |url=https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/article/20120401/news/304015551 |title=Michael Ainslie remains a vital force years after his retirement |last=Dargan |first=Michele |website=Palm Beach Daily News |access-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401202918/https://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/article/20120401/news/304015551 |url-status=dead }} In addition, Vanderbilt has educated several heads of central banks, including Süreyya Serdengeçti (Central Bank of Turkey);{{Cite web |url=https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/EN/TCMB+EN/Main+Menu/About+The+Bank/History/Governors |title=TCMB - Governors of the CBRT |website=www.tcmb.gov.tr |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604150141/https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/EN/TCMB+EN/Main+Menu/About+The+Bank/History/Governors |url-status=live }} Syahril Sabirin (Bank of Indonesia);{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/29/business/baligate-and-why-it-matters-indonesia-s-recovery-and-democracy-tested-by-scandal.html |title=Baligate, and Why It Matters; Indonesia's Recovery, and Democracy, Tested by Scandal |first=Mark |last=Landler |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 29, 1999 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=April 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426043319/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/29/business/baligate-and-why-it-matters-indonesia-s-recovery-and-democracy-tested-by-scandal.html |url-status=live }} Moshe Mendelbaum (Bank of Israel);{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/16/business/israel-names-chief-banker.html |title=Israel Names Chief Banker |work=The New York Times |date=June 16, 1986 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111232059/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/16/business/israel-names-chief-banker.html |url-status=live }} Ibrahim Eris (Central Bank of Brazil);{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/15/business/a-new-assault-on-brazil-s-woes.html |title=A New Assault On Brazil's Woes |first1=James |last1=Brooke |work=The New York Times |date=March 15, 1990 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111031319/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/15/business/a-new-assault-on-brazil-s-woes.html |url-status=live }} and Liang Kuo-shu (Central Bank of the Republic of China).{{Cite web |url=https://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/12/09/chinese-economist-discusses-countrys-future/ |title=Chinese economist discusses country's future, state domination |date=December 9, 2011 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143833/https://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/12/09/chinese-economist-discusses-countrys-future/ |url-status=live }}

In academia and the sciences, distinguished Vanderbilt alumni include University of Pennsylvania President Sheldon Hackney,{{Cite news |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltmagazine/f-sheldon-hackney-ba55/ |title=Passages: F. Sheldon Hackney, BA'55 |work=Vanderbilt University |access-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822014751/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltmagazine/f-sheldon-hackney-ba55/ |url-status=live }} founding dean of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government Don K. Price,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/10/obituaries/don-k-price-85-educator-and-science-promoter-dies.html |title=Don K. Price, 85, Educator And Science Promoter, Dies |first=David |last=Binder |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 10, 1995 |access-date=October 31, 2018 |archive-date=October 31, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031173814/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/10/obituaries/don-k-price-85-educator-and-science-promoter-dies.html |url-status=live }} Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner Stanford Moore,{{Cite web |url=https://www.vanderbilt.edu/residentialcolleges/warren-and-moore/moore-college/ |title=Moore College |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604152116/https://www.vanderbilt.edu/residentialcolleges/warren-and-moore/moore-college/ |url-status=live }} astronomers E. E. Barnard{{Cite journal |title=1923Obs....46..158M Page 158 |bibcode=1923Obs....46..158M |last1=Mitchell |first1=S. A. |journal=The Observatory |year=1923 |volume=46 |page=158 }} and J. Davy Kirkpatrick,{{Cite web |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/66-found-stars-cool-enough-to-touch |title=#66: Found: Stars Cool Enough to Touch |website=Discover Magazine |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=September 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925174838/https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/66-found-stars-cool-enough-to-touch |url-status=live }} Platonist philosopher Richard M. Weaver,{{Cite news |url=https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/richard-m-weaver-jr-1910-1962/ |title=Richard M. Weaver, Jr. (1910–1962) – North Carolina History Project |work=North Carolina History Project |access-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821223333/https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/richard-m-weaver-jr-1910-1962/ |url-status=live }} founder of New Criticism Cleanth Brooks,{{Cite encyclopedia |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/cleanth-brooks/ |title=Cleanth Brooks |encyclopedia=Tennessee Encyclopedia |access-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821223727/https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/cleanth-brooks/ |url-status=live }} mathematician Lawrence C. Evans,{{cite web |url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/april-29-2014-NAS-Election.html |title=National Academy of Sciences Members and Foreign Associates Elected |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818062140/http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/april-29-2014-NAS-Election.html |archive-date=August 18, 2015 |date=April 29, 2014 }} Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare developer Herman Daly,{{Cite web |url=http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc1303/article_1138.shtml |title=The Social Contract – Herman Daly's Ecological Economics – An Introductory Note |website=thesocialcontract.com |access-date=August 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822014714/http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc1303/article_1138.shtml |url-status=live }} Haskell programming language designer Paul Hudak,{{cite web |url=http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/hudak/Resumes/vita.pdf |title=Curriculum Vita: Paul R. Hudak |publisher=Yale University |access-date=May 1, 2015 |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918235605/http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/hudak/Resumes/vita.pdf |url-status=live }} Director of the Simons Center for the Social Brain at MIT Mriganka Sur,{{Cite web |url=https://www.surlab.org/mriganka/ |title=Mriganka – SUR LAB |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143838/https://www.surlab.org/mriganka/ |url-status=live }} founder of the NASA Astrobiology Institute and Chairman of the SpaceX Safety Advisory Panel G. Scott Hubbard,{{cite news |author= |title=SpaceX, Aiming At Carrying NASA Crews, Names Safety Panel |url=https://www.socaltech.com/spacex_aiming_at_carrying_nasa_crews_names_safety_panel/s-0041825.html |date=March 29, 2012 |access-date=October 31, 2018 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308153735/https://www.socaltech.com/spacex_aiming_at_carrying_nasa_crews_names_safety_panel/s-0041825.html |url-status=live }} Mendel L. Peterson, "the father of underwater archaeology",{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Bart |title=Smithsonian's Mendel Peterson Dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/08/28/smithsonians-mendel-peterson-dies/b7f6e024-7e0f-4580-afc4-35a5970cfe05/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 28, 2003 |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604152116/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/08/28/smithsonians-mendel-peterson-dies/b7f6e024-7e0f-4580-afc4-35a5970cfe05/ |url-status=live }} John Ridley Stroop, who discovered the Stroop effect,{{Cite web |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/06/18/stroop-effect/ |title=Stroop Effect |publisher=Vanderbilt University |date=June 18, 2014 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806011604/https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2014/06/18/stroop-effect/ |url-status=live }} and NASA astronauts Michael L. Gernhardt{{Cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/content/michael-gernhardt |title=Michael Gernhardt |first=Sara |last=Rojo |date=February 15, 2019 |publisher=NASA |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808055735/https://www.nasa.gov/content/michael-gernhardt/ |url-status=live }} and Charles R. Chappell.{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/charles_chappell_biography.pdf |title=Biographical Sketch: Charles Richard Chappell |publisher=NASA |access-date=October 8, 2021 |archive-date=March 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309020329/https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/charles_chappell_biography.pdf |url-status=live }}

Vanderbilt graduates in medicine have pioneered and attained several "firsts" within their fields, including Norman Shumway, first to perform a successful heart transplant in the United States,{{Cite web |url=https://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=4542 |title=Heart transplant pioneer Shumway dies at 83 (02/17/06) |website=www.mc.vanderbilt.edu |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143833/https://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/reporter/index.html?ID=4542 }} Levi Watkins, first to successfully implant an automatic defibrillator in a human patient,{{Cite web |url=https://news.vumc.org/2015/04/13/vanderbilt-mourns-loss-of-levi-watkins-jr-m-d/ |title=Vanderbilt mourns loss of Levi Watkins Jr., M.D., pioneer of medicine and champion of racial equality |first=Nancy |last=Humphrey |website=Vanderbilt University |date=April 13, 2015 |access-date=July 26, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604145446/https://news.vumc.org/2015/04/13/vanderbilt-mourns-loss-of-levi-watkins-jr-m-d/ |url-status=live }} Mildred T. Stahlman, founder of the first NICU,{{Cite web |url=https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/mstp/person/mildred-stahlman/ |title=Mildred Stahlman, M.D. |website=Vanderbilt University |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143835/https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/mstp/person/mildred-stahlman/ |url-status=live }} James Tayloe Gwathmey, the "Father of Modern Anesthesia,"{{Cite news |url=http://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Citation/1944/03000/1863_James_Tayloe_Gwathmey,_M_D_,_F_I_C_A__1944.11.aspx |title=1863-James Tayloe Gwathmey, M.D., F.I.C.A.-1944 (Father of M...: Anesthesia & Analgesia |work=LWW |access-date=June 5, 2017 |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143838/https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Citation/1944/03000/1863_James_Tayloe_Gwathmey,_M_D_,_F_I_C_A__1944.11.aspx |url-status=live }} and Ernest William Goodpasture, who invented methods for growing viruses and rickettsiae, enabling the development of vaccination.

Alumni have made significant contributions to literature. Most notably, the Southern Agrarians and Fugitive Poets were two overlapping groups of influential American poets and writers in the early 1900s based at Vanderbilt.{{Cite web |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/southern-agrarians |title=Southern Agrarians |website=www.encyclopedia.com |access-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610210722/https://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/southern-agrarians |url-status=live }} Three U.S. Poets Laureate are alums: Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, and Randall Jarrell. Warren later won the Pulitzer Prize twice for poetry and for All the King's Men. Other important novelists include James Dickey (Deliverance),{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-21-me-20689-story.html |title=James Dickey; Prolific Poet, Author of 'Deliverance' |date=January 21, 1997 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=June 4, 2020 |archive-date=March 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308132749/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-21-me-20689-story.html |url-status=live }} James Still (River of Earth),{{cite journal |url=https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1109&context=kentucky-review |title=Rivers of Earth and Troublesome Creeks: The Agrarianism of James Still |journal=The Kentucky Review |volume=10 |number=3 |date=1990 |last=Stoneback |first=H.R. }} Elizabeth Spencer (The Light in the Piazza),{{Cite web |url=https://www.fellowshipofsouthernwriters.org/spencer-elizabeth |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604143834/https://www.fellowshipofsouthernwriters.org/spencer-elizabeth |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 4, 2020 |title=Spencer, Elizabeth }} and James Patterson, who topped Forbes{{'s}} list of global highest grossing authors in multiple years.{{Cite web |url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/03/girl-on-the-train-carries-paula-hawkins-into-list-of-worlds-richest-authors |title=Girl on the Train carries Paula Hawkins into list of world's richest authors |date=August 3, 2016 |work=The Guardian }} Journalists who have attended Vanderbilt include Pulitzer Prize winners Ralph McGill and Wendell Rawls Jr., Morning Joe host Willie Geist, Vogue Director of Communications Hildy Kuryk,{{cite news |title=Vogue's New Director of Communications Used to Work for Obama, the DNC |author=Hilary Moss |url=http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/04/vogues-new-flack-used-to-work-for-obama-dnc.html |work=New York |date=April 24, 2013 |access-date=January 27, 2014 }} NBC newscaster David Brinkley, CNN International anchor Richard Quest, and head writer of The Daily Show Zhubin Parang.{{Cite web |url=http://ucbcomedy.com/user/8107 |title=Zhubin Parang |website=ucbcomedy.com |access-date=October 17, 2017 }}

In popular culture, Dinah Shore, James Melton, Rosanne Cash, Amy Grant, Kim Dickens, Logan Browning, Dierks Bentley, Joe Bob Briggs, and film directors Rod Daniel and BAFTA winner Duncan Jones, Skip Bayless all attended Vanderbilt,{{cite web |title=Notable Alumni: Arts & Entertainment |publisher=Vanderbilt University |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/randomAlumniArt.php |access-date=May 24, 2007 |archive-date=December 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222000827/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/randomAlumniArt.php }} as well as Academy Award winners Delbert Mann and Tom Schulman.{{cite web |title=Notable Alumni: Media |publisher=Vanderbilt University |url=http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/randomAlumniMedia.php |access-date=May 24, 2007 |archive-date=July 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708075612/http://www.vanderbilt.edu/Admissions/randomAlumniMedia.php }}

Additionally, Vanderbilt counts among its alumni base current and former athletes in the NFL, MLB, and NBA, as well as on the PGA Tour. Alumni in the NFL include Jay Cutler,{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/chicago-bears/jay-cutler-going-vanderbilt-hall-fame |title=Jay Cutler is going into the Vanderbilt Hall of Fame |date=January 21, 2016 |website=NBC Sports Chicago }} Bill Wade,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/columnist/joe-rexrode/2019/05/03/vanderbilt-late-bill-wade-nashvilles-no-1-pick-and-nfl-draft-story/3622140002/ |title=Vanderbilt football legend Bill Wade remains Nashville's best NFL Draft story |first=Joe |last=Rexrode |website=The Tennessean }} Casey Hayward,{{Cite web |url=https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/vanderbilt-football/blog/20860619/hayward-pledges-10-years-of-scholarships |title=Hayward pledges 10 years of scholarships |website=Nashville Post }} Ke'Shawn Vaughn,{{Cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3917612/keshawn-vaughn |title=Ke'Shawn Vaughn Stats, News, Bio |website=ESPN }} and Trent Sherfield.{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2020/04/23/vanderbilt-football-nfl-draft-kalija-lipscomb-keshawn-vaughn-jared-pinkney/2997237001/ |title=Will Vanderbilt football have three players taken in NFL Draft for first time since 2014? |first=Drake |last=Hills |website=The Tennessean }} Vanderbilt's entrants into the NBA include Will Perdue,{{Cite web |url=https://vucommodores.com/will-perdue/ |title=Will Perdue |date=May 13, 2019 |website=Vanderbilt University Athletics - Official Athletics Website }} Charles Davis,{{Cite web |url=https://vucommodores.com/charles-davis/ |title=Charles Davis |date=May 13, 2019 |website=Vanderbilt University Athletics - Official Athletics Website }} Festus Ezeli,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2015/10/05/vanderbilts-festus-ezeli-shares-nba-title-family/73407074/ |title=Vanderbilt's Festus Ezeli shares NBA title with family |first=Adam |last=Sparks |website=The Tennessean }} Darius Garland,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2019/06/20/darius-garland-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-draft-vanderbilt-basketball/1447718001/ |title=Darius Garland goes No. 5 overall to Cavaliers in 2019 NBA Draft |first=Mike |last=Wilson |website=The Tennessean }} Dan Langhi,{{Cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/dan-langhi-1.html |title=Dan Langhi College Stats |website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com }} Clyde Lee,{{Cite web |url=https://vucommodores.com/clyde-lee/ |title=Clyde Lee |date=May 13, 2019 |website=Vanderbilt University Athletics - Official Athletics Website }} Luke Kornet,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2017/06/23/vanderbilts-luke-kornet-knicks/420857001/ |title=Vanderbilt's Luke Kornet signs with New York Knicks |first=Mike |last=Organ |website=The Tennessean }} and Aaron Nesmith.{{Cite web |last=Grenham |first=Chris |title=Aaron Nesmith Is Making Steady Improvements For The Boston Celtics |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisgrenham/2021/01/26/aaron-nesmith-is-making-steady-improvements-for-the-boston-celtics/ |access-date=February 2, 2021 |website=Forbes }} Vanderbilt baseball stars include Sonny Gray,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2020/08/15/vanderbilt-alum-sonny-gray-sets-new-record-cincinnati-reds/5589903002/ |title=Former Vanderbilt pitcher Sonny Gray off to a blistering pace in second season with Cincinnati Reds |first=Will |last=Backus |website=The Tennessean }} Walker Buehler,{{Cite web |last=Callis |first=Jim |date=September 6, 2017 |title=What to expect from Dodgers' Buehler in big leagues |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-walker-buehler-called-up-to-majors-c252662200 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913095642/http://m.mlb.com:80/news/article/252662200/dodgers-walker-buehler-called-up-to-majors/ |archive-date=September 13, 2017 |access-date=September 7, 2017 |url-status=live |website=mlb.com }} Pedro Alvarez,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/picture-gallery/sports/college/vanderbilt/2020/06/09/vanderbilt-baseball-first-round-draft-mlb/4557110002/ |title=Vanderbilt baseball's first-round draft picks over the years. Who will be next? |website=www.tennessean.com }} Dansby Swanson,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2015/06/04/vanderbilts-swanson-soon-pro/28513899/ |title=Dansby Swanson: Vanderbilt's big-league character |first=Adam |last=Sparks |website=The Tennessean }} David Price,{{Cite web |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/vanderbilt/2016/11/14/david-price-make-major-donation-vanderbilt-facility/93833518/ |title=David Price makes $2.5 million donation to Vanderbilt |first=Adam |last=Sparks |website=The Tennessean }} Scotti Madison,{{Cite web |url=https://vucommodores.com/scotti-madison/ |title=Scotti Madison |date=May 13, 2019 |website=Vanderbilt University Athletics - Official Athletics Website }} and Mike Minor.{{Cite web |url=https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/vanderbilt-baseball/article/21141268/plenty-of-vandy-alumni-playing-on-mlb-opening-day |title=Plenty of Vandy alumni playing on MLB opening day |website=Nashville Post |date=July 24, 2020 }} Carter Hawkins, general manager of the Chicago Cubs, played baseball at Vanderbilt from 2004 to 2007.{{Cite web |title=Chicago Cubs hire former Vanderbilt catcher Carter Hawkins as general manager |url=https://247sports.com/college/vanderbilt/Article/Chicago-Cubs-hire-former-Vanderbilt-catcher-Carter-Hawkins-as-general-manager-173122080/ |access-date=October 15, 2021 |website=Vandy247 |language=en-US }} Brandt Snedeker was the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year in 2007.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ajga.org/news/bridgestone-golf-to-sponsor-brandt-snedeker-ajga-event |title=Bridgestone Golf to sponsor Brandt Snedeker AJGA event |date=January 28, 2013 |website=AJGA }} Olympians who attended Vanderbilt include Jeff Turner, member of the gold medal-winning 1984 United States men's Olympic basketball team,{{Cite web |url=https://vucommodores.com/vanderbilt-opened-olympic-nba-doors-for-turner-2/ |title=Vanderbilt opened Olympic, NBA doors for Turner |date=February 19, 2014 |website=Vanderbilt University Athletics - Official Athletics Website }} gold medalist Shannon Vreeland in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics,{{Cite web |url=https://swimswam.com/shannon-vreeland-retires-starting-vanderbilt-law-school-fall/ |title=Shannon Vreeland Retires, Starting Vanderbilt Law School in the Fall |date=July 3, 2016 |website=SwimSwam }} and rower Peter Sharis in the men's coxless pair event at the 1992 Summer Olympics.{{Cite web |url=https://www.olympic.org/peter-sharis |title=Peter SHARIS - Olympic Rowing | United States of America |date=June 14, 2016 |website=International Olympic Committee }}

File:Taylor Wang - full.jpg|NASA astronaut Taylor Wang

File:MRSeddon.jpg|NASA astronaut Rhea Seddon

File:Maxdelbrück-cr.jpg|Biophysicist and Nobel Prize laureate Max Delbrück

File:Vaughan Jones p1190550.jpg|New Zealand mathematician and Fields medalist Vaughan Jones

File:Alain Connes.jpg|French mathematician and Fields medalist Alain Connes

File:Ernest Goodpasture.jpg|Pathologist and physician Ernest Goodpasture

File:Jon meacham 2014.jpg|Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion Jon Meacham

{{Portal bar|United States|Education}}

• Latin American Public Opinion Project
• Southern Ivy

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Vanderbilt University}}

{{AmCyc Poster}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://vucommodores.com/ Vanderbilt Athletics website]
• {{Cite Americana |wstitle=Vanderbilt University |short=x}}

{{Vanderbilt University}}

{{Navboxes

| titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle|Vanderbilt Commodores|color=white}}

| list =

{{Vanderbilt Chancellors}}

{{Southeastern Conference navbox}}

{{QuestBridge}}

{{Big East Conference navbox}}

{{American Athletic Conference navbox}}

{{Conference USA navbox}}

{{Tennessee private colleges and universities}}

{{Association of American Universities}}

{{Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities}}

{{Southeastern Universities Research Association}}

{{Registered Historic Places}}

{{Southern Agrarians}}

}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1873

Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

Category:Private universities and colleges in Tennessee

Category:1873 establishments in Tennessee

Category:Methodist Episcopal Church, South

Category:Universities and colleges in Nashville, Tennessee