Vanderbilt’s Office of Federal Relations advocates on behalf of federal legislation, regulations and policy that could affect Vanderbilt University. By leveraging expert resources from campus, the staff in our Washington office can significantly elevate the visibility and impact of the university in the nation’s capital. The office also works closely with the many higher education associations and coalitions headquartered in Washington, and in tandem with other Tennessee colleges and universities.

The scope of issues is extremely broad – ranging from graduate medical education to visa policies for foreign students – but the central focus is on four areas: federal support of university-based research (physical sciences, engineering, biomedical and the humanities); health policy; federal student aid programs, such as Pell Grants and federally insured loans; and tax policy.