The Provost’s Ten Highlights for Fall 2018

Dear colleagues,  

This marks the 41^st edition of my newsletter since I launched the Open Dore in January 2015. Time flies when one is having fun! Focusing just on this past fall semester:

Our faculty made scientific breakthroughs, published research findings in top journals, authored new books and completed a variety of creative projects.

Our students, with another semester under their belts, completed countless exams, papers and presentations. In addition, many students logged hours in internships, studied abroad, worked in labs or perfected performances in addition to participating in student athletics or student organization activities.

And, our staff assured excellence was maintained across all corners of campus through support of the student and faculty experience as well as our academic programs. Their accomplishments range from successes in student recruitment and admissions, to helping secure grants that advance research, to innovating or streamlining our programs, processes and higher education practices.

There is much that we should be proud of and celebrate. I am thankful to all for the collaborative spirit and all the time, energy and effort it took to advance the university in many important ways. While an exhaustive list of our accomplishments would be much longer, I bring you a set of 10 highlights to reflect upon … in no particular order, of course!

1. Opening of Bronson Ingram Residential College
2. Launch of the Student Care Network and the new University Counseling Center with continued development of staff and services
3. Official beginning of Immersion Vanderbilt as a degree requirement and continued coordination of resources and school/college support structures
4. Formation of a university faculty development committee
5. Launch of The Faculty Gateway web portal along with a new Vanderbilt Shared Governance webpage
6. Awarding of major funding to two drug discovery research projects through our Ancora collaboration and the launch of two new rapid-response micro-grant programs – one for the Arts and Humanities and another for Global Research and Engagement
7. Being named the “10^th Most Innovative University in the World” by Reuters for the second year in a row
8. Announcement of the Provost’s initiative focusing on women faculty, students and postdocs
9. Implementation of the InclusAbility Campaign to bring awareness and an inclusive lens to disability identities
10. Welcoming approximately 100 new faculty (meet a few here), a new dean, a new Vanderbilt Brain Institute Director, and Vanderbilt’s most global and talented first-year undergraduate class to date

Again, this is only a small cross-section – click here for a full list of MyVU stories issued by the various Provost offices. And, as proud as I am of everything that we have achieved together this fall, I know that there is still much work to be done. The coming year will bring a host of new opportunities to learn, plan and grow. I look forward to advancing our current initiatives and to identifying new ones. Together our efforts drive positive change in the world by promoting excellence in discovery and learning and they further our commitment to building a diverse and inclusive community so that all are supported in pursuit of their academic or professional goals.

Thank you for everything you do to help us advance Vanderbilt’s mission. I hope you enjoy a safe, happy and restful winter break.

Sincerely,

Susan R. Wente

OTHER NEWS

SEIU withdraws from Vanderbilt, drops effort to unionize NTT faculty in College of Arts and Science

Three Vanderbilt undergraduates awarded prestigious fellowships and scholarships

VU wins national award for model proposal to advance graduate education

VISE celebration includes technology ‘show and tell’ and symposium

Alumni couple gives $5M to support student scholars, faculty leaders at Vanderbilt University

Research software engineer-for-hire core service available

Celebration honors 10 new endowed chair holders

Five faculty elected AAAS fellows