Dear Graduate Students,

Thank you for the warm welcome as I start my new role as vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School. I look forward to the semester and years ahead, and to helping each of you achieve your academic and professional goals. Whether you are studying in-person in Nashville, or through alternative and virtual learning, I know we can achieve great things together.

Since I first joined the Vanderbilt community in 2010, I have had the opportunity to serve as a professor of sociology, and also as the dean for undergraduate education in the College of Arts and Science. My time on this campus has consistently reaffirmed the power of collaboration, proving that incredible breakthroughs happen when the world’s brightest students, working with dedicated faculty, come together in a supportive community.

2021 is an especially momentous time to be a graduate student at Vanderbilt. The university is finding new ways to invest in graduate education, as demonstrated by the new graduate and professional student housing village, which will further extend learning beyond the classroom. What’s more, the new role of vice provost for graduate education—which I am honored to fill—was established to increase connectivity between different schools and colleges, and to foster the interdisciplinary research that sets Vanderbilt, and its students, apart.

While there is much to look forward to, I also understand that extraordinary obstacles remain due to COVID-19. Please be patient with me as I work to ensure that I fully understand these new obstacles as well as recognize any lingering concerns. I hope that we will continue to find ways to support one another, and to demonstrate the resilience that has brought us to this moment. As Chancellor Diermeier often says, significant challenges can also lead to new opportunities. They inspire the very innovation and scholarship that define our Graduate School community. I am fully committed to growing and strengthening our community and hope you will work with me, together, to make Vanderbilt the best it can be for all of us.

Thank you all for your engagement and dedication to the Graduate School, and to our community at large. I wish you all a wonderful start to the spring semester.

Sincerely,

C. André Christie-Mizell

Vice Provost of Graduate Education

Dean of the Graduate School

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^{Stay informed:  visit the Return to Campus website, FAQ page for graduate students,  Research@Vanderbilt and the COVID-19 Dashboard for current updates on the Vanderbilt community. Together, we can slow the spread of COVID-19—learn more at Anchor Down, Step Up.}