General Paul M. Nakasone

The Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security has been awarded a $2.5 million, two-year grant from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation to support the Institute’s Wicked Problems Lab and its expanding research portfolio, including the development of the Synthetic Information Filtering Testbed (SIFT)—a first-of-its-kind research initiative designed… Read More

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, Sir Richard Moore, former Chief of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and former UK Ambassador to Turkey, joined Paul M. Nakasone, founder of the Vanderbilt Institute of National Security, for a wide-ranging conversation on intelligence, diplomacy, and leadership. Held in Langford Auditorium ahead of… Read More

Michael “Erik” Kurilla, retired United States Army General and former Commander of U.S. Central Command, will deliver a keynote address at the 2026 Asness Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats, hosted by Vanderbilt University’s Institute of National Security. The Summit will take place April 23–24,… Read More

Washington, DC – January 14, 2025 – Portrait of Gina Raimondo, United States Secretary of Commerce taken at the Herbert C. Hoover Building, headquarters of the United States Department of Commerce. (Photo by Jay Premack/USPTO) Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Foreign… Read More

On Friday, Nov. 7, Vanderbilt University’s Institute of National Security and the Naval Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NROTC) Alumni Association partnered for the first time to host a full day of programming celebrating leadership, service, and pragmatic solutions to national security challenges—culminating in the 15th Annual National Security Symposium in… Read More