Vanderbilt Institute for Public Engagement

Reimagining how Vanderbilt expertise moves through public life by connecting people and communities while addressing consequential public questions through dialogue, partnership and action.

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Poised to bring scholarship into public life

We are living through a fundamental shift in how knowledge moves through society. Information is instant, attention is fragmented and trust is harder to earn. At the same time, the need for credible voices, thoughtful insight and trusted expertise continues to grow.

The Vanderbilt Institute for Public Engagement is being established in New York City to meet this moment. As the newest Discovery Vanderbilt Center, the institute will explore new ways for academic expertise to enter public life, engage communities and contribute to the conversations and challenges shaping our world.

How We Engage

Rather than defending the value of higher education in theory, the institute will demonstrate that value in practice.

Jonathan Metzl, Executive Director, Institute for Public Engagement

Upcoming Event: Public Engagement in Action

“Who Do You Trust and Why? Expertise in an Age of Algorithms”

How do we decide whom to trust in an information environment increasingly shaped by algorithms, platforms and rapidly changing technologies? This inaugural 2026–27 Vanderbilt in the City event brings voices from journalism, technology and academia together for a public conversation about trust, expertise and the contemporary information environment.

New York as a Hub for Public Engagement

Based at Vanderbilt University–New York City, the institute is being established at the intersection of academia, media, culture and public life. Its location provides proximity to major media organizations, access to cultural and philanthropic networks, and connections to the conversations and platforms shaping public discourse.

From this hub, the institute will engage faculty, students, communities and partners across Vanderbilt's campuses through shared programming, partnerships and approaches to public engagement.

Vanderbilt’s Institute for Public Engagement takes scholarship to the city

At Vanderbilt University's New York City campus in Chelsea, a new institute will explore a pressing challenge: How can universities ensure that credible expertise reaches people in an information landscape that is increasingly shaped by algorithms, fragmented media and declining public trust?...

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Leadership

Executive Director

Jonathan Metzl

Jonathan Metzl, MD, PhD is a professor of Sociology, Medicine, Health and Society, and Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University and an award-winning physician, scholar and author whose work examines pressing issues at the intersection of health, culture and society. A Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book Award, he has written extensively for medical, psychiatric and popular audiences on some of the most urgent issues facing America and the world.

Adviser for Strategy and Public Engagement

Jad Abumrad

Jad Abumrad is a Distinguished Research Professor of Communication and Science Technology at Vanderbilt University and an acclaimed creator, journalist and pioneer in audio storytelling. The creator of Radiolab, More Perfect and Dolly Parton’s America, he is a MacArthur Fellow and multiple Peabody Award winner whose work has helped reshape the possibilities of narrative, journalism and sound. He is the founder of Vanderbilt's Quantum Potential research initiative.

FAQ

What is the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Engagement?

The Vanderbilt Institute for Public Engagement is a university-wide initiative designed to create stronger connections between academic expertise and public life. Based at Vanderbilt University–New York City and connected across Vanderbilt’s campuses, the institute brings faculty, students, communities and partners together through public conversations, public scholarship, community partnerships and other forms of engagement.
Why is Vanderbilt creating the institute?

The way knowledge moves through society is changing rapidly. Information is instant, attention is fragmented and trust is harder to earn, even as demand for credible voices and trusted expertise continues to grow. The institute is designed to help Vanderbilt develop new ways for academic expertise to enter public life, engage audiences and communities, and contribute meaningfully to consequential public questions.
When will the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Engagement launch?

The Vanderbilt Institute for Public Engagement will publicly launch Sept. 10, 2026, as part of the Vanderbilt in the City public conversation series. The institute will develop its programming throughout the fall and will announce its inaugural cohort of student and faculty fellows in January 2027.
What makes the institute's approach different?

The institute focuses not simply on making scholarship more visible, but on making expertise useful, accessible and responsive to the ways people encounter information today. It will help scholars engage emerging public conversations, translate research into accessible insight, reach audiences across media and platforms, and participate in public discourse effectively and responsibly.
Where is the institute based?

The institute is based at Vanderbilt University–New York City and is designed to engage faculty, students and partners across Vanderbilt's campuses. New York provides a hub for relationships with media, civic, cultural and community organizations while connecting public-engagement work across the university.
What kinds of activities will the institute support?

The institute will support faculty development and training, public lectures and events, student engagement, community partnerships and new approaches for connecting expertise to emerging issues and current events. Programming will continue to develop as the Institute grows.
Who can participate?

The institute is designed to engage Vanderbilt faculty and students across all campuses, as well as community, civic, media and other external partners. Opportunities will range from public programs and faculty development to student and community engagement, with specific ways to participate announced as programming develops.
How can I stay informed or get involved?

Sign up for institute updates to receive information about upcoming public programs, new initiatives and opportunities to participate.

*Photos by Walter Pluff Photography.

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