Office of the Provost

The discoveries that can change the course of human health forever often begin in the tiniest places: in molecules and cells, at the most fundamental intersection of physics, chemistry and biology. Understanding how these cellular and molecular processes work is the focus of basic biomedical research at Vanderbilt.

Nine faculty members who hold endowed chairs were honored and donors were thanked during a festive celebration Sept. 26 at the Student Life Center.

A national search will be launched this fall for the Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente announced today. Current VBI Associate Director Ron Emeson will begin a term as interim director effective July 1.

A startup veteran and investor whose ventures range from retail to manufacturing joined Vanderbilt University this spring as the inaugural executive director of the newly created Innovation Center. Robert Grajewski joined Vanderbilt as the Evans Family Executive Director of the Innovation Center on April 1. The Innovation Center, set to open late summer, will support a maker culture that encourages innovation and creativity and bolsters implementation of the four intersecting themes that make up the university’s Academic Strategic Plan.

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente announced today that Lawrence J. Marnett will be named dean of basic sciences in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine at the time of the legal separation of the university and Medical Center.

Members of the Vanderbilt community marked National Walking Day April 6 by taking group walks across campus in celebration of the university and Medical Center's commitment to a culture of wellness.

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos discussed the implementation of the university’s Academic Strategic Plan, the university and Medical Center transition to two separate legal and financial entities, groundbreaking research, and the university's examination of what community looks like at Vanderbilt in his Spring Faculty Assembly address.