Students from across globe convene at Vanderbilt for CGI U
Nearly 700 higher education students representing 92 nations and 42 U.S. states gained expertise and inspiration from influential leaders to improve lives during the Clinton Global Initiative University 2023 annual meeting, hosted by Vanderbilt University March 3–5. The CGI U annual meeting was led by former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier welcomed this year’s CGI U participants during the opening plenary session at Langford Auditorium. “At Vanderbilt, we want our students to freely argue their convictions while upholding civil discourse as a core value,” Diermeier said. MORE
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FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
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National Science Foundation—Amid national crisis, mental health wellness platform initiated at the Wond’ry reaches milestone
Realized at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, mental health wellness startup Innerworld, formerly named Very Real Help, has added multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jewel as co-founder and chief strategy officer. Rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Immersion—a technique developed by Robinson during his clinical psychology Ph.D. research—Innerworld combines immersive technology and a peer-based approach with cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Innerworld’s evidence-based support groups are helping people with struggles including agoraphobia, postpartum depression, burnout, ADHD, autism, depression and anxiety, among other mental issues. Innerworld users create anonymous avatars who interact with other users in a social virtual world. Users can attend live structured groups led by lay counselors who are trained by Innerworld. The startup received early support through Vanderbilt’s participation in the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps affiliation. With a $50,000 I-Corps grant, a $206,000 SBIR/STTR program grant and $100,000 from LaunchTN, Robinson also credits mentorship from the Wond’ry as part of Innerworld’s early success. MORE
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National Science Foundation—NSF funds College of Arts and Science and Peabody College collaboration to improve equity in STEM education
Vanderbilt researchers in the College of Arts and Science and Peabody College of education and human development recently received a three-year grant exceeding $280,000 from the National Science Foundation to collaborate on a study aimed at improving equity in large, introductory college STEM courses. The study will focus on understanding how and whether the use of learning assistants in biology and chemistry courses can support belonging and confidence in students from underserved groups. LAs are undergraduate students with prior experience in a course who support students currently enrolled in the course. While LAs have been found to increase students’ sense of belonging on average, their effect on students from underserved groups is not yet known. The Vanderbilt researchers will investigate the impact of LA programs on women, racially and ethnically marginalized groups, and first-generation students. MORE
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Engineering group goes to Israel to study water recycling leader’s operations, research
Engineering professors and students will spend their 2023 spring break in Israel to learn about the country’s water recycling programs and bring those lessons back to share with Sterling Ranch, a 21st century sustainable city south of Denver, Colorado, that has doubled as a training site and test bed for Vanderbilt students and professors since 2015. Sterling Ranch is supporting the trip. Almost 90% of Israeli wastewater is purified and used in irrigation, making it a world leader in this water recycling. Israel also is a pioneer in desalination, operating the world’s largest seawater desalination plant 10 miles south of Tel Aviv. Keeping water renewable is a major goal of Sterling Ranch, whose location is considered semi-arid and water scarce. The development is continuously improving the way its water is managed and conserved and has incorporated water sustainability into its land use. Sterling Ranch is Colorado’s first rainwater harvesting pilot site. MORE
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Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center releases Child Care in Crisis: Texas Case Study
The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development recently released Child Care in Crisis: Texas Case Study, a series of four research briefs demonstrating the strained conditions of the child care industry in Texas. While the research briefs focus on Texas, the story they tell is germane to child care across America, where early childhood educators, even those with college degrees, earn less than 98 percent of other workers. As a result, many early childhood educators have left the field, forcing parents to quit working or reduce work hours to care for their children. In Texas alone, the lack of quality child care costs $9.39 billion per year in lost tax revenue and missed work days. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this child care crisis. To address Texas’ child care crisis, the Workgroup detailed a series of recommendations for state and local governments and educational institutions to improve workforce quality and support the child care sector. MORE
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Paul C. Taylor receives $350K Mellon Foundation grant for EDI study
Paul C. Taylor, W. Alton Jones Professor and professor of philosophy, has received an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to seek out patterns in the way people and organizations think about equity, diversity and inclusion, which can impact EDI interventions. The $350,000 award will fund a three-year review of literature to identify frameworks related to EDI to see if they differ. For example, when an organization refers to a “diversity” program, it may be unclear if the program targets one specific area, like racial or intellectual diversity, or addresses multiple diversity-related issues. Differing frameworks could unwittingly undermine the success of those interventions designed to improve EDI efforts, but the only way to evaluate this hypothesis is to identify the frameworks underwriting the interventions. MORE
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Deputy secretary of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs visits Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt University welcomed Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Donald M. Remy to campus on Feb. 23. The visit, which took place at Vanderbilt Law School’s Flynn Auditorium, provided Remy a chance to meet with student veterans in the Nashville area. Remy gathered insight and fielded questions from the students around topics such as PACT Act implementation as well as access to other VA benefits and programs. The PACT Act is a new law that may allow veterans exposed to toxins while serving access to benefits and care. The roundtable discussion was moderated by retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Scott Brower, director of the Bass Military Scholars Program. Remy’s visit to Nashville occurred in conjunction with the Veterans Benefits Administration’s job fair focused on positions to process PACT Act claims. MORE
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New Global Strategy Committee to think big about putting Vanderbilt on international stage
Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver jointly have appointed a Global Strategy Committee, which includes faculty from all 10 colleges and schools. The committee’s formation, along with the recently launched Global Scholars in Residence program, are part of a campus-wide strategy to grow Vanderbilt University’s reputation and collaboration worldwide. This builds on the work previously done by the International Strategy Working Group. During its initial meeting, Raver charged the Global Strategy Committee to pursue practical and moonshot proposals that advance the university’s scholarship, reputation and impact, enhance student experience and boost recruiting of global talent. MORE
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Nobel laureate Maria Ressa to deliver 2023 Vanderbilt Graduates Day address
Maria A. Ressa, an internationally acclaimed journalist who has endured political threats and government arrests for her commitment to truth and democracy, will receive Vanderbilt University’s prestigious Nichols-Chancellor’s Medal when she speaks to the university’s graduating students and their families during 2023 Commencement activities. Ressa’s address will be on May 11 at 11 a.m. on campus. The Nichols-Chancellor’s Medal, one of the university’s highest honors, is given to individuals who define the 21st century and exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit. It was created and endowed by Vanderbilt Law School graduate Ed Nichols and his wife, Janice, in honor of Edward Carmack and Lucile Hamby Nichols. Ressa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her efforts to safeguard freedom of expression while being persecuted by the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. MORE
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