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Vanderbilt to offer classes in person this fall
Vanderbilt University this week announced that fall semester classes will be offered in person. Positive trends related to COVID-19 case counts and vaccinations continue, and recent progress on campus is encouraging—made possible in part through diligent observation of safety protocols. While the decision signals a step toward the life we recognize, it was made with an eye to the dynamic reality of the pandemic. The university’s priority remains ensuring the health and safety of students, postdocs, faculty and staff as much as possible, and current COVID-19 testing and safety protocols remain in place. Should the status of the pandemic change dramatically over the spring and summer, or should public health guidance advise against in-person instruction, an alternative option may be required. MORE
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FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH
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Peabody College faculty awarded $1.6M grant to examine impacts of practitioner coaching at early learning centers
A team of researchers at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development has been awarded $1.6 million to examine the effects of practice-based coaching at early childhood learning sites. The award is one of three early childhood model demonstration grants funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs. The four-year project, titled Practice-Based Coaching: Data Informed Decision Making, will collaborate with at least six demonstration sites across three states. The Peabody team, led by Mary Louise Hemmeter, professor of special education, also includes research associate Kiersten Kinder and educational consultant Sarah Basler. They are working with a team of University of Florida researchers and building on earlier PBC studies that were funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. MORE
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Very Real Help and Zeno Power: Vanderbilt’s NSF National I-Corps teams are making an impact through innovation
Since the inception of the Vanderbilt I-Corps Site Program just three years ago, more than 20 teams of VU innovators have been accepted into the National Science Foundation’s prestigious National I-Corps Program, turning their STEM ideas and research into novel inventions that improve health care, strengthen cybersecurity, produce clean energy, support people battling drug abuse and mental health disorders, and more. The Wond’ry and the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering, guided by the mission of the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, collaborated with the NSF to create the Vanderbilt I-Corps Site Program in 2017. Very Real Help and Zeno Power are two of the dynamic startups to emerge from the Wond’ry’s entrepreneurship programs, where the teams received micro-grant funding, and the NSF’s National I-Corps experience, from which they received an additional $50,000. Since completing I-Corps, these companies have continued to grow and reflect the spirit of innovation at Vanderbilt. MORE
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Research Snapshot: Exosuit concept developed at Vanderbilt peeks at the future of wearable tech
Karl E. Zelik, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and recent Ph.D. graduate Erik P. Lamers revealed a new exosuit designed to bring back relief to workers who have been under high strain throughout the pandemic, including last-mile delivery drivers and essential workers. The suit can redirect forces on the body and extend capabilities and applications of existing occupational exoskeletons, which are generally ill-suited for workers like delivery drivers climbing in and out of vehicles. Zelik and his team previously introduced a low-profile, lightweight exosuit produced by his spinoff company HeroWear. Exosuits have potential to improve safety and provide back relief to millions of workers in essential industries such as logistics, construction, manufacturing, military and health care. This work was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health. MORE
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Vanderbilt, AmericasBarometer cited in Ecuador’s 2021 presidential debate
Vanderbilt University and AmericasBarometer, a public opinion survey on democracy and governance run by the Latin American Public Opinion Project, were cited in the recent Ecuadorian presidential debate. Vanderbilt and AmericasBarometer are cited at the 54:24 mark in this video of the debate. In 2019, LAPOP was awarded a $10 million grant from the United States Agency for International Development to fund AmericasBarometer. Development of the proposal was supported by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research’s Research Development and Support. MORE
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Vanderbilt to use $2.8 million in federal coronavirus relief to support students
Vanderbilt continues to support students who have demonstrated need and are facing significant financial challenges due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In alignment with Department of Education recommendations, the university is using the $2.8 million it has received as part of the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act to provide funds to enrolled federal aid applicants with the greatest identified need, i.e. those with a federal expected family contribution of $11,225 or less. Some 21 percent of Vanderbilt’s students—split near-evenly among undergraduates, graduate and professional students—will receive the funds. MORE
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Pamela Jeffries named dean of School of Nursing
Pamela R. Jeffries, an internationally recognized leader and innovator in nursing and health care education, will become dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, effective July 1, pending Board of Trust approval. Jeffries, professor and dean of the George Washington University School of Nursing in Washington, D.C., succeeds Linda Norman, who plans to step down from her leadership role on June 30. Jeffries was appointed the second dean of the George Washington University School of Nursing in 2015, five years after its establishment as a standalone school within the university. As dean, Jeffries also charged a taskforce with examining issues related to diversity and inclusion, which resulted in the formation of a diversity council and other initiatives to build an inclusive and diverse community. MORE
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Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Scott Brower to lead Bass Military Scholars Program
Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Scott E. Brower, who has helped shape Tennessee’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the benefit of his extensive military leadership experience, has been named director of Vanderbilt University’s Bass Military Scholars Program, effective May 17. Brower will succeed retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Gary H. Cheek, who previously announced that he would step down as director of the program, after a transition this spring. In March 2020, Gov. Bill Lee appointed Brower to serve as chief of staff for the Unified Command Group, which has been working to streamline Tennessee’s coordinated response to the pandemic. Brower came into the role after serving in the U.S. Army for more than 29 years. He served in the 5th Special Forces Group, stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for more than a decade. During Brower’s final military assignment at Fort Campbell, he led the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell as acting senior commander. MORE
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Peabody faculty H. Richard Milner IV elected to membership in the National Academy of Education
Vanderbilt University Professor of Education H. Richard Milner IV has been honored for his outstanding contributions to the field and elected to membership by the National Academy of Education (NAEd). Milner was one of 22 education scholars elected from institutions across the country. Milner, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor of Education and founding director of the Initiative for Race Research and Justice, is the fourth faculty member from Peabody College of education and human development to be elected to the NAEd. MORE
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Barney S. Graham named Vanderbilt Distinguished Alumnus
The Vanderbilt Alumni Association has named Barney S. Graham, PhD’91, as the recipient of the 2021 Vanderbilt University Distinguished Alumnus Award. This honor is the highest bestowed upon a member of the university’s alumni community. A pathbreaking immunologist, virologist, educator and leader, Graham has been instrumental in vaccine development for several decades. In recent months, he served as the chief architect for the first experimental COVID-19 vaccines, which have already transformed countless lives across the nation. Graham is currently the deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center and the chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory and Translational Science Core connected with the National Institutes of Health. Throughout his career, he has also served as the chief resident at Nashville General Hospital and head of the Vanderbilt AIDS Vaccine Evaluation Unit, among other key positions in medicine and research. MORE
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VUbrief summarizes Vanderbilt news items to inform our Congressional community of developments at the university. Visit our website for past issues of VUbrief. Vanderbilt University Office of Federal Relations (202) 216-4361
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