BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Nashville-based Vanderbilt University’s plan to establish a presence on the West Chelsea block commonly known as the Close is all but set in stone now, with their August 11 announcement noting the New York State Attorney General has “granted the approval necessary to close on the lease of its new campus in New York City.”

That said, Chelsea’s newest firmly ensconced neighbor gathered no moss in using the lease approval as an occasion to declare its steadfast presence. An August 14 press release (click here to read it) announced a fall 2025 Faculty Lecture series that serves to expand its local public programming.

The September 25 and November 13 events mark a return to the form and function of Vanderbilt in the City: Conversations on America, a three-part Spring 2025 series that welcomed intellectually curious, looky-loo-leaning neighbors onto the sprawling campus. This time around, the invite is extended to “the Vanderbilt, Chelsea, and greater New York communities to join us for these special evenings of dialogue, discovery and performance.”

Said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, “The enthusiastic response to our inaugural public programming affirms our commitment to building meaningful partnerships and fostering the kind of engaged inquiry that defines Vanderbilt at its best.”

“These events create a powerful space for public scholarship and civic conversations,” added Jonathan Metzl, Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry and co-lead of the series. “We’re thrilled to continue convening faculty whose work speaks directly to the pressing questions of our time.”

This upcoming fall events promise to use live performance and panel discussions as a means of exploring “the intersections of music and spirituality and the mutual influence of technology and education.” Below, find information on the events. Attendance is free, but registration is required. To register, click here.

Divine Rhythms: Jazz and the Sacred / Thursday, September 25 / Reception, 6pm-7pm; Event, 7pm-8;30pm / At The Refectory at Vanderbilt University–New York City (440 W. 21st St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.) | Artists, theologians, and musicians will explore the influence of spirituality on the development of jazz and the meaning of sacred elements within the jazz tradition. A live jazz ensemble featuring students from Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music will perform. The panelists are Robbie Fry (Principal Senior Lecturer of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, Blair School of Music); Eric Thomas (Assistant Professor of Bible, General Theological Seminary); Buck McDaniel (Artist-in-Residence at The General Theological Seminary, Director of Music at the Church of Our Saviour, Murray Hill, and Chapel of the Sacred Hearts, Kips Bay). The moderator is Yolanda Pierce (Dean of the Divinity School; University Distinguished Professor of Religion & Literature; University Distinguished Professor of African American & Diaspora Studies, Vanderbilt University). Opening Remarks are provided by C. Cybele Raver (Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Vanderbilt).

AI and the Future of American Higher Education / Thursday, November 13 / Reception, 6pm–7pm; Event, 7pm-8:30pm / At The Refectory at Vanderbilt University–New York City (440 W. 21st St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.) | Hosted in collaboration with the New York Academy of Sciences, this event will feature a moderated panel conversation on artificial intelligence and the future of American higher education. The panelists are Matthew Johnson-Roberson (Inaugural Dean of the College of Connected Computing, Vanderbilt); Nicholas Dirks (President and Chief Executive Officer, The New York Academy of Sciences); Julie Samuels (President and CEO, Tech:NYC, Vanderbilt Law School Alumna 2005). Additional panelists and a moderate will be announced at a later date.

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