Community Engagement Collaboration Fund

Convening on Black Education was a conference that identified promising approaches and opportunities for undoing anti-Black racial harm, while confronting the failure of many school systems to meet the intellectual and social-emotional needs of Black youth and young adults. 

Collaborators: Chezare Warren, associate professor of equity and inclusion in education policy, Peabody College; Marcy Singer-Gabella, professor of the practice of education and faculty director of Nashville Partnership for Educational Equity Research, Peabody College; Jerome Moore, founder and chief executive officer, Community Changers. 

This program provided support for patients and caregivers staying at the American Cancer Society’s Nashville Hope Lodge through crafting workshops and discussions on well-being practices and caregiver support. Caregivers learned new strategies, reflected on their strengths and challenges and talked with other caregivers. 

Collaborators: Jill Stratton, assistant provost for community engagement and academic support, Office of Undergraduate Education; Alexandra Sargent Capps, assistant professor of the practice and director, Department of Theatre and Wond’ry Center for Innovation Fiber Arts Build Lab; Audrey Williams, director of development for the southeast region of the American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Hope Lodge. 

The project brought together a team to design the first AI-powered systems for training emergency dispatchers. These systems improved dispatcher training and enhanced communication skills. This project later received additional funding for further collaboration from the National Science Foundation.  

Collaborators: Meiyi Ma, assistant professor of computer science, Department of Computer Science; Daniel Levin, professor of psychology and human development, Arts and Science; Stephen Martini, director, Metro Nashville Department of Emergency Communication.  

The project surveyed the William Edmondson homesite to create an educational digital map for the public and provided community engagement programming. 

Collaborators: Natalie Robbins, program manager of Vanderbilt Institute for Spatial Research, Arts and Science; Victoria Hensley, Mellon Assistant Professor of American Studies, Arts and Science; Mark Schlicher, vice president and founding board member, Friends of William Edmondson Homesite & Gardens.

Nashville Refuge is a web-based public humanities project that helps refugees living in Nashville share their stories with the public. The project consisted of a mobile-friendly website that combines video, text, historical imagery and interactive Geographic Information Systems apps. 

Collaborators: Jonathan Rattner, associate professor of cinema and media arts and art, Department of Cinema and Media Arts; Stacy Curry-Johnson, librarian for geospatial data and systems research and learning, Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries; Max Rykov, director of development and communications, Nashville International Center for Empowerment. 

Vanderbilt biochemistry doctoral student Creea Shannon’s children’s book, STEM Inspires Me, was distributed to students at Ida B. Wells Elementary. Students also participated in a reading day event with the author. 

Collaborators: Tiffeni Fontno, director of Peabody Library, Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, ReChard Peel, assistant director, Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center; Dexter Adams, executive principal, Ida B. Wells Elementary School (Metro Nashville Public Schools).

The Resonance of the Lands is a cultural celebration program that includes ceramic, visual and performance artists, involving Vanderbilt Iranian community members, immigrant and refugee artists, and a drum circle for all audiences. This proposal culminated in a free public event at the E. Bronson Ingram Studio Arts Center.  

Collaborators: Raheleh Filsoofi, assistant professor in ceramics, Department of Art, Blair School of Music; Alexandra Sargent Capps, assistant professor of the practice and director, Department of Theatre and Wond’ry Center for Innovation Fiber Arts Build Lab; Ellen Gilbert, executive director and school outreach program director, the Global Education Center. Other community partners for this project include the Nashville International Center for Empowerment and the Buchanan Arts Center.

The goal of the project was to showcase the oral histories of Bass Street descendants, whose ancestors—Black Civil War veterans—settled in Nashville and faced repeated displacement. The aim was to authentically incorporate their narratives into a proposed Bass Street Interpretive Plaza at the revitalized Fort Negley Park. The final product was a documentary that features oral histories from descendants. 

Collaborators: Angela Sutton, research assistant professor and assistant dean, Arts and Science; Daniel Sharfstein, professor and director of the Geroge Barrett Social Justice Program, Law School; Jeneene Blackman, chief executive officer, African American Cultural Alliance of Nashville.

This project created a scholarship program to help support library staff across the state to attend the Southern Library Support Staff Conference in May 2024, so they could participate in essential continuing education, networking and skill-building opportunities. 

Collaborators: Machelle Keen, user services and facilities coordinator, Sarah Shannon Stevenson Science and Engineering Library, Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries; Robert “Brandon” Hulette, lecturer, human and organizational development, Peabody College of education and human development; Lauri Thompson, continuing education coordinator, Tennessee State Library and Archives.