Featured Partners

National Museum of African American Music

The National Museum of African American Music is a premier global destination and Nashville cultural treasure just two miles from our campus, so we are delighted to support educational experiences and research opportunities that highlight the rich contributions of African American composers, performers and supporters. Below are just a few ways that Vanderbilt and the museum are partnering together.

Free Student Access to the Museum

Through the partnership between Vanderbilt University and the National Museum of African American Music Vanderbilt undergraduate and graduate students have free admission to the museum’s galleries and exhibitions. Valid student IDs are required. Avoid parking and ride share costs, consider riding to the museum for free with WeGo Transit.
Academic Archive Purchasing Fund

Included in the partnership with the museum is a collaboration with the university’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries to support an expanded collection of books, scores, sound recordings, and material objects related to African American music. This collection will be available for loan, display, and study at the museum and will also serve as an important resource for scholarly research on Vanderbilt’s campus. Faculty are invited to submit collection acquisition requests which will require collaboration with a university librarian and a museum representative. Contact Claire Campbell the Office of the Provost for more information. Collections already acquired through the NMAAM partnership include those of musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Rissi Palmer.

Learn more about the Academic Archive Purchasing Fund application process or contact Claire Campbell.
Arts, Discovery, and Innovation Fund

Vanderbilt’s long-term partnership with the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) aims to enrich educational and research opportunities around African American music and culture and their intersection with other arts (literary, performance, and visual cultures), history, law, and social justice/movements. The partnership includes collaborative programming between Vanderbilt and the museum that will necessarily enhance processes of discovery and innovation in the arts.
All full-time, VU-employed staff and Provost-reporting faculty and staff are eligible to partner with the museum on innovative projects. To foster interdisciplinary and cross-college/school synergies, proposals must include at least two faculty or staff members from different colleges/schools (Arts & Science, Blair, Divinity, Law) and a museum representative. Faculty from different colleges/schools may also seek out collaboration with the Curb Center or other departments on campus. All proposals are required to have museum support and must reach out to Noëlle Taylor in NMAAM's Education department at ntaylor@nmaam.org before applying. Successful proposals include a well-defined strategy for student and community engagement, a clear purpose related to discovery and innovation in the arts, and a feasible budget. Applications are open on a rolling basis, but funds must be spent in the fiscal year in the same year as awarded.
For questions about the Arts, Discovery, and Innovation Fund, please contact Claire Campbell, in the Office of the Vice Provost for Arts and Libraries.
Event Facility Use

Vanderbilt University may request to use meeting or event space at the museum free of charge twice per year. Contact Sally Parker in the Division of Government and Community Relations to learn more. To connect with the museum in other ways contact the Division of Government and Community Relations or the Office of the Vice Provost for Arts and Libraries to be pointed in the right direction.

Tennessee Performing Arts Center

Vanderbilt Community Relations fosters a valued institutional partnership with the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to bring innovative and engaging programming to the community. Each year, Vanderbilt University joins TPAC Education for the InsideOut series which includes enlightening panel discussions and performance excerpts that correspond with current performance offerings from TPAC and their partners: Nashville Opera, Nashville Ballet, and Nashville Repertory Theatre.

Zurin Villanueva performs music from Tina at TPAC InsideOut event on Feb. 14, 2024. (Joe Howell)

Leah Lowe and Micah-Shane Brewer at TPAC InsideOut event on Jan. 30, 2024 (Joe Howell)

Learn more about the InsideOut Series

Nashville Public Library Foundation

The Nashville Public Library Foundation funds, advocates, and amplifies the work of the Nashville Public Library to power literacy, life skills, and connection for all. Vanderbilt actively engages with NPLF by sponsoring key programs and offering support to Special Collections including the Main Library’s Votes for Women Room and Civil Rights Room.

Nashville Public Education Foundation

The Nashville Public Education Foundation supports Metro Nashville Public Schools through fundraising, supporting teachers and leaders, celebrating success, and advocating for change. NPEF works to ensure that every child in Nashville thrives in school every day. Key initiatives include the Public Schools Hall of Fame, the Blue Ribbon Teacher Awards and the Teacherpreneur program.

Vanderbilt Community Relations hosts NPEF's annual Blue Ribbon Teacher Awards celebration on campus each year, and supports the annual Public Schools Hall of Fame event as well.

Blue Ribbon Award recipient Teneice Kirby, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Senior Director of Community Relations Kathleen Fuchs-Hritz, and guest Riki Shye at the Blue Ribbon Teacher Awards on Oct. 17, 2024. (Photo credit: John Amis) — Blue Ribbon Award recipient Teneice Kirby, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Senior Director of Community Relations Kathleen Fuchs-Hritz, and guest Riki Shye at the Blue Ribbon Teacher Awards on Oct. 17, 2024. (John Amis)

Vanderbilt presents Hal Cato with the Nelson C. Andrews Distinguished Service Award at the NPEF Public School Hall of Fame event — Vanderbilt presented Hal Cato with the Nelson C. Andrews Distinguished Service Award at the NPEF Public School Hall of Fame event on Sept. 27, 2023. (Vanderbilt University)

Centennial Park Conservancy

Vanderbilt shares a commitment with the Centennial Park Conservancy to protect and enrich the urban park adjacent to our campus and to help enhance the cultural and physical environment of the West End Neighborhood and surrounding community.

We have provided direct support of the conservancy’s and Metro Parks’ Centennial Park Master Plan to restore, renovate and revitalize Nashville’s central park. We also support Centennial Park Conservancy’s arts and educational programming such as Kidsville and will work collaboratively to support new park-based initiatives that expand cultural activities and events near campus. This partnership is aligned with FutureVU, the university’s initiative to enhance the places where community members live, work and learn.

The Nashville Parthenon in Centennial Park

Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument in Centennial Park

One Generation Away

One Generation Away provides high-quality food to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. OneGenAway’s model of food rescue and quality food distribution is centered on dignity and hope, in everyday need and in the wake of disaster. Vanderbilt has partnered with OneGenAway to host food distributions in Nashville, bringing much-needed resources to Middle Tennessee residents, as well as an opportunity for Vanderbilt students, staff, and faculty to serve.

OneGenAway founder and director Chris Whitney at a food distribution event

Civic Design Center

The Civic Design Center advocates for and works towards creating a more beautiful and functional Nashville for all. Through our partnership, Vanderbilt supports a broad range of programs and activities of the Design Center. The Design Center collaborates with Vanderbilt faculty on coursework and works with our faculty and students on research opportunities and provides design resources, technology and other materials.