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Zeppos: Vanderbilt must help combat anti-science political climate

Posted 8/26/2008

Download the full text of Chancellor Zeppos' remarks.

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos pledged at the 2008 Fall Faculty Assembly to vocally combat an “anti-science political culture” in the United States.

“Our research funding (is) up over 6 percent, with many of our peers declining,” Zeppos said Aug. 26 at the Student Life Center. “I say this with pride but also concern, frustration and deep disappointment. Our nation’s progress and competitiveness … depend on well-funded research and education. … But we are still enduring a dismal period. Fiscal constraints along with what many continue to see as an anti-science political culture … pose major challenges to all of us seeking support for research and education.”

Twice a year – at the Spring and Fall Faculty Assemblies, Vanderbilt’s chancellor updates the faculty on progress at the university. Faculty accomplishments are also recognized, including those who’ve reached 25 years of service or achieved excellence in research, scholarship or creative expression.

Lenn E. Goodman, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities and professor of philosophy, was named the winner of The Earl Sutherland Prize for Achievement in Research – considered “the Nobel Prize of Vanderbilt.” Goodman is a philosopher who specializes in both Jewish and Islamic thought.

“We at Vanderbilt are truly blessed to have a scholar in our midst who possesses and demonstrates in both word and deed a deep and meaningful commitment to the tenets of truth, morality and loving kindness,” Zeppos said of Goodman.

Randolph Blake, Centennial Professor of Psychology, was named the winner of The Thomas Jefferson Award “for distinguished service to Vanderbilt through extraordinary contributions as a member of the faculty in the councils and government of the university.”

In his address, Zeppos said that priorities at Vanderbilt include more investment in the social sciences, the launching of a new academic venture capital fund, health care reform, improving graduate education, the launch of a new financial aid program and continued recruitment and retention of top-flight faculty.

“The quality of the faculty is simply the ultimate measure of the university,” Zeppos said. “We are now keeping our very best, and they are helping us recruit others.”

Noting the severe stress that often strikes academics on competitive career tracks, Zeppos said he would appoint a committee to study how to best respond to mental illness on campus.

“In our community, there are too many who suffer from mental illnesses and these must be addressed with more compassion, care – and yes – as an academic institution, the very best science.”

Zeppos said he wanted to “build a home” where faculty “have the support, the time … and a culture that assures the best discoveries, the best ideas – and yes – the best times are found here and not elsewhere.”
 
Contact:  Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
                  jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu

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