Academics

A group of onlookers checking out a robotic hand, held by a person, offerring a high five.

URSI Symposium Highlights Impactful Student-Faculty Summer Research

Nearly 100 students and faculty members involved in this year’s Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI) gathered in the Villard Room on September 17 to celebrate 10 weeks of scientific inquiry.

2025 Ford Scholars: Examining Everything from NBA Contracts to 16th-Century Spanish Texts

This year, 15 students and faculty members took part in the Ford Scholars Program, which pairs students with a faculty mentor for a deep dive into scholarly projects. We take a look at two examples.

Large group of graduates in black caps and gowns filling a chapel, standing and applauding during a commencement ceremony, with stained glass windows and wooden beams visible overhead.

Vassar Celebrates the Beginning of the Academic Year at Convocation

Seniors in caps and gowns, first-year students, and many others turned out for the annual opening ceremonies at the Chapel.

A person stands in the center of a well-lit, ornate hallway with a patterned tile floor. They are wearing an orange shirt, dark pants, and black shoes. The background includes vaulted ceilings, wooden archways, and a glimpse of a library.

Demetrius Eudell talks about the power of the liberal arts.

Vassar began the 2025-26 academic year with a new Dean of Faculty, Demetrius Eudell. Learn more about him in this wide-ranging Q&A.

A professor and four students, all smiling, pose in front of a brick fireplace.

Student Researchers and Their Professors Seek to Understand Prejudice and Empathy

Psychological science students dove into some timely issues in social psychology during Vassar’s 2025 Undergraduate Summer Research Institute (URSI)—a unique program that affords closely mentored scientific exploration not typically available at the undergraduate level.

Two people wearing lab coats examine 3D protein structure models on a large computer monitor in a laboratory. One person points at the screen while the other operates the computer.

Students and Professor Unlock Keys to Protein Function In Disease-Causing Bacteria

Thanks to a grant from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, Associate Professor of Chemistry Krystle McLaughlin has been teaching a class and conducting research with students seeking to unlock the keys to more effective antibiotics.

A photo of Mae Buck ’26, a person with long brown hair and a red dress. Buck is sitting outside in the sunlight with grass in the background.

Rising Senior Earns Scholarship Gold

In a profoundly challenging time for higher-education funding characterized by federal retrenchment and disappearing grants, Mae Buck ’26 has been awarded a Beinecke Scholarship worth $35,000.

Exterior photo of a building surrounded by large trees and a grass lawn.

Four Thought-Provoking Public Programs Coming to The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts in the 2025-26 Academic Year

The Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts—a convening space where scholars, students, and professionals from all over the world engage in meaningful work on contemporary challenges—has just announced its schedule of symposiums for the 2025–26 academic year.

Vera C. Rubin Observatory sits atop a rocky mountain ridge at sunset, with vibrant orange and yellow hues lighting the sky.

Powerful Telescope at Observatory Named for Vera Rubin ’48 Captures Stunning Images of the Cosmos

Vera C. Rubin Observatory, situated high in the Andes Mountains, is enabling scientists across the globe to learn a lot more about the nature of the universe.