Academics

Twelve Vassar students attended the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Washington, D.C. in March. One of the students, Chi Nguyen ’26,won a top award in the undergraduate poster competition.

Four Vassar students took a deep dive into Mexico’s history and culture in a six-week, intensive course last fall taught by Colleen Ballerino Cohen, Professor of Anthropology and Women, Feminist, and Queer Studies and Chair of Anthropology. During Winter Break, students augmented what they had learned by taking a nine-day excursion to Mexican cities, towns, and villages, sampling the country’s rich culinary tradition and visiting museums, artists, and craftsmen.

Vassar’s Dean of Faculty announced that 11 members of the Vassar faculty in 10 academic disciplines have been granted tenure this year. Get acquainted with these scholars.

Associate Professor of Political Science Taneisha Means’s student-supported research on the lives, work, and impact of Black judges in the U.S. was recently published in the book Robed Representation.

A Q&A with Associate Professor and Chair of Greek and Roman Studies Curtis Dozier, the author of The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate.

Kali Fajardo-Anstine, the author of Sabrina & Corina, the short story collection selected as the Common Reading for this year’s first-year students, discussed her work during the 2026 William A. Starr Lecture.

For 100 years and counting, Vassar has served as a setting, a character attribute, and even a laugh-out-loud punchline for numerous movies and television shows. Thanks to an amazing gift from David Ezer ’95, many of these segments can now be viewed on the new Vassar on Screen website.

Vassar renamed the Winton Evans Bridge for Laboratory Sciences on October 18, 2025, honoring Rowland W. Evans ’75 for his $28 million gift, and recognizing his family’s legacy at the College.