679. Why Does Vanderbilt Keep Winning?

It’s a hard time to run a university: public trust is low, political pressure is high, and finances are fragile. But Daniel Diermeier, who trained as a political scientist, has Vanderbilt humming. How? He says the key is choosing magnets over wedges.

• SOURCES:

• Daniel Diermeier (vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/biography-diermeier), chancellor of Vanderbilt University.

• RESOURCES:

• "Higher Ed’s New Crisis Managers (chronicle.com/article/higher-eds-new-crisis-ma…)," by Lee Gardner (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2026).

• "Professors Need to Diversify What They Teach (persuasion.community/p/we-analyzed-university-…)," by Jon Shields, Yuval Avnur, and Stephanie Muravchik (Persuasion, 2025).

• "A Call for Constructive Engagement (aacu.org/newsroom/a-call-for-constructive-enga…)," (American Association of Colleges and Universities, 2025).

• "2020 Statement on Anthropology and Human Rights (americananthro.org/advocacy-statements/2020-st…)," (American Anthropological Association, 2020).

• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (amzn.to/43Yzf5w), by Michelle Alexander (2010).

• "Kalven Committee: Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action (provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/docum…)," (The University of Chicago, 1967).

• EXTRAS:

• Sign up here (docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMQ0RUWCXYQN…) to pre-screen our new video show.

• "'A Low Moment in Higher Education (freakonomics.com/podcast/a-low-moment-in-highe…),'" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

• "'If We’re All in It for Ourselves, Who Are We?' (freakonomics.com/podcast/if-were-all-in-it-for…)" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).

• "Do Boycotts Work? (freakonomics.com/podcast/do-boycotts-work)" by Freakonomics Radio (2016).

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