With Commencement quickly approaching, the university has announced that award-winning author and professor Arthur C. Brooks will receive Vanderbilt University's prestigious Nichols-Chancellor's Medal when he speaks at the university's 2026 Commencement activities.
"Arthur Brooks is a distinguished scholar of human potential and the good life whose work explores the intersections of happiness, balance, curiosity and excellence," Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. "We will recognize his contributions with the Nichols-Chancellor's Medal-one of Vanderbilt's highest honors-as he joins us to challenge a new generation of leaders to build lives of meaning and impact."
Brooks' Graduates Day address will be Thursday, May 7, at Memorial Gym. Attendees are invited to take part in a Commencement Celebration immediately afterward at the David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center Indoor Practice Facility.
Brooks, who is Parker Gilbert Montgomery Professor of the Practice of Public and Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, specializes in using the highest levels of science and philosophy to help people find the best ways to live their best lives. He speaks around the world about human happiness, and he works to improve well-being within private companies, universities, public agencies and community organizations. He's an expert on charitable giving who supports various nonprofits with his wife, Ester, and he has authored a widely read book on the topic, Who Really Cares.
He has authored 14 other books, including New York Times bestsellers Build the Life You Want, co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, and From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life. His next book, The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness, is scheduled for release on March 31.
Brooks also served as the president of The American Enterprise Institute, one of the nation's oldest and most respected think tanks, and is a contributor to CBS News, a columnist with The Free Press and host of the weekly podcast Office Hours.
About the Nichols-Chancellor's Medal
The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal, one of the university's highest honors, is awarded to individuals who exemplify the best qualities of the human spirit. It was created and endowed by Vanderbilt Law School graduate Ed Nichols and his wife, Janice, in honor of Edward Carmack and Lucile Hamby Nichols. Recipients of the Nichols-Chancellor's Medal in recent years include Gary Sinise, David Brooks, Maria Ressa and Reid Hoffman.
About Graduates Day, Commencement
Graduates Day celebrates all graduates and traditionally occurs the day before the university's Commencement ceremony, which will be May 8 at FirstBank Stadium. Graduates Day and undergraduate Commencement are free, ticketed events. Tickets will be available to graduating students in early April.
