Vanderbilt University's Alexander Initiative, part of Peabody College of education and human development, has selected its inaugural cohort of Alexander Fellows. The immersive professional development experience for outstanding high school teachers from across the United States aims to revitalize U.S. history and civics education.
Thirty teachers were extended admission, with every selected applicant accepting the prestigious offer. Fellows span 20 states-from Wyoming to Tennessee-and all career stages. They hail from rural, metropolitan, suburban, agricultural and independent schools.
The fully funded program is named for the Honorable Lamar Alexander, Vanderbilt class of '62 and University Trustee, former U.S. senator of Tennessee, the 45th governor of Tennessee, the 5th U.S. Secretary of Education and the former president of the University of Tennessee. It will be taught by nationally recognized scholars and includes a one-week residential experience on Vanderbilt's campus in June 2025. Paired with an academic year of remote coaching and additional engagement, fellows will earn continuing education credits and a certificate upon completion of the program.
"A commonality among our fellows is their demonstrated passion for teaching American history and civics," said Christopher Loss, executive director of the Alexander Initiative, associate professor of public policy and higher education and associate professor of history. "We are thrilled to welcome this cohort of creative and accomplished teachers to Vanderbilt University."
Fellows: in their own words
A few Alexander Fellows shared their excitement about participating in the program:
- Jillian Flood is a second-year history teacher at John Overton High School in Metro Nashville Public Schools. "I'm hoping to expand my own understanding of the content and upon return to the classroom, inspire my students to fuel their own thirst for knowledge, whether it be in history or elsewhere. What makes this program unique is Vanderbilt's history of exceptional instruction and its commitment to pushing educational boundaries."
- Andrea Lehman is a fifth-year public high school teacher in Erie, Pennsylvania, teaching Advanced Placement U.S. government and politics, A.P. U.S. history and honors government at McDowell High School. "I'm always trying to figure out how to get students engaged, how to help them see that there's a bigger picture. I think that by having these experiences through the Alexander Initiative, hearing these different perspectives and seeing the programs that are out there, I'll be able to show my students there's more to life than just what's within the four walls of our school."
- Vincent Vinluan has 19 years of experience in Chicago Public Schools and currently teaches A.P. and honors U.S. history at Walter Payton College Preparatory School. "Figuring out different ways to frame history for students, to better engage them in the content, is probably my biggest hope in terms of the cohort," he said. "I'm excited to learn what people in higher education are doing and what the newest research is, but then also being able to work with teachers from different parts of the country with different backgrounds and different experiences, are all things that are very appealing."
Visit the Alexander Initiative website to view a complete list of Alexander Fellows.
Vanderbilt historians offer expertise and insight
Vanderbilt's professors are an integral part of the seminar, which will take place June 15 - 22, 2025. Sarah Igo, the Andrew Jackson Chair in American History and professor of history and law, will speak with fellows about the New Deal. "It's so important that the Alexander Initiative is pledged to, and is advancing, the highest standards of historical evidence, argumentation and craft," she said.
"There are too few opportunities for secondary school and college faculty to convene around what they share: in this case, a scholarly and civic commitment to grappling with the American past. I hope the Alexander Fellowship will seed more of these conversations. We have so much to learn from each other," Igo said.
Daniel Sharfstein, the Dick and Martha Lansden Professor of Law and professor of history, will present a lecture on the dispossession and forced migration of eastern indigenous nations in the nineteenth century. "How we teach American history matters," he said. "We can't understand the values animating our democracy without seriously engaging with our past. I'm very excited about the opportunity this program offers for colleagues in university and high school education to come together in a collective effort to think through key questions underlying the American experience."
Vanderbilt historian and presidential biographer Jon Meacham is also among the scholars scheduled to participate in the seminar. In addition, CNN columnist Nicole Hemmer, associate professor of history and director of the Rogers Center for the American Presidency, will teach a session, as will award-winning author and historian Dennis C. Dickerson, the Reverend James M. Lawson Chair of History Emeritus and professor emeritus of history, and Sharece Thrower, associate professor of political science and noted author. A full list of faculty presenters, from Vanderbilt and beyond, can be found on the Alexander Initiative website.
Enriching partnerships
Fellows will take advantage of the wealth of resources at Vanderbilt, including working with primary sources at the Vanderbilt Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries Special Collections and learning how to adapt emerging AI and VR technologies in the high school classroom with experts at Peabody's LIVE Learning Innovation Incubator.
Vanderbilt's location in Nashville, a key site of the Civil War and of the Civil Rights movement, means that fellows can access culturally and historically significant immersion experiences unavailable elsewhere. Planned excursions include the Tennessee State Museum, Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, the Civil Rights Room of the Nashville Public Library, the National Museum of African American Music and the Tennessee State Capitol.
In a time when many Americans are expressing concern about the future of democratic institutions and values, the Alexander Initiative's goal is to breathe new life into how we teach U.S. history in our nation's schools. The past shapes the present, and Alexander Fellows will take that message to heart as they return to classrooms this fall, equipped with new skills and strategies, meaningful professional connections and ongoing support to shape their students' education.
