Hiba Baroud has been selected to the first cohort of the Chancellor’s Public Voices Fellowship, a semester-long program designed to expand Vanderbilt’s global reach by amplifying the impact of faculty academic research.
Starting July 1, these three fellows will work with the Division of Communications to develop a highly tailored communications and promotion plan that builds recognition for their scholarship and public profile, and connects their work to new audiences.
Baroud, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Littlejohn Dean’s Faculty Fellow, will focus on “Measuring Impact and Building Resilience in Infrastructures and Communities.”
Her areas of study include critical infrastructure systems modeling, risk analysis, statistical modeling, risk-informed decision analysis and resilience monitoring.
“Vanderbilt’s faculty are leading discovery and insight in areas of critical public interest, and our university is committed to extending the reach of their groundbreaking research,” said Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos. “The Public Voices Fellowship supports our commitment to faculty development by providing a new approach advancing Vanderbilt’s thought leaders and content experts in the public sphere.”
Also in the first cohort are Jeffrey Bennett, associate professor of communication studies, who will work to increase public attention for “Managing Diabetes: The Cultural Politics of Disease” and Suzana Herculano-Houzel, associate professor of psychology and biological sciences, who will explore best promotional practices for “The Secret to a Long Life Is in the Brain: A New Framework for Understanding How Long We Take to Develop and Age.”
The program is the key recommendation of the 2018 report of the Committee for Enhancing Voices in the Public Sphere.
“The Public Voices Fellowship provides a platform from which the university can strategically promote and more widely disseminate the discoveries of our faculty for the benefit of society,” said Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan R. Wente. “These three faculty were chosen from a highly competitive pool of candidates given the exciting potential their work has for resonating publicly.”