(Photo by John Amis)
Vanderbilt University officially launched the McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies at a campus event on Feb. 7. Board of Trust members, university leaders, alumni and invited guests gathered at Rothschild College to celebrate the new interdisciplinary center, which will promote media literacy by providing resources to evaluate the objectivity of news coverage, digital media and other narratives.
“The mission of the McGee Center addresses what is, for our times, an urgent societal need—to combat disinformation and to equip individuals with the essential skills to adeptly navigate and critically assess narratives in the dynamic media landscape of the 21st century,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in his remarks. “By fostering open dialogue among Vanderbilt faculty, students and the wider community, the McGee Center will help to create a collective understanding of the profound influence that media narratives have in our society.”
Housed within the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries, the McGee Center was established with a $5 million gift from Suzanne Perot McGee, BS’86, and Patrick K. McGee, BS’85, to Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science. The McGees made the gift on behalf of their family, including son Patrick P. McGee, BA’15; son William McGee, BA’16, and his spouse Eliza Granade McGee, BA’16; and daughter Margot McGee Renehan, BS’19, and her spouse Will Renehan, BA’19.
“The McGees’ visionary philanthropy will enable Vanderbilt faculty and students to engage in rigorous, data-driven inquiry around narrative studies and pursue bold solutions for combating disinformation,” said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “We’re extremely grateful to Suzanne and Patrick McGee and their family for their support of this vital work and of our Discovery Vanderbilt mission.”
A key priority of Vanderbilt’s Dare to Grow campaign is fueling collaborative, interdisciplinary scholarship, and the McGees’ generosity will advance this goal. Their gift will support faculty who teach innovative courses, conduct research and mentor students exploring narrative studies in the form of class work or immersion experiences. The gift also makes possible the expansion of unique campus media resources, including the Vanderbilt Television News Archive—the world’s most complete archive of network television news dating back to 1968. Featuring more than 62,000 hours of transcribed and searchable video content, the Television News Archive is part of the Heard Libraries.
McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies on Feb. 7.
(Photo by John Amis)
“Utilizing what we have learned through the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, we’re pioneering the combination of advanced data science with societal analysis,” University Librarian Jon Shaw said. “The McGee Center is a groundbreaking transdisciplinary hub poised to demystify the power of narratives in today’s digital era. The center will showcase our faculty’s expertise in navigating a spectrum of interpretations in global politics and societal trends and engenders an even greater collaboration between our faculty and individuals across the world.”
In addition to encouraging innovative research, the McGee Center will engage the broader community through events, workshops and awareness campaigns that promote media literacy. It also will explore collaborative educational opportunities with campus partners, such as the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, Dialogue Vanderbilt and Studio 608, a creative space in Central Library led by podcasting pioneer Jad Abumrad and free speech expert Jacob Mchangama that gives students distinctive opportunities to explore narrative studies.
“The McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies will leverage massive computing power in innovative and comprehensive ways to explore how the stories we tell shape our understanding of society and one another,” Patrick P. McGee said. “I hope it will have a positive impact on this campus, and I hope it will change the world.”
“The McGee Center is at the forefront of a broad interdisciplinary research program that uses recent advances in neuroscience and generative AI to better understand unstructured data, like news media. We are delighted to support the McGee Center in our common goal to protect students and citizens alike from weaponized and politicized narratives,” said Ben Hunt, BA’86, co-founder and chief information officer at Second Foundation Partners, who spoke at the launch event.
“The McGee family understands the importance of promoting media literacy to empower citizens to evaluate news coverage objectively,” said Timothy P. McNamara, interim dean of the College of Arts and Science. “The work of the center will help to strengthen our democracy by creating a more informed public.”
The McGee Center is located in Central Library and soon will name an executive director. To learn more, visit mcgee.library.vanderbilt.edu.