痴补苍诲别谤产颈濒迟鈥檚 experience is a special aspect of student life at the university, one that’s rooted in authentic connection and engagement. Undergraduate houses and colleges are led by faculty who live with their families and pets in special suites within the residence halls and lead programming to create another vibrant layer of learning and community. Meet the university鈥檚 newest faculty heads of house and heads of college in this special series.
, principal senior lecturer in the , is faculty head of on
Quarry, who earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt in 2003, specializes in fiction and nonfiction writing. His nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times,听The Guardian,听the New York Daily 大象传媒app,听The Chronicle of Higher Education,听Salon 补苍诲听Longreads. His fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including聽The Southern Review,听New England Review,听Alaska Quarterly Review 补苍诲听The Normal School, which awarded him its Normal Prize in Fiction.
Name: Justin Quarry
搁别蝉颈诲别苍迟颈补濒听颁辞濒濒别驳别: East House
Years at Vanderbilt: 20 (15 as faculty, one as staff, four as an undergraduate)
Hometown: Jonesboro, Arkansas
Favorite song: Spotify might report 鈥淲alking on Broken Glass鈥� by Annie Lennox; I鈥檒l say 鈥淗igh and Dry鈥� by Radiohead.
Favorite book: Maybe not absolute favorites, but my touchstones as a writer and someone who longs for meaningful connection are Carson McCullers鈥� novel聽The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter聽and Truman Capote鈥檚 short story 鈥淎 Christmas Memory.鈥�
Favorite food: Fried chicken and fried catfish鈥攖hough they鈥檙e only Very Special Guest Stars on my plate.
Favorite spot on campus: Newly, the sunroom in my faculty apartment, where I鈥檒l be hosting East’s salons.聽I鈥檝e wanted such a space since I first played聽Clue聽(the conservatory!) and read the聽X-men聽comics (Storm鈥檚 attic greenhouse!) as a kid.聽Now I finally have one, and I look forward to sharing it with students, colleagues and friends.
What are you most looking forward to for the upcoming academic year? Having my first-year faculty head experience alongside my residents having their first-year college experience. Also, giving my dear dog, Malcolm, the utter joys of twice-daily walks on campus and introductions to many, many potential new friends.
Why did you want to be a faculty聽head of house? I learn from students, and I enjoy talking with them not just about what they’re reading and writing, but also their lives鈥攖heir backgrounds, their hopes, their ambitions, their ideas, their interests. I imagine serving as faculty head will allow for many more of the latter conversations. As well, I gravitate toward highly unique experiences, and this is certainly one of them.
What advice do you have for students coming to campus? If you are a first-generation college student like I was, enroll in First View and get involved with .聽Making the leap to an elite university like Vanderbilt is of course laudable and thrilling, but it can also be disorienting.聽Guidance and community in navigating all the complexities and many opportunities of college will help you get the most you can out of your time here.
Tell us a funny or poignant experience you鈥檝e had at Vanderbilt? The year after I graduated from Vanderbilt, I worked on staff in the slide library for History of Art and Architecture鈥攚here I鈥檇 worked four years as a work-study student鈥斅爓hile I applied to graduate programs in creative writing. I’d intended to accept the offer of my top choice of those that admitted me without visiting its campus, because I simply couldn鈥檛 afford to do so. But when my boss, Joanne Rathman, who by then was a good friend (and remains one still), found that out, she insisted I go and paid for my trip. That act of financial generosity from someone who is not my family continues to move and astound me.
What do you love about working at Vanderbilt? Continual exposure to people with origins, curiosities and areas of expertise often radically different from my own, which gives me a deeper understanding of the world and in turn myself and inspires my art.聽But also, the trees鈥擨 get to work in an arboretum. Wow!
