Brentwood Academy alumna Madison Renner was awarded the Founder’s Medal for the College of Arts and Science by Vanderbilt University during spring Commencement ceremonies. In a tradition dating back to 1877, Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos presented the top scholar of each school with Founder’s Medals in honor of the university’s founder Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Madison graduated with a bachelor of arts degree. Through her studies in environmental sociology, she explored a climate-adaptation movement led by women in North Africa who created a local market for craft baskets. She also conducted research on how media outlets portray scientific knowledge on climate change. Renner was awarded a Vanderbilt Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship and received the Outstanding Senior Award in Sociology. In the fall, she will pursue a Ph.D. in sociology at Harvard University.
She is the daughter of Chuck and Lea Ann Renner of Franklin.
