Vanderbilt University has taken another step toward sharpening its lobbying push on Capitol Hill by hiring a House committee policy staffer.
The university's lobbying expenditures have shot up from five years ago, with $230,000 spent in the first two quarters of 2014 compared to $150,000 for the full 2009 year. Vanderbilt's three registered lobbyists in the last few years have advocated for research dollars and federal student aid as well as on immigration reform to help international students.
Vanderbilt's latest hire, Gabriella Ra'anan, was a policy staffer for the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Space Subcommittee since April 2013, after shifting from a policy staff role on the committee's oversight subcommittee earlier that year. She was also a junior professional staff member and policy analyst on the House Foreign Affairs Committee between 2011 and 2013.
Ra'anan's new job as assistant director of federal relations for Vanderbilt is also her second time in an advocacy office for a university. She interned in 2010 and 2011 at Brown University, where she received her bachelor's degree, in the Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs.
Vanderbilt has a well-honed lobbying pitch. The university dedicates a section of its website to its lobbying efforts for federal grants and contracts and on issues impacting higher education. The site breaks down Vanderbilt's impact in Tennessee by congressional district and displays other "fast facts" for lawmakers.
