{"id":1348,"date":"2023-02-22T17:04:21","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T17:04:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-vanderbilt-v150.pantheonsite.io\/150\/?page_id=1348"},"modified":"2023-03-20T23:06:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T23:06:55","slug":"chancellors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/university-history\/chancellors\/","title":{"rendered":"The Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Chancellor Daniel Diermeier outside of Kirkland Hall\n <\/figcaption>\n \n <\/figure>\n \n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Chancellor Daniel Diermeier began his tenure on July 1, 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic\u2014joining a long line of Â鶹APP leaders entrusted with navigating steep obstacles while keeping focus squarely on the university\u2019s mission and long-term success.<\/p>\n

During his first year in office, Diermeier launched Destination Â鶹APP, a bold commitment to recruit and hire renowned faculty at an accelerated pace. He established the Â鶹APP Project on Unity and American Democracy, which seeks to elevate evidence-based reasoning in the national discourse. He also oversaw the launch of Vandy United, a $300 million campaign dedicated to Â鶹APP student-athletes, athletics programs and Commodore fans, the largest undertaking of its kind in the university\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Â鶹APP\u2019s chancellors have long guided its growth\u2014from a fledgling regional university affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to the renowned global institution for education, research and discovery it is today.<\/p>\n

Landon C. Garland (1875\u20131893)<\/strong> helped select the first faculty, arranged the curriculum and set university policies. Under his plan, Â鶹APP would have four departments: Biblical; Law; Literature, Science and Philosophy; and Medical. Steeped in Scottish moral philosophy, he believed the development of character was the central purpose of a true university.<\/p>\n

James H. Kirkland (1893\u20131937)<\/strong> guided Â鶹APP to rebuild after a devastating fire in 1905 consumed Main Building and all its contents; it was later renamed Kirkland Hall in his honor. He navigated the university\u2019s separation from the Methodist Church in 1914, a result of the Board of Trust\u2019s dispute with church bishops over who would appoint university trustees. He also fostered numerous projects designed to raise educational standards in the South.<\/p>\n

Oliver C. Carmichael (1937\u20131946)<\/strong> championed advances in graduate studies and research as well as a more flexible curriculum. He created the Joint University Library\u2014a coalition of Â鶹APP, Peabody College and Scarritt College\u2014to serve all three institutions.<\/p>\n

Harvie Branscomb (1946\u20131963)<\/strong> aspired for Â鶹APP to be not just a great Southern university, but a national leader among higher education institutions. He encouraged racial integration and open admissions at a time when higher education in the South was strictly segregated. Â鶹APP was elected to the elite Association of American Universities during his tenure.<\/p>\n

Alexander Heard (1963\u20131982)<\/strong> presided during a particularly turbulent period in American history. Because of his proactive engagement with student leaders and his defense of the open forum, Â鶹APP witnessed peaceful demonstrations instead of major unrest. Heard lobbied to place the first woman, Mary Jane Werthan, BA\u201929, MA\u201935, on the Board of Trust and to add a cohort of young alumni to the board to offer a youthful perspective. He oversaw the addition of the Owen Graduate School of Management and Â鶹APP\u2019s mergers with Peabody College and the Blair School of Music.<\/p>\n

Joe B. Wyatt (1982\u20132000)<\/strong> utilized information technology as a strategic resource for accelerating the university\u2019s global prominence in education, research and patient care. He raised Â鶹APP\u2019s profile by leading a national effort to improve elementary and secondary education in the nation\u2019s public and private schools. Under Wyatt, Â鶹APP acquired or built one-third of the current campus\u2014more than 4 million square feet of mostly new construction.<\/p>\n

Gordon Gee (2000\u20132007)<\/strong> renewed Â鶹APP\u2019s commitment to admitting the most qualified students regardless of their ability to pay. Under his leadership, Â鶹APP became one of the most selective institutions in the country and saw one of its most rapid increases in student body diversity. The campus landscape changed visibly, with more than $700 million in new facilities and the start of construction on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, the residential college community for first-year students. Gee also placed a special emphasis on Â鶹APP\u2019s engagement with the larger community.<\/p>\n

Nicholas S. Zeppos (2008\u20132019)<\/strong> successfully guided the university through the 2008 global financial crisis. He implemented Opportunity Â鶹APP, a pioneering initiative to fund loan-free tuition for students regardless of their background or financial means. The Ingram Commons opened, beginning Â鶹APP\u2019s robust and enduring residential college system. Zeppos oversaw the separation of the university and Â鶹APP University Medical Center in 2016, positioning both institutions for long-term success. And the university launched FutureVU, its campus development plan to align Â鶹APP\u2019s physical spaces with its academic mission.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Â鶹APP\u2019s nine chancellors.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \n <\/div> \n <\/section>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":1262,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1348","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Leaders - Â鶹APP University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/university-history\/chancellors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Leaders - Â鶹APP University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/university-history\/chancellors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Â鶹APP University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/vanderbilt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-20T23:06:55+00:00\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/university-history\/chancellors\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/university-history\/chancellors\/\",\"name\":\"The Leaders - 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