Vanderbilt University

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Kirkland Hall - oldest building on the campus

Vanderbilt University is a private, independent university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded as the result of a gift of one million dollars by shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1873. He hoped that this gift and the work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds of the Civil War.

History

For the first 40 years of its existence, Vanderbilt was under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Vanderbilt Board of Trust severed its ties with the church in June 1914 as a result of a dispute with the bishops over who would appoint University trustees.

Probably the peak of Vanderbilt's intellectual influence was the 1920's and 1930's, when it hosted two partly-overlapping groups of scholars who had a large impact on American thought and letters, the Fugitives and the Agrarians.

In the late 1950's, the Vanderbilt Divinity School became something of a hotbed of the emerging Civil Rights movement, and the university responded rashly by expelling one of its leaders, James Lawson. Much later, in 1996, he was made a Distinguished Alumnus for his achievements.

History, race, and civil rights issues again came to the fore on the campus in 2002, when the university decided to rename an old dormitory called Confederate Memorial Hall, and nationwide attention, plus a lawsuit by the Order of the Confederate Rose resulted.

Current Facts

As of 2003-2004, the university had approximately 6,300 undergraduates and 4,800 graduate and professional students. It is also the largest private employer in Nashville and one of the largest in Tennessee, with approximately 18,000 faculty and staff.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has grown to be an important part of the University and is distinguished in medical education, research, and patient care.

Both the University and the Medical Center rank highly in the U.S. News and World Report annual ratings of the best American educational and health care institutions.

Unusual Research

As with any large research institution, Vanderbilt investigators work in a broad range of disciplines. However, among its more unusual activities, the university has institutes devoted to the study of coffee and of bridge (the game, due to the Vanderbilt family's interest in it). In addition, in mid-2004 it was announced that Vanderbilt's chemical biology research may have serendipitously opened the door to the breeding of a blue rose, something that had long been coveted by horticultralists and rose lovers.

Schools

  • College of Arts and Science
  • Blair School of Music
  • Divinity School
  • School of Engineering
  • Graduate School
  • Law School
  • School of Medicine
  • School of Nursing
  • Owen Graduate School of Management
  • Peabody College of Education and Human Development

Notable Alumni

Notable Faculty

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