Versus

Issue date: 3/14/05 Section: features

[Click to enlarge]

It would be unfair and incorrect to call him a puppet or pawn, but it would also be unfair and incorrect to say that Chancellor Gordon Gee is responsible for all of the decisions and plans made in Kirkland Hall. Like any good president, Chancellor Gee has behind him a squad of like-minded and sometimes smarter individuals than he to develop broad plans and initiatives. After all, one does not stay at the top of several prestigious universities for decades as Gee has done without a little help from his friends.

A starting line-up would probably include all of the Vice-Chancellors who are the fi rst line of delegates to actual work. People like Lauren Brisky and William Spitz work the front lines of what is most vital to the operation of any organization: the money. Harry Jacobson's work is often unnoticed by students, but having the Vanderbilt Medical Center as his charge, his is one of the more important and infl uential jobs on campus. Michael Schoenfeld and, to a lesser extent, David Williams serve as a public face of the university, those with the skills in organization but also in working the publicity machine in all ways favorable to the university.
The academic equivalent of a corporate board is, of course, the Board of Trust, an esteemed table at which to sit here in Nashville. All of the above offi cers sit on the board, naturally, and Gee himself is an Officer of the Board, but the curious fact is that in listing the officers, Gee appears last. As with any school, the people whose names sit above his are the donors, who really hold much of the power in most institutions. Chairman Martha Ingram sits at the head of the table and carries one massive checkbook. The amount of generosity she has shown this school truly makes the Commodore's original one million dollar contribution seem chintzy, doesn't it?

Of course Gee stands proudly in charge, as his is the only title in
the group without the prefi x "vice." But really the job of any Chancellor
is much like the President of the United States or a true monarch. All
decisions probably cross his desk at some time or another, but the true
calling is to be the smile that the school shows to the outside world.

Continued...

Page 1 of 3 next >

Article Tools