Editor's Note
Robert Proudfoot
Issue date: 9/29/05 Section: editor's picks
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Versus Magazine Online [Image based format]
I just recently had the pleasure of reading Chancellor Gordon Gee's speech to the Faculty Senate on August 25th, 2005. As I read through his speech, I must admit that I felt the passion that this man has brought to our university. My chest tightened when I read his bold plans for the future about decreasing tuition costs for poor students, College Halls, multi-discipline research, and Vanderbilt's fight for academic freedom. Say what you want, but Chancellor Gee has the passion, the drive, to take this University to the next step. I have to admire a man that pushes even harder after five years of success to make Vanderbilt soar in directions that were once inconceivable.
Chancellor Gordon Gee has the passion to change this university. He has attacked the old guard of this academic institution to slowly overhaul Vanderbilt into something more than just the next step to a high paying job. I couldn't have agreed more with the man when he boldly proclaimed that in five years every student whose family earns less than $40,000 will attend Vanderbilt debt free. This is the kind of visionary that I want to lead my university.
Some may argue that these visionary speeches and claims are all rhetoric without substance. That may be so; every leader has his or her stump speeches to rally the troops. But that is precisely what I want in a leader. I want someone who is thinking beyond what we think is possible. I want a Chancellor that has a clear vision of where Vanderbilt is going. I also want a Chancellor that has the savvy to recognize a good idea, even if it isn't his own, and latch on to it until it is followed through. Chancellor Gee is the leader that Vanderbilt has been waiting for to create change.
I firmly believe in Gandhi's saying, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." It is evident that Chancellor Gee couldn't agree more. He has been the change at Vanderbilt that we all have been wanting. His speech on August 25, 2005 boldly claimed that Vanderbilt is soaring. His first five years were a leap of faith, one that has been extraordinarily successful. Now Vanderbilt is preparing for his "Leap Strategy 2." He is preparing for another giant leap that will propel us to the highest academic clubs in the world.