Vanderbilt University confirmed to The Tennessee Star on Wednesday that it is considering building a new campus in Florida.
“We are assessing an opportunity to expand Vanderbilt graduate programs in business and computing in South Florida,” Vanderbilt’s Senior Media Relations Specialist Julia Jordan told The Star. “We will share details as they become available.”
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Steve Ross, the multibillionaire and principal owner of the Miami Dolphins, held a fundraiser with Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier at his Palm Beach mansion on Monday.
According to Bloomberg, Ross is looking to track down $300 million for the expansion, and $100 million of that has already been pledged contingent upon securing the land for the build.
Vanderbilt’s current campus is located in Nashville.
The school most recently made headlines at the end of March, when several anti-Israel protestors who support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against the county were arrested during a sit-in protesting an amendment by the Vanderbilt Student Government (VSG) that would disallow spending student government funds on pro-BDS groups.
As The Star reported, three students were charged with Class A misdemeanor assault for pushing the officer and a staff member who offered to meet with the students as they entered a campus building.
Another was charged for vandalism after allegedly breaking an exterior window in the building.
Deirmeier defended the students.
“In consideration of safety and the university’s normal operations, we, as a matter of policy, define the time, place and manner limitations. The safety and well-being of our community is a top priority. The university will take action when our policies are violated, when the safety of our campus is jeopardized and when people intimidate or injure members of our community,” he said.
“A university community, by definition, will rarely be in full agreement on any issue,” he continued. “The challenge is to move forward together despite our differences, based on our shared values and common purpose. This is what we must do—and what we shall do in the days to come.”
But Jordan told The Daily Wire that students had been punished for the stunt.
“All of the protest participants who breached the building will be placed on interim suspension,” she said. “Yesterday’s protest at Kirkland Hall was not a peaceful one. It began with the assault of a Vanderbilt community service officer and continued with protesters physically pushing Vanderbilt staff members with the hope of entering and occupying the chancellor’s office.”
The 21-hour sit-in featured other mishaps, including a call to 911 after a woman said she’d go into toxic shock if she couldn’t change her tampon and protestors urinating in bottles because they could not leave to use the restroom.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Stephen Ross” by Miami Dolphins. Background Photo “University of Vanderbilt Campus” by Stablenode. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Vanderbilt doesn’t need to do anything in Florida. They are doing enough damage to Nashville and Tennessee, without trying to ruin Florida. They have turned into Crackpot University.
As an alumni of Vanderbilt from the A&S Class of 1974, I object to building a Vanderbilt campus in Florida as long as Ron De Santis is governor as I don’t want him to legislate or micro-manage the campus!
“The school most recently made headlines at the end of March, when several anti-Israel protestors who support Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against the county were arrested during a sit-in protesting an amendment by the Vanderbilt Student Government (VSG) that would disallow spending student government funds on pro-BDS groups.”
Vanderbilt has also been in the headlines recently for sexually mutilating little boys and girls, as the University Medical Center promoted, and participated in, “gender-affirming” (a misnomer) care of pre-pubescent minors.