Search to replace Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos begins

Adam Tamburin
The Tennessean

The national search to replace outgoing Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos is moving forward, with a 10-member committee forming to start the process.

Vanderbilt board chair Bruce Evans selected the search committee, which he will lead, the university said Friday in a statement. The panel will tap a team of faculty, staff, students and graduates to identify priorities for the search.

“We are committed to working with the Vanderbilt community and devoting the time and effort necessary to identify an outstanding chancellor who will carry our mission forward,” Evans said in a statement.

The committee plans to hire a search firm to help identify candidates, the university said.

Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos earlier this month announced plans to step down due to unspecified health issues.

Zeppos earlier this month announced plans to step down due to unspecified health issues. He has served as chancellor for 11 years and spent most of his professional career as a Vanderbilt professor and administrator.

Provost Susan Wente will temporarily replace Zeppos as interim chancellor beginning Aug. 15.

Here are the members of the search committee:

  • Evans, a venture capitalist and senior adviser with Summit Partners, will serve as chair of the search committee.
  • Martha Ingram, former Vanderbilt board chairman;
  • Adolpho A. Birch III, Vanderbilt board secretary, senior vice president of labor policy, National Football League;
  • Shirley M. Collado, president of Ithaca College;
  • Steven H. Madden Sr., CEO, Apex Heritage Group;
  • Mark P. Mays, CEO, Rocking M Capital / Mays Family Enterprises;
  • Courtney C. Pastrick, board chair of the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation;
  • Nora Tyson, retired vice admiral, U.S. Navy;
  • Jeffrey J. Rothschild, vice chair of the Vanderbilt board, former vice president of infrastructure engineering at Facebook; and
  • Jon Winkelried, vice chair of the Vanderbilt board, co-CEO of TPG Holdings / TPG Capital LP.

Reach Adam Tamburin at atamburin@tennessean.com or 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.