The Vanderbilt University Board of Trust has established an ad hoc committee to support the university’s response to COVID-19. The new Ad Hoc Committee on University COVID-19 Response will serve as an advisory group and resource for the university leadership as ongoing actions are considered in efforts related to educating students using online and alternate methods, continuing research and supporting campus activities disrupted by the global pandemic.
“I am grateful for the hard work of Vanderbilt’s administrative leaders, faculty and staff as we have navigated an extraordinary situation, and the consideration of our students and their families,” said Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente. “In the coming weeks and months, we will need to consider issues that we haven’t even contemplated yet, and the deep expertise and experience of each member of the new ad hoc committee will be critical to our university’s long-term success.”
The ad hoc committee will work with university leadership on key strategic and long-term decisions related to COVID-19 response.
“Vanderbilt has been fortunate to have Interim Chancellor Wente and her wise and capable leadership team at the helm as this emergency unfolds,” Board of Trust Chairman Bruce Evans said. “This new committee is designed to bring additional support, drawing upon the depth and breadth of our board members’ expertise, to assist the university during this unprecedented time. Now, more than ever, we are One Vanderbilt.”
The nine-person committee will be chaired by Trustee Nora Wingfield Tyson, BA’79, a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy and former Commander of the Navy’s Third Fleet.
“As Vanderbilt charts a path forward in an unparalleled time for the university and the world, the Board of Trust recognizes the complexity and delicate nature of the situation for everyone in our university community,” Tyson said. “We are committed to emerging from this situation in a way that makes us stronger as a community and a university.”
The members of the Ad Hoc Committee on University COVID-19 Response are:
- Jeffrey Balser, dean of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, president and CEO of Vanderbilt University Medical Center;
- Daniel Diermeier, incoming chancellor;
- Ike Lawrence Epstein, trustee, senior executive vice president and COO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC);
- Bruce R. Evans, Board of Trust chairman, senior advisor at Summit Partners;
- Douglas Parker, Jr., trustee, chairman and CEO of American Airlines;
- Jeffrey J. Rothschild, Board of Trust vice-chairman, former vice president of infrastructure engineering at Facebook;
- Alexander C. Taylor, trustee, chief executive officer of Cox Enterprises;
- Nora Wingfield Tyson, trustee, vice admiral, US Navy (retired); and
- Susan R. Wente, interim chancellor and provost.
For all current information regarding Vanderbilt’s response to COVID-19, visit vu.edu/coronavirus.