(photo courtesy of Hartwick College)
As Vanderbilt continues its extraordinary growth, Chancellor Daniel Diermeier has named Darren Reisberg as vice chancellor for administration beginning Jan. 1, 2025. The evolving role will oversee auxiliary services (which include Campus Dining, Vanderbilt Bookstore, Printing Services and Mail Services), Vanderbilt University Public Safety and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access, which will move from the Division of People, Culture and Belonging. Reisberg also will retain oversight of his current portfolio of work, which includes Dialogue Vanderbilt, the growth initiative to enhance Vanderbilt’s presence in New York City and other strategic initiatives.
“Darren’s proven record of exceptional leadership is highlighted by his ability to carry major projects to fruition and by his emphasis on collaboration to build consensus and accelerate progress toward Vanderbilt’s long-term goals,” Diermeier said. “I have every confidence that he will successfully seize this expanded opportunity to continue the momentum driving Vanderbilt to be a global leader in research and education.”
Reisberg joined Vanderbilt as a senior counselor to the chancellor at the beginning of 2024. Before coming to Vanderbilt, he served as president of Hartwick College. Before that, Reisberg was vice president for strategic initiatives and deputy provost to Diermeier at the University of Chicago, where Reisberg stewarded the university’s values of free expression and open discourse, managed operations for the Office of the Provost, oversaw a range of institutes and centers, and led strategic planning and fundraising efforts. In addition to leading strategic initiatives at Vanderbilt, Reisberg has served as a key adviser to the chancellor, offering insight and recommendations on critical matters and identifying opportunity for innovation and improvement across the university.
“I’m incredibly excited for this significant opportunity to expand my work under the visionary leadership of Chancellor Diermeier—a longtime and valued mentor,” Reisberg said. “I look forward to collaborating more closely with a broader cross-section of the Vanderbilt community to drive operational excellence and amplify the university’s impact on the global stage.”
Reisberg succeeds Eric C. Kopstain, who announced his plans to step down as vice chancellor at the end of December.
Diermeier also announced a nationwide search for a vice chancellor for real estate and campus planning—a new position. An additional change during this reorganization will be the move of the Child and Family Centers to the division of People, Culture and Belonging to better integrate family support services into the university’s overall efforts to enhance employee well-being.
The newly created vice chancellor for real estate and campus planning will play a crucial role in strategically managing growth, optimizing campus resources and ensuring that infrastructure supports Vanderbilt’s evolving academic and research needs and its vision to become the world’s best-run university.
“At a time of historic strength and growth for Vanderbilt, it makes sense to create a new senior leadership position dedicated to our real estate needs and campus-planning initiatives,” Diermeier said. “From our historic investments in Nashville to strategic growth efforts in other locations, Vanderbilt is a global leader in thoughtfully designing campuses tailored to the future of higher education.”
Vanderbilt’s Facilities department, which includes Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability, Transportation & Mobility, Maintenance and Operations, and Planning, Design, and Construction, will report to the new vice chancellor for real estate and campus planning. In the interim the team will report to Vice Chancellor for Finance and Information Technology/Chief Financial Officer Brett Sweet while the search for the new vice chancellor is underway.
