Prestigious Vanderbilt University invades NYC with new campus: Unbounded opportunities

Tennesee’s prestigious Vanderbilt University is giving Big Apple institutions such as Columbia and New York University a local run for their money — by opening a satellite campus in Chelsea.The Nashville-based “Harvard of the South” began welcoming students Aug.23 to the educational Manhattan outpost, which is the site of an old Episcopal seminary for priests, the General Theological Seminary.“Vanderbilt’s connection to New York has deep roots,” Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in a statement.

“Our university began more than 150 years ago through the vision and generosity of New Yorker Cornelius Vanderbilt.So, in a very real sense, today is not simply an arrival—it is a homecoming.”The university will spend $44 million to operate the 13 Gothic-style buildings from the seminary under a 99-year lease, according to The City outlet.

The buildings occupy an entire block between Ninth and Tenth avenues along West 20th and West 21st streets near the High Line.Vandy will spend another $50 million on massive renovations to upgrade the buildings, with many of the upgrades already under way.The distinguished offshoot will bring together for a semester Vandy main-campus students who are enrolled in Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and Human & Organizational Development, combining coursework with hands-on internships across the Big Apple.The students will intern with iconic New York groups such as Merrill Lynch, Tishman Speyer, the American Museum of Natural History, the High Line, The Legal Aid Society, city Law Department and Uber.The university said the expansion makes sense.More than 7,800 Vanderbilt alumni live in the New York region, which is its largest grad network outside of Tennessee, and a considerable number of the esteemed university’s incoming students come from the New York region.Vanderbillt also has those historical New York roots: It was founded thanks to a donation from 19th century shipping magnate Cornelius ...