Vanderbilt University announced Thursday it is exploring establishing a New York City presence.
Chelsea as seen from the General Theological Seminary campus
Anna Meyer
According to a release, the university is now leasing the 13-building General Theological Seminary campus located in the city’s Chelsea district. The main address is 440 W. 21st St.
Any potential future academic programming on the campus is contingent upon approval by New York State’s regulatory bodies. Vanderbilt is conducting discussions with government and community leaders related to the effort.
The interior of a General Theological Seminary campus building
Courtesy of The General Theological Seminary
Founded in 1817 by the Episcopal Church, General Theological Seminary sits on 5.5 acres, with its buildings offering a collective 150,000 square feet. Many of the structures were designed in the Gothic architectural style. General Theological Seminary maintains a presence on its campus.
The effort comes as Vanderbilt seeks a business school to be located in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla. (read here).
According to the release, Vanderbilt established a regional administrative hub in New York in 2023 as a collaboration between its Development and Alumni Relations, Office of Career Advancement and Education, and Office of Enrollment Affairs. Hub staff engage with VU alumni, prospective students and corporate partners, with the Chelsea campus to serve as the hub’s home base.
The release notes about 7,800 Vanderbilt alumni and 740 current students call the New York City area home.
Chelsea is located on Manhattan’s West Side and is home to offices for Google and Meta, various arts institutions, The High Line, Chelsea Piers and Chelsea Market.
“To properly provide a transformative education to our students, and help our scholars and researchers achieve their greatest ambitions and most meaningful impact, we must make the broadest and richest range of opportunities available to them — wherever those opportunities exist,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in the release.
“As home to leading institutions in finance, media, technology and the arts, and as a jumping-off point to the rest of the world, New York offers unbounded opportunities.”
