Nicholas S. Zeppos (born 1955) is an American lawyer and university administrator. He was the eighth

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. On April 2, 2019, Zeppos announced that he would be stepping down from the position on August 15 of the same year.

Early life

Nicholas Zeppos was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

in 1955. He received his B.A. in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in 1976 and his J.D. in 1979 from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. In 1978 and 1979, he served as the editor-in-chief of the ''

Wisconsin Law Review The ''Wisconsin Law Review'' is a bimonthly law review published by students at the University of Wisconsin Law School. One issue each year is generally dedicated to a symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον '' ...

''.

Career

Zeppos started his career as a practicing attorney in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He joined the faculty of the

Vanderbilt Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

in 1987. During his tenure at Vanderbilt, he has held a number of posts, including professor of law, associate dean of the law school, associate provost for academic affairs, vice chancellor for institutional planning and advancement, and, in 2001, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. In this last role, he oversaw academics, development, alumni relations, and residential and student life. After

Gordon Gee Elwood Gordon Gee (born February 2, 1944), known as E. Gordon Gee, is an American academic. As of 2020, he was serving his second term as President of West Virginia University; his first term was from 1981 to 1985. Gee has held more university pr ...

's departure in 2007, he was named interim chancellor. He was named chancellor '' suo jure'' on March 1, 2008, by the university's Board of Trust. In 2009, he helped lead an expanded financial aid program called Opportunity Vanderbilt that replaced undergraduate need-based loans with grant and scholarship assistance. He has also written widely on legislation,

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

, and professional responsibility. He has served as the chair of the Scholars Committee on the Federal Judiciary and as chair of the Rules Advisory Committee of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of K ...

. Zeppos was appointed to the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board, a program of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

in 2005. He serves as the Chair of the Association of American Universities and on the Board of Directors of Fulbright Canada.

Personal life

Zeppos is married to Lydia Howarth, a writer, and has two sons. His salary as chancellor was over $2.2 million.Nicholas Zeppos, Vanderbilt University.
Forbes, downloaded February 9, 2018. According to

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

, Zeppos has contributed nearly $70,000 to Democrats, including

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

, but has contributed also to

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

including

Bob Corker Robert Phillips Corker Jr. (born August 24, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 2007 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Rela ...

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...

, and Lamar Alexander.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeppos, Nicholas 1954 births Living people American people of Greek descent Lawyers from Milwaukee People from Nashville, Tennessee University of Wisconsin Law School alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Vanderbilt University faculty Chancellors of Vanderbilt University