Steadman Vincent Sanford (August 24, 1871 – September 15, 1945) was President of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

from 1932 until 1935. He subsequently served as Chancellor of the

University System of Georgia The University System of Georgia (USG) is the government agency that includes 26 public institutions of higher learning in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is governed by the Georgia Board of Regents. It sets goals and dictates general ...

from 1935 until 1945.

Early life, education and career

Sanford was born in Covington,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in 1871. He enrolled at

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

at the age of fifteen and earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in English in 1890. Upon graduation from Mercer, Sanford became the principal of the Male Academy in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

(1890 to 1892), then served as principal of Marietta High School (1892–1903) and as

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of Marietta Public Schools (1897–1903). In 1903, Sanford came to the University as an English literature instructor. He was promoted to

Adjunct Professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

in 1907. In 1913, the university awarded him a full professorship as well as the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Hon. Litt. D.) the following year.Guff, p.36 Sanford also became a professor of journalism with intentions to create a new school for that field. In 1921, he founded the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism (initially as a department) and served as its head until 1926 when he became president of UGA's Franklin College and dean of the university. He then assumed the presidency of the university in 1932. Dawson Hall (1932) and Joseph E. Brown Hall (1932) were both opened during Sanford's inaugural year as president.

Administrative career

Sanford finally ascended to chancellor of the University System starting in 1935. His tenure oversaw a tremendous period of growth in construction at schools all over Georgia; however, he clashed with former

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

Eugene Talmadge Eugene Talmadge (September 23, 1884 – December 21, 1946) was an attorney and American politician who served three terms as the 67th governor of Georgia, from 1933 to 1937, and then again from 1941 to 1943. Elected to a fourth term in November ...

over control of the authority to set policy at UGA and elsewhere in the University System. In 1945, while in

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for a meeting of the

Georgia Board of Regents The Georgia Board of Regents oversees the University System of Georgia as part of the state government of Georgia in the United States. The University System of Georgia is composed of all state public institutions of higher education in the state. T ...

, Sanford suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. He is buried in the Marietta City Cemetery (Citizens Cemetery).

Athletic contributions

Sanford took on the position of faculty chairman of athletics in 1907 and performed those duties until his ascendancy to the UGA presidency in 1932.Guff, p.42 He was instrumental in the formation of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

and its progeny, the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. The building of the first baseball stadium (

Sanford Field Sanford Field was an on-campus playing venue for football and baseball at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia. It was built with wooden stands in 1911 and was named after Steadman V. Sanford Steadman Vincent Sanford (August 24, ...

), a basketball facility (

Woodruff Hall Woodruff Hall was a 3,000 seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia. It opened in 1923, and was located on North Campus in the area bounded by Baldwin Street, Sanford Drive, and Hooper Street now occupied by th ...

in 1924) and the current football venue (

Sanford Stadium Sanford Stadium is the on-campus playing venue for football at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States (also known as UGA). The 92,746-seat stadium is the tenth-largest stadium in the NCAA. Architecturally, the stadium is kn ...

) were all due to Steadman Sanford.

Notes

References

* *

External links

*
''From Ahmedunggar to Lavonia Presidents at the University of Georgia 1785-1997'', University of Georgia Libraries, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Steadman Vincent 1871 births 1945 deaths School superintendents in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs athletic directors Presidents of the University of Georgia Mercer University alumni People from Covington, Georgia People from Marietta, Georgia American school principals