Before it decided to build a graduate campus in downtown Jacksonville, the University of Florida was originally looking at doing the same thing in downtown West Palm Beach. Announced in 2021, UF’s West Palm campus was going to offer graduate courses in business, engineering and law with a focus on artificial intelligence, fintech and cybersecurity.
The satellite campus was going to be built on 12 acres, seven of which are owned by local governments. But the deal fell apart in 2023 when UF couldn’t come to terms with Palm Beach billionaire Jeff Greene on his donation of the remaining five acres. UF and Greene reportedly got into a dispute over naming rights for the campus. West Palm Beach’s business and government leaders were left deeply disappointed.
Enter Vanderbilt University, a prestigious private university based in Nashville. During a Vanderbilt football game, some alumni approached Chancellor Daniel Diermeier about the West Palm Beach location. Now Vanderbilt wants to open its own satellite campus there — one featuring a business school as large as its Nashville one, plus a college for AI and computer science. Vanderbilt says it would only need the seven acres of government-owned land, not the additional five acres owned by Greene.
“We have been thinking about the potential for a second campus for a while,” Diermeier says. “We are intrigued by the possibilities in West Palm Beach because it has been very successful in attracting talent and capital, and particularly successful in attracting financial service firms. Being in a place that is a growing destination for people in the asset management and finance area is very appealing to us.”
In recent years, both West Palm Beach and Miami have been dubbed “Wall Street South” because of an influx of financial firms such as Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Ken Griffin’s Citadel and a number of hedge funds relocating or setting up outposts there. With that influx, there’s been an increased demand for high-end private schools.
Vanderbilt isn’t an Ivy League school, but it’s known as a “Southern Ivy” because of its academic reputation and its selective admissions process. It was founded in 1873 with a donation from railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt. It’s ranked 18th in U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking of all public and private universities in the country.
In April, Diermeier began visiting Palm Beach County and meeting with local government officials and business leaders to pitch the idea and drum up support for a campus with 80-90 faculty members and about 1,000 students earning master’s and doctorate degrees. “Research universities are great drivers of economic development and innovation,” he says. The plan is in its early stages, and there is no formal proposal yet.
“We want to make sure that we’re welcome,” Diermeier says. “That means both the business community and the political leadership are excited about Vanderbilt coming to their community.”
Vanderbilt’s satellite campus would be located along South Tamarind Avenue on the western edge of downtown, on five acres owned by Palm Beach County and two acres owned by the city of West Palm Beach. The local governments had been planning to simply donate the land to UF. At this point, it’s too early in the process to know whether they’d hand over the property to an out-of-state university instead. However, local leaders sound receptive to the idea of Vanderbilt putting down roots in West Palm Beach.
“It’s a win for West Palm Beach, as a university contributes significantly to the local economy. It will generate jobs, attract faculty, staff and students, and stimulate business growth,” says West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James. “The arrival of a university is not just about buildings and classrooms. It’s about knowledge, growth and positive transformation for the entire community.”
“At this time, talks are still preliminary,” adds Palm Beach County Mayor Maria Sachs. “If we on the Board of County Commissioners concur with this proposed course of action, this would create an intellectual synergy with respect to our very fine state universities, public colleges and private educational institutions which already call Palm Beach County home.”
Meanwhile, some wealthy Floridians are seeking to raise at least $300 million for a Vanderbilt campus in West Palm Beach, according to a report by the Bloomberg news service. Billionaire Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, recently hosted a reception for Diermeier at Ross’s Palm Beach mansion. “Roughly $100 million of the goal has been committed contingent on conditions being met including securing the land, according to people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reported. Diermeier said he couldn’t comment on fundraising specifics.
The Palm Beach Post reports that Vanderbilt counts several wealthy local alumni and business leaders among its supporters. They include Vanderbilt trustee and Hobe Sound resident Jon Winkelried, CEO of asset management firm TPG Capital; and Cody Crowell, a Vanderbilt grad and managing partner at Frisbie Group real estate investment firm in Palm Beach, who’s been credited with coming up with the idea of bringing Vanderbilt to town.