It could be regarded as being extremely generous of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt to provide the money to fund this Nashville, Tennessee-based research university - considering that he never once visited any of the southern states of America. The students at Vanderbilt are rather more well-travelled. Of the 11,800 students enrolled there, eight per cent are from outside the United States, with over 90 countries represented on campus. Since being founded in 1873 the institute has expanded to such an extent that it has four undergraduate and six graduate schools.
Vanderbilt is particularly highly rated for its schools of Education, Law, Medicine and Nursing - the Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the only Level One trauma centre for Middle Tennessee. Almost all of Vanderbilt's facilities are situated in the heart of Nashville, just over a mile from downtown. Despite its buzzing, urban setting, the campus is home to over 300 species of trees and shrubs. Green issues campaigner (and former presidential candidate) Al Gore is one of many high profile public figures to have attended Vanderbilt.
