In a biannual exercise that some scrutinize as closely as papal elections, word is that Nashville businesswoman Martha Ingram will likely become chairwoman of the powerful Vanderbilt University Board of Trust.
Sources say that John Hall, the current Board of Trust chairman who has served consecutive two-year terms in the position, will not stand for renomination. Ingram, meanwhile, has agreed to be nominated. While other contenders for the post might agree to be nominated, most are expecting Ingram to get the nod, say Vandy insiders who are close to Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt.
The next upcoming board meeting will be held Apr. 23-24, at which time, according to published reports, Wyatt will announce that he intends to retire some time in the year 2000.
Ingram’s election is, in some ways, a no-brainer. Her family recently made a gift to Vanderbilt in excess of $300 million, the largest philanthropic gift ever to a university. Ingram’s late husband Bronson was also head of the Board of Trust prior to Hall, and was decidedly close to Wyatt.
Lest anyone think her election owes to her former husband, or her money, most also consider Martha Ingram a powerful leader in her own right, having steered her husband’s privately owned companies (transportation, book distribution, computers) in positive directions since his death. “Many people think of her in just the arts,” said one plugged-in observer. “But she’s all over the place now.”
