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

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

(UGA) in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

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 gener ...

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 South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in 1871. He enrolled at

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

at the age of fifteen and earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English in 1890. Upon graduation from Mercer, Sanford became the

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

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: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

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, but the term is gen ...

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 (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

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

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

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 ...

, 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 List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

and its progeny, the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

. 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 Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies abou ...

), a basketball facility ( Woodruff Hall in 1924) and the current football venue (

Sanford Stadium Dooley Field at 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 93,033-seat stadium is the ninth-largest American football stadium in the NCAA ...

) 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 athletic directors Presidents of the University of Georgia Mercer University alumni People from Covington, Georgia People from Marietta, Georgia American school principals