December 11, 1997
Contact: Elizabeth Latt, 615-322-2706
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December 11, 1997 Contact: Elizabeth Latt, 615-322-2706 |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - K.C. Potter will retire from Vanderbilt University at the end of the current academic year after nearly 33 years, 20 of which were spent as the University's chief housing and conduct officer.
Potter, who came to Vanderbilt as a student in the law school in 1961, said he is resigning as dean of residential and judicial affairs because he feels it is "time for increased freedom." As a residential dean, he resides in a house on campus and is on call 24 hours, seven days a week. Although he has taken vacations, he said, "I was never really away from the University" until heart surgery last winter.
In a letter to Associate Provost and Dean of Students Johan Madson, Potter said that surgery "helped me to understand that I needed to re-examine my current situation and to plan for the future."
He said he plans to retire to his Hickman County farm, where he already spends weekends and one other night a week.
"Dean Potter will be sorely missed, but his legacy will affect Vanderbilt students for years to come because K.C. has established the highest standards of care and concern for each student" Madson said. "While developing and overseeing one of the finest housing programs in the country, K.C. has been friend and mentor to thousands of students who sought him out because they knew they could trust him and count on him to be fair."
Potter, a graduate of Berea College and native of Fallsburg, Ky., was first employed by Vanderbilt in the fall of 1961 as an assistant resident adviser while attending law school. After graduating from the Vanderbilt School of Law, he worked as a law clerk for the Supreme Court of Tennessee. In 1964 he was admitted to the Tennessee Bar. He returned to Vanderbilt in 1965 as assistant dean of men. When the offices of dean of men and dean of women were combined in 1971, Potter was named associate dean of the new Office of Student Life. He held that position until 1977, when he was named dean of residential and judicial affairs.
In that capacity, he is the chief arbiter of the University's judicial system, which addresses matters of student conduct, both of an academic and non-academic nature. He also oversees housing for the University's more than 5,900 undergraduates and for the approximately 200 graduate and professional students who reside on campus. He also has oversight responsibility for matters relating to the 12 sororities and 18 fraternities with chapters at Vanderbilt.
-VU-
Vanderbilt University is a private research university of approximately
5,800 undergraduates and 4,200 graduate and professional students. Founded
in 1873, the University comprises 10 schools, a public policy institute,
a distinguished medical center and The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center.
Vanderbilt offers undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences,
education and human development, engineering and music, and a full range
of graduate and professional degrees.
For more news about Vanderbilt, visit the News and Public Affairs home page
on the Internet at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/News.