by Skip Anderson
What began 18 years ago as a one-person office with the simple charge of gathering higher-ed information in the nation’s capital, has, in recent years, seen its mission grow exponentially. And it is to this end that, earlier this year, the office space has doubled to accommodate a full-time staff that has grown substantially since its inception, plus a stream of campus visitors: faculty, staff and student interns/fellows.

The office’s expanded role began in 2000 when Chancellor Gordon Gee incorporated the University’s initiatives involving government and neighborhood relations into the recently reorganized Division of Public Affairs. The scope of the Office of Federal Relations’ mission was broadened not only to include lobbying Congress on research funding issues, student aid and regulatory activities, but to forge closer relationships with the executive branch; major news media in the nation’s capital; national associations that represent higher education and numerous academic disciplines; and a host of other nongovernmental organizations, such as think tanks and the National Academies.

“There are about 45 universities with offices in Washington, and more arrive every year,” said Jeff Vincent, assistant vice chancellor for Federal Relations in Vanderbilt’s Washington, D.C., office, located a short walk from the Capitol Building, congressional offices, Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. “Vanderbilt has so much to offer in terms of expertise on national policy issues, that we want to make our resources available to policymakers. Also, by having a seat at the table when such issues are being debated, it elevates Vanderbilt’s presence, and reputation, in our nation’s capital.”

Because of the close working relationships it has forged with the aforementioned entities, the University doesn’t have to go it alone when lobbying legislators on matters relating to higher education.

“We work with other schools and key national organizations based in Washington to identify issues that will affect us collectively, and together we strongly push issues that are important to all research universities,” he said. “We now have a much broader representation of Vanderbilt’s interests in Washington.”

Vincent said this is just one of the major benefits to having an office in Washington.
“Since the reorganization [in 2000], we’ve been doing a lot of things to expand our role on campus,” he said. “We’ve had two undergraduate summer interns, and we’ve had two Peabody doctoral candidates who have had fellowships in our office for four months each.”
Vincent said relationships such as these benefit the University as well as the students.

“Our students’ area of interest is in national education public policy, and they get to meet all the players on the education public policy scene such as legislators, staffers from the Department of Education and the higher education associations,” he said. “They’re meeting people and learning their way around Capitol Hill. There’s no substitute for being here and taking the short walk to the offices of the lawmakers.”

The same is true for the office’s relationship with members of Congress and their staff, especially when it comes to following closely the 13 appropriations bills that Congress will pass each fiscal year.  These bills include funding not only for federal student aid programs, but also for federally sponsored research by a host of departments and agencies.

“This is money that directly funds faculty researchers and many of their graduate assistants. And we’re talking about roughly $300 million that goes from Congress, through the granting agencies, to Vanderbilt University,” said Vincent. “Each year, the University can expect funds from at least half of these appropriations bills. So we’re very interested in making our needs known to the legislators; the health of our dynamic research programs is at stake.”

With so much is at stake, Vincent said it is important the University maintain a close relationship with the nation’s policymakers, particularly the elected officials from Tennessee.

“The Tennessee delegation knows Vanderbilt, appreciates its position as one of the nation’s leading universities, and recognizes that it has a major economic impact on mid-Tennessee and the rest of the state.”

When Vanderbilt first established a permanent presence in Washington, it borrowed space from Harvard University’s federal relations office. Years later, with three office moves behind it, the University doubled its office space by acquiring adjoining space when it became available a few months ago. The expansion accommodates office space for each full-time staff member, an office for visitors from campus to use when in Washington, a conference room large enough to facilitate meetings with upwards of 20 people, and three individual offices it leases – two to the Vanderbilt Center for U.S.-Japan Studies and Cooperation and one to the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy. The added space is a necessity, according to Sarah Walkling, assistant director for the Office of Federal Relations.

“The new conference facility enables us to bring congressional staffers into our office,” she said. “It increases our name recognition because they’re coming to us. And it saves a lot of money because we no longer have to rent space for these important meetings, which we have frequently.”

Walkling also said that the increased space “allows us to maintain our leadership roles in higher ed coalitions such as AAU and The Science Coalition.”

It also means more comfortable office space for visiting faculty members and administrators. Formerly, visitors – including Chancellor Gee – shared space in a small area that served as kitchen, photocopy/fax room and filing area.

“Now we can truly serve as an outpost for visitors from campus who take part in the public policy process,” said Walkling.

Posted 2/20/04