History
September 2018 Vanderbilt University launches the Bass Military Scholars Program through a gift of $25 million from the Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation. The program recognizes the leadership traits and commitment to service embodied by current and former members of the US Military and seeks to impart those same values and ethics across the broader student body.
January 2019 Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General, Gary H. Cheek, is named as the Director of the Bass Military Scholars Program at Vanderbilt.
April 2019 Inaugural class of Bass Military Scholars is selected to start Summer/Fall 2019. Each recipient receives $25,000 per year toward annual tuition costs, pursuing the following professional degrees in five of Vanderbilt’s schools:
- Vanderbilt Law School: doctor of jurisprudence (J.D.)
- Owen Graduate School of Management: master of business administration (MBA)
- Peabody College of education and human development: master of education (M.Ed.) and master of public policy in education policy (M.P.P.)
- School of Medicine: doctor of medicine (M.D.)
- School of Nursing: master of science in nursing (M.S.N.)
July/August 2019 Bass Military Scholars join the Vanderbilt community for orientation activities and first day of classes in their respective schools. In addition to their studies, the Bass Scholars will meet regularly as a group, collaborating on projects across their various schools throughout the academic year. Those projects include a range of campus service activities designed to foster military-civilian exchanges and mentorship opportunities within the broader Vanderbilt community.
September 2019 Annual Bass Military Scholars reception announcing first John S. Beasley II Scholar recipient, Matthew Smith (School of Medicine). The Beasley Scholar award is reserved for a former Navy officer and is named in honor of the university’s alumnus John S. Beasley II. John Beasley served in the Navy and received his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt in 1952 and his law degree in 1954. He retired from Vanderbilt in 1999 after a 37-year career at the university.
December 2019 Bass Scholars complete first semester of graduate/professional studies at Vanderbilt.