Spruell Driver has served as Director of the Office of Conflict of Interest and Commitment Management since July 2021. He provides collaborative leadership for an agile team that supports Vanderbilt’s missions by providing advice on complex issues regarding conflicts of interest and commitment (COI) that arise from institutional and individual activities in the daily operations of the university. The scope of his responsibilities include: conducting annual COI disclosure and review campaigns for Vanderbilt’s Board of Trust, executive administrators, faculty, and staff; reporting semiannually to the board’s Audit Committee on COI compliance; supporting the University Conflicts Committee (UCC); ensuring that sponsored research activities comply with applicable federal laws and regulations, and university policies; and deploying effective COI technologies, web content, and training programs. He previously served as a Contracts Officer in Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) from 2015 to 2021, during which time he achieved the designation of Certified Research Administrator (CRA®).
Prior to Vanderbilt, Spruell’s experience spanned the private sector, state government, and higher education. His professional experience includes serving as a corporate attorney with Eastman Chemical Company, practicing as a business transactions attorney with three large law firms, serving as Special Counsel to the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, and serving as Assistant Director responsible for statewide judicial education with the Administrative Office of the Courts of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
From 2005 to 2018, Spruell served by gubernatorial appointment, under two administrations, as a member of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees. His service as a university trustee inspired him to leverage his prior professional experience to transition into higher education.
Spruell earned his Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he was inducted into the honor societies of Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi. He earned his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law.
A Nashville native, Spruell and his wife are the proud parents of two adult children: a daughter who graduated from Vanderbilt University and a son who is a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.