West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach is earning the nickname “Wall Street South” because of the thousands of financial services firms that have located there during the last several years. This industry shift is creating a pipeline of jobs in private equity, venture capital, fintech and investment banking that do not exist to the same degree in Nashville. The region houses nearly 20,000 financial services companies that employ more than 250,000 people. Between 2020 and 2023, more than $1 trillion in assets under management relocated to Florida.

Vanderbilt’s presence in West Palm Beach will bring activity and attention to the area through research initiatives and scholarly events, enhancing the city’s reputation as a growing metropolitan hub. This will benefit all residents by elevating the area’s profile and potentially attracting other businesses and institutions of higher learning. The campus will help position Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach as leaders in high-quality education and research, and its presence will help foster local growth and innovation. Additionally, the campus aims to provide executive education and workforce development programs that local residents can access to enhance their skills and advance their careers.

The broader impacts of Vanderbilt’s research and collaborations with local government and businesses will include increased funding, job growth and entrepreneurial opportunities, benefiting the entire community. Vanderbilt commissioned a third-party economic impact report from the economic analysis firm TXP about the impact of this specific project. When adding together construction costs, annual university operations, and the positive impacts to the local business environment Vanderbilt’s presence will provide, TXP estimates the campus will provide $7B in economic impact during the first 25 years and add around 35,000 new jobs.

We are currently working with the Florida Commission for Independent Education and other accrediting bodies on the plans for academic programming. Our vision is for the campus to serve as a fully operational graduate business school, with a focus on finance, real estate and fintech. Additionally, we plan to offer graduate-level education in computing, data science and AI. Specific academic programming is subject to approval by the necessary accrediting agencies.

As part of our ongoing effort to bring the world to Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt to the world, we are always exploring opportunities to expand Vanderbilt’s presence in the United States and abroad. Expanding our presence to great cities such as West Palm Beach is part of an overall growth strategy focused on improving our reach, impact and reputation worldwide, which, in turn, will increase our ability to positively impact the community in Nashville. We will deepen our relationships within West Palm Beach and South Florida, and broaden opportunities for students, faculty, alumni and supporters.

Vanderbilt is working closely with accrediting bodies and state regulators to gain the necessary approvals for the West Palm Beach campus. Simultaneously, the university is continuing its discussions with local officials, business leaders and the community to refine plans and determine how Vanderbilt’s presence can best support West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County’s economic and educational landscape.