An interview with campaign co-chairs and trustees Steven Madden and Mark Mays
In April, at the outset of its yearlong Sesquicentennial celebration, Vanderbilt launched a bold giving campaign called Dare to Grow, which aims to empower and support students, advance pathbreaking discoveries and promote radical collaboration across the university. As its volunteer co-chairs, trustees Steven Madden, BS’91, and Mark Mays, BA’85, will help bring the campaign’s goals to life by liaising with their fellow Board of Trust members as well as the university’s broader base of campaign volunteers.
Elected to the Board of Trust in 2016 and 2013, respectively, Madden and Mays share deep ties to the university—as philanthropists, alumni and Vanderbilt parents, having both served with their wives, Kelly and Patti, BS’86, on the Parents Leadership Committee. Madden graduated from Peabody College with a major in human and organizational development and is a long-standing leader in the industrial, automotive, aerospace and related industries. He is currently the chairman and CEO of several organizations. Mays, who studied economics and mathematics at the College of Arts and Science, spent several decades at Clear Channel Communications before his current roles as CEO of Rocking M Capital and a principal of Mays Family Enterprises.
Click here to read Vanderbilt Magazine’s discussion with Madden and Mays about their passion for giving back and about what this landmark campaign means for the future of Vanderbilt.
