Steadman Vincent Sanford (August 24, 1871 – September 15, 1945) was President of theUniversity of Georgia (UGA) inAthens from 1932 until 1935. He subsequently served as Chancellor of theUniversity System of Georgia from 1935 until 1945.

Sanford was born inCovington,Georgia, in 1871. He enrolled atMercer University at the age of fifteen and earned aBachelor of Arts in English in 1890.^[1]

Upon graduation from Mercer, Sanford became theprincipal of the Male Academy inMarietta, Georgia (1890 to 1892), then served as principal ofMarietta High School (1892–1903) and assuperintendent ofMarietta Public Schools (1897–1903).^[1]

In 1903, Sanford came to the university as an English literature instructor.^[1] He was promoted toAdjunct Professor in 1907. In 1913, the university awarded him a full professorship as well as the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Hon. Litt. D.) the following year.^[2] Sanford also became a professor of journalism with intentions to create a new school for that field.

In 1921, he founded theHenry W. Grady School of Journalism (initially as a department) and served as its head until 1926 when he became president of UGA'sFranklin College and dean of the university. He then assumed the presidency of the university in 1932. Dawson Hall (1932) and Joseph E. Brown Hall (1932) were both opened during Sanford's inaugural year as president.

Sanford finally ascended to chancellor of the University System starting in 1935. His tenure oversaw a tremendous period of growth in construction at schools all over Georgia; however, he clashed with formergovernor of GeorgiaEugene Talmadge over control of the authority to set policy at UGA and elsewhere in the University System. In 1945, while inAtlanta for a meeting of theGeorgia Board of Regents, Sanford suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. He is buried in the Marietta City Cemetery (Citizens Cemetery).

Sanford took on the position of faculty chairman of athletics in 1907 and performed those duties until his ascendancy to the UGA presidency in 1932.^[3] He was instrumental in the formation of theSouthern Conference and its progeny, theSoutheastern Conference. The building of the first baseball stadium (Sanford Field), a basketball facility (Woodruff Hall in 1924) and the current football venue (Sanford Stadium) were all due to Steadman Sanford.

• Gurr, Charles Stephen (1999).The Personal Equation: A Biography of Steadman Vincent Sanford.Athens, Georgia:University of Georgia Press.ISBN 0-8203-2108-7.
• Reed, Thomas Walter (c. 1949).History of the University of Georgia. Athens, Georgia:University of Georgia.

• Works by or about Steadman Vincent Sanford at theInternet Archive
• From Ahmedunggar to Lavonia Presidents at the University of Georgia 1785-1997, University of Georgia Libraries, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript LibraryArchived 2006-08-31 at theWayback Machine
• Steadman Vincent Sanford atFind a Grave

• 1871 births
• 1945 deaths
• School superintendents in Georgia (U.S. state)
• Georgia Bulldogs athletic directors
• Presidents of the University of Georgia
• Mercer University alumni
• People from Covington, Georgia
• People from Marietta, Georgia
• American school principals

• Articles with Internet Archive links
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