Students are beginning to respond to the divorce of Chancellor Gordon Gee and his wife, Constance. The chancellor informed the Board of Trust Wednesday morning of his divorce.
"Constance and I have agreed to seek a divorce," Gee said in a statement released Wednesday morning to The Vanderbilt Hustler. "While this is a difficult decision, we remain committed to each other's happiness and success. I ask that you respect our privacy regarding this issue."
Constance Gee, an associate professor for public policy and education, filed for divorce Tuesday, citing "irreconcilable differences." Rose Palermo, Constance Gee's attorney, declined to comment.
The chancellor, who holds an approval rating of 84 percent with students according to a scientific poll conducted by The Vanderbilt Hustler in October, has generally received support from the student body.
"Obviously divorce is never a good thing, and it's too bad he is in the public eye," said sophomore Caroline Hull. "It must have been hard with so much publicity surrounding their marriage."
Junior Dave Silverstein was not aware of the divorce before asked for a comment.
"I don't have much information, but it seems difficult because he's both a public person, so everything he does is campus news, but he is also a human being, so we should give him respect for his own personal matters," he said.
Vanderbilt spokesperson Mike Schoenfeld is confident the divorce will not have an effect on the chancellor's career at Vanderbilt.
"It is, of course, a difficult personal decision for him, but Chancellor Gee is deeply committed to Vanderbilt's success and is eager to continue building on the extraordinary progress that has occurred over the past six years in every part of our mission," Schoenfeld said.
Some people speculate if Constance Gee will continue to teach at Vanderbilt once the divorce is finalized.
Five calls and detailed messages to her university phone number went unanswered.
The split comes five months after a report in The Wall Street Journal addressed Constance Gee's use of marijuana in the chancellor's university-owned residence, Braeburn.
Asked then about the possibility of divorce by The Hustler, the chancellor responded that it was not on the table.
"No, no, no, no. I mean, we work every day on our relationship, marriage is a long-time relationship, and we work very hard at it," he said in the interview.
Senior Nathan Starke said he does not see a direct connection between the article and the Gees' divorce.
"My initial reaction is that it definitely does have something to do with the Wall Street Journal article, but on second thought, I think that the article was indicative of larger problems, probably not a direct cause and effect," he said.
Sophomore Andrew Mazey said he thinks the divorce is unrelated to the Wall Street Journal article.
"I look up to Chancellor Gee and consider him a role model for myself and the rest of the student body," Mazey said. "I feel bad that this is happening to him, and hope it works out for the best in the end. Honestly, I don't think it has anything to do with the Wall Street Journal article."
Gordon and Constance Gee were married in 1994 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their marriage produced no children; however, Gordon Gee has a daughter, Rebekah Gee, from a previous marriage to the late Elizabeth Gee.
Christine Baccich contributed reporting to this article.
