Malcolm Turner starts his AD tenure at VU with open letter to fans
Malcolm Turner begins his tenure as Vanderbilt's athletics director today, and started it with an open letter to fans and boosters posted at Vanderbilt's official athletics site, VUCommodores.com.
Turner was hired in December to replace David Williams, who served as VU's AD either officially or unofficially since 2003.
Previously, Turner served as commissioner of the NBA G League. This is his first time as an athletic director.
Turner authored the following open letter to fans, which was published on Vanderbilt's website on Friday.
"Commodore Nation,
Thank you for welcoming me on my first day as an official member of the Vanderbilt University community. As you well know, Vanderbilt is unique and, for me, it is a place I have long admired for its track record of leadership in learning, discovery, and innovation. Upon speaking with Chancellor Zeppos during the search process and learning about his deep commitment to and exciting vision for Vanderbilt Athletics, I became inspired by the opportunity to help lead this charge. Today, I am thrilled and honored to now serve as vice chancellor for athletics and university affairs and athletics director at this leading institution within the preeminent conference in all of college sports.
"It's a very special time to be taking over the Vanderbilt program. Under the leadership of Chancellor Zeppos and David Williams, Vanderbilt Athletics has become an elite athletics program bolstered by a deep commitment to the comprehensive development of student-athletes to excel on the field of play, academically and in life. I experienced this first-hand during my trip to Houston to watch Vanderbilt take on Baylor in the Texas Bowl in December. Now that I am on campus, I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and helping all of our programs reach championship-caliber heights.
"In short order, we will be creating our Athletics Strategic Plan, which -- grounded in what the Chancellor calls the "Vanderbilt Way" to ensure that our outstanding student-athletes are given every opportunity to excel and succeed in both their academic and athletic pursuits -- will guide the future of our program and serve as an integral part of a new campus-wide capital campaign. I have already initiated a listening tour to gather as much information as I can from our student-athletes, our coaches, our staff, and our wonderful fans.
"With your support and partnership, I truly believe this is our time to take the important steps needed to propel Vanderbilt Athletics forward in a manner with which we can all be proud. Thank you for welcoming me into the Vanderbilt community. I am excited for all that we will accomplish together."
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Vice Chancellor, Athletics and University AffairsAthletics Director