Vanderbilt University announced a nationwide expansion strategy that includes a new graduate-education campus in West Palm Beach and plans to acquire a San Francisco art-school campus, signaling aggressive geographic growth even as many institutions retrench. Chancellor Daniel Diermeier and Vanderbilt leadership framed the moves as programmatic investment—adding graduate and professional capacity and creating urban hubs for undergraduates. The announcements coincide with Vanderbilt’s earlier New York City campus plan and come as the California College of the Arts (CCA) said it will wind down operations; Vanderbilt will acquire CCA’s San Francisco campus and preserve archives and exhibition space while launching new programs there. The transaction addresses CCA’s long-running fiscal stress and gives Vanderbilt a West Coast anchor. For university strategists, Vanderbilt’s push illustrates a well‑funded growth playbook: leverage endowment strength to create market-facing graduate programs and metropolitan presences. Peer institutions should prepare for increased competition for space, donors and urban partnerships.