Betty Nixon Papers

Betty Chiles Nixon (1936-2016) was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Her parents, Mignon and John Chiles, moved the family to Nashville, Tennesse, in 1942 to open Cross Keys Restaurant. She received her BA from Southern Methodist University in 1958 and subsequently taught elementary school in Anniston, Alabama. Nixon served on the Nashville Metro Council from 1975 to 1987. She was the first woman to chair the Metro Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, the first woman to be a major candidate for Nashville’s mayor (1987, 1991), and the first woman to manage a statewide campaign in Tennessee (James Sasser, 1988) as well as a presidential campaign in Tennessee (Walter Mondale, 1984). Nixon worked for Vanderbilt University from 1990 to 2007. She started her Vanderbilt career as special assistant in the Office of University Relations and General Counsel. In 2000, she became assistant vice chancellor for the Office of Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations. Nixon passed away in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 29, 2016.