William Crawford Smith was an American architect who served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and in the United States Army during the Philippine–American War. He designed many buildings in Nashville, Tennessee, including Kirkland Hall, the first building on the campus of Vanderbilt University, and the Parthenon in Centennial Park.

Vanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1 million endowment in the hopes that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the American Civil War. Vanderbilt is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and has been the conference's only private school since 1966.