EDWARD HAZZARD EAST was a graduate of Lebanon Law School, which became Cumberland School of Law. A respected jurist and orator, he argued a number of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also served as Secretary of State for Tennessee from 1862 to 1865 under the governorship of Andrew Johnson. When Andrew Johnson was inaugurated Vice President, East became acting governor for a brief time pending the inauguration of elected governor William Brownlow. East was one of the five original members of the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University.