In the last several editions of the Norwich Guidon you have been reading about my recommendation, and the decision of the Board of Trustees, to sell all the programs and property at Vermont College, so you know the two institutions that were once separate (and merged in 1972 during difficult financial times) will now be separate again.

Vermont College is a different institution than it was when it merged with Norwich in 1972. It is far stronger academically and has a very different set of programs that meet specific adult educational needs. Vermont College now has over 1,000 adult students and an excellent national reputation. It is now financially strong enough to be on its own. I have great confidence in the faculty and staff at Vermont College, and in the leadership of Dr. Richard Hansen to lead us through this transition. I have asked Dr. Hansen to be completely responsible for all the Vermont College programs and operations and to lead us through the ultimate disposition of the property and the programs.

Needless to say, we will greatly miss Dr. Hansen's attention here at the Northfield campus as he puts all of his energies into this new area of responsibility. He has been one of our strongest student advocates and is well known by our entire student body.

I will be working over the next several days to lay out an interim organizational structure that we will use for the balance of this academic year. I will also be taking time to consider future organizational issues that confront what the new Norwich University will be once we completely separate from Vermont College. I am considering streamlining the administration and more clearly focusing the institution on being one whose primary mission is to deliver high quality academic programming for traditional-aged students, cadets and civilians, with an emphasis on leadership and character development. I will be working on the revised vision and mission statements and establishing some teams on campus to help with this effort. I imagine a new vision statement that focuses on educating the mind, forging character, developing leaders, and serving the nation.

This is an exciting time in Norwich's history and a great opportunity to focus and clarify our mission and vision and to do an incredible job of specializing in an area which has been Norwich's hallmark since 1819. I have already received many letters and e-mail messages from alumni who are very supportive of establishing Vermont College as a separate institution and of the benefits both institutions receive by a sharper, focused vision and mission. You will be hearing more about this in the weeks and months to come.

I have been flooded with e-mail from alumni, parents and students concerning the wonderful A&E documentary on our Corps of Cadets. We were all very pleased that Norwich was given exposure in the national arena and received some of the recognition it so richly deserves. Mrs. Schneider and I could not have been more proud to sit in Dole Auditorium with the rooks during the airing of the A&E show and hear the applause, hoots and hollers, and expressions of excitement and pride for those featured in the show and for the general story of the challenges of rookdom. It was a show with a very specific focus, the Corps of Cadets, and I believe it captured the real essence of the trials, tribulations, heartaches, and incredible sense of accomplishment, team spirit, and camaraderie of our Corps. We will certainly use this video over many years to describe to our potential rooks what rookdom and life in the Corps is really like during the first several months. The Corps of Cadets makes Norwich a unique academic institution in the landscape of higher education. It is great to receive the national recognition that our Corps of Cadets deserves.

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