During community meeting on Vermont College campus:

Schneider proposes sale of VC buildings, programs

By William Knox
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Addressing members of the Vermont College faculty, Norwich University President Richard Schneider proposed the sale of all Vermont College property and programs to "a buyer who will honor and respect your culture and do the things that you want to do," during a community meeting held in College Hall Friday, Jan. 19.

Schneider claimed, after wrestling with the two prior proposals presented by the university's board of trustees and the Vermont College faculty, that "out of respect" for the programs and the work of the Vermont College faculty, he came up with the third option of selling both property and programs, an option he believes is in the best interests of the Vermont College programs.

The first proposal, called 2D+, would call for the sale of some of the Vermont College campus buildings. While this proposal is favored by members of the Vermont College community, the president indicated in the meeting that it was not a financially viable option and defended this position several times.

The second proposal would move the Vermont College programs into new facilities on the Northfield campus. Schneider said this proposal is favored by the board of trustees, who do not wish to lose the university's programs in the lucrative field of adult education.

But this plan, Schneider said, is frowned upon by the Vermont College community, who claim the move would severely impact the college's programs. They are also fearful such a plan would result in a loss of identity for the college.

"I've been kind of wrestling with this problem, and I don't like it," Schneider said. "I've been absolutely torn over this. First, as an academic because I don't want to give up how we change people's lives. It's really valuable, what we do.

"Second, I have grown to know and love many of you as colleagues and friends, so the thought of you not coming to Northfield is also hurtful," Schneider said.

At the opening of Friday's meeting, the president said he was looking for "a collective reaction" from the group to his proposal of finding a buyer who would "nurture" the college's programs in ways that Norwich could not.

"I also need to know how to present to the trustees, and I will as best I can and as honestly as I can, the collective feelings of this community," Schneider said.

As the president finished his introductory statements and opened the floor to questions, it was clear that the feelings of some of the Vermont College community members had been hurt.

One voiced her opinion that, while she understood the pressures that were dictating available options, the president's proposal was not her preference.

"I must say that, after 20 years of service, it sounds like you're saying there's not room in the inn," she said.

Others were also hurt, but more understanding of the president's perspective.

"On one hand, my reaction is that it feels disrespectful to be sold after all these years," another attendee said. "On the other hand, it feels respectful that you hope to keep us together and respect our culture and are therefore willing to let us go."

As other members addressed the president, it was difficult to determine whether there was any kind of consensus as to the preferred course of action.

One community member asked the president how the university would compensate for the lost revenue should the VC adult programs be sold. Schneider said the university would "focus all our energies on the residential 18-year-old students," adding that he could also envision some low-residency adult programs being launched that would most likely be conducted online.

"We certainly are much more of a university with the programs," Schneider said as he continued to express regret over the situation. "The value of the adult programs actually increases as a function of time, if you can do the things necessary to make them successful. But right now when we look at the financial, we're not doing that great.

"One of the things we have to ask ourselves when we're looking to sell is 'would we buy this operation?' Obviously not, if we're trying to sell it," Schneider explained.

Schneider did express the belief, however, that another owner might feel differently and would apply the proper energy and resources to make the VC programs successful.

"There are people who are passionate about this kind of stuff," he said, "and they would spend their energies and their treasures to make it work."

Some still wondered why Norwich had not, and is not, focusing its energies into VC's programs. Schneider said that there had been an understanding in 1996 that the programs had three years to grow before further actions would be taken. "Those three years have passed," he said.

"We're in year five, and the board is basically going to look Schneider in the face and say, 'We talked about this in '96. Why aren't you in better shape?' And you're really not in better shape. You're not bringing any more money to the bottom line,'" Schneider said.

Schneider said the board's feeling were that they had been very patient with Vermont College and that he was forcing the issue and bringing the sale option to the floor out of respect for the college's programs.

"It's a political process, too," Schneider explained, "and my best friend is being armed with as much data and information as I can and then to argue passionately about what I believe in my heart.

"I believe that these programs can flourish if they are separated from Norwich," he said. "I slept better the last several nights because when I look at it, to me the sale of both programs and property might be the very best option for you."

By the end of the meeting the president had won support for his proposal. Roger Cranse, head of the VC division of liberal studies and director of the adult degree program, said that the danger of being absorbed into Norwich's traditional programs in the future and the lost opportunities for growth under the 2D+ option made the proposed sale perhaps the least risky for the programs.

"Of the options you've talked about this morning, I think the possibility of finding a good buyer for us is perhaps the best option," Cranse said. "It sounds really risky, but it might be the least risky in the long run."

Cranse added that perhaps the best buyer would be a consortium of rich alums.

Concerning job security for the VC faculty, Schneider was frank with the audience, stating that there was security for faculty in the move to Northfield, but while the effort of finding a buyer would be focused not on price but on buyer's expressed desire to see the programs grow, there was no real security for faculty should the programs be sold.

Schneider did assure that all students currently enrolled in Vermont College would be able to earn degrees accredited by Norwich University either way.

Schneider's point of greatest conviction was the need for direction in the efforts of the Vermont College faculty, the board of trustees and his office.

"I have to go to the board, and what I want a decision on is direction and clarity of direction," he said.

In the meeting he promised a final decision on which of the three options to pursue by the end of the month so that this spring could be spent on its implementation.

"I will force this decision in January," Schneider said. "I do believe it is the best for all of us to have this answered. Then you may make your individual decisions or your collective decisions once you know the general direction in which we're going."

Some of the community members wanted to know how the issue of the under-representation of Vermont College on the board of trustees would be dealt with, should VC remain a part of Norwich University. Schneider said he would be "much more bold about separating both campuses in every way" should the two institutions remain closely associated.

According to the president, "every way" would include financial independence, since the financial viewpoints of the two campuses have proved significantly different in recent times, and the difference has been a source of difficulty in the managing of the VC budget.

"I would break it apart. I would set up an individual person here to run the whole thing," he explained. "I would make Vermont College almost a separate division. There are significantly different points of view on some issues. The only way to resolve that and get both campuses moving forward and concentrating on their own business is to give them their own business to concentrate on."

Should the VC programs be moved to Northfield, Schneider assured those attending the meeting that the programs would still gain a larger degree of independence. He made it clear that his intention, should the programs move, would be to preserve the three different cultures that would be present on the Northfield campus. He further promised that the adult programs would not come under authority of the day program department heads.

Schneider referred to his experiences at Drexel University, where the administration "killed a vibrant adult evening college by pushing the evening programs under the leadership of the day department heads. In a matter of three years after I left, they did kill the 'golden goose.' That was one of my most profitable arms."

The "golden goose" refers to the financial viability of adult programs, which Schneider said are almost entirely paid for by employers at other institutions and are an excellent source of revenue. This accounts for the board's reluctance to give up Vermont College programs.

Schneider expressed the belief that perhaps one of the problems with Vermont College has been that its programs cover "little niche markets: the liberal and fine arts."

He said that it had perhaps been a mistake and that in hindsight they had "missed the boat" when in 1991 he had not pushed Vermont College to develop adult evening programs that would attract employers seeking to further the education of their employees.

"That's the adult market," Schneider explained. "But, for whatever reason, I have not been able as your president to bring those programs forward."

Schneider did offer some optimism, should the move to Northfield be the selected option. He said he would like the Northfield departments to think seriously about adult evening programs in their departments and that the presence of the Vermont College faculty on the Northfield campus could facilitate such efforts.

"We are a place and a philosophy together," Cranse said. "The loss of the campus would kill our opportunities for growth and for people giving to us."

Schneider also addressed concerns about the problem of identity that has plagued fundraising for Vermont College. Should the two campuses remain associated, he said he would seek to "downplay the name Norwich on the Vermont College campus.

"One part of me refuses to accept that we can't be a collective and that we can't all get along and prosper together," he said. "There's another part of me that says we should be focusing on our core competencies and clarifying our identity and embracing our alums for the things they want to be embraced for."

Several community members wanted to know why recent modifications by a committee of VC faculty to the 2D+ proposal were not sufficient to make it a viable option.

Schneider indicated that the $8.4 million in deferred maintenance was simply too great a hurdle to be practically overcome simply by reducing the number of buildings.

"I don't think 2D+ will work, because you're right back in the same place three years from now," Schneider said, adding that what is needed are programs to become more efficient and more profitable and for VC to become a viable entity.

Schneider said that there was little hope for state grants to aid the college, as Vermont already has trouble funding the state's public institutions of higher learning, several of which the state is considering closing.

"That's what should happen in this state," Schneider said. "We have far too many small state colleges for the population we have, and they're in the wrong place. But they are there because of a political action."

Overall, the president called for patience and understanding from the VC faculty. "It is not a comfortable time, but a learning time," he said.

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