What Happened Before Burlington College Threw In the Towel; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/16/16

Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz, Chronicle of Higher Education; What Happened Before Burlington College Threw In the Towel:

"Yves Bradley, chair of the college’s Board of Trustees, spoke to The Chronicle about attempts to save the college — including a last-ditch proposal to merge with another institution — and what it was like to decide that time had finally run out. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity...

"Q. Do you think that part of the college’s problem was that it lacked a large group of alumni or a big endowment?

A. Absolutely. I think that what occurred that was difficult for us as an institution was that the purchase of the diocese’s property was made and there was a big intake of air by the community, saying, "Wow, they are really swinging for the fences for this one. Are they really going to pull it off?"

Unfortunately, that influenced donors and supporters because they may have believed in the college and supported the college, but if you are in doubt about whether the college is really going to be there in the long term, what is the likelihood that you’re going to write a large check or fund an endowment or a scholarship? It’s significantly less so, until you come out and are obviously sustainable, and that’s been the issue. We’ve never really come out of it."

Burlington College Will Close, Citing Longstanding Financial Woes; Chronicle of Higher Education, 5/16/16

Andy Thomason, Chronicle of Higher Education; Burlington College Will Close, Citing Longstanding Financial Woes:

"In a statement quoted by Vermont Public Radio, the college’s dean of operations and advancement, Coralee A. Holm, said the institution had “struggled under the crushing weight of the debt incurred by the purchase of the Archdiocese property on North Avenue.” That purchase was arranged in 2010 by the Vermont college’s president at the time, Jane Sanders, the wife of the U.S. senator and Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders.

In late April, the college’s lender, People’s United Bank, notified the college that it was pulling Burlington’s line of credit, Ms. Holm said during a news conference on Monday.

The institution has been rife with discontent in recent years over the handling of its finances. Opposition became so great in 2014 that the college’s then president suddenly resigned after her car was surrounded by protesting students. The college’s accreditor, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, had put it on probation.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Friday to shut down the college, said the president, Carol A. Moore."