Green Mountain College Explained

Green Mountain College
Motto:Lux Fiat
Mottoeng:Let There Be Light
Established: 
Closed:
Type:Private college
Endowment:$2,926,034
City:Poultney
State:Vermont
Country:United States
Campus:155acres
Free Label:Athletics
Mascot:Larry the Eagle[1]
Nickname:Eagles
Colors:Golden yellow and hunter green  
Religious Affiliation:United Methodist Church
Website:www.greenmtn.edu (archived on January 4, 2019)

Green Mountain College was a private liberal arts college in Poultney, Vermont, at the foot of the Taconic Mountains between the Green Mountains and Adirondacks. The college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and offered a liberal arts undergraduate education with a focus on the environment,[2] and some graduate degrees. For part of its history it was a women's college. It was founded in 1834 and closed at the end of the 2018–19 academic year.

History

Green Mountain was founded in 1834[3] as Troy Conference Academy, a coeducational Methodist institution. It opened in 1837. In 1863, during a period of private operation, it became Ripley Female College; in 1874 it reopened as a Methodist college, again as Troy Conference Academy.[4]

In 1937 it was renamed Green Mountain Junior College. Green Mountain became a two-year junior college for women in 1943.[5] In 1974, the school changed its name to Green Mountain College and returned to coeducational status, offering four-year baccalaureate degrees. In the late 1990s the college began to focus on environmental literacy and citizenship.[6]

Closure

On January 23, 2019, Green Mountain's President, Robert W. Allen, announced that, despite a 2018 loan from the Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Facilities Programs, the college had insufficient income to continue and would close that summer, at the end of the academic year.[7] [8] [9] Arizona's Prescott College, which also specializes in the environment and sustainability, agreed to allow Green Mountain students to complete their degrees at Prescott. Prescott also said it would maintain the college's student records and hire some Green Mountain faculty.[10] There were approximately 430 students when the college closed.[11] The campus was offered for sale[12] and then at auction.[13] In 2020 entrepreneur Raj Bhakta purchased the former Green Mountain campus for $4.5 million.[14] In 2024, Bhakta revealed plans to use the college buildings as hotel and condominium space.[15]

Academics

Green Mountain College's core courses were known as the Environmental Liberal Arts curriculum, in environmental and natural sciences, writing, reading, history and philosophy. The college offered 23 undergraduate majors[16] and the following graduate degrees: MBA in Sustainable Business; MS in Environmental Studies; MS in Sustainable Food Systems; and MS in Resilient and Sustainable Communities.[17]

It was part of the Eco League, a group of liberal arts colleges committed to environmental sustainability.[18]

Progressive program

GMC offered an educational track known as the Progressive Program. Based on the ideas of philosopher John Dewey[19] and formed on a philosophy similar to that of Goddard College, a Vermont institution recognized for its dedication to progressive education,[20] the students in the program defined their own education goals and worked with faculty members individually to meet them.

Green campus

In 2007, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education awarded Green Mountain College the Campus Sustainability Leadership Award in the "Under 1,000" category. The award recognizes Green Mountain for commitment to environmental sustainability in its governance and administration, curriculum and research, operations, campus culture, and community outreach.[21] [22] GMC was also named the Sierra Club's #1 Cool School for 2018.[23]

Green Mountain was named an EPA Energy Star Showcase Campus following campus-wide retrofitting of light fixtures.[24]

Students installed a wind turbine to power the campus greenhouse and solar panels on the roof of the student center.[25] On April 22, 2010, GMC formally opened a new combined heat and power biomass plant costing $5.8m.[26]

Through the Student Campus Greening Fund every GMC student contributed $30 from the college activities fee. Students designed projects and submitted proposals. Awards were based on a student vote. SCGF money was used to install bike racks, purchase recycling bins, use bio-diesel in campus maintenance equipment, and upgrade the alternative energy systems that powered the farm greenhouse.[27]

Student clubs

According to the college, its choral group was the only collegiate choir in the United States with a repertoire of Welsh language music.[28] [29]

Notable alumni

See also

Further reading

43.5171°N -73.2396°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eagle Athletics . Green Mountain College . September 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925101313/http://athletics.greenmtn.edu/landing/index . September 25, 2015 . dead.
  2. Web site: Jim . Patterson . Closures raise survival questions for small colleges . UM News . . May 2, 2019 .
  3. Web site: Green Mountain College (2011) . U.S. News & World Report . February 19, 2012 . April 5, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120405065527/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/green-mountain-college-3687 . dead .
  4. Book: Joseph . Joslin . Barnes . Frisbie . Frederick . Ruggles . A History of the Town of Poultney, Vermont: From Its Settlement to the Year 1875: With Family and Biographical Sketches and Incidents . 1875 . Poultney, Vermont . 365381684 . 162–65 .
  5. Web site: Green Mountain College . Our Timeline . Green Mountain College . 2015 . September 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925144202/http://www.greenmtn.edu/about/roots/timeline/ . September 25, 2015 . dead .
  6. News: Tim. Johnson. Green Mountain College evolves toward environmentalism. Burlington Free Press. November 20, 2011. February 18, 2012. dead. https://archive.today/20130118153924/http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20111120/GREEN01/111118024/Green-Mountain-College-evolves-toward-environmentalism. January 18, 2013.
  7. News: Green Mountain College to close by end of semester. Rutland Herald. January 23, 2019. January 23, 2019.
  8. Web site: Green Mountain College to close in spring. Fleishman. Scott. www.wcax.com. 23 January 2019 . January 24, 2019.
  9. News: Molly . Walsh . The USDA Loaned Millions to Five Vermont Colleges. Two Are Closing . Seven Days Vermont . May 8, 2019 .
  10. News: Laura . Krantz. Green Mountain College in Vermont will shut down. Boston Globe. January 23, 2019. January 24, 2019.
  11. News: Molly . Walsh . As Green Mountain College Sells Off Its Assets, Poultney Ponders Its Future . Seven Days Vermont . September 25, 2019 .
  12. News: Mike . Kennedy . Former college campus for sale in Vermont . American School & University . June 19, 2019 .
  13. News: Josh . Sullivan . Bids for a Closed Vermont College Campus Will Start at $3M . . July 11, 2020 .
  14. News: Olivia . Lyons . Green Mountain College sells at auction far below asking price . . August 18, 2020 .
  15. Web site: Keck. Nina. Condos, hotel planned for former Green Mountain College campus. Vermont Public. 2024-04-02. 2024-06-22.
  16. Web site: Undergraduate Program . Green Mountain College . November 6, 2018 . November 7, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181107011713/http://www.greenmtn.edu/academics/undergraduate/ . dead .
  17. Web site: Graduate Program . Green Mountain College . September 24, 2015 . September 25, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925094433/http://www.greenmtn.edu/academics/graduate/ . dead .
  18. Web site: Green Mountain College . Eco League. September 24, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150925095538/https://ecoleague.org/who-we-are/member-colleges/green-mountain-college/. 25 September 2015. dead.
  19. Web site: Chart Your Own Course . September 24, 2015 . September 25, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925093953/http://www.greenmtn.edu/academics/undergraduate/majors/chart-your-own-course/ . dead .
  20. Web site: College History . Goddard College . February 2, 2010 . January 25, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100125024338/http://www.goddard.edu/history . dead .
  21. Web site: Campus Sustainability Profiles . Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education . 2005–2010 . February 2, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100616085853/http://www.aashe.org/resources/profiles/profiles.php . June 16, 2010 . dead .
  22. Web site: Green Mountain College 2007 Campus Sustainability Leadership Award Application . Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education . 2007 . February 2, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090810201749/http://www.aashe.org/resources/profiles/green_mtn2007.php . August 10, 2009 . dead .
  23. News: Katie. O'Reilly. The Top 20 Coolest Schools 2018. Sierra Magazine. August 27, 2018. December 13, 2018.
  24. Web site: Jesse B. Pyles . Campus Greening: Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vermont . Worldwatch Institute . 2008 . February 2, 2010.
  25. Web site: Renewable Electricity: Wind Power on the Hill . Green Mountain College . September 24, 2015 . September 25, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925101303/http://www.greenmtn.edu/sustainability/sustainability-on-campus/energy-buildings/renewable-electricity/ . dead .
  26. Web site: Green Mountain College Opens CHP Biomass Plant . PR Newswire . press release . 2010 . April 23, 2010.
  27. Web site: Green Mountain College Introduces New Intensive Sustainable Agriculture Major . February 21, 2010 . Treehugger.com . February 21, 2010 . February 24, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100224013309/http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/green-mountain-college-green-majors.php . dead .
  28. Web site: The Music Program . Green Mountain College . 2015 . September 24, 2015 . September 25, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150925143956/http://www.greenmtn.edu/academics/undergraduate/minors-and-certificates/music/ . dead .
  29. News: American choir traces Welsh roots . BBC News . March 10, 2010.

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