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For
immediate release – February 26, 2007
Union
Institute & University Signs Letter of Intent to Sell Vermont
College Campus to Vermont
College of Fine Arts
Union Institute & University’s Board of Trustees and UI&U
President Roger H. Sublett announced
today that he has signed of a Letter of Intent to transfer the historic Vermont College campus and three MFA programs to
the newly formed Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA). After a period of due
diligence, officials project that the sale will be completed by July 1, 2007.
UI&U will continue to operate its undergraduate adult degree programs, as
well as the Master of Education and Master of Arts programs, in leased
facilities on the campus.
Included in the proposed sale to VCFA are the campus’s 11
buildings and 33.5 acres along with the Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts
program, the Master of Arts in Writing program, and the Master of Arts in
Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
UI&U President Sublett called the signing of the Letter of Intent
“a pivotal moment” in the history of Vermont
College and the city of Montpelier. “We are
proud to have been stewards of the Vermont
College campus and its
academic programs for the past five years,” he said. “We are
gratified that our investments in the buildings, the campus, the programs, and
the people have given birth to the new and promising entity of the Vermont
College of Fine Arts. We are particularly pleased that VCFA will continue to
operate the nationally renowned MFA programs in Writing, Visual Arts, and
Writing for Children. We are also very committed to the continuing operation of
our undergraduate and master’s programs on the campus without
interruption.”
The Vermont College of Fine Arts, a non-profit corporation, was formed
in 2006 to create a national center for the fine arts in Montpelier, anchored by the three
long-standing MFA programs. Led by Acting President Thomas Christopher Greene, an MFA alumnus, administrator with
the MFA programs, and novelist, and William Kaplan,
an expert in real estate acquisitions specializing in downtown revitalization
and conservation projects, the VCFA has, over the past six months, built a board
of trustees rooted in the national writing and arts community.
VCFA’s vision, according to Greene, is that “this historic
campus and renowned academic programs will form the foundation for a new
college, one that not only plays a critical role in arts and letters in this
country, but also is firmly and forever anchored in central Vermont.” (Contact for Tom Greene: 802-224-6625)
In the proposed framework, UI&U will lease office, classroom,
dormitory, and meeting space from VCFA and operate its educational offerings as
one of UI&U’s six national academic centers. All current programs will
continue to operate, including its undergraduate adult degree programs; the MA
and new MA Online; and the MEd. Staff operating the programs and faculty will
be retained for all programs. The Gary Library will also continue to operate
under UI&U auspices, serving all UI&U and VCFA students in a shared
arrangement. The undergraduate program and the MA in Psychology and Counseling
will continue to operate from the Brattleboro
Center. In addition,
UI&U has recently leased additional offices in Brattleboro to house its new Psy.D. program,
which will begin to operate pending approval of the Vermont Department of
Education.
Cheryl Foley, chair
of UI&U’s Board of Trustees, called the Letter of Intent and
projected sale a “win-win situation” for all. “We are so
pleased to work together with our counterparts at the Vermont College of Fine
Arts, and set the stage for a new educational center that will serve not only
central Vermont
but also students across the nation who will participate in the many offerings
available on the historic campus.”
Peter Richardson,
chair of the VCFA Board of Trustees, said, “We want to honor the legacy
of this unique campus and its relevance to the central Vermont economy and its contributions to
higher education in the state. We look forward to continuing to work with Union
Institute & University to bring this shared vision to fruition.”
Union Institute & University is a private, accredited university
that has, since 1964, redefined higher education by placing learners at the
center of their own education. Union serves
mature, self-motivated, socially conscious adults in rigorous, self-paced,
faculty-mentored programs without interrupting professional, family, and
community commitments. Union offers low
residency programs of study leading to the baccalaureate, master’s, and
doctoral degrees. In addition to its distance learning programs serving
learners across the country, academic centers are located in Cincinnati (OH), Los Angeles and Sacramento (CA), Miami (FL), and Montpelier and Brattleboro,
VT
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