Vermont Business Magazine In response to a group of faculty members issuing a letter of no confidence, the Board of Trustees of VCFA has reached out to provide additional information related to the piece that VermontBiz published Tuesday regarding the school. The trustees responded to the those faculty and also sent a letter from other faculty members offering their full support to the trustees and president.
They also wanted to correct an error in the article published Tuesday.
The quote in the last paragraph of that article makes the following statement:
"President Ward and the VCFA Board’s decision to move the college from Vermont to Colorado will inevitably push that opportunity out of reach for most of these people."
The trustees told VermontBiz that this statement is not correct, as neither tuition nor the format of classes will be changing.
1) VCFA Board’s response to the Visual Arts and Film Faculty’s “letter of no confidence,” sent on 10/1
2) A letter of full confidence sent to VCFA’s Board by members of the Writing and Graphic Design Faculty, sent on 9/30
Dear Visual Arts and Film Faculty
I am writing on behalf of and at the direction of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees as an initial response to your email sent to the members of the VCFA Board of Trustees on September 26, 2022.
You have asked a number of questions and raised certain concerns over Board processes, which we know arise from the deep commitment we all share in ensuring the best future for the College. Both will receive careful consideration at our forthcoming Board meeting on October 14-15.
In the interim, we want to convey three important points so that there is no misunderstanding about our decisions or our course of action:
• First, the decision to offer the summer 2023 residencies on the campus of Colorado College was made by unanimous vote of the Board after very careful consideration in furtherance of our fiduciary duties consistent with what we firmly believe to be in the best interests of VCFA and all of its stakeholders, including students, faculty and alumnx.
• Second, after careful consideration it was the unanimous decision of the Board to communicate our decision to our stakeholders, including our faculty, in the manner that we did. We firmly belief that the manner and timing of announcement of our action was and is consistent with our fiduciary duties and in the best interests of VCFA.
• Third, President Ward continues to have the unanimous and unequivocal confidence and support of the Board in her leadership and conformance with her obligations under our governance structure.
We understand and share with you the challenges of adapting to a world that is rapidly changing before our eyes. We are a remarkable institution, populated by remarkable people. My Board colleagues and I know that we are all seeking what is best for VCFA and the learners it serves. I look forward to our productive engagement after our Board meeting.
Sincerely,
Mike Goldstein Chair, Board of Trustees
Catherine Carvelli, Vice Chair Joan Grubin, Chair, Academic Affairs Jeff Wiggins, Chair, Finance Michael Rosenfield, Chair, Institutional Advancement Mike Hogan, Chair, Campus Planning Heidi Tinge, Chair, Governance
Cc: Leslie Ward, President
Friday, September 30, 2022
Faculty Letter of Full Confidence
To the Board of Trustees of Vermont College of Fine Arts:
We, the undersigned faculty members of the MFA programs at Vermont College of Fine Arts, hereby submit the following letter expressing a Vote of Full Confidence in President Ward and her leadership. We have carefully tracked the College’s actions as they relate to decisions in what is being called VCFA 2.0 and, as such, we find the College’s leadership under the guidance of the Board of Trustees and Leslie Ward to be future-oriented and trustworthy. While we were surprised by the decision to move to Colorado and questioned how this decision was communicated, we acknowledge that since the June 15, 2022 announcement, the Board’s and the President’s engagement with the faculty and community at-large has been active. We recognize that there is widespread discontent with how the decisions were made, but we do not find that the decision-making process has violated the college’s governance policy. While we can certainly agree to disagree, we believe that rehashing the decision-making process is a regressive act that inhibits our ability to move with due speed into the College’s abundant future. We are fully aware that VCFA’s physical plant has been deteriorating over many years and that maintenance and repair costs are unfeasibly high. We believe the plan to relocate and restructure all MFA residencies, removing them from the crumbling infrastructure of the Montpelier campus, helps to insure our future, our academic and financial viability, all while helping us to remain an independent college and a leader in graduate fine arts education. While we embrace the tenets of shared governance, we also recognize that it is the President and Board of Trustees in whom the College’s fiduciary responsibility and health rest. As such, it is our view that contrary to a minority opinion that our governance system was violated by the Colorado decision, we put forth that, given our financial situation and the condition of the campus’ physical plant, the President and Board fulfilled their leadership obligation. We also want to fully recognize that President Ward did not create the challenges she is currently working relentlessly to right. Rather, these are longstanding, and largely ignored, issues she inherited.
We believe that President Ward discharges her duties with professionalism, insight and empathy. She has made some incredibly difficult and courageous decisions, decisions that could well save the college. She has our full confidence.
Sincerely,
Tasheka Arceneaux-Sutton, MFA GD
Geoff Bouvier, MFA W
Michael Croley, MFA W
Harrison Fletcher, MFA W
Fernando Flores, MFA W
Yoon-Soo Lee, MFA GD
Connie May Fowler, MFA W Faculty Chair
Lorena Howard-Sheridan, MFA GD
Barbara Hurd, MFA W
Gabino Iglesias, MFA W
Natalia Ilyin, MFA GD
Richard Jackson, MFA W
T. Geronimo Johnson, MFA W
Nikki Juen, MFA GD
Negesti Kaudo, MFA W
Ellen Lesser, MFA W
Briann Leung, MFA W
Robin MacArthur, MFA W
Patrick Madden, MFA W
Cline McCown, MFA W
Adam McOmber, MFA W
Philip Metres, MFA W
Silas Munro, MFA GD Faculty Co-Chair
Ziddi Msangi, MFA GD
Wanjikū wa Ngūgī, MFA W
Elena Passarello, MFA W
David Peacock, MFA GD
Sereina Rothenberger, MFA GD Faculty Co-Chair
Natasha Saje, MFA W
David Schatz, MFA GD
Betsy Sholl, MFA W
Sue William SIlverman, MFA W
SJ Sindu, MFA W
Hasanthika Sirisena, MFA W
Leslie Ullman, MFA W
David Wojahn, MFA W
