In January, Goddard College named faculty member Ju-Pong Lin as the new Program Director of its low-residency MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts (MFAIA) Program. Lin will lead the program at both its residency sites in Plainfield, Vermont, and Port Townsend, Washington. "I'm excited that an experienced faculty member with a wide range of professional skills and experiences in the world has been chosen to lead the MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Program at a time when it's poised for growth," said Interim Academic Dean Steven James. Lin is a ten-year faculty member in the program, working with students at the Plainfield, Vt., and Port Townsend, Wash., residency sites. In addition to her teaching, she also served as the MFAIA Port Townsend Site Coordinator (2008), and the Interim Program Co-director (2009/10). She is a working artist who fuses story circle, video, needlecraft and community organizing to advocate for grassroots sustainability education and climate justice, in solidarity with indigenous movements to reclaim space. Lin has an M.F.A. in Intermedia from the University of Iowa and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Environmental Studies at Antioch University. This was a national search involving more than 60 applications. A search committee composed of faculty, staff, and students reviewed applications, interviewed candidates, and gathered input from the College community, which factored into the decision to hire Lin. Goddard College was initially founded in 1863 as the Goddard Seminary in Barre, Vt. The College moved to its current Plainfield campus and was chartered in 1938 by founding President Royce “Tim” Pitkin. In 1963, Goddard became the first U.S. college to offer low-residency adult degree programs, and now offers accredited MA, MFA, BA, and BFA degree programs from Plainfield and sites in Seattle and Port Townsend, Wash. Goddard’s intensive, low-residency, student-centered model offers the best of on-campus and distance learning, with experienced faculty advisors, rigorous campus.