Burlington College
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 | |
| Motto | "Start a fire." |
|---|---|
| Type | Private college |
| Active | 1972–May 27, 2016 |
| President | Carol A. Moore |
Administrative staff | 61 |
| Undergraduates | 200+ |
| Postgraduates | 30+ |
| Location | , , U.S. |
| Campus | 32.4-acre campus in Burlington |
| Website | www |
 | |
Burlington College was a private college in Burlington, Vermont. It offered associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees, as well as several professional certificates. Although regionally accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the college was placed on probation in July 2014 for failing to meet the accreditor's standards regarding financial resources.[1] The college ceased operations in 2016.[2][3]
Presidents
Burlington College started in 1972 as the Vermont Institute of Community Involvement.[4] A handful of students met in the living room of founder Dr. Steward LaCasce.[4] It originally served adult learners and veterans.[4]
In 2007, the college had 204 students at its main campus in buildings in downtown Burlington. Since most were part-time, this worked out to 130 "full-time equivalents." An additional 30 students studied off-campus.[4]
In 2010, Jane O'Meara Sanders oversaw the purchase of 33 acres of property to be used for college expansion, with the resulting significant debt to be covered by already pledged donations and tuition from planned increased enrollment over five years. Sanders departed shortly after, with Christine Plunkett assuming the position of president.
In 2014, the regional accreditor of the college placed it on probation because of its financial condition, and votes of no confidence were given to Plunkett from organizations representing students, faculty, and staff.[5] She resigned shortly thereafter.[6] In 2015, the college sold 27.5 acres of the land it had purchased a few years prior.
In May 2016, the college board of trustees decided to close the school.[2] According to David A. Graham, writing in The Atlantic, some of the school's financial difficulties dated back to 2010 when the board of directors and Sanders purchased the property.[7] The original $11 million of debt had been worked down to about $2 million, but because of remaining debt and "insufficient financial resources," the school's bank declined to renew their $1 million line of credit, and the school was facing the loss of their accreditation. Local Burlington developer Eric Farrell planned to purchase the campus from the bank to develop a park and housing.[8]
- 1972–1994: J. Steward LaCasce
- 1994–2002: Daniel Casey
- 2002–2003: Mary Clancy[9][10]
- 2004–2011: Jane O'Meara Sanders
- 2012–2014: Christine Plunkett[11]
- 2014: Michael Smith (interim)
- 2014–2016: Carol A. Moore
Campus
In 2011, the college sold its original campus to the Committee for Temporary Shelter, a welfare agency, and purchased 32.4 acres (13.1 ha) of waterfront property from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington for use as its main campus. This new campus was located on North Avenue.
In 2015, the college sold a parcel of land, as well as the former diocesan orphanage attached to the office and classroom building, to a local developer, Farrell Real Estate. The developer drafted a master plan to convert the orphanage into student housing. The college retained the original diocese building for classrooms, studios, art rooms, film and radio, laboratories, and other facilities.
At the press conference announcing the closure, the school stated that the developer would purchase the rest of the college's campus from the bank.[2]
