VSU reverses course on libraries, athletics

By Peter D’Auria/VTDigger

Vermont State University is reversing course on changes to its libraries and athletics programs, putting an end — for now — to a controversial slate of decisions to transform member campuses.

The changes were announced Monday afternoon, April 24, by Vermont State University interim president Mike Smith, who took over the institution after the surprise resignation of embattled president Parwinder Grewal earlier this month.

The university will rescind layoff notices to library staff and will maintain athletics programs at two Vermont State University campuses for at least three years, Smith said during a meeting of the Vermont State Colleges board of trustees.

“I have not hidden the fact that I think these are distractions,” Smith said.

“This is a way to put these behind us,” he added. 

Just weeks ago, the university system was engaged in a controversial initiative to transition campuses to “all-digital” libraries and downgrade athletics programs at its Johnson and Randolph campuses.

The announcements appear to signify an about-face by university administrators, coming just months after the changes were first announced.

But Smith was less clear about the fate of the libraries themselves, hinting that some physical books might still be jettisoned through the process of “streamlining the collection.”

“I want a message that libraries are for books,” he said. “But some books have other ways to access, including digital.”