By Lynn Dickinson
Editor’s note: Lynn Dickinson is the chair of the VSCS board.
The optimization plans at Vermont State University (VTSU) chart a path toward financial sustainability by 2027, something that has eluded its legacy institutions for far too long.
When we set about this work nearly four years ago, we knew that it would be a multi-year process, informed by input from stakeholders at all levels of the organization, including faculty, staff, and students. We knew fundamental change was required from the familiar ways that we were used to and we would need to update our academic programs to be more relevant to our students and to increase efficiencies in our operations.
We knew some things would go away and other things would be built. What the legislature and Governor recognized, when they created the Select Committee on the Future of Public Higher Education in Vermont and later endorsed its recommendations, is that the Vermont State Colleges system had to transform to keep its institutions open and to thrive. And it will continue transforming in the years to come to better meet the needs of our students and the state.
The commitment to our host communities and the value of the system to Vermont have helped us stay focused on the ultimate goal of preserving the member institutions, even when single decisions have seemed hard.
We knew from the get-go that the stakes were high, and that the accessibility and affordability of rural public higher education in Vermont depended on us achieving this vision. Thanks to the steady and strategic leadership from system Chancellor Sophie Zdatny and VTSU leaders, we have sound plans in place to achieve financial sustainability. This is a profound accomplishment in higher education. We are incredibly proud of the team for having the fortitude to follow through on the transformation process – even in the tremendously difficult moments, of which there have been many—and we have confidence in the Chancellor’s Office and VTSU leadership to continue implementing these plans.
Every one of us seems to agree that we need to make structural changes and reductions as part of transformation, but everyone seems to think that the change should come from some other program or some other campus or some other department. The fact is that every single area of the system has been analyzed and evaluated in a process focused on sound metrics.
The Community College of Vermont has been part of the administrative consolidation, which has resulted in the creation of shared services between the two institutions for Information Technology, Finance, Human Resources, and Legal Services. Efficiencies have been realized across the system, including in the Chancellor’s Office, which now has only four positions.
We need to rise above the anger and finger-pointing that keep us mired in opposition and do not serve us today. We cannot and will not go back to a time where campus in-fighting was brushed off as “healthy competition” because that is truly what leads to toxic work and education environments. We cannot protect our own program, department, or campus over the well-being of the whole.
Proposing to cut the Chancellor’s Office is neither serious nor reasonable. With two statewide institutions, a shared services organization, and an even greater demand for nimble and strategic leadership, the Chancellor’s role is essential to the success of the State Colleges system and securing continued progress of the ongoing transformation. Any savings from the elimination of the position of Chancellor would be dwarfed by the size of the structural deficit that the optimization plans seek to reduce. Those proposals are a short-sighted attempt to dismantle transformation.
On a related note, the rhetoric of blaming state government needs to stop. Over the past four years, the state has stepped up significantly and has invested over $300 million with the expectation that Vermont State Colleges system be restructured and the institutions set on the path to financial viability. It’s our job to deliver on that promise.
To move forward productively and successfully, it is time for everyone to accept the gravity and magnitude of the financial challenges facing the system and to recognize that the path forward is with a single multi-campus university and a state-wide community college. Vermont State University has successfully launched and secured accreditation. It is the state’s affordable, accessible, rural four-year institution with multiple campuses and multiple education platforms to serve our diverse student population. The transformation work to date has been incredibly hard but we are headed for calmer waters. Now that VTSU is on the path to financial stability, it is time to embrace this new university and all of its possibilities. That future is within reach if we work together to realize it.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State College System, I want to express my gratitude for the contributions of the many people who have worked so hard and whose support and encouragement has led us to this incredible moment. It’s time to support our leaders, faculty, staff, and students as the vision and promise of Vermont State University becomes reality. After all, we’re better together and by working together we can strengthen and build on that promise for the future.
