Editor of the Reformer,
A statement from Marlboro faculty regarding merger:
As tenured and tenure-track faculty at Marlboro College, we support the current efforts to create an affiliation and explore a merger with Emerson College. Obviously, our first choice would be for Marlboro College to remain an independent and vital institution on our beloved Potash Hill, continuing to engage students in this beautiful rural environment and community. But we recognize that this model — though cherished by all of us — is no longer sustainable without an unprecedented infusion of money to our endowment. We have lived for over a decade with declining enrollments, decreasing revenue, and increasing uncertainty and anxiety about the future of Marlboro specifically and the liberal arts more broadly and have participated in initiatives to address our challenges. At this point, it is clear that we have two choices: either begin the process for closing soon after this current year or make a choice to preserve as much as possible of our progressive, interdisciplinary, student-directed educational model. This is not an easy decision and all of us feel a profound loss with this move. We especially recognize the effects this will have on our community that is so rooted in a sense of place, on our students, on our staff and non-tenure-track colleagues, and on the town of Marlboro and the wider region. As we move forward collectively to consider the transition of the academic program to Emerson, we are committed to supporting our students throughout this process. We are also committed to finding another future for the campus. We recognize that as tenured and tenure-track faculty we are fortunate to have the choice to go to Emerson while others do not have this choice. We commit to working with the community at large to identify new partners who can bring opportunities onto the Marlboro campus to sustain those most affected by this proposed merger.
Amy Beecher, William Edelglass, Brenda Foley, Adam Franklin-Lyons, Jennifer Girouard, Seth Harter, Kristin Horrigan, Amer Latif, Jim Mahoney, Ian McManus, Rituparna Mitra, Matt Ollis, Jenny Ramstetter, Kate Ratcliff, Matan Rubinstein, Sara Salimbeni, Nelli Sargsyan, Todd Smith, Jaime Tanner, Bronwen Tate, John Willis
Marlboro College, Nov. 19
