The questions presented and answered on this page were gathered by the Marlboro College Alumni Council (MCAC) in advance of an April 2022 virtual meeting with the alumni association membership. The answers were written by the Council and reflect what was known at the time of of the meeting. This page was last updated on July 30, 2022.

What is the best way to keep the history of Marlboro College alive/recorded/accessible to alums?

We would love for folks to go through their materials, photos, etc. from their time at the college. The Archives committee is looking at various ways that we could make this supplemental material available to the alumni community. The material that went to UVM is still being processed, and it is not yet in their finding aids. They are there, and arrived in June of 2020: http://specialcollections.uvm.edu/news/marlboro_archives.

How can we support the mission of the Alumni Council?

"A history of Marlboro by an objective, competent, and sympathetic historian would make a great case study for a graduate school of education: its founding, its rise, and its fall. There are so many lessons to be learned from it. For example, starting where a student is motivated intellectually and building on it till the student is in a position not only to answer questions about the topic but to formulate further questions. The point is teaching students to think for themselves and perhaps even afterwards, if there is not a round hole for their round peg to fit, then to create one." – Tom Ragle

Is there a fund for the alumni association going forward?

The short answer is no. We discussed in our presentation our need to create financial sustainability--it costs about $1,200 a year to maintain what we have right now, and that money has come out of the pockets of the current council. We were given a few hundred dollars seed money when we started. We spent a couple hundred dollars to become a 501c3 corporation. One of the main goals in the early part of this year was to create an online donation platform—This has been accomplished through the work of Mark Genszler and Erik Olson.

What is Marlboro now?

This is a great question (one we should never stop asking) and one which many groups in a similar situation have faced. By "now" do you mean that we are dealing with not just with the physical loss of the school, but asking from an existential perspective what that means for us as a group? The answer lies in actively balancing the needs of the present with preserving the past. Both are critical for us to remain whole.

I have an idea for the MCAA, what's the next step?

If you have an idea for the MCAA, feel free to email the council at info@marlborocollegealumniassociation.com and we'll respond. But please keep in mind that we may not be able to support every idea that we receive as we are a small group of volunteers still working on building up our capacity and sustainability as an organization. Successful ideas will have a thorough proposal that includes both a group of dedicated volunteers that can manage it and the financial resources to make it happen--and will align with our overall mission.

Is Potash Hill magazine in the works?

Yes! But it turns out it's more complicated than we might originally have thought, and there are different needs and visions in the mix. We're trying to find a way to meet more immediate, community needs--like class notes--in an online, flexible format, while also thinking longer-term about the handsome twice-yearly periodical that the original Potash Hill was and how to get that going again, too. Both these things will very likely take some money and more person-power than we might have anticipated, and there's a little bit of chicken-and-egg we have to figure out with fundraising and budgets. It's something, though, that we know alumni really want to see, and so it's an important goal, even if right now it's a longer-term goal, with some elements put on hold.

Can we obtain a list of who has signed up with the Alumni Council so we can be in touch with our colleagues?

As it turns out, while we have *some* information on alumni, we don't have a very complete list and we don't actually have any permission to share contact information. One of our priority items in the coming year (and one of the items that requires some additional funding to implement) is to acquire an appropriate membership management database and then contact people asking them to update their information. Once we have a real database in place, we will be able to ask for permission to share information. Ideally, we will have a member space that you could log into and self-manage your data and sharing permissions, and get contact info from anyone who has agreed to share. For now, if there is someone you want to get in touch with, feel free to reach out, and we will be happy to let that person know you are trying to reach them, and can share your contact information with them. One caveat is that we don't have good contact info for everyone, so some of those requests feel like we are calling into a void, but it's the best we can do with the infrastructure we have right now.

Who can access UVM archives?

The material there has not yet been processed, and as such is not available in a digital format, accessible online. Typically most materials housed in university archives are open to the public. However, there might be records which have to be kept restricted due to their records retention schedule. We will certainly find out what material, if any, will be restricted.

However, we do have control of the Marlboro College Flickr account and the Marlboro College YouTube account, so we, as a community, can continue to add to those. There is a Green Mountain Digital Archive, part of the collective of the Digital Library of America, The Vermont Green Mountain Digital Archive (VT-GMDA) represents a collaborative effort between several partner institutions to establish a DPLA Service Hub for Vermont. Through the DPLA, we can more effectively share and provide worldwide, public access to Vermont’s digital cultural heritage collections. (https://vt.dp.la/)

Most recently we have gotten an Interview Release Form approved by UVM for our Oral History Project. On the back burner is a new updated page for Archives including a section on the works by Marlboro alumni, staff, and faculty.

What’s the status of the campus?

The MCAC’s Resources Subcommittee has been actively in touch with the Marlboro Music Festival, the new owners of the campus. We have had very cordial discussions with them via their Board member and former Marlboro College President Ellen McCulloch-Lovell; Festival President and Board Chair Christopher Serkin; and the consultant who is helping the Festival think through options for the campus. Among the ideas we have discussed with the Festival are: the creation of a regional history museum focused on the Festival, Marlboro College, and the local arts scene with active programming rather than simply emphasizing the past; ways for MCAA to coordinate with the Festival to facilitate alumni visits to the campus; possibilities for MCAA to arrange with the Festival for possible alumni events on campus. The conversations with Ellen, Christopher, and the Festival have been warm and inviting, and we feel these discussions offer a mutually friendly road ahead. At present the physical plant is entirely in the care of the Festival.

Is the campus open to alumni?

The Potash Hill trail system connects to the Marlboro town trails and is open and available for neighbors to hike during the non-winter months. During the winter, the Marlboro Nordic Ski Club operates on campus, at which time access is membership based. The Festival asks that you please clean up after yourselves, be respectful of the ecology and wildlife, and contact the Festival with any problems or concerns you may see. Sorry, but overnight camping is not permitted at any time, and hiking near the campus is not permitted while the Marlboro Music program is in session.

How's the town of Marlboro doing?

The town saw many home sales during covid, some moving here full time, some not which resulted in an overcount for the 2020 census. Townspeople connected to the college continue on their various journeys of processing the changes. Most seemed pleased the campus is finally owned by the Marlboro Music Festival.

Is the Alumni Council acting on behalf of Emerson College? Or is it an independent body?

No, the MCAC is not acting on behalf of any entity, Emerson/Marlboro Institute, the leftover Trustees of Marlboro College, the Music School, or otherwise. Yes, this is a (very) independent, incorporated non-profit with IRS 501c3 status, incorporated by the previous interim council as a VT non-profit corp, and granted 501c3 status under the current council's leadership/work. Please see the MCAA web site for more info.

We are certain of several things: 1) Emerson should be free to establish its own relationship with Marlboro College alumni; 2) Marlboro alumni/ae should be free to establish/monitor their own relationship with Emerson/Marlboro Institute, career services, alumni networking; 3) The MCAC can amplify questions, needs, concerns from Emerson to alumni and from alumni to Emerson/Marlboro Institute, without unduly inserting ourselves into any particular relationship. There have been a variety of conversations between the MCAC, various people, and a variety of Emerson staff, Institute Dean to alumni affairs staff. All conversation has been cordial and friendly. Conversations are ongoing; Emerson welcomes our participation, our use of career services and networking, and alumni contribution to the life of the institution, particularly the Marlboro Institute, as it evolves; the MCAC is sure there will be an evolving role for the MCAC in this relationship, but we really encourage alumni to find their own level of relationship, as well.

Can MCAA get the rights to use the Marlboro College intellectual property?

Right now, Emerson allows us to use a few things--for example, the seal of the college with our alumni logo--without contention; that is, they have let us know they won't, for example, ask us to stop using it or sue us for using it or something dire like that. But there is no formal dispensation or agreement. That is something we would like to formalize and there are some possible avenues for that--can't say a lot more than that at the moment, but it is something we would like to make happen.

Are retired faculty pensions undiminished?

While this question is technically outside of the realm of the MCAA, we do know that the Marlboro College Retirement investment program was hosted through TIAA and those investments remained with the faculty and staff.