Woodruff Hall. Wikipedia image.
Castleton wants to be renamed Castleton University.
David Wolk, president of the college, said the name change would help the college raise more money and attract more students, particularly international students.
A university in the VSC system could strengthen offerings across the five-college system, Wolk said.
Committee members expressed concerns about how the change might impact the other colleges in the system.
“I’m not convinced that it’s necessary, I guess,” said Heidi Pelletier, a member of the committee. “I’m not convinced it’s going to make a difference for Castleton, or for the system. I’m concerned that the negative benefits might outweigh the benefits.”
Trustee James Masland, a state representative from Thetford, also expressed reservations about the name change.
Joyce Judy, president of the Community College of Vermont, said the university designation could give the whole system a boost.
“I will say in the international market, ‘university’ has as lot more cache’ than ‘college,’” she said “It does come into play, particularly in the Chinese market. The current budget system is forcing us to look elsewhere and to be more entrepreneurial and for that reason alone, I think it’s something that the board should really seriously consider.”
Committee Chairman Jerry Diamond, a former Vermont Attorney General, opened the meeting by addressing the pre-meeting publicity that the possible renaming of Castleton State College to Castleton State University — had generated this week.
He likened the attention several Vermont media outlets, VTDigger.org among them, to pretrial publicity. He asked members to disregard what they may have read.
Jeb Spaulding. File photo by Anne Galloway/VTDigger
The idea was “to create a whole VSC system that’s greater than the sum of its parts through the collaboration and cooperation of the individual colleges,” he said. “The issue of Castleton as a potential university can only be decided when you have a general idea for what you want for the whole.”
Wolk said there has been a favorable response to the idea of changing the name to a university.
“We feel we can be the small university with the big heart,” said Wolk.
Castleton is the largest of the residential state colleges in the VSC system.
On the 225th anniversary of Castleton, in 2012, the college published a book that looked back at the school’s history. The college has been a seminary, a teacher’s college and a liberal arts school, Wolk said.
Castleton State College President David Wolk. Courtesy photo
He said the state appropriation to public colleges is less than 10 percent of the schools’ budgets and has been stagnant for several years. He said the colleges need to find ways to raise revenue.
Jeff Weld, a spokesman for Castleton, said the name change will give the school a fundraising edge.
“It is apparent that oftentimes philanthropic groups pass us over without full consideration due to the incorrect assumption that as a ‘state college’ we are completely funded by the state, and thus are less likely to need the grant funding,” explained Weld.
Vermont is also experiencing a decline in the overall number of high school students. That demographic shift is now impacting the state college system.
Spaulding said any decision about the name change would depend on the overall plan for the system.
“Most people would say Castleton could easily pass the test for being a university,” Spaulding said.
Whether the VSC system decides to become a single, consolidated system with multiple campuses — part of a larger discussion that came from a strategic visioning process last year — will ultimately help the committee and then the full board, decide the Castleton issue.
Spaulding wants the full board to consider the Castleton name change at its July 23 meeting.
“What changes would it cause the students if you change to a university?” asked Diamond. “I want to know whether the students are going to have a different life under a university than they do under a college?
“If there’s going to be a noticeable change to both students, faculty and staff at Castleton because of that name change, why would we not want those same benefits to extend to all of the students, all of the faculty, all of the staff, at all of our colleges?” Diamond said.
Wolk was also asked about the cost of changing signage, logos and uniforms if the name changes to Castleton University.
He said the college has dropped the word “college” from its name, “… hoping that you will say ‘yes’ on July 23rd.”
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