TO:	Off-Campus Students
FROM: 	Jane Sanders, Chair of the Board of Trustees
DATE: 	May 22, 1996
SUBJ: 	Current Situation on Goddard Campus

I am writing to you not as the Chair of the Goddard College Board of Trustees, but as a one-time "off campus" student myself. I attended GEPFE (Goddard Experimental Program in Further Education), the every-third-weekend program that Goddard sold off to Norwich University in 1980. Goddard had to discontinue several programs in order to keep the college open - I was in the last graduating class of GEPFE. At that time, various trends in higher education forced many colleges to restructure; federal funding became scarcer, as did the number of college-age students in the country.

Goddard changed my life. My core values about fairness, equity and justice were nurtured into a drive for social change. My tendency to challenge the status quo and propose alternative approaches was regarded as essential to a healthy, ever-changing society, rather than dismissed as "unrealistic" or "naive."

I've carried the lessons I learned at Goddard through my adult life. They've influenced me as a parent and a wife, as an appointed and elected official outside the two party system, as a community organizer, as a founder of several non-profit organizations and municipal programs (some of which are now past their tenth year in existence), and as a member of the Goddard College Board of Trustees.

Most of the trustees are alumni/ae of Goddard and their contributions to their communities are marked by a creativity and a willingness to experiment that are the trademarks of Goddard learners. All of the trustees donate a great deal of their time and effort, at considerable personal expense, to ensure that the Goddard spirit endures. We are no more likely to accept the status-quo or to shy away from creative solutions as trustees than we were as students. We choose collaboration over confrontation and we do not believe that polarizing the community and picking sides to blame will serve any useful purpose.

I'm forwarding the enclosed statement, adopted by the Board of Trustees (by a supermajority vote of 15 yes, 3 no, 1 abstention, and 1 not responding) so that you can decide for yourself what the trustees said rather than relying on press reports or updates from others. I ask you to read it with an open mind. We on the Board are also members of the Goddard community, and it is very troubling to read that we are "hierarchical" or a "undemocratic." Nothing could be further from the truth. The consent model of decision making and the supermajority vote, which is currently used college-wide, originated with the Board. We played a very active role in the drafting of the governance document and the mission statement. We believe, unequivocally, in collaborative decision-making, but that does not mean we believe in all decisions being made by a committee of the whole. Collective wisdom prevails most often when all perspectives are listened to and everyone takes their roles and responsibilities seriously. There is no "them" at Goddard, we are all one of us.

Enclosed in this mailing is a notice about the election process for the new off-campus student trustee, a term to begin in October. The most effective characteristics for each trustee is someone who is thoughtful, collaborative, has good communication skills, is able to listen to opposing viewpoints, and can articulate the concerns of their constituency at the Board level. I encourage you to participate in this part of Goddard's governance, and I respectfully suggest that you consider these characteristics when you choose among the nominees. I thank you for your time and consideration.