4/10/1971, Burlington Free Press
WITHERSPOON
Free Press Capitol Bureau
PLAINFIELD - Goddard
College President Gerald
Witherspoon reportedly
is considering resigning after
a tuition increase he promoted was
withdrawn under massive
campus protest.
The former state tax
commissioner, hired two years
ago to head the liberal arts
college, has been under
increasing fire from a faction of
teachers and students.
A spokesman for the college
charged this group has been
spreading rumors around the
campus "to put the ax to him."
Witherspoon, with the backing
of the Goddard Governance
Council, had sought support for
the $300 tuition increase to cover
the subsistence living costs of
students taking volunteer field
training jobs off campus.
He called a special meeting of
the board of trustees to
propose the measure, which
would have raised tuition, room
and board costs to $5,000 for a 16 month period, or $3,750 per year.
But on the day of the
scheduled meeting opponents of
the increase, including students,
faculty and staff, presented
petitions to Witherspoon and at
the trustees' meeting he
withdrew the proposal.
Student trustee Paul Joseph,
who attended the meeting April 3
in New York City, said instead of
taking up the tuition increase
question the board discussed the
college.
He strongly denied reports
which have been circulated by
the anti-Witherspoon faction that
the trustees gave Witherspoon
two weeks to come up with an
announcement of his resignation.
Another trustee, Mrs. Lois Sontag of New York, denied another rumor that a former Vermont education commissioner had been approached to take the post on an interim basis.
She said Witherspoon doesn't intend to resign and that no job offers from the college had been made for the presidency.
Witherspoon couldn't be
reached at his Plainfield home,
but the spokesman, Benjamin
Collins, said he is "taking a few
days off to get things together"
and to design an alternative to
the tuition increase proposal.
Political science teacher Lin Webster said Witherspoon was depressed because of the rejection of the tuition plan and is thinking of quitting the post.
He said the school's faculty has
been split into factions by major
reforms which have taken place
at the school and described
himself as critical of
Witherspoon but favoring his
continuance in the post to work
out the problems.
MAY RESIGN
GODDARD POST
