6/5/1974, Burlington Free Press

SPECULATION RISES ON GODDARD PRESIDENT'S PLANS

By Frederick W. Stetson

PLAINFIELD -- President Gerald S. Witherspoon, who has fought through a number of academic struggles in his five years at Goddard College, is in London for a 90-day vacation. There was speculation on the campus that the college president might resign.

Mrs Lois Sontag of Stamford, Conn., the college's board chairman, said Tuesday Witherspoon will be "considering all possibilities" during his extended vacation, and she did not deny that one of the possibilities might be resignation.

Some Goddard faculty members have speculated that Witherspoon would not resume his responsibilities as president when the vacation expires in late July or early August. Witherspoon reportedly plans to return to Plainfield at the end of June.

"Before he left he said he was going to think very seriously about his future while he was gone," said Benjamin Collins, director of public relations.

Jack Andrews, Goddard's new director of administration, will be the interim president in Witherspoon's absence, Collins said.

Both Collins and Mrs. Sontag said Witherspoon has not submitted a letter of resignation. Mrs. Sontag said the president will continue to draw salary and he has a five-year contract which does not expire until 1977.

One faculty member suggested Witherspoon's vacation had been forced upon him by the Board of Trustees. But, Mrs. Sontag and another board member, John Downs of St. Johnsbury, said they know of no such pressure.

When asked if Witherspoon would resume his duties as president when he returns from his vacation, Mrs. Sontag said, "I assume so, if we have not heard otherwise."

Asked if this meant the president is considering resignation, Mrs. Sontag answered, "One has to wait and see what will happen."

Robert Belenky, a faculty member at Goddard, said Witherspoon is "openly talking with friends about looking for other jobs."

Collins said the 90-day vacation was the first extended period of rest and relaxation Witherspoon has had in his five years at Goddard College.

The vacation was taken, he added, because it was an opportune time and the college was experiencing a period of relative tranquility.

Collins said the college expects to close the current fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31 at Goddard, with a balanced budget, although fiscal 1974 ended with a deficit "in excess of $500,000."

While the financial condition of the college may be relatively stable this year, Goddard is undergoing another period of significant transition.

Collins said Goddard will abandon its innovative trimester schedule, in favor of a more traditional two-semester schedule, supplemented by special summer programs.

Under the trimester system, students could attend Goddard during any one of three academic periods of approximately equal length.

This would allow students to complete their degree requirements in a relatively short time, or allow them to take semesters off for special study projects.

Collins said the trimester program was abandoned because faculty and students felt it interrupted the continuity of programs, as well as faculty-student relations in a Goddard community.

Under the trimester plan, students were charged $4,900 for tuition, room and board at Goddard, but they could receive rebates of up to $3,100 if they participated in off-campus projects.

Under the new, two-semester plan, students will be charged an average of about $3,500 for tuition, room and board, Collins said. There will be no off-campus rebates, he added, but students may participate in innovative learning plans.

Collins said the college is advertising its new schedules which become effective next fall, with the exception of a special program to begin this summer.