AREA TOWNS – May is the month for area college graduation ceremonies to begin, with Sterling College up first to hold its final commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 16.
VTSU Lyndon and Johnson’s graduations are being held Sunday, May 17.
file photo by Vanessa Fournier
The Community College of Vermont (CCV) Commencement ceremony combines students from all campuses at Norwich University in Northfield on June 6.
Sterling College’s 27th and final commencement ceremony is being held in the Houston House Gardens on the Sterling Campus, this Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m.
A college announcement called the event “a moment to honor not only our graduates, but the community that made their journey possible. Together, we will celebrate our students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and neighbors who have shaped this institution for more than six decades.”
Graduation events begin with a senior dinner Thursday, a wine and cheese reception Friday, followed by a family dinner.
Saturday’s events will begin with an alumni brunch, followed by the commencement ceremony and reception from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
At VTSU-Lyndon, commencement will be held under a tent on the soccer field at 10 a.m., preceded by an 8:30 a.m. breakfast social in the theater lobby and followed by a coffee and dessert social in Stannard Gym. Joe Bertolino, Ed.D., former Lyndon State College President from 2012 to 2016, will be the commencement speaker there.
The VTSU-Johnson ceremony will be held under a tent on the campus there, Sunday, May 17, at 4 p.m. The commencement speaker will be Major General Gregory C. Knight, who served for more than 43 years in uniform, culminating his career as Vermont’s Adjutant General from 2019 until his retirement on April 1.
VTSU diplomas won’t be mailed until mid-July, after degree audits are completed, said university information.
Recent CCV commencement ceremonies have brought together as many as 3,000 Vermonters to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of graduates. This year’s ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, June 6 at 2 p.m. in the Norwich University Shapiro Field House.
Graduates there may invite as many guests as they like, but will not receive diplomas there. Those will be mailed the following Monday, said the administration.
Sterling College described this year’s commencement, saying “This milestone occasion will be an especially memorable one, featuring celebratory events for our community and our guests with homemade dishes prepared using ingredients sourced from the Sterling Farm. It reflects our legacy of over 65 years of hands-on, experiential, place-based learning centered on the environment and community,” said the college.
“Graduation is always a special event at Sterling College, designed to honor and celebrate our graduates. The graduation ceremony is thoughtfully planned with input from the graduates, reflecting their personal experiences and aspirations, including the selection of themes for our commencement speakers. It is a moment of pride and emotion for everyone at Sterling and above all, it’s time to celebrate graduates and their families.”
While all were welcome, space was said to be limited and pre-registration was required by May 1.
Talking about this final Sterling College semester, Trustees Chair Allison Hooper said, “Last November, the Sterling Trustees voted to offer a final Spring semester to give students the opportunity to finish a degree or time to decide where they would continue to earn a college degree.
“The Sterling faculty has deftly navigated a pathway for the 34 students on campus to complete their four-year or two-year associates degrees or advise students to complete their college experience at one of our ‘teach-out’ college partners.”
Talking about the future of the campus, she said, “A Spring semester provided time for employees to develop the vision for the future of the campus and/or to secure future employment.
“Since November, the board’s focus has been to provide the faculty and staff the resources to complete the final semester on behalf of students.”
“We have seven students completing internships during the summer,” Hooper said. “Three are for credit internships and four for non-credit internships.”
And a group of nine faculty and staff are “in the early phases of re-invigorating non-credited educational programs” with The Sterling Center for Experiential Learning.
“They are fundraising with the help of friends and alumni of Sterling who want the Sterling legacy to continue. If Headwaters Community Trust becomes the new owner of the campus, this group would like to lease several of the core campus buildings for their work.”
“Headwaters Community Trust emerged as a promising and motivated buyer for the campus in January,” said Hooper.
Trustees have not listed the entire campus for sale, she said. “Hopeful for a successful outcome, the Sterling board did not put the campus on the market. We had listed two buildings [for sale] before our November announcement [about the end of degree programs].’
“We understand that Headwaters is focused on acquiring the 155-acre campus to develop their vision for Craftsbury including securing a new home for the Saplings Child Care Center, and leasing space on the core campus to accommodate future educational programing.”
The challenge now, said Hooper, is for Sterling and Headwaters to bridge a financial gap to assure that Sterling meets its liabilities. “Both parties are working together to find creative ways to reduce expenses and raise funds.”
“The last day of employment for most employees is May 22,” she said. “A smaller group will hopefully agree to remain employed for several weeks to wind down operations of Sterling College.”
The three interrelated components being navigated by the trustees involve winding down current programs while funding Sterling College’s financial liabilities and determining the future of the campus, said Hooper.
“There are a lot of moving parts and finances need to fall into place for us to achieve the above.”
