Future of Goddard College campus uncertain as group puts bid forward

A week after Goddard College announced plans to close its private college , alumni and community groups with ideas for the property are feeling shut out.

At the time, Goddard President Dan Hocoy said the trustees were looking to sell the 117-acre campus and that they were “entertaining all proposals, ideas and conversations currently about property.”

Cooperation Vermont , an organization based in Marshfield that is geared toward adapting to climate change, has put forward a request to buy the property, but Director Michelle McCormick told VTDigger that so far the bid has been ignored.

“I’m just not even really sure what to say at this particular juncture because I’ve never seen a group of people who want to sell a piece of property and not be able to engage with potential buyers,” she said.

In trying to purchase the Goddard College campus, she hopes to blend together the longtime ethos of Goddard — creativity and a cooperative approach to learning — with Cooperation Vermont’s mission of climate resiliency under a cooperative model.

She also wants to help some of the current tenants of campus buildings to stay where they are, including The Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, Maple Hill School and WGDR Central Vermont Radio. Cabot Creamery employees also live in some of the dorms, according to McCormick.

Additionally, Cooperation Vermont would use the space to create a “community production center,” which would include woodworking, metalworking and other crafts, according to the organization’s website.

Cooperation Vermont reached out to the college after it announced it would shut down the campus to in-person learning in January and move courses entirely online, McCormick said. The group met with the college’s chief financial officer to initially express interest and confirm the purchase price, based on the college’s recent $3.4 million appraisal.

After that meeting, the organization launched a grassroots campaign to raise funds and drum up excitement for its plans for the property. It set a goal of $5 million — with the expectation of deferred maintenance it may need to complete.

The group sent an email back to the administration asking to set up a more official negotiation for the property. That email never received a response. Emails to the school’s president and board of trustees also have been ignored, McCormick said.

“We are trying to figure out how best to really engage with them because they have not been really transparent,” she said.

In response to a request for comment from VTDigger, Lisa Larivee, executive assistant to the Goddard president, said via email that the college doesn’t have “any further information to share at this time.”

Another initiative, the Cooperative College Collaborative, is working to preserve Goddard College as an in-person cooperative college. Goddard alum Tony Patterson said the group has combined the efforts of faculty, alums and students to advocate for a continued college model.

However, it’s also awaiting a response from the college administration.

“We have continually presented them with efforts and letters and requests and asks to meet and by and large, the college has completely ignored us,” he said.

McCormick is concerned that Goddard College has another buyer and could accept an offer from them without ever publicly listing the property. She also said she worries about whether or not the property will end up in the hands of someone who understands the community.

Cooperation Vermont’s lawyers recently sent a formal letter demanding that Goddard College engage in good faith negotiations with the organization and allow representatives to conduct a walk-through of campus like with any other buyer, McCormick said.

“What’s clear to me is that there certainly isn’t any other entity that’s going to have a community-based vision and a vision that kind of actually honors Goddard’s legacy,” she said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Future of Goddard College campus uncertain as group puts bid forward .