This is an open letter to the administration of my alma mater, the Vermont College of Fine Arts, in regards to the recent and sudden departure of co-founder and personal mentor Jessica Lutz, and its implications on the future direction of this unique program.
Dear Tom and Gary,
The recent news that Jessica Lutz has left VCFA amidst an apparent change of direction in a program so dear to me has given me, like many of my fellow alums, no small concern. I have held off in making any public comments or inquiries as announcements and responses have come in from all sides. I have to say that I am not satisfied so far with the administration’s responses.
This unexpected change has prompted me to personally evaluate the current institution’s values, vision, insight and ability to provide the quality of experiential education that did so much to shape us during our time at Vermont. I am left unsure as how to proceed. I certainly would not wish to champion or provide support to an institution that does not share my personal values and ethics. I am therefore very eager for some disclosure about all the situations at hand, both because of my professional and personal respect for Jessica, and no less out of concern for the future direction of my alma mater. I realize that when people leave an institution, there may be matters that the institution cannot rightfully or ethically discuss, as you alluded to in Tom’s email earlier today. I think, however, that transparency and openness in relating the future direction of the program to its alumni is not at all too much to ask.
Gary stated in response to Craig’s questions about the VCFA mission that “while the program surely needs some growth in enrollment, its pedagogy is unchanged…” from its original focus. I must echo, even after the responses from Gary and Tom, my unwavering support for the school’s original mission to offer artists an experiential, student-centered graduate program. The highly individualized curriculum, tailored to each student’s needs, is a big part of what made our program successful. I’ll be frank, responses that marketing, increased enrollment and new faculty recruitment are part of the school’s investment leave me very wary.
It is difficult to reconcile, as rightly stated, our program’s “distinctive pedagogy” with increased enrollments. The administration’s desire for marketing and growth is understandable, if not agreeable, but the strength of VCFA has always been its focus on individuals. Developing a personalized educational experience unique to each artist’s vision of themselves, with a focus on process over product, requires smaller enrollments and a cohesive and supportive community of students, faculty and staff. Any changes to that community must be very carefully measured.
So again the departure of a co-founder is all the more disconcerting. Even moreso is the sudden and mysterious manner in which it occurred. As a technologist, it is immediately apparent to me that Jessica has been “disappeared” from our school’s website. I find it reprehensible that Jessica’s long-term contributions to the program have been deleted, as though she and her accomplishments never existed. You should understand how upsetting it is for a group of artists to see her cut off from communication, especially from channels relating to an arts program that she, along with Roy Levin, was a primary force in creating. Of course, Google’s cache or the Wayback Machine quickly reestablish her credentials, as well as her commitment to “directing the MFA in Visual Art program through active participation by all constituents, re-examination of the assumptive norms and practices, and the struggle to keep democracy in play at a time when top down leadership is often seen as normative.”
This is what I’m afraid we are losing. Considering the rampant proliferation of trade schools and the unfettered expansion of many liberal arts programs in recent years, I was proud of my student-centered graduate education in Vermont and all the individual attention my growth as an artist received. This is real investment. I recently read a New York Times article, Peter Goodma’s The New Poor In Hard Times, Lured Into Trade School and Debt, that highlighted the rise of for-profit trade schools that sell students promises of success but often offer little more than formulaic instruction and high debt. For better or worse, people form opinions of schools quickly and perceptions are hard to change once made. I often feel that I have to defend my school and clarify that VCFA is not a distance education art school. I can defend it because I have the conviction that is not.
I really don’t ever want to doubt that conviction, and I implore that you both elucidate these unsettling growth strategies with regard to the concerns voiced since Jessica’s untimely departure. Artists and academics, and we are both, must remain confident in their art and their education. I want VCFA to be a place I am proud to say that I attended, and a school I would recommend to any of my students who have what it takes.
I do not want a $40,000 regret that I attended a once unique school that was turned into a well-marketed diploma mill. I have seen marketing efforts pushed as the last effort of institutions that are losing their valuable assets, like convicted, consistent long-term leaders and supporters. I hope that you will keep the long-term commitments of current students, alumni and faculty in mind as you plan for the future, and maintain open communication with all of us.
I look forward to hearing your response to my inquiries.
Regards,
Jolanda-Pieta (Joey) van Arnhem, M.F.A.
