College receives loan to improve campus
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By PATRICK McARDLE Staff Writer - Published: November 9, 2008
BENNINGTON – Bennington College will have an opportunity to expand its campus through a $34 million financing arrangement with the Vermont Economic Development Authority that was announced at the end of October.
The college would use $20 million to construct a new building, $6.5 million for renovations and $7.5 million to retire debt, according to William Morgan, chief financial officer of Bennington College.
Morgan said the financial arrangements are not complete but he said, "There's every reason to believe they'll go through."
Bennington College President Elizabeth Coleman hopes to break ground on the planned $20 million Center for Advancement of Public Action in the spring.
The center would be the headquarters for a new initiative called the "Democracy Project" that addresses issues of governance, democracy and political action on issues such as the environment and distribution of wealth.
Coleman said the construction of the center will make the new curriculum "critical and central" to the campus. All students at Bennington are required to participate in the program.
This is the first time Bennington College has worked with the Vermont Economic Development Authority, a state agency that serves as Vermont's economic development finance lender. On Oct. 30, VEDA announced preliminary approval of $34 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds for the college.
The authority will serve as the sponsoring organization, enabling the college to borrow the money from a lender that will not have to pay tax on the interest that is repaid. Morgan said this means the lender can give the college a better rate.
Bennington College was one of several agencies which received a total of $55.5 million in financing from the Vermont Economic Development Authority this go-round. Others included Green Mountain College in Poultney and a Derby company planning expanded facilities for the U.S. Border Patrol.
The Center for Advancement of Public Action will include a conference center with broadcasting and recording equipment. Coleman said the building will also have "design laboratories" where students and teachers will design "policies, actions and interventions."
"The best example I can think of for a design problem is governance. As we look at democracy, we want to design something that will work in today's environment. What worked in 1786 might be a real problem in 2008," Coleman said.
The educational initiative calls for bringing together people from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, including students, intellectuals, teachers and professionals who may have no teaching credentials but experience in relevant fields. The design labs will give them an environment to work on a common goal.
Because the initiative calls for nontraditional teaching staff, the center will include housing and work space for participating instructors which Coleman said would "underscore the importance that their schedule is not the regular faculty's (schedule)."
The center will house the offices for the college's field work program. During every academic year, students are required to take part in an off-campus term for seven weeks by finding an activity like a job or internship that's part of their academic majors.
The educational initiative began in the 2007-08 academic year. Former President Bill Clinton praised the program during the inauguration of the Clinton Global Initiative University in New Orleans last spring. Coleman said she expects the college may work with the Clinton Global Initiative through its new curriculum.
The center was designed by New York City-based architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, who also designed the American Folk Art Museum in New York City and the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, Calif.
Construction is to be completed by September 2010. The college expects to add about a dozen jobs within three years of completing its renovations.
Contact Patrick McArdle at patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com.
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