Fall Asleep While Learning About Marlboro College

In this episode of the I Can’t Sleep Podcast, drift off while learning about Marlboro College, the music festival it hosted, and the charming town of Marlboro, Vermont. This intentionally small college had a profound impact on the lives of its students. Many renowned musicians and creators visited or attended Marlboro, fostering meaningful collaborations with its students and staff. While the first couple of articles might hold your interest, by the third, you’ll likely find yourself dozing off to details about census records and dates.

Special thanks to Sandi Oswalt for sponsoring this episode. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's episode is from a collection of three articles.

The first is about Marlboro College,

The second is the Marlboro Music School and Festival,

And the third is Marlboro,

Vermont.

Marlboro College was a private college in Marlboro,

Vermont.

Founded in 1946,

It remained intentionally small,

Operating as a self-governing community with students,

Following self-designed degree plans,

Culminating in a thesis.

In 1998,

The college added a graduate school.

The college closed at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year and gave its endowment to Emerson College in Boston to create the Marlboro Institute of Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College.

Marlboro College was founded in 1946 by Walter F.

Hendricks,

Who had been inspired by his time as director of English at Biarritz American University.

Hendricks led the college for five years until 1951,

But would leave after a dispute with the trustees.

He founded Wyndham College that same year.

Many of the first students were returning World War II veterans.

The campus incorporated the buildings of three farms that were on the site at Potash Hill.

The first students were primarily freshmen,

But included some sophomores and juniors,

And one senior,

Hugh Mulligan,

Who in 1948 became the first Marlboro graduate.

The students made How Are Things at Casserole College the first school song in response to the dining hall menu.

In 2012,

Marlboro instituted the Beautiful Minds Challenge,

An essay contest for high school students with full or partial scholarships and other awards as prizes.

Essays could take the form of text,

Images,

Audio,

Or video,

And were judged by Marlboro faculty,

Staff,

And students.

Finalists were flown to the Marlboro campus for a symposium where they presented their work.

The program was discontinued after the 2018 competition.

The Renaissance Scholars Program,

Instituted in 2015 with the objective of attracting new students from every state and increasing diversity,

Caused a rise in enrollment to approximately 200 in fall of 2016.

The college remained intentionally small.

In 2017,

It was one of only three liberal arts colleges listed by U.

S.

News and World Report,

Where all classes had fewer than 20 students.

In 2018,

Marlboro's small size and dwindling enrollment led the Board of Trustees to begin exploring merging with another college or university.

In 2019,

A merger with the University of Bridgeport was announced and then called off.

Later that year,

The college announced that it would merge with Emerson College at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year.

Under the agreement,

Finalized on July 23,

2020,

Marlboro gave its endowment to Emerson,

Which created the Marlboro Institute of Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Marlboro students were guaranteed admission,

And tenure-track faculty were guaranteed teaching positions at Emerson.

At the time of its closure,

Marlboro had approximately 150 students.

Freshmen were required to meet the clear writing requirement by submitting an acceptable portfolio of at least 20 pages,

4,

000 words of non-fiction writing to the English Committee.

With the guidance of professors,

Juniors and seniors developed and followed an individual plan of concentration,

Often interdisciplinary,

Of which at least 20% was required to consist of an independent project prepared without direct faculty input.

Most students' plans culminated in a thesis.

Students defended their work in an oral examination before one or more Marlboro faculty members and an outside evaluator unconnected to the college,

But with expertise in the students' field of study.

Marlboro's strengths included Asian studies,

Religion and theology,

And life sciences.

In March 2014,

Marlboro and five nearby colleges—Community College of Vermont,

Landmark College,

The School for International Training,

Union Institute,

And Vermont Technical College—formed the Wyndham Higher Education Cooperative,

Allowing students to take one course a semester at another participating institution.

Marlboro College graduate and professional studies began in 1998.

Primarily aimed at working professionals and focused on technology,

In 2010 it shifted to programs focused on socially responsible management and master's studies in teaching—teaching with technology,

Teaching for social justice,

And TESOL.

Later added an accelerated master's track open to undergraduates in some programs.

The graduate school was initially located near Brattleboro.

It moved to the main college campus in Marlboro in April 2017,

And after that offered courses increasingly online and instituted a teach-out.

Enrollment was suspended for 2019-20,

And graduate programs were not transferred to Emerson under the merger agreement.

In the Princeton Review's 2014 Annual College Guide,

Marlboro College received the highest possible academic rating of 99 and was ranked number one nationally for the quality of its faculty.

In 2017,

U.

S.

News & World Report ranked it number 117 among liberal arts colleges in the United States.

In 2006,

Lauren Pope wrote in Colleges That Change Lives that the Marlboro adventure was far more intense and intellectually demanding than Harvard and any other Ivy or Ivy clone.

Marlboro was founded on an ethos of independence combined with community participation.

Students,

Faculty,

And staff made decisions together in weekly town meetings,

And there was an elected community court.

Students,

Faculty,

And staff served on elected committees that played a role in hiring decisions and steering the curriculum.

All campus buildings were open 24-7,

And the library used a self-checkout honor system.

During spring and fall,

Students were encouraged to work regularly on the school farm.

Campus-wide workdays took place each semester,

With students,

Faculty,

And staff working together on projects as needed,

In the spirit of the first class,

Who built their own dormitories.

The administration published a magazine called Potash Hill.

The student newspaper,

The Citizen,

And the Marlboro College literary magazine were edited by students elected at town meetings.

Open mic nights at the campus center happened several times a semester in addition to events including the Drag Ball,

Mayfest,

And Apple Days,

And other events.

The night before writing portfolios were due,

A midnight breakfast was held.

The college had few organized sports teams,

But the outdoor program promoted rock climbing,

Snowshoeing,

Cross-country skiing,

Whitewater kayaking,

Caving,

Canoeing,

And hiking,

And college was only 15 miles from the Mount Snow Ski Resort.

A broomball tournament was held every February beginning in 1990.

The Marlboro College campus is located on South Road in the town of Marlboro,

Vermont,

In the Green Mountains.

In the early years of the college,

Students and faculty worked together to adapt the buildings of three farms on the site,

Which became the main classroom building,

The dining hall,

And the admissions and administration buildings.

Through grants from federal,

State,

And private entities,

The college improved the energy efficiency of the dining hall,

Dalrymple Classroom Building,

Mather Administration Building,

And Admissions Building since 2008,

As well as the student residences.

In summer 2011,

The half-circle driveway at the campus entrance was converted to green space and walking paths.

The Serkin Performing Arts Center has a 125-seat auditorium,

An electronic music lab,

Practice rooms with baby grand pianos,

And a 5,

000-square-foot dance studio.

Whitmore Theater,

Used primarily by the Theater Department,

Was attached to Drury Gallery,

Which displays student works.

The Snyder Center for the Visual Arts housing studios,

Classrooms,

And gallery spaces in 14,

000 square feet opened in May 2016.

In the summer,

The campus is the location of the Marlboro Music Festival founded in 1951.

A new 99-year lease was signed in February 2019,

And a residence hall in the Jerome and Celia Reich Building,

Containing a music library and chamber music rehearsal spaces,

Are scheduled for completion in 2021.

The former Marlboro campus was sold in May 2020 to Democracy Builders,

Founded by Seth Andrew,

Which intended to use it for a low-residency,

Low-cost college program for low-income students.

The Degrees of Freedom program would last four years,

From 11th grade to the second year of college,

And would result in an associate degree.

The program was slated to be largely online,

With students only being on campus two weeks out of each trimester.

In February 2021,

Andrew announced that Democracy Builders had sold the campus to Type I Civilization Academy via a quit-claim deed.

On March 9,

2021,

During an invitation-only community meeting on Zoom,

Andrew announced that the Type I deal had been canceled.

He called the agreement an engagement rather than a marriage.

Andrew filed another quit-claim deed which transferred the property back to Democracy Builders.

The principal of Type I,

Adrian Stein,

Said that Type I was legitimately in control of the campus and that the issue will likely end up in court unless they can find some other kind of equitable settlement.

Opening of the Democracy Builders program was deferred in April 2021 after Andrew was charged with financial crimes.

In July 2021,

The campus was purchased by the Marlboro Music Festival.

The Marlboro Music Festival formed the subsidiary and non-profit organization Potash Hill,

Inc.

To manage the property.

Paul Zenz,

1953-1957 Roland Bowden,

1957-1958,

Acting Tom Riegel,

1958-1981 Rod Gander,

1981-1996 Paul LeBlanc,

1996-2003 Ellen McCulloch Lovell,

2003-2014 Kevin F.

Quigley,

2015-2020 Faculty Winn Cooper,

J.

Craven Paul J.

LeBlanc,

Later became president of Southern New Hampshire University Peter Lefcourt,

Literature and Writing,

1968-70 Leslie Lamport,

1960s David Mamet,

One semester Joseph Mazur,

Mathematics Blanche Honiger Moyes,

Music Louis Moyes,

Music Alumni David Asman,

The Wall Street Journal editor,

Television journalist Shura Baryshnikov,

Dancer Denny Ellis Bechard,

Novelist Sophie Cabot Black,

Poet Regina Lee Blaschik,

Academic Sarah Coffey,

Member of the Vermont House of Representatives Sean Cole,

Journalist Alicia Dana,

Paralympian Marcus Ticino,

Lens-based artist Deborah Eisenberg,

Author,

Left after two years Ed Fallon,

Member of the Iowa House of Representatives Gretchen Gerzina,

Author and academic Harold Grinspoon,

Real estate developer and philanthropist Daniel Harpel,

Entrepreneur and investor Parnell Hall,

Novelist Joshua Harmon,

Poet,

Novelist and essayist Jeffrey Holt,

Philanthropist Emily Kornheiser,

Member of the Vermont House of Representatives Ted Levine,

Actor Robert H.

MacArthur,

Ecologist Arthur Magida,

Author and journalist Cade Marvin,

Poet Jonathan Maslow,

Journalist and author Selena Mooney,

Co-owner and founder of Suicide Girls,

Left after one year William D.

Mundell,

Poet Chris Noth,

Actor David Rhodes,

Novelist Hans Rickite,

Cartoonist,

Left after one year Tristan Roberts,

Member of the Vermont House of Representatives Enrico Suruma,

Poet and novelist Jock Sturgis,

Portrait photographer Tristan Delino,

Member of the Vermont House of Representatives Charlotte Watts,

Mathematician,

Epidemiologist and academic Staff Robert Frost,

Poet was the college's first trustee and former teacher of the college's founder,

Walter Hendricks Ethan Gilsdorf,

Author,

Worked in the marketing department in the late 1990s The Marlboro Music School and Festival is a retreat for advanced classical training and musicianship held for seven weeks each summer in Marlboro,

Vermont,

In the United States Public performances are held each weekend while the school is in session with the programs chosen only a week or so in advance from the 60 to 80 works being currently rehearsed Marlboro Music was conceived as a retreat where young musicians could collaborate and learn alongside master artists in an environment removed from the pressures of performance deadlines or recording It combines several functions Alex Ross describes it as functioning variously as a chamber music festival a sort of finishing school for gifted young performers and a summit for the musical intelligentsia Adolf Busch and his son-in-law,

Rudolf Serkin,

Moved to Vermont in the 1940s as refugees from the Third Reich Adolf Busch,

Who was not Jewish,

Left Germany as he was in opposition to National Socialist rule They became close friends of Walter Hendricks,

Who founded Marlboro College on the site of a former dairy farm He asked their advice on the formation of a music department On their advice,

He recruited Marcel Moyse,

Louis Moyse,

And Blanche Moyse,

Also refugees and ill-situated to Marlboro Busch,

Serkin,

And the Moyse trio are recognized founders of Marlboro Music through their association with the college But it was Busch,

Writes biographer Tully Potter,

Who provided the first impetus as he had long wanted to create an environment in which professional players and rank amateurs could make music together studying the chamber literature in depth and giving concerts only when and if they wished to do so An attempt to realize this wish came in 1950,

With a summer school lasting from July 1st through the 13th with few students,

That is,

Not regarded part of the official Marlboro canon The following year,

Busch and Serkin turned down an invitation to the Edinburgh Festival to create on their own project,

Says Potter They attracted 54 participating artists,

Students,

In what is now recognized as the first Marlboro Summer Festival After Busch's untimely death on June 9th,

1952,

Serkin devoted great attention to continuing his beloved father-in-law's work He became its guiding light for the rest of his life He valued Marlboro's small size and rural environment,

Inviting colleagues to come to,

Says Ross,

Lose their worldliness,

To fall into a slower rhythm Marlboro's purpose moved away from Busch's idea of amateur participation Instead,

Leading professionals from both solo and orchestral positions work with young musicians of the highest promise and achievement who must pass through a rigorous audition process to be accepted Prominent musicians associated with Marlboro have included Mieczysław Warszawski,

Gilbert Kalisz,

Anton Qwerty,

Long Leng,

James Levine,

Yo-Yo Ma,

Miska Majski,

Victoria Molova,

Siegfried Palm,

Marie Pariah,

Laura St.

John,

Richard Stoltzman,

And Sandor Veg Marlboro has had enormous influence on American chamber music The Guarneri Quartet was formed at Marlboro in 1964 Yo-Yo Ma and Emmanuel Axe,

A long-standing duo,

Concertized together as a duo for the first time at Marlboro on August 3rd,

1973 Ma incidentally met his wife Jill there,

One of many musical couples to meet at Marlboro Other groups associated with Marlboro in various ways have included the Emerson Quartet,

Juilliard Quartet,

Orion String Quartet,

St.

Lawrence Quartet,

And Bow Arts Trio Since 2018,

The Marlboro Music School and Festival has been led by artistic co-directors Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss During non-summer months,

The festival runs the Musicians from Marlboro National Touring Program,

With performances in many U.

S.

Cities each year A tradition Sirkin began of ending the summer with a performance of the Beethoven Choral Fantasy,

In which most participants,

Even non-singers,

Joined in the chorus,

Was discontinued with his death in 1991,

But was reinstated a few years later As then-co-director Richard Goode told Alex Ross,

Many people felt that Sirkin playing the Choral Fantasy was a unique experience that could never be duplicated After he died,

The work was retired,

And I thought that was the right decision To my surprise,

A few years later,

People said,

You know,

I think we have to have a Choral Fantasy.

We needed a catharsis Also,

The festival still commemorates Bush's birthday,

August 8th,

With a special concert Marlboro is a town in Windom County,

Vermont,

United States.

The population was 1,

722 at the 2020 Census The town is home to both the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum and Potash Hill,

The campus that was formerly Marlboro College Potash Hill hosts the Marlboro Music School and Festival each summer,

As well as other arts and education programs throughout the year Named New Marlboro for the Duke of Marlboro until 1800,

The town was a New Hampshire Grand,

Chartered on April 29,

1751,

To Timothy Dwight and 64 others from Northampton,

Massachusetts and vicinity The French and Indian War prevented settlement,

So the first charter was forfeited and a new one issued by Governor Benning Wentworth on September 21,

1761,

Then again on April 17,

1764,

As New Marlboro The town was surveyed in 1762 and 64 equal rights or divisions were created,

With four lots in the center of town accepted First settled in 1763,

The town grew rapidly between 1764 and 1770,

With emigrants from Massachusetts and Connecticut By 1799,

There were 313 children registered in the town's schools The town's population peaked in 1820,

With 1,

300 people,

The subsequent decline caused by immigration to the West and a downturn in the area's economy Although the terrain is mountainous,

The soil is rich and deep,

Which allowed farmers to grow good crops When the population was 896 in 1859,

The community was almost exclusively agricultural Located on the Town Common are the Town House,

1822,

Used for town meetings,

The Town Offices and Post Office Building,

1969,

The Marlboro Meeting House Congressional Church,

1931,

And the Whetstone Inn,

Circa 1775 The town's first church was organized in 1776 and put up at the top of Town Hill in 1778 In 1820 it was replaced by a newer structure nearby,

And timbers and board from the old church were used in 1822 to build the Town House,

Which was also located in the vicinity Between 1836 and 1844,

Both of these buildings,

The church and the Town House,

Were moved down the hill to about their current locations on the Town Common The church that burned down in 1931 was replaced by the current one,

Which is roughly a reproduction of its predecessor,

Except slightly smaller After the move from down the hill,

Town House was on the east side of the South Road,

But when it was hit by a new,

Oversized snow plow in 1966,

It was moved across the road to its current location The Whetstone Inn was built around 1775 by Deacon Jonas Whitney,

Who arrived in Marlboro in 1773 Over its history,

It has been variously used as a courthouse,

Church,

Tavern,

Dance hall,

And post office In 1946,

Marlboro College was founded on the site of three farms by Walter Hendricks for returning World War II veterans,

With poet Robert Frost as its first trustee The Marlboro Music School and Festival,

Founded in 1951,

Is held each summer on the Potash Hill campus In 2006,

Marlboro was one of the first American towns to have its citizens pass a resolution endorsing the impeachment of President George W.

Bush And in 2011,

It was one of 13 Vermont towns isolated by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene Historical Population by Census Year Census 1790 Population 629 1800 Population 1,

087 1810 Population 1,

245 1820 Population 1,

296 1830 Population 1,

218 1840 Population 1,

027 1850 Population 896 1860 Population 741 1870 Population 665 1880 Population 553 1890 Population 495 1900 Population 448 1910 Population 442 1920 Population 300 1930 Population 255 1940 Population 225 1950 Population 311 1960 Population 347 1970 Population 592 1980 Population 695 1990 Population 924 2000 Population 978 2010 Population 1,

078 2020 Population 1,

722 According to the United States Census Bureau,

The town has a total area of 40.

7 square miles,

Of which 40.

3 square miles is land and 0.

3 square miles is water.

Marlborough is drained by the western branch of the West River,

Wetstone Brook,

And the Green River.

The town is crossed by Vermont Route 9,

Also known as the Molly Stark Trail.

As the Census of 2000,

There were 978 people,

330 households,

And 215 families residing in the town.

The population density was 24.

3 people per square mile.

There were 497 housing units,

At an average density of 12.

3 per square mile.

The racial makeup of the town was 96.

32% White,

0.

20% African American,

0.

20% Native American,

1.

02% Asian,

0.

41% Pacific Islander,

0.

72% from other races,

And 1.

12% from two or more races.

Hispanic and Latino of any race were 0.

82% of the population.

There were 330 households,

Out of which 30.

6% had children under the age of 18 living with them.

55.

8% were married couples living together,

6.

1% had a female householder with no husband present,

And 34.

8% were non-families.

25.

5% of all households were made up of individuals,

And 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The average household size was 2.

39,

And the average family size was 2.

9.

In the town,

The population was spread out,

With 19% under the age of 18,

23.

3% from 18 to 24,

20.

1% from 25 to 44,

27.

5% from 45 to 64,

And 10% who were 65 years of age or older.

The median age was 37 years.

For every 100 females,

There were 96 males.

For every 100 females age 18 and over,

There were 90.

4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $41,

429,

And the median income for a family was $44,

861.

Males had a median income of $30,

313 versus $25,

673 for females.

The per capita income for the town was $19,

503.

About 0.

9% of families and 3.

9% of the population were below the poverty line,

Including 1.

9% of those under age 18 and 7.

6% of those age 65 or older.

Students from kindergarten to eighth grade attend Marlborough School,

Which replaced a number of one-room schoolhouses in 1954.

Marlborough is home to the WRSY-FM 101.

5 radio station.

Sites of Interest Marlborough Historical Society and Museum Southern Vermont Natural History Museum Notable People Pete Bernard,

Member of the band The Devil Makes Three Newell Knight,

Religious leader Richard Lewontin,

Biologist and treasurer of the Marlborough Historical Society Margaret MacArthur,

Folk historian and musician Joseph Mazur,

Professor of mathematics Lewis Moyes,

Flute player and composer Blanche Honiger Moyes,

Conductor Edson B.

Olds,

U.

S.

Congressman Tasha Tudor,

Author and illustrator of children's books Newell K.

Whitney,

Prominent in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and businessmen

Reviews

Whatever the subject was, it worked. I think I heard all of 6 minutes and that’s even with the maintenance crew cleaning up the snow last night! 😂