I write to address the critical situation unfolding at Goddard College, a bastion of liberal arts education now facing closure amidst allegations of profound mismanagement and breaches of fiduciary duty by its administration. Despite its significance as a repository of knowledge and economic force in the region, the institution has been marred by injustice and breaches of fiduciary responsibility by management.
The board had consistently impeded income-generating initiatives such as facility leasing, fundraising, and recruitment, thereby exacerbating the institution's financial distress. Unlawfully terminating faculty and staff contracts has jeopardized their finances - as a matter of survival for those who depended on pensions and income. Moreover, their misleading representation of teach-out options to students, including fraudulent claims and inadequate support, has left students without viable pathways to complete their degrees. Some alumni, students, faculty and staff have just filed an injunction to stop the sale of the beloved campus of over 100 acres in Plainfield, Vermont.
The Goddard College board's ties to for-profit entities with dubious ethical records, including conflicts of interest and past involvement in school closures, raise concerns about their stewardship of Goddard, interest that may have influenced decision-making at the expense of the institution's integrity.
Dean Stephen Pite was hired without an interview, without community input. At minimum, six other members were noted by observers as being particularly vocal in selecting members known to them over other qualified candidates. Goddard President Dan Hocoy and others on the board had been removed from other institutions, with allegations of impropriety. Goddard former president Marc Schulman had partnered with lawyer David Figuli - both as board member on a consulting firm that Goddard board hired, Stevens Strategy, and in his previous role orchestrating a school merger together with Figuli’s other firm, TCS Education. TCS is directed by Figuli in a manner considered monopolistic and "Machiavellian" in its business practices, according to one school that filed suit. The case text notes Figuli’s business strategy: boards selected within his network hire firms that, rather than work under colleges’ fiduciary responsibilities, non-competitively extract money from school sales and mergers to send to private equity firms owned by him and his colleagues.
Goddard Dean Stephen Pite was “posted” during prior school closures as a “director” for Apollo Education (then named Career Education Corporation): another company headed by Ryan Craig and David Figuli. David Figuli’s companies were previously under congressional scrutiny for fraudulent activities wherein a Betsy DeVos aide funded the same consortiums of for-profit non-accredited institutions for whom she had formerly lobbied. These firms changed names many times, but the same individuals, including Ryan Craig and David Figuli who led the firms now head an emerging "strategic and small" to avoid "regulatory risks" education department in Bertelsmann. Craig is now on the board of lobbyist APEI. The Goddard board outsourced many of its duties to a company owned by Rick Beyer, CORE Education, a partner of Stevens Strategy. Private equity firms owned by Rick Beyer, Ryan Craig and David Figuli were the subject of a DOJ investigation in 2012 that concluded, through interviews and financial analysis, that these firms coordinate to prioritize investments in violation of federal antitrust legislation.
The board had consistently impeded income-generating initiatives such as facility leasing, fundraising, and recruitment, thereby exacerbating the institution's financial distress. Unlawfully terminating faculty and staff contracts has jeopardized their finances - as a matter of survival for those who depended on pensions and income. Moreover, their misleading representation of teach-out options to students, including fraudulent claims and inadequate support, has left students without viable pathways to complete their degrees. Some alumni, students, faculty and staff have just filed an injunction to stop the sale of the beloved campus of over 100 acres in Plainfield, Vermont.
The Goddard College board's ties to for-profit entities with dubious ethical records, including conflicts of interest and past involvement in school closures, raise concerns about their stewardship of Goddard, interest that may have influenced decision-making at the expense of the institution's integrity.
Dean Stephen Pite was hired without an interview, without community input. At minimum, six other members were noted by observers as being particularly vocal in selecting members known to them over other qualified candidates. Goddard President Dan Hocoy and others on the board had been removed from other institutions, with allegations of impropriety. Goddard former president Marc Schulman had partnered with lawyer David Figuli - both as board member on a consulting firm that Goddard board hired, Stevens Strategy, and in his previous role orchestrating a school merger together with Figuli’s other firm, TCS Education. TCS is directed by Figuli in a manner considered monopolistic and "Machiavellian" in its business practices, according to one school that filed suit. The case text notes Figuli’s business strategy: boards selected within his network hire firms that, rather than work under colleges’ fiduciary responsibilities, non-competitively extract money from school sales and mergers to send to private equity firms owned by him and his colleagues.
Goddard Dean Stephen Pite was “posted” during prior school closures as a “director” for Apollo Education (then named Career Education Corporation): another company headed by Ryan Craig and David Figuli. David Figuli’s companies were previously under congressional scrutiny for fraudulent activities wherein a Betsy DeVos aide funded the same consortiums of for-profit non-accredited institutions for whom she had formerly lobbied. These firms changed names many times, but the same individuals, including Ryan Craig and David Figuli who led the firms now head an emerging "strategic and small" to avoid "regulatory risks" education department in Bertelsmann. Craig is now on the board of lobbyist APEI. The Goddard board outsourced many of its duties to a company owned by Rick Beyer, CORE Education, a partner of Stevens Strategy. Private equity firms owned by Rick Beyer, Ryan Craig and David Figuli were the subject of a DOJ investigation in 2012 that concluded, through interviews and financial analysis, that these firms coordinate to prioritize investments in violation of federal antitrust legislation.
We must prioritize the interests of students, faculty, and the broader community over corporate interests and opaque decision-making. I hope we can reclaim it for students, faculty, staff, and the broader community as the true caretakers of this institution: a dream of reimagining Goddard as a beacon of progressive education, supported by sustainable financial practices and a commitment to academic excellence.
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Elena Botts had lived many places in the northeast and abroad. Elena's poems and writings were published in over a hundred literary and scholarly magazines. Elena was the winner of four poetry contests and had many books published. Elena's visual artwork won numerous awards and has been exhibited in various galleries. Elena collaborated on, released and installed sound and moving image artwork, as well as multimedia and conceptual art, and organized a multimedia collective for this purpose, while pursuing graduate school and academic, policy, and activist work & projects, inspired by the spiritual, as well as occasional expeditions. https://sites.google.com/view/elena-botts
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