Southern Vermont College

History

Southern Vermont College was founded in 1926 as St. Joseph Business School, an institution offering certificates of proficiency in secretarial accounting, finance, shorthand and typewriting. Eleven students were in the first graduating class. In 1962, it became an accredited junior college, St. Joseph College, awarding associate degrees in business and secretarial science.

Twelve years later, in 1974, the school moved to its current location on the Everett Estate and became Southern Vermont College, a nonsectarian liberal arts college offering a career-directed curriculum. In the years immediately following this change of location, the College earned bachelor's degree authority from the Vermont Department of Education and full accreditation with the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

Campus

The 27-room Everett Mansion, listed (along with most of the campus) on the National Register of Historic Places, serves as the College's primary administrative and academic building. It was built 1911–14 for Edward H. Everett, a successful businessman from Cleveland, Ohio, and is architecturally a distinctive combination of Beaux Arts and Norman Revival styles, designed by George Oakley Totten. It hosts the library, theatre, Center for Teaching and Learning (academic support), Burgdorff Gallery, eight classrooms, plus administrative offices. From 1977 to 1994, the theatre served as the residence for the regionally acclaimed Oldcastle Theatre Company.

The college currently has five residence halls, as well as a new residence hall complex, Hunter Hall, that was completed in 2009 and accommodates 110 residential students. The new residence hall, situated on the slopes of Mt. Anthony with a spectacular view of the Green Mountains, is both a living and learning facility, equipped with science and computer labs, study rooms, and a spacious atrium overlooking a newly restored pond. Other notable buildings include the Dining Hall, Mountaineer Athletic Center with Fitness Center, and a 24-hour Computer Lab with wireless workstations for remote Internet access and high-speed data transfer.

Curriculum

Southern Vermont College is a member of the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges (AVIC) and the Vermont Campus Compact, affiliated with the national association of colleges that include community service, hands-on learning and civic engagement as part of their academic requirements. All first-year students at Southern Vermont College take "Quest for Success," a course that combines classroom instruction with off-campus community projects in such fields as environmental restoration, research on historic objects in the local museum work with a local theater company, and media studies with Community Access Television.

In Fall 2013, Southern Vermont College partnered with the College Steps Program, joining two other Vermont colleges engaged in this innovative program. The Program provides students with cognitive impairments (e.g., autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities) with an opportunity to participate in a modified two-year college experience. This experience helps students to acquire academic, social, vocational, and independent living skills. Students in this program will obtain a certificate upon completion of the requirements.

In January 2014, Southern Vermont College established the Veterans' Scholar Program (VSP). The Program is committed to working with veterans and military-connected family members. The office assists prospective students with the admissions and enrollment process, including veteran benefits. The Director of VSP serves as a resource, liaison and advocate for veteran students, as well as a resource for campus staff to better serve veteran students.

Facts

General attributes

Southern Vermont College offers five academic divisions: The McCormick Division of Business, The Hunter Division of Humanities, The Division of Nursing, The John Merck Division of Science and Technology, and The Donald Everett Axinn Division of Social Sciences.

The College offers 16 academic degree programs. Bachelor's degrees are offered in Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Business Administration/Sports Management, Communication, Creative Writing, Criminal Justice, English, Entrepreneurship and Management, Healthcare Management and Advocacy, History and Politics, Human Services, Liberal Arts, Nursing, Radiologic Sciences and Psychology. An Associate degree is offered in Liberal Arts.

Athletics

Southern Vermont College offers NCAA Division III athletics, and competes in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). The Mountaineers compete in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, softball, women's lacrosse, and men's and women's volleyball.

In Fall 2012, the women's volleyball team won the NECC Championship for the third consecutive year.

The Athletic Department's official website is www.svcathletics.com