David G. Bergh, Ed.D., is the current President of Vermont State University. Bergh has more than 25 years of experience in higher education, with 20 years in the Vermont State Colleges System.
The Johnson State College campus I stepped onto in 1997 as Director of Student Activities was a vastly different place than it is today as Vermont State University’s Johnson Campus. The buildings have aged (and I may have a few more gray hairs), the programs have shifted, and there are far fewer students. Businesses, communities, and the world around us have also changed. Yet I have never been more hopeful for Vermont State University (VTSU), nor more excited for the future of Johnson – a place I proudly called home for nearly 20 years.
At VTSU, we have long believed in the transformative power of education. Today, we are also realizing the power our institution has to revitalize – even revolutionize – our rural communities. That dual mission, both transforming lives and strengthening place is what makes this moment so urgent and so full of possibility.
Vermont’s demographic trends are well known at this point. Fewer kids mean fewer high school graduates, and that trend is not reversing in the near-term. The traditional pool of college-age students shrinks every year. Add to that the myriad crises of the past six years from financial decline to pandemic, threat of closure and then state intervention, ongoing transformation with program and staffing changes, FAFSA challenges, and restrictive new federal policies for international students. It’s enough to shake even the optimists among us.
We are seeing the impacts of all of this in our enrollment and across our campuses. Each hurdle presents new threats to what we are working so hard to build.
But this is not a story of decline. It is a story of revitalization and regeneration.
Today’s students are older, balancing jobs and families, and looking to advance in careers that are often already well underway. In response, we are expanding online programs, adding industry-recognized credentials, and developing seamless pathways from CCV to VTSU to good jobs here in Vermont. We already see results of this shift. Enrollment is growing in key workforce areas like nursing, apprenticeships in the skilled trades, and early childhood education. Faculty are innovating with programs like our 3-D Technology initiative, which merges animation, engineering, and archaeology into high-demand training.
And the potential goes beyond academics. Our campuses hold land, infrastructure, and underutilized facilities ready for new life. Rather than a burden, we see these as opportunities to be shared with our communities. We may well hold the key to rural revitalization in these incredible places.
In Johnson, this vision is already taking shape. After devastating floods displaced much of the village center, we partnered with local leaders to reimagine Martinetti Hall as a modern Community Services and Resilience Center, housing municipal offices, emergency operations, health care, child care, and more. With federal disaster-recovery funding, this project could become a model for rural revitalization. Success here could also unlock private investment in housing, a grocery store, post office, and other essentials transforming our campus into a vibrant, resilient neighborhood.
Yet, the road ahead is far from simple and the beautiful vision painted above is no forgone conclusion. We need funding and strategic investment to revitalize our campuses. We will have to continue evolving to meet the moment and will need to make hard choices as new challenges are flung our way. Programs must still change and evolve. Budgets continue to tighten. We must continually adapt the way we serve our students because their needs are ever-changing.
But, as I round out my last year at VTSU, my hope is that someday, someone standing on the Johnson campus for the first time may look back – as I do now – in awe of its transformation, and forward with hope for the next 30 years of promise and opportunity.