JSC to Celebrate ‘Premier Public Liberal Arts College’ Status Monday, August 22

August 20, 2016

Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding will be among the speakers at Johnson State College 11:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 22, at a celebration of the college’s designation as Vermont’s premier public liberal arts college by the international Council on Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC).

Other speakers will be JSC President Elaine Collins, Assistant Professor and former “Blue Man Group” member Isaac Eddy, and 2016 JSC Student Government Association President Shavonna Bent, a senior from Randolph, Vt.

The 20-minute ceremony will take place outside the Willey Library & Learning Center (inside Dibden Center for the Arts in the event of rain) immediately follow Opening Convocation, which begins at 10:45 a.m. in the Dibden Center and includes a brief address by Dr. Les Kanat, JSC professor of environmental sciences.

COPLAC membership is reserved for predominantly undergraduate and residential colleges and universities that confer more than half of their degrees in traditional liberal arts disciplines and “provide students of high ability and from all backgrounds access to an outstanding liberal arts education.” Member schools provide many opportunities for students in community service and other civic engagement, support a range of activities beyond academics, and typically have fewer than 5,000 students.

COPLAC affiliation extends a number of benefits to JSC undergraduates, including regional research conferences, grant-funded research with mentors at other schools, campus exchanges and summer study-abroad programs.

Both the Opening Convocation and COPLAC celebration are free and open to the public, with parking available in any campus lot without restriction. The events kick off the first day of fall-semester classes at JSC and President Collins’ second year leading the college.