Summer 2020

Editor’s note

With this final, abbreviated issue, we say goodbye to Potash Hill as we know it. After months of anticipation, preparation, and more than a fair share of commotion, in July 2020 Marlboro College will officially become the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College. Kind of a mouthful, I know, and there are many who have found it difficult to swallow, but in these uncertain times the college considers itself fortunate to be able to continue its academic mission and legacy.

While short on the usual sumptuous photography and elegant design, this online issue is an opportunity to reflect on the college’s distinctive heritage and look toward its promising future. It is the right time and place to honor the final graduating class, who persevered this year despite tremendous challenges, and to check in with the many alumni who are and will continue to be the college’s living legacy. I am grateful to Dan Toomey ’79, who has written so many valuable articles for this publication about Marlboro’s history, for his final musings on the college’s place in the evolving landscape of higher education. I also want to encourage you to check out The Marlboro Years, a new panoramble book from Mark Roessler ’90 and a perfect complement to this final issue of Potash Hill.

“I carry the memory of Marlboro as a small secret strength in my heart,” says Emily Field Uribe ’11 in Class Notes, and I couldn’t agree more. It has been my great privilege and joy to write for and edit this venerable magazine, and to support the mission and day-to-day endeavors of Marlboro College, for the past 12 years. I am richer for the countless stories of students, faculty, and alumni I helped share, and I’ve appreciated the support and feedback of many readers over the years. I encourage you all to stay engaged as the institution enters this new and exciting chapter, and to send your news and updates to alumni@emerson.edu.

—Philip Johansson, editor