Potash Hill

Fall 2019

Editor’s Note 

While this issue of Potash Hill was in production, Marlboro announced an ambitious plan to merge with the much larger University of Bridgeport. I call it ambitious because it was not the easy way out—that would have been going fizzle, spending down the college’s endowment until its only assets were a cluster of buildings on a quiet hilltop. Instead, a task force of community members who care deeply about Marlboro found the best strategic partner they could, hopefully providing an influx of diverse students while protecting the college’s student-focused pedagogy and faculty-governed curriculum. 

As we all await details of the proposed merger in the coming months, this Potash Hill finds much to celebrate, per usual. From Marlboro’s sparkly new website to the college’s designation as an Ashoka U Changemaker Campus, from the new Data Humanist certificate to the student-led trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this issue is bursting with good news. While the features are on the darker side, focusing on the life-and-death struggle of refugees and the role of ghostly folklore on the Marlboro campus, they still celebrate the diverse and important pursuits—and clear writing—of students and alumni. 

As always, Potash Hill applauds the entrepreneurial spirit of Marlboro alumni, from fashion visionary Raghavendra Rathore ’91 in India and coffee prophet Dagmawi Iyasu ’98 in Ethiopia all the way home to Brattleboro’s arts innovator Teta Hilsdon ’87. We will greatly miss collaborating with extraordinary photographer, musician, and holistic education guru Clayton Clemetson ’19, and eagerly anticipate what lies ahead for him. Once again (even if you’ve signed up before), we urge you to let us know what lies ahead for you by signing up on the new, improved Branch Out, Marlboro’s own online community for connecting, engaging, and supporting. 

Where is your own entrepreneurial niche, or what was your favorite ghostly anecdote from Howland? As always, we love to hear from our readers at pjohansson@marlboro.edu. 

—Philip Johansson