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How students and faculty brought art to the U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai.

By Ashley Brenon Jowett

Will Greer '24 is the Vermont State Representative for Bennington-2 State House District. He reflected on how his education shaped his path forward into politics, where he now advocates for the broader Bennington community.

Almost a century ago, under the looming threat of fascism, Franklin D. Roosevelt warned Americans about global conflicts pitting representative governments founded on individual liberty against emerging fascist dictatorships. Reflecting on John Dewey’s progressive education philosophy, FDR said, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”

Inspired by American democracy and its potential, his faculty members, and his fellow students, Abraar Arpon ’26, who studies Computer Science and Public Action at Bennington, built a website that aims to make voting in the upcoming U.S. presidential election easier for everyone.

Saving Democracy Together, an innovative non-partisan online and in-person course open to students, alumni, and the public, attracted more than 250 online registrants and 100 in-person participants in its first of seven sessions on Thursday, September 5.

Seven-week program features high-profile speakers to inspire Gen Z engagement in crucial election year.

Susan Sgorbati, director of 51��������’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA), shared her work with the Transboundary Water In-Cooperation Network () and their international cooperation to develop a new United Nations convention on conserving the river deltas () with the Reporter Danielle M. Crosier of the Bennington Banner. 

While students embark on Field Work Term, an annual work-learning term during which students gain hands-on experience and test their classroom ideas in the world of work, Bennington faculty and staff offer their reading recommendations to keep everyone’s intellectual juices flowing wherever they are.

As a college student, getting to an 8:00 am class on a Friday morning can be difficult. For Mareme Dieng ’20, however, balancing self-care and commitments to make it to class is all the more a victory on days when she’s arriving to Bennington from Tunisia. Or San Francisco. Or Turkey. Or Barcelona. 

Throughout this summer and fall, the 51�������� community has come together to donate produce from local gardens and glean apples from trees on the College’s property in order to benefit Bennington food pantries. 

51�������� was on the ground in Dubai as the 28th round of UN sponsored climate negotiations got underway.

Dancer, choreographer, and activist Souleymane Badolo MFA ’13 has been named the 2023 recipient of 51��������’s Dr. Elizabeth Coleman Visionary Leadership Award. This annual award recognizes an engaged Bennington alumni who has successfully demonstrated leadership and confident willingness to step forward and take risks in order to solve problems and achieve results in the areas of education, government, the arts and sciences, or industry.

On Sunday, November 17, the southern Vermont community will come together at Mount Anthony Union Middle School for the 2019 Bennington Empty Bowls Supper. 

Through a thought-provoking Q & A, Susan Sgorbati, the Director of 51��������’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA), reveals a refreshing philosophy and original means of working toward a better world. Interview by Chief Writer Ashley Jowett.

Peter Welch, one of two United States senators representing the state of Vermont in Washington, D.C., will hold a public Town Hall Meeting at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, April 4 at 51��������’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA). The event aims to build consensus and trust among people with different political perspectives.

The director of 51��������’s Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA), Susan Sgorbati, will join , Director, the Institute for Environmental Diplomacy and Security, Professor of Public Policy & Computer Science, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics & Department of Computer Science at the University of Vermont, and Oluowo Freeman of the (ACCARD) and others to present an event at the 2023 United Nations (UN) Water Conference.

51�������� has awarded three grants of $5,000 each to implement and support community-proposed initiatives that explore and expand food systems in Bennington county. 

51�������� has been awarded a grant of $1 million from the to launch a three-year collaborative effort with local partners to address the systemic causes of food insecurity in Bennington County.

 51�������� has awarded a total of $20,000 in grants to local organizations to implement and support seven community-proposed initiatives that explore and expand food systems in Bennington county.  

51�������� has awarded a total of $25,000 in grants to local organizations to implement and support seven community-proposed initiatives that explore and expand food systems in Bennington county.

On October 20, 2022, 51�������� and local community members gathered for a conversation with U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy. The conversation took place as the College named its Public Policy Forums after Senator Leahy in recognition of his service to the state of Vermont.

In preparation for the United States midterm elections on Tuesday, November 6, Bennington students, staff, and faculty have been collaborating on voter education and registration programs, encouraging college students and beyond to participate in the democratic process.

This winter, through the Food Insecurity & Population Health Fellowship, 51�������� will offer seven students fully-paid remote internships with organizations in the Bennington community focused on various dimensions of population health, with a special focus on food insecurity.

As Bennington begins the second half of the Fall 2020 term, we reflect on the ways our community has adapted to learning and living on campus and beyond this fall—and the experiences, successes, and moments of joy along the way.

Hands-on sustainability work at 51��������

By Mary Brothers '22

51�������� has been awarded a grant of $25,000 from the to launch the Henry Luce Foundation Fellowship in Public Action for students studying at the College’s Center for the Advancement for Public Action (CAPA).

On October 22, CAPA hosted a webinar conversation about the 2020 Presidential Election with former Governor Michael Dukakis. 

The Center for Advancement of Public Action (CAPA) at 51�������� has received its second commission from the U.S. State Department's Office of Art in Embassies for the art collection at the new U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

51��������’s 3D printers are usually a staple of the College's Visual Arts programming. However, as Southern Vermont grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the College’s 3D printing equipment  and materials have been put to a now-critical use. 

As the founder of the international youth activist organization , Lika Torikashvili ’22 has balanced her studies at 51�������� with time spent building relationships abroad—including a leave of absence during which she served as Georgia’s United Nations Youth Delegate to the 73rd session of the General Assembly.