Terrain V01 - Journal - Page 15
Sterling College | 13
It’s incredible to be reminded that you were the vanguard of
so many of these issues and brought them into the awareness
of the public. So, how did you learn about Sterling?
I came by Sterling accidentally because a cousin of mine, David
McLean ‘86, was on the board. He asked if I would agree to have
lunch with then-president Will Wootton. I did, and immediately
fell in love with the College.
Over the decades that I was on the board of NRDC, I gave
what I thought was a good deal of money. In this span of time,
NRDC became huge. And the bigger they got, the smaller the
significance of my giving became. So I quit, quite literally to
make room for the billionaires waiting for a seat on the board.
Sterling was much more my scale—here I felt I could actually
do something.
You have been a real advocate for sustainable energy
systems and you crafted your Frank Lloyd Wright inspired
home here in Vermont. What inspired this beautiful and
very energy efficient home?
I believe that people who talk about the environment and
supposedly support it should exhibit this in their lives.
And so in our house we tried to practice what I preached.
And it’s been an interesting experience; it has not been easy
and a lot of things went wrong, which is true of the whole environmental movement.
I’ll go back to my father who, at the Harvard Graduate School
of Education, was on the Board of Overseers and Visiting Committee for the graduate school. There was a wonderful dean of
the school, Paul Ylvisaker. I watched how my father and Ylvisaker formed a team. I formed a similar bond with Matthew. Some
people might criticize the fact that I did not create the kind of
critical distance that a lot of people think should pertain between a board chair and a president. But it was something I was
comfortable with. It was something Matthew was comfortable
with. And we were in alignment where Sterling should go so
that’s what really kept me involved.
You have been extraordinarily generous to Sterling and
helped us overcome some really difficult moments. Sterling’s
existence today is in large part to your commitment to its
mission. On behalf of the College, we are just so grateful for
your leadership, and your generosity. Thank you.
I was happy to do it, I’m delighted to see that the College has
succeeded. It’s been a perilous time for colleges in Vermont
and small colleges everywhere. But we’re still here, we’re thriving, and the environmental awareness that our kind of public
pulpit allows is only being strengthened in this moment.
As we look around and see all of these ecological crises really
piling up, we turn to Sterling and to the students that we have
graduated as a source for solutions to some of these major issues. Not only through legislation or policy, but also in really
practical ways that impact our daily lives.
What has motivated you to stay so deeply engaged with
Sterling?
Matthew Derr—he persuaded me to become the next board
chair, or persuaded the board. I was quite reluctant, because I’m not comfortable in those kinds of positions.
But I hope it came out all right. Matthew and I really formed a
close partnership.
Jonathan Z. Larsen was elected to the Board of Trustees in
2010, elected as secretary in 2011, elected as chair in 2013 and
served four years in that leadership role before leaving the Executive Committee. Jon’s retirement from the board was celebrated in October 2021. Jon served the College extremely
well during a transformative time in which Sterling expanded
the reach of its programs and reputation, thus leaving us in a
strong position to address the challenges facing humanity and
the natural world today.