By the numbers: community poll indicates major opposition to the new direction
VCFA Stay conducted a poll to understand current sentiment about the new direction President Ward, the senior administration, and the Board of Trustees have proposed. Is the dissent over the new direction of VCFA coming from a few disgruntled alums, or is it widespread?
The poll results indicate majority opposition to the new direction and overwhelming support for stopping the property sale in order to pursue other options.
Explore poll results using the charts below.
The poll was conducted through SurveyMonkey with settings for one uneditable submission per person. Participants self-identified their group.
578 constituents completed the poll from February 20-28, 2023, including alumnx, current students, artist-mentors, faculty, donors, staff, former staff, among others.
Overall, 73% of respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
The top five areas of concern are (in order): VCFA’s long-term viability, lack of collaborative decision-making by senior leadership, the future of the VCFA brand and legacy, loss of VCFA campus and real estate assets, and the potential devaluation of a VCFA degree.
83% of all respondents want the Board of Trustees to pause the sale of campus buildings.
89% of all respondents request the Board engage in conversation with the larger VCFA community to hear everyone’s concerns.
59% of current student respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
50% of current faculty respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
92% of former faculty respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
74% of alumnx respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
85% of donor respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
42% of current staff respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
93% of former staff are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.
88% of artist-mentor respondents are strongly opposed to the direction the Board and senior leadership are taking VCFA.