Artsy Colleges Just Won't Die

摘要

Like leg warmers and mullets, Bennington College seemed a candidate for oblivion a generation ago. Tucked away at the foot of Vermont's Green Mountains, the school has long shined in the now-out-of-fashion humanities. Its famous alumni include writers Donna Tartt and Bret Easton Ellis, not hoodie-wearing tech billionaires. The college, which charges $73,000 a year, almost closed its doors in the 1990s and was still struggling earlier this decade. Today, Bennington, with its more than 700 undergraduates, stands as a testament to the staying power of the nation's small liberal arts colleges. "They've survived because they've been able to exploit what they're good at, and that has enabled them to continue to attract students and retain faculty," says David Bergeron, a former deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education. "The threat of closure has brought a new level of energy."