This third week of October was Vermont Week for our blog. Allegedly, it was days after peak leaf season but the trees hadn’t gotten the message. The drive up was breathtakingly gorgeous.
First stop was Norwich University.
Norwich was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge, a military educator and former superintendent at West Point. Partridge believed in the “American System of Education,” incorporating a traditional liberal arts curriculum with instruction in civil engineering and military science. He believed a well-trained militia was a necessity for America, yet the country should not have a professional army but rather one committed to civil service. His ideals inspired the creation of 8 military colleges throughout the nation (including The Citadel), incorporating classes in agriculture and modern languages, the sciences and liberal arts, and various military subjects.
I was hosted by General John Broadmeadow, who last year became the first Norwich alum to serve as president in thirty years. Not only is Broadmeadow the highest-ranking Marine officer to have ever graduated from Norwich (as the third highest ranking officer in the Corps), he is also the first Marine to preside over the university.
Broadmeadow’s career includes a multitude of notable expeditionary operations. He led the logistics planning and execution for the Marines’ initial amphibious assault into Afghanistan in 2001 after the attacks of 9/11. He then served multiple tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, including lead advisor to the 7th Iraqi Infantry Division in 2009 and culminating with the drawdown and retrograde of equipment from Helmand Province in 2013. He also led Humanitarian Operations in both Somalia with Operation Restore Hope and in Japan following the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear plant damage that devastated the coast north of Tokyo.
With his years of military experience and fond memories of his own years on campus, Norwich is an excellent fit for the General. Historically, Norwich has turned out hundreds of officers and soldiers who served our country, including nine recipients of the Medal of Honor. During the Civil War, for example, 750 Norwich men fought for the Union Army, a participation rate so high that the Class of 1864 had a mere seven cadets. And the tradition continues.
Today, Norwich enrolls over 2,500 undergraduate students, including both cadets and civilians. Students can choose among 30 programs on a lush campus of more than 1200 acres. A robust online program in graduate and undergraduate studies attracts another 1000 students. One of the most unique characteristics of Norwich, as the only private military academy in the nation, is the unusual integration of two different cultures, with cadets and civilians learning and living alongside one another. The campus ratio is 45% civilian vs. 55% cadet and it was fascinating to consider the challenge of integrating the two quite distinct cultures.
On the beautiful fall day of my visit, the temperature was over 70 degrees and the campus gleamed. Every cadet we passed was in full uniform and saluted the General, addressing him with a courteous “Good morning, sir!” The first-year Cadets, or Rooks as they are called, are required to walk on the edge of the sidewalks (“the gutter” in their lingo) and to perform precise 90 degree turns at each intersection. Yet interspersed with these cadets were civilians who looked just like hoodie-wearing, sleepy students anywhere, heading for their noon Arts & Architecture class.
Another distinctive feature of a Norwich education: about a quarter of the cadets are funded after their first year by one of the branches of the service and in return, they will owe four years of service post graduation. With no college debt!
It was such a pleasure to visit Norwich and meet President General Broadmeadow.
Another one of NECHE’s special universities with a unique mission in an idyllic setting.
