Oral history interview with Mark Anarumo
Title
Oral history interview with Mark Anarumo
Description
Mark Anarumo discusses transitioning to the position of president of Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont, during the COVID-19 pandemic. He describes the impact of the pandemic on the university and his priorities for weathering the crisis, including students' mental health during lockdown periods, communication with the university community (especially students' parents), and preventing staff layoffs. He explains his choice to spend time living in the dorms alongside quarantined cadet and civilian students and relates the experience of opening his campus residence to a member of the football team who had tested positive for COVID. He expresses pride in several university initiatives, such as testing wastewater systems both at the university and in Northfield. He also discusses the decision to prorate room and board for students that did not want to return to campus as well as the overall strength and importance of both the nursing program and college athletics.
Mark Anarumo was Norwich University's president from June 2020 until early January 2024. An announcement in January 2020 named him as the replacement for longtime president, Richard Schneider, who retired in May 2020. A major general, his prior experience included multinational efforts as part of a UN pressure campaign to force North Korea to the negotiating table and service as a U.S. Air Force colonel in T|rkiye. He received a Ph.D. in "terrorism and political violence" from Rutgers University. He resigned from his position at Norwich after an investigation by the board of trustees found he violated the university's core values and policies.
Sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-251676-OMS-22.
Mark Anarumo was Norwich University's president from June 2020 until early January 2024. An announcement in January 2020 named him as the replacement for longtime president, Richard Schneider, who retired in May 2020. A major general, his prior experience included multinational efforts as part of a UN pressure campaign to force North Korea to the negotiating table and service as a U.S. Air Force colonel in T|rkiye. He received a Ph.D. in "terrorism and political violence" from Rutgers University. He resigned from his position at Norwich after an investigation by the board of trustees found he violated the university's core values and policies.
Sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-251676-OMS-22.
Date
2023-04-03
Subject
Source
Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project
Identifier
AudioFileCOVID-005
Format
MP3
WAV
Type
Audio file
Rights
Permission to publish material from the Collecting COVID-19: A Vermont Story Project may be obtained from the Vermont Historical Society.
Interviewer
Johnson, Mark
Interviewee
Anarumo, Mark
Duration
1 hr, 18 min., 14 sec.
Repository
Vermont Historical Society Library, 60 Washington Street, Barre, VT 05641-4213
Collection
Citation
“Oral history interview with Mark Anarumo,” Digital Vermont: A Project of the Vermont Historical Society, accessed April 28, 2025, https://digitalvermont.org/vtcovid/AudioFileCOVID-005.