Residence Halls

Home Away From Home

Sterling has always prided itself on community values, and this sense of shared responsibility will be brought to the forefront as we navigate our safe reopening.

There are six residences on campus. Four of our houses are set up in classic dormitory style, with shared bathrooms on each floor. Two houses are the former Inn on the Common, and each room has its own private bathroom.

All houses respect self-identified gender and house all gender identities.

Community Advisors and House Advisors

Community Advisors (CAs) and House Advisors (HAs) are student employees through the Sterling College Work Program. CAs and HAs are trusted liaisons between the College and the students, and as such hold a great responsibility as role models and leaders who exemplify ethical, caring, and compassionate Sterling culture.

Students selected to fill this critical role are knowledgeable and experienced guides who teach (and learn) through commitment to the growth of individuals and the Sterling community. They are trusted advocates who work with and for the students, and on behalf of the community’s best interest and goals. They are first responders in many situations on campus, and are trained in basic counseling and crisis management skills, CPR & first aid, and conflict resolution.

The position of the Community Advisor is unique and demanding. It requires the ability to balance many complex roles and responsibilities. Community Advisors are expected to be available to students with questions, concerns, and emergencies at all hours, and they work closely with the Dean of Students to ensure safety, equity, and accountability on campus. CAs foster a culture in which all students have the opportunity to thrive in their academic, work, and personal lives.

Want to really get a feel for this place?

You are cordially invited!

Schedule a Visit

NORTH HOUSE

NorthHouse North House is the former President’s residence, and practices communal, intentional living. This house sits right on Craftsbury Common and above Sterling’s Edible Forest Garden and Glass House.

KESTREL HOUSE

Madison Kestrel House faces Kane and Dunbar Hall and houses up to 25 students. Coin-operated washers and dryers and a root cellar are located in the basement of Kestrel.

MERLIN HOUSE

Merlin Merlin House houses up to 25 students. Lounges are located on both floors and a coin-operated washer/dryer is located on the first floor. Major renovation was completed in the fall of 2000. Merlin is also home to the Wellness Center.

HOUSTON HOUSE

Houston House is next to the Brown Library. Formerly one part of the Inn on the Common, the building includes a student lounge, dining room, and extensively landscaped grounds.

SOUTH HOUSE

South House, right across the street, is Sterling’s newest residence. It used to be the other half of the Inn on the Common, and before that, was a dorm for the Sterling School. It currently houses about eight students.

ALDER

Alder House is located on the “lower campus.” Surrounded by fields and adjacent to Cedar Swamp, this residence is a short walk from the main hub of campus. This residence has rooms for up to 16 students, plus a faculty apartment. Alder underwent extensive environmental renovations in Summer 2011.

BIRCH

Birch House is located on the “lower campus.” Surrounded by fields and adjacent to Cedar Swamp, this residence is a short walk from the main hub of campus. This residence has rooms for up to 16 students, plus a faculty apartment. Birch House underwent extensive environmental renovations in Summer 2011.

Housing students under the age of 18

Sterling College residence halls provide an environment for resident students to live, work, and study. Each residence is supported by a team of Community Advisors, who are students trained in basic counseling and crisis management skills, CPR & first aid, and conflict resolution. Additionally, an administrator is on call for emergencies 24/7.

While living in the residence halls, individual students have a limited level of supervision, regardless of age. Students are expected to use good judgment at all times by following all Community Guidelines and local, state, and federal laws. Students may come and go from their residence hall, visit students in other residence halls, and make decisions about which and when guests visit them in their rooms. All residence halls (including bathrooms and shower facilities) are co-ed, and may house students of all ages. Sterling College does not have a curfew; however, individual houses may agree on a shared understanding of quiet hours.

We strongly encourage parents or legal guardians to have candid discussions with their students about understanding and following the policies and procedures of the College, local, state, and federal laws, and the need to make good decisions about being successful at college. Sterling College does not assume in loco parentis responsibility for students. Information about Vermont age of consent laws can be found here. Information about Vermont underage drinking laws can be found here. Learn about our community standards in the Student Handbook.

These discussions are even more important when minors are involved. Any minor needing emergency medical treatment will be transported to the nearest facility, and will not be released without their parent or legal guardian present. Any minor choosing to engage in any type of criminal activity, including underage alcohol violations, may be placed in police custody and their parent or legal guardian will need to be present for their release. The College does not assume custody for the release of a minor. Demonstrated awareness of such considerations by the minor student, parents and legal guardians may be relevant to the College’s decision with regard to appropriate housing options for the student.

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We recently partnered with the Kentucky Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation to plant 24 American Chestnut trees at the Brown Farm of the Wendell Berry Farming Program. These tall trees reigned forest canopies along the eastern coast for millions of years until the first half of the 20th century when heavy logging combined with the introduction of a fungal blight decimated their population.

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Creepy Crawlies | Sterling Chronicles

Michael Tessler '09 started catching creepy crawlies at a very young age. This passion was evident during his time as a student at Sterling. This love was further fostered in graduate school, first working on moss ecology at Fordham University and then on leech evolution at the American Museum of Natural History. He continued postdoctoral work on broader questions of plant and animal evolution across the tree of life. His research has led to over 30 journal articles, a textbook on phylogenomics, media coverage by the New York Times, and fieldwork across the globe.

Doing this research, he has mentored over 20 students (high school through doctoral), many of whom have helped co-authored publications. Currently, Michael is an Assistant Professor of Biology at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, where he continues his passion for teaching the next generation of scientists and grow my research in ecology and evolution.

This video was made possible by a generous donation from David Behrend ’60.

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Some of the most beautiful aspects of Henry County, Kentucky, could go easily unnoticed, unless you stop to look. We're grateful for autumn weather and its fungal blooms, how about you?

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Cob oven skill swap full of clay shaping, hay snipping, watermelon harvesting, and dancing on cattails at the Wendell Berry Farming Program. The work IS the reward, students are excited for upcoming pizza nights at Hope Hill Farm!

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Student, Ruth Gardinet, talks about why she chose Outdoor Education and how community can serve as a support system.

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Celebrating Sterling College President, Matthew Derr. As nature has demonstrated, the only constant is change and disturbances are important for health and evolution. When a tree falls in the forest - a disturbance - there is a loss but also an abundance of opportunity and potential for new growth. Speaking in ecological terms, Sterling is in a moment of secondary succession.

As Matthew Derr’s last day as president approaches, October 31, we acknowledge the vision and passion that he has brought to his nearly ten years. Through his good work, he has inspired many to consider what is possible in higher education and how it can be a force that strengthens the human relationship with the natural world. The role of mission-aligned philanthropy has been a transformative component of our collective success and is critical to fulfill Sterling’s aspirations for the future.

In this moment, we invite you to show your support of this special institution, its collective vision, and all that we have accomplished during Matthew’s tenure with a tax-deductible gift. A gift today will help ensure a smooth transition for our community and ensure the Sterling experience for what it is known for: accessible, experiential, supportive, and interdisciplinary.

The future is brighter with Sterling in it.

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Students on the banks of Six Mile Creek during ecology class at the Wendell Berry Farming Program.

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New student, Oliver D'Orazio, speaks on the value of a small community.

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Student Anna Webber-Loomis provides gear repair services and education to the local community as part of an Experiential Work Learning Grant received from the Work College Consortium. The grant supports Sterling's new Community Gear Design and Repair Program which included the purchase of this industrial sewing machine. Students like Anna will provide gear repairs to students and employees as well as the greater Craftsbury community.

This new program at Sterling is a direct result of a course the College piloted in Spring 2021 by the same name, Gear Design and Repair.

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EMERGENCY TO EMERGENCE PODCAST // Laura Beebe joins Emergency to Emergence hosts, Nakasi and Dakota, for a rich conversation on the importance of the backcountry to human development -- her own and her students. Resisting a guide’s tendency to define backcountry in geographical terms or locate it far from the places that bear obvious marks of human development, Laura conceives of backcountry as a "state of being" reached through immersion in natural places, relationships with other species and with ecologies, and a sense of belonging among the same. But in this ranging and rich conversation, Laura also resists the all-too-common tendency to obscure the modern cultural forces that force separation, replicate problematic hierarchies and tend to make adventure and discovery exclusive. Reflecting on several decades of often being the only women in male-dominated spaces, Laura also delves into the inclusive aspirations of Sterling College’s Wilderness Field Program and illustrates how extended backcountry education, paired with the study of natural history and cultural ecology, allow students to see into deep time, celebrate continuance, and figure out more about how they want to be in the world. TAKE A LISTEN. LINK ON BIO.

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Last week we hosted a group of 10 new Sterling College students at The Farm Between. They spent an afternoon harvesting apples, as the surrounding hillsides were just beginning to show color. We grow around 40 varieties of apples at The Farm Between, which we sell wholesale: early, mid and late season apples, cider apples and dessert apples, red apples, speckled apples, russeted apples. For those interested in growing your own, we still have trees available for sale in the nursery. Please email thefarmbetween@sterlingcollege.edu or call (802) 335-2000 to schedule an appointment.

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Ashland’s Story | Wendell Berry Farming Program. Ashland Tann found the Wendell Berry Farming Program challenging. “It’s definitely the kind of place where you have to take an active part in your own education. You have to determine for yourself what you are going to get out of it.” It fueled his interest in farming and helped him shape his long-term goal of running an educational farm with a restaurant that would demonstrate the viability of locally sourced food. In the end, he says, he “couldn’t imagine how it could have all turned out any better.”

This video was made possible by a generous donation from David Behrend ’60.

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Residence Halls

Residence Halls

Home Away From Home

Community Advisors and House Advisors

Share It!

Want to really get a feel for this place?

You are cordially invited!

NORTH HOUSE

KESTREL HOUSE

MERLIN HOUSE

HOUSTON HOUSE

SOUTH HOUSE

ALDER

BIRCH

Housing students under the age of 18

Show Us Your Roots!

Exploring Craftivism

A Herpetologist’s Perspective on Six Jurassic World Animals