Jane O'Meara Sanders

Jane O'Meara Sanders
4th President of Burlington College
In office March 2004 – September 2011
Preceded by	Mary Clancy
Succeeded by	Christine Plunkett
President of Goddard College Acting
In office 1996–1997
Preceded by	Richard Greene
Succeeded by	Barbara Mossberg
Director of Youth Services of the City of Burlington
In office 1981–1991
Mayor	Bernie Sanders Peter Clavelle
First Lady of Burlington, Vermont
In office 1988–1989
Mayor	Bernie Sanders
Personal details
Born	Mary Jane O'Meara October 8, 1950 New York City, New York, US
Spouse(s)	Dave Driscoll (Divorced) Bernie Sanders (1988–present)
Children	3; 1 stepchild
Alma mater	Goddard College Union Institute and University

Mary Jane O'Meara Sanders (born October 8, 1950) is an American social worker and academic. Sanders was Provost and interim President of Goddard College (1996–97) and president of Burlington College (2004–11).^[1][2] She has been married to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders since 1988.

Education and personal life

Sanders was born Mary Jane O'Meara on October 8, 1950, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, one of five children of Bernadette Joan (Sheridan) and Benedict P. O'Meara.^[3][4] She was raised Catholic^[2] and attended Catholic schools before attending the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Sanders dropped out of Tennessee and moved back to Brooklyn with her first husband, David Driscoll;^[1] they then moved to Virginia. In 1975, they moved to Vermont when Driscoll's employer, IBM, transferred him. Sanders finished her college degree at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, with a bachelor's in social work.^[1]

She met Bernie Sanders in 1981, ten days before his first campaign victory as Mayor of Burlington, and again at his victory party; they wed in 1988.^[1] She has three children from her first marriage.^[5]

In 1996, she earned a doctorate in leadership studies in politics and education from Union Institute & University.^[1][6]

Career

Early in her career, Sanders worked in the Juvenile Division of the Burlington Police Department, and then as a community organizer with the King Street Area Youth Center, and for VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), a job that helped her pay off her student loans.^[1]

As senior partner in the Burlington-based consulting firm, Leadership Strategies, O'Meara worked as a political and educational consultant for federal, state, and local political campaigns.^[7]

Adviser and aide to Bernie Sanders

In 2015, Bernie Sanders described his wife as "one of his key advisers",^[2] and he employed her at various times as "an administrative assistant, spokeswoman, policy adviser, chief of staff, and media buyer".^[2] In a 1996 article in The Washington Post, she was credited with helping him draft "more than 50 pieces of legislation".^[8]

She has served in Sanders's Congressional office as Chief of Staff and as Policy and Press Adviser,^[7] and also serves as an Alternate Commissioner for the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission.^[9][10]

Burlington College presidency

In 2004, Sanders was named President of Burlington College, a private, non-profit liberal arts school founded in 1972 in Vermont.^[1][2] In 2008, some students in the college Student Government Association petitioned for a meeting after a professor Sanders had hired was not reappointed. The college Board of Trustees held a meeting and agreed to review policies and procedures, including adopting a formal grievance policy, but also voted to reaffirm its support of Sanders, "The board is quite confident in Jane’s leadership, and we stand by her."^[11] In 2010, Sanders oversaw the purchase of property formerly owned and occupied by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The College based the real estate purchase on projections that enrollment would rapidly grow from fewer than 200 to as many as 750 students, with a corresponding income increase from tuition fees.^[12] The college's finances, which have been in a precarious position since 1972, "took a turn for the worse in 2010" when the $10 million lakefront property was purchased.^[12] The US Department of Education rated the financial health of the College at 2.3 or higher on a scale of minus 1 to 3.0, for the five fiscal years prior to Sanders' departure in 2011, but by fiscal year 2013 the rating had dropped to 0.4 ("not financially responsible").^[13] With the College unable to collect on some promised pledges after Sanders had resigned, and the enrollment increase plans failing, the Diocese settled the loan debt with the College in 2015 for $996,000 less than the agreed amount, and with $1 million of the repayment made in shares of an unidentified LLC company.^[14]

In 2011, the college trustees, while crediting Sanders with acquiring a permanent campus for the 200‑student college, called a meeting for September 2011 and accepted Sanders's resignation. "We reached a decision which I believe is best for both the College and me," Sanders said after the meeting, "The board and I have different visions for the future and that’s perfectly fine."^[2][15][16] Sanders's salary as President was $160,000, with a contract for the position through 2013; on departure she received the title of President Emeritus and a $200,000 severance. During her tenure as President, Burlington had an endowment of "about $150,000",^[2] and fundraising revenue had increased from about $25,000 when Sanders first arrived to $1.25 million (including a $1 million bequest) by 2011.^[15]

Sanders later became a member of the Vermont Economic Development Authority.^[17]

References

1. Greenhouse, Emily (May 12, 2015). "Getting to Know Jane Sanders, Wife of Bernie". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
2. Felsenthal, Carol (October 9, 2015). "Jane O'Meara Sanders, future first lady?". The Hill. Washington, DC. ISSN 1521-1568. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. She has been, her husband says, one of his key advisers ...
3. Belkin, Lisa (November 3, 2015). "Being married to Bernie". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015.
4. "Obituaries: Bernadette O’Meara". The Free Lance–Star. May 6, 2015. OCLC 31810388. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
5. "Bernie Sanders Fast Facts". CNN. May 27, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
6. Lindly, Beth (August 25, 2015). "Jane O’Meara Sanders, Bernie’s Wife". Heavy.com. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
7. Smith, Robert (October 2007). "Q&A: Jane Sanders, President of Burlington College". Vermont Business Magazine (Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility) 35 (12): 51. ISSN 0897-7925. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
8. McCarthy, Colman (December 3, 1996). "A Marriage of Ideas and Service". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016.
9. "About the Commission". Retrieved April 15, 2016.
10. "U.S. Individual Income Tax Return" (PDF). Retrieved April 15, 2016.
11. Picard, Ken (November 25, 2008). "Burlington College Students Press for Changes After Prof's Dismissal". Seven Days. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
12. Tyson, Charlie (August 25, 2014). "$10 Million Gamble Buying a new campus sends Burlington College deep into debt. Can it survive?". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
13. Financial questions dog Burlington College; Burlington Free Press; Tim Johnson; August 18, 2014
14. True, Morgan (August 23, 2015). "Catholic church takes loss in loan settlement with Burlington College". Vermont Business Magazine. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
15. Totten, Shay (September 21, 2001). "President in Peril". Seven Days (Burlington, Vermont). Archived from the original on September 6, 2015.
16. "President of Burlington College resigns Monday". Bennington Banner. September 26, 2011. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016.
17. Horowitz, Jason (December 28, 2015). "Jane Sanders Knows Politics, and How to Soften Husband’s Image". The New York Times. p. A12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.