Letter to Berne University from Feds

This may have been posted before but it is a link from the Oregon Dept of Ed site. It is the letter from the Federal Student Aid folks to Berne about reasons for denial of their reaffirmation. It is funny in a couple of places (such as where it disusses the impossibility of getting the amount of credit in 2 weeks they claim) and other insightful issues into Berne's operation.

http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/fed_letter_berne_03.pdf

I have always thought that whatever limited utility a Berne degree has from being able to get a foreign credential evaluation, it is over priced and their are issues with credibility. Berne could only help itself by clearing things up with Alan Contreras and restructuring their program to overcome deficiencies. I could not understand why there never seemed to be an effort to work with Alan C. to establish credibility. Their are unaccredited schools on his web site that met the criteria.

North

 

It is interesting about Berne that their alumni that have represented them in the past to members of the DegreeInfo community have been so vindictive. I guess the idea is that they want to improve the reputation of their school by punishing anyone that doesn't have a high opinion of the place?

Signs that it's a degree mill number 243, if an alumni is so defensive that they feel the need to try to hurt strangers that criticize their alma mater then it could be a degree mill.

 

following a thread: Pennsylvania base for Berne

I hadn't ever taken a look at the Berne site and decided to drop in. It is curious as university web sites go: I can't find much information about the courses offered other than general titles. And it is not at all clear how they are taught (or by whom) at the summer residency part of Berne's program.

I also can't seem to find the names of the Berne administration anywhere. The "Faculty - Staff -> Faculty" page lists six people, but the administration page does not include names. It does say that "the Administrative office near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is responsible for overseeing all University operations worldwide."

So who's running the Pennsylvania office?

The Berne Contributions -> University Donations page shows the phone number 412-220-2500. According to phonenumber.com, this is listed to Berne Management LLC, 3132 Millers Run Rd, Cecil, PA. (This number appears in various places on the Berne site.)

That Cecil, PA address is also on the domain registration for berne.edu:

Administrative Contact:
Mark A. Aloe
Chairman
Berne University
3132 Millers Run Road
Cecil, PA 15321
UNITED STATES
(412) 220-2766

Phonenumber.com lists two other occupants of 3132 Millers Run Rd: "Business Cents" and "Cynthia Iannarelli, PhD."

Dr. Iannarelli earned her MBA and PhD at the University of Pittsburgh. She is an expert on family business matters, and has a significant presence on the web in this context.

Dr. Iannarelli is the domain registrant for the (apparently inactive) site www.drcindy.com:

Domain Name: DRCINDY.COM
Dr. Cindy Iannarelli, PhD, MBA Business Cents
3038 Washington Pike
Bridgeville, PA 15017
Administrative Contact:
Iannarelli, Cindy
Business Cents
3038 Washington Pike
Bridgeville,, PA 15017
412.221.8924 (FAX) 412.221.0150.

So Dr. Iannarelli is involved in some capacity with "Business Cents." Is the common address with Berne just a coincidence?

At a Family Business Center conference in May, 2004 Dr. Iannarelli co-presented Family Business Education for Kids, Teens, and Adults, from 5 to 65!. The presenters are listed this way: "Presenters: Dr. Cindy Iannarelli and Dr. Dolly Iannarelli, The Buzz Project, a nonprofit dedicated to developing entrepreneurial thinking in kids and adults."

On the Berne Contributions -> Charitable Programs page one finds the following:

So there would seem to be a connection with Berne. A rather more obvious one comes from the Berne faculty list (I should have looked at this first!!): the last name in the roster is "Dolores Iannarelli, PhD." It seems likely that Dr. D. Iannarelli is the "Dolly Iannarelli" of The BUZZ Project. Dolores Iannarelli is Cynthia Iannarelli's mother. They run a number of family businesses. (phonenumber.com associates that Bridgeville, PA domain registration address for drcindy.com with "Fidel Cleaners," probably one of the family's businesses.)

Something Google didn't find, for some reason, is this page in which "Cindy Iannarelli, Ph.D." is listed as a contact for both Berne and The Buzz Project. The postal address corresponds to Fidel Cleaners.

So it would seem that the Iannarelli family is involved with Berne's Pennsylvania office.

The Berne site lists two campuses: in St. Kitts and also northern Italy. The Italy page mentions "Lake Garda" (in Trentino, Trento, Italy) so it would seem that this campus is in Trento. Dr. C. Iannarelli is associated with the University of Trento: this page announces her presentation Una professoressa di Pittsburgh in Trentino with abstract "Dr. Cindy Iannarelli tells of her experience as a Family Business lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Trento." It would seem, therefore, that Dr. Iannarelli is also involved with Berne's Italian campus.

Note that there's nothing wrong with any of this: the Drs. Iannarelli are small business experts. Outside activities related to one's area of academic expertise are encouraged at RA schools and, one assumes, non-RA organizations.

G

 

I think it is unfortunate that alumni engaged in so many attacks rather than trying to improve the school itself. I am sure that Alan C. would have applied the same standards to Berne that he did to other schools. It made no sense for Berne not to clear up the Oregon situation (if they could have). On top of that, this Federal letter does not look good. It is amusing to read but not good for Berne.

What Berne needed to do even if intent on staying with a summer campus in St. Kitts, was to clear up the Oregon situation (a longgggggg time ago), establish a more meaningful Kittsian presence (even if using a local college campus like Walden U does, etc), extend the summer residency or require two, and establish meaningful agreements and relationships with accredited universities. It appears none of this was done. Not to mention other issues in this Federal letter. It is too bad.

I am amazed someone would spend 16,000 for a Berne PhD when they could earn a UNIZUL doctorate for 2000 and likely it would have more utility.

North

 

Terrific stuff, guys

North: Fascinating document. Thanks for that.
Galanga: Brilliant as ever.

 

why thank you!

 

It's interesting to plug these addresses into the Terraserver site. This lets you look at aerial photographs (from 1993 for these locations).

 

Berne faculty

Let's take a look at the Berne faculty. Listed are:

Frank Mills
Residence: St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Areas: Research Methods, Statistics

Adriane Dorrington
Residence: Virginia
Ph.D.:
Areas: Education/Cross Cultural

Miroslav Pivoda, PhD
Residence Czech Republic
Area Business/Strategy/Entrepreneurship

Clair Hayes, PhD
Residence Pennsylvania
Area Business/Education/Entrepreneurship

Thomas Millard, PhD
Residence New Jersey
Area Education

Dolores Iannarelli, PhD
Masters Level
Residence Pennsylvania/Italy
Area Business/Education/Entrepreneurship

There is a "Dr. Clair N. Hayes" listed in the Seton Hill University directory as a Dept. of Business person. He is teaching Business 536 this fall. Phonenumber.com has a Pittsburgh address for him. It is possible that he is also on Berne's faculty, given his Pittsburgh residence. (Berne's Cecil, PA office is about 10 miles from Pittsburgh.) Except for the (possibly coincidental) fact of Dr. Hayes' business focus and his Pennsylvania location, I don't know how to further check his possible Berne affiliation, except via direct contact.

Might there be some kind of association between Dr. Iannarelli and Dr. Hayes, or between Dr. Iannarelli and Seton Hill? Well, yes, actually, with Seton Hill. Dr. Iannarelli was the head of the National Education Center for Women in Business (NECWB) at Seton Hill College, in Greensburg, Pa when this 1994 story ran in Inc. However, this Pittsburgh Business Times article shows that things did not go smoothly at the end:

In this web page, a description of "The Buzz" appears in an abstract on an Entrepreneurship Education page. In it, Dr. Iannarelli's contact information is given as

The creation date on this page is June 10, 2004 so it is of recent origin. That Bridgeville address is also used by "Fidel Cleaners" (see an earlier post).

This is a surprising choice of address, since IUP is regionally accredited and it lists the Center for Family Business as having an IUP campus address. However, it is possible that the relationship between IUP and its various Centers admits off-campus bases and that this is perfectly natural.

There is a "Thomas Millard, Ed.D." listed in a Montclair State University faculty page. Again, except for the Education specialization and NJ address it is difficult to know if this is the same person.

There is a "Miroslav Pivoda" with a web presence with affiliations with "University of J.E. Purkyne, Czech Republic" and also "Bata University in Zlin." Dr. Pivoda's work that is in English (and on the web) discusses various entrepreneurship matters.

An Adriane Dorrington had been a tenured associate professor of education at the (RA) Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. Due to a budget crisis, CNU closed its education department in 2002. Currently a Dr. Adriane Dorrington is the director of NASA's Pre-Service Teacher Program, based in Hampton, VA. This may be the same person as CNU's Dr. Dorrington. That's pretty rough, receiving tenure and then having her department shot out from under her because of CNU's budget problems.

There is a Dr. Frank Mills listed at this web site with contact info:

University of the Virgin Islands
Eastern Caribbean Center
No. 2 John Brewer's Bay
Charlotte Amalie
St. Thomas, VI 00802
Dr. Frank Mills
(340) 693-1027
FAX (340) 693-1025
[email protected].

UVI is regionally accredited. Dr. Mills was the Manager of the Virgin Islands 2000 Census of Population and Housing. This matches the statistics background for the Frank Mills listed in the Berne faculty roster. He is Professor of Social Sciences and Director of the Eastern Caribbean Center.

So it looks like Berne has folks with RA university teaching experience in their roster. But the letter from the Department of Education to David H. Weaver (link was posted by North) said "of the seven faculty resumes you submitted, less than half listed a St Kitts address. Only one of the seven is listed on the Berne payroll you submitted, and that individual resides in Ohio." Now that's a little curious, having their faculty going without pay.

I wonder if they move to St. Kitts for the summer residencey period? I haven't seen anything yet describing their teaching responsibilities.

G

 

We are perfectly willing to work with any school that is interested in applying. However, AACRAO recently sent us the following statement about Berne, issued mid-June in response to a formal request from a private employer:


"Berne University is not accredited by any regional institutional accrediting body in the US. In the past Berne University has stated that they were accredited by the following three organizations, Academy for the Promotion of International Cultural and Scientific Exchange, Accrediting Commission International, and World Association of Universities and Colleges. However, none of the three agencies are recognized by the US Department of Education.

The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is the internationally accepted authority for the recognition of postsecondary institutions in the Commonwealth and former Commonwealth countries. The ACU indicates that the only recognized university serving the Nevis and St. Kitts area is the University of the West Indies. Berne University claims accreditation by the Government of St. Kitts; however, we do not recognize such ‘accreditation’, in light of the decision by the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid Office (letter dated 4/29/03) in which the US Department of Education declares that Berne University does not meet the criteria as an institution eligible to participate in the federal student aid program and does not meet the criteria as a foreign school to do the same.

Therefore, Berne University should be regarded as a non-accredited (by US standards), or a non-recognized (by generally accepted international standards) institution."


-- in addition, ODA recently surveyed all NACES members and asked whether they considered Berne PhDs the equivalent of accredited U.S. PhDs. We have received about 8 responses so far and NONE of them accept Berne degrees as equivalent. Even Joel Slocum's firm doesn't any more, and they are the one that Berne used to rely on. We are not aware of ANY general-purpose foreign credential evaluation firm that currently accepts Berne degrees as equivalent. If there are any, we'd be glad to know.

 

I only ever heard from one NACES member who accepted Berne and he cautioned me at the time.

The Fed Student Loan letter at the ODA site is rather damning. No one here was able to do an in depth analysis of Berne and just made some observations that did not necessarily have a lot of substance. The letter on the ODA site is rather specific about pointing up deficiencies in the Berne program. Although Berne managed to keep its International Handbook listing, one cannot imagine that losing the Federal Student Loans approval and therefore I assume VA approval was at all helpful.

I appreciate Alan's efforts and his site does a good deal of public service. Hopefully the idea spreads to other states.

North

 

I spoke with a gentleman some time ago who had been involved with Berne faculty/administration. He was convinced when he came on board that Berne was trying to go legit. He reported the sad realization, only a short time later, that he was mistaken.

He said that in spite of his repeated efforts to bring quality and integrity to the program, the current owners of Berne weren't interested, and sought only to essentially "buy" legitimate accreditation, by hiring someone well connected with DETC. Obviously, it didn't work.

I would be surprised to see anything positive come about from Berne. If the current owners had any sincere desire, it would be much easier to start a new school and distance themselves from the highly questionable past of Berne.

 

In general, international lists of universities don't include sub-baccalaureate providers. This is true of ACU, UNESCO etc. There are no U.S. community colleges on the UNESCO international college list, for example.

That does not mean that evaluators won't recognize them, it means that it takes a bit more work to figure out whether they in fact have governmental approval, what that approval actually means and what the programs contain.

Note that the UNESCO list is also considered unreliable as an definitive source for 4-year schools, too, because it has no real screening functions.

 

The UNESCO list (not free but fairly findable in libraries) is reasonably correct but sometimes includes ringers: Berne, Preston etc. In general I use it as a negative: if a four-year school is not in it, better doubt the entity until proven clean. If a school IS in it, probably ok but get a second opinion from AACRAO or a major evaluation firm.

 

Berne Degrees are No Good?

Details of ex-Lely principal's removal now coming to light
By RAY PARKER, [email protected]
April 6, 2005

He likes to be addressed as Dr. Bruce Myers.

But he received his doctorate from Berne University, an unaccredited school on a Caribbean Island, which requires only 28 days of campus study.

Removed last week from Lely High School as principal, he likely will not work next year in Collier County. And officials were unsure if he had even shown up for work on Tuesday.

"I don't anticipate renewing him," Superintendent Ray Baker said.

When he started in July, Myers discussed his dubious diploma with school officials, who told him it would not be accepted.

Berne University is located on St. Kitts, the larger of two islands in the eastern Caribbean, 200 miles southeast of Puerto Rico. St. Kitts' economy depends on coconuts, sugar cane and tourism.

And since 1993, there's been the Berne University International Graduate School, which awards a variety of advanced degrees.

All the work is self-directed and home-based, except for a 28-day "academic residency semester."

Myers, who has been employed with the district since July, received his Berne University doctorate in 2000. His résumé reads: "Doctor of philosophy in education — administration and supervision. Dissertation: Perceptions of Ocean County superintendents in utilizing shared services in implementing the continuing education requirement."

Myers couldn't be reached for comment on Friday and Tuesday.

"(Former Superintendent Ben) Marlin agreed to allow the (hiring) process," said Allun Hamblett, the district's human resources executive director.

The Berne University Web site states that the school is "fully accredited by the Ministry of Education in the government of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to grant specialist certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in business, education, and social services."

In the United States, confirming academic accreditation can be tricky since it has been a voluntary, self-regulating process.

Alan Contreras, an administrator with the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, wrote in the summer of 2004 newsletter of the Center for International Higher Education.

"Meaningful academic oversight on St. Kitts is doubtful at best," he wrote. "It also hosts Berne University, which recently lost its Title IV approval because of findings by the General Accounting Office (the investigatory office of the U.S. Congress) and the U.S. Department of Education that its programs are not equivalent to a U.S. university, its award of credit is inappropriate and excessive, and its finances are questionable."

The U.S. Department of Education's Accrediting Agency Evaluation Branch does not recognize Berne University's accreditation, which is why the Caribbean college could not receive federal student financial assistance.

District officials verify administrator degrees by requesting transcripts. They also review universities in the Manual on Certification and Preparation of Educational Personnel in the United States.

"Mr. Myers was instructed that he should not use the honorarium of doctor," said Hamblett of human resources.

But he did. He was called Dr. Myers around school and he was listed as Dr. Myers on the Lely High Web site.

When he started, the principal was told he wouldn't be getting the usual bonus for having a doctorate degree, Baker said.

Myers is paid an annual salary of $96,188.

Collier's other high school principals' salaries are: Gulf Coast High Principal Eric Williams, $93,358; Naples High Principal Rosanne Winter, $96,188; Barron Collier Principal Ron Miller, $97,150; Golden Gate Principal Robert Spano, $98,118; Immokalee High Principal Manny Touron, $101,093; and Palmetto Ridge Principal Roy Terry, $103,128.

Superintendent Baker removed Myers from Lely High on Friday and assigned Sebastian Torres, former Immokalee High principal, as Lely's interim principal.

Myers was transferred to the administrative center, where he'll be a principal on special assignment working on curriculum projects.

School officials couldn't provide the phone number of his new office, and Joe Landon, district spokesman, could not confirm Myers had shown up for work on Tuesday.

Myers' annual contract ends on June 30.

"The best thing to do at this particular point, given what was happening with the school culture, was to go ahead and act right away," Baker said about his decision to remove Myers.

In the next week, Baker said he'll decide whether to pick the next Lely principal from within the district or pursue a national search.

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3678602,00.html

 

Berne Degrees are No Good?

Details of ex-Lely principal's removal now coming to light
By RAY PARKER, [email protected]
April 6, 2005

He likes to be addressed as Dr. Bruce Myers.

But he received his doctorate from Berne University, an unaccredited school on a Caribbean Island, which requires only 28 days of campus study.

Removed last week from Lely High School as principal, he likely will not work next year in Collier County. And officials were unsure if he had even shown up for work on Tuesday.

"I don't anticipate renewing him," Superintendent Ray Baker said.

When he started in July, Myers discussed his dubious diploma with school officials, who told him it would not be accepted.

Berne University is located on St. Kitts, the larger of two islands in the eastern Caribbean, 200 miles southeast of Puerto Rico. St. Kitts' economy depends on coconuts, sugar cane and tourism.

And since 1993, there's been the Berne University International Graduate School, which awards a variety of advanced degrees.

All the work is self-directed and home-based, except for a 28-day "academic residency semester."

Myers, who has been employed with the district since July, received his Berne University doctorate in 2000. His résumé reads: "Doctor of philosophy in education — administration and supervision. Dissertation: Perceptions of Ocean County superintendents in utilizing shared services in implementing the continuing education requirement."

Myers couldn't be reached for comment on Friday and Tuesday.

"(Former Superintendent Ben) Marlin agreed to allow the (hiring) process," said Allun Hamblett, the district's human resources executive director.

The Berne University Web site states that the school is "fully accredited by the Ministry of Education in the government of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to grant specialist certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in business, education, and social services."

In the United States, confirming academic accreditation can be tricky since it has been a voluntary, self-regulating process.

Alan Contreras, an administrator with the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, wrote in the summer of 2004 newsletter of the Center for International Higher Education.

"Meaningful academic oversight on St. Kitts is doubtful at best," he wrote. "It also hosts Berne University, which recently lost its Title IV approval because of findings by the General Accounting Office (the investigatory office of the U.S. Congress) and the U.S. Department of Education that its programs are not equivalent to a U.S. university, its award of credit is inappropriate and excessive, and its finances are questionable."

The U.S. Department of Education's Accrediting Agency Evaluation Branch does not recognize Berne University's accreditation, which is why the Caribbean college could not receive federal student financial assistance.

District officials verify administrator degrees by requesting transcripts. They also review universities in the Manual on Certification and Preparation of Educational Personnel in the United States.

"Mr. Myers was instructed that he should not use the honorarium of doctor," said Hamblett of human resources.

But he did. He was called Dr. Myers around school and he was listed as Dr. Myers on the Lely High Web site.

When he started, the principal was told he wouldn't be getting the usual bonus for having a doctorate degree, Baker said.

Myers is paid an annual salary of $96,188.

Collier's other high school principals' salaries are: Gulf Coast High Principal Eric Williams, $93,358; Naples High Principal Rosanne Winter, $96,188; Barron Collier Principal Ron Miller, $97,150; Golden Gate Principal Robert Spano, $98,118; Immokalee High Principal Manny Touron, $101,093; and Palmetto Ridge Principal Roy Terry, $103,128.

Superintendent Baker removed Myers from Lely High on Friday and assigned Sebastian Torres, former Immokalee High principal, as Lely's interim principal.

Myers was transferred to the administrative center, where he'll be a principal on special assignment working on curriculum projects.

School officials couldn't provide the phone number of his new office, and Joe Landon, district spokesman, could not confirm Myers had shown up for work on Tuesday.

Myers' annual contract ends on June 30.

"The best thing to do at this particular point, given what was happening with the school culture, was to go ahead and act right away," Baker said about his decision to remove Myers.

In the next week, Baker said he'll decide whether to pick the next Lely principal from within the district or pursue a national search.

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3678602,00.html

 

Berne Degrees are No Good?

Details of ex-Lely principal's removal now coming to light
By RAY PARKER, [email protected]
April 6, 2005

He likes to be addressed as Dr. Bruce Myers.

But he received his doctorate from Berne University, an unaccredited school on a Caribbean Island, which requires only 28 days of campus study.

Removed last week from Lely High School as principal, he likely will not work next year in Collier County. And officials were unsure if he had even shown up for work on Tuesday.

"I don't anticipate renewing him," Superintendent Ray Baker said.

When he started in July, Myers discussed his dubious diploma with school officials, who told him it would not be accepted.

Berne University is located on St. Kitts, the larger of two islands in the eastern Caribbean, 200 miles southeast of Puerto Rico. St. Kitts' economy depends on coconuts, sugar cane and tourism.

And since 1993, there's been the Berne University International Graduate School, which awards a variety of advanced degrees.

All the work is self-directed and home-based, except for a 28-day "academic residency semester."

Myers, who has been employed with the district since July, received his Berne University doctorate in 2000. His résumé reads: "Doctor of philosophy in education — administration and supervision. Dissertation: Perceptions of Ocean County superintendents in utilizing shared services in implementing the continuing education requirement."

Myers couldn't be reached for comment on Friday and Tuesday.

"(Former Superintendent Ben) Marlin agreed to allow the (hiring) process," said Allun Hamblett, the district's human resources executive director.

The Berne University Web site states that the school is "fully accredited by the Ministry of Education in the government of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to grant specialist certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees in business, education, and social services."

In the United States, confirming academic accreditation can be tricky since it has been a voluntary, self-regulating process.

Alan Contreras, an administrator with the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization, wrote in the summer of 2004 newsletter of the Center for International Higher Education.

"Meaningful academic oversight on St. Kitts is doubtful at best," he wrote. "It also hosts Berne University, which recently lost its Title IV approval because of findings by the General Accounting Office (the investigatory office of the U.S. Congress) and the U.S. Department of Education that its programs are not equivalent to a U.S. university, its award of credit is inappropriate and excessive, and its finances are questionable."

The U.S. Department of Education's Accrediting Agency Evaluation Branch does not recognize Berne University's accreditation, which is why the Caribbean college could not receive federal student financial assistance.

District officials verify administrator degrees by requesting transcripts. They also review universities in the Manual on Certification and Preparation of Educational Personnel in the United States.

"Mr. Myers was instructed that he should not use the honorarium of doctor," said Hamblett of human resources.

But he did. He was called Dr. Myers around school and he was listed as Dr. Myers on the Lely High Web site.

When he started, the principal was told he wouldn't be getting the usual bonus for having a doctorate degree, Baker said.

Myers is paid an annual salary of $96,188.

Collier's other high school principals' salaries are: Gulf Coast High Principal Eric Williams, $93,358; Naples High Principal Rosanne Winter, $96,188; Barron Collier Principal Ron Miller, $97,150; Golden Gate Principal Robert Spano, $98,118; Immokalee High Principal Manny Touron, $101,093; and Palmetto Ridge Principal Roy Terry, $103,128.

Superintendent Baker removed Myers from Lely High on Friday and assigned Sebastian Torres, former Immokalee High principal, as Lely's interim principal.

Myers was transferred to the administrative center, where he'll be a principal on special assignment working on curriculum projects.

School officials couldn't provide the phone number of his new office, and Joe Landon, district spokesman, could not confirm Myers had shown up for work on Tuesday.

Myers' annual contract ends on June 30.

"The best thing to do at this particular point, given what was happening with the school culture, was to go ahead and act right away," Baker said about his decision to remove Myers.

In the next week, Baker said he'll decide whether to pick the next Lely principal from within the district or pursue a national search.

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_3678602,00.html

 

Ouch. Regardless of one's arguments regarding the utility or legitimacy of Berne's degrees, this guy was told "no" at the outset, and still insisted on sporting his degree? This was a self-inflicted wound, not a time bomb.

Oh, and Berne is no more "located on St. Kitts" than your Uncle Bernie is "located" in Boca Raton, just because he vacations there for two weeks every summer.

Where is Berne these days? We read Pennsylvania most recently, but without state licensure to operate there. They didn't have licensure in New Hampshire during their stay in the Granite State, either. Can a move to Wyoming (or Alabama, or Mississippi) be far off?

 

Regarding where Berne is these days, I heard that it's been resurrected in Montpelier, Vermont and St. Croix under the International Graduate Center. According to their website, the same people who used to be part of Berne (including David Gibson, Bob McLaughlin, and Chuck Knisely) are running it. Is the International Graduate Center having the same kinds of problems Berne had, since the same people are involved?