A Green Mountain College Resurrection?

Tommie Zito wants a revival for Green Mountain College.

And for America.

The self-described “itinerant evangelist” is in talks to purchase the Green Mountain campus in rural Vermont, which closed in 2019 and was later purchased by whiskey distiller Raj Bhakta, who said he wanted to hand the campus over to someone with a vision for “the revival of the United States and Western Civilization.” Zito fit the bill: He aims to open Z University on the site, the first of a proposed international network of campuses with an emphasis on biblical education and evangelism.

In a Thursday morning livestream, Zito described the planned opening of the Vermont campus as the launch of a major undertaking, promising that “schools will open up all over the globe” in the coming years.

“It’s going to happen fast,” Zito said. “But it had to be in America first.”

Zito, who did not respond to interview requests from Inside Higher Ed, is hoping to succeed where Bhakta failed; his revitalization effort, which envisioned a campus hotel and distillery, never got off the ground. Bhakta announced in February that he planned to give the campus away. But after issuing a request for proposals, he changed course and now plans to sell the Green Mountain campus to Zito instead.

(The deal has not yet closed but is reportedly expected to be finalized by Oct. 1.)

Zito has not specified a purchase price but has told other media outlets that he’s getting the campus at a fair price. But even if Bhakta gives Zito a plum deal on the property, questions abound about how the new institution will be funded. And Zito’s past—he founded and led a Bible college in Florida that operated only briefly—shows a history of grand promises that failed to materialize and outsize claims that cannot be independently verified.

While Zito’s higher ed journey is unique, his push to take over a defunct campus illuminates the challenges such properties pose for local communities, which must weigh the promise of revitalization against the risk of further deterioration.

Before Z University

Zito’s first attempt at launching a college dates back 15 years.

Zito, who says he began his ministry in 1996, first posted on his website in 2011 that he planned to open a Bible college that August. But those plans—and associated promises—changed over time.

Public records in Florida, where Zito lives, show he registered the name Freedom College in early 2012. Archived versions of his website show that Zito eventually settled on the name Zoe Bible College, which he announced in 2013 would open in January 2014 and offer degrees in areas such as audio and video production, sound design, cinematography, and film production. Zito noted in the post that Zoe would partner with Patten University, a private Christian institution located in California, on that effort.

(The president of Patten at that time did not respond to a request for comment from Inside Higher Ed sent via LinkedIn. Patten closed in 2020, though an unaffiliated university formerly known as American Graduate University rebranded with the same name in 2022.)

Zito finally opened Zoe Bible College in August 2015 with a narrower academic portfolio than envisioned. Instead of media production classes, Zoe was centered around more traditional topics for a Bible school. An archived list of course offerings shows the curriculum appeared to draw heavily from the free plug-and-play curriculum developed by Harvestime International Network, which provides resources to Bible schools. Numerous course titles match Harvestime’s catalog, including Spiritual Warfare and Strategies for Spiritual Harvest.

Internet Archive/zoecollege.com

It is unclear when Zoe Bible College, which advertised a two-year program as of its 2015 start date, ultimately shut down. But a Facebook post notes that the institution produced three graduates in 2017.

In response to questions Inside Higher Ed asked during Thursday’s livestream, Zito said he had to “push pause on the college” because ultimately he “wasn’t satisfied with the product.” He noted “physical brick-and-mortar challenges,” which prompted the college to move locations several times.

Both the college and Zito’s website repeated false claims that the school was “fully accredited.” However, Zito conceded that was untrue during the livestream.

“It was never fully accredited,” Zito said. “Maybe there’s a misinterpretation of that.”

For the new Z University slated to open in fall 2027, Zito has said that he plans to pursue accreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education. But NECHE President Larry Schall told Inside Higher Ed by email he has heard “absolutely nothing” from Zito.

“It takes years and there’s no guarantee a new institution would meet our standards,” he wrote.

Big Plans, Limited Resources

Though the purchase price remains unknown, Zito told The New York Post that he had received a $1 million donation to use as a down payment. (Bhakta bought the campus for $4.5 million.)

In Bhakta’s request for proposals issued earlier this year, he noted that the new owner would need to budget “$1.5 million per year to maintain existing infrastructure and to … catch up on deferred maintenance.” That estimate does not include labor and other costs of running a college.

But publicly available financial documents for Zito’s ministry, registered as American Awakening Inc., show a modest operation lacking the sort of capital to launch and sustain a university. In fiscal year 2021, the latest year available, the nonprofit organization had $98,028 in revenue, expenses of $94,706 and net income of $3,322. American Awakening’s highest year for net income on record was fiscal 2017, when it made $33,341.

Another nonprofit registered as Tommie Zito Ministries was dissolved in 2011. Court records show that before the organization shut down it declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010 and owed creditors nearly $1 million, including more than $225,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.

Zito’s past also reveals a propensity for making grandiose promises and unverified claims.

His ministry’s claims have grown more exaggerated over the years. His website indicates that American Awakening has orchestrated more than 14,000 services and led four million souls to Christ “over the past two decades.” By the numbers, that adds up to at least 700 services a year, with 200,000 souls won annually—or approximately two or more services and 548 conversions every day.

In 2014, American Awakening announced that Zito would star in a reality show dubbed The Evangelistz, which would follow him, his wife and their children around “in their quest for souls.” Though the announcement said several major networks were interested, the project was never released.

In addition, an archived biography on Zito’s website in 2001 claimed he chose ministry over a career as a professional athlete, despite being “one of the best soccer players in the nation.” However, Zito is not listed on archived team rosters at West Virginia University, which he attended in the early 1990s before graduating from Rhema Bible Training Center in Oklahoma. Local media coverage of Zito’s purported athletic career is also lacking in the New Jersey region where he grew up and attended high school.

Challenges Ahead

Bhakta’s failed revamp of Green Mountain College has left some locals skeptical about prospects for the campus. One commenter on the livestream alleged that Bhakta made promises similar to Zito’s but “left us high and dry.” In response to a question about how he would gain the community’s trust, Zito said he would meet with locals to discuss their concerns.

Stephen Gavazzi, an Ohio State University professor and expert on town-gown relations, told Inside Higher Ed that building trust is just as challenging as addressing facilities and enrollment concerns. A key step, he said, is creating inroads with the community and communicating plans to local officials so they don’t hear about them via media reports.

“I think any founder who’s hoping to establish a new institution, especially in a small community that has already experienced the closure of a college, really has to demonstrate that they’re interested in becoming part of the local fabric rather than simply occupying the campus,” Gavazzi said.

Experts also noted that funding the college will be another major obstacle for Zito, who will need to navigate a turbulent and highly regulated industry.

“It doesn’t sound like this is a person who has knowledge of higher education processes,” Brian Weinblatt, founder of the advisory firm Higher Ed Consolidation Solutions, told Inside Higher Ed.

Weinblatt added that Zito would need to tap professionals with demonstrated expertise to help make his dream a reality. Even then, he questioned the wisdom of investing in a long-closed campus given the high costs of upkeep, deferred maintenance and recruiting challenges in the region.

But Zito’s pitch seems more centered on spiritual need than student demographics. In various videos posted to social media, Zito has emphasized the need for revival in the nation—especially in Vermont, which has one of the highest rates of nonbelievers among all 50 states.

He also referenced the spiritual needs of the region in his 2005 book, A Spiritual Awakening: How to Respond to the Emerging Hunger for God, showing it has long been a concern of his.

“If any part of America is indicative of what has happened to our church and our nation, it is by far New England,” Zito wrote about the region at the time. “This place where Puritans and Pilgrims once came to seek the Father earnestly, now has become the seat of liberalism. On grounds once set apart as Bible schools, perverted thinking and secular humanism abounds. The area overflows with witchcraft, homosexual lifestyles, and self-help groups.”

Zito intends to open the college in August and start his revival this fall.