Across the Green

I always enjoy reflecting on possible themes for these campus-wide updates. Writing this memo, coming in the middle of my sixth year as Provost and a year in which we plan for both the conclusion of a highly successful capital campaign and a presidential transition, provided a wonderful opportunity to reflect on progress, provide updates, and look ahead to the future.

The start of the academic year is a time of renewed focus, refreshed energy, and tremendous excitement. There is a buzz in the air. You can feel it walking across campus. You can see it in our students’ eyes. And, of course, there are the tell-tale signs of fall in Vermont: leaves turning colors, cooling temperatures, crisp nights, and (my favorite) the apples.

Spring in Vermont is always just a bit slow to arrive, but that affords time to both witness and reflect on the changes in season. It also gives us time to think about where we have been and where we are going. And we are reminded that seasons always give way to new seasons, and that the only real constant is change.

We are, without question, operating in one of the most challenging, rapidly changing, and also hopeful times for US higher education. Such a bold statement demands, and deserves, some explanation. The challenges facing US higher education writ large, and public higher education in particular, should be well known to all of us.

The start of a new academic year is filled with excitement – for students, faculty, and staff, but also for the community. As I start my fifth year as provost, I am excited not only to welcome our newest students and commence the new academic year, but for all that the new year means and promises. We are bearing witness to a transformational time in our university’s history.

Spring is in the air at the University of Vermont, and while we wait patiently for telltale signs and scents of the new season, we can’t help but notice the signs of change all around us. As we prepare to say goodbye to the Class of 2017, we welcome new academic programs, new campus facilities, and a new university-wide institute.

As I write this, we sit on the cusp of a new year and new administrations in Montpelier and in Washington. We use times such as these to look back and reflect on goals reached, accomplishments shared, challenges faced, and lessons learned. And we look ahead with excitement, hope, uncertainty, and sometimes anxiety. Such is the nature of time. Such is the
nature of transitions.

Welcome back to campus and to the new academic year! As a native New Englander, I am always excited by the arrival of fall. As much as I love the colors, the crisp nights, fall sports, and the chance to wear flannel and fleece, I most look forward to the apples. To those who are new to our community and come from outside the northeast, you are in for a sensory treat – the sights, smells, and tastes of fall in Vermont.

Ours is a university with momentum. You see evidence of this all around you, you can feel the energy, and I hope you feel connected to the changes taking place. Because you are! The changes are driven by expressed shared goals for the University of Vermont, by collective aspirations and expectations, and by the time and effort of so many across the campus.

As we start the new calendar year, the University of Vermont finds itself in a period of exciting change. Preserving our academic heritage while creating innovative programs to reach new and more diverse audiences; respecting and maintaining our historic campus buildings while constructing new facilities to meet new pedagogic and research needs; and celebrating our history of important scholarly contributions while enabling promising new research and discovery in emerging fields that cut across and move beyond traditional disciplines – this all challenges us, but also presents enormous opportunity for our academic community, and the academic ecosystem in
which we work.