The EvoLLLution, August 2019
Transparency in the budgeting model plays a central role in the success of the adoption of a new approach. However, institutional leaders must also be conscious of their institutional culture and realities to ensure they choose a model that fits their context.
In my writing and speaking about US higher education, I frequently highlight the three pillars of our mission at University of Vermont (UVM) as a land-grant university: teaching, research and scholarship, and service. This includes our pedagogical innovations and commitment to excellence in teaching; our research activity; our investments in support of faculty research and scholarship; the success of our faculty in securing extramural support for their research and scholarship; and the impact of our research, innovation, and discovery.
I have always regarded America’s top universities as agents of change. Social movements are started on our campuses, come of age on our campuses, and move out into our communities. Political and economic theories emerge from our lecture halls and scientific revolutions are born in our laboratories. Our college and university campuses are places where ideas are hatched, theories are examined, practices are studied, and philosophies are debated.
The EvoLLLution, July 2019
STEM and liberal arts have been at odds for too long. Purposeful and conscious partnerships between these two faculties are essential to supporting the skill development of the 21st century professional, and to ensuring the university stays relevant to the needs of its key stakeholders.
Increasingly, as universities face fiscal challenges and concerns over long-term financial sustainability, they are looking at their budget models to incent behaviors or capture previously unrealized opportunities and revenue. These models also are being pointed to by critics as mechanisms being used by nefarious senior administrators and boards to dismantle academic programs, disrupt longstanding academic culture, and surreptitiously shift institutional priorities.
I feel as though I have “come of age” as an academic leader in this time of growing tension between STEM and the liberal arts. While it has been important to pay attention to and take time to fully understand the genesis of these tensions and the reasons they have increased and caused communities on our campuses to entrench, put up defenses, and even do battle, it is perhaps more important to continue to seek to remove barriers, engage productively, and create deeper and more purposeful partnerships.
Two of my favorite events in the university’s academic calendar are Convocation and Commencement. As provost, I played a role in both ceremonies and always looked forward to the festivities surrounding these milestone markers in our students’ academic journeys with us. But when asked about my favorite time of year at the university, I always say it is the week immediately following Commencement.
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.