Welcome from Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Dean of UVM’s College of Arts and Sciences

Dear Friends,

I am happy to bring you a wide array of wonderful news and a few updates. Among the news, I will highlight the Humanities and Mayor's Book Club initiative of the Humanities Center, which held its first meeting on Wednesday, November 12 at UVM’s Billings Library. The Club’s first book was journalist Todd Purdum’s An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Two Presidents, Two Parties, and the Battle for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A round table between a group of panelists* and an eclectic audience of Burlingtonians and UVM folk kept participants engrossed in a lively exchange well beyond the 90 minutes originally planned for the meeting. The participants related personal insights and reactions to the reading. It was a treat and a privilege to listen to the exchange of knowledge and wisdom. I felt particularly proud of the faculty and left wishing I could be a student in one of their courses. They were enthusiastic, sincere, humorous, if not outright funny, but primarily, they were consummate scholars. I eagerly await their announcement of their next book choice.

In terms of updates, I am thrilled to report a few exciting developments for our art programs. Under the leadership of Tom Brennan, Chair of the Art and Art History Department, our art programs collaborated to create The Arts at UVM webpage, which conveniently brings together within the same virtual roof a point of entry to the great wealth of exhibitions, performances, and art programs Burlington and UVM have to offer. Also in the arts, the faculty, students, and UVM alumni and friends of Royall Tyler Theatre and the Department of Theater have good reason to be excited. During the UVM Reunion and Homecoming Weekend, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Royall Tyler Theatre. It was a wonderful day filled with events that gathered hundreds of faculty, students, alumni, and friends. Those who attended enjoyed reminiscing about the great moments they lived within the walls of Royall Tyler Theater, were inspired by a beautifully directed and performed musical, A Grand Night for Singing, were delighted by Tony Kushner’s talk and Q&A, and were gladly surprised by President Tom Sullivan’s announcement of a challenge to raise $100,000.00. That added to $125,000.00 provided by CAS, the Office of the President, and an existing gift, would be sufficient to make needed repairs and upgrades to the seats, flooring, and lighting of Royall Tyler Theater. If you’d like to contribute and “buy” a seat, please contact Sam Ankerson for details on how to proceed.

Finally, before wishing you a happy Thanksgiving and wonderful winter holidays, I would like you to know that I met for the second time with my Board of Advisors and had a very productive meeting. Among the various issues covered, the Board recommended the creation of an “Internship Fund” to support CAS students who are pursuing quality, but unpaid, internships. To get us started, I have committed $7,500 from my budget, and Board members discussed designating $1,000-$2,000 of their annual contribution to give the program a jump-start. Board members have already started to send their contributions and I am very hopeful that our students will begin to benefit from the generosity of our Board and alumni this coming summer. If you can help us with a gift or with internship opportunities for our students, please let us know.  

Thank you for your support.