Thomas Sullivan, president of the University of Vermont, and Gov. Peter Shumlin announced today that John Bramley has been designated as UVM's point person for implementing the recommendations of the governor’s higher education advisory group. Discussions in 2011 between the governor and Bramley, then serving as UVM’s interim president, led to the formation of the advisory group.

Bramley's responsibilities will include assessing the feasibility of the recommendations in the group’s report and assisting in the implementation of those that are deemed most feasible, working with the governor, the legislature, the university and other key constituencies.

“I am pleased that John Bramley has agreed to work with the university to move this process forward,” said UVM president Tom Sullivan. “He will be a great resource to the governor, to state government and to Vermont as this process unfolds. I am also grateful to Governor Shumlin for assembling such a talented working group of highly skilled individuals with the expertise and backgrounds needed to examine the relationship between UVM and the state.”

“As the state’s only public research university and a major driver of the Vermont economy, it’s crucial that Vermont and UVM continue to work together to ensure that the University thrives, while the state maximizes its return on investment for Vermont and Vermonters,” said Gov. Shumlin.

“I am honored to work with President Sullivan, my UVM colleagues, the governor’s staff, my committee colleagues and others to work on the next phases and the challenges and exciting opportunities the committee identified,” Bramley said.

The eleven recommendations in the report of the advisory group, chaired by Nicholas Donofrio, former executive vice president for innovation at IBM, all advance the goals of creating a sustainable relationship between the state and UVM, while preparing students for the jobs of the future.

Key among the recommendations is the concept of an innovation center, which would put UVM at the center of a hub to reach out across the state and beyond to connect public and private sectors to foster innovation, research, entrepreneurship and job creation. Work has been initiated to create a clearinghouse for resources already available at UVM, the state colleges, other institutions of higher education, state government and the private sector.  

John Evans, president of the Vermont Technology Council said the Technology Council was pleased to collaborate with UVM on the new center. “There are a tremendous number of resources already available and we need to put them to work,” he said.

Bramley, a longstanding member of the UVM faculty, served as UVM’s interim president from August 2011 to July 2012. Before that he was department chair of Animal Sciences, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and provost and senior vice president of the university. In 2006 he also served as acting president during President Daniel Mark Fogel’s illness. From 2007 to 2011 he was president and CEO of the Windham Foundation, the largest private foundation registered in Vermont.

The higher education advisory group’s report, titled “New Ideas for Changing Times: Strengthening the Partnership Between the State of Vermont and the University of Vermont,” was released in June 2012.