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2002 UVM ALUMNI AWARDS

Distinguished Service Awards
Bill Shean ’79 may have just wrapped up his term as president of the UVM Alumni Association, but it is doubtful he’ll be taking much of a break from being involved with his alma mater. A consistent theme of Shean’s tenure as head of UVM’s 80,000-plus member alumni group has been “get involved.”

Fellow alums don’t need to look further than Shean for examples of how they might stay connected with the university. The Ira Allen Society Committee, Boston Regional Board, Alumni Career Network, and Reunion gift committees number among the many ways Shean has served the university.

Shean, who studied political science and economics, is a portfolio manager for State Street Research & Management in Boston. His wife, Laurie Adams Shean ’80, is also a UVM alum.

In his closing president’s column in Vermont Quarterly, Shean wrote: “I encourage all of you to take the time to reconnect with UVM, an institution that had a big role in shaping who you are today.” Through his tireless work, Shean returns the favor as he continues to play a big role in shaping the university UVM will be tomorrow.

Sallie Soule G’52 is the exemplar of a professional life devoted to public service. The Baird Center for Children and Families, the Vermont Council on the Arts, the Preservation Trust of Vermont, the Vermont Community Foundation, the Vermont Women’s Fund, Vermont Public Television — all have been the beneficiaries of her community-spirited involvement over the years, but none more so than the University of Vermont. She has served for six years on the UVM Board of Trustees, and on the advisory boards to the School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences, and continues today as a valued advisor to the newly-formed College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She has helped the university on countless occasions by sharing the insights derived from her acknowledged status as a trailblazer for women in Vermont politics, having served as a state representative, state senator, and Commissioner of Employment and Training under Governor Madeleine Kunin.

Frank Bolden ’63 became deeply involved volunteering his time and talents for the university in the early 1990s. Taking an interest in student recruitment, fundraising, and university governance, Bolden would earn an appointment to UVM’s Board of Trustees, serving as chair from 1998-2000. He is currently a member of the Medical Dean’s Advisory Board and the New York Regional Board.

An English major at UVM, Bolden would go on to receive an MBA and his law degree from Columbia University. Most of his career, since 1975, has been spent with the Johnson & Johnson corporation, where Bolden is currently vice president of the corporate staff.

Bolden has been a strong voice for building diversity at UVM. As chair of the board, he addressed the issue at a 1998 meeting of the Faculty Senate. “In my career, I’ve worked for a Russ, a Dave, and a John. All great people, all white males,” Bolden said. “Our students might find themselves working for a Joanne, a Jose, or a Julio. The world our students are entering is not an all-white world. They have to be ready to deal with that.”

Outstanding Young Alumni Awards

Key Compton ’92
If you’ve lunched in Cook Commons, then dutifully sorted your paper from your styrofoam from your trash, you know the work of Key Compton ’92. Together with three friends, Compton founded the Vermont Student Environmental Program (VSTEP), which rapidly grew to more than 300-members strong, spurred the development of UVM’s recycling program, and is still vibrant years after the founders’ graduation.

With VSTEP, Compton proved at a young age that he had a way with the entrepreneurial riff of coupling ideas with action. “The entire experience was exhilarating,” Compton says, “because it taught me to organize, to motivate, and to create where we saw a need and an opportunity.” In a variety of endeavors over a busy post-UVM decade, Compton has duplicated that experience.

He’s worked in the electric utility and financial industries, as well as a stint as a Utah ski patroller and freelance photographer, but Compton has found his greatest success and pleasure founding two Silicon Alley start-ups — Solbright, Inc. and Mimeo.Com. — that have flourished where so many others have faltered.

Solbright (named for the ridgeline where Compton rigged dynamite for avalanche control in his ski patrol days) is the leading provider of automated services for media companies that sell online advertising and boasts a customer list that includes Yahoo!, Lycos, CBS SportsLine, and USA Today. Mimeo.Com grew from Compton’s prototype to provide on-demand printing over the Internet.

His prime focus these days is on his role as chairman at Solbright, which is starting to explore expansion to Europe.

Through guest lectures, Compton has shared his experience and expertise with students in UVM’s School of Business Administration, where he also serves on the board of advisors. With plans to enter Columbia University’s Executive MBA Program, Compton provides today’s undergraduates with a strong example that success in the business world also requires the humbleness to know there’s always more to be learned.

Israel Maynard ’96
With apologies to his wife, Toni Ann (Sacco) Maynard ’96, two other great loves of Israel Maynard’s life, UVM and golf, come together each summer as alums tee-up for the annual New York Golf Classic. His passion for both game and alma mater have driven Maynard’s commitment as co-chair of an event that continues to grow in participation numbers and dollars raised for UVM scholarships.

Maynard, also chair of the Events Committee for the Alumni Association’s New York Regional Board, brought two clear goals to his work on the classic. “I wanted to make it more affordable so we could attract a greater variety of players, and I wanted to see a larger portion of the fee donated to the UVM Fund,” he says. By moving to a less expensive course and building sponsorships, last summer’s classic met those hopes. “Based upon the turnout and response,” Maynard says, “I think we were successful all the way around.”

Maynard grew up on a dairy farm in Moretown, Vermont, and studied recreation management in the School of Natural Resources. He was also president of Sigma Phi and continues to volunteer time for the local chapter and on a national level. Maynard has taken to city life in New York, where he has worked for Madison Square Garden and Salomon Smith Barney, but while visiting campus for Reunion, he mentions that he and Toni Ann plan to relocate to Vermont within the next few years. In the meantime, Israel keeps the university ties strong for himself and others through his tireless volunteer work.

“There is something wonderfully intangible about UVM that many of us feel, yet have a hard time putting into words,” he says. “I simply enjoy the challenge of trying to help fellow alums stay connected or re-connect.”

Robert Slocum ’97
For an article on new grads in the summer 1997 issue of Vermont Quarterly, Rob Slocum posed cradling his graduation mortar board in one hand. The newly minted alumnus looked back — “If you just focus on classes and don’t get involved, you’re not taking full advantage of what UVM has to offer.” And he looked forward — sharing his hopes for a career in sports industry marketing.

Catching up with Slocum as he prepared to return to celebrate his fifth reunion and collect the university’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award, it’s clear that he’s kept a steady path. That commitment to getting involved at UVM found lasting expression at UVM through Slocum’s work as president of the Senior Class Council, leading a record senior gift fund drive to create a courtyard outside of Cook and Angell halls. And Slocum has remained involved post-graduation, serving on the Young Alumni Committee and chairing his class reunion.

Slocum credits his fellow volunteers for building a strong sense of identity and commitment within the Class of 1997, which set a fifth Reunion attendance record. “When you surround yourself with great people you can trust, the rest just falls into place,” Slocum says, “and we’ve seen that with both our class gift and Reunion.” He also credits older alumni for their example and the positive influence they’ve had on his life. “UVM alumni were key in spending time with me talking about their careers and connections,” Slocum says. “That’s something I’ll always remember and strive to do personally for others.”

In his professional life, Slocum quickly made those 1997 graduation dreams come true. He landed a job with Madison Square Garden, where he sells integrated media and marketing partnerships for the Garden and a number of New York’s professional teams, including the Knicks, Mets, Rangers, and Jets. Home is Manhattan, but Slocum notes even on the busy city streets “it never ceases to amaze me how many UVM alumni I bump into.”