Placed prominently on a stone pedestal in front of Old Mill, this gray, granite sphere was discovered in 1848 during the building of the Vermont Central Railroad and given to the University as a 'curiosity.' It was viewed in the past as a University 'trophy' - subject to vandalism and theft. However, the Boulder was reputedly viewed by President Matthew Buckham as a simile for the formative impact and fine-tuning which four years of University training should have upon the unskilled and uninformed student first entering the university whose scattered and uncritical thoughts would be shaped into an ideal Platonic form.

This sentiment is expressed in the language inscribed on a plaque placed in front of the Boulder in 1992..."(The UVM Boulder) came to epitomize the mission of the University...to transform the universed into the well rounded. " For comparable examples of 'geological sculpture', see the Sinkhole and the 'natural monuments' in proximity to Perkins Geology Building.