Dearest Campus Community,

We write today, with deep respect, to thank you for everything so many of you shared with us during our recent listening sessions. In total, several hundred community members participated in the six Listening Sessions we hosted along with our partners from our four Governance Bodies. We know it wasn’t easy for many of you to tell or retell your stories and speak your truth.

During the sessions, we heard many of you candidly share the hurt you are feeling right now, and we will do everything we can to honor those feelings. In short, we hear you, you did not say those things in vain, and you matter to us and the UVM community.

The courage, sincerity and truth you shared with us is humbling, and we are honored to have been able to listen and take heed to what is important to you. The overarching message we heard is that UVM must continue to improve and remain steadfast to our commitment to equity, justice, and anti-racism so that we, as an institution, can live up to the community we aspire to be in Our Common Ground. We are working on compiling the themes from these sessions and plan to make these, along with our recommendations for improvement, available to our community. We will be back in touch soon. In the meantime, if you have more thoughts or ideas to share with us please email: pcie@uvm.edu

In solidarity,

The President’s Commission for Inclusive Excellence
The Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Faculty Senate
Staff Council
Graduate Student Senate