News | Division of Inclusive Excellence | The University of Vermont(title)

UVM Diversity

11/22/2024

Lived Names Now Appear in PeopleSoft

We are proud to announce major progress toward embodying a more respectful, inclusive campus community. A significant phase of the Lived Identity Project has been completed. As of Monday, Nov. 18, PeopleSoft now reflects lived name and pronouns in addition to storing your legal name. To set your...

09/30/2024

Transformative Social Work Attracts New Faculty to UVM

Inspired by a distinctive focus on transformative social work practice, a group of accomplished scholars are bringing their diverse backgrounds and expertise to the University of Vermont. "We are excited to welcome four new faculty members to the Department of Social Work," said...

Linda Banda, Seungmi Cho, Bonnie Glass, and Katie Van Wagner

06/05/2024

Setting the Table: Alumna Dr. Rebecca Stanfield McCown Encourages Graduates to Build Diverse Support Networks

Alumna Dr. Rebecca Stanfield McCown MS ’06 and PhD ’11, returned to the University of Vermont (UVM) campus on May 19 to share advice with the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources graduating class of 2024 at UVM Commencement Weekend. Rebecca is a two-time alumna,...

Rebecca Stanield McCown standing at the podium at the 2024 Graduation Celebration

05/18/2024

Pursuing Their Dreams and Fulfilling Our Mission

The CESS Class of 2024 includes 200 undergraduate students and 138 graduate students across a range of academic pursuits. We are thrilled to celebrate our graduates' remarkable accomplishments and postgraduate plans reflecting a diverse assortment of pathways in education, social work, and...

Collage of 12 undergraduate and graduate students surrounding the UVM 2024 banner hung in front of Waterman Building.

05/12/2024

Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyie Appointed as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences

This fall, Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyie, Ph.D., will join the College of Nursing and Health Sciences as the new Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and lecturer in Public Health Sciences. An international disability rights advocate whose experiences as a woman of color with a...

Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyie

04/24/2024

Community Building In and Out of the Classroom

Juliana Ward ’24, an Environmental Studies (ENVS) major and economics minor, is a member of the second to last cohort of students to earn their B.S. degrees in Environmental Studies from the Rubenstein School. The program migrated to the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) in the fall of 2022....

Juliana posing on the roof of a building overlooking the city and mountains.

03/19/2024

Inspired to Serve

Growing up in Winooski, Vermont, Evelyn Monje dreamed of attending the University of Vermont as she went by campus on the way to school every day. Working as a youth camp counselor during the summer after her first year of high school, she began to discover what her true calling might be....

Evelyn Monje at her mobile social work desk at the South Burlington Public Library.

01/13/2024

New Occupational Therapy Course Promotes Cultural Humility

In Morocco, religion plays a significant role in the structure of people’s daily lives, and the call to prayer rings out over cities and towns five times a day, recalls Addie Irvin, '25, of her recent trip to western North Africa with UVM's new occupational therapy (OT) program. The Birmingham,...

On a beach in Morocco, a UVM occupational therapy student leads a chair yoga session with women undergoing treatment for cancer.

01/11/2024

UVM Celebrates MLK with Annual Keynote on Jan. 25th

Registration for University of Vermont’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Keynote is now open. The 2024 address welcomes back diversity leadership strategist, Dr. Damon A....

Dr. Damon A. Williams with Dr. Amer F. Ahmed

12/14/2023

ahmed khanani announced as new Director of the Mosaic Center for Students of Color

The Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is pleased to announce that ahmed khanani (they/he) will be joining the UVM community as the director of the Mosaic Center for Students of Color (MCSC) starting mid-December. Khanani has spent their career seeking to “create spaces for persons who...

ahmed khanani

12/07/2023

Driving Change grant will jumpstart new DEI initiatives across campus 

The University of Vermont enjoys a well-earned reputation as a progressive institution, but improved diversity across the campus community remains an important goal for the university. Now, thanks to a new grant, undergraduate students, faculty and staff will have the time and resources to...

View of the UVM Green and "Unlocked" sculpture with Old Mill in background

11/15/2023

UVM’s First Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan Sets Important Goals for University Community

On November 15, the University of Vermont released its first-ever Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan, a data-driven strategic plan centered on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The plan outlines the University’s commitment and process for advancing inclusive excellence across the...

Students and UVM community gathering outside at sunset for Convocation

11/09/2023

Advancing Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood Education

For her work to advance equity and excellence in early childhood education in Vermont and across the country, the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VTAEYC) honored UVM Assistant Professor Kaitlin Northey at its...

Kaitlin Northey receiving her award from VTAEYC Executive Director Sharron Harrington and NAEYC CEO Michelle Kang. (Photo: Katie Titterton)

11/07/2023

Navigating College as a First-Gen Student

Recent UVM graduate Nerida Williams had a very busy summer. From graduating to applying to grad school, to interning at REACH Prep, to now serving as a UVM resident director, Nerida’s always been focused on supporting the people and community around her. Ahead of...

Recent first-gen graduate Nerida Williams celebrating graduation by her garage door

10/06/2023

We’re Number One

Being first isn't easy. It requires courage, determination, and resilience. This is especially true when we're talking about a first-generation college student, someone who is a pioneer in their family when it comes to higher...

Gable seated with a green door behind them.

09/07/2023

UVM’s 2023 Health Equity Summit Open for Registration

The University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, in collaboration with the University of Vermont Health Network, has announced the 2023 Health Equity Summit – Closing the Margin: Avenues to Health...

The 2023 Health Equity Summit logo graphic

09/06/2023

Beyond UVM: Fulbrights Forge Connections Around the World

The Fulbright Program was created in 1946 by the U.S. government to share knowledge and forge lasting connections between American institutions and entities abroad. Each year, about 8,000 scholars and professionals are selected to travel, teach, and research in over 160 host countries. Six...

a collage of six UVM faculty members and staff who won Fulbright awards for the 2023-24 academic year including Antonio Cepeda-Benito, Jeanne Harris, Alex Lindsay, Jane Molofsky, Cynthia Reyes, and Safwan Wshah

09/01/2023

Professor Miller Celestin Honored with Dr. H. Lawrence McCrorey Award for Inclusive Excellence

Miller Celestin, clinical assistant professor of nursing, recently received the Dr. H. Lawrence McCrorey Award for Inclusive Excellence in recognition of his contributions to creating a legacy of equity, justice and inclusion at the University of Vermont. The honor is awarded to a faculty or...

UVM Nursing Professor Miller Celestin

08/31/2023

UVM Named Among Nation’s Most LGBTQ-Friendly

BURLINGTON — On the eve of Vermont Pride Week (September 2-10), the University of Vermont has been named one of the top colleges and universities for LGBTQ+ students by Campus Pride, an organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQ students and allies at colleges and universities...

rows of rainbow pins with the UVM clock tower on them that say UVM Pride

08/29/2023

Inclusive Teaching Workshops Coming to UVM this Fall

Join us on Friday, September 22, 2023 for an Inclusive Teaching Workshop with Drs. Kelly Hogan and Dr. Viji Sathy. This workshop highlights the need for high course structure and model techniques designed to elicit equity in the classroom. This event is open to University of Vermont faculty,...

Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy pose in front of a brick building with their book, Inclusive Teaching, held between them

08/16/2023

UVM Alum Receives Prestigious Obama Foundation Fellowship

Daniel Fairley, II is among the first cohort of 100 emerging changemakers chosen to participate in the Obama Foundation’s Leaders USA program. The 2016 graduate of UVM’s Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration Program was selected to join the highly competitive program for his...

Daniel Farley works with young black males in a school classroom.

08/08/2023

Connecting the Dots - A Student Explores LGBTQ+ History Through TikTok

You’d think a Political Science, Sociology, and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies triple-major who juggled three jobs while carrying a full course load during the past school year might want to take a break over the summer. But downtime was not on the agenda this year for Zane Zupan, a...

mirror shot of Zane recording a video

06/06/2023

How A Sense of Belonging Translated to Success in School

As a teenager, Perin Patel ’22 M.S. 23 was keenly aware of his parents’ struggle to make life work in the United States. His family immigrated from Chalamali, a small village in western India where they ran a cotton farm,  when he was 13. As his parents learned English, Patel...

Perin Patel stands outside UVM's Mosaic Center for Students of Color

02/22/2023

The Fullness of Ourselves: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Keynote with Carolyn Finney, Ph.D.

The University of Vermont's Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion hosted the 2023 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Keynote with Dr. Carolyn Finney on Jan. 26.   Dr. Finney...

A headshot of Carolyn Finney and text reading "Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration 2023 Keynote Lecture, The Fullness of Ourselves with Carolyn Finney, Ph.D."

02/06/2023

Bev Belisle to Step Down as Mosaic Center Director

Dear UVM Community, Today I am sharing the bittersweet news that after 22 years at UVM, Bev Belisle will be stepping down as the Director of the Mosaic Center for Students of Color (MCS) on June 30, 2023. Bev started her work at UVM in 2000 and has participated vigorously and...

Bev Belisle smiling in front of UVM campus green