With summer session in full swing, a new pace has settled in across campus, and I’m finding time to reflect on a fantastic spring semester. I want to start by expressing my gratitude for the students, faculty, and staff who supported and encouraged me through my first year as Interim Dean of the Rubenstein School. We welcomed our largest first-year class to date—a wonderful opportunity to expand our impact as a School working to create a just and sustainable future.
This past semester was full of exciting activities and accomplishments across UVM and the Rubenstein School:
- Our students wowed with their successes, many of which we recognized at our annual Community Honors Celebration in early May. A full list of our awardees is available on our website. Rubenstein students also demonstrated their leadership through student clubs and associations. From the publication of two issues of Headwaters Magazine this spring, to the Forestry Program defending its crown as New England Society of American Foresters Quiz Bowl champions, to our Student Advisory Board and Graduate Student Association launching a new merchandise campaign and hosting many community-building events, we are lucky to have an engaged and multi-talented group of students in the School!
- UVM released its first Comprehensive Sustainability Plan in April during Earth Week. The plan commits to a bold goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. It includes all aspects of campus life and university operations – from transportation to energy use to building envelopes. The Rubenstein School is proud to contribute to UVM’s sustainability goals by continuously improving our energy efficiency, investing in electric transportation, and getting smarter about waste management.
- More than 150 Rubenstein School seniors received their Bachelor of Science degrees on May 21, 2023. Faculty, staff, students and families gathered to celebrate this huge milestone and to hear words of inspiration from our guest speaker and Rubenstein School alumna Nathaly Agosto Filión. I shared a few words myself to congratulate the class of 2023 and to welcome them into a life-long Rubenstein School alumni community, their new professional network, which now totals more than 6,000! This year we highlighted seniors from each of our academic programs, I encourage you to read more about our incredible students on our website.
Over the next three months our students will be working summer jobs, taking field-intensive classes, and continuing their learning through internships and research. In the Dean’s Office we will be finalizing a comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan for the School, in collaboration with the UVM Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; advising our nearly 300 incoming first-year students; and preparing for the 50th anniversary celebration of the School of Natural Resources in the fall – more on that soon!
To our recent graduates – if you already have plans for your post-graduation year, whether it be a job, travel, grad school, or seasonal work, please let us know in the Career Outcomes Survey! And if you’re still figuring out your plans, you’re not alone – don’t forget that the UVM Career Center (open through the summer) is a resource for all students and alumni, and the Rubenstein School community is always here for you. Connect with us on LinkedIn and UVM Connect.
Please stay in touch and stop by the Aiken Center anytime for a visit. I’m wishing you all a fun and restful summer!
Sincerely,
Allan Strong, Interim Dean and Professor