Commencement 2023
“This is a day of victory,” said the Honorable Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation, a renowned advocate for the power of research and education in addressing global challenges. Director Panchanathan's keynote speech underlined the need for perseverance and collaboration, connecting it with the unique experience of being a graduate of the University of Vermont, guided, he said, by “the spirit of excellence.”
Commencement 2022
As clouds gave way to magnificent sunshine across the UVM Green, the university’s 2022 commencement speaker, renowned mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer spoke of a more profound darkness giving way to light. Weihenmayer is one of the most celebrated adventurers of the 21st century, best known as the first blind person to summit Mount Everest—and the only blind climber to reach the highest point on all seven continents.