Dear colleagues,

We are writing to share our plans to engage the UVM community in a project that is essential to our long-term financial resilience and success as a land-grant institution. Your engagement and participation are essential to the success of any work on this front.

This project, called Catamount Leap, will invest in people, processes, and technology to create a more streamlined, integrated, and user-friendly experience across campus. This work will reduce duplication, cut unnecessary bureaucracy, and provide a digital interface that reflects the expectations of our incoming students.

This will be a multi-year project, beginning this fall, with internal work that you all conduct and on which you advise in each administrative and academic unit (details to follow). Insights from UVM’s campus-wide strategic planning exercise will also inform this work, so we encourage you to be involved.

Actions for Fall 2025:

• We have heard your concerns over several years about the complexity and inefficiency of our multiple systems. Chief Information Officer Kellie Campbell will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to replace and unify UVM’s core information systems. We will then make a decision about the timeline for investment.
• A governance structure will be established, led by a steering committee with representatives from across campus. This committee will engage regularly with governance groups and leadership, sharing insights and input, evaluating RFP responses, and taking on a leadership role in any implementation. The committee will provide updates to the campus community throughout the project.
• Administrative units will be asked to work with their people to identify at least three unit-specific opportunities, gleaned from their experience and knowledge, to simplify and consolidate operations, streamline processes, and reduce duplication. Units will submit these recommendations to senior leadership by November 1, with implementation beginning in December.

Academic units will continue to optimize curriculum delivery, strategically revise and update academic programs, and review internal processes and policies.

We are confident that UVM is ready for the transformation to a digital-first environment that frees up our people to do their best work. At the same time, we recognize that it is a necessity given the financial uncertainties facing higher education and our university.

As always, thank you for your deep commitment to our students and to each other. Together, we will create a stronger, more agile UVM that is prepared to serve Vermont, the region, and the world—intellectually, economically, and culturally—for generations to come.

Marlene Tromp
President

Linda Schadler
Interim Provost

Alicia Estey
Vice President for Finance and Administration

Kellie Campbell
Chief Information Officer