Dear UVM community,

I was reminded over the past week just how far our academic endeavors can take us in this world. I recently returned from Taiwan, where I gave some talks on Autism Spectrum Disorder at the National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences in Taipei City. It is always an honor to represent UVM on the international stage, and it reminds me that our excellence in research and our appeal to potential students do truly have global reach. When we excel, the world takes notice.

Speaking of research, you received earlier this week an invitation from me and Vice President for Research and Economic Development Kirk Dombrowski to the We R1 UVM Celebration on April 23 at 9 a.m. in the Davis Center’s Grand Maple Ballroom. This exciting event will commemorate UVM’s achievement earlier this year of the coveted Carnegie Research 1 designation. I hope you will join us for the celebration, which helps kick off Research Week across campus.

In the meantime, work continues at UVM in response to federal actions. Some of the recent news has raised questions about data privacy and how personal information and other important materials are kept safe and secure. There is a helpful section on our Federal Actions webpage labeled Protecting Personal Information that links to our data privacy webpage for relevant policies and procedures around data collection, storage, access, and security.

There have also been some renewed questions about discrimination, harassment, and related reporting. The university has always taken these topics very seriously, and I wanted to share this video in which Vice Provost for Student Affairs Erica Caloiero and members of our AdvoCats team explore the university’s policies and support resources in this area.

UVM and the City of Burlington will co-host a Student Safety Forum on April 23 from 7:00–8:30 p.m. in Billings-Ira Allen Lecture Hall and online on Teams. Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and I will be joined by UVM’s Chief Security and Compliance Officer Michael Schirling and the chiefs of the Burlington Police Department and UVM Police Services to share updates and answer questions about student safety. Details about joining the online portion will be coming soon.

Finally this week, I’d like to recognize the fantastic job by Linda Schadler in service as acting provost during my time as interim president. The provost position is vital in connecting the university as an institution with its academic heartbeat: students and faculty. Acting Provost Schadler has excelled in that role, and I have full confidence that she will be just as effective in providing strong leadership for the university until President-designate Marlene Tromp takes office on July 1.

As spring weather unfurls at last and with Earth Week underway with lots of great programs across campus, I love seeing the smiling faces and hearing the laughter of more and more people enjoying time outside. If you need to study or catch up on work, take it out into the sunshine—it can feel so rejuvenating!

Warmly,

Patricia Prelock
Interim President