Dear UVM Faculty and Staff,
We are writing to share upcoming changes following last week’s announcement of Cynthia Belliveau’s decision to step down from the deanship of Continuing and Distance Education (CDE). Since Dean Belliveau first shared her plans with us earlier in the year, we have had an opportunity to think carefully with her and other senior leaders about the future of CDE.
We believe professional and continuing education will continue to grow and evolve at UVM, just as it has under Dean Belliveau. As training needs increase rapidly in our region and nationally, demand for training, certificates, and micro-credentials is expected to grow. Further, academic programming in the summer and online programming across schools and colleges continues to expand. The important role CDE plays at UVM requires an organizational home that spans academics, research, information technology, operations, and communications.
In early January, we will transition the unit to report directly to the president and it will be renamed Professional and Continuing Education (PACE). Placement within the president’s direct management portfolio will ensure that PACE is front-of-mind in high-level decisions about the university’s present and future. It is clear to us that PACE directly supports all three strategic imperatives in Amplifying Our Impact.
On November 1, 2021, Jill A. Irvine, Ph.D., will join UVM in the inaugural role of Chief Professional and Continuing Education Officer. She will use her first few months to connect with deans, senior leaders, CDE staff, Vermont businesses, and others to gather and share ideas for the future growth of PACE. Dr. Irvine will also work with Dean Belliveau on a smooth leadership transition leading into early January when she will assume responsibility for professional and continuing education at UVM.
Dr. Irvine most recently served as interim senior vice president and provost at the University of Oklahoma. She has also served OU as an award-winning faculty member in international and area studies, senior vice provost, vice provost for faculty, director of community engagement, founding director of the Center for Social Justice, and chair of Women’s and Gender Studies. Her scholarship, including numerous books and publications, centers on transnational activism, social movements, and organization to catalyze democracy, security and human rights in Eastern Europe and North America.
Dean Belliveau will continue to lead CDE through the rest of the current semester. We are both profoundly grateful to her for the innovation, creativity, and hard work she has invested, and continues to invest, in CDE. The influence of her insightful, successful leadership will be visible for many years to come.
Please join us in thanking Cynthia for her 14 years as dean and in warmly welcoming Jill to the University of Vermont. You can read more about PACE in our release to the media, scheduled for distribution later this morning.
Suresh V. Garimella, President
Patricia A. Prelock, Provost and Senior Vice President