Dear students,

On behalf of all UVM leaders, faculty, and staff, welcome to the 2023–24 academic year. We have watched our campus come back to life with increasing energy and excitement over the past several weeks, leading up to today’s first day of classes.

If you were away from Vermont during the summer, you may have seen national news about last month’s devastating floods in our region. You can share in the pride that hundreds of UVM students, faculty, and staff volunteered to help residents, farms, and other businesses with clean up and restoration of normal operations. The UVM Spatial Analysis Lab played a particularly critical role in early assessments of damage for state and federal authorities.

If you haven’t read it yet, we encourage you to read the summary of great achievements during the previous year. We have every reason to expect even greater outcomes in the year ahead. Our newest students continue to set records for academic achievement and all forms of diversity, making UVM even stronger among the nation’s top public research universities.

Whether 2023–24 is your first or your last year at UVM, the spectacular surroundings of Greater Burlington, outstanding professors and advisors, and countless opportunities before you make UVM an experience like no other. We encourage you to maximize the quality and benefits of your time on campus by pushing your boundaries, exploring new subjects, and engaging with people who come from backgrounds different than yours.

John Dewey, the prominent American philosopher, education reformer, and a Class of 1879 alumnus of UVM, wrote that great advances come from a “new audacity of imagination.” We fully embrace Dewey’s observation and encourage your “audacity of imagination” to shine in this new academic year.

We wish you the greatest success in the weeks and months ahead.

Sincerely,

Suresh Garimella, President
Patricia Prelock, Provost and Senior Vice President