The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College (UVM) holds a vital role in our state and in the broader world. We must fully embrace and advance our grand mission. Education is an act of hope; research, an act of both intellect and belief; and our commitment to people and planet, an act of stewardship. Together, these define our future. We will strive as a community in this great work.

As Vermont’s flagship, land-grant university, we have a foundational responsibility to educate Vermonters, strengthen the health and economic well-being of our state, and serve all its people. Through programs in Extension, healthcare, education, social services, and more, we have served Vermont for generations. The critical work of our land-grant mission extends across all our units. We must ensure the full power of the university touches people and communities throughout Vermont. We support our mission by educating students from beyond Vermont’s borders—students who bring their gifts and talents, enrich our communities, and help all of us thrive.

As a powerhouse research university, we generate scholarship and creative work that produces pathbreaking discoveries, inspires, illuminates, challenges, and transforms. We must continue this work, despite disruptions in the funding landscape and infrastructure, actively seeking new resources and collaborating creatively and ethically with new partners. We aim to discover, analyze, and understand new terrain—and to leave a meaningful mark on the world. Collectively, we pursue the study of what is significant and impactful, while always creating space for pioneering ideas that may shape future paradigms.

Our teaching embodies our commitment to the intellectual, personal, and ethical development of our students. We challenge them—and one another—to grow, to think in novel ways, and to become trailblazers who move boldly beyond the university. Our pedagogy and community grow, in part, from our own deep and ongoing learning. While we honor our extraordinary history, we are not bound by past practices or paradigms. We reflect on and learn from those with whom we interact—our students, the indigenous communities for whom this land has always been home, the people across our state and around the globe. These communities challenge us to innovate and improve, to serve better, and to live into our values, as we teach, research, and serve.

Throughout our history, we have been characterized by a unique commitment to values-driven work—an ethic of valuing people, ideas, the planet, meaning, beauty, and joy. We will foster that commitment, even in tumultuous times. We take immense pride in the bold and values-driven achievements of our powerhouse Catamount alumni who make our world better through service in their communities across Vermont and around the globe. UVM aims to make a positive impact and leave the world better than we found it. Now, when our nation and our world are marked by division and strife, we will provide a platform for authentic intellectual engagement, meaningful dialogue, and steadfast commitment to the democratic ideals that our university has supported since our founding. We will not falter, regardless of the forces that buffet or challenge us. Indeed, we will courageously seek even better ways of doing our work and supporting one another. We will be a beacon of academic freedom, freedom of speech, and democracy in Vermont and for the world.

We recognize that, as a university, we are a complex community representing many perspectives and varying interpretations of ideas and events. We may disagree—sometimes strongly—but we will consistently strive to honor Our Common Ground values. In doing so, we can come together to achieve our mission, strengthened by the richness of our diverse voices and perspectives.

Our strategic plan provides a structure for the work we undertake together in the years to come. We will build a powerful future for the University of Vermont—one that will stretch across many hundreds of thousands of students and Vermonters and that exemplifies our unique identity, our abiding commitment to excellence, and our creative and innovative spirit: Green, Gold, and Bold.

Marlene Tromp
President, University of Vermont