Dear Faculty and Staff,

A warm welcome to each of you (new and returning) as we begin the 2023-24 academic year!

Our campus is active year-round, but there is no denying the change in tempo that August brings. It’s a delight to see colleagues we haven’t connected with for several months and to experience the energy and enthusiasm our new faculty and staff bring with them.

As part of your personal ‘opening’ activities, I invite you to reflect on Our Common Ground values. Consider how you ‘live’ them in your interactions with colleagues, how you model them for our students, and the ways in which you can incorporate them in your work. Now is also a good time to review our Academic Success Goals (they will be refreshed early this semester) and Amplifying Our Impact to find points of connection to guide your work.

This is a time to look forward – to set goals and make plans for the year ahead – but I want to acknowledge and thank you for your contributions to last year’s remarkable successes. If you haven’t already, please review President Garimella’s July message highlighting many of the past year’s achievements. I'm grateful for the important work of our talented and dedicated staff and faculty; our advances are the result of the individual contributions of the entire UVM community.

Several new leaders have joined us recently and will be important partners in our academic success this academic year and beyond. Please welcome:

  • Tricia Coates, Director of the Office of Engagement
  • Larry Granillo, Interim Director of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
  • Tom Griffin, Interim Chief Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) Officer
  • Holger Hoock, Dean of the Graduate College
  • Jamie McGowan, UVM's first Executive Director of International Partnerships and Programs

There are some current and new initiatives I want to share as you will be hearing more about them this academic year.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Last year’s DEI strategic planning process was an important exercise that demonstrates our commitment to inclusive excellence. We are now ready to move from commitment to action; thank you for working with your colleagues to implement the Inclusive Excellence Action Plan (IEAP) in your unit. This semester we’ll use the themes that emerged from the unit IEAPs to craft a university-wide IEAP to ensure alignment and to leverage the pursuits of individual units

UVM GO

Our inaugural UVM GO trips were an incredible success thanks to the faculty and staff who invested so much time, talent, and energy into this new program that helps first-year students develop intercultural skills and build community. Beginning in early August, about 220 students participated in faculty-led trips to Vancouver, Montreal, Chicago, Seattle, and Washington, DC, as well as a variety of local multi-day programs.

Our goal is to provide UVM GO opportunities for 700 students next August, and we will need 35 faculty trip leaders to make this happen. If you would like to learn more about leading a trip, please contact Caitlyn Clark, Global Experiences Coordinator, or talk to one of these fantastic colleagues who helped launch this important program:

From the UVM GO Canada and UVM GO Cities Programs:

  • Multicultural Vancouver: Social Justice and the City led by Pablo Bose, Department of Geography and Geosciences and John Sama, Division of Academic Affairs and Student Success
  • Montreal: Building Culture from Cultures: Quebec and Vermont led by Charles-Louis Morand-Métivier, School of World Languages and Cultures and Caitlyn Clark, UVM GO
  • Seattle: Justice in Local and Global Food Systems led by Teresa Mares, Department of Anthropology and graduate student Michelle Nikfarjam
  • Washington, D.C.: Climate Change and Youth Activism led by Jon Erickson, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and graduate student Eric Urbaniak
  • Chicago: Building Communities and Commerce led by Cynthia Reyes, Dean’s Office, College of Education and Social Services and Arby Ghemari, College of Education and Social Services

From the UVM GO Community Program in partnership with our Learning Communities (LC):

  • LC Arts and Creativity: Democratizing Art through Printmaking led by Jen Bergerc School of the Arts
  • LC Global Connections: Ways of Growing and Gathering led by Sarah Williamson, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics
  • LC Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Entrepreneurial and Innovative Spirit of the Burlington Food Scene led by Todd Pritchard, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences and Beth Bradley, Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences
  • LC Leadership and Social Change: Find Your Voice: Becoming a Change Agent in Your Community led by Deb Hinchey, Department of Biomedical and Health Sciences and Noah Barclay-Derman, Department of Biomedical and Health Sciences
  • LC Liberal Arts Scholars Program: Dive In! Exploring Lake Champlain’s Global Role led by Devin McFadden, School of World Languages and Cultures
  • LC Outdoor Experience: Exploring the Burlington Bike Path led by Susan Kasser, Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science
  • LC Sustainability: Northeast Kingdom: Food & Farming, led by Travis Reynolds, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics
  • LC Wellness Environment: WEventure led by Bill Copeland, Department of Psychiatry

Planetary Health

Over the course of the semester, you’ll be hearing more about a new Planetary Health initiative in which we would like to further engage faculty, staff, and students in thinking about the ways we create healthy communities, establish sustainable systems, and build resilient communities in rural and global contexts. Broadly, Planetary Health is the understanding that human health and human civilization depend on flourishing natural systems and the wise stewardship of those natural systems (Lancet, 2015). More specifically, it is guided by cross-cutting principles for education such as understanding the complex relationships between environmental change and human health; identifying practices to protect and improve population health across the globe; engaging disciplines and stakeholders in solving complex problems; recognizing the impact equity, bias, and resilience have on environment change and health; developing global citizens who will help define the principles for protecting our future; and understanding our history to problem solve our current challenges.

We already have strengths in our research, education, and policy work for building healthy environments and healthy societies with both a rural and global focus. Organizing and leveraging our activities around this theme will further distinguish the University of Vermont, will position us for continued success and will help us reach and sustain our R1 research goal.

Planetary Health is a broad interdisciplinary theme and I’m confident that all interested faculty, staff and students will be able to find a point of connection. We’ve been discussing and refining the concept with a variety of faculty groups since last March and will be ready to share more information soon.

Catamount Experience

Catamount Experience You will also be hearing about the Catamount Experience: UVM’s distinctive approach to co-curricular learning that incorporates opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, global engagement, and shaping meaningful careers at every turn. We want to encourage and support our students in crafting their unique Catamount Experience by participating in undergraduate research, study abroad, internships, travel study courses, our innovation maker spaces, entrepreneurial pitch competitions, student clubs, and more.

Learning Communities

I would like to extend my special thanks to the faculty who led book discussions in the Learning Communities during Orientation. I appreciate your efforts to help set an academic tone and make an important early connection with our students.

Inside UVM

Please be sure to review the editions of Inside UVM delivered to your in-box on Tuesdays and Fridays while classes are in session. I send updates to campus several times a semester, but the Provost’s Office and all of the Vice Provosts regularly share important announcements and updates via Inside UVM.

Employee Wellness

I hope you will continue to make wellness a priority this year. Employee Wellness at UVM has joined the newly established Osher Center for Integrative Health at UVM and their goal is to ensure that whole-person health is accessible to all. Consider participating in wellness programming, connecting with a health and wellness coach, subscribing to the the wellness listserv, or downloading the campus walking map for some noontime steps. Wherever your wellness journey takes you, know that I will be cheering you on!

A new academic year always brings with it new ways to think about and deliver our teaching, and Brightspace is giving us that opportunity. It is also a time to consider possible research collaborations and ways we might engage other colleagues and students to be part of our creativity and discovery. With new faculty and staff joining our community, there are exciting possibilities for developing new connections.

As you begin this year with a fresh start I wish you much joy, satisfaction, and gratitude as you reflect on your important role in our collective honor and responsibility to deliver an outstanding educational experience for our students—the next generation of leaders. Our investment in them is an investment in our future.

Warmly,

Patty Prelock

Provost and Senior Vice President