Carolyn Goodwin Kueffner, Graduate Program Student Services Specialist, devoted 15 years to graduate students in the University of Vermont (UVM) Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources (RSENR). She guided hundreds of master’s and PhD students from the application process to graduation. She will retire on January 5, 2021.

“I enjoyed working with faculty and administrative and student services teams on all things grad, but most of all I adored working one-on-one with graduate students," said Carolyn. 

In the Aiken Center Dean’s suite, Carolyn’s door was always open, her office full of garden flowers and produce to share, and her laughter contagious. One by one, she took each student under her wing and helped them to navigate the UVM system, find funding to support their graduate programs of study, meet graduation requirements, and celebrate their successes. 

“Carolyn has been a fundamental support for me in Vermont,” said PhD student Natalia Aristizábal. “Navigating grad school far away from family and friends is not easy, but Carolyn has always been there for me. She has guided me through significant curriculum milestones and prompted me to have fun outside of school. She is a constant ray of sunshine, and I will miss her at RSENR.” 

Carolyn coordinated graduate admissions and graduate student funding for the School. Early on, she helped to stream-line old systems and modernize processes for graduate programs at UVM. She served on university-wide committees that examined how graduate students were paid and helped to develop new processes and tools for students and administrators. She also organized program events, including the annual Rubenstein School Graduate Research Symposium at which students presented their research to the School community. 

To honor her extraordinary support of graduate students, Carolyn received the 2013 UVM Graduate Student Senate Ida Russin Award. 

“Carolyn's bright energy, genuine caring nature, and encouragement could turn anyone's day around,” said recent master’s graduate Rachel Pierson ‘20, who served as a student employee with Carolyn. “It was a delight to work with her, and I feel grateful to have had her support during my time as a graduate student, and beyond.” 

Originally from the southern United States, Carolyn moved to Vermont in 1978 and graduated with a degree in human nutrition and foods from UVM in 1983. After working her way from receptionist to director of annual giving during 15 years with the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, she took a position in the Rubenstein School in 2005 and began her many years working with graduate students. 

"Carolyn has been the heart of the Rubenstein School’s graduate program for more than 15 years," said Rubenstein School Dean Nancy Mathews. "Her empathy and compassion for students ensured that they succeeded, even as they faced challenging times. She encouraged students to develop their leadership skills and then modeled them in her warm and caring way."

Carolyn’s legacy will live on in the Rubenstein School through the Goodwin Kueffner Graduate Program Fund. In 2017, she named the Rubenstein School Graduate Program as a beneficiary to her 401K, a generous gift that that will continue to help fund the graduate students she supported daily for so many years. This endowment will offer grants to Rubenstein graduate students to advance their professional development and leadership skills.

“I love the idea that these funds will provide a continuing legacy of special grants to assist these remarkable environmental leaders in continuing their essential work into the future," said Carolyn. 

Her commitment to graduate students also continues through the Rubenstein School Non-profit Board Fellows Program. In 2018, with Deb Markowitz, director of The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts, and Sarah Muyskens, member of the Rubenstein School board and chair of the board for ECHO at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, Carolyn created this opportunity for PhD students to gain valuable experience as members of non-profit boards. 

Seven PhD students currently provide community service while gaining valuable experience through local board membership for ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain, the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Green Mountain Club, and The American Chestnut Foundation. Carolyn has volunteered to run the program during her retirement. 

"Carolyn's dedication to the RSENR graduate community was clear from the first time I met her, as a prospective student,” said Joshua Morse, a PhD student in the board fellows program. “From leading the charge to help interested PhD candidates find roles on NGO boards to letting the whole grad listserv know whenever there were leftovers after a seminar wrapped up, our wellbeing has always been her priority.” 

Carolyn and her husband John recently built a house in Colchester, Vermont, on the Burlington bike path, in a lively neighborhood, much like the community of graduate students that flourished under her care. In retirement, until she can visit with her three children again, she will spend time year-round cycling, learning to play the piano, crafting fiber arts, and doing activities that relate to food—gardening, preserving, cooking, and eating!