On Saturday, May 17, 2025, the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources celebrated the nearly 360 undergraduate students in the Class of 2025. The graduates were joined by family, friends, faculty, and staff at the Robert E. Miller Expo Centre in Essex Junction, Vermont. Special guest Interim President Patty Prelock also attended the ceremony to share her congratulations and bid the students farewell.

Assistant Professor Brittany Mosher served as Marshal of the ceremony, welcoming the crowd to the 52nd graduation of the Rubenstein School. Dean Peter Newman offered opening remarks, emphasizing the historical significance of the graduates’ achievement and the responsibility that comes with it. He thanked families for their love and support, faculty for their guidance and inspiration, and staff for their round-the-clock dedication. Dean Newman also expressed deep gratitude to the Class of 2025 for rebuilding community in the wake of the pandemic, “the culture you built in Rubenstein was your gift to all of us. It will be felt for generations of students to come.”

Rubenstein School commencement speaker Deb Markowitz delivered a heartfelt and empowering address. Markowitz, who was elected Vermont’s Secretary of State six times and later served as Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, joined The Nature Conservancy in 2020 as Vice President and State Director for Massachusetts. A UVM alumna, she has also taught environmental policy and leadership in the Rubenstein School for many years as an adjunct professor.

Markowitz encouraged graduates to live intentionally and to “find work that is worth doing.” She emphasized the importance of hope and community, reminding graduates that “action engenders hope.”

“When things become overwhelming – because the challenge is so great – remember it is possible to hold both grief and gratitude at once… Fall in love again with the wild places, with nature. Connect with others. Know that we do not achieve anything great all by ourselves. And finally, remember that the world needs you and you are ready for it.” 

— Deb Markowitz

As each student’s name was called and they crossed the stage to receive their diploma, they were cheered on by their peers, families, faculty, and staff.

Before sharing his concluding remarks, Dean Newman honored two retiring faculty members who received the distinctions of Emerita and Emeritus this spring. Professor Patricia (Pat) Stokowski and Senior Lecturer Dave Kaufman each received standing ovations from students and colleagues in recognition of their immeasurable impact on the Rubenstein School and the UVM community.

Dean Newman closed the ceremony with a poignant speech. Invoking the Rubenstein School’s mission question, he offered the graduates a hopeful charge.

“How can we unleash empathy, passion, innovation, and creativity to heal and radically change human-environment systems in a just, equitable, and ecological direction? Our answer, of course, is… you.

You are the ones, unleashed, to help heal this world we live in. You have the passion. You have the empathy. You have the innovation. You have the creativity to heal and radically change human-environment systems in a just, equitable, and ecological direction.”

— Dean Peter Newman

After Mosher formally concluded the proceedings, the graduates recessed through a line of applauding faculty and staff, sharing smiles and hugs with their mentors from the past four years. Families and friends followed close behind to celebrate at an intimate reception.

All images by Josh Defibaugh