At the University of Vermont, we change the world. Named No. 1 in the nation by Princeton Review’s “Best Schools for Making an Impact,” we have, for generations, invited people to use their education and experiences to do the transformative work that inspires them. We have created research breakthroughs that have altered fields of study. We have imagined solutions that have addressed thorny global problems. We have so much of which to be proud.

Fueled by this long history of pathbreaking innovation and courageous thinking, we embarked this year on a strategic planning process. Our new plan, Green, Gold, and Bold: Green Mountains, Gold Standard, Bold Future, along with our revised mission and vision statements, was formally approved by the Board of Trustees in February. This plan will guide us to serve our students, advance our research, fulfill our land-grant mission, and improve our infrastructure. It challenges us to focus on bold, innovative thinking, driven by our desire for discovery and shaped by Our Common Ground values.

The plan is a product of the UVM community itself; more than 1,000 community members were involved in drafting and revising it throughout the past year. I encourage you to read through the explanation of the four guiding pillars of Green, Gold, and Bold featured in this issue, and to follow the link to review the full online plan and the detailed strategies, tactics, and metrics that will guide its implementation in the coming years.

A beacon of our excellence and tenacity shone brightly in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Nine Catamounts—current UVM students and alumni—competed in hockey, Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and biathlon, and three–Ben Ogden ’22, Paula Moltzan, and Ryan Cochran-Siegle–earned a combined UVM record total of four medals, with Ogden breaking a 50-year medal drought for the U.S. men’s cross-country team, and Cochran-Siegle winning his silver medal on the 54th anniversary of his mother, Barbara Ann Cochran ’78, earning gold in the slalom at the 1972 games. Vermont won more medals than many countries! Here at home, the Catamounts scored a national championship with our men’s rugby team, and our men’s soccer and women’s basketball teams clinched their respective conference titles.

UVM students, faculty, and staff are turning in outstanding performances across our campus and in every field: protecting the Artemis II rocket as it launches into space, fostering the wellbeing of bees to support food production and natural beauty, engineering new devices to produce sustainable energy, studying the practices that make people healthier in body and mind, innovating ways to build a better and more ethical business. In this issue, we’ll showcase a few of the amazing things Catamounts are doing to strengthen community schools and protect threatened wildlife. As ever, they demonstrate the bold thinking and bold action that have characterized UVM since its founding. Together, we’ll remind the world to keep watching for what we do next.