At the 2024 University of Vermont Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 19, philanthropist Beverly Rubenstein and Wolfgang Mieder, UVM distinguished professor emeritus of German and Folklore, will receive honorary degrees.

Mieder and Rubenstein embody the values of UVM’s Our Common Ground and demonstrate the outstanding contributions to the university, the state of Vermont, and the world that warrant recognition with a UVM honorary degree.

“It has been a privilege to know Wolfgang from my earliest days on campus and to witness his tremendous warmth and unparalleled dedication to UVM,” said UVM President Suresh Garimella, “and I am so pleased we will recognize Beverly’s transformative and lasting support for some of the most vital and important elements of UVM’s mission of teaching, research, and service, not to mention her invaluable connections to the people here.

“UVM is a university truly committed to people and planet. Our honorees are outstanding exemplars of our core mission.”

Wolfgang Mieder

Doctor of Letters, honoris causa

“Starting is easy, persistence is an art.” That proverb might describe the career of University Distinguished Professor of German and Folklore emeritus Wolfgang Mieder, who has been an esteemed faculty member at the University of Vermont for 53 years. He is a widely recognized scholar of international folklore, the history of the German language, the Middle Ages, and especially the study of proverbs. A longtime editor of Proverbium, an annual yearbook of international proverb scholarship, Mieder is a celebrated author of more than 100 books on proverbs, German literary matters, fairy tales, and folk songs. He donated his personal collection of 9,000 books to UVM which is now housed in the International Proverb Library in Billings Library. He and his wife Barbara are generous supporters of many academic endeavors of the university, and volunteer in multiple advisory roles for the College of Arts and Sciences, the UVM Foundation and other areas of the university community.

Mieder was educated at Olivet College where he earned his B.A. in French and German, and the University of Michigan, where he earned an M.A., and at Michigan State University, where he earned his Ph.D. He also holds honorary doctorates from the University of Athens and the University of Bucharest. He joined the UVM faculty as assistant professor of German in 1971 and has been a treasured colleague and mentor to generations of UVM students ever since.

Beverly Rubenstein

Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa

Few people have made a bigger impact on the University of Vermont—and specifically the university’s national reputation as a leader in the environment—than Beverly Rubenstein and her late husband Steve. In 2003, the Rubenstein’s made a $15 million commitment to support environmental education and research at UVM, a gift that resulted in the renaming of the School of Natural Resources to the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. One component of this visionary gift was the creation of the Stephen and Beverly Rubenstein Professorship in Environment and Natural Resources which has helped to attract, support, and retain exceptional tenure-track, research, and extension faculty here in Vermont. Beverly was a member of the steering committee for a national fundraising campaign for UVM, making important contributions and inspiring many others to do so. Beyond her support for environmentally-focused teaching and research, she demonstrates deep commitment to research and practice in medicine and psychology and organizations dedicated to Jewish life and culture.

With Steve’s passing in 2008, Beverly and her son Andrew launched the Steven and Beverly Rubenstein Charitable Foundation, Inc., and they are deeply dedicated to further advancing UVM’s position as one of the premier environmental schools in the country. The Rubensteins have provided special support for UVM’s efforts in lake research, including its state-of-the art research vessel, Marcelle Melosira, launched last year, and several other university initiatives.  Thanks to Beverly and the Rubenstein family’s transformative contributions, at UVM, the environment is forever in our nature.