President's Perspective

Fulfilling Our Land-Grant Mission

Like most of our state, UVM resumed on-site operations earlier this fall. I am proud of our students who stepped up to reach 100% compliance with UVM’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement. Together with Vermont’s highest-in-the-nation vaccination rate, and indoor masking, I am confident our campus will remain one of the safest and healthiest anywhere.

The pandemic continues to test our resilience. Fortunately, the ingenuity of people at UVM and throughout the state made sure that our important land-grant mission of supporting the citizens, businesses, entrepreneurs, and communities across the Green Mountain State not only continued over the past year, but also gained momentum. As one of our three strategic imperatives, our service to Vermont is visible in more ways than ever before.

Stronger Connections, Deeper Roots

UVM is forming stronger connections with employers and entrepreneurs through our Office of Engagement—a one-stop shop for all things UVM. The engagement team has connected with more than 365 businesses in its inaugural year. Many have formed partnerships with the university centered on research, internships, and hiring our grads.

UVM has projects with enterprises from all over the state including Seventh Generation, Global Foundries, Casella, Cabot/ AgriMark, Agilent, National Life, Benchmark Space Systems, and Ben & Jerry’s. In the nonprofit sector, the Office of Engagement helped leverage air purification upgrades in 22 of Vermont’s public libraries, making them safer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’m particularly proud of a UVM partnership launched last summer with the state, Upskill Vermont. The program provided Vermonters with $1 million worth of UVM professional development courses and workshops focused on rapidly growing professions in health care, digital marketing, management, and community support. Classes filled up in 24 hours, a sure sign that Vermonters are eager to master new skills and brush up on old ones.

Talent Magnet

A complementary need for economic growth is a talented, highly educated workforce. UVM’s innovative, creative, and ambitious grads—in high demand throughout the US—already constitute a major part of Vermont’s workforce and they are poised to become the leaders and business owners of the next generation.

Each year more than one thousand UVM graduates choose to stay in the state to begin their careers, families, and lives. Over half come to UVM from other states. During their time on campus, they learn about opportunities through internships and summer jobs, grow fond of Vermont’s exciting outdoor lifestyle, and can’t imagine starting their career anywhere else.

Perpetual Stimulus

Finally, there is the overall economic activity of the university’s operations. This “ongoing stimulus” comes in the form of direct spending on employees, programs, and buildings in addition to the indirect economic impact of 13,500-plus UVM students who make Burlington their home for four years or more.

Our commitment to Vermont is even part of our diet. The Vermont First program, with its emphasis on locally sourced food, buys between $1 million and $2 million worth of produce, meat, dairy, and other ingredients from ninety-five Vermont farms and producers every year.

UVM simply couldn’t achieve its mission without the help of Vermont’s farmers, manufacturers, suppliers, skilled craftspeople, and many other entrepreneurs. A 2016 external study found the total financial impact of UVM in Vermont is more than $1.3 billion each year, a significant figure for our state and region.

What’s Old Is New

I talk frequently with Vermonters from across the state and beyond who ask: what’s new at UVM? What’s new is our students are back and more excited than ever. Our university is reaching out in powerful new ways to help Vermont’s citizens and businesses. We are enthusiastically leaning into our heritage as Vermont’s land-grant university, recognizing that the success of the state is inextricably linked to the success of UVM. In many ways, we are more committed to Vermont than ever before in our 230-year history.

We’re always looking for new ways to engage with Vermont and Vermonters. Please share your ideas with us at engageUVM@uvm.edu.

—Suresh V. Garimella

President, University of Vermont

UVM

MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER The University of Vermont Suresh V. Garimella, President

EDITORIAL BOARD Joel R. Seligman, Chief Communications Officer, chair Krista Balogh, Joshua Brown, Ed Neuert, Rebecca Stazi, Ben Yousey-Hindes

EDITORS Joshua Brown Kaitie Catania

ART DIRECTOR Cody Silfies

CLASS NOTES EDITOR Benjamin Yousey-Hindes

PROOFREADER Rita Daley

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joshua Brown, Kaitie Catania, Kevin Coburn, Christina Davenport, Nich Hall, Ed Neuert, Katherine Strotmeyer, Thomas Weaver, Benjamin Yousey-Hindes

PHOTOGRAPHY Joshua Brown, Ned Castle, Ben DeFlorio, Chris Dissinger, Andy Duback, Sally McCay, Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist ’09, Glenn Russell, James Stukenberg, Sam Yang

CORRESPONDENCE Editor, UVM Magazine 617 Main Street Burlington, VT 05405 (802) 656-2005, magazine@uvm.edu

ADDRESS CHANGES UVM Foundation 411 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 656-9662, alumni@uvm.edu

CLASS NOTES alumni.uvm.edu/classnotes

UVM MAGAZINE Publishes May 1, November 1

PRINTED IN VERMONT Issue No. 90, November 2021

UVM MAGAZINE ONLINE uvm.edu/uvmmag

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