What are Vermonters to do when the “100 year flood” becomes a yearly occurrence? UVM faculty and staff respond in numerous ways to help cope and plan for a wetter future.
| BY KRISTEN MUNSON
Where did the lake trout go and why, against all expectations, has it returned? In its first year afloat on Lake Champlain, the research vessel Marcelle Melosira has helped to answer these and other aquatic questions.
| BY JOSHUA BROWN
The Vermont carceral system is in crisis, a fact known and felt every day by both prisoners and the people who watch over them. Two UVM researchers have spent years trying to better understand and change the system.
| BY KRISTEN MUNSON
FRONT COVER: UVM’s Spatial Analysis Laboratory’s Unoccupied Aircraft Systems team gathered hundreds of images like this to document the impact of flooding on Vermont towns and farms in the summers of 2023 and 2024.
COVER: UVM Spatial Analysis Lab
NEW LEASE, NEW LIFE FOR NORDIC FARM
On a crisp October afternoon, on the very desk that belonged to Vermont Senator Justin Morrill, the father of the land-grant university system, representatives from UVM signed a 30-year lease of approximately 400 acres of farmland for long-term agricultural research use in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
The Charlotte, Vt., property, long known as Nordic Farm, once housed a prize-winning dairy herd. In 2021 it was acquired by Vermont entrepreneur Will Raap, founder of Gardener’s Supply in Burlington’s
Intervale. Raap renamed the property Earthkeep Farmcommon, and had ambitious plans to turn it into a sustainable agriculture business collective. After Raap’s sudden death later that year, the property was purchased this summer by Benjamin Dobson and Kaspar Meier. UVM will sublease the land to the USDA ARS for research purposes, with initial studies focusing on forage production and ruminants.
“It is especially meaningful that this lease was signed on Senator Justin Morrill’s desk, as this collaboration perfectly embodies the
University of Vermont’s land-grant mission,” said UVM Interim President Patricia Prelock.
“This partnership will advance agricultural research that directly benefits Vermonters and will strengthen our state’s food system.”
The collaboration builds on UVM’s partnership with the USDA ARS through the UVM Food Systems Research Center, the first USDA-funded center dedicated to studying all aspects of the food system. UVM researchers also plan to conduct research on the farm. UVM’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences maintains more
than a dozen research centers, educational facilities, and unique program sites that provide experiential learning opportunities for students, and enable world-class research by undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.
Above in the photo, Nordic Farm co-owner Benjamin Dobson and officials from UVM and the USDA sign the long-term lease agreement— joined by Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets.
Learn more at go.uvm.edu/nordicfarm
JOSHUA DEFIBAUGH
Beginnings
We often think of autumn as a season when things start to wind down – a time when trees across Vermont put on a final dazzling foliage display, farmers harvest their last crops, and we all prepare for shorter days and longer nights. But a paradox, and a source of joy, is the way a university campus challenges this dynamic. For us, the fall semester is a season of new beginnings. I thought of this as I had the pleasure of lending a hand on move-in day in late August, when nearly 3,000 new first-year students began their UVM experience. It was an occasion for many different emotions – opening a new chapter in life brings, understandably, a blend of excitement and nerves – but by the following Sunday evening, after several days of orientation activities, as I stood on the Andrew Harris Commons for our Convocation, I saw those same first-year students come pouring in from all sides of campus: smiling, enthusiastic, and ready to march to the University Green, light their individual candles and, as one UVM, pledge their commitment to Our Common Ground values.
And there were more new beginnings this August. Early in the month, the Board of Regents of the University of Arizona announced that Suresh Garimella would become the 23rd president of that institution, effective October 1. I have been so proud to serve with President Garimella during his five years leading UVM. I am grateful for his leadership through the unprecedented complications of the pandemic, and his constant focus on student success, affordability, and the growth of our research enterprise. I begin my tenure as Interim President knowing that our university is stronger and more focused than ever on its mission.
That focus is now informed by our Planetary Health Initiative. Formally launched this October, this initiative is part of a growing movement that considers human health and wellbeing as inextricably linked to the health of our natural environment. In this issue of our magazine you will find many examples of our faculty and students exploring work related to planetary health, from the impact of increased flooding on lives, property, and food systems, to the influence of social systems of incarceration on societal health. Our university is truly dedicated to people and planet, and that comes through in all the dimensions of our teaching and research. (To see a video and learn more about our new initiative, I encourage you to follow the QR code.)
As this year began, our university was also part of the continuing conversation on campuses across America on the situation in the Middle East. I was proud that this discussion at UVM last spring was handled with thoughtfulness and reason and was intent on keeping that discussion on the same plane throughout this year. This was the genesis of the Our Common Ground symposium on Israel and Palestine that you find reported in this issue – an open, respectful, and informative examination that typifies the approach we’ve taken on our campus. It’s an approach that will continue with our focus this year, through our Presidential Lecture Series, on the meaning and practice of free speech. As an institution fueled by the spirit of inquiry, we know that free expression is vital, and there has never been a more important time to examine and understand its role on our campus and throughout our society.
Autumn is a good reminder that change is part of our lives, something we learn to embrace as it creates new opportunities while, at the same time, we appreciate what we have in the present. It is a privilege to serve our beloved institution.
—Patricia A. Prelock Interim President , University of Vermont
Use a mobile camera to scan the QR, or visit go.uvm.edu/planetaryhealth to explore UVM's path to global leadership in planetary health.
PUBLISHER University of Vermont
Patricia A. Prelock, Interim President
EDITORIAL BOARD
Joel R. Seligman, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, chair Krista Balogh, Alessandro Bertoni, Ed Neuert, Benjamin Yousey-Hindes
EDITOR
Edward Neuert
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Cody Silfies
CLASS NOTES EDITOR
Cheryl Carmi
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Joshua Brown, Cheryl Carmi, Kevin Coburn, Liz Crawford, Christina Davenport, Ren Dillon, Doug Gilman, Colleen Goodhue, Erica Housekeeper, Alayna Howard, Peter Koerella, Kristen Munson, Ed Neuert, Nate Scandore, Su Reid-St. John, Mary Little Reilly, Adam White, Sara White
PHOTOGRAPHY
Joshua Brown, Charles Denney, Chris Dissinger, Andy Duback, Brian Jenkins, Peter Koerella, Cody Silfies, Sally McCay, Kristen Munson, Adam White, Heritage Auctions Ha.com, Outfeetfirst. com, St. Louis Blues, UVM Spatial Analysis Lab
ADDRESS CHANGES
UVM Foundation 411 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 656-9662, alumni@uvm.edu
UVM has earned the number one ranking on the 2024 “Best Schools for Making an Impact” list of public universities and colleges, a Best Value College category published by The Princeton Review, a leading college admissions services company. UVM debuted on the list last year in the number three position before reaching this year’s top slot. Among the schools sharing top positions below UVM are the University of Washington, University of Michigan, and Georgia Tech.
Read more: go.uvm.edu/princeton1
SECOND PITCH
The Vermont Pitch Challenge debuted last year as the nation’s only competition that, inspired by the renowned ‘Shark Tank’ format, offers talented young visionaries the chance to win a full-tuition scholarship to UVM and receive crucial support for their groundbreaking ventures. This October, the 2025 challenge opened for submissions. Last year’s competition saw nearly 200 applicants from seven countries and 27 states, with finalists representing diverse regions such as New York, Florida, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and St. Croix.
Read more: go.uvm.edu/vtpitch25
BUILDING HEALTH EQUITY
UVM’s Larner College of Medicine, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and College of Education and Social Services received a substantial award from the National Institutes of Health to sponsor a new mentorship and science enrichment cohort program, New American Youth on the Rise (NAYR), aimed at guiding girls from immigrant backgrounds into college careers in health sciences. Over the next five years, the program will introduce health science career options to middle and high school girls from immigrant and first-generation American backgrounds throughout Vermont’s Chittenden County.
Read more: go.uvm.edu/nayr-mag
A DEEPER STORY
Temperature, precipitation, wind speed—the U.S. government has plenty of ways to measure our climate. But how do we measure the impacts of climate on our communities, economies, and ecosystems? The new Climate Measurements Center of Excellence (CMeC) at the University of Vermont will answer this need, thanks to a $2.7M investment from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. The new center will advance U.S. climate impact assessment and planning by providing national, state, tribal, and local governments with standardized methods and metrics, addressing a lack of standards in regional climate change measurement.
Read more: go.uvm.edu/climatemeasurement
LOCAL MOTION
Ask an incoming Catamount where they’re from, and you’d better have your atlas handy. UVM’s Class of 2028 is most notably distinguished by a continued increase in students from Vermont, befitting UVM’s position as the state’s flagship public university – but its growing appeal is not confined by the state’s borders. Roughly 50 percent of the class is from outside New England—including approximately 47 states and 28 countries—reflecting the university’s growing national and international recognition.
Read more: go.uvm.edu/classof28
Your brain is made of 100 billion neurons. By understanding an animal with around 100,000 we can come that much closer to understanding ourselves.”
– UVM Larner College of Medicine researcher Davi Bock, Ph.D., commenting on the landmark mapping of a fly’s brain, published in Nature, that he co-led with colleagues from Princeton and Cambridge.
Read more: go.uvm.edu/fruitfly
MAPLE MAN
Tim Rademacher is taking on a sweet new role at UVM—as the new scientific director of the Proctor Maple Research Center (PMRC). The PMRC is a field research station of the Department of Plant Biology and is the oldest and most scientifically renowned maple research center in the world. Since 1947 it has produced cutting edge research on maple, supported maple sugar producers, and bolstered maple syrup production in Vermont—and globally. Rademacher received undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Cambridge University and conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University.
Read more: go.uvm.edu/mapleman
ANDY DUBACK
A NEW CHAPTER
On August 9, the Board of Regents of the University of Arizona appointed Suresh Garimella as that institution’s 23rd president. Garimella officially assumed his new role on October 1. In a message to the UVM community, Board of Trustees Chair Ron Lumbra ’83 praised Garimella’s record over his five years of leadership in Vermont. “His bold vision and innovative leadership have empowered UVM to 'amplify our impact' here in Vermont and far beyond our borders,” wrote Lumbra. “It is no surprise, then, that the University of Arizona has taken notice and concluded that President Garimella will be an exceptional leader for them. It is heartening to see an institution of Arizona’s size and stature recognize the excellence of the University of Vermont.”
Soon after the initial news, the UVM board named Patricia A. Prelock, the university’s provost since 2019, as interim president. Linda Schadler,
Use a mobile camera to scan the QR, or visit uvm.edu/presidentialsearch to get updates and have input on the presidential search process.
dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, was later named acting provost. In September, Lumbra announced the formal launch of the search for UVM’s 28th president.
“Even before I arrived as president at UVM, I marveled at the charm and mystique of this special place,” said Garimella, in a message to the UVM community in mid-September.
“Though our time at UVM is coming to an end, Lakshmi and I will hold the university and its people close to our hearts and in the highest esteem for years to come. The team of leaders here is remarkably strong, and the months of transition ahead are sure to be full of growth and warmth thanks to the steady guidance of my outstanding colleague and friend Patty Prelock. You are in good hands, Catamounts. I wish each of you great success and see a bright future ahead for the UVM community.”
Research Effort Sets $266M Record
RESEARCH | For the fifth consecutive year, UVM achieved a new record for research funding: attracting $266 million in extramural support for the 2024 fiscal year, which ended June 30. More than doubling the university’s annual research funding of five years ago, UVM faculty members garnered nearly 700 research awards to launch over 1,000 new projects confronting head-on some of society’s most pressing issues, from climate change to public health, supported by government agencies, corporate partners, foundations, and donors.
“The talent, motivation, and commitment of our faculty and staff are the key to this outstanding achievement,” then UVM President Suresh Garimella said when announcing the total in late September. “Their groundbreaking work not only advances discovery and creates knowledge but also provides UVM students with expansive opportunities for hands-on, innovative research here in Vermont, throughout the region, and across the globe. All of this work reflects UVM’s exceptional commitment to people and planet.”
This historic level of funding underscores UVM’s rapid ascent as a leader in research and innovation and the remarkable growth of the university’s research enterprise, said Kirk Dombrowski, UVM vice president for research and economic development. As the state’s only research university and only medical college, UVM aims to fulfill its mission as a land grant university, prioritizing nationally distinctive research that is broadly impactful and closely connected to the state's communities, businesses, organizations, and government.
UVM Community Gathers for Israel/Palestine Symposium
CIVIL DISCOURSE
| Perhaps no topic has emerged front and center on college and university campuses in the past year as has the challenging issue of Israel and Palestine, and the escalating conflict in the Middle East. It has driven intense conversations and demonstrations across the nation and, indeed, the world. Against this background, members of the UVM community gathered on September 25 for a special symposium, “Our Common Ground: Israel and Palestine,” an effort to engage in thoughtful dialogue to cultivate self-reflection, critical thinking, and cross-cultural understanding.
The symposium’s keynote address was delivered by Simran Jeet Singh (above), assistant professor of interreligious histories at Union Theological Seminary, former executive director for the Aspen Institute’s Religion & Society Program, and author of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life
“What I want to offer you all today is actually not history or politics or religion,” Singh said. “To me, it’s the animating question of our time. Which is: how do we learn to live alongside one another again? How do we learn to be in relationship with one another?
The keynote was followed by several breakout sessions in the Waterman Building. Later in the afternoon, back at Ira Allen Chapel, a UVM faculty panel discussion titled “The State of Things” explored the role played by states as institutional and political forms in relation to the current conflict in the Middle East.
How do we learn to live alongside one another again? How do we learn to be in relationship with one another?
The symposium concluded with a round of breakout discussions–frank but respectful talk sparked by the issues raised in the panel discussion, and an example of a key aspect of the day’s event that keynote speaker Singh had noted earlier in his remarks. “I hope you realize how special it is to have this conversation today,” Singh said. “You should appreciate yourselves and one another for showing up, because it’s not happening much today.”
Leahy Public Policy Forum Examines Battlefield and Campus Experiences of Vietnam War and its After-Effects
PUBLIC POLICY | In early 1975, a young Patrick Leahy, only recently elected to his first term as a United States senator from Vermont, cast a deciding vote on the Senate Armed Services Committee that helped effectively end funding of the U.S. war effort in Vietnam. Many years later Leahy, who would go on to become the third-longest serving U.S. senator in history, worked with fellow senators John McCain and John Kerry, prominent veteran activists, and others to reopen U.S. relations with Vietnam. This long, intimate involvement with the U.S.-Vietnam relationship helped frame a two-day forum in early October at the University of Vermont, titled “The U.S. War in Vietnam: Looking Back After 50 Years,” that examined many differing aspects of the Vietnam War, from the experience of those on the ground in Southeast Asia and the U.S. during the conflict, to current relations between the two countries. The forum was hosted by the university’s Patrick Leahy Honors College. Also participating in the two-day event was current Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Nguyen Quoc Dzung.
Opening the forum’s keynote lecture on October 1, UVM Interim President Patricia Prelock noted that the event was a “unique opportunity for our campus and our community to really explore the Senator's remarkable global legacy, and to understand the complexity of war and repair specific to Vietnam and applicable to so many circumstances in the 50 years since the Senator cast the deciding vote to end the U.S. involvement in that war. As the wife of a Marine who served in Vietnam, I appreciate the steps taken by the Senator that brought my husband home.”
Keynote lecturer David Maraniss (above), an associate editor at the Washington Post, where he was the winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, spoke about his 2003 book, They Marched into Sunlight: War and Peace Vietnam and America
October 1967. In the book, Maraniss examined and juxtaposed the October 1967 experiences of campus antiwar protesters at the University of Wisconsin with those the of the 28th Infantry U.S. Marines, who sustained heavy casualties the same month in the Battle of Ong Tran in what was then South Vietnam.
Panel discussions the following day focused on the personal experiences of Vermont veterans of the Vietnam War, the role of campus protests, and the decades-long post-war work of reconciliation and rebuilding of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam, including cooperation on the amelioration of pollution from the widely used Agent Orange defoliant, and the removal of thousands of tons of unexploded ordnance still lying dormant throughout Vietnam. The panels were led by Jane Lindholm of Vermont Public and Tim Rieser, who served for decades on Leahy’s senate staff and is now senior foreign policy aide to Senator Peter Welch.
Senator Leahy himself summed up the feelings expressed by many at the forum in his remarks at the panel discussions. “For the past 50 years we debated the lessons of Vietnam,” Leahy said. “I hope with this symposium… we have a deeper understanding of those.”
YANGGUANG OU
The UVM scientist explores how the brain’s chemical interplay can leave us with unwanted gifts – memories of trauma and pain.
UVM science writer Joshua Brown sat down with Yangguang Ou to talk and learn more about her research. TALKING W/
To be haunted, “One need not be a House,” wrote the great poet Emily Dickinson in 1862, “The Brain—has Corridors surpassing Material Place.” The most stubborn ghosts lurk in the mind, monsters bearing the past—traumas, fears, losses—that will not leave. We easily forget where our keys are, the quadratic equation drifts away, even the names of friends vanish. “So, why are painful memories impossible to forget?” asks UVM Assistant Professor of Chemistry Yangguang Ou. For Dickinson, the source of fear is “Ourself—behind Ourself—Concealed—.” But for today’s neuroscientists and biochemists, like Ou, the question is: can that hidden self be revealed—and maybe healed—by teasing apart the intricate interplay of molecules throughout a living body? And what, exactly, goes flowing in and out of those corridors of the brain?
To explore these questions, Ou and her students are building new tools and approaches to detect neurotransmitters and other important biochemicals as they move and work. Since joining the UVM faculty in 2020, Ou has focused on fashioning super-sensitive sensors that can be tailored to detect specific molecules, some in lab dishes, some in living mice and rats, and, eventually, she hopes, as a tool to help doctors and patients zero in on the chemical basis of mental illnesses and other ailments.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Yangguang Ou works in her Discovery Hall laboratory, developing methods of sensing chemical changes in the human brain that affect memory.
What are you creating in your lab?
Ou: Inside glass capillaries, we make sensors one-eighth the diameter of a strand of human hair. They're actually lots of carbon fibers interwoven together, almost like cloth. And each bundle of fiber, just seven microns across, works as an electrode. We hook up this electrode to a custom-built instrument which allows us to control the charge on the surface of the fibers. With these tools, we can detect specific molecules in a brain or other organs; or it could be contaminants in wastewater; or fatty acid molecules produced by the gut microbiome. And we can measure neurotransmitters signaling in the nervous system.
How does a chemist become interested in the neurobiology of mental health?
Ou: I’ve always been interested in neuroscience, which is what I studied as an undergrad at Florida State. My training has always been interdisciplinary and our group on campus here is very interdisciplinary too. The chemistry that interests me is how do we modify the surface of this carbon fiber to make it selective, to target and attract different molecules? Of course, each question that we're interested in—for example, “why are painful memories hard to forget?”—is very complex. It’s never just one biomarker at play or one receptor. We’re talking about multifaceted systems. But we know so little about the underlying chemistry, that it’s helpful to start simple and say, ‘okay, what is the role of this one biomarker? Or these two biomarkers, and how are they interplaying together?”
Can you share an example from your work?
Ou: Sure. We had a publication recently, led by an undergraduate chemistry major, Isabella Schapira ’22. Our team made a sensor for tryptophan, which is an essential amino acid that you take in through your diet. Turkey, for example, is really high in tryptophan! And tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin—an essential neurotransmitter in the brain, what some people call “the happy molecule.” So, understanding how tryptophan works, where it goes, and in what concentrations,
may give us a new window onto important health problems. Depression, autism, and other disorders all involve neurotransmitters directly synthesized from tryptophan, including serotonin.
And what's interesting is that most of the serotonin in your body is not in your brain. It's in your gut. About 90 percent is in your gut. And it has very different purposes in the gut and in the brain. So, the body has to keep them compartmentalized: serotonin does not cross the blood/brain barrier.
But tryptophan has been hypothesized to cross this barrier. So, we’re interested in how much tryptophan crosses into the brain. And how do stress and exercise influence that? If you train a rat and allow it to do two hours of running exercise, it significantly increases free tryptophan in the brain. Most of the tryptophan in your body is attached to proteins, like albumin, that are always circulating in the blood. The proteins carry the tryptophan to the blood/barrier but then only the tryptophan crosses over—and the free tryptophan is what our sensors can detect.
And all the bacteria in your gut—some healthy, some harmful—regulates the breakdown of tryptophan. So, if the gut is breaking down tryptophan on an alternative chemical pathway or breaking lots of it down to make whatever serotonin is needed in the gut, there may be less of it to travel through the blood into the brain to make brain serotonin— to keep you happy. Low serotonin in the brain is linked to depression.
So, your gut microbiome controls your mood? Like, you think what you eat?
Ou: There's definitely bi-directional gutbrain communication! In my doctor's office, there's this sign that I absolutely love, and it says, “let medicine be your food and let food be your medicine.” That’s a big motivation for me: how can nutrition impact mental health? How can diet and stress impact biomarkers and neurotransmitters like serotonin and tryptophan? And that's where we come in: we want to make implantable sensors that allow us to get quantitative
evidence for the role of tryptophan and other neurotransmitters. We’d like to get a more accurate view of this dynamic gut-brain communication. Every person is different, and we’d like to help be able to personalize treatments based on a direct understanding of their biochemistry.
In my doctor's office, there's this sign that I absolutely love, and it says, “let medicine be your food and let food be your medicine.” That’s a big motivation for me: how can nutrition impact mental health?
How does this connect to one of your research questions: why are painful memories impossible to forget?
Ou: Post-traumatic stress disorder—PTSD— is one of the disorders I’m really interested in. One of its hallmarks is patients have flashbacks. They can’t seem to forget the trauma. I'm curious about why that is and what the chemical pathways are that cause this. We know that the pain and stress of trauma release huge amounts of neurochemicals including naturally occurring painkillers, neuropeptides— to stop the pain, of course. But these peptides also are connected to memory and memory formation. We have a lot to learn, and we think our rapid biosensors will be able to help us understand more of how this all fits together.
UVM Launches Nationwide Effort to Grow Local News Reporting at Colleges Across the U.S.
Center seeks to re-energize local coverage in underserved news regions
One recent study concluded that Vermont has lost 75 percent of journalism related jobs in the last 20 years– a trend seen across the U.S. The students in UVM's Center for Community News are working to reverse that trend.
JOURNALISM | UVM’s Center for Community News (CCN) is dramatically expanding its efforts to grow partnerships between local news outlets and universities across the country, forging a path to sustainability for local reporting in the regions that need it most. Thanks to the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and others, CCN will ramp up research, programming, education, and advocacy for student reporting programs, which are playing an increasingly vital role in reporting local news for Americans.
CCN is the first and only organization in
the country devoted to growing newsacademic partnerships – a model that has emerged over the past decade in response to shrinking local news resources, fewer beat reporters, and diminished statehouse coverage. These partnerships are mutually beneficial arrangements for students, news outlets, and their communities because they offer hands-on civic experiences for students while providing a pipeline of professional news coverage for communities.
“Student reporters now provide millions of people with professional coverage of local issues,” said CCN Director Richard Watts. “Our mandate is to facilitate collaboration, learning,
and growth across this field of reporting programs to ensure its sustainability in an otherwise volatile news industry.”
CCN’s ambitious plan to grow newsacademic partnerships is made possible by a $5 million investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; a $500,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; and significant investments from the UVM College of Arts and Sciences and generous UVM donors. Knight Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation help lead the Press Forward initiative, a national coalition of funders that have committed to investing in the future of democracy by revitalizing local news and information.
$15M Gift Launches Business Co-op Program
We want to cultivate trust in the next generation of engaged citizens, community leaders, news providers, and consumers. These are critical ingredients in a functional democracy.
“News-academic partnerships are increasingly becoming a vital source of information in many communities today,” said Jim Brady, vice president for journalism at Knight Foundation. “The Center for Community News is helping make this model a viable pathway to sustainability. We’re proud to support CCN’s growth and innovation.”
CCN launched in 2022 with a mission to grow and support partnerships between student reporting programs at U.S. colleges and their local news
outlets. It was inspired by the success of UVM’s own news-academic program, which continues to thrive and serve as a laboratory for testing new ideas in sustainable community journalism.
“Vermont is an ideal testing ground for these innovations because we have relatively accessible government and media at a scale that allows us to be creative and nimble,” said William Falls, dean of UVM’s College of Arts and Sciences. “As a land grant university, contributing to the civic infrastructure of our state and nation is a priority for UVM.”
Since its inception less than two years ago, CCN has been hard at work in its discovery phase, mapping the landscape of student community reporting; conducting research on the challenges and opportunities for growth in the field; and creating a collaborative community of faculty members who lead these programs. This advance work will empower CCN to dive headfirst into its expanded plans for organizing and supporting faculty leaders in its next phase.
“We’re thinking bigger than just news sustainability with these partnerships,” said CCN Managing Director Meg Little Reilly. “We want to cultivate trust in the next generation of engaged citizens, community leaders, news providers, and consumers. These are critical ingredients in a functional democracy.”
BUSINESS | A new gift to the Grossman School of Business will create the university’s largest experiential co-op program, providing students with real-world experiences working in leading companies to better prepare them for impactful careers and leadership in business and entrepreneurship.
With this $15 million gift from the Grossman Family Foundation—led by Steven Grossman ’61, HON’22–Grossman will become one of a few U.S. business schools with a major undergraduate business co-op program. Grossman is already distinguished from other business programs by its emphasis on experiential learning. More than 90 percent of UVM business undergraduates participate in at least one internship before graduation.
Launching in the fall of 2025, the new undergraduate co-op program will enhance experiential opportunities for students in the school’s four concentrations (accounting, finance, marketing, business analytics) and themes (entrepreneurship, sustainable business, and global business). More immersive than a typical internship, a co-op is a rigorous academic experience through which students alternate between classroom education and fulltime employment, gaining practical, hands-on experience in their field of study as part of their undergraduate degree. Working in a partner company for a full semester, students apply their classroom knowledge to meaningful, real-world business situations.
Enabling Better Bots
Data-Driven Innovations Pave the Way for Safer —and More Efficient—Robots
STORY BY CHRIS DISSINGER
For Luis Duffaut, seen here in his lab, his work aims beyond the mechanical brain of the robot on the bench, to teach his students “how to think abstractly.”
INNOVATION | As more industrial and autonomous robots come online for an increasingly diverse array of applications, ensuring that adequate safety protections exist for the humans who share their workspaces is a growing concern. Luis Duffaut, an assistant professor in UVM’s Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a CAREER award, the most prestigious recognition bestowed by the National Science Foundation (NSF), to continue his research to develop advanced control systems using a datadriven approach to establish safety-control laws, while continuing to optimize and guarantee performance.
According to the International Federation of Robots, over a half-million industrial robots were installed worldwide in 2021, with nearly 35,000 new installations in the United States alone. The world’s current total stock of industrial robots is estimated at 3.5 million units.
Capable of lifting heavy objects, working in hazardous environments, and handling repetitive tasks with great speed and precision, modern robots have demonstrated the potential to reduce the frequency of ergonomic injury to workers. However, having these large and powerful machines laboring side-by-side with humans can create new, unfamiliar hazards. A 2023 research study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine identified 41 workplace fatalities as being robot-related in the 25 years from 1992 to 2017.
“Expanding autonomous industrial applications require safe control systems that allow tasks to be performed efficiently while taking advantage of an abundance of captured data, enabled by progress in sensor miniaturization and fast processing,” said Duffaut, “My long-term research vision is to relieve this need by advancing the field of autonomy and robotics from both data-driven and safety perspectives while addressing pressing societal challenges, producing new knowledge, and accelerating public acceptance.”
His CAREER research project calls for a five-year plan to establish the fundamental theories for safety and data-driven systems within a universal and systematic framework. The resulting autonomous technologies blend core disciplines in physics and mathematics— which happen to be the respective programs in which Duffaut received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees— with advanced electrical and control engineering.
“Here in electrical engineering, we don't build robots. We build the algorithms that make them work autonomously. We work with things that we cannot observe— with things that are abstract, and challenging to conceptualize,” said Duffaut. “That is what we teach our students— how to think abstractly so that they can create the algorithms to ensure a robot is efficient, accurate, and safe.”
Like an artist who has replaced his brushes with
mathematics, Duffaut describes the complex algorithms he and his students develop as possessing an inherent beauty. “Engineering gives a purpose for the mathematical theory,” he added. “I look for things that are beautiful and at the same time, solve a problem. Being beautiful means that they may be efficient, they may be easy to understand, they may be easy to apply and implement on an algorithm in the shape of a program.”
The advanced autonomous technologies that Duffaut is pursuing would utilize new frameworks for datadriven systems to explore innovative methodologies that allow for both safety and performance guarantees.
It is a process that often begins unceremoniously via what he calls decomposition, where an existing or theoretical system is deconstructed, or simplified, to its fundamental components and then carefully reassembled in a way that allows researchers to extract all the information from the system to reveal all its hidden properties.
not only celebrate their pioneering research but also their ongoing commitment to inspire and prepare the next diverse generation of STEM leaders.”
With a data-driven approach to further advance and optimize autonomous control systems, Duffaut’s project is not limited to developing technological advancements but also embraces a broader ambition of improving educational and societal impacts. He hopes these groundbreaking research opportunities will attract and inspire new generations of engineering students who share his motivation “to address the challenges related to a world of human-machine interactions, such that these interactions benefit society in a responsible and ethical manner.”
Our goal is to capture the imagination of students, the new generations of engineers.
The resulting methodology and estimators often feature a complex balancing act between in-signal processing, data discrimination, real-time machine learning, and the use of redundancy to arrive at a system that does not compromise safety for the sake of efficiency, nor the opposite—where a system is bogged down and slowed by inefficient controls.
This is the second CAREER Award in the past year for faculty in the Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering (EBE). Assistant Professor Amber Doiron was also named a CAREER awardee for her innovative research in developing methods and materials for advanced wound dressings that better combat serious infections. The EBE Department now boasts four CAREER Award winners with Associate Professor Mads Almassalkhi being recognized in 2021 and Associate Professor Hamid Ossareh receiving his CAREER Award last year.
“We are thrilled to see our faculty recognized for their exceptional innovation in developing solutions to complex real-world challenges,” said Department Chair and Professor Marilyn J. Cipolla. “These awards
By advancing the field of autonomy and robotics from a uniquely data-driven and safety-focused perspective, Duffaut hopes the research project will also benefit the industry by accelerating public acceptance of the developing technologies.
“Our goal is to capture the imagination of students, the new generations of engineers,” he said, “For our automation students, it does not matter if it is a robot with wheels or arms or is a tiny aerial drone. We view everything under the language of systems.”
With research and educational components in place, Duffaut sees potential for UVM to be the autonomy hub of Vermont. By cultivating mutually beneficial partnerships with local industry leaders like GlobalFoundries, Marvell, Benchmark Space Systems, and Rigorous Technology, the university can further support the state’s thriving tech sector.
As a project with the potential to enhance the department's reputation for autonomy as an area of focus, Duffaut and his colleagues see ample opportunities to deepen interest in STEM education in a state where young minds are already fascinated with the promise of robotic technology.
A “Fitbit” for Cows?
UVM Researcher Studies How Data Can Improve Efficiency on Dairy Farms
INNOVATION | Joao Costa is an associate professor in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences and a Food Systems Research Center Faculty Fellow. His research examines how data can improve efficiency on dairy farms. Traditionally, farms have used simple data for decision-making, such as milk production metrics. However, newer approaches involve more sophisticated biometric data, akin to “Fitbits for cows,” tracking metrics like steps, eating habits, and milking patterns. By monitoring and integrating this detailed data, farmers can make more informed decisions, such as identifying health issues when a cow's behavior deviates from the norm. Costa’s ultimate goal is to advance the dairy industry by fostering technology adoption and data-driven decision-making at the farm level. Costa’s research highlights the importance of data integration within the broader food system, involving not just farmers but also veterinarians, nutritionists, and consultants.
Putting Community First: UVM Summer Interns Live and Learn in the NEK
COMMUNITY | The splendor of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom is undeniable. Lush vegetation, towering maples and pines, rolling hillsides, rivers, lakes, and streams jam-pack this corner of the Green Mountain State. Along with the Kingdom’s abundant beauty come some very real challenges, including dangerous seasonal flooding that has increased with the effects of climate change. But the Kingdom is a region with a deep sense of community resolve. UVM’s Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships and Department of Community Development and Applied Economics are working to assist those community efforts with student internships, building deeper, sustained connections. The latest internship cohort, the 2024 Northeast Kingdom VT Community Resilience Summer Internship Program, is the second such group developed and funded by the Leahy Institute.
“We worked with businesses and organizations supporting community resilience in the Northeast Kingdom that hadn’t previously hosted interns, and that had limited connection with UVM,” said Kristen Andrews, UVM intern outreach and engagement professional. “Some groups were initially skeptical, wondering if these interns would be commuting from Burlington, how would they be supported locally, how many hours would they work, who would pay them. They told us interns needed to work a minimum of 20 hours per week to learn the job and a place to live close by, but that doesn’t take housing away from locals. The UVM funding empowered these groups to hire and supervise an intern, and we insisted that interns be placed on an organization’s payroll, which the grant reimbursed at the end of the summer. This helped them see themselves as intern hosts that employ students now and in the future.”
PETER KOERELLA
The result was an eight-week program that supported 11 UVM students and one Sterling College student who immersed themselves in projects that focused on community resilience in the region. The program provided each intern with a livable wage for the 20 hours per week they worked to support these local non-profits.
“The goal is to put community need at the center of the work,” said Patricia Coates, director of the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships and the Office of Engagement at the University of Vermont. “That's where we both show the best of ourselves; UVM shows the best of itself when it’s engaged with a community. We're not coming to the Northeast Kingdom with solutions. We're coming with capacity and a desire to learn and do things together.”
The cohort lived together in housing at Sterling College, in Craftsbury. For the interns, their living quarters functioned
Building a Sensory Trail in Glover
Graduating senior Carolyn Kelly from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and Terra Schommer, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, assisted the Glover Equity Committee in creating an immersive sensory trail at Glover Park. The trail features 10 sensory stations, a pavilion, a sound station, a tactile path, and community garden beds, all aimed at engaging visitors through sight, sound, touch, and motion. “This project is so important,” said Schommer. “Just seeing kids use the park and be able to be a part of something that's for a whole community. I've never really had the opportunity to work with a group of people in multigenerational groupings, so that's definitely impacted me.”
as an important access point to the Northeast Kingdom. Originally an inn, South House at Sterling College is a white colonial home built in the 1820’s in the heart of Craftsbury Common. It’s now part of the residential college, whose curriculum is devoted to ecology and immersive learning. The location offered a home base of sorts, a place for interns to unwind, socialize, and participate in activities together. The students also engaged with the Sterling College Farm through a workshare that provided them with fresh produce in exchange for a few hours of farm chores.
“There are students at UVM who’ve never been to the Northeast Kingdom, and throughout their four years, they'll hear of this mystical place up in the far reaches of the state, and never actually go there,” said UVM Associate Professor Travis Reynolds, the faculty partner and the program’s co-coordinator. “One of the goals of this
Supporting Community Gardens in Newport
Nadiya Becoats, a rising junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, supported local food systems and maintained community gardens all over the region as part of the Green Mountain Farm to School Initiative. “These gardens are taken care of by kids during the school year, and I make sure the beautiful plants that they gardened are still there when they come back in the fall,” Becoats said. “This experience has shown me that I want to continue working in food systems. Especially in a way that allows me to support local communities.”
We're not coming to the Northeast Kingdom with solutions. We're coming with capacity and a desire to learn and do things together.
project was to make this place real and to make it accessible – not just to the interns, but to the broader UVM student body.”
Read more about the NEK interns’ experiences at go.uvm.edu/nekinterns
Reporting the News in Hardwick
NEK native Lucia McCallum (born and raised in Cabot), a rising senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, spent her internship reporting and writing stories for the Hardwick Gazette. During this time, she focused on sharing stories of community resilience, a theme that has become increasingly relevant following the devastating floods in Vermont these past two summers. “Local news is kind of divorced from the ‘attention-grabbiness’ of [national] news,” said McCallum. “Coming from a small community, I know that there are certain things that just need documentation and need to be talked about for communities to have a strong, informed core.”
How to Love a Forest: The Bittersweet Work of Tending a Changing World
Broadleaf Books, 2024
By Ethan Tapper ’12
Ethan Tapper, an alumnus of the Rubenstein School's forestry program and a current graduate student, released his book, How to Love a Forest, in September. Tapper asks readers to explore what it means to live in a time when ecosystems are in retreat, and further questions how we can reach toward a better future. Tapper's time as a Rubenstein student and his work with forests (particularly his work as the Chittenden County forester and with his consulting company, Bear Island Forestry) were major influences on his decision to write a book. Rubenstein’s Maddie Cross caught up with Tapper to talk to him just after publication of his book.
How would you describe your book?
How to Love a Forest is a reimagining of forests and our relationship to them. It’s a vision for a new ethic for the modern world – one that recognizes how vital and how beautiful ecosystems are, and also the many bittersweet decisions necessary to care for them. [It’s] is also a love story – it’s a love letter to my [Bolton, Vt.] land, “Bear Island,” a love
letter to forests and other ecosystems, a love letter to biodiversity. And it’s also a love letter to a world that doesn’t exist yet – it’s the world that we can create if we’re willing to make the complex and bittersweet decisions to save ourselves and everything that is precious. Like any great love story, caring for ecosystems requires compromises and sacrifices, requires us to do things we never thought we’d have to do – we do it anyway, because this is what we do for love. That’s what How to Love a Forest is all about.
Can you talk about the timeline of the book and how it came to be?
I started writing How to Love a Forest more than six years ago. In my work as a forester, I was struggling with how consistently forests and other ecosystems – and the measures necessary to protect them –were misunderstood. It seemed to me that most people believed in this dichotomy that doesn’t really exist: that either we love forests and leave them alone, or we manage them because we don’t care about them. I was seeing how consistently our ecosystems needed help, and how consistently they were denied that help because people believed that the only expression of compassion for forests was to remove ourselves from them. In my mind, as forests struggle under the harmful legacies of the past, the threats and stressors of the present, and a future that promises challenges like never before, inaction is often an expression of negligence, not love. The ecosystems of this world need our help, and these misunderstandings about forests and what it means to care for them were getting in the way of that – so I decided that I needed to starting writing.
What experiences do you believe have most influenced your views on environmental issues?
My most impactful experiences have been working in the woods – as a consulting forester and a service forester – and managing Bear Island. When you work with forests every day, you build an understanding of the depth and breadth of the challenges they face. It’s one thing to say that “nature” will take care of itself in principle, and quite another when, day in and day out, you are trying to care for ecosystems that are degraded, dealing with nonnative plants, animals, pests, and pathogens, in the midst of a climate crisis and a biodiversity crisis. When you engage in deep relationship with ecosystems, you start to realize that it is completely unreasonable to ask them to weather all of these challenges alone.
Use a mobile camera to scan the QR, or visit go.uvm.edu/loveaforest to read more of this interview.
Ira Allen: A Biography
Vermont Historical Society, 2024
By J. Kevin Graffagnino ’76
From its location smack in the middle of the University Green, Ira Allen’s statue looks down from atop the pedestal on which it has stood for a century. To the UVM community Allen is known as the founder, but he was so much more: a “land speculator, revolutionary, pamphleteer, politician, and empire builder” as the Vermont Historical Society notes on its website for this new biography, the first comprehensive study of Allen’s life since James Wilbur’s 1928 biography. Outshone in popular memory by his older, more mercurial brother, Ethan, Ira had by most accounts a more multi-dimensional life and career. As Art Cohn, director emeritus of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum said in reviewing J. Kevin Graffagnino’s book, it “provides an encyclopedia of lessons in human behavior. Ira Allen… was a principal in the formation of Vermont, a partisan in the conflict between Yankees and Yorkers, and a player in the American Revolution whose obsession with wealth led to a tapestry of poor decisions, disastrous outcomes, and priceless lessons. This comprehensive biography confirms that while Ira was indeed a founder of the University of Vermont and the state itself, he was also ‘a hard founding father to love’.”
When the Ice is Gone: What a Greenland Ice Core Reveals About Earth’s Tumultuous History and Perilous Future
W.W. Norton, 2024
By Paul Bierman
In his new book, Paul Bierman, geoscientist and professor in UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, drills into the complex history of the Greenland Ice Sheet. In 2019, Bierman gained access to long-lost frozen soil samples collected from the world’s first deep-ice core. Upon examining the rare material in his lab at UVM, he and his team made an astonishing discovery: perfectly preserved leaves, twigs, and moss. These findings revealed that Greenland’s ice sheet had melted naturally about 400,000 years ago. Bierman’s book recounts this pivotal moment in his career, the fascinating environmental and geopolitical history of Greenland, and the mysterious journey of 30 kilograms of invaluable frozen soil and ice. Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, says “When the Ice is Gone tells the story of the scientists who pieced together the history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and, as a result, can now peer into its future. Paul Bierman is himself one of these scientists, and he brings to his subject a deep affection and a wealth of experience. The result is at once fascinating, sobering, and eye-opening.”
Transformative Social Work: Practices for Academic Settings
Columbia University Press, 2024
Edited by Jan Fook and Danielle Jatlow
In the beginning pages of this book, readers learn that transformative social work is not always clear-cut and well-defined. However, it is apparent that today’s social workers are examining their work’s cultural and philosophical foundations, staying curious and creating change. The contributors to the book, which is edited by College of Education and Social Services faculty member Danielle Jatlow, and Professor Jan Fook, who recently retired as the chair of the Department of Social Work, share micro to macro ideas and examples of transformative social work from a range of local, national, and international perspectives. The book is written primarily for social work professionals working at colleges and universities, educators, and social work practitioners. Other CESS contributors include Associate Professor Brenda Solomon, Senior Lecturer Emerita JB Barna, Program Specialist Ken Bechtel, Business Manager Kate Ball Clem, and social work students Kate Gannon, BC Garvey, Erin Mackenzie, Tiffany Tuttle, and Tucker Boyd.
The
Cake Bible
HarperCollins, 2024
By Rose Levy Beranbaum ’65
In 1988, when Rose Levy Beranbaum first published
The Cake Bible, it was praised for its innovative techniques (introducing the “reverse creaming method” and the careful weighing of ingredients) and its encyclopedic range (from All-American Chocolate Torte to Zucchini Cupcakes). But she could hardly have known just how enduring the book would be. Endure it has, and this October HarperCollins brought out the new 35th anniversary edition of the cookbook. “The was my first major cookbook,” Beranbaum writes. “Because I did not have a track record, the budget was initially very low. I did all the recipe testing, proofing, styling, and prop styling on my own.” According to its publisher, the book, currently in its 54 printing, “was listed by the James Beard Foundation as one of the top 13 baking books on 'the Essential Book List,' and was included in '101 Classic Recipes.'” In 2017 it was inducted into the International Association of Culinary Professionals Culinary Classics.” As a poster on Reddit r/Old_Recipes commented, “Rose Levy Beranbaum is someone to be trusted.”
ALUMNI ALLIES
For Chris Zimmerman '81 (shown above both today and as a college athlete) and UVM Athletic Director Jeff Schulman '89 (at right) a connection as alums helped make the 2025 Frozen Four opportunity happen.
HOW UVM'S FROZEN FOUR OPPORTUNITY WAS FORGED
The ice will soon be set, the stands packed, and the spotlight shining brightly on St. Louis as the city gears up to host the 2025 NCAA Men’s Hockey Frozen Four. For many, this might seem like just another major sports event, but for those with connections to the University of Vermont, it’s a momentous occasion that transcends the game itself. At the heart of this celebration are two UVM alumni—Jeff Schulman ’89 and Chris Zimmerman ‘81 —whose longstanding friendship and professional collaboration have brought this prestigious event to life. Their journey, both personal and professional, offers a compelling narrative of how shared passions and mutual respect can turn dreams into reality.
FORGING A FRIENDSHIP THROUGH HOCKEY
The story of Schulman and Zimmerman begins on the ice, where their paths crossed in the competitive world of college hockey. Zimmerman, who graduated from UVM in 1981, and Schulman, who arrived in the fall of 1985, were part of different UVM hockey generations. Despite their differing timelines as players, their bond would later be strengthened through a shared dedication to the sport and their alma mater.
Their connection grew over the years through various alumni events and their continued involvement in the hockey community. Zimmerman, now the President and CEO of the National Hockey League St. Louis Blues, reminisces about their early encounters. “I met Jeff playing in the Thursday night alumni skates that they’ve had for 30 years. It was more than natural for me to reach back to Jeff, who I had had professional interactions with when I was at [hockey equipment company] Bauer.”
For Schulman, Athletic Director at UVM since 2016 and a former member and chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee, the friendship was not just a personal connection but a professional asset. “Well, first of all, I think one of the things that's truly unique about UVM hockey is the relationships that exist among alums from different generations, and Chris is part of that. He's in the early 80s and I arrived at UVM in the fall of 1985, so we didn't cross over at all as players. But we met playing in some alumni skates and at events over the years and, of course, the fact that he works in the sports industry allowed us to develop a really nice professional and personal relationship, and that's part of what obviously blossomed into the partnership to host the Frozen Four in St Louis.”
THE FROZEN FOUR OPPORTUNITY
The Frozen Four is the culminating event of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, bringing together the top four teams from across the nation for a final showdown. Traditionally held in major cities and NHL arenas, the Frozen Four is not only a significant event for college hockey but also a major opportunity for cities and institutions to showcase their commitment to the sport.
St. Louis last hosted the Frozen Four in 2007, an event that proved to be a major success. When it was time for St. Louis’s bid to host the 2025 Frozen Four, there were no local universities with a Division 1 program. Zimmerman saw a unique opportunity. “As we were putting together our bid, I reached out to the school I hold closest to my heart in college hockey, the University of Vermont,” Zimmerman recalls. “For me, obviously, there's no other school, certainly the chance to partner with Jeff on this project, there's no one out there that I'd rather be doing that with.”
That’s where Schulman and UVM came into the picture. “I started talking with Chris about this in maybe 2017 or 2018 when the Blues were in the midst of a major renovation of the Enterprise Center. The Frozen Four bid process is highly competitive with many major cities and NHL franchises vying to host the event, so St. Louis really wasn’t a viable option until it made this really massive capital investment
in their facility. Chris reached out to me as they were doing that, and just said, hey, this is something we'd really like. Would UVM be interested in partnering with us?” Not long after, collaboration and preparations efforts were in full stride, as the two programs began the groundwork for what was yet to come.
THE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
The process to become a host institution for the Frozen Four is complex and highly competitive. It involves a detailed bid process where cities and institutions must demonstrate their capability to handle the scale of the event. As an experienced college athletics administrator with a strong hockey background, Schulman was well-versed in the requirements. He was able to guide the Blues and the St. Louis Sports Commission with their bid submission and in the fall of 2020 it was announced that the Frozen Four would be coming back to St. Louis with the University of Vermont serving as the “host” institution.
Zimmerman and Schulman’s collaboration was pivotal in crafting a successful bid. “One of the things that Z has made very clear is how much the Blues, the St. Louis Sports Commission, and the City of St. Louis value this event and how committed they are to its success,” Schulman says. “Led by the professional team at the sports commission, they've attended every Frozen Four since first contemplating a bid for the event and Z's been to almost everyone one of them,” Schulman explained. “As a member of the hockey committee, one of my responsibilities was to meet with all of the future hosts at every Frozen Four. These past four years I’ve had to introduce myself twice… once as a member of the committee and then again as a future host with the team from St. Louis.”
IMPACT ON UVM AND THE BROADER HOCKEY COMMUNITY
For UVM, being chosen as the host institution for the Frozen Four represents a significant opportunity to enhance the university’s visibility and strengthen its hockey program. Schulman highlights the broader implications. “I think anytime the University of Vermont’s name is part of such a highly visible event, it’s a good thing for the university,” he says.
Schulman also underscores the potential for long-term benefits. “We have several alumni out there and obviously a large group of prospective students in the St. Louis area. The Frozen Four has a national and even international reach, so the exposure from hosting the event will benefit UVM in a variety of different ways,” he says.
Zimmerman agrees, noting that the event also serves as a celebration of the partnership between UVM and St. Louis. “St Louis is a great hockey market. And obviously
THIS IS THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. WE WANT THE PLAYERS, WE WANT THE PEOPLE WHO COME TO ST LOUIS, FROM THE MINUTE THEY STEP OFF A PLANE TO FEEL THE ENERGY AND EXCITEMENT.
hockey plays a big role in the University of Vermont, certainly the University of Vermont athletics. So, you know, I think the exposure of St. Louis players to UVM, to understand what those initials even mean, I think there’ll be a pretty good chance to build awareness around Vermont and Vermont hockey.”
A CELEBRATION OF FRIENDSHIP AND LEGACY
As the event approaches, both Zimmerman and Schulman are looking forward to the celebrations and the chance to bring their vision to life. “I think we’re going to build an amazing event,” Zimmerman says. “This is the NCAA championship game. We want the players, we want the people who come to St Louis, from the minute they step off a plane to feel the energy and excitement. Our goal is set. We have a great hockey city here. We have great hockey fans.”
Zimmerman adds, “You do that by, shining a spotlight on college hockey, shining a spotlight on the teams, the alumni, the fans, the parents, all those groups. This is a big moment in their lives. They've been hockey families forever. We want to make sure that we do everything we can to make it a world-class experience.”
Schulman concludes, “It's a really exciting event for the University to be part of, and to be sharing the hosting responsibilities with Chris, who is such a proud and successful Catamount, is particularly special. We're committed to helping St. Louis put on a fantastic event and along the way to elevate the visibility of UVM and UVM Hockey.
Water will continue to shape—and reshape— Vermont communities.
By Kristen Munson
Sometimes it will come in a deluge, pummeling agricultural fields and swamping downtowns. Sometimes water will be scarce. There will be seasons that feel abnormally normal. This is life in a rapidly changing climate.
Statewide flooding in Vermont in July 2023 caused upwards of $600 million in damages, the bulk of which occurred in communities located along the spine of the Green Mountains, where two-monthsworth of rain fell in about 48 hours. In Montpelier, where I call home, more rain fell in one day—5.28 inches—than in any day since record collecting began. Every time I walk my children to school on rainy mornings, they look at the Winooski River and ask, “Is it going to flood again?”
“Yes,” I respond. “But not today.”
As I began to write this story on July 10, 2024—the oneyear anniversary of the flooding—a flood and tornado watch was issued for 12 Vermont counties, and rain from the remnants of Hurricane Beryl started falling. On the drive home, fat rain drops bounced off the windshield and I wondered if downtown Montpelier had enough sandbags. Because we will flood again—eventually. I wondered what
measures could mitigate the risk to our communities. Meaningful actions require nuanced understanding of the problems we face—and this is where research can help.
Before the July 2023 storm was even over, University of Vermont researchers had pulled on muck boots to gather data and help recovery efforts. One year later, in the wake of another disastrous flood, those researchers continue collecting and parsing information to help Vermonters build more resilient systems.
Help from Above
Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne G’04—an ex-Marine who ran up mountains, biked to work in the snow, and played the cowbell at marathons with his band, Sciatica—was “a larger-than-life character who gave everything to his job,” said Paige Brochu ’15, director of UVM’s Spatial Analysis Lab (SAL).
Aerial images recorded by UVM's Spatial Analysis Lab's Unoccupied Aircraft Systems unit in 2023 and 2024 helped support federal emergency disaster declarations for Vermont.
For 12 years, until his sudden death from a heart attack in January, O’Neil-Dunne directed SAL and built up the team from a handful of technicians to about two dozen full-time staff. He stored a go bag in his office and the phone numbers of first responders on his cell phone in case the lab’s drone team was needed during emergencies. When O’Neil-Dunne was at a conference in California in July of 2023, a call came that Vermont was poised to flood, and he began orchestrating an aerial response from his hotel room.
“We deployed as soon as possible, even without direct tasking orders from the emergency operations center,” Brochu said. “If we had wait for official orders, we would not have captured the highwater marks for a lot of the communities impacted.”
That really fulfills our land-grant mission... sharing those findings with a cOmmunity.
SAL’s Unoccupied Aircraft Systems unit used their drones to document the scale of flooding and map landslides and low-lying areas that disappeared under inches of water. This was the type of emergency response by SAL that O’Neil-Dunne envisioned being especially useful.
He first recruited Brochu to the team as a geospatial technician, mapping tree canopies when she was an undergraduate. He persuaded her to come back to UVM after she earned her doctorate in environmental health to work on SAL projects such as helping towns across the nation quantify their urban forest and understand the impact of greening initiatives.
“There is always a why,” Brochu explained. “We don’t just circle trees to circle trees.”
After the July 10-11, 2023, flooding, the drone team made time-stamped imagery publicly available, often within 24 hours of collection, and helped unlock federal relief funds.
“First responders used it to assess damage, not just to property, but also to infrastructure,” Brochu said. “… Drone images are great but if we are not doing anything with them, why are we capturing them?”
When I spoke to Brochu in May, she was about to move into the director’s office and staff were cataloging all their 2023 flooding work to conduct a post-mortem of the team’s response. They wanted to understand public perception of the work.
“Jarlath was a really big proponent of communityengaged work and listening to what communities need,” Brochu said. “One thing the lab did really well, and Jarlath was really good about, was maintaining relationships with state agencies. He had everyone’s cell phone number … so that when there was a request it was immediate. And it was built on personal trust. They knew they could call us and that we would do good work.”
With summer 2024 approaching, she contemplated what the season would bring.
“I feel like I am waiting for a shoe to drop,” she said, adding that whatever comes, SAL will be ready to deploy. “We will be available because we need to be to support Vermont.”
On July 10, 2024—the first anniversary of the 2023 floods—SAL team members were prepared when the Vermont Emergency Operations Center requested drones to capture a record of flooding. Communities like Barre, Johnson, and Cambridge were once again underwater, and flash flooding decimated parts of Barnet, Lyndonville, and Plainfield. A manufactured home community (MHC) in Berlin, one of several devastated by flooding the year before, was listed as a site of interest for SAL to flyover—and it is one Kelly Hamshaw ’06, G’11, Ph.D. ’24 knows all too well.
Showing Up
Hamshaw has a long history of knocking on the doors of manufactured homes – also called mobile homes – throughout Vermont. Since her undergraduate years at UVM studying planning and community development, she has worked to better understand the needs and complexities of MHCs across the state. Over the years, Hamshaw has visited over half of Vermont’s nearly 240 MHCs, conducting surveys and tabletop emergency exercises and involving her classes in clean-up efforts after extreme weather events.
So it was fitting that before the 2023 floodwaters fully receded, Hamshaw was distributing notices to residents explaining that if they sold their waterlogged homes for pennies on the dollar, they wouldn’t qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance. Hamshaw has witnessed this before and knows that many MHC residents can least afford such a loss.
“I’ve been to a lot of communities, I’ve talked to a lot of people,” she said, explaining that the most common person she meets in the parks is “a single woman living on her own over the age of 65.”
In Vermont, many MHCs were built in the ’60s and ’70s and sited along the developing highways as worker housing. The term “manufactured home” replaced “mobile home” as the technical terminology in 1976, Hamshaw explains, so while the language has shifted, our thinking hasn’t quite caught up.
These homes—and populations—are largely not mobile either by choice or by circumstance. Most of the units can’t be moved without significant expense or structural damage. In Vermont, only about one percent are actually moved each year. Residents often elect to live in the parks due to their affordability and proximity to family, schools, doctors, and social networks.
“And [because they do] not have to share walls with people,” Hamshaw said. “That is really important to folks and a lot of people forget that.”
What makes MHCs different from other housing developments when it comes to emergency planning is the land ownership. Residents may own their home, but unless they live in one of the few nonprofit or co-op-owned parks, they have little control over investments in flood mitigation for the property itself because someone else owns the land.
MHCs fill an important niche in the state, Hamshaw explained. “People have realized in the context of our larger housing market, if these communities went away, it would just further compound our already dire circumstances.”
A statewide flood assessment the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation conducted with UVM SAL imagery found that nearly 60 percent of MHCs are located within a hazard area and nearly 15 percent are in FEMA flood zones. In the months prior to the 2023 flood, Hamshaw conducted virtual and in-person workshops at three Washington County MHC’s vulnerable to flooding, including one in Berlin that flooded a month later. Corinne Cooper, a UVM Extension employee who came to the meetings, was among the first to contact Hamshaw about it. Hamshaw came with fliers and worked with the state’s mobile home program and residents to advocate for debris removal. “You can do a lot if you show up.” Hamshaw says.
Her work continues this fall with state partners and UVM colleagues including Kristen Underwood, Ph.D. ’18, research associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, with a project involving
five MHCs at risk of flooding. The team will perform risk assessments for each park and build a toolkit to increase preparedness and resiliency.
“In my view, that really fulfills our land-grant mission here at UVM—taking research, distilling those findings, and sharing those findings with a community that could very much benefit from [them],” Underwood said.
Improving floodplain maps
Rivers are dynamic by nature. They swell and move as flows change, occasionally jumping their banks and spilling excess water onto adjacent floodplains. Over centuries, humans have straightened and channeled rivers as we’ve built and farmed alongside them. We’ve dammed rivers. Dredged them. Bermed them. Humans have excelled at moving water efficiently through river corridors and disconnecting them from floodplains that slow water as it sprawls.
Learning where floodplains are, how they operate, and where they may be restored could boost resiliency for communities at risk of flooding. That is one idea behind the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation’s Functioning Floodplain Initiative (FFI), an effort UVM research helps inform, in part through improved mapping. Because Vermont lacks comprehensive floodplain maps. This is especially important in a changing climate that is bringing more frequent and intense floods.
A statewide assessment found that 60 percent of manufactured home communities in Vermont are located within a flood hazard area.
Since 2019, Kristen Underwood and Rebecca Diehl, a research assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Geosciences, have partnered to map Vermont floodplains. In contrast to traditional high-complexity models that require time-intensive computations and field surveys, they use lowcomplexity models that rely on remote sensing and simplify mathematical assumptions to simulate how water moves through a river corridor.
“We lose information when we do that, but what we gain is the ability to map over very broad regions,” said Underwood.
This allows researchers to answer deeper questions too. Questions like: Where are Vermont’s floodplains and how often are they inundated? And are our floodplains connected?
“In Vermont, one of the big issues with floodplains is that they are fairly disconnected, meaning they don’t get accessed as regularly as they should by floodwaters,” Diehl explained. “[This] limits the role that floodplains can play and all sorts of those co-benefits that they could provide society.”
In 2016, UVM researchers quantified one co-benefit by simulating ten flooding events in Middlebury, including Tropical Storm Irene, and calculating structural damages. They estimated that the Otter Creek floodplains and wetlands upstream reduced damages between 84 and 95 percent for Tropical Storm Irene and help save hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
“I call it the poster child for floodplains and flood resilience,” Diehl said.
She and Underwood are exploring if similar effects may be possible in other communities. What floodplain characteristics decrease flood waves? How many floodplains does one need to conserve to make a difference downstream?
“Setting aside all of those social issues of money and people and property rights—do we have the capacity in our river network today to attenuate these floods?” Underwood asked. “And are there certain kinds of reaches or floodplains that are better able to attenuate floods?”
In 2022, Underwood and Diehl released a mapping tool to show the extent of flooding across the Lake Champlain Basin for storm sizes ranging from a two-year to 500-year event. The floodplain layer was created for planning purposes and research and is not intended to replace FEMA floodplain maps. It was used as a reference layer by the state’s Emergency Operations Center to guide response and short-term recovery during the July 2023 and 2024 floods.
On the first anniversary of the Great Vermont Flood of 2023, extreme rainfall struck again, flooding communities such as Plainfield. Image captured by a drone flown by UVM SAL's Unoccupied Aircraft Systems team.
Diehl and Underwood are working to build a dynamic lowcomplexity model to simulate how a flood wave moves through the river network during a storm. Underwood envisions it could one day be used by first responders and citizens who need to know in real-time who needs to move to higher ground during a flooding event.
In the months before the July 2023 floods, the state mapped all of Vermont with Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar)—a remote sensing technique that produces precise topographical maps using pulses of light. UVM’s Spatial Analysis Lab flew drones to capture Lidar on several stretches of riverways after the 2023 and 2024 floods. Diehl and Underwood and their students are quantifying how the topography changed as a result of erosion and deposition that occurred during these floods, and potential impacts on water quality.
“How did our rivers respond to these extreme events and are we seeing a lot of erosion?” Diehl asked. “I am super interested in thinking about … How do our floodplains function in light of these extreme events? Can our floodplains keep pace with a July 2023 flood? We know that there is a ton of stuff coming off the landscape.”
The Landscape remembers
On a muggy day in late July, Elizabeth Doran and two undergraduates, Lydia Emry, a senior in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, and junior Andrew Chen, an environmental engineering major, pulled on muck boots near the mouth of the Lewis Creek in North Ferrisburgh. They are there to rebait camera traps and survey high water marks from the recent July 10-11 floods, when up to 10 inches of rain fell across the watershed. Hours earlier, another flood watch was issued for most of Vermont.
Doran, an environmental engineer and assistant research professor, is leading an interdisciplinary team (including Diehl and Underwood) in a three-year mapping study to better understand the role of floodplains as unique ecosystems and habitat for native plants and animals. Her team is testing the presence of various natural communities of flora and fauna to better understand their interaction with flood events, as well as how the system may have changed over time. The team partnered with local non-profit watershed groups, including the Lewis Creek Association, that have been conducting restoration projects in the watershed for decades. The results will help improve floodplain restoration efforts.
“You can't just plant a mature silver maple floodplain forest,” Doran explained. “It doesn't work that way. Saplings need time to grow, and they don't necessarily just survive because you think that's where they should be.” We can and should take action, she explained,
“but the landscape kind of remembers what happened to it,” and we have to take that into account as we prioritize where to focus our restoration efforts.
In the spring, the research team placed motionactivated cameras along 49 sites in the Lewis Creek Watershed to document the various wildlife that call it home, particularly otters and amphibians that need both the water and floodplain to thrive—including northern leopard frogs and Jefferson salamanders.
“I have pictures,” Emry said, pulling out her phone. “Leopard frogs look really similar to another species called pickerel frogs.”
“You can hunt for a few minutes in the grass over there and see one,” Chen said.
As we traipsed over grass towards the water’s edge, tiny green missiles shot out of the way of our boots. Emry scooped one up and checked the tiny frog’s white belly to properly identify it.
“Sometimes they calm down and just vibe in your hands,” she said with a smile.
In addition to examining the natural communities along the sites, UVM scientists are studying the geomorphology of the river system. How does a flood wave move through it? Are the floodplains connected to the river? The team has data from before and after the July 2024 flood and can examine if wildlife is affected by flooding.
“Where do amphibians go during the flood?” Doran asked.
“Where do otters go? How long before they come back?”
We sloshed through the water, parting waves of tall grass flattened just weeks before. We reached the camera and Andrew swapped out the SD card while Lydia swabbed bark with a musky scent to lure otter.
“Part of the reason why this area didn’t flood much is that we have this huge wetland area,” Doran explained, gesturing upstream. “The water had space to spread out, get really calm and slightly less destructive. … Floodplains have many benefits. They are habitat for wildlife. They can capture nutrients and reduce flood peaks and reduce damage.”
Three kilometers upstream, the team visited a site with significant washouts after the flood. Bridge abutments constricted the water, pushing it towards the bank where it knocked out several mature trees, including one with a camera lashed to its side.
“We did see an otter here one time before the floods,” Emry said, as she applied fresh lure. “I'm super interested to see if we’re still going to see those otters because this landscape has changed so much.”
Putting roots back in the ground
“All of this is floodplain,” said Andy Jones, gesturing one blustery May afternoon to the fields he has managed since 1993 at the Intervale Community Farm (ICF), one of several farms on a 360-acre site near the Winooski River.
ICF was almost completely flooded during Tropical Storm Irene, and fared worse in July 2023. Jones knew from experience to pick crops early and move heavy equipment to higher ground, but ICF was still $60,000 in the hole when waters receded.
After a flood, fields are soaked with silt and water contaminated with whatever pollutants were upstream. Knowing when they are safe to replant can be tricky without data. After the 2023 floods, UVM’s Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab performed free soil testing on 166 sites, including ICF, to identify spots potentially laden with heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and bacteria. While initial tests revealed high microbial counts, levels returned to normal within weeks.
“We are organic farmers; We don’t want to make people sick,” Jones said. “… It was helpful to me and to a lot of the other farmers here to know we are not being ridiculous to say, ‘we can go forward, and the food will be safe.’ We may still lose our shirts because it’s going to flood again, but that is a different problem.”
Over the decades Jones has watched nightly temperatures
Lydia Emry, a senior in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, swabs fresh lure on bark to attract otters.
KRISTEN MUNSON
climb and left crops in the fields later into the fall. While this has boosted productivity, the benefits are offset by upticks in extreme events. In recent decades, extreme rain events have increased across New England, pancaking the ground and leaving plants vulnerable to fungal diseases.
“It is hard on the plants,” Jones explained. “… and then we will have long stretches [of nothing]. We are adapting that way. We have invested a lot in irrigation equipment. … We need it more and more even though we are often getting too much rain. It’s a crazy oscillation.”
Extreme weather events and more variable frost dates add uncertainty to farming, an already risky enterprise. But there are ways to increase resilience from extreme weather events.
it's easy when things are going well just to cruise and to keep doing the same thing... A flood does force a little bit of introspection
Interventions such as high tunnels—plastic- or fabric-covered hoop structures—can protect crops from extreme weather events and give farmers more control over growing conditions, said Joshua Faulkner, coordinator of UVM Extension's Farming and Climate Change Program. Building soil health can help too, he said, adding that roots in the ground prevent erosion from runoff, increase organic matter in the soil, and soak up some of the moisture during heavy storms.
“When we have erosion, it is farmers losing topsoil, and it takes in some cases decades, if not hundreds of years, to build topsoil,” said Faulkner. “So we are losing that agricultural resource that is important for food security.”
Back at ICF, Andy Jones considered whether anything good comes from a flood.
“It’s easy when things are going well just to cruise and to keep doing the same thing,” he said. “A flood does force a little bit of introspection.”
Mainly, ICF is looking up.
“We are trying to go all-in on what we have for the higher grounds—put up a few more tunnels on the sections that didn’t flood,” Jones said. “We are going to invest as much productive capacity on the least flood-prone land.”
He walked out back to show where the new tunnels would stand. We followed a dirt path, and he paused to point downslope to where the river flowed across the farm last summer. We passed one high tunnel filled with tomatoes planted just hours earlier and a second brimming with baby cucumber starts.
“There is a lot of land down here,” Jones said pointing to a copse of trees in the distance. “And the river, it’s always present, the mighty Winooski.”
We walked back to the parking lot, passing patches of dandelions soaking in the late afternoon sun.
“We can keep doing this as long as it’s working,” he said. “The question that looms is: ‘How often does this have to happen for it to no longer really be a viable business model?’ And I don’t think we know, or anybody really knows.”
On the first anniversary of the Great Vermont Flood of 2023, ICF and the Intervale were inundated once again. Farm staff and volunteers salvaged thousands of pounds of crops from the fields and UVM Extension staff were back out testing flooded fields. ICF staff replanted within weeks and has begun searching for some land out of the floodplain.
UVM's SAL team captured this aerial image of flood damage in Addison County. These images can help landowners to receive disaster recovery funds.
A Trout Turnabout
UVM’s state-of-the-art research vessel offers new ways to explore an old mystery in Lake Champlain
Story and Photography by Joshua Brown
November 29, 2023
In eighty feet of water, one mile off the Burlington shoreline, the research vessel Marcelle Melosira pulls in a trawling net. On the upper deck, a pair of winches turn slowly while the boat continues northwest, passing within swimming distance of the cliffs at Rock Point. The winches grow thick with cable while Professor Ellen Marsden looks expectantly down into the water. From the blackness, a gray form rises. It’s a netful of fish, a tangled, quicksilver heap of life.
Three undergrads—Jamie Loyst ’24, Nikolai Tang ’25, and Philip Hampson ’24—heave a crate of the fish onto an observation table and the other members of Marsden’s advanced course in fisheries biology crowd around in wool hats and rubber gloves. It’s below freezing on this late fall afternoon, and nobody is going swimming. Instead, they begin to sort the fish by species to take back to the lab. Most of them are alewife: flat, shiny, big-eyed invaders that arrived in Lake Champlain about twenty years ago. But mixed in are yellow perch, finger-sized rainbow smelt, some even smaller and squishy-looking sculpin, a few snake-like sea lamprey, handfuls of zebra mussels—and, like speckled majesty among the commoners, a bucket’s worth of lake trout.
Ellen Marsden has been exploring the mysteries and marvels of lake trout for decades. Here, aboard the Marcelle Melosira, she teaches students and, with their help, sorts a load of fish, mostly alewife, for study. Spring semester 2024 was her last of teaching courses. Marsden retired, and is now professor emerita of fisheries but, no surprise to her students, will continue her research on fish.
These muscular trout are juveniles, puny compared to the ten-pound trophy specimens anglers pull out of the lake. Lake trout can live more than 25 years, with a rare few making it past 60. The largest lake trout caught in Vermont tipped the scale at over 35 pounds, while, last year, a gargantuan lake trout was hauled out of (and released back into) a lake in Colorado. It weighed 74 pounds.
The trout the students caught in the net today may, in a way, be more impressive. As the Marcelle turns to head for home on the Burlington waterfront, Ben Quigley ’24 is reviewing a data sheet. Of 21 “LKTs” (for “lake trout”) on his penciled list, 17 are marked “NC” (for “no clip”). That means that more than 80 percent of these trout do not have a clipped fin to mark their origin from a fish hatchery. Instead, they were born wild in the lake.
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON? IT'S UNNERVING TO THINK THAT AN EXOTIC SPECIES
HAS MADE THINGS BETTER FOR THESE NATIVE TROUT.
The short version of this story is that native lake trout were gone from Lake Champlain for more than a century—and now they’re back. The longer version is a mysterious and hopeful ecological tale that Marsden and her many colleagues and students are helping to unravel, aided by sophisticated technology on the university’s new research vessel.
Lake trout, known to scientists as Salvelinus namaycush, are, technically, a freshwater char, sometimes called mackinaw, togue, siscowet, lean, touladi, longe, paperbelly or, in their dark forms, mud hen. By whatever name, they are a popular sport fish, a deepwater predator at the top of the food chain in many northern lakes, and native to Lake Champlain.
Native in Lake Champlain, that is, until around 1900, when they disappeared. Nearly a century later, in 1996, Ellen Marsden arrived at UVM after years of studying fish in the Great Lakes—and began to ask what happened. “Why?” says Marsden, with her charming
English accent, “To this day, nobody knows. Total mystery.” The State of Vermont began stocking trout in the 1950s and launched a sustained program in 1972. Tens of thousands of fish are released each year. The program is successful, in a way. The hatchery trout survive in the lake. After six or seven years, adult trout find mates, they successfully spawn eggs in the fall, and the eggs hatch in the spring—as Marsden’s meticulous research revealed. These babies find zooplankton and other food in the gravel shoals and rocks where they hatch. After a few weeks in these shallow waters, the young fish are big enough to head for deep water.
And that’s where trout mystery number two begins. “These young fish swim off—and then they’re never heard from again,” says Marsden. “Poof.” Were they eaten or malnourished or poisoned or starved? Marsden spent years exploring this disappearance (and learning more about the fish of Lake Champlain than, well, probably anybody) without finding a clear culprit—but, whatever the cause, the young trout never made it to adulthood.
Or, rather, that was the story until 2015.
That year, Marsden was astonished to discover unclipped trout in her trawls. The young were, suddenly, surviving. “Turns out this was not a blip,” she says, “it was zero to sixty,” and this trend has continued in delightful fashion ever since. “Our summer gill net surveys have shown unclipped lake trout steadily increasing for the past five years. It’s a phenomenal success,” says Bernie Pientka ’94 G’00, a fish biologist
After 20 minutes of trawling near Burlington, undergraduate students on the lower deck of the Marcelle Melosira haul in the net and dump their catch onto an examination table for measuring and return to the lab.
for the State of Vermont, who had Marsden on his graduate committee and is now her close collaborator. In response, the state has reduced trout stocking levels from 82,000 per year to 57,000, “and now down to 41,000,” says Pientka. “It would be great to stop stocking completely if wild production goes up and continues.”
Enter trout mystery number three. “Now our problem is: what's going right with lake trout?” says Marsden—a professor of fisheries in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources—as the Marcelle passes the Burlington breakwater and approaches its docking berth next to UVM’s Rubenstein Ecosystem Sciences Lab at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. “It’s a much nicer question, but equally puzzling.” Working this puzzle has turned up a surprising and unsettling discovery. “It’s bizarre, but the recovery of wild trout may depend on those,” she says, pointing to a Ziploc bag filled with alewife—those nonnative, invasive fish that filled the trawling net.
To some biologists and managers, this idea may “sound heretical,” says Marsden. That’s because invasive alewife in the Great Lakes—sneaking in from the ocean—have brought havoc. The first alewife in Lake Ontario were spotted in the 1870s and the invasion spread to the rest of the Great Lakes—through the Welland Canal that bypasses Niagara Falls, connecting Lake Ontario to Lake Erie—in the 1930s and ‘40s. By the 1950s, they were reproducing at rates beyond a rabbit’s wildest dreams, thanks in large part to the absence of lake trout that would have eaten them. The native trout had been wiped out by overfishing, pollution, and attacks by another invasive species, blood-sucking sea lamprey. Through the 1980s, and to this day, alewife have caused devastating losses of native fish in the Great Lakes, chowing on the young of trout, walleye, and other top predators that can regulate an ecosystem—while pushing out other forage fish, including smelt that are a primary food for lake trout. No surprise, then, that the arrival of alewife in Lake Champlain in 2003 was met with dread.
Instead, their invasion, complete by 2008, has aligned with the recovery of trout. “What in the world is going on?” Marsden asks. “It's unnerving to think that an exotic species has made things better for these native
trout.” But recent research led by Justin Lesser and Rosalie Bruel, post-doctoral scientists who worked at UVM with Marsden and others, indicates exactly that. They developed a computer model of the Lake Champlain food web. Drawing on twenty-five years of data about fish and other lake creatures, their diets and numbers, the UVM team studied how energy moves in the lake. In a study published in February, they conclude that alewife, rich in fats and plentiful in number, appear to have “jumped started” the recovery of trout, they write, by giving them more to eat.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Be careful,” says Marsden when a certain science journalist wants to announce that we’ve finally found the wonder cure that rescued wild trout—and it’s an invasive pest fish. “This line of thinking is playing with fire,” she says. “Invasive species in most places, most of the time, are bad news.”
And Marsden is cautious, even skeptical, at a deeper level too. “We're too ready to find a silver bullet,” she says. “In fisheries, for too long, we’ve focused on single species management. The problem is bigger than trout or alewife. It’s bigger than that, but our minds may not be that big.” Increasingly, science finds insight by paying attention to complex flows and whole
Nikolai Tang ’25 and Jamie Loyst ’24 examine small trout-perch, a forage species that lake trout and other predators like to eat. But lake trout have also learned to feed on alewife; a pile of them lie below the students’ gloves. Alewife are a species native to the Atlantic ocean, but arrived in Lake Champlain through a canal in 2003.
The first research vessel of its kind, the electric-hybrid catamaran Marcelle Melosira, gets prepared for its next scientific outing. Docking downtown in Burlington, the boat is UVM’s most distinctive outdoor classroom.
systems—and that ubiquitous wildness that some people call chance. The new study provides a powerful example: the invasion of alewife in the Great Lakes was devastating to trout. In Lake Champlain, with a different history and starting suite of species, the invasion of alewife appears to have had the opposite outcome.
“If someone asks, ‘how do I help this species?’ I say, ‘go restore the ecosystem!’” Marsden says. But to restore an ecosystem requires scientists to understand it deeply, “and there is so much we still don’t know about Lake Champlain. Keep in mind, a model is just a construct,” she says. “It's not the lake.”
KEY FACTS ABOUT R/V MARCELLE MELOSIRA
...and the high-tech of UVM's new $4.5 million research and teaching vessel
June 20, 2024
The actual lake is growing dark, at 8:57p.m., on the longest day of the year. A purple haze sinks over the Adirondacks in the west, and fine rain begins to fall, making the steel rails and deck of the Marcelle glisten red under the boat’s lights. Mia McReynolds, a Ph.D. student in her fourth year, Samantha Gonsalves ’26, and Nikolai Tang ’25 are untangling a specialized floating gill net. They’re part of a team getting ready to go out in search of alewife, the larger ones that may be fast enough to avoid regular trawling nets. The students will be out all night.
The team wants to catch these fish so they can hear what they have to say. Well, not really, but McReynolds has deployed high-tech sonar platforms on the bottom of the lake that emit pings of sound through the water toward the surface. If a ping hits a school of fish, the sound bounces back, and the school’s size and location is recorded on a flash drive on the platform. To verify the sensor data, the team is catching actual fish so they can compare the results.
McReynolds wants to understand where, and how many, forage fish—like alewife and smelt—are in this lake, and in the Great Lakes too. Managers can’t do much to control the numbers of these fish directly, but they can control how many top predators—like trout and salmon—they stock, trying to balance the typical boom-and-bust lifecycles of these forage fish in the middle of the food web. Measuring populations with sonar on ships is a well-established practice in the ocean and Great Lakes. But is it accurate?
McReynolds knows that some fish hear boats coming and there’s good reason to think they do what any sensible fish would do: try to get out of the way. But then the questions begin to pile up: what species avoid vessels? And by how much? Are some fish being undercounted? And do different volumes of noise or boat speed or engine types affect fish differently?
That’s where UVM’s new, first-of-its-kind, $4.5 million
Named in honor of Marcelle Leahy, the spouse of former Senator Patrick Leahy, and in recognition of the previous UVM research vessel, the Melosira.
First-of-its-kind winch technology designed by engineers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Arrived at the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory on July 23, 2023
research boat comes in. It’s an electric-hybrid catamaran (see sidebar) that can run on batteries or diesel engine. “I have two platforms in Burlington Bay, and we'll pass over them every half hour,” says McReynolds—all night, following a pre-set research grid. Sometimes the boat will go fast, sometimes slowly; sometimes running its nearly silent electric motor, sometimes on louder diesel. “And all that time,” McReynolds says, “the platforms are collecting data about the fish, how they’re responding.”
Four days later, on a flat and misty morning, the Marcelle is nearly stationary in Burlington Bay, with Old Mill barely visible to the east on College Hill, and, to the south, Juniper Island dipping in and out of fog. On the stern, just outside the Marcelle’s onboard classroom, Silva Sundberg ’24 pushes a lever connected to hydraulic lines and a steel crane that frames the back of the boat like a giant doorway pivots to about 45 degrees over the water so that rope hanging from a pulley can descend straight down. Deckhand Bo Barile ’26 switches on an aluminum drum and it slowly begins to wind in the rope while McReynolds and Jack Rice ’24 look expectantly down into the water. From the blackness, a bright yellow rectangle rises. It’s the world’s largest Lego. Well, at least that’s what it looks like. A plastic box—full of square holes and barnacled with devices, cables, and a long yellow tube—emerges from the water. McReynolds and the other students gently bring it on board. This is the sonar platform that’s been collecting data for a week.
“These are the two transducers. They're sending out the pings and then listening,” McReynolds says, pointing to what look like a cooking pot and a neonorange Roomba. They operate at two frequencies, 70 kilohertz and 200 kilohertz; the lower frequency is good at detecting fish. The higher frequency is better at finding plankton and Mysis shrimp, a key food for trout and other fish, she says. “I'm mostly interested in fish, but I'm also curious about plankton and how the layer of fish is chasing the plankton.”
Ellen Marsden retired in May. “I’m fully emerita in September and then will be sailing off,” she says with
a cheerful laugh, though she’ll continue to do research for a while. But her approach to fisheries science seems to be powerfully present in the next generation of UVM-trained fisheries scientists—like Mia McReynolds. “Why am I interested in plankton too?” McReynolds asks. “Because I want a more complete picture.”
What McReynolds will learn from the sonar data is not just relevant to biologists on Lake Champlain: the managers of the $7 billion fisheries economy in the Great Lakes depend on accurate data about food supplies to make decisions. “In the Great Lakes, these annual indices of forage fish, like alewife and smelt, feed directly into a model that tells them how many salmon and trout and other fish to stock,” McReynolds say. “And so if those surveys are biased or we don't really understand interactions, it could cause a problem with management.”
Brand-new Ph.D. student Amane Takahashi helps McReynolds untie the ropes and shackles connected
Before heading out for a full night of trawling, Ph.D. student Mia McReynolds (right), Samantha Gonsalves ’26 (center) and Nikolai Tang ’25 prepare a gill net.
32-person capacity with onboard classroom and lab space
Corer for sampling lake bottom sediment
ADA-compliant
Echo-sounding technology to identify and map underwater species distribution
Multi-net plankton and fish larvae sampler
Echoview software to process hydroacoustic data
Profiler to study large particles and zooplankton
Gas analyzer to measure gaseous compounds
64-foot-long dieselelectric catamaran
Up to three hours of electric run time
Custom hull designed to ensure stability in windy conditions
Use a mobile camera to scan the QR or visit go.uvm.edu/rvarrival to watch a video about RV Marcelle Melosira's arrival in Vermont.
Ph.D. student
Anna Schmidt (left) and Silva Sundberg ’24 prepare water samples for initial analysis in the Marcelle’s on-board lab. The water was collected in the instrument behind Schmidt, a rosette sampler, that snaps shut at numerous depths in the lake, successively taking water into one its 23 bottles.
to the platform, while Sundberg, an environmental science major who just graduated, fills out a field data sheet about the platform recovery. “I think the world of fisheries is really cool just because there's so much unknown,” Sundberg says. “We don't know a lot about fish because it's hard to find out.”
August 20, 2024
Near Schuyler Reef, five miles due west of Burlington’s Rock Point, on the New York State side of Lake Champlain, a cool breeze blows, crinkling the surface, and splashing water gently against the hull of the Marcelle. The sun pops out between clouds and the lake seems at ease. But UVM postdoctoral scientist Bianca Possamai has brought a team here for the day to collect water samples to better understand what’s happening beneath the surface—where a gigantic rogue wave roars north and south, overtopping mountains.
One of the most powerful and little-known features of Lake Champlain (as well as other lakes and parts of the ocean), the wave is called a seiche (pronounced “say-sh”). It begins with wind. If it blows hard enough, long enough, water will literally pile up at the downwind end of the lake—usually just a few inches but sometimes a foot or more. Then the wind abates, and, like a sloshed bathtub, the water will rock back and forth along the length of the lake. This “surface seiche” on Lake Champlain takes about four hours to complete the journey. But far more powerful is
what happens below the surface, especially during the summer. There, an “internal seiche” develops. As the wind piles surface water up at one end, the line between this sun-warmed water on the top of the lake and the cold water underneath—a sharp boundary called the thermocline—tips away from the direction of the wind. The dense, cold water piles up on the opposite end of the lake. Now these divided layers of water—like two huge, stacked slabs sliding on grease—rock back and forth along the teetertottering thermocline, creating a gigantic wave that runs from one end of the lake to the other. This invisible current takes one to three days to travel the full length of Champlain, moving water and nutrients as it goes— and then it sloshes back in the other direction.
Possamai, a Brazilian who trained as an oceanographer and now collaborates with Marsden and Stockwell, wants to know what this current is doing—particularly when it hits underwater mountains, like Schuyler Reef. In the ocean, deep currents run into steep mountains, called seamounts. With nowhere else to go, these currents are forced to the surface, bringing nutrients up from the cold depths into the sunlit layers—and making seamounts into biological hotspots, where plankton can grow and many species feed, reproduce, and find refuge in the middle of the ocean. Possamai thinks something similar may be at work in Lake Champlain.
That’s why she’s about to lower a $200,000 tool, called a rosette sampler, into deep water on the edge of Schuyler Reef. A metal ring with 23 remotely controlled bottles, the rosette will plunge 200 feet to the bottom and then come slowly back up, collecting water samples at numerous depths, guided by Possamai in the Marcelle’s onboard lab.
“Schuyler East?” says Taylor Resnick, the captain of Marcelle. “Yes, East, good,” says Possamai. About an hour later, Possamai, visiting scientist Renan Machado, and Ph.D. student Anna Schmidt intently watch a graph of temperature and depth data coming up from the rosette. Possamai clicks a mouse each time she wants one of the bottles to close. As the device approaches 90 feet, the temperature spikes from about 40 degrees Fahrenheit to the low 70s just 30 feet later. The rosette is passing through the thermocline. Soon, Sam Nieder ’25 and Silva Sundberg are easing the rosette back onto the boat and the team gets to work taking water samples from each bottle into the boat’s lab to filter, measure, and prepare for tests of plankton and nutrients.
Possamai has identified Schuyler Reef as one of several “lakemounts,” as she calls them: very steep mini-mountains that rise from the bottom of the lake—which can be more than 300 feet deep—to a pinnacle just below the surface. “You can take an
WE INTRODUCED THEM TO
A SYSTEM IN WHICH THEY DID NOT APPEAR NATURALLY. AND THEY HAVE ALTERED THE SYSTEM.
oar and touch bottom here,” says Captain Resnick. “It's pretty weird.” Possamai thinks that the seiche may bring enough nutrients up from below to make these lakemounts into biological hotspots and fish nurseries in the middle of the lake. They might even be unknown spawning sites for lake trout.
But nobody knows, since the ecology of lakemounts is almost entirely unstudied.
“We’re trying to see if lakemounts really do have a lot of production going, especially at the end of the summer, when the other shallow waters in the lake may have already used up their nutrients,” she says. If that’s true here on Lake Champlain and in other waters, lakemounts and their ecosystems will be important to protect. The team hasn’t found any spawning lake trout yet, but they have found lots of other critters, including arthropods that are normally only found in near-shore waters.
The first fish evolved about 530 million years ago during the planet’s great diversification of complex life, the Cambrian Explosion. By about 415 million years ago, some fish had made their way into fresh water. Lake trout are believed to have diverged from other fish species in the Salvelinus group around two or three million years ago, probably as a result of the surging and retreating of glaciers during the last Ice Age. Numerous populations and strains of lake trout have been scattered across northern terrain for untold millennia, becoming exquisitely at home in their own lakes.
There’s evidence that paleo-hunters were eating lake trout from Lake Champlain 10,000 years ago. But the trout that are now swimming in Lake Champlain do not have a long history here. Their genetics comes from other places, including Seneca Lake in upstate New York and mixed lineages from the hatchery. “We've
set out with a goal to restore a lake trout population, like the one that was here,” says Stephen Smith G’06, one of Marsden’s (many) former graduate students, and now a fish biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Essex, Vt., who works on lake health and lamprey control. “Now, it's not the same fish exactly, because those are gone, but it's as close as we can get.”
What, then, should we think about the unclipped trout that Marsden’s students caught? In some obvious and encouraging ways, they’re making it work: reproducing, feeding on alewife, doing their job as apex predators in a complex food web. They’re back, and the restoration of native species is cause for celebration, even if the genetics of these fish come from afar—and the lake to which they have been returned has many species in it that weren’t there in 1900. And what of alewife? Ellen Marsden says that alewife will never be native in Lake Champlain. “We introduced them to a system in which they did not appear naturally,” she says, “and they have altered the system.” David Quammen’s warning in 1998, that Earth is fast becoming a planet of weeds, grows only more urgent as humans transport species on ships and planes every which way. And yet alewife are in Lake Champlain and don’t seem likely to go away. Lake trout may now depend on them. “We are re-creating ecosystems wholesale,” Marsden says. “What do we call them in a thousand years when half the native species are extinct and half of the self-sustaining species are non-native?” There are so many questions that a case can be made for this answer: slow down and stare in wonder into the black water from which sprang the tangled, quicksilver heap that is life.
Post-doctoral research scientist Bianca Possamai has studied seamounts in the ocean. These submerged mountains rise near the sunlit surface, making a home for many plants and animals. Now she’s turned her attention to the middle of Lake Champlain, wondering if the same might be true of “lakemounts,” pinnacles that rise from the bottom, where shallowwater animals may thrive—perhaps including juvenile lake trout.
The carceral system is in crisis, a fact known and felt every day by both prisoners and the people who watch over them.
Two UVM researchers have spent years trying to better understand and change the system.
STORY BY KRISTEN MUNSON PHOTOS BY CHRIS DISSINGER
On a blustery morning in November, Kathy Fox steers her car through snow squalls to the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield, Vt. She and her co-pilot, Abigail Crocker, wear matching green t-shirts with the words “University of Vermont Justice Research Initiative” across the front. They wear them every time they visit the 370-bed prison.
“Everybody knows there is a problem with our carceral system, but no one knows why because it’s such a black box,” Crocker says from the passenger seat.
The two UVM professors have spent the last five years trying to crack that box open. They are part of a transformation effort funded by the Urban Institute to improve prison conditions and test innovations in reform through partnerships with corrections departments in five states, including Vermont. The project, the Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN), began in 2019 as Crocker, a biostatistician, and Fox, professor emeritus of sociology, worked with incarcerated individuals and corrections staff to create a series of annual surveys piloted at the Southern Facility that would serve as the backbone for spurring change.
“This is how change happens—grounded in the voices of the people it is supposed to impact,” Crocker says. “We want justice reform in a data-driven way.”
And there is a lot that warrants changing.
Early PRIN surveys showed low morale among staff, most of whom flag high turnover rates,
staffing shortages, and mandatory overtime as issues. Staff also reported concerns about inmates having too much idle time. And while over 80 percent of corrections staff say that prison should help people make changes to have a better life, about half say the prison doesn’t help incarcerated individuals develop the skills they need to exist on the outside, and most believe the prison doesn’t adequately prepare inmates for release. Surveys of incarcerated individuals echoed these sentiments. Additionally, over 80 percent of inmates say they don’t have many opportunities to be productive or feel proud.
When developing the PRIN surveys, Crocker included Adverse Childhood Experience Scores (ACES), a measure from a landmark public health study in the 1990s that found the more traumatic life events a person accumulates in childhood, the more likely they are to experience depression, substance abuse, or premature death. PRIN surveys have repeatedly found about 40 percent of inmates had a previously incarcerated parent, and ACES scores of four and higher—significantly more than the general population.
Crocker likens prison reform to the changes made possible in healthcare using analytics. But data is transformative once we understand the measures that matter and why—something the PRIN team is still trying to pinpoint.
“People are frustrated because nothing has changed,” Crocker says. “We are in it for the long game now.”
RELICS OF A DIFFERENT ERA
Isaac Dayno sees pathways for improvement. After serving as a National Health Corps fellow where he worked with indigent and formerly incarcerated populations— many with drug problems—he viewed prisons as a place where public health and vulnerable populations intersect. Dayno, executive director of policy and strategic initiatives for the Vermont Department of Corrections, knew change would be hard, but he didn’t realize so many barriers existed.
Corrections may want to change, but often finds itself fighting itself, he says while seated in the lobby of Vermont’s Agency of Human Services.
“
REALLY OUR MISSION IS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE IN A STATE OF CRISIS WITH TRANSFORMATION
Consider the prison architecture: They are relics of a different era. Most buildings were not constructed with rehabilitation in mind, Dayno explains. “CRCF was built as a detention center; it was not ever meant for long-term housing.”
That means facilities have few conference rooms and expanding rehabilitative programming is constrained by physical spaces that make even tiny changes complicated. For instance: towel hooks. Inmates at SSCF told PRIN’s innovation committee, a group of corrections staff and incarcerated individuals, that they wanted to keep wet towels and jackets off the ground. But renovating the cells with hooks that meet safety standards was exorbitantly expensive. Improving disruptions to healthcare has similar head-smacking challenges.
“Prisons were designed to separate inmates from the general population,” Dayno notes. “That includes receiving services like Medicaid.”
People on Medicaid before incarceration may no longer be eligible for certain medications or treatments in prison. While the department lobbied Vermont’s congressional delegation to support the 2023 Re-Entry Act to improve Medicaid access and allow greater continuity of care for incarcerated people nearing release, the bill is stuck in a congressional committee. But progress is being made to close these gaps. In July, Vermont was one of five states awarded a waiver from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to enroll incarcerated individuals in Medicaid 90 days prior to their release.
“You’re always fighting an uphill battle,” Dayno explains. “But what we are trying to do in Vermont and nationally is novel. Obviously, we serve a basic security public safety role. That is the baseline. Really our mission is to help people who are in a state of crisis with transformation.”
That is why the department signed onto PRIN. It was an opportunity to use data as a guide to improvement.
“Vermont is a state that prides itself in its progressive thinking and at DOC we want to be a leader in forward thinking,” Dayno says.
The early PRIN surveys identified issues that Vermont’s corrections can fix, such as investment in career development and appreciation for staff input. The 2024 final PRIN survey released in August showed upticks in these areas—a sign these efforts are working.
Crocker and Fox view prison as an ecosystem. In theory, as positive changes occur at the staffing level, they should ripple into the incarcerated population. But a 17 percent vacancy rate for corrections staff makes moving that needle especially difficult. Staff may want inmates to participate in more activities during the day, but staffing shortages mean nice-to-haves get shelved when people are needed on the floor for security—the department’s primary responsibility.
In short, Vermont’s corrections department does the job it was mandated to do. It just may not be the job incarcerated people need to thrive when they leave. Because corrections is not college, a job training center, or counseling facility—even if reform advocates wish otherwise.
Data from PRIN surveys is also why corrections is trying to increase involvement with community partners like Turning Point of Rutland “to bridge the historical gaps,” Dayno says.
Nearly two-thirds of Vermont inmates receive medication-assisted treatment for opioid abuse and most need to continue receiving it upon release. Since 2016, Turning Point has brought recovery services to incarcerated individuals at the Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Rutland through group meetings and one-on-one coaching. The Department of Corrections was recently awarded $1.5 million by Vermont lawmakers to expand similar programs across other state prisons. The hope is that by building trust with people inside, they will have somewhere to go to buoy them in difficult times upon release. (The National Center on Restorative Justice, where UVM is a partnering agency, and Crocker serves as research director, has funded Turning Point to lead training efforts).
When Dayno considers highlights of PRIN he points to the honors units created at SSCF and Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility—special units where inmates hold
each other accountable for their behavior and track their own whereabouts in the facility. The honors unit was created as an opportunity for incarcerated individuals to feel good about themselves and add responsibility back into their daily lives without officers watching their every move.
“These folks have developed a really amazing social contract,” Dayno says.
“But PRIN has not been a universal success,” he continues. “It’s very difficult to give folks who are incarcerated agency.”
It’s not how prisons were designed.
CRACKING THE BLACK BOX
Kathy Fox became committed to rethinking prisons after studying corrections programs in Vermont. Until her retirement in May, she headed UVM’s Liberal Arts in Prison Program, which brings students inside prisons to work with incarcerated populations.
“I saw a lot of human potential that was wasted,” she says. “People in the community have no idea what they are like. It is hours and hours of idle time. Everybody needs a sense of purpose, and it is very difficult to find a sense of purpose when you are incarcerated. I don’t know how they do it.”
By “it” she means – how they live there. Imagine a better future—particularly when the centerpiece of your room is the toilet you share with a roommate. When the highlight of your week is a brief visit with family or your attorney.
Advocates for prison reform often cite Scandinavian models that try to replicate life on the outside as much as possible, explains Fox. “American prisons are very much focused on safety and security and that is how we measure our success. Prisons right now warehouse people.”
They don’t, by design, transform them.
With PRIN, Crocker and Fox were excited for the opportunity to investigate a system that has historically been difficult for researchers to get inside. With PRIN they could “crack that black box” wide open. But what they found was a complicated system already stretched
thin. One where many workers inside feel as though they are also doing time. But how do you change an entire system when the public can’t agree what prison is even for?
And who has the time to transform a system with chronic staff shortages and an incarcerated population plagued with broken childhoods? The effort can feel Sisyphean. But flickers of changes have been made. There are new coffeemakers for staff and Shutterfly accounts for incarcerated individuals, Fox says. But is transformative change really about coffee? Or does change start with a cup of joe?
Our first stop inside SSCF is Good Spirits Café—a coffee shop run by inmates that started in 2022 as an innovation spurred from PRIN surveys results. It made headlines when it opened as a humanizing experience where corrections staff and incarcerated individuals can gather in the same space on more level ground. Anthony “Gio” Giordano, the facility’s volunteer service coordinator, leads us to the café where inmates swap coffee cards issued for good behavior for hot beverages and pastries.
We wanted to get creative about how staff and inmates engage with each other, Giordano explains. “It’s something we all share.”
Perry explains how the café reminds people of a time before prison when they didn’t feel a need to put up walls, he says. “To remember a time when they weren’t antisocial. … It gives people an incentive to grow.”
We finish our coffees and head to the honors unit. It consists of two floors of cells with metal slabs for beds, one window about 15 inches wide and covered in metal wire. Three men assemble a flower puzzle on one of five tables bolted to the concrete floor.
One incarcerated individual, Jeremy, works in the café and is worried that people on the outside don’t know about the honors unit. He knows it was in the news a year ago but has probably faded from people’s minds.
“That’s how things go away,” he says.
Jeremy emphasizes that even without officers peering over their shoulders the inmates haven’t had conflicts they weren’t able to resolve. He is proud of the unit. And while he doesn’t expect legislators to prioritize the needs of incarcerated people, he doesn’t want them to be forgotten.
“It’s not like we can drive up to the State House and have coffee with them,” Jeremy says. “They can come here and have coffee with us.”
When he looks around at his cellmates, he considers what they need to thrive on the outside.
“Education is a key and self-esteem is a key,” he says.
Jeremy sees opportunities for inmates to learn needed trade skills and know they can do something important, he says. “They need someone to look up to. Someone they can trust, and have their self-esteem built back up.”
The Southern State Correctional Facility in Vermont is a pilot site for a multi-state prison transformation effort funded by the Urban Institute involving a partnership between corrections staff and UVM researchers.
Good Spirits Café creates a sliver of normalcy in prison and aims to both reinforce positive behavior and provide work experience for inmates running the business. One incarcerated individual, Perry, serves as general manager, and is convinced it’s working. He just doesn’t have the numbers to prove it.
“It really is an incentive for good behavior, and you see that,” he says.
Being in prison doesn’t exactly make you feel good about yourself. But in the honors unit, incarcerated individuals can put down their guard knowing no one wants to ruin it for everyone else.
“I feel safer in here than I do anywhere,” he says.
“STUCK ON A SHELF”
Giordano leads us to a meeting with the prison’s innovation committee, of which he is a member. He pauses to let a group of inmates walk outside from the cafeteria. Giordano gives off the no-nonsense air one might expect from someone with over 16 years of experience in corrections. One who has been attacked and had feces thrown on him. But Giordano thinks about things like assembling baskets of supplies for incarcerated individuals who have less than $10 in their commissary accounts.
Giordano appears to be someone who sees things for what they are and what they could be. He has witnessed promising ideas get shot down for “security” reasons.
“Anything can become a weapon,” he says. “The answer doesn’t always have to be no.”
Over the years Giordano has also watched incarcerated individuals come and go and sometimes return. When someone is leaving “I hope that they will follow through on the things they tell me when coming out the door,” he says.
We step outside to the stinging cold. A line of inmates in bright orange hats and coats walk in circles around the perimeter of metal fencing looped with razor wire, getting nowhere.
Giordano steers us to a conference room with a circle of black plastic chairs, a cross on the wall, and a mural of the Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland in the background. Once the inmates arrive the question of what innovation means surfaces.
For one individual, Tyler, it means—”to get the ball rolling,” he says.
It means graduating to higher levels of personal accountability and could begin with something simple, like doing your own laundry.
“Just getting up and having a job every day,” Tyler says. “When people have nothing to do, a lot of people want to get high.” As someone who has suffered from addiction in the past, he understands this feeling. “When I think about innovation it’s opportunities to motivate and to build, not just be lost in the paperwork, lost in the facility somewhere stuck on a shelf.”
An older inmate wearing black orthopedic shoes is frustrated with the slow progress of the
ARGUING FOR CHANGE
UVM Debaters Help Inmates Build Skills for Life on the Outside
The Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility is located on a quiet street in South Burlington, across from a cryogenic spa and a bakery with carefully decorated sugar cookies. The University of Vermont campus is just two miles away but may as well be in a different universe. That’s one reason UVM first-year student Gavin Alberts is here on a rainy afternoon in May— to teach inmates debate skills they can use as they transition back to their communities.
“Debate is not just this thing we do on weekends,” he says before stepping through a metal detector. “It has a real impact on people.”
Two weeks earlier he teamed up with two inmates in a debate against UVM students over whether or not neurodivergent students should attend specialized or public schools—a topic selected by the CRCF debaters. (The inmates beat the UVM team.) This afternoon’s meeting is to debrief the event and select topics for the next iteration of the class.
The SPEAK Prison Debate Initiative was founded in 2014 by Jessica Bullock ’12 while attending Vermont Law School. She contacted Alfred “Tuna” Snider, her former coach at Lawrence Debate Union (LDU), about partnering on a program teaching inmates advocacy and public speaking skills. The goal is to help people find their voices. And it’s something Bullock understands intimately from her time as a LDU debater. She remembers “blushing furiously” through her first debate speech at UVM. “I can still remember the anxiety that I felt about getting up in front of folks to give a speech for the first time,” she says. “I worried, ‘What if I make a mistake? What if I don’t express myself clearly?’”
“Education is such a powerful tool, and providing folks with greater access to classrooms and the skills to represent themselves is critical. We try to create that type of environment through SPEAK. As ‘Tuna’ Snider used to say, ‘The answer is more debate.’”
SPEAK partners with the university’s Liberal Arts in Prison program in which students participate in classes with inmates at CRCF. It was thriving before COVID-19, but the pandemic disrupted programming. Last year was the first time UVM students were back inside the prison. Justin Morgan-Parmett, a faculty member in the English department and co-director of the LDU, is working to create a yearround SPEAK program at CRCF.
“They are a population in the United States that we make so many assumptions about,” he says. “Most people don’t get a chance to interact with them. You don’t just wander into a facility.”
That is, unless you have a loved one inside, work for the Department of Corrections, or a class or volunteer experience brings you into a prison, he explains. Being inside can initially be unsettling for students. The windowless rooms. The jarring sound of the doors locking behind you. But interacting with inmates, students are reminded that, “they are still people,” Morgan-Parmett says. “And they still have humanity.”
An inmate named G (full name protected for privacy), who uses he/him pronouns, arrives with flair, wearing a bright green t-shirt, wide smile, and cackling as he introduces a friend—Ashley—who he wants to convince to join the debate team.
“You don’t need any training to be able to argue with people,” Morgan-Parmett reassures Ashley as they sit at a long wooden conference table.
G wheels over a whiteboard to take notes about future debate topics. He came with a list of ideas—should minors be prescribed opiates by doctors? Should college education be free? Is it ethical to test products on animals? He reflects on the recent competition that his team won and admits it was nerve wracking, and hard not to read from his notes in front of the judges.
“Having a conversation with you is one thing,” G says. “That is different.”
“I wish I could have gone off script more,” G says, adding that he wanted to tell more of his story.
Morgan-Parmett tells the group they should feel free to tell their stories, particularly when it’s relevant to the argument.
One wall of the room is painted with profiles of famous women including Rosa Parks, Harper Lee, JK Rowling, Susan B. Anthony, and Eleanor Roosevelt. A sheet of paper with SPEAK norms lines another: Respect different ideas/perspectives; No interrupting; You don’t have to participate; Listen to each other; Have fun; Debate ideas, not people; and Assume positive intent.
Class concludes with a speed debate over the question ‘is it better to be feared or loved?’
G takes the side of feared and Ashley picks loved, and both begin jotting down a few notes.
G points to Darth Vader. He isn’t a beloved figure. But he is the most feared and respected, he says. If you are feared, you could have the confidence to do what you believe in. “When you are loved, you fear losing it.”
Ashley, eyes downcast, counters softly. “When people see that you care, you are respected,” she says. “Not when you are feared.”
“
IF YOU IGNORE OUR PROBLEMS THEN THEY BECOME BIGGER
innovation committee. He says the idea of the PRIN project has been noble but argues the committee has “accomplished zero.” He points to the difficulty of being an incarcerated person and going back to your unit to people who expect changes that don’t come.
“We do answer to some people,” he says. They want to know “what are you doing with PRIN? The inmates in this room can’t a do a thing without someone driving the truck.”
A man named Richard steps in. His glasses and a small notebook are tucked in the breast pocket of his shirt. He serves as a mentor to other incarcerated individuals and has been involved with PRIN since the beginning. Richard argues that some changes need to happen at the legislative level. He believes the public needs to determine what they want from corrections. Right now, their mandate is to keep people inside safe, he says.
it can take a while to stabilize them, he says. And often the solution is putting them on what they were on before.
“If you ignore our problems then they become bigger,” Christian says.
He is talking about healthcare. But it feels like a metaphor for the entire carceral system.
‘A LOT TO CELEBRATE’
One hot July morning, members of PRIN’s executive team—a mix of corrections personnel, nonprofit and government agency leads, Vermont legislators, and UVM’s research team—sit in Commissioner Nicholas Deml’s office to review the final round of survey results. A wooden block etched with the words “hard things are hard” rests on a table. It seems a fitting description for the last five years of work.
Kathy Fox (center) and Abby Crocker (right) view corrections staff and incarcerated people as part of an ecosystem where changes in one group are reflected in the other.
But when he considers the inmates who fail to succeed on the outside, he believes Vermonters need to reassess what we are trying to accomplish. If the main job of DOC is warehousing people, Richard says, “then the taxpayer is being robbed. I was a taxpayer for a lot of years. People have no idea how money is being spent. … We need DOC to be in the socializing business.”
An inmate named Christian voices his concerns about healthcare in the prison. People come in with medical issues they are treated for on the outside but get dosed down or their meds changed, and
“I think there is a lot to celebrate collectively,” says Jesse Jannetta, senior policy fellow in the Justice Policy Center at the Urban Institute from across a video screen. “No way was it assumed that we would have so much participation of inmates and staff.”
Highlights of Vermont’s portion of the multistate study comes from the high completion rates of surveys—likely a function of the community-engaged research methods that centered the voices of those being studied— and the independence of the research team.
“The data has to mean something,” Jannetta
says, praising corrections for supporting “the integrity and the independence of the research. … You are going to see a lot critical and painful stuff, but the willingness to have that data be out [there] was a strength.”
Both Crocker and DOC leadership aim to take the surveys statewide—not just at the SSCF pilot site.
“The point of these data were to identify issues inside the facilities and use that for action,” Crocker says as she presents the findings.
“There hasn’t been a lot of change since 2021. It highlights to us … it’s hard to do change.”
While the data shows improvements since 2021, the primary staffing issues remain problematic: staffing shortages, employee turnover, and mandatory overtime. It’s possible the department is returning to a baseline before the COVID-19 pandemic, when issues of concern were amplified.
“For effective solutions we need to understand the why,” Crocker says. “You are seeing shifts in the right direction.”
The long shadow of COVID bears out in the data. The 2022 surveys show the highest rates of mental health issues for staff, when suicidal ideation jumped from 10 percent in 2021 to 30 percent before falling to 26 percent in 2024.
“Corrections staff have worse mental health outcomes than firefighters and police,” Fox says. “It’s a problem—a genuine one—that I think needs to be addressed about what it is that makes it worse for correctional staff.”
Surveys of incarcerated individuals are no better. Inmates suffer even higher rates of suicidal ideation. They also continue to flag concerns over preparation for release. Michael Groner, a case worker at SSCF, describes the difficulty of getting inmates connected to community groups prior to their release.
“We have to get these resources into the facilities,” he says, identifying Turning Point in Rutland as a model for other groups.
Groner has worked in corrections long enough to see what happens when people are not prepared for life outside. They go from having little autonomy to having a laundry list of people they need to cold call
and appointments to make or face penalties. People from the community need to meet incarcerated individuals beforehand and let them know they expect to hear from them.
“It’s overwhelming,” Groner says. “They circle the drains so to speak. That is not a recipe for success.”
With PRIN winding down at the end of the year, Deml aims to continue the work indefinitely through a partnership with UVM to continue conducting research in Vermont correctional facilities. PRIN has shown “maybe not be design, but by accident,” the power of having a group from outside think about problems and solutions, he says. “The throughline is the research. There is an anchor to the work that … gives the committee something to focus on. The PRIN model is proactive.”
The team met once more in October to develop a plan for the PRIN executive team’s work to continue after the study concludes.
“We do look at this as a brain trust we can tap into and rely on,” Deml says.
It’s also a signal of the department’s commitment to make positive changes.
“We all appreciate the humanity of the incarcerated and the need to improve things,” says Karen Tronsgard-Scott, executive director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and a member of the executive team. “Being incarcerated is the punishment. And there is no need to punish the people who work in it. For me, that is the pivot. It shows us how to work for something you want, not fighting against.”
“
FOR EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE WHY
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Heather Anne Logan Weiler ’75 reports that her mom, Peggy Logan, is living in Harpswell, Maine, with family. She is still doing some gardening and reading. The solar eclipse in April was a highlight as the last one was when Peggy was a young girl in Burlington.
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47
Send your news to –Mrs. Louise Jordan Harper louisejordanharper@gmail.com
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Eileen Charbonneau shared the sad news that her mother, Barbara J. Beecher Charbonneau, passed away in December 2023. She had earned a bachelor's of education.
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Jane Nathalie Atwood Barlow ’s daughter shared the sad news of her January 2024 passing. Born in Burlington, Jane earned a Ph.D. at Cornell and became an archaeologist, publishing professional papers and editing four books. Her field was early Bronze Age Cypriot pottery. Her sister, Susan A Day ’53, died in 2020. She is survived by her three children, four grandchildren, and her sister, Martha A Pike ’51
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50
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51
The Rev. James Frink died on July 24, 2024; he was an ordained Episcopal priest for 65 years, serving in Rhode Island. He is survived by his wife, Caryl, and their two children. Betty (L. Elizabeth Simms) McMahon writes about her time on campus, and life since: “I dropped out to have a baby after my junior year and completed my credits to graduate by going to the Uni -
LIFE BEYOND GRADUATION
versity of Maryland in 1984 when I was working as an executive director of a non-profit in Bethesda. I also had participated in the trip to Europe to study the Marshall Plan in the summer of 1948, and if anyone remembers going too, I would love to hear from them, or any of my classmates. I am still in my home in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. My husband, Edmund (Mickey) McMahon, M.D. ’54 passed away in 2020. We had been happily married for 72 years. I continue to fly to visit my five daughters, and play duplicate bridge.”
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Jay Anania reports that his father, Edward Patrick Anania, passed away in March 2024, just before his 96th birthday. Edward was a lifelong athlete who lettered in football while at UVM. Jay reflected: “Consistent with so many of his generation of children of the Great Depression, he remained stoic until the end, never complaining about the indignities sometimes associated with old age. He and his wife, Joan, made friends wherever they went, and while they outlived most of their dearest companions they will be remembered fondly by many, including children Dale, Jill, and Dale Anania.” Jane Durie passed away peacefully in February 2024. Her family says, “She loved her years at UVM and kept in touch with her Theta sisters all of her life.”
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We received the sad news that Ann Shuster Dix died in February 2024 in Bluffton, S.C.
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54
Mary Anne Bearse ’80 shared the sad news that Elizabeth Peach Allebach has passed away. Charles Norman Perkins writes: “Life is still going good for both my wife, Jann, and me. We travel a lot and we just returned from a trip to Alaska. Our son works in Juneau as a bush pilot. Our daughter Peg Rieley
’89, and son-in-law Scott Rieley ’85 live in Williston, all UVM graduates. Our four grandchildren Max, Bella Rieley ’24, Micah, and Mira are all doing well. Even at our advanced ages of 92 for me and 87 for Jann, we are both working every day managing our properties and traveling as much as we can. As the saying goes, we are doing as much as we can with what we have to do with.” Vera (Saville) Thompson reports that she and husband, Jim Thompson, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on July 3, 2024. “We met after a football game in 1953 at my Alpha Chi Omega sorority at UVM. Jim was a pilot in the 37th FIS stationed at Ethan Allen AFB. I made my own wedding dress in my home economics class and got an A in the course. Sadly, too many in my class have passed on.”
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
Class Secretary Jane Battles shared the news of a message sent from Claire Cronin Johnson ’83 to let us know that her dad, James F. Cronin, passed away in December 2023 with Mary J. Towne Cronin ’57, his beloved wife of 68 years, at his side. While attending UVM he was active as a Delta Psi brother (president during his senior year) and ROTC. Following his graduation, Jim began a successful 50-plus-year career in the insurance business. He was an amazing husband, father, grandfather, uncle, role model, and friend. He is missed by his wife, his five children, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. Jane also heard from Marilyn Stern Dukoff, who wrote in to say, “Hi to All! I am in New York City. My good news is that I have a 1-year-old great-granddaughter! I also had a wonderful celebration: I celebrated my 90th birthday. Our fellow alumni/my New York friend, Mary Sue Rothenberg Harkavy ’56, was with me for the celebration. Let’s have some happy occasions!” Co-Class Secretary Hal Lee Greenfader writes:”From out of the blue - I had not thought about his deadly hook shot (old basketball term)– in over sixty years, until one day in July, when Nat (Hook Shot) Campana ’54 phoned me, his old UVM basketball teammate, just to say hello. He saw my name in Class Notes. We caught up for a while and shared what memories remain after a half-century plus. It was a great moment…a teach -
ing moment. What’s important is to stay in touch with old classmates as far and as long as you can. Chances are there will be bolts from the blue for you too; and they can be very satisfying.”
Send your news to –Ms. Jane Morrison Battles janebattles@yahoo.com or Mr. Hal Lee Greenfader halisco7@gmail.com
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Debbie Aikman wrote to let us know that Donald Aikman, her husband of 62 years, passed away in June 2024 at home in Chatham, Mass. We also received the sad news that Rosemarie E. Borges, who was a sorority sister while at UVM, passed away in April 2024.
Send your news to –Ms. Jane K. Stickney stickneyjane@gmail.com
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Jessica Doe Terrill wonders, “How many others of our 1957 nursing class are still around? There were 26 of us at graduation in January 1957.” Earl H. Tesch's daughter shared the sad news that he had died in March 2024. Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
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Danny Craig Bianca writes, “I have no idea where any of my former classmates are located but I’ve been living here in La Quinta, Calif., (next to Palm Springs) since I retired from United Airlines. After 40 years of military and airline flying, it’s nice to sleep in my own bed every night. Actually, we do a lot of traveling in the summer months as it gets a bit hot here from May through September.” He mentions that the area set a new temperature record at 124 degrees, and wrote that he was looking forward to a summer getaway cruise from Norway to Italy– an 88-year birthday present. He says, “Life is good! My best to all my former classmates and to my fellow football teammates.” Mary Bohmer Ward's husband Daniel let us know in April 2024 that, sadly, Mary had passed away. Steve S. Rozen says, “How about some notes? I know we are ancient, but I for one would like to hear about you . I am sure that I am not alone in this request!” Arthur S. Tauber ’58 is still CEO of Avanti Linens and says it’s his 55th year living in BallenIslles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens. He says Sandy is great and they just celebrated their 64th anniversary. He tells us to, “SAY HI TO ALL!”
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
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Martha Page Beach wrote as she was “still in hospital but making progress.” She said her family was continuing to visit and she hoped to be able to visit campus and her hometown of Hyde Park. Cary Ericson is still in senior living in Connecticut but was considering moving out of her cottage to an apartment because she was no longer driving and wanted to access activities in her community’s main building. Laura Peterson Keeton wrote to share the sad
news that her husband, Robert T Keeton, Jr. J.D., died in February 2024. He attended UVM summer school in '58, '59. The two were married in 1959, and she still lives in Bruceton, Tenn. We were sadly notified that Judge Edward J. Rockett passed away in January 2024.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
We received the sad news that Emile Coulon passed away in March 2024. His family shares that he absolutely loved UVM and cherished the lifelong friends he made during his time there. He is survived by his wife, Beverly, and daughters Amanda Coulon ’99 and Claudine Coulon. Virginia Gleason Crocker writes, “I have spent most of my post-UVM years living in Massachusetts, though I did a two-year stint in the Peace Corps in Chile with my family in the early ‘70s. I have two daughters, Valerie Marian Day ’84 and Jennifer Crockett Murray ’88. I currently live with my partner, Richard, with whom I share a love of travel.” In fall 2023 the two joined a UVM alumni group on a trip to France and wrote that they were looking forward to a trip to Glacier National Park. Michael H. Freedman shared that he and Iris Steinert have celebrated their 63rd anniversary, saying, “We are both well, with two married daughters, their spouses and six grandsons. We live on White Meadow Lake in N.J.” Brian C Harwood writes that he and his wife Janet Savageau Harwood ’77 moved to South Burlington 10 years ago, and he is now engaged with the UVM Medical Center as a patient family advisor. He says, “Offering the patient's point of view has been especially rewarding for me. I hope it has helped shape healthcare as well.” Janet is a member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization - PEO - Burlington. Judith Gerber Hammond writes that she is living in Columbia, S.C., and would love to hear from any classmates near or far. Her brother Andrew Gerber ’54 also attended UVM, and she is very much enjoying reading UVM publications, which bring “such great memories.” Andy Cook ’84 shared the sad news that Josie Emlin Cook passed away in June 2024 in State College, Penn. Andy shares, “Besides being the mother of a UVM graduate, she was the wife of Stuart D. (Stu) Cook, M.D.’62 ,” mother-in-law to Marcia Gezelter Cook ’82 , mother to Peter and Jonathan, and grandmother to four grandchildren. Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
Class Secretary Steve Berry sends news from his Burlington High School classmate and Delta Psi fraternity brother Jim McCarthy: “Paula and I moved into the valley here in Durango, Colo. We had been a thousand feet higher. Very good weather and we have yet to use our air conditioner. Ian, our son, is attending the University of Colorado at Boulder. He had ACL replacement on one leg while playing lacrosse last year and the other leg this year while skiing. Yow! I contracted shingles a few weeks ago and am slowly dealing with it. I don’t know what UVM is doing in the area
of fair treatment to all, but I hope they are continuing with a strong commitment to equal treatment for all.” Steve also passed along Roger Zimmerman’s report that his daughter Heather “graduated from Law School, and is working for the local ACLU in Portland, Maine. She is involved with attempts to stop the criminalization of the homeless. Next year, she'll be clerking for a federal judge in Colorado. My spouse, Lynne, has created a lovely garden, and we are now harvesting some cucumbers, letting peppers turn red, and awaiting the arrival of tomatoes. Looks like I lost about half the fruit trees in my small orchard following wet winter storms. Lynne recently hiked, with Heather, the tough Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire. I'm dealing with shingles, and, nevertheless, continuing to train in cycling for the Maine Senior Games, a qualifier for the Nationals. Two weeks ago, I qualified for track in four events. Best to all.” Steve also passed along notes from Paul Murphy and Bob Goldman: “Many years ago we reported that Paul’s daughter Megan and Bob’s son Michael met while working in a restaurant in Portland, Maine. This was a remarkable coincidence, given that we had not seen each other for over 35 years following our graduation in 1961. Megan and Michael have just celebrated their 20th anniversary. We are delighted to report that their first son, and our grandson, Liam, will become a freshman at UVM in September. Liam is a wonderful young man who will major in music, sound engineering, and Chinese. To say the least we are very proud that Liam will be following in his grandfathers’ footsteps. We have suggested that he might enjoy one of our favorite treats, a hot fudge sundae at the Dairy Bar.” Jamie Jacobs writes: “Jean Pillsbury Jacobs '62 and I are just back from a fly-fishing trip to New Mexico and Colorado. Took our two sons and their spouses to South Africa in April for photographic safaris. We had to wait to check in at the Simbavati River Lodge until the herd of elephants in the driveway moved on. At the Tintswalo Manor House we were treated to two wild dog hunts, quite a rarity. We have a combo safari/fly fishing trip to Botswana scheduled for September. We feel truly blessed and wish the same for all our former classmates.”
Send your news to –
Mr. Stephen L. Berry steveberrydhs@gmail.com
Dick Aldinger and his wife, Janet, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in June 2024 while on a cruise to Greece,Turkey, and several Adriatic Sea countries. Barbara Dillow Fiddler writes, “Last October we purchased a condo in Stockbridge, Mass., and I have moved home. I don't particularly recommend a long distance renovation and 18,000 lbs of household goods moved at 83, but it’s what I did Husband, Dick Mahoney, and 2-year-old Jack Russell terrier Jessie are with me on this adventure.” Jules Older has a new kids book, “Special Ed and the White Force.” Jules and Effin Lawes Older ’64 say “Kia ora a Aotearoa. (greetings from New Zealand) and report they continue making mini-movies (which the rest of the world calls ‘videos’). Three recent ones you can find on YouTube are “The 21st Century Bigot Test,” “Mill Valley,” and “Ban the Ban.” Jane Perry ’60
| CLASS NOTES
shared the sad news of the passing of her husband, Robert James Perry. Send your news to –Mrs. Patricia Hoskiewicz Allen traileka@aol.com
Class Secretary Toni Mullins writes: “Hello classmates. Although I don’t receive many emails from you anymore, I sure hope you are submitting on your own. I did receive a email from Tom Lang and he writes: ‘Thought I would finally take a moment to update you on myself and first wife Shaun Louise Lang Shaun and I married in Aug of '62 and lived in Richmond, Vt., while I finished my senior year at UVM. At UVM I was a dorm counselor, along with my good friend Frank Bolden Kae Gleason Dakin '63 was a friend of my wife. In my junior year, I became superintendent of transmission and distribution at the Washington Electric Co-op in East Montpelier, a position I held for 19 years before becoming manager of purchasing at Green Mountain Power in Burlington for 13 years, until retirement. During this time, Shaun and I started a choose-and-cut Christmas tree business at my old homestead in Worcester, Vt., where I lived for 10 years of my childhood, and had bought back the property in 1966. The business was quite successful and was sold in 2019, though we still retain a financial and physical interest in it. Shaun died of cancer in 1997. I remarried in 1998 to Judy Larence of Johnston, R.I. Judy was a Bryant University grad with a degree in Economics. Judy and I continued the wreath and centerpiece business, along with her sister, Norma. It, too, was quite successful as we not only sold locally but shipped nationwide. We quit that business in 2021 and are now fully retired.” Toni herself says: “As for me, I’m well, matriarch of my family, and continue to teach Pilates, dance pro/ am international Latin championships, and enjoy the beautiful outdoor experiences that the northern Jersey shoreline gives! Here’s to our health and happiness and enjoy our lives with lots of love and laughter.” Joan Powell Kerzner says: “It's impossible to believe we graduated 61 years ago! I've had my share of scary health challenges but right now I'm A-OK. My husband, Arnold Kerzner, MD ’63, and I live in a wonderful retirement community in N. Andover, Mass., where I have started a quarterly magazine. I love writing and now am challenging my brain to master new skills. I speak regularly with Mary Bunting Decher and we try for bi-coastal visits as often as possible. I visited Phoebe Rodbart Kurtz in Florida last year. Our big news is that granddaughter Elana Kotler ’22 will follow her grandfather and mother, Leslie Susanne Kerzner, MD ’63, and start medical school at UMass this fall. We plan to spend a week in Chautauqua, N.Y., in September feeding our brains and enjoying the area. Life is good!” Sandra Sargent Wells retired after 60 years of teaching and relocated to High Point, N.C. Send your news to –
Dr. Toni Citarella Mullins tonicmullins@verizon.net
Class Secretary Susan Griesenbeck Barber wrote: “from the shores of Lake Champlain once again. Today
was spent at Trader Joe’s in South Burlington on Dorset Street. We were stocking up with our favorite things. For those of you who have not been to Burlington and the University of Vermont for awhile, I will just say it is shocking to see how much building has gone on in the past few years. From the edge of the campus straight through our route to Shelburne on Spear Street, it has blown up with houses, condos, etc. Do you remember Tafts Corners? We met friends at a restaurant for lunch today. Back in the ‘70s there was a fight to keep Walmart from being built. Not only did Walmart get built but now I do not think there is a store known that is not represented there. Many hotels and condos, too. I found it astonishing. If I had not started coming to Burlington in 1960, I might not be shocked. So much has changed in the area and the size of the University of Vermont. Until the next time, stay well and enjoy.” Douglas Tower Barrett wrote that he and wife Sally celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in September and had “our whole family there. Happy times. We are in Jupiter, Fla. and return to Simsbury in May, our routine for many years. I stay in touch with my roommate Jack Nugent . We talk about old war stories and how hard it is to believe 60 years have passed since graduation. Our 11 grandchildren have grown up so fast. Our youngest is 18 and nine have graduated from college, two from UVM. So Sally and I are trying to keep up with all the activities andcelebrations. Congratulations to the Class of ’64 on 60 years. All the best and enjoy every day.” Darrell W. Simino shares, “After 45 years we sold our home and moved to the Briarwood Retirement Community in Worcester, Mass. This is a huge transition but one that is going well and we love it here.”
Send your news to –Mrs. Susan Griesenbeck Barber suebarbersue@gmail.com
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Rose Levy Beranbaum wrote while looking forward to the October publication of her updated and revised cookbook, The Cake Bible, which is in its 60th printing after 35 years. (See page 17.) Robin Roger McKenzie shared the sad news that her mother Susan H. Roger passed away in March 2023. Diane Bourdon Tiezzi wrote to let us know that her grandson Robby Tiezzi was set to enter UVM in fall 2024, and that her granddaughter Maddie Smith graduated from UVM in 2023. After 40 years in Arizona, Regina Ralston and husband Walter Ralston, Ph.D., moved back to Massachusetts and bought a home in Hyannis on the Cape. She says, “It's awesome to be home!”
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
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After 50 years of living in the same house, Walter M. Pressey and Karen moved to the Waterstone retirement home. They miss their house and note that, “it certainly takes some getting used to, but on balance it was the right thing to do and there are a lot of pluses.” Let them know if you’re in the Lexington, Mass., area and they will have you over for dinner. Den (Dennis W.) Linnehan is an avid hiker and photographer, a graduate of the New York Institute
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alumni.uvm.edu/notes
of Photography, a 32-year employee of the Eastman Kodak company and, as a member of the Kodak Travel Club, presented four major shows featuring his travelogue images. He has produced eight photography books, including “Utah Splendor” in 2024.
Send your news to –Mrs. Kathleen Nunan McGuckin kathynmcguckin@gmail.com
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Class Secretary Jane Caroll passed along the news that on July 1, 2024 Dr. Paul E. Tesone marked the 50th anniversary of practicing oral and maxillofacial surgery in Everett, Mass. Kathleen McGuckin '66 let us know that William Fifield ’67, M.D. ’71 passed away in February 2024. John Anton Nefzger and wife Charlotte Nefzger enjoyed hosting friends Richard Kleeman ’68 and Debbie Hurlbert Kleeman ’78. The group visited several Kentucky sites including Runnymede Horse Farm, Keeneland Race Course, Churchill Downs, and the Four Roses Distillery and says, “A great time was had by all!” Ellen Werner, “daughter of Harry Werner ’37, MD ’41 and Anne Cohn Werner ’42 , mother of Benjamin Werner Walker ’94, grandmother of current student Louis Walker ’26 is proud and thrilled to announce that grandson Harry Walker has enrolled as part of the UVM class of 2028.”
Send your news to –Ms. Jane Kleinberg Carroll jane.carroll@cox.net
68Class Secretary Diane Glew congratulates Jack Rosenberg for six years at the Smithsonian Institution. In addition, Jack won both the Titan and Team’s Choice Awards, selected by the Viewbug team. The Titan Award is given to the artist that received the most awards in various categories celebrating amazing talent and creativity in photography. One of Jack's photographs also ranked 30th, placing ahead of 3,233 submissions from U.S. photographers in The Moments Project. Congratulations, Jack! Mardi Ann Crane-Godreau says that, “Writing insights from a journey back to wellness regarding Long COVID using the online publishing platform Substack over the last two years has brought new friends and even a little income.” She says this fits well with continuing work as a research scientist and consultant. She is enjoying life in southern Vermont, surrounded by meadows, woods, and flowers and says she’s easy to find on Google or LinkedIn.
Send your news to –Ms. Diane Duley Glew ddglew@gmail.com
John Christian “Chris” Abajian ’65, M.D.’69
Magical Pediatric Anesthesiologist
There was never much doubt that Chris Abajian ’65, M.D.’69 would be a pediatric anesthesiologist. He was born in July 1943 at Atlanta’s Crawford Long Hospital, an institution named after one of the discoverers of surgical anesthesia. And he was the eldest son of “Big John” Abajian, the legendary founder of UVM’s Division (now Department) of Anesthesiology. But most important, Chris’ endearing personality overflowed with a playful kindness that children love, an essential attribute for a pediatric caregiver. “I never wanted to grow up,” he once said. “I’m still just a kid at heart.”
In late June, UVM and the Larner College of Medicine at UVM lost one of the most innovative and interesting alumni in their long history with the passing of Chris. He studied computer science as a UVM undergraduate in the early 1960s, then enrolled at the UVM College of Medicine, excelling at clinical training his last two years. After an anesthesiology residency at Royal Hammersmith Hospital in London and a pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, he joined the UVM Division of Anesthesiology in 1974, just as his father was easing toward retirement. “Big John” had always been a proponent of regional anesthesia techniques as a safer alternative to general anesthesia and he passed this philosophy on to his son, who quickly made it his own. Thus, it was only natural that in late 1977, when asked to anesthetize an ill premature infant with a large inguinal hernia, Chris searched for an alternative to general anesthesia, the standard of care for neonatal surgery at the time. A quick literature search turned up an English report of spinal anesthesia in children under a year of age published in 1909. So, encouraged by UVM surgeon Paul Mellish and aided by NICU nurse Rose Anderson, Chris administered the first infant spinal anesthetic in modern history. “The spinal worked, and
it was beautiful,” he recalled years later. “I just stood there and looked at the baby, and he was happy as can be, and we fixed the hernia. I was in awe really, especially when I thought of all the dangers that I’d avoided.”
More such spinals followed, and in 1984 Chris published his experience with 81 infant spinals – 36 in “high risk” infants, with 100 percent success – in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. Not all anesthesiologists were receptive to the rediscovered technique at first, but it was gradually accepted by the worldwide anesthesia community. Forty years later, infant spinal anesthesia is an essential part of the pediatric anesthesiology armamentarium and is considered one of the greatest advances in neonatal surgical care of the last half century. UVM continues to be a world leader in the technique, with its infant spinal database – now called the Vermont Infant Spinal Registry – containing detailed information on over 2,000 cases.
Throughout his career, Chris strove to make anesthesia a less frightening experience for his patients and their families. In the late 1980s, he began experimenting with surgical scrubs made of fabric with colorful patterns like teddy bears or balloons, all sewn by his wife, Margaret. They were a huge success and spawned the creation of a company, Huggable Scrubs, that produced a full line of surgical attire made of material featuring licensed cartoon characters. The idea was widely imitated and themed scrubs are now commonplace around the world. Several years later, Chris began to encourage parents to
accompany their children to the operating room for anesthesia induction, relieving another source of anxiety. “Parental presence” is now the standard of care at children’s hospitals worldwide. In the 1990s, Chris became an accomplished amateur magician, using magic to earn the trust of his patients and distract them from the frightening task ahead. Some of his tricks were quite advanced, but the Fun Magic Coloring Book was a staple, so simple to perform that even anesthesia providers less gifted than Chris could do it. The “Magic Man,” as he came to be known, enjoyed the performances as much as his patients did.
For his numerous contributions to the specialty of pediatric anesthesiology, in 2013 Chris was named the recipient of the prestigious Robert M. Smith Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and in 2019 UVM’s Department of Anesthesiology established the Chris Abajian, M.D. and Margaret Abajian Green and Gold Professorship in Pediatric Anesthesia, its first such professorship, to honor Chris and Margaret for their years of service.
Always modest, Chris often used to say, “You know, I’ve been lucky. Better lucky than good.” And in Armenian, the word commonly used for goodbye, hajoghutyun, literally translates to “successfulness” or “good luck,” highlighting the culture’s emphasis on positivity even in tragic circumstances. Goodbye and continued good luck, old friend.
– Joseph M. Kreutz, M.D.,
Associate Professor Emeritus
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James M. Betts ’69, M.D.’73 shared:
“As I'm writing, we've just celebrated the 4th of July. It's scorching here in California and over much of the country. And many are challenged with the first hurricane on the season moving up the east coast. I expect you will be reading this during the glorious season of fall in Vermont. I'm still in active pediatric surgical practice at Children's Hospital Oakland. We are now full-time faculty at UCSF. Last year was my 50th College of Medicine reunion. Many of my classmates are fellow '69 members. The turnout was outstanding. Our Class of '69 55th would be this fall. However, with staff and budget challenges, UVM will directly support only the 25th and 50th annual reunions. I sympathize with all that our 55th, this year is a milestone. We are in our senior years. Getting together would be appropriate to renew old friendships, and catch up on new adventures, family additions and accomplishments. Many are looking at ways to support our university. For those who have not returned in a while, there is a transformation on campus from new buildings, classrooms, living quarters, programs, and major reconstruction of the athletic facilities. Dedicated not just for intercollegiate competition, but our students’ physical and mental wellness and health. Although disappointing that we will not have an organized reunion this fall, if you are inclined to come back home to UVM, the alumni office will be happy to help make arrangements for your return. If philanthropy to support UVM is a consideration, contact Sarah Lenes in the alumni office (sarah.lenes@ uvm.edu). She will be able to assist with directing you to the Foundation where you can begin the process for gifting, as well as a return to campus. I hope that everyone will have a wonderful fall and holiday season into the New Year. So much has transpired for us in the 55 years since we graduated. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season and a fulfilling new year. I hope that our paths will cross again in the near future. Stay well.” David Edsall has videos and pictures he is putting together into a single video with music. If you'd like to help him, reach out to the Alumni office and we will put you in touch. Jeffrey Hass writes that “eight UVM friends had a mini-reunion in Naples, Fla., in January 2024 at Bob Richter ’s home. Steve Kunken, Bill Furman Bob Wexler, Mark Oland Jonas Ettlinger, Emily Ettlinger and Jeff Hass had a wonderful dinner together.”
Send your news to –Ms. Mary Joan Moninger-Elia maryeliawh@gmail.com
Roy Bennett Greenman wrote in just after his daughter, Nomi Greenman ’10, had given birth to beautiful daugher Skylar. He now has six grandchildren. Son Michael Greenman ’99 has son Matan and daughter Dalia. Daugher Claudia Greenman Minde '02 has three daughters (Mady, Josie, and Evie). They all live within 20 minutes of each other in N.J.. Roy says he enjoyed seeing UVM play Duke in the 2024 NCAA tournament from courtside seats and that it was great seeing such school spirit. He and wife Sheri have enjoyed many trips to Burlington and they hope to take another one soon. William Mark Laufer reports, “All is good with the Laufers.
Four daughters, nine grandchildren, and we all live in New Jersey. Only if you like perfect!” James Maurice Davine says that in July 2024 three friends who met at UVM 55 years ago had a three-day reunion in Minneapolis, Minn. Jim (Jady) Davine; Michael (Mick) Searles ’72 and Bill (Budd) Haulenbeek ’71 had a ball laughing, eating and reminiscing about their “halcyon days at UVM and Phi Delts. A terrific time was had by everyone! Hello to all our Phi Brothers out there!”
Send your news to –Mr. Douglas McDonald Arnold darnold@arnold-co.com
71Class Secretary Sarah Sprayregen heard from Nancy Heckman Blasberg `and daughter Elizabeth Blasberg, MD ’14, who traveled to the beautiful and historic area of Cimarron, N.M., to visit family who have lived there for four generations on a 130,000 acre cattle and horse ranch. Cowboy boots and cowboy hats are not just a ranch style, they are necessary gear for this way of life that’s so fascinating and different from our New England world. Nancy was “so impressed to listen to a very interesting lecture by four of the Pediatrics faculty on the ground-breaking research about and exceptional care of sick children through the UVM Larner College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center” via Mini Med School “Pediatrics 2024” on YouTube. Class Secretary Sarah also shares, “Milo Shelley reports that he and his wife, Karen, recently took a nostalgic trip to Long Island, where he grew up. He said his old home town of Babylon actually looked great, better than he remembered it. The Hamptons and Montauk Point were lovely despite summer crowds. On return from Montauk, never having never been to Sag Harbor, they stopped briefly at The American Hotel. It's a small and very old inn with an interior right out of a Hollywood art director’s vision of quaint, old Vermont-looking hostelry.” Sarah shares her own updates as well: “At the suggestion of Maypo (aka Marc Milowsky) several of us local alums attended Michael Garfield Levine’s one-man show performance called “Spinning my Wheels” back in April. Nancy Blasberg, Annie Viets, Mags Caney Conant , and Steve Conant ’78 attended Michael's opening act at the 50th Reunion of Royall Tyler Theater. It was an artful monologue of Michael ’s life battles and how acting and bicycle racing helped him get back on track. The program added a note from Michael ahead of the show, which reads,‘It was at UVM that I began my studies in acting and theater by playing Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet,’ according to Levine, who called it a ‘great honor’ to be invited back to UVM to perform his show. It was amazing, and great to chat with Michael after the show!” Lenzo Peter Lavin has spent 34 years teaching Spanish in high school in Tilton, N.H., and was part of many field hockey and softball state championships as well. He is now retired and officiates high school basketball, softball and volleyball games. Plus he is married, with a beautiful daughter, and lives in Belmont, N.H.. Ellen B. Liversidge G'72 has “returned to the East Coast– Ocala, Fla., after almost fifteen years in San Diego. I retired officially in 2007, then worked shortterm jobs as a pediatric speech pathologist in Mary-
land and New Mexico. My final position was at the Nizhoni Elementary School on the Navajo Nation in Shiprock, N.M., just up the road from the iconic rock with wings, while a previous job was on the Crownpoint Reservation between Gallup and Farmington, plus a year of working with the same students half-time online. It was an excellent way to finish up a great career.” Annie Viets recently hosted two groups of Iraqi high school students who were in Vermont for a leadership program. She says she’d forgotten (or maybe suppressed?) the challenges presented by the teenaged brain.
Send your news to –Ms. Sarah Wilbur Sprayregen sarahsprayvt@gmail.com
72Class Secretary Debra Stern writes: “In July, my husband, Mitch Stern G’79, my son Jeffrey and his wife Sara and I went on a one-week cruise of New England and Canada from Boston through Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown and Bar Harbor, Maine. The Maritimes are known for rain and mist, so we were lucky to have perfect weather. We saw the ‘Big Fiddle’ in Sydney, visited the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, toured Cape Breton, Charlottetown, the home of Anne of Green Gables, and visited Acadia National Park in Maine. The costal views were beautiful and serene, not to mention the food - the fresh Prince Edward Island mussels and lobster rolls were amazing. Next time you are wondering where to go on vacation, this was a relaxing and fun trip. I highly recommend it!” Patricia Gallant G ’93, Ed.D. ’99 passed away peacefully on April 10, 2024. In addition to her UVM graduate work and a 1999 Ed.D., Dr. Gallant was also a research professor for the Vermont Reads Institute at UVM from 2011-2015. Leon Cliffor Martell is living in Los Angeles and is full-time faculty at the American Dramatic and Musical Academy, College of the Arts, BFA program and going into his 30th year teaching playwriting at UCLA Extension. In 1975, he founded sketch comedy troop “Duck’s Breath Mystery Theater” with fellow UVMer Bill Allard ’71 They performed radio comedy on NPR and on live stages around the country for a couple of decades and now continue to create video comedy. In addition to teaching, Leon writes “Family Audience” shows for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Colburn Music Academy. Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
Karen Ann Blakney “took a wonderful cruise of the British Isles and Ireland. Just beautiful. Started in Copenhagen. The Danes really have it right!” Rebecca Pardee Davis ’75 and Wayne Davis were getting ready to celebrate 49 years of marriage August 9th when they sent their note. They say, “We enjoyed our Phoenix and Denver grands’ two-week visit at our Lakehouse in July. We’ll travel to the U.K. in October to see our London grands.” Spencer Alan Benson is “twice retired: once from the University of Maryland and once from the University of Macau. I continue to consult part-time for higher education instutions (eii-consulting.com). Retirement allows me more
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travel time when I am not home in the Md./D.C. area. I have managed to fly a million+ miles and visit more than 50 countries. Always looking to hear and share life stories and travel journeys. I only occasionally get back to Vermont.” Ruth Ketcham Pasquale shares the sad news that in January 2024, after 48 years of marriage, her husband, Alfred, passed away. Ruth is currently living in Vero Beach, Fla., and working fulltime in real estate.
Send your news to –Ms. Deborah Layne Mesce dmesce@icloud.com
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UVM alumni artist Christopher Curtis had sculpture on exhibit in three prominent events across New England in summer 2024: at The Current in Stowe, Vt.; in “Sculpture at The Mount” at Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, Mass.; and at the prestigious Morrison Gallery in Kent, Conn. Deborah Greene is a teacher who, along with 14 other extraordinary professionals, was selected to Who’s Who of Distinguished Leaders: 2024 Honorees. The group was featured in the Wall Street Journal on April 10, 2024. After walking the South Downs Way in England this spring, Robin
Bennett King has moved to Fredericksburg, Va., to be closer to kids, and was looking forward to being around the D.C. area. Bruce Leblanc writes to say that he and Nancy (Zeliff) missed their 50th class reunion this year: “We were on a trip to Germany celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary while completing a barge/bike tour on the Mosel, Rhine, and Main rivers. We had friends that joined us from the Cape as well as friends from Australia we had met years ago and travel with annually. It turned out to be a challenging trip as there were flooding conditions on much of the tour. This fall, Nancy and I will be traveling to New Zealand where we will be doing an Overseas Adventure Tour followed by a flight to Melbourne, Australia, to see our friends and tour a portion of the east coast of Australia, finishing in Sydney before returning home. Our three children, spouses, and five grandchildren surprised us with an anniversary party upon return from Germany. We are blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We missed our classmates for the 50th reunion but who knows -- maybe we will cross paths again sometime.” Steven Rice also expressed his disappointment at not being able to attend the 50th class reunion. Sadly, his oldest sister passed this spring. Steve and wife Anna continue their retirement in Murrells Inlet, S.C.. “I do miss my home state of Vermont,” he writes. “I wish all my UVM friends only the best and good health.” Melanie Choukas-Bradley ’s eighth book, “Wild Walking--A Guide to Forest Bathing Through the Seasons,” was published in June 2024. Ernie Coughlin G’84 shared the sad news of the passing of Peter Mixter, who had gone on to have a distinguished career in investment banking. He passed away in May 2024 in New York City. In May, Ed Cymerys attended a memorial
in New Haven, Vt. for Mike Corey ’73 who passed away unexpectedly in August. Soccer teammates Paul Zanaty, Bob Buzzell ’75, Kixie Austin ’75 and Vince Masseau ’73 also attended. Mike was a huge supporter of UVM soccer and basketball and kept his former teammates connected to each other. Paul F. Kenny shares that Sun Valley Resort will host the 2025 FIS Alpine World Cup Finals in March of 2025. He invites all to watch the best skiers in the world compete.
Send your news to –Mrs. Emily Schnaper Manders esmanders@gmail.com
Heather Anne Logan wrote that she was, “Enjoying the summer here in Harpswell, Maine. Though retired from education, I am enjoying my position as the director of the Cundy’s Harbor Library. If you are visiting this area, come enjoy our backyard!” After living in northeast Ohio since 1983, Claire A. Tessier moved to Vergennes, Vt. on June 1. She says it's good to be back. Carolyn (Gorham) Guest sends greetings, and says that “after seven years of teaching home economics and 39 years in early Education/Preschool, I am moving on to spend time with my family and to do more of the things I love to do. I'm still up in the Northeast Kingdom. Gardening, paper cutting, quilting and sorting through my family archives are top on the list. I often wonder about my roommate Debbie Estey and my friends and acquaintances through the Home Economics department and Campus Crusade for Christ.” Diane Brandt wrote to announce that Mary Anne Doggett is hosting a reunion in September for the roommates from Wright Hall in ’71-’72 including: Ellen
Opfer O’Brien, Linda Schofield Brown, Diane Brandt, Cheryl Urban Miller, Gayla Ojala Thomas, Teena Johnson Arbo, Leigh Harlow Wegener, and, of course, Mary Anne herself. The group has gotten together periodically ever since graduating from UVM and says that “the shenanigans never end!” Debbie Bourneuf wrote to share the sad news that her beloved husband, Philip David Bourneuf, passed away in December 2023.
Send your news to –Mrs. Christine Dwyer Child dinachild@aol.com
Kevin Graffagnino G’78 has written Ira Allen: A Biography, the first book about the founder of UVM and Revolutionary War hero in nearly a century. (See page 17.) Bill Moore and Ed Cymerys ’74 met up in central Oregon in mid-May to fish the famous Deschutes River during the spring stonefly hatch. Cameron (Cami) Anne Davis wrote, “Since retiring from 34 years teaching with the Department of Art & Art History, I have much to share on the painting front: I am working with an animator on a 90-minute video animation stage set for the Emergent Universe Oratorio, by composer Sam Guarnaccia for a forthcoming performance by Albany Pro Musica and several exhibitions opening in August and September at the Kent Museum, Ava Gallery and K. Grant Fine Art.” and shared her website: camerondavisstudio.com. Ken Koenig and Karen Laibach Koenig have retired and moved to Lake Bomoseen in Castleton, Vt. Send your news to –Mr. Peter Andrew Beekman pbeekman19@gmail.com
Pat Boera looks forward to welcoming the Class of 2028 to Champlain College, where she is a member of the Career Collaborative team. Outside of work, Pat continues her volunteer affiliations with Lyric Theatre Company (presenting Newsies at the Flynn in November) and the award-winning Middlebury Summer Festival on-the-Green. Andrea Howard Bonnar is looking forward to a Cruise on the Great Lakes with three family members in summer 2025! Stephen McCreery Monroe says, “I became a grandfather in March for the first time, with my daughter naming her after my wife, who passed away three years ago. All are happy and healthy.” Keith Monley died at his home in South Hero, Vt., in June 2024, after living with pancreatic cancer for eighteen months. He leaves behind three grown sons and wife, Elizabeth Inness-Brown. Rob Waxman shares: “My friend Mark Stunkel attended UVM for one year on my Buckham dorm floor. He was a really wonderful person. We played music in a band for awhile. He transferred to Berklee School of Music in Boston. He graduated, married and had two children. He maintained a career in music, teaching and playing. His wife, Karen Fimbel-Stunkel ’79, transferred to UVM. Their son Brian Stunkel graduated from UVM in 2020. I reconnected with Mark about five years ago through the magic of the internet. We had many conversations about music and then about the sarcoma we both had. Mark died a month ago of pneumonia from his chemo treatment. I will always miss and remember him. RIP Mark.”
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Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Spotlights
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Carolyn M. Andors writes: “I have been loving my recent retirement as a real estate paralegal, a long career with many great attorneys, some of whom I knew from my earlier days of social work/egal aid positions in the Burlington area. Happily retired and living in South Hero, Vt. where my husband, Derik, and I sail, bike, kayak, and tend a bountiful garden. Our beloved dog, Shiloh, was in very good hands while we got to Paris for some of the Olympics! I hope to hear from some alumni!” Dr. Thomas Ferlito '79 is in the 38th year of practicing orthodontics in his hometown of Haverhill, Mass. His son joined the office two years ago, and he says it has been a pleasure to work side-by-side with him. He is still residing in N. Andover, Mass., and sends a shout out to all of his Sigma Nu brothers. Fred Krinsky shared the sad news that his wife, Rita (Gleason) Krinsky, passed away in Spring 2024. Teressa Marie Valla attended Art Residency-Chateau d'Orquevaux-2024, in France and now has a mixed-media piece, “Reconsider the Echo,” in their permanent collection.
Send your news to –Mrs. Beth Nutter Gamache bethgamache@burlingtontelecom.net
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Pam Hewitt Bocko and husband Rick Bocko ’81 have just published a children’s book, Sunday Breakfast, an adaptation of Rick’s original song of the same title. Pam is the illustrator and shares,”It’s a fun, readalong, sing-along, play-along book complete with a musical score and a QR code to scan to in order to listen to his recording of the song. Who doesn’t enjoy a good Sunday breakfast, a good read, and a catchy song?” It’s available in bookstores and on their website (piecefuldesigns.com).
Send your news to –Mrs. Kristen Yonker Hazen Hazenkristin@gmail.com
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Peter Barth celebrated his 68th birthday on March 26 with wife of 46 years, Ilene, daughter, Rachel and writer-comedian, Ryan Conner, at The French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley. In late 2023, Peter launched the page “Mind Teachings of Tibet” on Wikipedia, which chronicles efforts of the Tibetan people over the past 50 years at preserving this vital part of their cultural and religious heritage. Peter Muller wrote, following a recent trip to Burlington for a reunion of SAE. He shares: “After graduating from UVM in 1981, I attended and graduated from University of North Carolina School of Medicine and trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Charlotte, N. C. After eight years in private practice in obstetrics-gynecology in Charlotte, I underwent the three-year certified fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N. C. I then moved to Adelaide, South Australia, to the University of Adelaide with my Adelaide-born wife and raised my kids there for the last 20 years.” He noted that it was so good to come back to Burlington for a visit.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note Meet a filmmaker,
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Beth Moody Jones writes that she and Kathy Lee Bishop collaborated on a recent publication on physical therapy treatment for a patient with idiopathic lung fibrosis. She goes on: “This was a patient of mine that I saw in New Mexico. When I looked for help on the cardiopulmonary aspects of his pathology, I turned to my former classmate Kathy Lee Bishop for help. We work collaboratively at our respected universities (Emery and University of New Mexico) to get this to the finish line. Along the way we presented this as a poster at our National Conference for Physical Therapy. It was wonderful to work together after 40 years!” Deb Sussman Mignucci is “thrilled to share that after a successful career in corporate sales and sales management and several years coaching and training sales professionals, I have started my own company, SALESconfidential. I help pre- and post-sales teams fine-tune their strategic communication skills to break new business, shorten the sales cycle and renew/grow current partnerships. It's all about being smart, prepared, intentional...and building trusted relationships! Ping me on UVM Connect or LinkedIn, and let's talk.”
Send your news to –John Peter Scambos pteron@verizon.net
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Caroline Arlen won first place in the national 2023 LAURA Short Fiction contest. Her story “Posse” can be read on her website (carolinearlen.com). Daniel A. Kelin, II shares that his play “Sing a Porpoise Home” was recently anthologized in 25 Years of New Plays for Young Audiences, by NYU Steinhardt’s Program in Educational Theatre. Lynn G Knight is thrilled to announce that she is now the USDA Climate Hub National Lead. She says: “As such, I provide technical leadership and overall national coordination to support the work of USDA Climate Hubs. The Climate Hubs develop and deliver science-based, region-specific information and technologies to agricultural and natural resource managers, and communities that enable climate informed decision-making, and provide assistance to implement those decisions.” We received the sad news that David John Picher had passed away in December 2023. Congratulations to Michael Wolf, who writes, “I have been sober over 34 years!! This may surprise one or two of you. And hello!”
Send your news to –Mrs. Lisa Greenwood Crozier lcrozier@triad.rr.com
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Mary Sue (Landers) Howlett writes, “Still awesome after 40 years!”
Julie (George) Goss, Jennifer Van Tuyl, Janice (Wellman) Robertson and she (Mary Sue) celebrated 40 years since Burlington and their lasting friendship at Long Beach Island for the third year in a row. Ellen Rosenkrantz-Price writes that Sarah Fay invited Ellen, Joann Forgit Talano and Jeanne Logozzo ’85 to her summer home in Connecticut for a much-needed girls’ reunion. She writes, “So much laughter was had by all and sweet memories of our younger years at UVM were shared.” Marc W. Stringer reports he is now a financial services professional affiliated with NYLIFE Securities and New York Life. He says he works on “group benefits (though not health), individual benefits, child gifting to long-term care insurances and everything in between.”
Send your news to –Mrs. Abby Goldberg Kelley kelleyabbyvt@gmail.com or Mrs. Shelley Carpenter Spillane scspillane@aol.com
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After working for 30 years as a software developer, Steven Lamperti has started writing fiction. The Tales of Liamec are available on Amazon. Toby Malbec writes, “As I close in on the back-nine of my career, my partner Tricia and I have started a podcast that speaks to looking at life from a fresh and open perspective and to be respectful of others. It's called Perch - the Thoughtful Pause Podcast. Does anyone disagree we need to regain our respect for one another?” Peter Michael Martin shares that he is a longtime educator and naturalist at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, with two wonderful adult children, has been happily married for 31 years, and that life is good. Arlene Waskiel McCoy shares news of a UVM gathering of friends, that it was great to reunite with Sue Henderson Curtis, Kathleen Foy Fitzgerald Lancaster '84, Susan Royce Empie, and Claire Cronin Johnson '83
Send your news to –Ms. Barbara A. Roth roth_barb@yahoo.com
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Congratulations to Lee Diamond, who has retired from UVM Environmental Health & Safety after 26 years of service. In May, Lee received a Presidential Safety Award for her work as a health & safety professional, working primarily with UVM labs and farms within CEMS & CALS. She will continue to teach yoga & Reformer (pilates), supporting people to live a mindful, healthy and balanced life. James Garnett has been in pastoral ministry since graduating from seminary in 1991. He writes, “I recently retired from full-time ministry to pursue interim pastoral ministry with an organization in Hudsonville, Mich., called IMI/SOS. Rev. Lisa Losh Garnett ’87 and I are grandparents to two beautiful grandchildren (Elijah, who is three and Adeline, who is six months). We purchased a home in Appeton, Wisc., in 2020 and would love to connect with anyone in the area!” We received the sad news that Joanne Kimberly Johnson Peake passed away in June 2024.
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Janet Tanguay shared news of the publication of three books she has co-authored on doing business in New York State. She is the CEO of The Hammock Way of Life, LLC. Dr. Helen Lewis (formerly Raboin-Condry) is pleased to announce her marriage to William Lewis in December 2023. They are relocating from Charleston, S.C., to Cookeville, Tenn. She has been appointed as an assistant professor of nursing at Tennessee Technological University. Dr. Lewis will be teaching both undergraduate and graduate students and continuing her research in end-of-life care. Susan O'Halloran Rockett and husband Ken Rockett '85 were thrilled to have a fantastic vacation this summer in beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colo. with classmates and their families: Guy Babbitt, Beth Anne Bull Martin, Donna Potter, Carol Hines Wacaser and Todd Humphreys, daughter Anna Humphreys '20 G’21, Diarmuid Gregory '20 'G21. Susan adds: “We missed you, Jamie Greenwald. Love that we all get together with all our 'kids' to enjoy time together every year. Two summers ago we stayed in the dorms at UVM and lit up Burlington like the old days! So fun!” She also enjoyed a recent getaway to Sunapee Lake, N.H., with friends: Heather Campbell Horan, Peg Greene Underhill, Amy Tobin, Michelle Curley Scanlon, and Wendy Grannis Page, and says, “We missed you, Anne McDonald Koerner and Deb Lasota '85.”
Send your news to –Mr. Lawrence Gorkun vtlfg@msn.com
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Peter Church writes, “My youngest child, Ella Church ’25, will be a senior this year at UVM. Ella's major is public health and she is on the swim team. I will be missing going up to Burlington on a regular basis after this year! Go Cats!” Cathy M Coleman is now working as an Extension educator for the Plymouth County 4-H and Extension. She is also the Massachusetts 4-H Dog Coordinator and the author of two books on dogs: A Dog For Me, and Please Don't Hug Me Regina Kohlhepp is actively engaged as a consultant working with older people who wish to age at home. She is a Fall Prevention Specialist and offers private and group classes designed to prevent frailty in older Vermonters (activeagingvermont.com). After 20 years of teaching social innovation and anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder Laura DeLuca G’87 is launching an encore career as a personalized travel director. Her company, Discover with DeLuca, is “where luxury travel meets cultural connection.” She says she travels like an anthropologist and draws inspiration from UVM professor Rob Gordon, author of Going Abroad: Traveling Like an Anthropologist.
Send your news to –Mrs. Sarah Vaden Reynolds sarahreynolds10708@gmail.com
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Erica Houskeeper shared the sad news of her brother Matthew Houskeeper ’s passage in August 2024. He is survived by a large and loving family, including Margaret Houskeeper Ohrn. Stephen Pezzetti is a recipient of the 2024 U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Secretary’s Award for Innovation. The Sec-
Charles Denney ’83
By Cheryl Carmi
Once you meet Charlie Denney ’83, his name quickly becomes synonymous with cycling.
He shares stories of “century” (100-mile) rides, of alpine passes as part of the Tour de France, and long regional rides with his teenaged sons. He talks about his involvement with the UVM’s cycling-focused student club, his work on supporting cycling infrastructure on campus and far beyond. And then there were the great pictures of the Washington D.C. bike tour as part of UVM GO, the program that brings incoming first-year students together to learn and to connect.
Through cycling, Charlie connected with former UVM Foundation staffer George Rutherford, and that connection led to a conversation.
“George told me about an internship program to support UVM Rubenstein School students,”
he remembered. When he learned the details, he wanted to get involved. “It appealed to me to give students a paid opportunity. I remember how hard it can be for students to make ends meet. I remember my friends and I going to happy hour at local bars to get free food for dinner. I know that the financial support really makes a difference.”
Looking Back, Giving Back
“I don’t know what I expected as an undergrad, but UVM definitely exceeded it,” Charlie told us in a recent conversation. “I got to take lots of classes in a major that appealed to me -- I knew I wanted to work outside in the long run.”
He reflects that he chose well, “Pursuing recreation management (now called Parks, Recreation and Tourism) got me on the track for the career I have now.” He paused and laughed. “Also, sometimes these experiences cause a pivot, and you realize it’s something you don’t want to do. Your school years are a great time to learn that instead of when you’re mid-career.”
That recreation management degree from UVM’s Rubenstein School for Environment
and Natural Resources launched him towards that goal (as did his graduate work at the University of Virginia). Today he has his own small company, Potomac and Chesapeake Cycling, providing bike touring and bike event support services.
When he went on to graduate school at UVA, his program required an internship. Like many who engage in these experiences, he noted that “learning directly from professionals was eye-opening. And of course, actually working in the field you’re going to work in really helps you see the directions you might want to go.”
These years later, when he became aware of the opportunity to make a difference providing internships at UVM, he knew that providing financial support in the form of paid experiences for students was important, and that he and his wife, Mary, were committed to meaningful learning too.
Meaningful for Student Interns, Donors, the College, and Vermont
Meghan Young is experiential and communitybased learning coordinator for the Rubenstein School. She shared: “The Denney Fund focuses
COUTESY CHARLES DENNEY
on educational components of internship. We know the donors’ wishes, so when we match students to these placements and funding, we think critically about positions that challenge them to promote their field of study. To have donors like the Denneys, with this high level of support for internship, is really special. To other alums and donors, we want to say that our door is open for conversation and building relationships. This work is really meaningful, which we repeatedly learn through data, through stories, and witnessing students’ transformation.”
Work on environmental issues can feel “big and heavy,” Meghan admits. But “there’s hope in the students who are coming through. Helping students learn to navigate systems and have an impact as they enter the workforce” helps to shine a light on possibilities.
Connection, Impact, Inspiration
For Charlie and his family, the Internship Fund is not only helping today's students, but is also providing connection and meaning.
“To find this way to connect, here a little bit later in life, is really nice,” he said.
“To reconnect with [Interim Dean] Allan Strong, who lived on the same floor in Chittenden Hall as I had, getting reconnected with the school, has all been nice.”
Being able to help with cycling on UVM campus was another welcome way to plug in. “I had the opportunity in my job to help work on the active transportation plan for UVM, and I hadn't been to Burlington in a few years. This was a great way to get connected again.”
Through that, he also supports the UVM Bikes Program, which he calls, “one of the stronger programs around the country. It's become a passion later in my life. I'm excited about being able to get people a bike if they get to school without one, and if they do it at school, they're likely to stay with it.”
He notes, “When you tell someone that you went to UVM, people know that you make a kind of commitment to doing good things for the environment.”
And, in the case of the Denney family, it's a commitment to helping others do those good things too.
retary’s Award - the department’s highest honor - is the result of his efforts as FEMA HQ Director of Grants Management Policy and his division’s role in developing a non-citizen migrant Shelter and Services Program to assist with relieving overcrowding at U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention facilities. Christina Kaplan Rohan is starting her ninth year working at UVM, and was recently promoted to senior lecturer in the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. As part of her job, she is faculty advisor to the UVM Horse Barn.
Send your news to –Mrs. Cathy Selinka Levison crlevison@comcast.net
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Ian Boyce missed the 25th reunion and wonders if anyone is interested in joining him at the 35th. Heather Chapin Witt-Sullivan and her Shetland sheepdog, Rowan, earned two medals at the 2024 World Agility Championship in France as members of Team USA for the United States Dog Agility Association. Competing at the 250 mm. (approx. 10”) height, the pair brought home a silver medal in team competition and bronze medal in individual competition at the prestigious event. Thomas Anthony Grace writes: “We are expecting our fifth grandchild this October. Our laboratory, Bia Diagnostics, is doing well employing many UVM graduates. We have very close relations with the UVM Food Science department especially Dr.Todd.” John Lomas let us know he moved from the west coast of the East Coast to the east coast of the West Coast: Palm Springs, in beautiful Coachella Valley. Brock Muir is the founder of the company Counter Intelligence and says, “Our patented beverage packaging solutions disrupt the status quo and bring competitive advantages to businesses. Based on the core tenet that reducing plastic pollution isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for business.”
Send your news to –Mrs. Maureen Kelly Gonsalves moe.dave@verizon.net 90
Shannon Burgess Blake was selected by the Kraft family, the New England Patriots Foundation, and Gillette with the 2023 Patriots Difference Maker award for his extraordinary work with WARRIORS SOAR. Seventeen honorees were celebrated for going above and beyond to support non-profit organizations in New England communities. Shannon was honored by the UVM Foundation and Alumni Association in 2023 as an Outstanding Alumni. Eliza Fisher Cain wrote as she had just enjoyed a few days of volunteering with the Green Mountain Club working on Vermont’s Long Trail. She reflects: “So often while hiking I feel gratitude for those who have made hiking do accessible and fun for me. It was rewarding in many ways to give back in this small way. I am enjoying the path my daughter (Maia), a junior in UVM’s Honors College is taking with her Green and Gold Scholarship. She plans to participate in study-abroad in New Zealand in the spring and I hope to travel with her prior to the start of the semester. I always enjoy connecting with fellow UVM folks. If you are ever in the area, stop in my bakery
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(Red Hen Baking Company) and say hi. We have been in business since 1999! We turn 25 on September 1st and look forward to celebrating!” HeartGift is excited to welcome new member, Dr. Diane Pigula, to the Community Impact Board in the organization’s Louisiana chapter. Since its inception in 2000, the non-profit has provided more than 1,000 life-saving heart surgeries to patients with congenital heart defects who live in countries where specialized pediatric cardiac care is either scarce or non-existent. W. Paul Weick and Laura (Gibbs) Weick '88 just celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary. The couple met as RAs in the Living & Learning dorm. It has been an especially happy year for them as son, W. Charles Weick, just completed his first year at UVM. Send your news to –Mrs. Tessa Donohoe Fontaine tessafontaine@gmail.com
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Send your news to –Mrs. Karen Heller Lightman khlightman@gmail.com
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Victoria Ciminera Burke shared the sad news of the sudden passing of Jenifer Allen in April 2024, saying “she was my best college friend, fellow animal science/pre-vet major and equestrian, and she will be dearly missed.” In October 2023, Victoria started a new role as director of Vet Channel/North America with a new veterinary diet line, Tiki Cat Veterinary Solutions. Colleen Cook writes: “Hi Cats! It’s been too long. I just joined a new firm: Sassoon Cymrot Law LLC in downtown Boston and am excited to be back in the city again. My kids are flying through college at BU and yes UVM! Dream come true. In my spare time I’m at the beach or skiing at Stowe with my partner Lori. Look me up - would love to reconnect!” Jay Robert Czelusniak writes that in June 2024 Ted Rich hosted a reunion in Point Abino, Canada that included Crawford Hubbard, Andy Kahn, Jeremy Solomon, Brandt Rider, Ned Crosby, Jai Chanda, Darren Henry, John Newton, Ted and Nena Rich ’93, and Matt Pezzulich. Jay says it was an incredible outing with family and friends. Peter Sanders’ newest film about NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital was nominated for a jury prize at the 2024 Tribeca X Film Festival. The trailer is available on Vimeo. Suzanne Young Miller G’20 says it’s hard to choose a single affiliation in submitting her note. “I have a B.S. in Elementary Education (1992) and an M.S. in Leadership for Sustainability in the Rubenstein School (2020). And I am a proud UVM parent; my son is a sophomore in the Rubenstein School with a forestry major. Three UVM affiliations to choose from!” She also shares career updates. “In 2018 I became the director and teacher at Wren's Nest Forest Preschool in Bristol, Vt. In 2023 I decided to pursue public school education for the first time since graduating with my bachelor's and am now happily teaching 4-5-6 grades ELA and Science at Benson Elementary School in Benson, Vt.” Alison Wallis Rabinoff celebrates six years of providing eco-conscious home liquidation in Denver. It’s a new industry which honors her UVM degree!
Send your news to –Mrs. Lisa Aserkoff Kanter jslbk@mac.com
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We received the sad news that Kimberly Wells Moreno G’98 passed away in January 2024. She is remembered for a passionate belief that every student deserves the best possible education, and for devoting her entire professional life to that work. Pam Buehler Morrisroe was thrilled to let us know that her fellow '93 grad and dear friend, Amy Clay, has released her first studio album titled “Still Time to Dream.” Amy is a singer-songwriter and fiddle player based in San Francisco. Amy has been playing classical violin since she was a young girl growing up in Massachusetts. She began to explore other genres like bluegrass and country after moving to the Bay Area in her 20s. Check out her album at amyclaymusic.com.
Send your news to –Ms. Gretchen Haffermehl Brainard gretchenbrainard@gmail.com
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Andrea J. Noel-Doubleday is celebrating her 15-year work anniversary as assistant director of rehab services at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass. She enjoys collaborating with physical therapy classmate Reginald B. Wilcox III, director of rehab services at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and was able to get together with classmates and gymnastics teammate Jill (Gumkowski) Vanderpot in Hartford, Conn., to watch the elite gymnasts compete at the Core Hydration classic prior to Olympic trials in Spring 2024. Lisa Jodi Ratner writes that after 20+ years in human resources, and getting married in September 2023, “I recently left the corporate world and launched a matchmaking and dating coach business. Lisa Ratner Matchmaking & Coaching offers a personalized, all-in approach to help singles find their person. For any singles out there, I'd love to connect with you. Send me an email at info@ lisaratnermatchmaking.com.”
Send your news to –Mrs. Cynthia Bohlin Abbott cyndiabbott@hotmail.com
Carl “Fuzzy” Martin, Wayne Chadbourne ’92 , Denise Owens ’87, Olivia Springer ’23, Ellie Restrepo ’24, Melissa Springer ’88 and Anza Krieg ’20 were at the 11th Annual Celebrate Life Cancer Survivor Network walk for cancer at Club Motorsports, Tamworth, N.H. in June 2024. The walk raised over $23,000 for local families in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. Samantha Smith Camera graduated with a degree in anthropology and has been teaching anthropology to high school students for 23 years in Amherst, Mass. She is delighted to announce that both of her children are now also attending UVM! Rebecca Sharon Tatel writes, “Greetings, classmates, where did the time go? After 25 years happy years in registered nursing at Copley Hospital, I transitioned to nurse practitioner. Now in my fifth year of providing primary care with the terrific group at Hardwick Health Center. In personal news, happily married to my best friend Peter, and we became
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grandparents this year, which is super fun. It is fun to run into Carroll Maxwell ’95 on the trails here and there, and recently ran into my pharmacy friend from Baird 6 (Hughes Joseph Labrie’s wife) Julie Jester Labrie at UVM’s DM conference this year. I’d love to hear from 1995 RN group.”
Send your news to –Ms. Valeri Susan Pappas vpappas@davisandceriani.com 96
Cheryl Cote Alden and her husband Jon Alden will be heading to New Zealand in December, after she qualified for the 70.3 World Ironman Championships to be held in December in Lake Taupo. She qualified in June at the Western MA 70.3 where she came in sixth in her age group. She says she is beyond excited to explore New Zealand and to compete with the world’s best. Barry Ira Gordon wrote that he was so excited that his niece Julia is starting at UVM as part of the class of 2028, and says, “Go Cats! Go Julia!” Miguel A Roque writes: “Hello fellow UVM alumni, It's been a while since our days in Burlington, and I wanted to share some updates with you. In 2011, Melissa Partenza and I made the move to Seattle. We now have three wonderful kids who are 20, 18, and 14 years old. Living in the Pacific Northwest has been an adventure. We are avid skiers and spend a lot of our winter weekends at Crystal Mountain, our local spot. I'm proud to be a member of the ski patrol there, helping to keep the slopes safe and enjoyable for everyone. For the past five years, I've been working for a non-profit organization that builds free pre-schools in underserved communities. It's been incredibly rewarding to be part of a mission that supports early childhood education and provides much-needed resources to families. While we love the beauty and lifestyle of the PNW, we do miss the East Coast and look forward to our visits back home. Wishing everyone all the best!”
Send your news to –Mrs. Michelle Richards Peters mpeters@eagleeyes.biz
97
In October of 2023, Deirdre Lester was appointed CEO of Teton Ridge, a western sports entertainment and lifestyle company, whose mission is to elevate and grow western sports through media, events, film and TV. Teton Ridge owns the American Rodeo, The Arizona Ridge Riders, Pro Fantasy Rodeo, Cowboys & Indians Magazine, TR9 Ranch, and invests in businesses across the western industry.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
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Christina Jennifer Ansted Janes is co-founder and CEO of Rapid Commercialization Partners, Inc. and Managing Partner, RCP Venture Capital working to optimize commercialization and drive purposeful investment for life science and biotechnology companies. Melinda (Mindy) Vinelli Marchetti sent a note to share that “Members of the '98 varsity field hockey team got together at Whiteface Mountain in March 2024 to re-connect and reminisce about the glory days!” The group included Kristen Garner Amanti, Lucinda Tokarski Tarr, Gina Pezzetti Carlstrom, Katie Finnegan Stoddard, Jodi Withington Tierney and Mindy. Jen Scibelli and husband Jim Vellano have opened up another shop in the town they reside in, Bedford, N.Y. The Bedford Candy Bar is a throwback to an old candy shop feel with a new twist. Their children Lucca and Emilia Charlie were preparing to attend Rippowam Cisqua this fall when Jen sent her note. The couple also owns G.E Brown in Bedford, Maison Price Chefs, and a new spot slated for June 2025.
Send your news to –Mr. Benjamin Eldridge Stockman bestockman@gmail.com
99
A film documenting Brad Rosenheim's research expedition to Antarctica, “The Lake at the Bottom of the World,” is now streaming on Amazon and other services. The film was co-created by Brad ’s scientific team and filmmaker Kathy Kasic to document the expedition to recover water, sediment, and microbe samples from a lake buried underneath 1,100 meters of Antarctic ice. The expedition was a success, but the film documents the many challenges the team faced, as well as narratives of why they were carrying it out. Brad was the leader of the sediment team, working with a group of excellent colleagues who ended up with the longest subglacial lake sediment core taken from Antarctica. He continues his Earth Science research, leading an expedition to the sparsely populated Brazil-French Guiana coastline to recover water and mud samples to determine limits on carbon cycling by large rivers such as the Amazon in 2023. He has also recently taken his children, now nine and 13, backpacking on the Long Trail in 2023 and the Adirondacks in 2024.
Send your news to –Mrs. Sarah Pitlak Tiber spitlak@hotmail.com
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
01Amy Mosher Berry writes: “I may be 45, but it feels like I’m finally getting my life on track. After divorcing in 2021, my (now-7-year old) daughter and I moved to Westborough, Mass.— near where I grew up— to be closer to my mom, Karen McGinnis, who passed away in December 2023. As a promise to my daughter that she would never forget her beloved Grammy, we created GrammyFeedsPeople.org.” At the time of writing, the family was looking forward to an October public event at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough, Mass.. Attendees will learn more about the Grammy Feeds People (GFP) project supporting women with breast cancer and people experiencing food insecurity and can pick up a copy of Karen’s own “Easy Favorites Cookbook.” She adds, “Other than that, my internship services business and my kiddo are both growing in the right direction… What more could I ask for? Thank you for reading my update. Hope to connect soon!” Following nearly a decade of consulting and sales roles at a boutique legal technology consultancy, Scott Patrick Goodwin joined ClearstoneIP as the director of business development leading all the go-to-market initiatives for a suite of intellectual property patent clearance solutions.
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02
Send your news to –Ms. Jennifer Khouri Godin jenniferkhouri@yahoo.com
03
Send your news to –Mrs. Korinne Moore Berenson korinne.d.moore@gmail.com
04
Ashley Jordan Norris is living and working in seacoast N.H. as a nurse anesthetist. Gabriel G.Z. Rothblatt is honored to announce: “I’ve selected as chairperson of the 2025 International Space Development Conference in Orlando, Fla., on June 19-22, 2025. The theme, “Together Beyond,” captures how America’s space program allows for cheap access to space for our international partners, strengthening our terrestrial alliances and diversifying the cosmos.”
Send your news to –Ms. Kelly Marie Kisiday kelly.kisiday@gmail.com
05
In May, Eboni Booth was awarded the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, “Primary Trust,” which was presented Off Broadway in 2023 by the Roundabout Theatre Company. Stefanie Lane is a senior biothreats program manager at Massachusetts General Hospital. Send your news to –Mrs. Kristen Dobbs Schulman kristin.schulman@gmail.com
06
Laurie E. Kempf shared the sad news that her daughter, Kierstin Newcombe, passed away in December, 2023. She will be missed by a large loving family, and remembered for her energy and humor. Trevor Loew earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. in July 2024. Jonathan E. Orell has joined the law firm Leech Tishman as a partner in their real estate practice group.
Catherine Ann Burke has been elected as a shareholder of the law firm Gravel & Shea. She is a member of the firm’s corporate department, advising and assisting clients with business formations, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters.
Send your news to –
Mrs. Elizabeth DiPietrantonio ekolodner@gmail.com
08
As Crossing Party Lines Board co-chair, Judy H. Branch Ph.D.’08 has responsibility for recruiting potential board members, and the opportunity to recommend students for CPL Moderator training. Learn more about the organization’s work at their website. Carmen Lagala says she is “pleased to use the third person to announce her debut stand-up comedy special ‘Sweet Batch,’ which drops in fall 2024 on her YouTube channel, CarmenLagalaComedy!”
Send your news to –
Ms. Elizabeth S. Bearese ebearese@gmail.com or Ms. Emma Maria Grady gradyemma@gmail.com
09
Erica Bruno-Martin has joined the CBC Automotive Marketing ad agency named as vice president of business development. She is helping the company with their marketing, branding, public relations and sales. In October 2023 Erica won “Member of the Year” for her work with Women of Color Automotive Network (WOCAN) where she serves as co-chair of the member experience & events committee. She adds: “I love my work with WOCAN as I have been able to help other women grow into their careers and goals. I’ve had a crazy last few years professionally but I have grown exponentially. I’d also like to throw out that I’m available to help any UVMer with resumes, interview prep, etc. They can find me on LinkedIn.” Katherine Krawitz Buettner has been an animal technician at Yale University for 13 years and recently opened her own home bakery as well.
Send your news to –Mr. David Arthur Volain david.volain@gmail.com
10
Louise Leu married Brandon Runnells in late June 2024 in sunny La Jolla, Calif.
Many of her friends from UVM, ADPi sorority sisters, friends, and family were present to celebrate their love. On March 9, 2024 Lisa Rosenberg married Eric Schwendner in front of family and friends in Charlotte, N.C. where the couple met. It was officiated by a fellow alumni Rachel Jacobson. Several UVM alumni from the Class of 2010 were in attendance, including Jen (Haber) Swarts, Jessica (Bartlett) Cronin, Cait Hoffmann, Lisa Himelman, Ben Shupe, Ashley Tobin, Anna Walsh, James Gilbane ’09, and Noelle Pilge ’12
Send your news to –
Ms. Daron Lynn Raleigh raleighdaron@gmail.com
Serene Meshel-Dillman ’85
By Lisa Wartenberg-Vélez
Documentary filmmaker and College of Arts and Sciences graduate Serene MeshelDillman ’85 wants a groundswell.
In the summer of 2017, Meshel-Dillman’s mother, Miriam Reiner Meshel '60, received the sudden diagnosis of a rare stage-four spindle cell sarcoma after ten months of puzzling back pain. Treatment might have only extended her life by a few months, if at all.
Meshel-Dillman followed her mother’s journey in the pilot episode of her latest documentary series, called Take Me Out Feet First. The title is a reference to her mother’s wish to live in the house she loved until she died.
Miriam, a decades-long social worker for terminally ill cancer patients, was familiar with the kind of suffering she could expect through treatment. Thanks to California’s medical-aid-in-dying laws, Miriam was able to pass peacefully at her Bay Area home.
“[My mother] taught us that there's grace
in being in charge of your own destiny,” Meshel-Dillman reflects. “The California Death with Dignity Act is just that – dignified. Ultimately it is humane and kind.”
Act 39, Vermont’s own Aid-in-Dying Law, is among the most empowering in the nation to patients. In May 2023, Governor Phil Scott updated the 2013 law to remove the original residency requirement. Expanding end-of-life options means easing the path for terminally ill patients across the country.
When Miriam chose medical aid in dying, Serene captured those courageous final moments “with the hope that the exposure will hasten it into law in every state.”
Serene’s husband of 33 years, Ray Dillman, is the cinematographer and editor of the series. They traveled around the U.S. interviewing terminally ill advocates for medical aid in dying. The two-season series, each season comprising six episodes, began streaming on Amazon Prime in May of this year.
Serene's UVM Journey
A former dancer at the School of American Ballet and commercial television producer, Meshel-Dillman studied political science at UVM with an eye towards a legal career, like her father, Robert Meshel '60. Her parents were both Catamounts, as were several other close relatives. Of this, she says, “We’re all from New York, so I have no idea how that happened. We all liked to ski.” But a love of photography led her to a darkroom course at UVM, one of her favorite classes during her time as a UVM student.
“I have always had a camera in my hand,” says Meshel-Dillman. “I spent many hours developing and printing at UVM. I still have great shots and memories from that first course. I continued my photography studies when I spent my junior year abroad in London, focusing on shooting and printing.”
After graduation, she decided against law school. Eventually, she pursued TV commercial production instead; this lured her to LA. Her first documentary, Getting to the Nutcracker, merges her two professional worlds – ballet and TV production.
It provides a behind-the-curtains look at the making of the LA-based Marat Daukayev School of Ballet’s production of
the beloved holiday show. It won several accolades, including Best Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize at the Atlanta Film Festival, Outstanding Direction at the Las Vegas Film Festival, and Best Documentary at the Kansas Film Festival.
Meshel-Dillman then went on to film The 5th Dementia, a documentary centering on an eponymous LA-based band. Its musicians are from a range of backgrounds, bonded not only by their musical abilities, but by their difficulty remembering much else due to neurodegenerative diseases.
In an interview with Compassion & Choices, a medical-aid-in-dying advocacy group, Meshel-Dillman states that “Each story is unique because each subject, and what they are dealing with, is different. People ask me, ‘Isn’t this topic sad and depressing?’ I find it to be the opposite. I am inspired by the strength, insight and presence of mind that each person I am interviewing possesses.”
Take Me Out Feet First, relates with a special UVM effort – the university's End-of-Life Doula program, something Meshel-Dillman is excited about.
The End-of-Life Doula program was developed by the UVM Larner College of Medicine with
partner Cabot Creamery Cooperative in 2017. The fully online certification program is aimed at those seeking to provide endof-life care, support, and companionship.
“The concept of having a birth doula caught on many years ago,” Meshel-Dillman notes. “Finally, having an end-of-life doula is being recognized as a way to have support; physically, emotionally and spiritually should you choose it when it’s your time.”
Look for the first six episodes of Take Me Out Feet First's first season on Amazon Prime.
| CLASS NOTES
11
Mac Esters married Michelle Brody at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers in September 2023. David Haber ’12 served as a groomsman, and Noah Friedland ’09 was there to celebrate as well. Mac began his second stint in graduate school in the summer of 2024 and is currently living in Israel training to be a reform rabbi at Hebrew Union College. Julia Michel wed Zach Despart in a grove of live oak trees in May 2024. There to cheer them on were fellow Catamounts Jeff Ayers, Natalie (DiBlasio) Summers, Brent Summers, Linda Dryden, Matt Francis and Julia O'Connor Julia and Zach live in Austin with their Dalmatian, Huckleberry. In more good news, Zach and his team at The Texas Tribune/ProPublica were named 2024 Pulitzer Prize finalists for their investigative series on the Uvalde school shooting. They were also awarded the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, which they accepted at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C. Ally Perleoni was named to Modern Healthcare’s “40 Under 40” list. The award recognizes rising stars in health care, and highlights their contributions and accomplishments. The recognition specifically highlighted Ally ’s work to expand Medicare-supported graduate medical education for the first time in nearly 25 years. Dylan C. Badger will be celebrating 10 years of owning Ausable Brewing Co. in Fall 2024, and then will celebrate his fifth wedding anniversary with Marla Gilman. They are just across the lake in Keeseville, N.Y., where they can walk to the beach and see sunrises over Burlington. Send your news to –Ms. Troy Elizabeth McNamara troy.mcnamara4@gmail.com
12
Ben Dangl G'12 published a collection of travel writing entitled “A World Where Many Worlds Fit with Fomite Press.” Emily Garai Ph.D.’12 recently published a self-guided journal for people with symptoms of depression and anxiety, called Depression Journal: A Pathway to Wellness, co-authored by Emily and Leo Cordero, FNP.
Send your news to –Ms. Troy Elizabeth McNamara troy.mcnamara4@gmail.com
13
Alexa (Lopez) Anderson G '13 was promoted to associate professor with tenure in the College of Health Professions and Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Pat Chessare obtained his MBA from Loyola University Maryland. Kelsey Houle is celebrating her 11-year anniversary with Nancy Jenkins Real Estate. She is their director of operations and says she’s ready to help with any and all real estate needs for her fellow alumni. Darrion Montay Willis writes to say he’s a global educator and advocate for social justice, adding: “Since graduating in 2013, I have embarked on a remarkable journey that has taken me across the globe. I have had the privilege of teaching ESL in diverse countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Colombia. These experiences have enriched my understanding of different cultures and educational systems, and have profoundly shaped my teaching philosophy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw an urgent need to support my fellow D.C. public school educators, especially those less familiar with digital tools. I offered my services as a freelance educator, helping older teachers learn how to effectively teach
students via Zoom. This initiative was driven by my commitment to ensuring that all students continued to receive quality education despite the challenging circumstances.” In pursuit of further professional and academic growth, he relocated to San Francisco and is now attending the University of San Francisco, enrolled in their Master's in Teaching program, with a concentration on urban education and social justice. Darrion is excited to share these updates and looks forward to continuing his journey as an educator dedicated to making a positive difference in the world. Michelle Mattison Luisa has opened a private practice, using her early childhood education background from UVM and a master's in applied behavior analysis from BSU to support children with autism.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
14
Rosalie Doolan Adams writes, “Melanie Schwed, Mateo Melendy, and I all met freshman year on the third floor of McAuley Hall. Coincidentally, Mel and Mateo's baby boy, Max, and my baby boy, Timmy, were born 17 hours apart in April 2024. We now refer to them as the twins and have been joking that they will be roommates on MC3 as well.” Sierra Parker writes, “I am blessed to announce the birth of my son, Damien, in February 2024. He is loving his multicultural life, as we live in France.”
Send your news to –Mrs. Grace Louise Buckles Eaton glbuckles@gmail.com
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In 2022, Torey Hill had an epiphany. She writes: “After establishing myself as an entrepreneur, running a wellness program during the intense years of COVID, I realized that I was not a mentor or a coach or an influencer. No. I was a writer. In November of 2023 I published my first book, “A Single Droplet: Finding Freedom Through Daily Practice,” which captures all of the work I did with the wellness program. I'm now writing the next books, which are less about wellness and more about life, capturing the first years of becoming a mother. I plan to publish both adult and children's books as life twists and turns forward.”
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
16
Samantha Westphal Lucas shared a picture of herself with MAJ David Johnston '08, CPT Samantha Lucas, and CPT Kyle Elliott '17. The three UVM grads and helicopter pilots were deployed for nine months and are members of both the Vermont National Guard and Maryland National Guard. Ben Scheu and Hannah Martin '15 got married in the company of just a few close friends and their dog on a beautiful November day in Moab, Utah. Stan Walden writes, “In May 2024 I wrapped up my master of architecture program at Parsons School of Design at The New School--exhausting, but so gratifying. My thesis project turned into my first design gig: this winter I will design and curate an exhibit, “AIDS at The New School: What is Remembered?” The show will
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run November 2024 through January 2025 at the school's Aronson Galleries at 66 5th Ave. I hope to see some fellow Catamounts there!” After graduating in 2016, Doran Zimmerman moved to the Cayman Islands where he coached the National Men's Gymnastics Team. He then went on to build Sandbar, an oceanfront bar and grill. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Doran moved back to Chicago (his original home) to pursue a master’s degree at Loyola University of Chicago, achieving a MS in environmental eustainability and business. He then launched a catering company while working at the 3-Michelin star restaurant Alinea, one of only 14 in the U.S. After attaining a sommelier certificate in March 2024, he began a new adventure and accepted a position as a special events manager at the prestigious Yellowstone Club. On top of all that, he has returned to Vermont to visit every summer since graduating. In May 2024, he was able to host the bachelor party for his Mercy Hall freshman dorm neighbor and best friend, Matt Jacobson (Matty-J!) and reunite with many friends. He says he welcomes visitors anytime. Rose J. Del Vecchio G’16 has owned a small online pop-culture business since 2015, and is excited to announce a brick-and-mortar pop-up from November 2024 to February 2025 in downtown Lowell, Mass.. Find out more at @fanmailbox.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
17 Zak Heier received his J.D. cum laude from the University of North Dakota School of Law in May 2024. In his time at UND, he interned for the North Dakota Legislative Council and was published twice in the North Dakota Law Review. He currently resides in Bismarck, N.D. Ben Ryder and Niki Brown, who met at a UVM hockey game senior year, got married in July 2024, surrounded by UVM alumni friends and family. After six years of working in Boise, Idaho, Mia Salgado has moved back to her hometown of Detroit, Michigan. She is looking forward to connecting with other UVM alums in the metro Detroit area.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
18
Andrew E. Card writes, “after six years teaching math at North Quincy High School, just south of Boston, my fiance and I have decided to return to the Green Mountains. This fall I will continue my career in education at Essex High School.”
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
19
Alexandra Shaffer graduated from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine with her DVM degree in May and has started her first job as an emergency veterinarian in Colorado Springs. Nicholas Washuta ’20 and Audrey Shenkin wrote as they were looking forward to an October 2024 wedding, eight years after meeting in Simpson Hall.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
20
Julie Belanger, Annie Butkus, Carolyn Caminear, and Anna Sullivan '19 currently reside together in Somerville, Mass., with their two cats Banjo and Tucci. Hailey Cray and Nathaniel Cassidy were married In the company of their family and friends in September 2024 at the Pierce House in Lincoln, Mass. Amanda Nicole Duffy started in a new role as the Sustainable Business Specialist at the Pet Sustainability Coalition in Boulder, Colorado. Madison Shaffer and Zac Favreau-Smith wrote from Durham, N.C. as they were celebrating their recent engagement. They plan to marry the following summer back in Vermont where they met. Page MacKillop Tomlinson G'20 welcomed a daughter, Eleanor Grace, in February 2024.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
21
Lizzy Grace Barrish writes that she “recently started working as a parttime studio assistant for Rory Shamlian, owner of Rory Pots on Pine Street. Earlier this year, I
launched my website for my personal small pottery business: lizzybarrish.com. I will soon be selling pots in Burlington at Barrio, and you may see me at markets around town! Additionally, I am proud to continue my full-time gig of working on the marketing and design team at Skida Headwear Accessories as a content coordinator.” JAKE Small writes, “I've called Boston home for three years now and hope to stay in this area for a while. Reach out when you visit Bean Town! I'm setting my sights towards pursuing doctoral study with a research focus on the mattering of Black boys as a persistence tool through the American education system. I endeavor to respond to the widening opportunity gap for Black men in this country. Check out my TEDx talk on the topic of Black boy mattering. Also, I recently released my debut book titled, FOR EVERY BLACK BOY. He invites readers to check it out and let him know what you think.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
22
Will Jeffries says he is coming up on the one-year anniversary of going fulltime in his own business and couldn't be more excited for life! He’d love to stay connected with other alumni in the Chittenden County area and invites anyone interested in connecting to get in touch.
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
23
Jamey G Hobar ’23 has started working in New York City as an alternative investments analyst for SEI. A
highlight this spring was attending the UVM vs. Duke March Madness game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Go Cats! Katie Marie Neuharth hopes the mechanical engineering department is still going strong! She can’t believe it’s been over a year since graduation and notes that time moves a lot faster when you’re finally finished with school and experiencing life as a fullfledged, responsible adult. She says that: “After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in May of 2023, I went on a trip with my parents to Belgium and the Netherlands. We visited many towns and cities there, it was an awesome experience, and I learned quite a lot in just a couple of weeks! I was lucky enough to get hired for my very first mechanical engineering job during my final spring semester by a company I met at the UVM spring career fair. I really appreciate the team of engineers who interviewed me and granted me the opportunity to become a member of their team. So in August of 2023, I started my job working as a mechanical engineer at General Dynamics Electric Boat in New London, Conn. EB designs and builds submarines for the U.S. Navy, so as you can imagine, the final product and mission are one-of-a-kind and essential to the nation! It’s been a fantastic learning opportunity and I’ve gotten lots of exposure to applying the skills I learned at UVM every day. The people have been so kind and supportive, I’m incredibly lucky and grateful to have found this community … I’ve also continued my Taekwondo training in Colchester, Conn. It’s been tons of fun, and I’ve created countless memories with the students and instructors already! I still always appreciate the time I got to spend with the many members and instructors of the UVM Taekwondo Club during all four years that I studied at UVM. I’ll never forget the fun times we had. Thank you UVM for the path you’ve helped me to pave, and I hope my fellow classmates are kicking butt and paving their own unique paths!” Lily Merchant joined ALDI as a District Manager and moved to New Haven, Conn. She sends love to all at the Grossman School.
Send your news to –Mr. Han Naung Tun htun@uvm.edu
24
Angelika Karapetian recently launched a customizable graphic t-shirt brand “based on my own hand-sketched designs of client’s pets. Find out more at pavlovnagraphics.com.”
Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note
UVM COMMUNITY
Dr. Timothy M. Bates taught economics in UVM’s College of Arts and Sciences from 1972 to 1990. His groundbreaking scholarship investigating Black capitalism contributed to the sea change taking place in the ’60s promoting Black-owned firms in the nation's inner cities. Tim's analysis investigated multiple factors imposed on Black business owners, exposing inadequacies of earlier empirical studies.
Norman Blair ’65 grew up working on his grandfather’s Jericho, Vt., dairy farm and was the first in his family to attend college. During his time as a UVM student, Norm was a proud brother in Lambda Iota. UVM was also where he met Linda, a nurse-intraining. Norm and his fraternity brother Robert Colagiovanni cut a 45rpm record called “Be Nice” and “Don’t Cry.” He is survived by beloved wife Linda and daughter Kristin Blair Kehde ’91
Dr. C. Norman Coleman ‘66, HON’15 built a career in the cancer world with immense, tangible impact around the country and around the globe. After the September 11th terrorist attacks led to increased concerns about the potential of improvised nuclear devices, he assembled a group of radiation, biology, and oncology experts to identify gaps in knowledge, which led to the establishment of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Radiological and Nuclear countermeasure programs. The blueprint he developed for response to radiological and nuclear incidents is still in use today. Throughout his life he remained active as a volunteer and donor at UVM. He is survived by his wife, Karolynn, children Gabrielle and Keith, and sister, Marjorie Coleman Berg ’62
Sarah Dopp ’68, G’82 passed away in March 2024. She was a medical technologist for 50 years whose curiosity and caring led her to a rich community and social life. Vermont history, social justice, land preservation, the arts, UVM’s women’s basketball – these were only some of the beneficiaries of her attention and generosity throughout her life.
Patricia Gallant’72, G’93, Ph.D.’99 passed away in April 2024. After earning her master’s degree in education, she energetically dove into mentorship, the pursuit of knowledge and a passion for education with a focus on literacy. She is remembered as a devoted friend to many, an educator, and a volunteer across many dimensions of her life.
Sylvia Heininger Holden ’51 passed away in June 2024. She and A. Clement Holden ’45 married in UVM’s Ira Allen Chapel in 1954, and she remained an active alumna and volunteer through the years, while living a life devoted to service and kindness. One neighbor shared the impression that “her (mostly) joyful outlook was as infectious as her determination to insist that humanity could always be better than it was. Having lived through some truly challenging eras in America, she was always steadfast in her faith that justice and a kind gesture would overcome the bleak clouds that often darken the outlook of today’s doom scroll.” She is survived by sons Alfred Clement Holden G’91 and Jeffrey Holden, and an extensive community of family and friends,
With the April 2024 passing of A. Paul Krapcho, the UVM community lost one of its most accomplished faculty members and scholars. Dr. Krapcho spent nearly 65 years at The University of Vermont and dedicated his life to improving the lives of others through his work in organic chemistry. Thousands of UVM graduate and undergraduate students benefited from his brilliant mind and passionate mentorship over the years, and his dedication is memorialized in perpetuity through the A. Paul and Arlene F. Krapcho Green and Gold Professorship in Chemistry Fund. He is survived by wife, Arlene, daughters Karen Krapcho and Susan Reid, and son, Douglas Paul Krapcho ’85.
Dr. Jack Lindsay passed away in April 2024. Dr. Lindsay originally came to UVM Extension to conduct a one-year pilot program in recreation management. This became a permanent position through which he shared his passion for teaching and mentoring students. After earning his Ph.D. in 1971, he returned to UVM’s Department of Forestry, where he and a colleague co-founded one of the country’s first recreation management programs. He is survived by wife, Patricia, and children John, Daniel, and Rebecca Lindsay Choquette ’94
Dr. John (Jacky) Charles Lylis, Jr. ‘64, G’66 passed away in April 2024. He is remembered as an ecologist and environmentalist who loved teaching, was devoted to his family, and someone who “never met a stranger but only a future friend.” He was a Kappa Sigma brother and baseball player while a student, and went on to remain deeply involved with UVM as a Victory Club and Alumni Association volunteer, and generous donor. He is survived by his wife, Sara Davis Lylis ’68, children Amanda Lylis Ahmadi, Esq. ’92, Eric Burns Lylis ’01, Stephanie Lylis, and Heather Lylis; son-in-law Afi Ahmadi ’93, beloved grandchildren, and many relatives and friends.
Hugh S. McKenzie, the founder and first director of UVM’s Center on Disability and Community Inclusion, passed away in Tucson, Arizona on June 7th after a long illness. Thanks to the foundation he laid, the center’s staff and faculty have continued to provide practical, innovative resources for those with disability and to promote community inclusion for all.
Robert S. Murch ’71 was the WRUV station manager for three years and a member of UVM ROTC while an undergraduate engineering student. He remained involved as an alumni volunteer and loyal UVM donor, while going on to an engineering career that included the Army Signal Corps, New York City’s WPIX, the United Nations, News Corps, and Fox Television Stations. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Sears, sons John William Murch ’06 and Thomas O. Murch, and several beloved grandchildren.
Phyllis Paolucci-Whitcomb G’71, emerita professor of social work, passed away in February 2024. She earned her M.Ed. from UVM and her Ed.D. from Boston University. She retired in 2009 after 39 years of outstanding service to UVM, first as a special education faculty member and later as a founding member of the
Department of Social Work. Her research and teaching focused on collaborative consultation models in general and special education, leadership preparation, equity issues, poverty, and the strengths and challenges encountered by foster and adoptive families. She will be remembered for her relational approach to teaching and supervising students, her impactful contributions to the fields of social work and general and special education, and her generous and collaborative approach to working with colleagues.
Madison Saltsburg ’24 passed away as the result of a fall while skiing in March 2024. She is remembered as an environmentally conscious, goal-oriented person with a heart of gold who once “actually harassed the trash man because they didn’t recycle.”
Barry Stone ’56 passed away in May 2024. The varsity basketball player was an avid athlete, generous donor, and active volunteer who stayed connected to UVM throughout his life. He received the UVM Distinguished Service Award and the UVM Athletic Department Award for his many contributions to his beloved UVM men’s basketball team. He will be remembered for his exceptional generosity, superb sense of humor and legendary storytelling. He is survived by beloved wife Carol and daughter Judy.
Peter Jack Tkatch, UVM professor emeritus, a co-founder of the pioneering Equity Fights AIDS organization, a theatre actor and professor, a warm and light-hearted brother, uncle and friend, and a dedicated advocate for the underdog, died of prostate cancer on July 5 at Colchester, Vermont’s Respite House. He taught at UVM from 1992 to2014.
Vermont State Senator Richard Sears ’66 passed away in June 2024. He moved to Bennington in 1971. From there, he forged a record of service that included decades in the Vermont legislature, and 35 years as the director of 204 Depot Street, a residential program for adolescent youth.
Dylan J. Wallace ’20 died in a kayak accident in February 2024. While at UVM, he majored in environmental studies and music in between kayaking trips. His family remembers that at UVM he found a strong community of fellow boating enthusiasts, among whom he was passionate about creating a safe and welcoming space for new kayakers to join the sport and was a patient and gentle teacher.
An entry in September of 2023 on the website of Heritage Auctions, the Dallas-based self-proclaimed “world’s largest collectibles auctioneer,” listed an item that freezes a moment in time on the UVM campus, and a key event in American music history. This mimeographed paper handbill promoted Bob Dylan’s 1965 performance at the Patrick Gymnasium. Dylan, who had recently stunned the folk music world by going electric, was backed up that night by The Hawks, who would later find fame on their own as The Band. The night of this concert, Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street” had just entered the Billboard Top 10 chart. Heritage noted that the handbill came “directly from the former college teacher who posted them.” The sheet of yellowed paper sold for $250.
CONGRATULATIONS
to the winners of the 2024 UVM Alumni Association and UVM Foundation Awards
OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD
Yi-Chuan Yu ’19
Yi-Chuan has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the field of cancer prevention research since his graduation from UVM, constantly applying the knowledge and skills he gained on campus to make significant contributions to the field of cancer epidemiology. He is currently working towards a Ph.D. in epidemiology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Cheryl B. Flood ’68, G’71
Cheryl is a lifelong educator, teacher, mentor, and leader who devoted her career to giving thousands of children a bright head start at life and learning. Her work in special and early childhood education is well known and respected throughout the country. Her approach, focused on experiential learning and a relationship-driven environment, made Cheryl a trailblazer in the field.
Jim Keller ’72 Massachusetts
A member of the Grossman School of Business Board of Advisors and a founding member of the UVM Foundation Board of Directors, Jim has demonstrated his devotion to his alma mater over 20 years of volunteer leadership. He even made an extraordinary commitment to step in as interim president and CEO of the UVM Foundation from January 2021 to June 2022. Jim and his wife Judy generously support growth and initiatives at the Grossman School and across UVM.
Building on a years-long partnership, MassMutual expanded its collaboration with UVM by establishing the MassMutual Center of Excellence for Complex Systems and Data Science. Since then, UVM faculty across multiple disciplines have worked alongside MassMutual data scientists on a growing portfolio of world-class research projects focused on improving human wellness through data analytics. This research gives people the tools and knowledge to make informed, proactive decisions to help them lead longer, healthier lives.
