Back on Campus: Richard Barrett '66

Richard Barrett ’66 says the early internships he participated in as a student at UVM boosted his career in business—and inspired him to give back.

For more than 20 years, the Barretts have invested in the growth and success of faculty, programs, and hundreds of students at UVM. Encouraged by the power of experiential learning, they created the Barrett Scholars Program in the College of Engineering and Mathematics (CEMS). The program provides prestigious, competitive summer internships to outstanding undergraduate engineers who wish to pursue research with an environmental impact.

Students selected for the program work with a distinguished faculty mentor in a combination of classroom, laboratory, and fieldwork to explore their research areas. Their projects involve the intersection of multiple disciplines of engineering and the environment, offering students exposure to solving real-world problems to help advance a healthy environment and healthy society.

In October, Richard and Elaine Barrett and Magdalena Paul, director of the Barrett Foundation, joined CEMS Dean Linda Shadler and UVM Foundation President and CEO Monica Delisa at a luncheon to hear presentations from the 2023 cohort of Barrett Summer Research Scholars. Students presented on topics ranging from using 3D particle tracking to improve snowfall estimates, to evaluating farm-based anaerobic food digesters for accepting food waste, to increasing solar power production and solar panel installation capacity.

The event, held in the Keller Room of Ifshin Hall, also brought together UVM faculty members who instruct in the program and more than a dozen alumni who were once Barrett

Scholars themselves. This year, the Alumni Association launched a new mentoring program through UVM Connect, in which alumni of the Barrett Scholars program can engage with current students. Many Barrett Scholar alumni—who represent 22 states and four countries—say the program had a big impact on their careers, putting them in a position now to help the students who have taken their place.

Richard Barrett closed the luncheon with sage advice for both students and graduates. His message reinforced the importance of practical experience and handson learning. He advised them to always raise their hands to accept new challenges and opportunities presented in a work environment.