The University of Vermont Magazine, Summer 2024

LIGHTS OUT!

A special UVM course fosters the “almost lost art” of thoughtful disagreement. In the words of one of its leaders, “this class is a judgment-free zone and a place to luxuriate in ambiguity.”

| BY KRISTEN MUNSON

Two-thousand years ago, a Roman Stoic wrote a work entitled “Why Farming Is the Best Job for a Philosopher.” Today, Professor Mark Usher proves the value of that concept.

| BY JOSHUA BROWN

Yes or no? Left or right? Looking back, we can see moments in life that set us on a particular path. Recent graduates pinpoint UVM courses that altered their direction in life.

In a landscape of ever-changing climate, the genetic diversity of crops is vital. UVM researchers are working to strengthen the food system by diversifying our seed supply.

| BY KRISTEN MUNSON

FRONT COVER: Monday, April 8, 2024, 3:26 p.m.: the Moon completely obscures the Sun, revealing its brilliant corona in the sky over Lake Champlain.

COVER: Joshua Brown

HERE COMES (AND GOES) THE SUN

“When the Moon and Sun are lined up perfectly, and the Moon is closer to Earth, you have a total eclipse,” explains UVM Senior Physics Lecturer John Perry. But even then, Perry adds, “the shadow cast by the Moon on Earth is actually pretty small, so you've also got to be in just the right place at that moment, to get totality.” On the afternoon of April 8, for three minutes and 15 seconds, that special place was the UVM campus and a surrounding section of northern Vermont. The event was a true once-in-a-lifetime experience: the next total eclipse in the U.S. takes place

in 20 years, and totality in Vermont – in a small section of the state’s southeast corner – won’t happen until 2079. It will be hundreds of years until a total solar eclipse is again visible from the Burlington campus.

At UVM, April 8 was declared an Alternate Instruction Day, and lectures, art exhibits, and performances kept people informed and entertained throughout the day. Thousands of special UVM-branded eclipse glasses were distributed to protect the eyes of people, like the crowd of UVM students pictured here, while they viewed

the slow encroachment of the Moon across the Sun. And the weather, always an issue this time of year, cooperated fully, delivering its own welcome rarity – a bluebird sky in the midst of Mud Season.

UVM’s Vermont Space Grant Consortium was the main source of all campus eclipse information. The program’s website features a full recounting of events of the day, as well as a link to a recording of the livestreaming of the eclipse from the balcony of UVM’s Davis Center.

Learn more at go.uvm.edu/eclipse

JOSHUA DEFIBAUGH

Building a Thriving Future for Vermont and the World

This semester, after a year of development, we introduced new branding and positioning for the university, under the core statement “for people and planet.” Much care and thoughtful work went into this effort, through a process that gathered input and insights from individuals and groups across the UVM community. This was the first time in decades that such a comprehensive examination was conducted to define who we are as an institution, and to distill those thoughts into clear language that can serve in the years ahead as our “true north,” guiding us in our work and helping to define UVM to potential new partners and community members.

I feel that directional pull strongly as I reflect on some of the current accomplishments at the university. In November we honored the legacy of Vermont’s longestserving senator, Patrick Leahy, as we formally opened the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships. Right away the institute began work to make a real difference in the lives of rural communities across the state. More than $1.7 million in grants were announced this year to fund over a dozen impactful community projects. This summer the institute, in partnership with our Community Development and Applied Economics Department, is funding a cohort of nine student interns who will assist and learn from organizations building community resilience across the Northeast Kingdom.

At the same time, we are leading a consortium, developed in partnership with GlobalFoundries and the State of Vermont, that the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Agency has designated one of 31 new national “tech hubs.” This opens the possibility of up to $75 million in additional federal funding to research and develop, right here in Vermont, leading-edge Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology that will increase energy efficiency in a host of products and generate new high-tech jobs for Vermonters.

Innovation at UVM does not only come in such big packages––we also foster young entrepreneurs just beginning to build on their dreams. In April we announced the winners of the inaugural Vermont Pitch Challenge, a national competition sponsored by UVM that gives high school student entrepreneurs the chance to learn to craft effective business proposals and compete for the top prize of a full-tuition UVM scholarship. The same month, we awarded the first Joy and Jerry Meyers Cup, a new UVM program for our student entrepreneurs. The Meyers Cup grants more than $200,000 and significant mentoring and business resources to the winners, creating a Vermont-based venture ready to make an impact on the state’s economy. These awards underscore the promise of the university as a seed ground for the next generation of innovators.

“For people and planet” captures the ethos of this university community precisely, as you can see throughout the contents of this issue of UVM Magazine, where you can learn about many examples of UVM community members following their spirit of inquiry and using their powers of creativity to build a healthier, greener tomorrow for us all.

—Suresh V. Garimella President, University of Vermont

Why Internships Matter

What does NASA, the solar eclipse, and a trip to San Jose all have in common? Anja Samsom ‘24 and the incredible internship experience she has this academic year. Read on to see how the dots connect and why internships are so valuable for students at UVM.

Read more about Anja’s story at go.uvm.edu/anja.

MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER

University of Vermont

Suresh V. Garimella, 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, Christina Davenport, Doug Gilman, Kristen Munson, Jeanne Nauheimer, Ed Neuert, Nate Scandore, Su Reid-St. John, Adam White

PHOTOGRAPHY

Bailey Beltramo, Joshua Brown, Jenn Karson, Frank Collins, Joshua Defibaugh, Chris Dissinger, Andy Duback, James Gathany, Sally McCay, Ryan Pham, Cole Royer, David Seaver, Alex Weiss, Dave Wegiel, NASA, NECN, NBC10 Boston

PROOFREADERS

Tom Jennings, Vicki Miller

DESIGN ASSOCIATE

Cara Costello Mezitt

ADDRESS CHANGES

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

CORRESPONDENCE

Editor, UVM Magazine 16 Colchester Avenue Burlington, VT 05405 magazine@uvm.edu

CLASS NOTES

alumni.uvm.edu/classnotes

UVM MAGAZINE Issue No. 94, June 2024

Publishes Spring / Fall Printed in Vermont by Lane Press

UVM MAGAZINE ONLINE uvm.edu/uvmmag

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YOU SHOULD KNOW

COMING HOME

In December, Peter Newman was appointed dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, effective July 1. Newman, who comes to Vermont from Penn State University, is an accomplished scholar and leader who earned a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from UVM. He also holds an M.S. in Forest Resource Management from SUNY Syracuse, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rochester. In between degrees, he was a member of the Backcountry Patrol of the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho and a National Park Service Ranger in Yosemite National Park.

Read more: go.uvm.edu/deannewman

INDISPUTABLY CHAMPS

In a culmination of a year’s work of research, case writing, practice, and debating, UVM’s Lawrence Debate Union, now in its 125th year, notched a Social Justice Debates national championship at the finals at Moorhouse College in February. “It was incredible to watch my teammates and friends compete and to get to learn from everyone present at the tournament,” said first-year student Agnes Shales. “I’m so grateful to be part of such a wonderful group. Very excited to continue to explore social justice topics and continue to learn through these debates.”

Read more: go.uvm.edu/debatechamps

PURPOSEFUL PRIZE

The Grossman School of Business hosted the final presentations of the inaugural Joy and Jerry Meyers Cup on April 25. Out of the three UVM undergraduate teams that presented their business ideas to a panel of judges, Painting With Purpose won the grand prize of $212,500 in cash, with additional in-kind services from local organizations included to ensure its successful business launch and support the Vermont entrepreneurial community. This is the first time a competition has awarded cash prizes of this magnitude to college students in Vermont. Founded by senior Jake Falanga and Zach Dunn ’23, Painting With Purpose is a residential and commercial painting company that donates a portion of its profits to the Tim's House shelter in St. Albans, Vt.

Read more: go.uvm.edu/meyersprize and on page 55.

CREATING SPACES

In December, UVM’s Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion announced ahmed khanani’s appointment as director of the Mosaic Center for Students of Color. khanani holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and has worked as an assistant professor at Indiana University and Earlham College, most recently as Earlham’s director of the Center for Social Justice, Clerk of the Faculty, and Plowshares Associate Professor of Politics. They have spent their career seeking to “create spaces for persons who didn’t believe they belonged” they said. “I’m thrilled to be part of a space that fosters the values of joy and beauty, accepting ourselves and inviting others to appreciate our excellence.”

Read more: go.uvm.edu/khanani

–Zane Zupan ’25, on being named to the 2024 cohort of the prestigious Truman Scholar Program

Read more: go.uvm.edu/zanezupan

NEW COLLABORATIONS FOR RURAL SOLUTIONS

Vermont Governor Phil Scott and U.S. Senator Peter Welch were among the dignitaries on hand November 10 to help retired U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and the university community celebrate the official opening of the Patrick Leahy Building and launch of the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships. And in just a few months, the partnerships began, with the institute announcing a wave of grants in late February totaling over $1.7 million in funding to more than a dozen deserving, transformative projects around the state.

Read more: go.uvm.edu/lirp

A PATH TO EXCELLENCE

In November, the university released its first-ever Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan, a datadriven strategic plan centered on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The plan outlines the University’s commitment and process for advancing inclusive excellence across the university over the next five years. “This plan is integral to the fulfillment of our mission as the state’s flagship public university,” UVM President Suresh Garimella said. “The broad participation in creating this vision was impressive, and its implementation will strengthen and enrich our entire campus community.”

Read more: go.uvm.edu/actionplan

ANDY DUBACK

PITCH PERFECT

In April, Pippa Scott, a high school junior from Killington, Vt., won the grand prize at the University of Vermont’s inaugural Vermont Pitch Challenge, the nation’s only university pitch competition that offers outstanding high school entrepreneurs a chance to secure a full-tuition scholarship in recognition of their innovative ventures. Scott captured the judges' attention at UVM with an inspiring business proposal for her already-established nonprofit, Ride for Mental Health. Her transformative program raises awareness about and provides support to kids and teens struggling with mental health, through a focus on action sports.

Read more and watch the video recap at go.uvm.edu/vtpitch

Brand New

UVM Adopts New Brand Positioning: “For People and Planet”

CAMPUS | A yearlong creative development process came to a head mid-March, as UVM debuted refreshed and refined branding, including new positioning and the first major revision to the university’s primary logo in nearly 25 years.

Developed with input from faculty, students, staff, and alumni, “For people and planet” is the core of UVM’s new positioning, reinforcing the distinctive excellence of the institution’s academic and research activities centered on human health, thriving communities, and the environment. The university offers some 50 majors and dozens of graduate degrees that span these areas.

“‘For people and planet’ captures concisely and authentically all that we stand for,” said President Suresh Garimella, “and it speaks to the

sense of purpose that so many of our students, faculty, and staff express as they pursue their studies and conduct research with global impact.”

UVM’s updated logo, a bold “V” shield paired with the institution’s name is intended to make an immediate connection with Vermont, compared with the previous tower logo. The tower is a local landmark, but UVM has moved to a symbol that is more inclusive of all of Vermont and less dependent upon knowing what the campus looks like. Additionally, there are dozens of similar-looking tower logos used by other colleges and universities. A phased roll-out of the logo will help control costs and environmental impact since the university plans to use all existing materials before replacing them with the new logo.

Designed to maintain its readability, even at very small scale—think social media and apps—the new “V” is actually not completely new to UVM, as it has for years been prominently used by UVM Athletics, paired with a leaping catamount.

“Generations of students and alumni are familiar with the block ‘V’ used by UVM Athletics,” said Joel Seligman, UVM’s chief communications and marketing officer.

“We are embracing that spirit and heritage by making ‘V’ the singular mark for all of the university.”

Detailed information about the new branding, including tools and resources, is available at uvm.edu/brand.

Logo Evolution

Revising UVM’s institutional mark is not a new concept. Over the years, particularly since the 1980s, it has gone through several iterations, with the Old Mill tower coming into use only in the late 1990s.

UVM Introduces the Planetary Health Initiative

HEALTH | Consider your breath. In that inrush of air, you bring oxygen to your lungs, keeping you alive. It’s the same air that covers the whole planet—oxygen produced by green life. The intricate interplay that we call the environment is not scenery; it’s the fundamental health care system.

During two sessions this spring, leaders, faculty, staff, and students from across UVM’s campus gathered to ponder the meaning of “planetary health”—and to set the stage for a bold university-wide effort called the UVM Planetary Health Initiative.

“Human well-being is inextricably linked with the health of the environment,” said UVM Provost and Senior Vice President Patty Prelock to more than a hundred people gathered in the Davis Center on April 22 for a public event, "For People and Planet: Shaping Planetary Health at UVM." The session invited the university community to consider how UVM’s distinguished contributions in addressing environmental, health, and social justice challenges could be gathered and strengthened under the banner of planetary health.

The overall goal of this new effort, led by the Provost’s Office and numerous campus partners: position the university to be both a global and rural leader in this rapidly expanding field.

This gathering followed a lecture, “This is Planetary Health,” on April 19, by Tom Gillespie (at right), an expert on infectious disease and planetary health, chair of the Department of Environmental Sciences at Emory University, and co-director of the Gombe Ecosystem Health Project in Tanzania. “As our populations increase, now at 8 billion, our continued health and existence as a species depends on a healthy natural ecosystem and the interdependent web of life that comprises these ecosystems,” Gillespie told the assembled audience of deans and senior faculty from across many UVM colleges and schools. His own work in emerging infectious diseases in tropical

regions provided powerful examples of how the intersection of wildlife, land use change, human population growth, climate stress, and inadequate medical care place the health of people across the planet— and the planet itself—at growing risk.

“We have exceeded global capacities,” Gillespie said, and are in a “process of acceleration in the ways we are using resources—unsustainable ways.” He noted UVM’s excellent positioning and expertise to expand its leadership in global health; the new initiative emerges from the university’s strong culture of interdisciplinary research and teaching in ecosystem science, sustainable agriculture, ecological economics, complex systems, behavioral medicine, environmental thought, and many other disciplines.

The planetary health approach is “understanding the linkages between humancaused disruption of Earth’s natural systems and resulting impacts on public health," Gillespie said. “Everyone in the room has capacity to contribute to this in some way.”

The formal launch of the new initiative will take place on campus in October as part of a summit convened by UVM’s Osher Center for Integrative Health.

UVM/GlobalFoundries Consortium

Recognized as Tech Hub

National Designation Unlocks Potential for up to $75 Million in Funding for Semiconductor Research

The College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences' device characterization teaching lab is part of the supportive infrastructure that helped lead to the UVM/ GlobalFoundries Tech Hub designation.

RESEARCH | This past fall, a consortium led by the University of Vermont and including GlobalFoundries and the State of Vermont was designated as one of 31 Tech Hubs by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), opening the opportunity for up to $75 million in federal grant funding to further research in semiconductor technology.

“The consortium’s Tech Hub designation galvanizes UVM’s standing as a national leader in research and workforce development related to this vital technological space,” said UVM President Suresh Garimella. “We are deeply grateful to our partners in the consortium—GlobalFoundries, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and the Vermont State College System—for their collaboration and support helping establish Greater Burlington as a national center for semiconductor innovation.”

The EDA designation paves the way for the consortium to apply for Phase II of the program, which will culminate in award implementation grants totaling approximately $50-75 million to each of up to 10 Tech Hubs.

GaN technology, and other emerging semiconductor materials, are being rapidly adopted by the region’s semiconductor industry and promise growth across the entire tech sector with unique research potential, growth in ancillary and supply chain companies, and new opportunities for the regional workforce and education sectors.

“Advancing Gallium Nitride (GaN) Technology in the Greater Burlington Area” was selected by the Tech Hubs program from nearly 400 applications. The aim of the program is to “strengthen U.S. economic and national security by catalyzing technology-based regional growth that enables the industries of the future to start, grow, and remain in regions across our country,” according to the EDA’s written announcement of the designation. The actual public announcement took place at a live event hosted by President Biden.

The goal of the Vermont Tech Hub is to build and sustain a successful ecosystem for advancing GaN and other semiconductor innovations and, in the process, to grow the economy and economic vitality of the region and the state.

The Tech Hub designation came on the heels of the recent launch of UVM’s new Device Characterization Lab, a partnership with GlobalFoundries, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, aimed at driving semiconductor research and preparing students for key roles within the field.

High-Altitude Research

MEDICINE | Every blast-off from the Kennedy Space Center is something of a nail-biter—befitting a controlled explosion of thousands of pounds of propellant. But for UVM Larner College of Medicine’s Scott Tighe, Julie Dragon, and Kirsten Tracy, the November 10 launch of the 29th SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) had added personal weight. Tighe is technical director for the Advanced Genome Technologies Core; Dragon is associate professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and the director of the Vermont

Biomedical Research Network Data Science Core; Tracy is a senior scientist in the Vermont Integrative Genomics Resource Core. For three years, the trio worked on an experimental project to give astronauts a mechanism to extract DNA for analysis in-flight in an automated way, a need that will only become more acute as NASA expands its program of longer missions to the Moon and beyond. This first-phase UVM project, called µTitan, or Micro-Titan, reached the ISS on November 11. After a month in action, it was returned to Earth in mid-December.

Love, Possibly

BY KRISTEN MUNSON

There is a lot to be cynical about. The planet’s climate is changing faster than our solutions for managing it. Wars on multiple continents have left millions of people displaced or dead. Creeping authoritarianism. Given the state of global affairs, one might wonder if people have soured on something as idyllic as love. In the fall, Todd McGowan, professor of film studies, devoted his class, “Love and the Romantic Comedy,” to find out if students do really believe in love, and could reach a collective answer.

One December morning, McGowan strides across the floor of a large classroom in Innovation Hall in running shoes, jeans, and a long black sleeve shirt with the words “LACK” circled in white—paraphernalia for an organization he co-founded that explores psychoanalytic theory in the vein of the French philosopher Jacques Lacan. McGowan is slim and bald and begins the 100-person class with a mix of jokes, often at his own expense.

McGowan is a prolific writer (he has published 16 books and has three more under contract) who theorizes widely: Hegel and identity politics, to free will and comedy. Humor is an excellent delivery method for such topics and allows students to participate in what could be an intimidating space.

The class discussion wends between the films Groundhog Day and Glengarry Glen Ross and examination of the German philosopher ByungChul Han’s ideas in the book The Agony of Eros. McGowan advances to a slide with a Han quote, “In a world of unlimited possibilities, love itself represents an impossibility,” which kicks off debate concerning dating apps and capitalism.

“In a world of unlimited consumption, all these distractions get in the way of love,” one student suggests.

“On Amazon you can buy anything except a person to love,” McGowan muses. “Everything else is possible.”

Dating apps give the illusion of the endless swipe of possibilities, another student offers.

“Are we the victims to a culture that has no limits? No mystery?” McGowan asks. “Love requires lack. That’s why I am wearing this shirt today.”

Class ends and McGowan still has at least a dozen slides left to show that he promises to post online.

“I never reteach a class. Ever. Ever,” McGowan says afterwards. “So, this is the one time…I shouldn’t say

that. Because people have really liked it. So, if I did it again, I would just do all different movies and all different books. But basically, I have never retaught a class. It’s not fun.”

Student demand is what drove him to create “Love and the Romantic Comedy” in the first place. Each semester he queries students for ideas “and then I do it,” McGowan says.

“And they ask questions and that helps germinate certain lines of thinking,” McGowan says.

These days he is thinking about (and writing) three books. One is titled The Capitalist Excess Alienation as something to be overcome. The last book is proposes that “instead of trying to change the future we need to change the past.”

“Love is a disruption of the everyday… it is what allows us to transcend our everyday existence and find a value that is not reducible to exchange or use.”

He also co-hosts “Why Theory,” a podcast he and Ryan Engley M.A. assistant professor of media studies at Pomona College, launched six years ago to explain cultural phenomena using psychoanalytic theory.

“When we started it, we thought ‘oh, 20 people will listen in,’” McGowan says. “And that would be fine.”

He is not suggesting we can go back in time and change historical events. But he does believe we can look at the past and re-examine what we consider to be important. For instance, perhaps we think of people like Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass as some of the founders of America, he says. “What if we asked ‘who were the real figures of say, equality or freedom?’ … I don’t think history weighs on us in the way we think it does. I think it’s always possible to reinterpret the past and then change its effect on us.”

The next week an email arrives. McGowan’s students have come to consensus about love.

“They all gravitated to the theory from one of the authors we read—Mari Ruti,” he writes. “Her idea is that love is a disruption of the everyday, that it is what allows us to transcend our everyday existence and find a value that is not reducible to exchange or use.”

But “Why Theory” has more than 2,000 followers and most episodes have upwards of 15,000 plays on SoundCloud. While most listeners are graduate students and professors, people outside academia have stumbled across it and begun engaging in conversations with the hosts.

McGowan admits that people who believe in love may be more likely to sign up for the class.

But does he believe in love?

“Absolutely,” he says with a smile. “Totally believe in love. I like this idea of falling in love. That love is a falling out of your everyday and it disrupts your given ways of being and forces you to think about another person and get out of your own self… I think that you are able to, through love, find something about yourself that you otherwise couldn’t. But the point is, you’re not focused on yourself.”

Taking Off

The “Covid Class” of 2024 Reflects on Challenges and Changes

STUDENT SUCCESS |

Four years ago, in the spring and summer of 2020, they were effectively grounded. Stuck at home, they prepared for a graduation ceremony like no other—or, for some of them, no ceremony at all. It was the start of the first “Covid summer,” and for the high school classes of 2020, that meant graduating via Zoom, or while sitting in the family car at a drive-in theatre.

In the fall of that year, UVM writers told the story of a small group of these students as they began their UVM journey: one that started with masks and social distancing and, as the UVM community rallied to safely come through the pandemic, added close friendships, and deep learning and research experiences. For some, their planned pathways were confirmed. For others, their UVM experience revealed new directions to explore. But these five and, indeed, all the members of the Class of 2024, are veterans of a unique experience. And now they’re ready to take flight.

1.

4.

2.

5.

3.

JOSHUA BROWN, RYAN PHAM, COLE ROYER

1.

Fritz Gick

Material Gains

Crawling on the floor of an engineering lab in Votey Hall, Fritz Gick ’24 climbs out from under a roof. “We built this,” he says with a big grin. As his senior capstone project in engineering, Gick and a partner worked for a client to test a clever and simple idea: cool houses with cloth to reduce the amount of air conditioning needed. In 2020, Gick came to UVM planning to become a commercial pilot. Four years later, he’s taking off in many ways. Majoring in mechanical engineering with minors in computer science and math, he’s excelled as a student. Gick still loves flying, but has adjusted his goals. “I might end up being a materials professor,” he says. “I’d Iike to get a Ph.D. and do research developing new materials. There's always a search for better materials—including the stuff we use to make airplanes.”

4.

Pearl Stuart

Singing her Song

Pearl Stuart is in the music studio again. She plugs in a microphone, adjusts a few virtual dials on an equalizer and puts on her headphones. A music technology and business major, Stuart has spent a lot of time in studios over the last four years. Sometimes she’s been on this side of the equipment, sitting in the dark, supporting another musician or cleaning up a track. Other times, she’s on the live side of the microphone, under bright stage lights, singing. In 2020, when Stuart arrived on campus, she was already a committed musician, having released two solo albums. Her years of college haven’t been easy. “Starting during Covid totally threw me off,” she says. An internship helped her find her way. Now she leads a new band. “My world has opened up. Burlington is great. There’s a lot of music and it’s an approachable size.”

2.

Ryan Pham Food and Friendships

As a kid, the one thing Ryan Pham knew was that he was going to college. That was something instilled in him by his parents—immigrants from Vietnam— and particularly by Pham’s mother. “And I’m happy she did,” he says. Pham grew up in Burlington and is the first in his family to attend college. He came to the University of Vermont to study microbiology and picked up a second major in nutrition food sciences. Both fields marry his interests: working in the lab and cooking. Pham’s first year at UVM, the Covid-19 pandemic was an ever-present part of life. Dorm residents wore masks and classes were conducted online. These days he looks forward to road trips and weekly in-person Survivor viewing parties with friends. Pham has already fielded job offers as a food safety technician and is waiting to hear about positions in clinical microbiology labs.

5.

Sydney Webster

Finding Community

Sydney Webster laughs when asked what she expected her UVM experience to be in the fall of 2020. “I just thought that I would know everything about the world when I graduated.” Then she pauses and laughs again. “And I definitely don't!...and I think it was better than I could have imagined.” Webster’s interest in human and ecological well-being continued and deepened at UVM. After a powerful first-year course on race and racism, she chose to major in health and society with minors in community and international development and integrative health. During the pandemic, Webster took a gap semester and worked on a sheep farm in New Zealand, so she has one semester left to finish—which she’ll take in Grenada, Spain, studying language. “I didn't expect UVM and Burlington to be such a strong-knit community,” she says. “I'm really grateful I got to experience that. I’ll take that with me.”

3. Cole Royer

The Long Run

Cole Royer recalls his first year at UVM, when almost everyone wore masks, and he held high expectations. As a medical laboratory science major, Royer contemplated a career in pathology. And he envisioned qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Four years later he remains on pace to tick off most of these boxes. During the winter and summer of his freshman year, Royer swabbed noses at a Covid-19 field clinic near the U.S.Canadian border, where he grew up. His sophomore year he joined a research lab and worked evenings in the clinical laboratory. Junior year, he volunteered as a patient advocate at UVM Medical Center, and at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge. After graduation, he will continue working in the lab while he prepares for the next phase of his life: studying for the MCAT exam and applying for M.D./Ph.D. programs. And on May 26, he ran the Burlington City Marathon.

READ THE FULL STORY

Use a mobile camera or visit go.uvm.edu/revisit2024 to read the full text of this this story to learn more about these students.

Use a mobile camera or visit go.uvm.edu/meet2024 to read the original "Meet the Class of 2024" story.

Best and Highest Use

UVM and Casella Work Together to Move Closer to “Circularity”

As part of their SI-MBA practicum experience, Matt Francis G’22 and Zoe Kurtz G’22 worked with Casella client Becton Dickinson, a leading medical device company, on the first largescale effort to assess the feasibility of recycling medical waste found in red sharps containers. Plastic from this and other waste ends up as shredded recyclable material.

SUSTAINABILITY

| For nearly 50 years, Casella Waste Systems has been asking a simple question: How can we do more with waste material than just disposing of it? UVM researchers are helping them find the solutions, no matter how complex.

If you’ve spent any time in the Northeast, you have likely spotted Casella’s signature white-and-blue trucks servicing your town. They’re a mainstay across New England and New York—and more recently Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. Most customers see their household trash and recycling gobbled up by the powerful compactors but don’t give much thought to what happens next. Turns out that disappearing your empty water bottles and last week’s leftovers is just the tip of the iceberg, a small fraction of the broad and sophisticated material management infrastructure that Casella has built. And with the help of UVM researchers, they are pioneering industry-leading innovations that will give us all a cleaner, safer world to live in.

“We're not in the garbage business. We're in the business of protecting public health and the environment,” says John Casella, a UVM parent

and the company’s chairman and CEO. “Our goal is to put these materials to their best and highest use, both from an environmental and an economic standpoint. We view waste as a resource for producing renewable energy and as a raw material for manufacturing new products.”

Doug Casella founded the company in 1975 in Rutland, Vt., collecting waste from residential customers in a single pickup truck. A year later his brother John joined him, and together they built the state’s first recycling center in 1977, and launched one of the earliest food collection programs in the country in Burlington. Since then, the company has grown to become one of the largest recyclers and most experienced fully integrated resource management companies in the eastern United States. For 30 years, Casella has invested in a collaborative partnership with UVM, supporting undergraduate scholarships, guest lectures, and graduate fellowships, as well as cutting-edge research that continues to improve the industry and reduce the environmental impact of waste.

“We are about sustainable material management. That's what we strive to do, and that's what makes us different," says Paul Ligon ’90, Casella senior vice president and chief revenue officer, as well as parent of three UVM graduates. “Our company culture and core values really align with that pragmatic, hands-on UVM spirit of, ‘Hey, it’s great to talk about sustainability, but show me how to go and do it. Let’s make it happen.’”

Casella has partnered with research faculty and graduate fellows in UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment to test a new food de-packaging system at the company’s recycling facility in Williston, Vt. More than a third of food waste in the state is still packaged, but Casella is evaluating the new technology’s efficiency at removing packaging so that the organic contents can be used to generate a clean, renewable source of energy called biogas. As part of the research, graduate fellows have developed new methods to quantify and identify microplastic contamination and its impacts on agricultural soils.

“I have always been impressed with Casella’s eagerness to support rigorous science and learning,” says Assistant Professor of Environmental Sciences Eric Roy, who leads the microplastics research. “With their support, our graduate students have been able to pursue leading-edge research resulting in products that inform both policy and practice. And undergraduate students benefit from having state-of-the-art equipment at their fingertips and opportunities to learn about important technology in organics recycling. I would hold up our team’s work, supported by Casella’s gifts, as an example of how such partnerships, when grounded in an authentic quest for knowledge, can benefit society and the environment.”

In September, the Grossman School of Business recognized Casella with its prestigious Vermont Legacy Enterprise Award at its 12th Annual Vermont Legacy and Family Enterprise Awards.

“UVM is a strategic partner with whom we share so many interests and goals,” says John Casella. “We see the university as an important incubator of talent and passion and innovation for our industry. As we think about the policy, infrastructure, and impact that will make Vermont a leader in sustainable resource management, that requires the research and the brain trust that comes from UVM. It’s invaluable not only to us but to the state and beyond.”

More Trees → Less Malaria

HEALTH | More than 600,000 people are killed each year worldwide from malaria, and two thirds are children under age five in subSaharan Africa. UVM scientists have found a treatment that could prevent thousands of these deaths: trees. New research published this year in the journal GeoHealth suggests forests can provide natural protection against disease transmission, particularly for the most vulnerable children.

Malaria spreads through the bite of Anopheles mosquitoes. While malaria is a disease long associated with

demographic and health survey data of over 11,500 children with mosquito-range maps and land-use changes to determine how wealth, temperature, precipitation, and forest cover influenced infection rates. They used multi-level mixed effects models to test potential relationships and found the individuals impacted most are those who can least afford it.

“By asking where and for whom, Tafesse was able to show that deforestation doesn’t affect everyone’s health the same,” says Gund Director Taylor Ricketts. “Those in poorer

lower socioeconomic status, the UVM study links deforestation with higher risk of the disease, particularly for children from poorer households.

“One of the takeaways from this study is in order to have good public health policy it is also important to consider environmental conservation—not degrade the land and make it suitable for breeding mosquitoes,” says lead author Tafesse Estifanos, a former postdoc at UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment.

He partnered with UVM faculty members to analyze the prevalence of malaria in six sub-Saharan African countries where the disease is endemic. The team linked

communities, and those with certain dominant mosquito vectors, are more vulnerable. That helps us target interventions to have the most benefit for the most vulnerable kids.”

Previous Gund investigations have shown that poorer and more rural communities are often the most affected by ecosystem degradation—and suffer health consequences such as stunting, malnutrition, and diarrheal diseases.

“Conserving forests and other nature is not only good for kids’ health, it does the most good for the most vulnerable kids,” Ricketts says.

JAMES GATHANY, DR. FRANK COLLINS, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, USCDCP

A History of Hygiene in Modern France: The Threshold of Disgust Bloomsbury, 2024

By Steven Zdatny

In the introduction to his new book, Steven Zdatny, UVM professor of history, notes that if we were able to go back into the past, “the first thing we would be struck by would be the smell.” But Zdatny doesn’t just cover the evolution of deodorant and indoor plumbing. Rather, he tells “a happy story of progress” of how hygiene revolutionized the human condition. The evolution of hygiene amounts to a substantial, fundamental, game-changing improvement in the human condition, Zdatny adds, including a threefold increase in life expectancy and an exponential decrease in infant mortality. “It’s a story of human betterment,” he says. “And at the end of the day, I think that’s the point.”

The Death Doula’s Guide to Living Fully and Dying Prepared

New Harbinger Publications, 2023

By Francesca Lynn Arnoldy ’03

Merriam-Webster still defines the word “doula” solely as “a person trained to provide advice, information, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and just after childbirth.” But in recent years the term has been applied to scenarios at both the beginning of life, and at its end.

Francesca Lynn Arnoldy, UVM Class of 2003, studied to become a birth and postpartum doula after the birth of her first child. But the experience of caring for her grandfather during his final days changed her life. She shifted her doula focus to primarily end-of-life care and established UVM's Endof-Life Doula Professional Certificate, a program she directed from 2017 to 2022. Her book is a first-of-its-kind publication defined by its subtitle: “An Essential Workbook to Help You Reflect Back, Plan Ahead, and Find Peace on Your Journey.”

Birding to Change the World

HarperCollins, 2024

By Trish O’Kane

In her new book, Trish O’Kane, senior lecturer in UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, delves into her journey from accidental ornithologist to community organizer and professor. With birds at the center, it weaves together stories of science and social change.

Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben says it is “not just a delightful story but a powerful one, showing how we can open doors into the natural world, and hence into the fight to defend it.”

A 2022 national survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that approximately 96 million people over the age of 16 engage in birdwatching. This number has more than doubled in the

five years since the previous survey was conducted. O’Kane’s work is expanding the growing community of birdwatchers even further by sharing the benefits of birding with students at an early age.

O’Kane, who received the 2018 KroepschMaurice Excellence in Teaching Award, explained the world-changing possibilities of birding in a recent interview at UVM: “I believe in this concept because it’s true for me – birding has changed my life and my world. It forces me to slow down and when you slow down, you start to notice things you didn't notice before. You connect to your surroundings differently. For my students, this might mean they don't just notice the birds, they also notice social injustices relating to accessibility and availability of natural spaces.”

Read the full interview with Trish O’Kane at: go.uvm.edu/birdingforchange

The Roots of American Individualism: Political Myth in the Age of Jackson

Princeton University Press; 2022

By Alex Zakaras

In America, where “having it your way” is a major selling point for everything from fast food to home-building, and making your own way in the world is the gold standard of achievement, individualism stands as the ideal for realizing the American Dream. But when and why did this concept take hold in the American imagination, and how does it continue to influence our society and political system today—for better or worse? A spirit of independence has embodied the American mystique since the country’s beginnings, but during the Jacksonian era, the American way of thinking about politics and society grew significantly more individualistic. Alex Zakaras, professor in the UVM Department of Political Science, argues this point in his book, tracing the establishment of this ideal back to an often-unsung time in the country’s history, and illustrates how it continues to pervade our society and political system to this day.

Drawing Botany Home: A Rooted Life

Rocky Mountain Books, 2023

By Lyn Baldwin ’95

Lyn Baldwin, a teacher and plant conservation biologist based in the South Thompson Valley of British Columbia, won the 2023 Banff Mountain Book competition for this illustrated natural history memoir. One reviewer called the book “a daringly original integration of botany and memoir. It is a story of Place: the place where rooted plants grow and the place we call home, altered by the often chaotic path of our lives, the brutal history of human conquest and the Earth-altering trajectory of the Anthropocene.”

Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World

Hachette Book Group, 2023

By Joe Roman

In his new book “Eat, Poop, Die,” which was named a top-ten best book of 2023 by Scientific American, UVM wildlife expert Joe Roman explores the fascinating lives of whales, seabirds, insects, and other animals as they traverse their homes, from a few thousand kilometers of ocean to a few inches of soil. The book reveals that, in carrying out their most basic life functions, animals play a crucial role in moving nutrients around the planet—and they’re sustaining life as we know it along the way.

Roman, a fellow and writer-in-residence at UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment, explains how standing aboard a boat deck and watching a whale poop inspired a new argument for protecting Earth’s species. “I went out with a net and collected

whale poop, and we found it contained high levels of elements like nitrogen and phosphorus, which are essential to phytoplankton and other organisms. And if we add up the nutrients surfaced by right whales, humpbacks, and other cetaceans in the Gulf, they introduce more nutrients than all the rivers of the Gulf of Maine combined…. We often think of plants as the lungs of the planet, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. We can think of animals as the circulatory system. They can move nutrients up and down in the ocean or the forests—or across thousands of miles when they migrate.”

Read an interview with Joe Roman on his book at: go.uvm.edu/eatpoopdie

TALKING W/ ZEYNEP

TUFEKCI

You’re going to be speaking about lessons learned from a decade of observing social media. What are some of these lessons?

Tufekci: There are lessons from social media, and I’m interested in applying them to the big change happening right now—the rise of artificial intelligence. One lesson is to not too quickly jump to conclusions about the winners and losers. It’s important to consider the entirety of the system from technology to social institutions—and their interactions. We need to be specific about how does technology work, what are the human incentives, what are the structural dynamics? And we also should be very mindful of the fact that these interactions and dynamics don’t just happen—they are going to depend on choices we make. There's not one set, single path that AI will take.

scientific advancements, have certain equilibriums that they facilitate—and certain equilibriums they don't. Take an example from nuclear weapons. There's only so many ways a world with nuclear weapons can continue. And one of those ways is not that we have a nuclear war every other year. That is not a viable path. You either have a world in which there is a significant barrier to their use or you don't have a world. And there's not really many alternatives to that because of the nature of the technology. Nuclear war is not something you can “kind of” do.

After a decade of study, pioneering sociologist Zeynep Tufekci says social media is “specifically designed to draw you in, and waste your time, and distort your thinking.” With the rise of artificial intelligence, the role and power of social media may shift radically. But in what ways? This may be the most urgent question of the next decade. Tufekci—the Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University and columnist for the New York Times brings a deeply informed and pragmatic approach to finding answers.

Tufekci delivered the George D. Aiken Lecture, part of UVM’s Presidential Lecture Series, in early March. UVM science writer Joshua Brown spoke with her beforehand to learn more about her views on social media and AI—and what she might have to say to UVM students about how to respond.

Use a mobile camera to scan the QR, or visit go.uvm.edu/zeynep to read the full version of this edited conversation.

I often hear people say, “technology is neutral. It's all about what you do with it.” Do you think the moral nature of AI depends on how we use it?

Tufekci: There’s a very common saying, “Oh, it's just a tool. It depends on whether we use it for good or bad.” While that may be true in some very abstract sense, it’s misleading because particular tools don't have infinite sets of possibilities. Certain outcomes are more possible and more likely, and technologies have certain structures. So you can't just say, “Oh, here it is, and I can do anything with it.” You have to be cognizant of the question: which direction is this tool pulling me? And which direction is society going to pull this technology because of the way society works? An open-ended, anything-canhappen scenario is misleading.

I would warn people against that. Your intentions matter greatly, but AI or other technologies are not things that you can do anything with. Specific technologies, specific

And it’s similar when you look at artificial intelligence; it's not some abstraction. It is a very specific set of technologies, machine learning, reinforcement learning, it's a particular way of being trained. It's not some abstract intelligence. It's a very concrete application of a particular computational technology, which means it can do certain things but not others. And it has weaknesses and costs and tradeoffs, but they're really specific. And that's what we should talk about.

Who is this "we" and what choices should we be considering?

Tufekci: There are lots of actors who would like to be making those choices! My view is that, as a society, we should be making those choices based on democratic legitimacy and the public interest. And it should not be just a few companies making money from them. That's what I argue. But that is not always what happens because of a complicated process with these companies: They make money, they become very friendly with politicians who also want to use these tools. One of the lessons from social media is that many of these decisions have been made by very few unaccountable actors rather than through society as a whole through mechanisms of democratic legitimacy.

This makes me think about climate change. Some people think of climate change as the big problem and others think of climate change as just a symptom of an even bigger problem of—I don't know, it depends on who you talk to, right?—capitalism or greed or technological naivete or failed markets. So when you think about artificial intelligence, how big of an issue is it?

Tufekci: I understand what you're saying and here's what I would say: You can have a problem posited at multiple levels. You can, for example, argue that climate change is downstream of a particular type of capitalism and greed. You might be right. Other people could argue socialists and communist countries were very polluting too. But, in some sense, it doesn't really matter because you need to address climate change! So if your argument is there is no way to address climate change without solving, say, capitalism, I would argue that we have made progress in lots of areas of life without necessarily solving the bigger problems within which they're embedded.

Perhaps what is most important is understanding the power of short-term interests. The short-term interest of powerful people, rather than the longterm interest of the people in general, is the problem—in climate change and AI. It’s not a capitalism-only problem.

What do you recommend undergraduate students do about artificial intelligence?

Tufekci: I’d have a lot of recommendations if I ran the world, which, obviously, I don't! But I think the most important recommendation for undergraduates is to become involved, because it is not a world in which people who are sitting it out are getting heard, right? That's just not happening. So if you want to have a say in how the world works, you have to get involved in how the world works. And I know a lot of students are interested in doing that, but usually their concept of what that involves is various forms of activism.

Activism is very good. I was an activist myself when I was in college, and beyond, and it's something I've studied. But there's a lot of other ways to shape the world—including becoming part of the political system and running for office and trying to directly influence policy; or running NGOs; or running companies that come up with innovations. I would encourage undergraduate young people to keep their sense of the possible open.

One of the lessons from social media is that many of these decisions have been made by very few unaccountable actors rather than through society as a whole through mechanisms of democratic legitimacy.

One thing I tell my own students is to recognize that in the academy we have disciplines: sociology, computer science, this or that. And they stand separated, in different departments, but that's not the way the world works! Of course, you have to get a degree in one major and maybe one minor, but it’s an advantage to learn broadly with an open mind and curiosity—and then make those connections, because the world is not separated into neat disciplines that fit to historically defined majors.

In your work in the academy, and also in your personal life, how much time do you spend on social media and what do you do there?

Tufekci: This is not a good question for me because I study these social media! So I spend more time on them than I would if I were not studying them. It’s kind of like asking a pathologist, “how much time do you spend with microscopes?” A lot! But that's not a good indicator of what people should do. I think social media has specific uses for some topics. There are some communities that exist there. But if I weren't studying it, I would spend a lot less time on it because it is designed to waste your time. It is very specifically designed to draw you in and waste your time and it distorts your thinking. Social media is tribalizing. It’s an in-group, outgroup pushing environment—just trying to keep you there. It creates distortions in your thinking. If I were not also studying these things, I would limit my time on social media purely because I think it would make my thinking less useful. It would mislead me. It would distort my thinking and my emotions. Even when I'm studying it—because I need to understand something—I feel “oh gosh, I have to take a break,” because I am a person too. I start having certain inaccurate impressions about the world that I know are just coming from social media.

And I'm like, all right, I've got to go take a break from this and talk to people who aren't in these small groups! It’s not that there’s nothing useful in social media. There's are genuine and helpful communities there. But it's important to realize that it is a tool designed to suck you into an in-group/out-group process and distort your thinking. So you need to approach it defensively. That doesn't mean don't use social media. There are good reasons to use it: to keep in touch with people. I enjoy doing that myself. But I think that defensive attitude is healthier.

Championing Excellence

ANOTHER

HISTORIC SEASON FOR THE VERMONT BASKETBALL

TEAMS

BY NATE SCANDORE

The UVM men’s basketball team faced fourth-ranked Duke in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA tournament. The women’s basketball team went on to the WNIT post-season.

For the UVM men’s and women’s basketball teams, the 2023-24 season cemented another chapter in the annals of UVM basketball history, as both teams showcased their prowess on the court with memorable postseason runs.

Men’s Basketball: Rising to New Heights

This season marked a milestone for the Catamounts, as they made their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a feat not achieved since 2005. Their journey as a 13-seed, for the fourth time in the last five trips to the Big Dance, underlines the Catamounts’ consistency and competitiveness on the national stage.

In a thrilling conference championship showdown at a sold-out Patrick Gym, Vermont secured its 11th America East Championship title in a 66-61 win. Shamir Bogues emerged as the Reggie Lewis

Most Outstanding Player, with TJ Long and Ileri Ayo-Faleye receiving All-Championship honors, further highlighting the team’s depth and talent.

Prior to Vermont’s March Madness Matchup with Duke, UVM had recorded the fourthhighest winning percentage (.780) in the country over the last eight seasons. The Catamounts trailed only Gonzaga (.889), Houston (.822), and Kansas (.789). Vermont’s 28 wins are tied for the second-highest single-season total in program history with the 2021-22 team.

Under the expert guidance of Cioffi Men’s Basketball Head Coach John Becker, the

Catamounts have solidified their position as a powerhouse in college basketball. Becker’s leadership earned him the prestigious NABC All-District Coach of the Year award for the fifth time in his illustrious career. Moreover, his nomination as a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year award reaffirms his status as one of the top mid-major coaches in the country.

“Just a special group of guys and people that achieved so much this year,” said Becker. “I’m not going to let anyone in this program be comfortable with

As the 2024-25 season looms, the Catamounts are eyeing their fourth consecutive America East Championship, a feat unprecedented in program history.

Women’s Basketball: Breaking Barriers

The Vermont women’s basketball team ventured into a groundbreaking journey, rewriting the narrative of success in the America East conference, making league history as the first America East team in men’s or women’s basketball to play a game in April.

seasons representing the green and gold.

Under the astute leadership of Mayer Women’s Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge, the Catamounts cultivated a culture of prioritizing defense, ranking second nationally in points-per-game. Following UVM’s first-ever WNIT Great 8 victory in program history at Purdue, Kresge spoke on “buying in” and what helped the Catamounts achieve a true road win against a Big 10 opponent: “Our group stays true to who they are, they work hard, they believe in each other, and they buy into our system,” she said.

what we did, or have done, you know. We want to do the next thing. So I’m going to continue to dream big here.”

Throughout the 2023-24 men’s basketball season, fans were showered with electrifying moments, including Long’s buzzer-beater three against Yale to complete the Catamounts’ late comeback victory and Ayo-Faleye’s thunderous poster dunk in the America East Championship game. These moments captivated audiences across the entire nation, earning UVM recognition on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on two separate occasions this season.

Despite falling in the America East championship game, narrowly missing the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Vermont women’s basketball showcased a remarkable display of tenacity as the Catamounts blazed a trail in the 2024 WNIT, notching three postseason victories, the most by any America East program in a single season. Their historic run saw them advance to the WNIT Fab 4 for the first time in program history.

Delaney Richason and Emma Utterback etched their names as the all-time leaders in games played for UVM (136) while never missing a single game in their five

Utterback was named to the America East First Team for the third consecutive season while Anna Olson garnered America East Second Team, All-Academic Team, and All-Defensive Team recognition. Keira Hanson earned America East Third Team and was named the Sixth Player of the Year.

UVM improved to 61-24 at Patrick Gym under Kresge while maintaining a 16-3 record at home. The 16 home wins set another program record. It was an unforgettable campaign.

UVM People

INSPIRED

TO SERVE

EVELYN MONJE ’ 24

Growing up in Winooski, Vermont, Evelyn Monje dreamed of attending UVM as she went by campus on the way to school every day. Working as a youth camp counselor during the summer after her first year of high school, she began to discover what her true calling might be.

By Doug Gilman

“Ultimately, I chose social work because of my passion for helping people,” says the Class of 2024 member, who earned a Presidential Scholarship to attend UVM.

“Now I’m leaning into a field that’s all about caring for others in the best way possible. I have loved all my roles working in summer camps, facilitation training, and after-school programs. That joy led me to where I am now, and I cannot wait to continue digging into this profession.”

For her senior year internship, Monje piloted a social work position at the South Burlington Public Library. Though she hadn’t previously considered a less traditional social work role like this, she was excited to see where it could lead.

“I offer low-barrier consultation and referrals to our patrons as well as supporting the library staff in trainings and de-escalation,” she explains, “and I’m sharing what I learn with other libraries who are now seeking their own social workers.”

Since she stepped into the role in September, Monje met with over 300 people, including many with social-work-focused questions.

“The interest has been wide-ranging,” says Monje, who built a resource guide to keep at her mobile table. “People are looking for support with referrals to housing options, legal issues related to employment, citizenship questions, healthcare, dental services, and more. Some are seeking community engagement and connection to local services. These conversations are really impactful. I’m grateful for the interactions and experiences with people who have a diverse range of needs and requests.”

Library Director Jennifer Murray says Monje brought common sense and compassion to the library staff and visitors alike.

“Her listening skills and empathy help us do our jobs better,” Murray says. “She makes visitors to the city, the library, and senior center truly feel welcomed. Evelyn learned a lot about local resources which allows her to answer questions from the public and make valuable referrals.”

Last year, students in UVM’s Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work cohorts completed internships in over 20 different fields of practice, contributing a combined total of 32,700 hours of service across a multitude of communities.

Monje values the close-knit community and support structure in the social work program. During their junior year, BSW students are grouped together to settle into practice and experience courses focused on their development as social workers.

“I appreciate the opportunity to learn from and grow with my peers, and I’ve made lifelong friends along the way,” she says. “I also made valuable connections with each of my professors and feel fully supported and cared for by each of them. I’m grateful to be in a program where I’m not only a student in my professors’ classes, but also a human being that matters to them.”

Monje envisions her future in roles that support youth development through educational experiences outside of the traditional classroom setting. But the internship opened her mind to the relatively new concept of library social work–an idea that is taking hold in more and more communities nationwide. She is already exploring ways to tie those two interest areas together.

“I grew up excited to go to UVM, so it’s a sweet fullcircle moment as I approach the completion of my time here,” she says. “I am currently applying to graduate programs with the intention of completing my master’s degree by age 22…I’m so grateful to UVM for helping to shape me into the kind of social worker and human being I want to be.”

CHANGING THE CONVERSATION

A special UVM class fosters the “almost lost art” of thoughtful disagreement.

Story

by Kristen Munson // Photography by Joshua Brown

Afew years ago, a promising student confided to David Jenemann, dean of the Patrick Leahy Honors College, that she was thinking about transferring. She wanted to have big conversations with her peers, and she wasn’t sure she could find this at the University of Vermont.

“We were going to lose a really good student,” says Jenemann.

This prompted him and UVM President Suresh Garimella to develop the Presidential Leadership Conversations—a non-credit class they have co-taught since 2022 for students who want to thoughtfully debate contentious issues of the day.

For Garimella, it’s an exercise all of us could probably use. Whether you are a person who leans to the political right or left, from the North or the South, personal success—not to mention successful democracy—depends on an ability to have healthy dialogue with people who have different perspectives, Garimella says. “I think it’s a bit of a lost art. I believe disagreeing thoughtfully and respectfully is important to be able to do.”

Garimella sees the course as one way to respond to a world where people often limit their social networks and sources of information to those that simply confirm what they already believe to be true.

“It’s a somewhat lazy approach,” he says. “You don’t have to think very much if everyone around you agrees with you.”

The course creates a pathway for students to explore ideas they are passionate about and truly deepen their knowledge. They discuss topics such as the sometimes-dirty side of clean energy development, the benefits and harms of social media, the complexities of affirmative action, and the consequences of legalizing illicit drugs.

“One of the things that I have been touched by, and excited about, is the students really do crave opportunities for nuance,” Jenemann says. “The class is a judgment-free zone and a place to luxuriate in ambiguity.”

Each year, 12 high-performing sophomores and juniors are admitted to the class out of more than 100 who apply. The aim is to have representation across academic disciplines, gender, social and geographic backgrounds, and political opinions. All participants must abide by the Chatham House Rule, which creates trust in the group through its simple, direct guidance for the way their discussions extend beyond the class.

“All it means is ‘Learn from this class. Talk about what you learn from this class with others, but don’t attribute anything to an individual,’” Garimella explains. “It suddenly opens up the conversation… and I myself am very open with them, which I think sets the tone.”

That is something Nicole Eaton ’23 noticed during the first iteration of the course. At the time, the temperature on the UVM campus was high, with rallies about sexual violence prevention

and outspoken views on Covid-19 vaccine requirements, she says from a conference room in the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, where she works as communications manager. “There was so much tension.”

For Eaton, this class was a welcome relief.

Watching Garimella and Jenemann share their personal views and model respectful disagreement created an atmosphere of trust. Everyone shared their perspectives. But for it to really work, everyone had to learn to listen to one another, too.

“The most important thing was to hear each other … and not being too quick to respond and form an opinion,” Eaton says.

Her senior year, she implemented the same openness and civility while conducting meetings of UVM’s Academic Research Commercialization program, which she co-founded.

“It was something I copied immediately,” she says.

Eaton majored in public communication. She understands the power of stories, and how they can be a driving factor of success

in business. But stories can prove harmful too, particularly when the versions we tell ourselves just aren’t true. There are often real reasons people have for believing what they do that stem from their lived experience, Eaton explains. “With all the political polarization, it’s super easy to just judge—regardless of what side you’re on.…There is more to the story.”

Remi Savard ’23 first heard about the Presidential Leadership Conversations

as a junior, through a mass email he promptly ignored. He wasn’t sure he had time for it. Then he found out he was nominated for a seat.

“I felt I at least owe it to them to write a little application,” he says from Seattle, where he is now a doctoral student in immunology at the University of Washington. “It ended up being a really good experience.”

The first thing he learned was that the class wasn’t really a class, in the traditional sense.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS TO HEAR EACH OTHER … AND NOT BEING TOO QUICK TO RESPOND AND FORM AN OPINION

“We don’t get grades and we don’t get credits,” Savard says. “But that was actually the best part of it.”

The students were free to be vulnerable with their peers, and with Garimella and Jenemann, who engaged with their ideas and pushed back on them— forcing the students to improve their arguments or rethink them altogether.

“I was probably intimidated the whole time, probably still am intimidated,” Savard says with a laugh. “… But what was fun was trying to shape logical arguments that they couldn’t poke too many holes in.”

This skill proved valuable when applying to graduate programs and being interviewed by experts in a field he was hoping to break into.

“That was kind of a similar position to debating with David and Suresh,” Savard says.

It also prepared him to be a better scientist.

“If your lab is watching your peers present their data, the best thing you can do is have critiques for them,” he says.

Senior Zach Pedowitz was drawn to the idea of being in a group with “likemotivated people.” In political science, his chosen field of study, the idea is to listen to various perspectives and build towards a consensus, he says. He liked being able to test out ideas in class without fear of repercussions.

“We learned how to develop—and change—our opinions,” Pedowitz says. “I think the course also helps you draw from your own life/ professional experience to see how you can contribute to a conversation.”

Having people with different perspectives in the room helps sharpen your thinking, so you don’t just repeat ideas you know little about, but actually step back and question what you know and how you know it, he says.

Pedowitz is working towards his master’s degree as part of UVM’s Accelerated Masters Program in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He recently helped plan the university’s 2024 Janus Forum—one part of UVM’s Presidential Leadership Series—which brings thought leaders to campus to respectfully debate two sides of a proposition.

(See sidebar on the first Janus Forum.)

The Presidential Leadership Conversations and the Lecture Series are part of a broader UVM effort to scale up opportunities for students to wrestle with complexity— “with more to come,” Garimella teases. “Students are capable of thinking well beyond what we give them credit for, and I think we should encourage that.”

POINT / COUNTERPOINT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

“The forum is dedicated to what sometimes seems, at least today, like a rather audacious proposition. And that proposition is simply this: That thoughtful, engaging, engaged, rigorous, and respectful debate remains possible even in this era of intense partisanship.”

With those words, UVM’s Dean of Libraries Bryn Geffert introduced the first Janus Forum, a new component of the university’s Presidential Lecture Series that debuted before a packed audience on February 7 in the Grossman School of Business Keller Room.

The debate resolution was simple, powerful, and relevant: social media

should be more regulated. Arguing “for” was James Steyer, Stanford University professor and founder and chief executive of Common Sense Media, a non-partisan organization dedicated to providing trustworthy information and education and advocacy to families. Speaking “against”–John Samples, vice president at the Cato Institute and director of the institute’s Center for Representative Government

Scan the QR Code or visit go.uvm.edu/janusrec to view a recording of the forum.

Professor Mark Usher finds insight about many of today’s predicaments by following the roots of relatively modern ideas deep into the rich soil of Greek and Roman antiquity.

Mark Usher, the Lyman-Roberts Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, stands in ankle-deep mud wielding a flame-thrower. He turns the blazing propane toward the ground and burns a hole through a black sheet of plastic that stretches across a pasture on his farm in Shoreham, Vt. Then he stomps on the hole to smother the smoke and picks up a square-ended spade. He digs through the hole and pulls out a grapefruit-sized lump of dripping grass roots and soil. Holding it up with two hands, under a wash of warm October sunshine, he continues talking. “The etymology of ‘humility’ comes from the Latin humus, ‘of the soil’,” he says. “Being close to the earth is part and parcel of what it means to be humble.”

Story & Photography

by Joshua Brown

He tosses the soil aside and picks up a willow sapling that he and his wife, Caroline Usher, started in a mason jar. He eases the tree out and snugs its root ball into the hole. “And when you spend years taking care

of land and animals, that's a humbling experience, because you realize how much of it is out of your control,” he says, sidestepping to pick up the next sapling in a double line of willow-filled plastic buckets. Behind his back, Usher’s dopey Highland bull, Hamish, looks over a wire fence, as if he can almost understand what we’re talking about.

It's a Friday morning and Usher is planting a 200-foot hedge to subdivide this wet pasture on the edge of 100 acres that he and Caroline reclaimed from overgrown weeds–and have been tending for nearly 25 years. They call their farm Works & Days, after a poem of the same name by the Greek poet and shepherd Hesiod. “It’s a very early agricultural poem, in dactylic hexameter, the same meter as the Iliad and Odyssey. It's a landmark of western literature,” Usher explains, holding his

“The etymology of ‘humility’ comes from the Latin humus– ‘of the soil,’” says Professor Mark Usher, “Being close to the earth is part and parcel of what it means to be humble.”

muddy hands up toward the sky—and then he laughs ruefully, “but that doesn't help at all, because nobody's ever heard of it.”

Usher’s book, How to be a Farmer: An Ancient Guide to Life on the Land, goes some distance in recovering Hesiod’s nearly 3000-year-old poem for today’s reader. “Wickedness is easy to get hold of,” reads Usher’s translation. “But in front of Excellence, the immortal gods have placed the sweat of your brow.” Farther into the book—and from 800 years later—Usher presents a portion of an essay, “Why Farming Is the Best Job for a Philosopher,” by a Stoic, Musonius Rufus, who taught in Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero. “The most pleasing aspect of all farm work is that it affords the mind more time to think,” Musonius claims. “How could planting not be a noble endeavor?”

Today, it’s certainly a wet endeavor, as Usher’s rubber boots sink deeper into the grassy ditch and he moves methodically along the row, pulling out the next sapling and plunging his hands into the saturated soil. As he works, he’s talking to me about one of his heroes, John Ruskin, a nineteenth century art critic and reformer, who wrote “… the workman ought often to be thinking, and the thinker often to be working.” Usher finds insight about many of today’s predicaments—from unsustainable land use to social alienation—by following the roots of relatively modern ideas, like Ruskin’s, deep into the rich soil of Greek and Roman antiquity. For example, Hesiod may have been the first writer to uphold the dignity of manual labor, and Musonius Rufus was just one of many ancient thinkers who argued for the virtue of blending agricultural work with intellectual pursuit to build a considered, happy life. More than 2000 years later, Ruskin wrote: “the mass of society is made up of morbid thinkers and miserable workers. Now it is only by labour that thought can be made healthy, and only by thought that labour can be made happy, and the two cannot be separated with impunity.” The Ushers frame the website for Works & Days Farm, and their related business, Caroline & Co. Flowers, with this passage.

As he works, he’s talking about one of his heroes,

John Ruskin, a nineteenthcentury art critic and reformer, who wrote ‘…the workman ought often to be thinking, and the thinker often to be working.’

primary academic home at UVM is the Department of Geography and Geosciences, but he’s also faculty in the Environmental Program and the Food Systems Graduate Program, plus he’s an affiliate in UVM’s Gund Institute for Environment. He has many academic publications to his credit and recently was scholar-in-residence at Iméra, the French Institute for Advanced Study in Marseille. Yes, he knows French as well as German and, of course, ancient Greek and Latin. He’s published eight books for adults (with another in press at Princeton University Press)—including Plato’s Pigs, an exploration of ancient ideas about sustainability and how modern systems science has laddered up from the Greeks. He’s also written three illustrated books for children, including Diogenes, the story of a famed Cynic philosopher—cast as a dog. He’s assembled a booklength poem mash-up of famous lines from Donne, Shakespeare, Whitman, Dickinson, and other greats, “to form a new, organic and itself poetic whole,” he writes. Along the way, he’s written other poems, taken on translations—and composed the libretto for an opera, Neron Kaisar, in ancient Greek, Latin, and English, selections of which were performed by a chorus with harp and piano at the famed Jacqueline du Pré Music Hall at Oxford University.

Usher steps delicately over a high strand of barbed wire that stretches along a homemade stave fence and returns to his tractor. He’s finished planting trees and it’s time for lunch. He and Caroline hope to eventually use some of these willows for making structures in their garden—“cloches and obelisks,” he says, “and perhaps we’ll sell some as stock.” But that will depend on the weather, the health of the trees, and the wiles of Nature. “The more you know, the more you don't know,” he says. “That's truer now for me than it ever was. It's not a question of deep knowing and conviction, but it's just there’s a lot that I don't know.”

Which might give the rest of us mortals some sense of comfort, since one can productively ask what Mark Usher doesn’t know. A named professorship in classics is only the top line in his signature. His

This distinguished career began as a timber-frame carpenter. “I never intended to go to college,” he says. “I planned to build houses by day and read Nietzsche in the back of a VW van the rest of the time.” Born in Germany, when his father was in the U.S. military, Usher grew up in rural Maine, and then returned to Germany after finishing high school to apprentice as a carpenter. He worked there for three years and played in a band—where he met his future wife, Caroline, who is of British origin, at a music show. They were married in 1986 at age 20. “I thought I was marrying the next Bono,” she says, with a wry smile, over a steaming bowl of borscht made from their own beef. “Local cabbage too,” says Mark, “meaning from our backyard.”

“It was only after a freak accident in which I lost an eye that I decided to go to university,” he says. “With only one eye, walking on roofs and climbing ladders was not so easy.” The couple moved

to Vermont, where Mark enrolled at UVM and continued to do carpentry to pay the bills. Three years later, in 1992, he graduated summa cum laude in Greek and Latin. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago and returned to Vermont as a faculty member in 2000.

“We’ve always been a little bit radical. I think I was the only person in Chicago to subscribe to Backwoods Home magazine,” Caroline says. “It was always our dream to have a farm.” So they bought ten acres near Route 22A in Shoreham, in the southwest corner of Addison County. “We started small, with a couple of sheep,” Caroline recalls. They built their own house, sheds, gardens. “No mortgage, no trust fund,” Mark says. “All sweat equity, free and clear.” Over the years, they built up a flock of 100 Dorset ewes, and have modest commercial success selling whole lambs into the Boston and New York markets for Orthodox Easter. Intensive rotational grazing has greatly improved their pastures. “Grass may be our best crop,” Mark says. “We homeschooled our kids for educational reasons,” says Caroline—three sons, now grown and successful. They produce maple syrup, cut logs from their forest, sell eggs from their chickens and meat from their cattle. They keep two curious donkeys and have a gorgeous, casually geometric garden—from which Caroline assembles bouquets to sell at a nearby farmer’s market.

How do two people do so much? “I love to work; it’s my livelihood and recreation and exercise. It’s not compartmentalized,” Mark says. “My day is not nine to five, it’s five to nine, but why not?” The sun is warm, his cattle are meandering over the grass, and farmer-philosopher Mark Usher does, in fact, have

sweat on his brow. “Ultimately, I believe, farming is a state of mind,” he writes at the conclusion of Plato’s Pigs, “and it is well worth the trouble to cultivate that.”

...

Two weeks later, around a long table in a seminar room on the west side of Old Mill, Mark Usher has switched out his dirty Carhartts for a stylish brown jacket—and is telling seven graduate students about my recent visit to his farm. “I was planting a willow hedge in the far field, and we were blissfully talking about Wendell Berry, and you name it. I told Josh about all the sheep we had roaming safely in the upper field—but we didn't go to visit them and I'm glad,” Usher says with a faint smile and shake of the head. “I discovered, the next day, that we had a coyote attack and lost eleven ewes. Taylor Swift had her Eras Tour. That would've been the Carnage Tour. There are carcasses all over the field.”

This course—based on Usher’s most recent book, How to Care about Animals: An Ancient Guide to Creatures Great and Small—is called How to Think about Animals. Evidently, Usher brings his thinking straight from the farm to the classroom. “A coyote has to eat and is just doing its thing,” Usher says, tipping his head one direction. “I lost some good sheep,” he says, tipping it the other way, “but we’ve been planning to replace some of our Dorsets with a new South African hair breed, so we’ll just get a few more than we planned and write off the dead ones as a loss on my taxes.”

“Did you pay the coyotes?” one of the students asks.

“That everything is interconnected is no quaint sentiment or source of spiritual solace. It is, rather, practically speaking, a terrifying prospect,” Mark Usher writes in the conclusion of his book, Plato’s Pigs.

There are facts in the world about which we will never have certain knowledge—that we will never have subjective experience of–but we can know they're facts....I'm not a theist, but that's the best argument for the existence of God I know of. We can know about something that we can't know.

Soon, the class is talking about their assignment for this week: exploring the forbidding philosophical concept of Umwelt. An (obviously) German expression, developed by biologist Jakob von Uexküll in the 1920s, it might be roughly described as the bubble of experience that an organism lives within. A person sees a tick sucking their leg, its tiny legs flailing about, red and bloated and disgusting. The tick can’t see, it has no photoreceptors. It can’t taste or smell. It can’t hear you say “ick, where are the tweezers?” But it can wait years, without eating, for a mammal to pass by. Its Umwelt is radically different, a perceptual universe composed of vibrations on the grass, airborne chemicals like butyric acid coming off an animal’s body, skin temperature and, who knows, maybe some dim sense that it is a good and joyful thing to eat blood, lay eggs, and die. “There is no one world; space and time is unique to each species based on its senses, Uexküll claimed. Only three stimuli affect a tick,” Usher says. “That's its life. Every organism tells a similar story.”

Next, the students begin discussing Thomas Nagel’s famous 1974 essay that poses the provoking question: what is it like to be a bat? Nagel’s provocative answer: we can’t know (unless you’ve got the ability to chase moths through the air using echolocation). Bat sonar is clearly a form of perception, but it is not like any sense humans possess, Nagel wrote, so there is no reason to suppose that it is subjectively like anything we can imagine. But we can still know that there is something it’s like to be a bat. “There are facts in the world about which we will never have certain knowledge—that we will never have subjective experience of—but we can know they’re facts,” says Usher. “Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not a theist,” he says, “but that’s the best argument for the existence of God I know of. We can know about something that we can't know.”

And—Usher wants his students to understand—this kind of radical logic about paradoxes does not begin in the last few centuries of philosophy. “How many of you have heard of Heraclitus?” he asks. There is some mumbling and one student says, “I feel like I said the name differently in my head,” as everyone laughs. “He's like the Nietzsche of the fifth century B.C.E.—famous for one-liners that were very dense and pithy and could be taken many different ways,” Usher says. “Heraclitus said, of a circle, ‘beginning is shared with end.’ Beginning and end: they're antonyms, they're opposites, right? But no matter where you stand on the circumference of a circle, they're shared.” Then he pauses and lets this idea sink in.

...

Mark Usher’s brow is sweating again. It’s midNovember, very warm, and he’s trying to coax five Dorper sheep out of the back of his pickup truck. He and Caroline just purchased them from their neighbor, Jean Audet, and would like to get them onto pasture. The sheep think it might be nice to just stay in the truck. With a practiced lunge, Usher reaches over the tailgate and firmly grabs one by a back leg and sets it running across the grass. Soon the new mini-flock is wandering in a tight pack, keeping their distance from the other sheep, like college first-years looking for the dining hall. Mark and Caroline stand in the shade, and I have no doubt that what I interpret as beams of happiness in their eyes is exactly that.

“That everything is interconnected is no quaint sentiment or source of spiritual solace. It is, rather, practically speaking, a terrifying prospect,” Usher writes in the conclusion of Plato’s Pigs. These sheep will soon be lambing in the depths of winter. Some of the newborns are likely to die, perhaps abandoned and frozen to the ground or cannibalized by their mothers, who sometimes chew off their ears and tails. Others will be slaughtered and turned into lamb chops. “We’re all implicated in the messy cycles of life and death: To live I must take life,” Usher writes, echoing Albert Schweitzer. “To get milk to drink, for example, or to make cheese to eat, offspring must be produced, the males shipped off to be slaughtered for meat. I continue to be astonished by how many cheeseeating, milk-drinking vegetarians are unaware of this fact of life.” Beginning and end are the same place.

Usher subscribes to the ethical precept of “do no harm,” realizing that he stands far off from realizing it. “Many of my neighbors live much closer to the earth than I do,” he says, and two of his guiding lights from an earlier generation, the original back-to-the-landers, Helen and Scott Nearing, subsisted entirely on plants, mostly raw vegetables, and considered animal farming a form of slavery. “That is an extreme view given the long evolutionary history of human beings’ interactions with animals,” Usher notes. “On the other hand, it is entirely true that domesticated livestock exist and are raised only to be killed for food.” He and Caroline are acutely aware, that “on our farm,” he writes, “we live by contradiction every day.” They built their own home with their hands—using industrial plywood that likely was produced in China. They grow grass and sheep to strengthen the regional food system—using a tractor and chainsaw that burn planet-heating fossil fuels. “Can we live off the land?” Usher asks. “No, but not many small farmers can,” he says. The Ushers gross about $12,000 a year from their farm and are grateful for Mark’s professor’s salary. “We are keeping the land open for agricultural use and derive tax and lifestyle benefits for our work,” he writes. Their goal is not purity. “We’re imperfect, but diligent,” Mark says.

“I call it semi-sustainable,” says Caroline.

“We know we have an impact. Everyone takes from the earth,” Mark says. “So, we work hard to pay some of it back. It’s a kind of gratitude.” Usher is also grateful for those friends and neighbors who make his community and help him solve problems. Like his auto mechanic Stephen Tier, whom he

writes about—and gives copies of his books to. “Pure genius,” Usher says. “You should call him.”

So I did call Stephen, and we got to chatting about Usher’s succession of VW diesel cars, some of which themselves are nearly objects of antiquity. Usher appreciates Tier’s uncanny ability to repair the complex system that is a 25-year-old diesel with 400,000 miles on it—“it’s easily on par intellectually with the ability to solve multivariable equations,” Usher says. For his part, Tier told me a funny story about how he carefully repaired one of the Ushers’ cars, then blew its engine test driving it. “Threw a rod,” he explains. So he just pulled another engine out an older VW that Usher had given him and dropped it in to replace the ruined one. “It has a new rocker panel and another engine in it,” Tier explains. “I’ve replaced a lot of parts.” I tell him that the car makes Mark think of a story from the first century A.D.: Plutarch’s puzzle of the ship of Theseus, which, after hundreds of years of maintenance, has every part replaced—raising the question of whether it remains the same ship.

“Is it the same car?” Tier says, “That's the $350 question. Well, yes and no, right? Yes and no.” Then he laughs and pauses. “I got to say, sometimes I wish I thought like Mark, but I'm glad, maybe, at times, that I don't. Still, we both like getting our hands dirty and trying to fix things.”

“We know we have an impact. Everyone takes from the earth,” Mark Usher says. “So, we work hard to pay some of it back. It’s a kind of gratitude.”

THE CLASS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

There are moments in everyone’s life that have the potential to alter pathways. For each member of a group of College of Arts and Sciences graduates, one of those crucial moments occurred while they were at UVM. They signed up for a course because it was suggested, required, or simply sounded interesting and–bam! That single, brilliant class (and the experience of an extraordinary teacher) became the catalyst for a completely different career path— and another testament to the transformative power of a liberal arts education in which students are encouraged to step outside their comfort zone to explore and discover.

Through their own words, discover the classes (and faculty) that changed the lives of these recent grads.

CRISTEN BRAUN ’20 & BEN SMITH ’23

Teachers, Japan Exchange Teaching Program

The Class: Elementary Japanese

The Teacher: Kazuko Suzuki Carlson

Christen: “Before taking Suzukisensei’s class, I hadn’t decided on my post-graduation plans. As a global studies major with a minor in German, I considered working abroad in a consulate or as a translator but hadn’t solidified the steps to get there. Early in the course, we learned about opportunities to teach English in Japan. That started my own research into English education abroad, and I readjusted my academic plan to pursue an undergraduate certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Initially, my plan was to use my TESOL certificate in a German-speaking country, and during my short time studying abroad (cut short because of Covid), I volunteered at a girls’ school in Austria.

“But I remained in touch with Suzuki-sensei, and her Elementary Japanese and Japanese Culture classes stuck with me. She gave me the tools to prepare for living and working in a foreign country and was instrumental in my applying for Japan’s JET program, which brings in native speakers from around the world as assistants and teachers in Japanese schools. I am in my third year teaching in a rural countryside prefecture and recently signed the contract for a fourth year. I may, in

+ Compiled and edited by

the future, return to Austria to teach English there as well. I have a passion for language learning and have found that living in the country and culture helps with language acquisition in a way that other methods cannot, so it serves my own personal growth, too.”

Ben: “I entered UVM as a computer science major. To fulfill the language requirement for a B.A., I signed up for Elementary Japanese on the recommendation of one of my orientation leaders. That semester’s class was comprised of students from all different backgrounds and years and was taught by Suzuki-sensei (Senior Lecturer Kazuko Suzuki Carlson). Under her guidance, I began to truly love studying Japanese. I enjoyed the challenge and found it refreshing to study a language that was disconnected from any I had studied before. More Japanese classes followed, and I eventually made Japanese my minor, then my second major.

“During my senior year, Suzuki-sensei organized multiple events at Tuttle Middle School that allowed students like me to teach interested middle school students basic Japanese phrases and lead activities sharing aspects of Japanese culture. I also started tutoring for the Japanese department and became interested in the prospect of language education. I applied to JET (Japan Exchange Teaching Program) which would allow me to spend up to three years teaching English at a Japanese elementary or junior high school. I was accepted into the program and assigned to three schools in Yao City, Osaka, where I have been living since August 2023. Every day has been an adventure, and living in Japan has given me incredible opportunities to continue my language studies. (If you’d like to read more about what it’s like to live in Japan, please read the post I wrote for Suzuki-sensei’s blog.)”

LIV BERELSON ’19

Executive Director, Community Asylum Seekers Project

The Class: Latin American Indigenous History

The Professor: Sarah Osten

“I took several of Professor Sarah Osten’s classes, including Drugs in the Americas, Latin America: History and Memory, and Colonial Latin America. I loved them all, but the most influential one for me was probably Latin American Indigenous History. I’ve always been interested in indigenous history and colonialism and the modern-day issues that remain as a result. I originally intended to go to law school to become an indigenous rights lawyer, and Professor Osten’s classes only pushed me more towards that goal. I have since veered a bit more into immigration law, which has significant overlap, but deals more with the resulting migration than the root causes.

“Sarah inspired me as much with her outof-school endeavors as she did with her class content. During class, she announced that she would be going to the border to interpret for an attorney friend of hers with the Dilley Pro Bono Project. When I graduated, I went down to the border as well and volunteered with the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), which kickstarted my career in immigration. Sarah’s courses, and courses like hers, are essential because they cover what is often not taught in U.S. public schools about our role in the current state of Latin America. If you want to go into public advocacy, human rights law, social services, or anything in that direction, it’s essential to have facts to back up why your work is necessary, especially when current policy paints human rights as a privilege.”

ART EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS WAS WHERE I SAW MY FUTURE. THEN, MY ENTIRE VISION CHANGED...

ASHLEY BERTOLINO ’20

Master’s Student in Art History, University of Denver

The Class: Arts in Action

The Professor: Mildred Beltre

“Participating in the Arts in Action program with Professor Mildred Beltre was a defining experience for me. I decided to take the class because I wanted to see New York City’s great art institutions and famed artistic culture, but I had no real aspirations to work in a museum myself. Art education in public schools was where I saw my future. Then, my entire vision changed after three months spent exploring every museum I could possibly find, immersing myself in the enlightening readings Mildred assigned, and walking the spaces of the Brooklyn Museum after hours, a privilege I was afforded given my internship position there. Because of Arts in Action, I knew definitively that I had to work in a museum environment to situate myself amidst the ever-evolving discourse that keeps the art world relevant, fascinating, and critical.

“I am now pursuing a master’s degree in art history with a concentration in

museum studies and have worked at multiple museums and art centers. My thesis is on contemporary socially engaged artwork, with Mildred’s personal project the Brooklyn Hi-Art Machine, at its heart. Typically, a course is only as good as its professor, and I could never shower Mildred with enough praise for opening my eyes to how art moves and shakes the world, how institutions help and harm, and how to look at everything (literally, everything) with a critical eye and an open mind.”

WILLIAM CHEN ’21

Program Manager, Maximus (a technology services company)

The Class: Poetry / Creative Writing

The Teacher: Maria Hummel

“I came to college with the goal of going to law school and double-majored in economics and English for that very reason—I had been told that an English degree is one of the best preparations for law school. I was hoping to hone both my writing and critical thinking skills, so taking Professor Hummel’s poetry class was a no-brainer. Having the opportunity to have both open-ended and guided structures on writing poetry, and having discussions with the rest of the class, made for an enriching experience. I absolutely adored Professor Hummel’s classes and ended up taking four of them. While I was studying with her, Covid-19 happened. The transition to online classes was not easy, but Professor Hummel created an environment where everyone could enjoy a brief respite, discuss ideas as if we were in a classroom again, and share experiences and frustrations.

“While my plan to go to law school was ultimately fumbled by the price point, Professor Hummel’s class opened me to a wide variety of applications. There are very few skilled jobs in this world

that don’t require skill in English—one of the most common things on any job description is the “ability to communicate.” Professor Hummel helped me realize I can take the skills I learned and apply them everywhere. When I was job hunting, the market felt so open to me. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to get a job, but having one now, I understand just how critical the skills you learn in these classes are.”

STEVE DANNENBERG, M.ED. ’19, PH.D. ’23

Chemist, Polysciences (a chemical/biotechnology company)

The Class: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry

The Professor: Matt Liptak

“While it wasn’t just one chemistry class that led me to transition from teaching to chemistry, Chem 231 was hugely influential in my decision. After college, I worked in banking before becoming a middle school science teacher. Then, my wife was accepted into the Larner College of Medicine, and I enrolled at UVM to pursue a Master’s of Education degree in interdisciplinary studies. Since I was allowed to take half my courses in any college at UVM, I enrolled in Chem 231 (Advanced Inorganic Chemistry), taught by Professor Matt Liptak. This class, along with Chem 236 (Organometallics, taught by Professor Rory Waterman), lit a spark in me that ultimately led me to switch careers from science education to scientific discovery. It allowed me to better understand chemical reactivity and gave me a deeper insight into the physical world.

“Professor Liptak was very approachable and his passion for research was evident from the class. During his office hours one day, I expressed my interest in pursuing research opportunities, and he recommended I talk with Rory Waterman. Rory was enthusiastic about my joining his lab, so I began volunteering and was

soon spending all my free time there. With Rory’s excellent mentorship, I discovered that I had a true passion for chemistry research and thrived on the exhilaration of making discoveries in the field. After finishing my M.Ed., I joined Rory’s group as a graduate student studying new methods of forming phosphorus compounds and completed my Ph.D. in 2023.”

AVERILL EARLS ’08, M.A. ’10

Asstant Professor of History, St. Olaf College

The Class: Sex in Modern History

The Professor: Paul Deslandes

“I can still remember what cemented my interest in the history of sex and launched me onto my current career path. I was a junior political science major and Middle Eastern studies minor with aspirations of foreign service. I got into Paul Deslandes’s very popular (there was always a waitlist) Sex in Modern History course. I was passionate about social justice and particularly LGBTQ+ rights

but had, at that point, only taken history courses that supported my minor.

“From the first day of Sex in Modern History, when we discussed what ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ meant and how that had changed over time, I felt like a new world had opened up to me. Over the course of the semester, we talked about the laws and medical models that categorized and regulated sex and sexuality, the activists who organized and advocated for queer rights and bodily autonomy, and the local and global experiences of oppression, resistance, and love. That course grounded my politics in a way that no other had before. The work that I’d been doing in social justice, and the intimate cross sections of sexual pleasure and sexual identities, had histories, and I made it a new life goal to uncover those histories piece by piece. Sex is personal, it is political, and, as I figured out in Paul Deslandes’s class in 2007, it is historical, too.”

LAURA FELONE ’17

Legislative Analyst, Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau

The Class: Vermont Legislative Research Service

I DISCOVERED THAT I HAD A TRUE PASSION FOR CHEMISTRY RESEARCH AND THRIVED ON THE EXHILARATION OF MAKING DISCOVERIES IN THE FIELD.

The Professors: Anthony Gierzynski, Robert Bartlett, and Eileen Burgin

“When I was a junior, I noticed the application for the Vermont Legislative Research Service (VLRS) course in an Honors College email and enrolled simply because writing policy-oriented research seemed interesting and different from what I had done thus far in college. Getting to do research for the legislature seemed like a cool opportunity and, frankly, a line to brag about on my resume. I was fairly certain at the time that I wanted to be a political science professor and even moved to Wisconsin in 2019 to pursue a Ph.D., but left the program after acquiring my master’s. I’ve since been working for the

Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau as a legislative analyst—in other words, doing exactly what I did in VLRS, now full time!

“Although my plan for the future didn’t change while I was actively engaged with VLRS, this was a formative experience that helped me see a rewarding alternative career path once I had decided that academia wasn’t the right fit. I knew, based on VLRS, that I had an option that merged my interest in politics and research with my love of writing. By supporting the legislature, I am able to write and research to have impact, arguably more so than I would have had I stayed in academia. I think the VLRS resume line helped me get my current position. You never know which courses can, truly, change your life.”

ADDIENA LUKE-CURRIER ’21

Ph.D. Student in Sociology, Trinity College Dublin (Ireland)

The Class: Global Health, Development, and Diversity

The Professor: Jeanne Shea

“The class that changed my life was the Global Health, Development, and Diversity class taught by Professor Jeanne Shea. I took it during the first semester of freshman year because I was interested in different health systems and health issues across the world. The class gave me a different perspective on how to view the world, particularly through the in-depth analysis of Mountains Beyond Mountains, a biography of Dr. Paul Farmer. My perspective also changed because of the emphasis placed on taking a holistic and interdisciplinary view and understanding the political, economic, and social factors that impact a (health) problem.

“This class is also where I learned the fundamental skills of academic writing and research, which spurred my interest and provided me with a foundation for my entire

university career. It gave me the incredible opportunity to meet Professor Shea, who has helped me to get to where I am today. She fostered my interests in research and academia and gave me the opportunity to be a teaching assistant. She also supported me throughout the time I was writing my thesis and collecting and analyzing qualitative data. I believe these opportunities and this support are fundamental to the career I’m pursuing. I am currently in a Ph.D. program focused on addressing the problem of antimicrobial resistance. This program includes teaching, which Professor Shea gave me the confidence to do, as well as working closely within an interdisciplinary team, something I’m comfortable doing thanks to the experience in her class.”

EL MATTHEWS ’24

Recent Graduate (biology major, psychology minor)

The Class: Forensics for Life Science Majors The Professor: Linden Higgins

“I have always been interested in the world of true crime, listening to true crime podcasts, and watching almost all the docuseries I could stream. However, I never saw myself pursuing a career in the field of forensic sciences until I took Forensics for Life Science Majors with Linden Higgins.

I DIDN’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED TO DO... [SHE] FOSTERED WITHIN ME THE DESIRE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FIELD.

I was looking for another biology elective to fill out course requirements when I saw the course description for a new forensics class—and it just happened to fit right into the schedule I had already laid out.

“Before taking this course, I always saw myself going into medical research. I knew that whatever career I chose in that area, I wanted to help people, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. Professor Higgins not only fueled my love for forensic science, but she also fostered within me the desire to learn more about the field. I now know I want to contribute to making forensic science a “better” science. Forensics is flawed, but I did not know how flawed it was until I took this class! This class stimulated so many new questions for me. Now, I plan to pursue a master’s degree in forensics sciences. Someday, instead of listening to true crime podcasts, I hope to be a forensic scientist or even an autopsy technician.”

REBEKA MENDELSOHN ’23

Labor Organizer, Workers United RRJB (Beginning chemistry Ph.D. this fall)

The Class: Organic chemistry

The Professor: Sandy Wurthmann

“Because of my desire to care for others, my high school teachers encouraged me to explore early childhood education. It wasn’t until I got to UVM that I began to look to subjects like chemistry that challenged, scared, and excited me. It was with this mindset that I enrolled in Sandy Wurthmann’s Organic Chemistry in my sophomore year. Taught entirely online due to Covid, it was rumored to be one of the most challenging courses at UVM. But Sandy created a community in a way I had never experienced in previous classes, and I excelled. I realized I had been denying myself an education in what I wanted to study because I wrongly believed I didn’t

have the ability to thrive in a scientific environment. By the end of the semester, I had met with Sandy about either pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry or going to graduate school for secondary education.

“In my junior year, I was offered the opportunity to rework a professional development course in chemistry taught by Professor Chris Landry. This came after I disregarded the prompts for a final paper that asked us to tackle professional and diversity questions within chemistry with too few resources; instead, I proposed a new curriculum. It was within the chemistry department that I found myself. I saw the work that was needed, socially, to advance the department and began to explore the activist aspects of my personality. Today, I am an entirely different person than when I started at UVM.”

PRESTON MURPHY ’20

Music Teacher

The Class: Creating Music for Video

The Professor: Patricia Julien

“I was a music education major and had an extra space one semester. Since Patricia is a fantastic teacher and great person, I thought it would be fun to take her Creating Music for Video class. As a music education major, I planned to go into teaching after graduation, but the course was a lot of fun and I realized that composing for video was an outlet I wanted to explore. After graduating in 2020 at the height of Covid, I didn’t want to go into public teaching at that point given the climate. So, I looked into grad school for music composition for movies, TV, and video games. Patricia was an amazing resource, connecting me with an alum living in Los Angeles and working in the film industry as a composer. That conversation led to grad school applications, and, in the fall of 2021, I moved out to Seattle, where I’m living now.

“Ironically, I’m now working as a teacher giving private lessons, as I realized during grad school that while I like writing music, it isn’t something I want to do full time. I also really missed teaching. But I wouldn’t be out here if it weren’t for Patricia’s class. I love it here and really enjoy everything I’m doing musically, so I’d absolutely say her class was one of the most impactful ones I took at UVM.”

I REALIZED I HAD BEEN DENYING MYSELF AN EDUCATION IN WHAT I WANTED TO STUDY BECAUSE I WRONGLY BELIEVED I DIDN’T HAVE THE ABILITY TO THRIVE IN A SCIENTIFIC ENVIRONMENT.

CORA SMITH ’23

Legislative Intern, Vermont Natural Resources Council

The Class: Community News Service

The Teacher: Carolyn Shapiro

“I decided to take the Community News Service (CNS) class because of a political science class I took in which I learned that towns with higher local news coverage are more civically engaged.

I’m fascinated by how complex issues such as climate change and the housing crisis are communicated to the public. Learning the journalism ropes seemed like the perfect fit, and CNS was particularly exciting to me because it’s so hands-on. When I heard I would be partnered with a local newspaper and actually publish articles for them, I was hooked. Before taking CNS, I wanted to work for an environmental lobbying group or for a senator or representative in Congress. But after taking the class, I decided to go into solutions journalism. I want to cover stories that highlight communities that are addressing climate change, whether through a community garden or a townwide effort to transition to renewables.

“I’m currently the legislative intern for the Vermont Natural Resources Council. I track bills in the State House on Act 250 (Vermont’s land use bill), the Renewable Energy Standard, and protections for wetlands, river corridors, and floodplains. I’m learning a lot about how science and politics mix. I’ve just applied to Report for America, an organization that pairs young journalists with local news outlets across America. I’m excited to live in another region of the country and to get to know a new community through in-depth reporting.”

“When people developed wheat that didn’t shatter, they selected it, and … plants with that mutation led to a domestication bottleneck that reduced genetic diversity,” says von Wettberg.

The mechanization of farming further diminished the gene pool as homogeneity of harvests was prized over diversity. Seed companies went global and specialized in more uniform crops. Even the science of crop breeding produced a winnowing effect as crops that were easier to process and be stored longer took precedence.

It’s easy to point fingers and declare industrial farming public enemy number one. But we are no longer a nation of subsistence farmers, and feeding the world is hard and necessary work. Tradeoffs inevitably happen. Luckily, wild relatives of plants can help us restore lost genetic diversity and people who save heirloom seeds (and their mutations) select for traits that may be of secondary importance to commercial growers— traits like flavor and regional adaptation. These are the seeds von Wettberg and Tobin want to salvage.

“Across the landscape, having more

people save seeds means greater diversity,” von Wettberg says.

That means if a blight wipes out a crop in one location, seeds from a population grown elsewhere could be used as a patch to prevent catastrophic losses. This has happened before—and will again.

“In 1968 there was actually a massive blight on corn,” von Wettberg says. “The way people were breeding corn made it much, much worse than it would have been otherwise.”

It was a warning taken seriously that altered how people breed corn. More recently, a fungal outbreak in wheat led growers in Africa scrambling to find resistant strains.

“We have gotten lucky,” von Wettberg says. “If there is a motivation for everything I do, it is climate change and it very much keeps me up at night.”

But at some point, luck runs out.

On the floor of his office sits a box of small green mung beans. It’s not a plant one often finds growing in Vermont gardens. But mung beans

have worldwide appeal. In Asia, mung beans are used in dahl recipes and confectionary, and increasingly by the plant protein industry. But what von Wettberg loves most about them is the speed at which they grow.

“One way to diversify your risk in a changing climate is to have something that grows fast,” he says.

He envisions mung bean growing in places like Iowa to add nitrogen to soil and another rotation for farmers. Theoretically, farmers could harvest winter wheat and mung beans in one season to complement a rotation with corn and soybean and cover crops.

“If the corn-soybean rotation is the biggest ecological sin of American agriculture, if we can make that a four-crop rotation, we have done a real service,” von Wettberg says. “Vermont is at the edge of that, and I want to push it forward.”

Daniel Tobin thinks a lot about who and what we aren’t measuring in the food system. And he sees both problems and promise in the gaps.

Tobin began studying Vermont seed savers because he suspects they are quietly maintaining the bulk of crop diversity in the region.

“The noncommercial folks are often the ones who have the time and labor capacity to save a lot of the different crop species and varieties in their gardens,” explains Carina Isbell ’20 M.S. ’22, a research assistant in Tobin’s lab.

Traditionally, seeds are present at the start and end of a plant’s life cycle. Saving seeds closes the loop. But it’s a step that few growers today actually perform. Some don’t save seeds because it cuts into the growing season for additional crop rotations; others because they simply can’t save them.

Commercial hybrid seeds, first developed

Eric Bishop von Wettberg and Daniel Tobin work to strengthen the food system by diversifying seed supply.

in the 1920s to improve yields and disease tolerance, and popular among large-scale growers, aren’t typically replanted because they don’t grow back true. Hybrid offspring don’t produce reliable yields or disease resistance for the next generation of plants.

They have intellectual property protections, too, Isbell says. “Essentially, what people are doing when they are buying those seeds is licensing those seeds, so they don’t own them. If they were to replant them or save seed from that crop, technically it’s illegal.”

Her research with Tobin found that Vermont seed savers often have motivations such as taste preferences or a desire to be self-sufficient that prompt them to sidestep the marketplace.

“I am 100 percent sure that the great majority of crop diversity [in the United States] is being maintained by hobbyists—people who just love it or have an affinity for nature,” Isbell says. “… [and] they 1,000 percent have better tasting foods.”

Questions Tobin has been mulling lately concern the origins of seeds in our food system. Do they matter? And if they do, why don’t we know more about where they come from?

“For the last 20 years I have heard about how local food systems are going to save everything,” he says. “What always seems to be absent is … if we don’t have local seeds is it a local food system?”

Seed companies typically contract with growers and license the seeds grown elsewhere. Many companies don’t want to divulge where the seeds come from, Tobin says. “For a crop-based production system, seed is the most important input, and we have really no idea what that input supply chain looks like. There just seem to be a lot of blind spots that I would think would be really useful to unpack as we are thinking about sustainability and food system resilience.”

Because seeds, like us, have an expiration date. What happens to a species in conflict zones or when the people preserving them stop?

“What really concerns me,” Tobin says, “is the most promising seed savers here are in their 70s. To me, the nut to crack is how do we preserve this knowledge and package it in a way that the people who are maintaining this knowledge feel comfortable with, but is also accessible to younger generations?”

His students have begun experimenting with new media forms, including a podcast about seed saving and a documentary Katherine Morrissey, ’23 M.S. ’24 is filming to swell the ranks.

“Some of seed saving can be really hard, but I think that is sort of the magic to it too,” she says. “It’s like this act of resistance.”

“I am 100 percent sure that the great majority of crop diversity [in the United States] is being maintained by hobbyists—people who just love it or have an affinity for nature,” Isbell says. “… [and] they 1,000 percent have better tasting foods.”

On one level, food is fuel. It provides the calories needed to support life. But food is also culture. The meals we prepare connect us to one another and to a place. And that is one reason Tobin and von Wettberg began a research project with the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, a Maryland-based collective that connects BIPOC and marginalized communities with culturally meaningful heritage seeds.

“Cultural acceptability is a core component of food security,” Tobin says. “… We did a project a few years ago [with refugees] at New Farms for New Americans and they hate our corn. It’s so sweet … they want African maize that is meaty and has some substance. The flavor profiles of what is accessible and what is acceptable are so different.”

Ujamaa was created as an alternative to the traditional seed system after its founders realized the current one was not necessarily built for them. Seeds donated to Ujamaa’s parent organization STEAM Onward, were not matching the needs of their communities.

“Personally, I call it the unbearable whiteness of seeding,” says Chanda Robinson Banks, one of Ujamaa’s founders. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it’s deliberate, I would go so far as to say it is because of the fact that you have to have resources.”

Resources like land and knowledge, she presses. “These are elements that are lost and denied BIPOC

farmers due to the cultural hegemony BIPOC people experience in the U.S.”

Robinson Banks has a law degree and questions things like ‘who owns the land?’ and ‘where did the seeds in germplasm banks come from?’ and ‘were anyone’s rights trampled to acquire them?’

“Our food system is fragile,” she says. “It is so compartmentalized, so not diverse in the places that it is at, that we are at significant risk.”

“My conversation with the land is very fraught,” she explains. “My father is Piscataway Conoy and as a child sharecropped tobacco here in Maryland. … How do you sharecrop tobacco on unceded land that was supposed to be yours?”

Ujamaa’s programming introduces BIPOC communities to the science of growing and saving seed, lowers the bar to enter farming, and allows people to reconnect with their foodways.

Robinson Banks recognizes the role that seeds play in improving a community’s health and economic opportunity. For instance, commercial seeds are produced in just a handful of places in the United States. Adapting seeds to regional growing conditions boosts the resilience of local food systems.

“When people say ‘my seeds weren’t great,’ well, part of it is because the seeds that you are buying aren’t for you,” Robinson Banks says. “That is not even a BIPOC conversation. That is a concentration of commerce conversation.

“We are trying to have a more inclusive conversation around not just food, but also to acknowledge that climate change is coming, and we must change as well.”

In 2021, Ujamaa partnered with Tobin and von Wettberg on a Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant to expand the market viability of culturally meaningful, regionally adapted seeds. While Tobin focuses on the social science side of the equation, von Wettberg and Jasmine Hart, a Ph.D. student in plant genomics, provide guidance alongside other breeders and seed organizations for Ujamaa’s participatory plant breeding programs.

“To develop genotypes or cultivars without the input of farmers or the rest of the market,” Hart says shaking her head. “For the time that it takes, you could redirect your efforts elsewhere to something that could actually help folks.”

This is something Heather Darby thinks about every day.

She is a seventh-generation farmer from Alburgh, Vt., and a UVM Extension agronomist and soil specialist. In recent decades, Darby has noticed a decline in crop biodiversity across the country. Farms in the Midwest where she saw small grain fields of oats, wheat, and barley, with corn, soybean and alfalfa, now just have two crops.

“Our food system is fragile,” she says. “It is so compartmentalized, so not diverse in the places that it is at, that we are at significant risk.”

One area where she is trying to undo some damage is with northern varieties of flint corn—a variety found in cold climates that matures in about 60 days. After being gifted a coffee can of heirloom

flint years ago, Darby has planted and saved its seeds ever since. When asked what traits she selects for, she laughs.

“Beauty,” she says. “… sort of maybe nothing in particular but maybe everything in particular.”

Darby walks through the corn rows seeking stalks that are still standing and have its husks. The ones the birds haven’t yet opened or don’t exhibit disease. But every so often something catches her eye.

“Sometimes,” she says, “even though there is something wrong with that plant … but I happened to pick up the ear and it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen; I am going to save it.”

Her work is part of a revitalization program to ensure northern flint varieties survive a rapidly warming climate.

“The potential to lose northern flints is real,” Darby explains.

In the end, that desire to protect crops and farmers is what motivates her research. Darby is constantly looking for ways to help farms add value to their operations by developing unique or hardier strains so that growers can survive to plant another season.

The flint corn variety Darby saves is similar to what indigenous populations grew in Vermont, and she has a partnership with the Abenaki tribe to preserve and adapt culturally significant corn varieties so they aren’t lost.

“We need to protect the past, but we have to understand the future,” she says. “Had the Abenakis, or any tribe really, been able to just live they would have already been doing this.”

makes brooms from sorghum she grows. She is infatuated with learning what she can do—and what she can save.

At the peak of her efforts, she maintained about 250 crop varieties and ran Solstice Seeds, a seed catalog she recently passed on to her neighbor to manage. Decades ago, Davatz co-founded the Upper Valley Seed Savers, a small group of Vermont seed savers who meet monthly to share techniques. She conducts seed saving workshops and works with Tobin on research projects. And sometimes, she worries about what is being lost.

“I had this whole page of resources that I put together over time,” she says. “I [recently] went through it and there were all seed companies that I had in there that didn’t even exist anymore. … So that is part of it is loss.… Once a variety is gone, that’s it. It’s gone forever.”

UVM Extension agronomist and soil specialist Heather Darby works with northern varieties of flint corn—a coldclimate adapted heirloom. Years ago, she was gifted an initial supply of its seeds and has planted and saved them ever since.

Sylvia Davatz is in her front yard raking pinecones under a rare December sun in Wilder, Vt. She is prepping the lawn for her new garden—a landscape she fantasizes will serve as a residential model of permaculture and seed saving.

Davatz is entirely self-taught. She began saving seed 30 years ago when she noticed her favorite varieties were becoming more expensive or disappearing from seed catalogs entirely.

Davatz describes herself as “60 percent pioneer woman.” She used to sew her own clothes and

People often email Davatz looking for a specific gherkin or lettuce variety they can no longer find. She sends them seeds and wonders about all the varieties being saved that no one knows about.

“Seed savers tend to be people who prefer to get dirt under their fingernails than sit in a cubicle,” she says. “And they are not necessarily technologically very savvy.… How do you capture what they are doing and what they have and make sure others know?”

It’s a problem she knows she alone can’t solve. But right now, she needs to collect pinecones. She needs to put roots down.

44

Rose Eisman Boyarsky writes: “At 99, I’m living in a retirement community in Durham, NC. Most of my classmates and friends are gone so a CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community) is a great place to make new friends.”

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

46

Beth Davies Carpinello shared an update on behalf of her mother, Olive M. Davies ’46 M.D. ’50, reporting that Olive is retired and spends her summers and holidays at her home in Poultney, Vt. The remainder of the year she divides her time at the homes of her five children. She has nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren— with another great-grandchild on the way. Prior to retirement, Olive practiced pediatrics in Vermont and Massachusetts, after completing a residency in pediatrics following medical school. She went on to complete a residency in child psychiatry while in her 50s and practiced child psychiatry until her retirement. Olive’s granddaughter, Olivia Carpinello, M.D. ’13 is also a Larner College of Medicine graduate, and is board-certified in both obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

47 Selma Sondik Squires passed away in August 2023. Her son-in-law, Steve Perelman—son of late faculty member Phyllis Fein Perelman ’44 G’69 shared the sad news with us.

Send your news to— Mrs. Louise Jordan Harper louisejordanharper@gmail.com

50 Kathleen Smith Locke, passed away peacefully in Boston in December 2023 at 94 years of age. After graduating from Burlington High School, she earned a B.S. in zoology at UVM, and then stayed on to teach in the chemistry department at UVM

LIFE

BEYOND GRADUATION

and take graduate courses. She was preceded in death by brother, Stuart Smith ’49, and her former husband Joseph K. Locke ’62 . She is fondly remembered for her passion for science, appreciation for travel and culture, and abiding love of classical music.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

51

Alan Smith shared the sad news of Laura Mindick Smith’s passing at the age of 93. She is remembered by Alan, her soulmate, as a world traveler, lifelong reader, and constant beacon of light and joy. Together, they visited 96 countries and 46 states. The couple had three daughters, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Alan says that, until developing dementia at 89, she “lived her life out loud.”

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

55

Class Secretary Jane Morrison Battles writes: “Hi everyone - wherever you may be at this writing. Perhaps enjoying the winter season somewhere in a warm spot? Yours truly has chosen the Florida Keys this season, although managing a holiday trip to Maine and Vermont, of course! Speaking of weather sites, Bob Katz and Joan Katz ‘56 write that they live in Stowe and are now enjoying the relaxed way of life! Their family of UVM’ers includes Peter Katz ‘78, Bruce Katz ‘81, and Wendy Katz Nunez ‘85. Wendy is on the Board of Advisors to UVM’s Grossman School of Business. Bob and Jane have eleven grandchildren and four great-grands to date. That brings to mind the Battles clan and our attachment to our alma mater, which includes grandson Sam Battles ’22 (one of the quadruplets) who graduated from UVM’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. Grandson Ty, although a Gettysburg College graduate, married into another large UVM family, which includes his wife Amber Leenstra Hobbs ‘07, her sister Paige (Leenstra) Georgiadis ‘09, and Paige’s husband

Panos Georgiadis ‘08. Paige is an anesthesiologist at UVM Medical Center, and their dad, Willem Leenstra, is professor emeritus of physical chemistry, recently retired, and all reside in Burlington or Hinesburg. Daughter Liz (Lizabeth Battles Rudman ‘82) resides with her family in Falmouth, Maine. Haven’t heard from many of you folks of late. Our numbers from ‘55 are, of course, sadly fewer, but I still hope to hear from you. I am sure you enjoy them as well. More anon, writing as your Class Secretary 68 years later.” Bob Stetson shares the update that he and Jane, his partner of 10 years, live in her condo in Middlebury and are very happy in Vermont year-round. He adds, “We do lots of senior meals and local senior trips. Jane has a grandson at ASU and I have four children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Two of my children (Jeffrey Todd Stetson ’80 and Sally Lynn Stetson ’82) graduated from UVM. Both of us work hard to stay healthy.”

Send your news to— Mrs. Jane Morrison Battles janebattles@yahoo.com or Mr. Hal Lee Greenfader halisco7@gmail.com

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Marsha Pearl Jamil shares a note from Bernard Rome: “Graduating in 1956 provided me with the unique opportunity to be present for, and an early participant in, the computer revolution. After a 40-plus year career applying computer technology to traditional business procedures (including two years for government service), I began the ascent into retirement. I’m happy to report that my wife, Timmie, and I are spending the winters in Florida. We have a condo on the ocean in Palm Beach and enjoy it very much. The rest of the year we are in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., and New York City. We have two children and four grandchildren.”

Send your news to— Ms. Jane K. Stickney stickneyjane@gmail.com

57

June Squiers Sherwin writes, “Greetings from Arlington, Vermont! My husband, Phil, and I are doing well. We are looking forward to meeting our new

great-granddaughter, Madeline Grace, who has a sister, Charlotte Eliza. They will be coming to Vermont with their parents for the holidays from Washington, D.C. We are still involved with our church and are volunteers for a program called Neighbor to Neighbor, which assists the elderly. I still remember the cold winters in Burlington while at UVM. It was a brisk walk to campus from South Willard Street.”

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

58

Son Jeff Shinn let us know that his mother Mildred Keller Shinn has passed away.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

59

Harvey E. Flum passed away in August 2023. He leaves behind his wife of 62 years, Binnie, three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. His family remembers that Harvey championed UVM for his entire life and fondly remembered his college experience. Jean Lockwood Reilly ’60 wrote to share the sad news that her husband David Reilly died in June 2023, just a few days before the Catamount Couple’s 63rd wedding anniversary. Christopher Wray Brown G’61 let us know that James Russell, Jr. passed away in May 2023. The two had been close friends, especially during the late ‘50s, when Christopher was a graduate student.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

60

Bob Wiener writes in with: “All is good for me but would love to learn what’s happening to those in and around the class of 1960.”

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

61

Cynthia Beilig Bendelac emailed: “Each spring Marin County sends 400 Namibian goats to graze for a week in the open space bordering my property here in San Rafael. In addition, these last few months we have taken out over 30 old rosemary shrubs on my property line. No more blue border. Much more fire safe. Such is life in California.” Class Secretary Stephen L. Berry writes, “Our last year’s highlight was a gathering of the extended family—two daughters (one was Alison Berry ‘95), their spouses, and four grandkids for a week in British Columbia at a dude ranch. Everyone enjoyed riding horses, trap shooting, hiking, and driving ATVs on the ranch. Louise and I extended the trip to tour Banff, Lake Louise, the Columbia ice fields, and Jasper.” Joseph R. Buley says: “Geri and I recently returned from Vermont, after celebrating our granddaughter Olivia Tyne Buley ’19’s wedding to Lucas Lundell ’18 Olivia is a graduate of the Grossman School of Business. Lucas is also a UVM graduate. Mr. and Mrs. Lundell will reside in Burlington, where Olivia is a manager for a national accounting firm. Also,

the Greenwood and Buley families held a reunion at the family lake house on Maquam shore in St. Albans on Father’s Day.” Mimi Portnoy DavisNeches is “now living in an independent living retirement community in Simi Valley, Calif. I’m still working part-time, and loving my new home, being closer to my daughter Hilary and being able to have Zoom meetings with my son, Garrett, twice a week. Life is good! And I miss my wonderful husband, Bob, every single day!” Bob Murphy shared: “In October I went to Spain with my daughter Maureen Murphy ’88 to hike a portion of the Camino de Santiago. We spent four grueling days on the trail (she was well prepared, but this old geezer wasn’t). At any rate, we covered over 60 miles in four days (rained every day) before taking day five off to do the tourist thing in Santiago de Compostela. The best shellfish paella ever made up for all the hardship of the hike. Overall, a wonderful time with Maureen and a memory to last a lifetime.” Peter Nelson reports, “We recently celebrated Thanksgiving on Cape Cod with 13 family members including our first great-great-grandson, Sebastian Rex. Life is good!” Steve Berry also sadly reports news from Judy Simonds Shea ‘63, that her brother John Simonds passed away in December 2023 in Eugene, Oregon. John grew up in Burlington. His first job out of UVM was as the New England Telephone Company’s business office manager in Montpelier. After a short stint as head of personnel for the State of Vermont, he spent much of his career as a consultant in the Seattle, Wash., area. After several retirement years in Chicago, with winters in Mexico, he moved back to the Washington-Oregon area to be near family. Mar-

vin Vipler emailed Steve to say: “2023 ended with a family vacation in Playa del Carmen, Mexico where I jumped off a cliff into a cenote. I’m not a jumper but my family urged me to join in, so I did and enjoyed the adventure. Elaine and I are spending our 54th year together in Manhattan, where we take part in all the city has to offer. In addition to going to museums and the theater, we take long daily walks. I have become addicted to pickleball and play as often as my body will allow. Our next trip is to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where we spend 1-2 months during the winter. We love it there and have been going there annually, except during Covid. With our granddaughter living in Boston and our grandson living on the West Coast, we don’t get together as often as we would like. But we have been blessed with good health and energy to travel and do the things we enjoy.”

Send your news to—

Mr. Stephen L. Berry steveberrydhs@gmail.com

62

Richard Thomas Aldinger says, “Janet and I along with two children and families made a four-week, twocar tour of favorite spots in Germany and France including Trier, Stuttgart, and Strasbourg. Also visited Patton Museum in Ettelbruck, Luxembourg.” Candy Atchison sadly reported the passing of her husband James W. Atchison in June 2023.

Send your news to— Mrs. Patricia Hoskiewicz Allen traileka@aol.com

63

Kae Gleason Dakin sent in a wonderful photo of the class of ’63 gathering at the Barnyard Pizza for their 60th class reunion (see online Class Notes for photo). Pictured are: Duane Barber, Frank Bolden, Jim Card, Kae Gleason Dakin, Sally Herschede Duval, Gwen Johnson, Judy Simmons Shea, along with spouses and partners. Class Secretary Toni Citarella Mullins offers, “Greetings classmates! Hope this note finds you healthy, happy, and enjoying life with lots of love and laughter! I wasn’t able to make this year’s reunion—next one! I continue to dance, teach Pilates, ski and play at a variety of other sports! My grandsons are 22. Drew is here in N.J., and his twin brother, Evan, is an air traffic controller in the Air Force. I dance pro-am international Latin ballroom competition. One daughter, Karen, is here in N.J., and daughter Kelly is in Colorado. Keep in touch!”

Send your news to— Dr. Toni Citarella Mullins tonicmullins@verizon.net 64

Class Secretary Susan Griesenbeck Barber says, “Greetings class of 1964. I hope this message finds you all doing well. I am happy to still be around to write this note! Looking forward to our summer on Lake Champlain. Stay well and keep in touch. You can send directly to UVM. Not that I do not enjoy hearing from you any time also. Best wishes to you all.” Stephen C. Bloom G’75 has published his second novel, Ragtime at the Amelia. It and his first, Kimball’s Landing (2020) are available on Amazon. He and Mary Bean Bloom live

RISING CATAMOUNTS

MAIL YOUR CLASS NOTES: UVM Alumni Association

61 Summit Street, Burlington, VT 05401

SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES: alumni.uvm.edu/notes or class.notes@uvm.edu

in South Portland, Maine. Both of their children and their families live nearby in Portland, including son, Peter Bloom ‘94, and daughter, Sarah Bloom Zima. Mary still teaches citizenship to new immigrants in the Portland public schools; Steve retired as director of the University of Southern Maine libraries in 2003. Peter and his wife Heidi Kendrick own Kendrick and Bloom, a successful design-and-build business in Portland. Steve and Mary will celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary in 2024. Gail Larkin Himmelsbach writes with “the first update to my life since 1964. I spent 10 years living abroad: in Puebla, Mexico for five years and Besançon, France for five years. After returning to Connecticut, my husband, Bob Widham, died in 1993. Our three children, Gigi, Rob, and Matt, went to undergraduate at Dartmouth, University of Denver, Duke, and then graduate degrees at Duke, NYU, and UConn Law, then NYC—all in that order with the names. They are all happy working in their careers. I married Bill Himmelsbach 28 years ago, and we have continued the Vermont summer tradition of being on the shores of Lake St. Catherine—now for 46 years with the same wonderful view. My four grandchildren continue to love the Vermont summers by the lake. We moved to Beaufort, S.C., 13 years ago. We continue to golf and play tennis. We are very thankful for our continued good health, and were able to complete a vigorous bike trip from northern Holland to Belgium during tulip season in April 2023. While we enjoyed it, we have decided to retire from long bike trips, and leave those trips to our younger family members.” H. Wayne Mirsky writes that class of ’64 friends from TEP (Tau Epsilon Phi) and Phi Seg (Phi Sigma Delta) are planning a get together in September 2024 in Connecticut. Those indicating that they would enjoy coming so far include Nancy Brigadier Bernstein and Steve Bernstein, Barry Bloom, Fred Cahan, M.D., Dr. Donald Feldman, Terry Finkel, Hon. Howard Gorney, Tom Gould, Jeff Lawenda, Stevie Farrell Leventhal, Stu Leventhal, Leni Steckler Liftin, Dr. Bill Perlow, Judy Ruskay Rabinor, Ph.D., Steve Ratner, Alan Rhein, Jeff Robinson, James Rosenberg, M.D., Larry Solomon, Mike Steinberg, Neil Yeston, M.D., Joe Zicherman.

Send your news to— Mrs. Susan Griesenbeck Barber suebarbersue@gmail.com

Janet Koch Kasper is excited to have her granddaughter at UVM enjoying college life as a pledged Pi Beta Phi. Though her granddaughter wanted a

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alumni.uvm.edu/notes

warm-weather college, she loves UVM and has joined the ski club.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

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John Beck and wife Sharon Peloquin Beck ‘67 have now been retired in Williamsburg, Va., for 21 years. After a hiatus, they returned to ocean cruising with a January 2023 trip to the Caribbean and then, in April, to the Caribbean and the Amazon River. In July, they traveled to Pittsburgh for the National Senior Games, joining 11,500 other senior athletes competing in 20 different sports. Of 1,550 competitors, John won the pickleball bronze medal in men’s doubles, and ribbons for 5th in mixed doubles and 6th in singles in the 80-84 age group. In September 2023, they had a week’s resort stay in Hilton Head, S.C., where John played daily pickleball and Sharon enjoyed the pools and beach. Myron J. Fox wrote that he and wife Phyllis, along with Dr. Hayes Sogoloff and Bonnie Herschede Sogoloff, were looking forward to a February 2024 week in Cuba. Class Secretary Kathleen Nunan McGuckin sent in a picture of a September 2023 Kappa Alpha Theta sisters and friends reunion at Kathy’s Prescott, Ariz., home. The picture of Marcia Ely Bechtold, Kathy Nunan McGuckin, Nancy Castellanos Miller, Carol Neiman Spatz , Judy Claypoole Stewart , Anne Appleton Weller and Claire Berka Willis can be seen in online Class Notes. The sorority sisters enjoyed the southwestern experience and just about everything Prescott had to offer, including cowboy entertainment! Kathy and her husband Ken McGuckin also joined Nancy Castellanos Miller and husband Chris Miller for a South America cruise in February and into March in 2023. The cruise set off from Santiago, sailed around Cape Horn, and ended in Rio, with many interesting stops along the way— including the Falkland Islands.

Send your news to— Mrs. Kathleen Nunan McGuckin kathynmcguckin@gmail.com

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For the last 20 years Marilyn Gibby Machia has been the executive director of Machia Wilderness Camp, a non-profit she created in her husband’s memory. The day camp runs each July, teaching youth to become better stewards of the earth, enjoy the beauty of nature and feel comfortable in the woods–without cell phones! In 2024 the camp will be adding a second week for more experiences

in the woods, including learning ways to keep nature healthy.

Send your news to— Ms. Jane Kleinberg Carroll jane.carroll@cox.net

68Jeffrey M. Freeman writes as it has been one year since he and his fiancée bought a house in northeast Tennessee. She also proofread his latest novel, which he describes as an adventure and Chinese spy story. Class Secretary Diane Duley Glew offers congratulations to Jack Rosenberg for his photo that received a Top Pick 2023 award and was called “a testament to unwavering dedication to the growth and innovation of his photography, as well as his unmatched imagination, capturing, and sharing the essence of a single moment.” Curt Tobey writes that he continues to be active in the investment front, overseeing a family office. He’s also involved with several non-profit organizations and was privileged to see Save the Children’s great work in the Middle East, including a visit to the Zaatari refugee camp on the Syrian and Jordan border, and to Israel and Gaza. He also went on trips to Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, and California’s Central Valley. He has four great children (Celine, Ben, Caroline and Lorin) and is blessed to also have five wonderful grands (Annie, Ellie, Jake, Blake and Charlie). Paul Malone shares that a group of roomies and classmates got together for lunch in Avon, Conn., on Labor Day weekend 2023. A picture of him with Art Brown ‘69, Michelle Brown, Jeff Kuhman, Joanne (Koledo) Kuhman, Nancy (Crockett) Malone can be seen in the online Class Notes.

Send your news to— Ms. Diane Duley Glew ddglew@gmail.com

James M. Betts ’69, M.D.’73 writes: “The Thanksgiving holiday has just been celebrated as I pen this note. Celebrating my 50th UVM Larner College of Medicine reunion this past October, we appreciated how the decades have passed so quickly, reminding us to live in the moment with family and friends, and to enjoy gatherings of classmates, many of whom we might not have seen except at past reunions. Our 55th will be coming soon, with plans already established by the time you read this note. There has been much activity on campus with new programs, buildings and events. The recent decision by the Board of Trustees to continue with the completion of our new athletic facilities will not only be for intercollegiate sports, but will provide all students with access to physical and mental wellness and relaxation. Reflecting on all that UVM has provided us in our careers and life, consider giving back to our university. There are opportunities for your estate planning, perhaps establishing a scholarship in your family’s name, and unrestricted gifts. Our generosity will leave a legacy to UVM which will benefit a deserving student, program, or faculty position. Liz, my wife, and I are still enjoying fulltime practice: she in pediatric anesthesia, and me

in pediatric surgery. I’m truly looking forward to seeing as many of our class at our 55th.”

Send your news to—

Ms. Mary Joan Moninger-Elia maryeliawh@gmail.com

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Class Secretary Doug Arnold shared a note from Jim Davine who wrote with the sad news that his good friend and Converse Hall freshman roommate Peter Graham Cole passed away in Jupiter, Fla., in April 2023. Joan Bronheim Pearson wrote to Doug Arnold, “I have lived in Massachusetts since graduating and currently live in a condo on Revere Beach where I overlook the ocean and Boston. I retired 12 years ago from management positions in town and state government. Since then, I took in foster children, mostly on an emergency basis, until Covid. I have volunteered on the Beth Israel NICU doing baby cuddling since 2007. My daughter and her dog Galaxie currently live with me (best thing since she went off to NYU and stayed). I play tennis four to six times a week, including USTA, and am as happy as I’ve ever been!”

Send your news to— Mr. Douglas McDonald Arnold darnold@arnold-co.com

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Nancy Heckman Blasberg recently visited son Matt at his home in Costa Rica, as well as daughter Elizabeth (Libby) Blasberg, M.D. ’14 and granddaughter in Albuquerque, where Libby has opened a facial plastic surgery practice. Nancy also saw Gretchen Whitney, Jane Russell Freeman and Bruce Freeman while vacationing in Maine in summer 2023. Nancy also notes that she was especially impressed to hear Dr. Kelley Di Dio, UVM professor and winner of the 2023 George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award, speak at the presentation ceremony. Professor Di Dio is also executive director of UVM’s School of the Arts. Virginia (Liz) Mead Foster shared that she’s been lucky to spend time with Barbara Potter ‘76 and Jim Taylor. She recently saw a screening of their latest production for PBS, We Hold These Truths, about the preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence, which she found timely and powerful. As Resolution Productions, Barbara and Jim have been producing documentaries for the Discovery Network, A&E, TNT and others, on wide-ranging topics since 1995. Nancy Gardner Powlison recalls that she got to finish her undergraduate degree at UVM after participating in the Vermont overseas study program in Nice 1969-70. While at UVM, she was part of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, part of a small prayer group of four that grew to 60 or 70 people before she graduated. In 1971, they hosted a film festival in place of the Winter Carnival. The Intervarsity group entered a multi-media slideshow called “Love Gift,” which received a standing ovation as well as first place in the competition. It was about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in 3-1/2 minutes. The experience led to her getting a job with a group called FOCUS, a ministry to students in preparatory schools. She

shared “Love Gift” to schools up and down the East Coast, and made five other slideshows in the seven years that she worked for them. Through this work she met David Powlison from Hawaii, who became her husband. Together they had three kids and seven grandchildren. Unfortunately, she is now a widow, but remains uplifted by her faith. Nancy loved her time at UVM in the French dorm and recalls all of the beautiful walks, fall colors—even cross-country skiing to [her] exams one year in a blizzard! True to her experience in the French dorm, she says, “C’était formidable! ” The family of Charles (Chuck) Thomas Scott shared the sad news that he passed away. Milo John Shelly reports that his granddaughter Kaylin O’Brien ‘23, a native of Northern California, is now living in Boston, working as a cardiovascular surgery nurse in the ICU at Beth Israel New England Deaconess Hospital. She loves her

IN MEMORIAM

job and apartment. Though Milo missed his 2023 ski trip to Vermont, at the time of his writing, he shared excitement for a February visit. Class Secretary Sarah Wilbur Sprayregen shared, “As I prepare to submit Class Notes on a cold mid-December day, I want to share some thoughts about Owen Jenkins who passed away in April 2023. He was a special friend whom I gently lampooned the best I could in our class column for years, until he agreed to be the class of ‘71 co-secretary. His input addressed a deficit in my note-taking by mentioning ‘new’ classmates—many of whom knew and loved Owen from the hockey program. Our work together and seeing Owen and Wendy Reilly Jenkins ’73 as often as we could made Richard Witte and I prize Owen’s zest for life and family. He felt like a brother with his constant teasing, and I’ll miss him. Owen was determined to attend our June 2022 50th reunion, which he

did in style! My thoughts are with Wendy and with the couple’s daughters, Cait and Carin, and their grandchildren.” Annie Viets gave a hair-raising account of being lost in the middle of the night while hiking this fall in the remote Pyrenees, and being overwhelmed in a clearing by a thundering stampede of hundreds of sheep being driven out of the forest by a pack of very large and humorless white dogs. In other news, she was honored to officiate at the wedding of her daughter Anna Viets ‘11 to Vince Mazzucca in April, and is looking forward to the imminent arrival of her second granddaughter.

Send your news to— Ms. Sarah Wilbur Sprayregen sarahsprayvt@gmail.com

Eugene Kalkin ’50, H’98

Tireless Friend, Supporter, Trailblazer

The University of Vermont and the UVM Foundation mourn the loss of founder and friend Eugene Kalkin ’50, HON’98. For many years, Eugene and his late wife, Joan, stood as twin pillars of leadership and service at the university, touching the lives of generations of students through their unparalleled vision, volunteerism, and personal philanthropy.

“Eugene Kalkin’s groundbreaking leadership across four decades set the stage for unprecedented growth at UVM, both in our physical campus and in our engagement with alumni and donors,” said UVM President Suresh Garimella. “With the pioneering spirit that carried over from his professional career, he resolutely—but ever so congenially—helped drive UVM forward to realize the success and vitality that we enjoy today. He and Joan welcomed Lakshmi and me to UVM with great warmth from our very first day, and we will remember them fondly.”

Aptly called “the patron saint of the university,” Eugene served UVM at the highest level as a member of the UVM Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1992 and had roles on the boards of advisors for the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Grossman School of Business. He was the founding chair of the UVM Foundation Board of Directors and held leadership roles in each of the university’s

72Wendell Lawrence Coleman moved to South Burlington seven years ago to help take care of an infant grandson and soon it was two. He quips that her occupation became unpaid childcare and says that his house looked like a daycare. He welcomes hearing from classmates. Debra Stern writes that in July 2023 she and Mitch Stern G’79 went on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Italy for two weeks. She recalls, “It was unbelievably hot—in the high 90s or higher every day, but we went sightseeing regardless. Since we had gone on our own, we took the Rick Steves guidebook and visited Venice, Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Ravenna (which had flooded a few months before our trip), and Rome, traveling by train between the cities. In Rome, we toured the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Colosseum, the Forum, saw the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Plaza Navona and the

Pantheon. The guidebook was truly comprehensive and we were able to take our time enjoying the atmosphere and artwork. We also had a lot of amazing food. Simple pizza was a real treat. Also, since it was so hot, we had lots of gelato! We had a wonderful time.”

Send your news to— Mrs. Debra Koslow Stern debbie2907@gmail.com

73Wayne Robert Davis wrote that he and Becky (Rebecca Pardee Davis ‘75), were spending the winter in Scottsdale, Ariz., just five miles from their three grands in Phoenix, and that they have been loving seeing them do all their school and sports activities! Cynthia Schwingel Nelson shares, “After spending hours perusing an ancestry website in the wee hours, a Swede contacted me and asked

what I was researching. I stated that I was trying to contact the offspring of my grandmother’s brothers. She provided me with their contact information, so off I went to Stockholm to meet these cousins.” She also loved the connections made last June at the 1973 reunion and notes that UVM looked so beautiful! Janet Early Pietrovito says that June 2023 was a month to remember. “Jim (James Anthony Pietrovito G’73, G’81) and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. Then we attended UVM 50th reunion festivities joined by Betsy (Post) Hayden and Pat (Bauer) Pariseau. Ended the month with a grand trip to Ireland. We’re off to the next 50!”

Send your news to— Ms. Deborah Layne Mesce dmesce@icloud.com

comprehensive fundraising campaigns.

Eugene had a long and distinguished entrepreneurial career and was highly regarded as a trailblazer in the retail industry, most notably as the innovative founder of Linens ‘n Things. In 1975, he applied novel merchandising techniques to develop a chain of stores selling quality products at discount prices in a no-frills warehouse environment. When he sold the company in 1983, Linens ‘n Things had become one of the nation’s largest and most profitable specialty retailers of home textiles, housewares, and decorative home accessories.

In 1986, Eugene spearheaded the fundraising campaign to construct a new home for UVM’s growing School of Business Administration, now the Grossman School of Business. He contributed $1.3 million toward the effort, which he said was “a way for me to leave a lasting mark on the university.” Kalkin Hall was named in honor of this special commitment, the largest gift ever made to the school at that time.

In the intervening years, the Kalkins sustained their interest in UVM, supporting myriad initiatives across campus. They

were major contributors to the Lattie Coor Endowment for the Humanities, the Arts and Sciences Complex, the Richard A. Dennis University Professorship, the H. Lawrence McCrorey Multicultural Library Collection and Gallery Fund, and the Catamount Recovery Fund. They consistently supported the visual arts at UVM and gave generously to the Fleming Museum, where their two endowed funds have enhanced the museum’s collection and supported world-class exhibitions.

The Eugene and Joan Kalkin Retailing Initiative at the Grossman School of Business provides opportunities for students’ academic and professional development in the area of retailing.

“Eugene was fond of the Latin phrase sui generis, meaning ‘one of a kind,’ and he truly was. Few people have done so much for UVM, and fewer still with such selflessness and kindness,” said Monica Delisa, president and CEO of the UVM Foundation. “In many respects, we all are following in his footsteps every day. In my tenure here, I had grown to look forward to every opportunity to see and speak with Eugene— his profound warmth and generosity of spirit was always on full display.”

Eugene earned a B.A. in psychology from UVM in 1950, and both Eugene and Joan received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the university in 1998. Eugene is the recipient of UVM’s Legacy of Leadership Award and the Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award. The UVM Foundation’s most prestigious award is named in honor of the Kalkins (the Eugene and Joan Kalkin Lifetime Distinguished Leadership Award), and Eugene and Joan were the inaugural recipients in 2018.

As a true role model in altruism, Eugene inspired countless others. His sincerest wish was for future generations to remember the importance and value of UVM in their own lives and to give back in service and support of their alma mater. In what were his final public remarks on campus, given at the second presentation of the Kalkin Distinguished Service Award in April 2022, Eugene closed with this message: “I would like to leave this audience of UVMers with a final thought. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you. Remember, life is an echo; it always gets back to you, so give goodness. And I thank you.”

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50th Golden Reunion Celebration

June 7-9, 2024

We received the sad news that Diane Elizabeth Batt-Smith passed away in Stowe, Vt., in August 2023. Paul F. Kenny wrote in as Sun Valley’s 88th ski season was getting underway, following significant improvements for the winter. He says “If you want to hear the day’s ski report, dial 800-635-4150. You can hear me doing the report on Fridays and Saturdays.”

Class Secretary Emily Schnaper Manders had a fun December visit with Cathleen Doane-Wilson, M.D. ’80 and her husband, Sam in Framingham, Mass., after the Army-Navy game at Gillette Stadium. Emily adds, “Don’t forget to attend the Class of 1974 Golden Reunion on campus on June 7-9, 2024. It will be wonderful to see ‘old’ friends!” William John Spina M.D. ’78 is still living the off-the-grid life in the Northeast Kingdom and is still seeing patients. Send your news to— Mrs. Emily Schnaper Manders esmanders@gmail.com

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Class Secretary Dina Child begins her note with gratitude, saying, “Thank you to all who shared what they did to celebrate the big 7-0.” She and Patti Porter Struna partnered up in a member-member golf tournament at Bonita Bay Club in Bonita Springs, Fla., and finished runners-up in their flight. It was a particularly great showing for Patti, who was still recovering from shoulder reconstruction surgery. Rebecca Pardee Davis shared that 13 Pi Phi's from 1975 and 1976 gathered in Hilton Head, S.C., in October 2023 for their annual Girls Weekend to celebrate their 70th birthdays. Becky says, “Great weather, great memories, and hours of laughter bookended our more than 50 years of friendship

in dorm and sorority life, and beyond. Grateful for our UVM connections and years of gathering to celebrate each other. You can see the picture of Becky Pardee Davis, Karen Critchlow Davis, Betsy Delaney Elwell, Sarah Jewett Gossler, Elisa Kreiner ’76, Melissa Dever Martin G’82 , Jayne Libby Nesbitt ’73, Rhonda Lucasey Rowe, Pat Rubalcaba, Jane Haslun Schwab, Laurie Burdett Stuart , Susan Allen Veasey, Nancy Haslun Wall, Betsy Bundock O’Neill. Leslie Fry was honored to receive the Vermont 2023 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the highest honor presented to an artist by the state of Vermont. Greg W. Guma G’75 released two non-fiction books in 2023 (Into the Mystic and Prisoners of the Real ) and is developing a film adaptation of his first novel, Spirits of Desire, about 19th century spiritualism and Helena Blavatsky. Living in Burlington, Vt., he enjoys the grandfather experience with Will and Margot, 2 and 4, and is proud of the film production work by his son, Jesse, co-owner of Grand Street Media in New York. In 2021, UVM’s Center for Research on Vermont published Greg’s new Vermont history, Restless Spirits & Popular Movements David Joel Hurwitz writes that he and his wife had a “70-55-10 Party” on August 12th to celebrate his 70th, his wife Leslie’s 55th, and their 10 years in Charlotte, N.C. Eighty people attended including alums Tom Rutz and Don Adler, JD. Weekend activities included a BBQ dinner Friday night, waterskiing on Saturday, and a concert by The Band of Heathens on Saturday night, followed by an Italian dinner. Helen Louise Riendeau celebrated turning the big 7-0 with a cruise to Alaska on a small ship (of only 110 passengers) able to get

close to glaciers, whales, and other marine wildlife.

Send your news to— Mrs. Christine Dwyer Child dinachild@aol.com

Class Secretary Peter Andrew Beekman says that Porter Hunt and Sigma Phi brothers of the ‘70s got together the weekend of April 22nd for fun and festivities surrounding their House on the Hill at 420 College Street. It was a 50th anniversary event for the Sig initiates of 1973. He shared a photo of brothers sharing life and worldly discussions over breakfast, including: Howard Forbes of Hawaii; Peter DeLorenzo ’77 of Massachusetts; Jerry Smith ’65 of Ohio; Tim Pedrotty of Connecticut; Jock Watkins, Sr. of New Jersey; Kurt Haigis ’77 of Vermont; David Pierson of Vermont; and D. Porter Hunt of Vermont. Porter shared, “Embracing mild spring temperatures and dry skies, these ageless Sigs took part in planned fraternity events, with added side trips to the shores of Lake Champlain and the world-famous Henry’s Diner.” They were surprised to see the sisters of ADPi having a waffles benefit Saturday late-night outside their new digs, in what they think of as the old Acacia House. Judy Holmes has moved to Big Sky, Mont., full time, with her Saint Bernard, Gretel. Those cold winters teaching at Stowe prepared her well for living at 9,000 feet with temperatures in the 30-below range! Donald S. Nelinson is retired...finally! Gave up the ghost. After publishing his last scholarly paper (“for a good sleep inducer,” he adds, “try ‘Reading Between the Lines: Navigating Nuance in Medical Literature to Optimize Clinical Decision-Making and Health Care Outcomes.’”) This leaves him more time for golf, hiking, skiing, and contemplation of his belly button. He is still in Whitingham, Vt., and says that guests are always welcome! Paul ‘Paco’ Prior has started writing his first novel, a thinly-veiled account of his time living in a rogue fraternity located less than two blocks from UVM campus from 1973-74. He jokes, “Only the names will be changed to protect the guilty parties, many of whom actually went on to establish semi-reputable careers.” Allyne Prupis Zorn, Jackie Levine, Moira Keon Greene, and Pat Kennelly celebrated Pat’s daughter’s wedding in Stockbridge, Mass., in October.

Send your news to—

Mr. Peter Andrew Beekman pbeekman19@gmail.com

Jay Eliot Bigman has become a grandparent. He wrote when granddaughter Kalliopi was 16 months and grandson Rory was 5 months, with another grandchild expected in April. Unfortunately, both sets of parents live in Va., so Jay travels there as much as possible. Pat Boera continues her work at Champlain College, supporting students in achieving their career goals. Outside of work, Pat enjoys her volunteer involvement with Lyric Theatre Company (they presented The Wizard of Oz at the Flynn in April) and the Middlebury Summer Fes-

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tival on-the-Green (celebrating season 45 in Middlebury, Vt., this July). Beverly Baier Keur and Link Keur are proud to announce the birth of their second granddaughter, Kennedy Buttler Keur, to parents Brittany and Ryan Keur, and say that Kennedy’s sister, Haydon Baier Keur, approves! Rob Martin Waxman, M.S.W., shared a photo of his band Idlewild, available with online Class Notes, and says that everything you ever dreamed of is on the band’s website. He is still teaching part time at Vallejo Adult School. He tried out a demo prosthetic foot to make it easier to move on the tennis court, and has submitted two grants in order to buy it at some point. He wrote not long after attending his 50th high school reunion on Long Island, about which he says, “Seems impossible. It is impossible!”

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

78Kathleen Rice Cote shares that after having had a memorable trip to Portugal five years ago to celebrate their 40th reunion, she and Dana Dellavia and Carolyn Heiser recognized their 45th reunion with a two-week trip to Spain in November. They started in Barcelona for a week, with day trips to Costa Brava for hiking and the Penedès region for wine tasting. The second week was spent in Madrid where a side trip to Segovia was a highlight. Diana Morgan Hamilton’74 let us know that Russell Hewitt Morgan passed away peacefully at his home in Woodstock in August 2023 after a long battle with cancer. He is remembered as a skilled craftsman. The family asks that any memorial donations be in support of animals, as he was someone who “never met a dog he didn’t like, and vice versa.” Stan M. Przybylinski G’80 had the pleasure of meeting up with Jeff White ’77, J.D., Dave Drazin ’77, and Greg Davis ’79 in Burlington to take in a Cats’ hoops game. The three had played together on the UVM junior varsity basketball team in 1974-1975. Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

Lori Jean Brandon Rennels sent in a note with greetings to classmates. Her husband, Kelly, retired after the Covid-19 years; the two moved back to Boiling Springs, Pa., where they had lived previously. She says, “I can’t really say that I am really retired. Being home is too much work!! One of our three sons is married and lives close by, and he and his wife just welcomed a new baby girl into the fam -

ily in August, so we are now grandparents!” Mike Landman, J.D. and wife Andrea visited Ted Quigley in summer 2023 in Burlington, and got several laps in at the Archie Post Athletic Facility Track. In September, Mike and his wife were joined by Kent Karns ’80 at their Eugene, Ore., vacation home. They got several miles in on Pre’s Trail along the Willamette River. Despite Kent living in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Mike living in Cambridge, Mass., they remarked that this was their 12th visit in the last 16 years. Teressa Marie Valla wrote with the lovely news that her art was included in two winter shows: a benefit for Visual Aids called PostCards from the Edge at Berry Campbell Gallery and in La MaMa Galleria’s Homecoming: The Family Show. Both galleries are in Manhattan.

Send your news to— Mrs. Beth Nutter Gamache bethgamache@burlingtontelecom.net

Tom Andrea is enjoying retirement after running his Connecticut-based public relations business for decades. He now has the time to catch up with some dear fellow graduates, including Leila Mitchel Lambert ‘79. Tom and Leila met in New York City to see Leila’s global-superstar son, singer Adam Lambert, perform with Queen at Madison Square Garden in October 2023. Adam is also the son of UVM graduate Eber Lambert ‘80. Tom also met up recently with Karyl Levinson Conescu ‘79 in his hometown of Manchester, Conn., in September; Karyl was passing through on her way from Newton, Mass., to see her first and newborn grandson, Wesley Conescu, who is also the grandson of Joshua Conescu ‘78 Megan Hum -

phrey and Terry Hotaling ‘75 decided that, after almost 30 years together, it was finally time to get married, having decided they knew each other fairly well by then. So, overlooking Lake Champlain during a September sunset, they tied the knot in 2023! Terry’s still happily at Shelburne Orchards when he’s not building a boat or a barn. Megan is the Executive Director of HANDS, whose mission is to get healthy food to older adults who struggle with food insecurity (handsvt.org). She also owns greeting card company, Sweet Basil Cards. Megan and Terry love being in or on the water, with a special fondness for Lake Champlain and the coast of Maine. Kimberlee Watts Nicksa writes with memories of “decades of fun and laughter with my AXO sisters Allison Fraser, Nancy Lee Monroe, Jan Waterman Cohen, Mary Jarrett , Betsy Faunce Andrews ‘81, Bonnie Caldwell ‘81, Pam Rogal Zlota ‘81. We celebrated turning 65 (most of us) in spectacular fashion throughout the past year and retirement was a big theme for many of us, too. Lots going on but always time to gather and enjoy time together.” Charlotte P Towne ’54 shared the sad news that her daughter Anne Ballou Towne Haywood passed away in September 2023 with her loving husband of 36 years, Michael, by her side. Anne is remembered as an impactful and inspirational teacher who dedicated herself to bettering the lives of children and their families.

Send your news to— Mrs. Kristen Yonker Hazen hazenkristin@gmail.com

UVM WEEKEND 2024

SEPTEMBER 27-29

Mark your calendars for UVM Weekend 2024! Campus will be alive with activities for alumni, families and friends. Join us for three vibrant days of sporting events, open houses, reunion and milestone celebrations and other signature events.

The full schedule for the weekend and registration will go live in July 2024.

For more details visit go.uvm. edu/uvmweekend2024

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George Christian Fjeld retired in 2020 and spent two years doing everything and nothing. Now he’s part of a two-person team publishing the local weekly newspaper, The Reporter, in Brandon, Vt. He says, “Who’d have known! It’s been challenging and a far cry from seeing patients. Great to continue to contribute to my community.” Thomas Adams Peltz reflects that UVM’s Department of Religion, where he received his undergraduate degree as well as a master’s in community counseling, continues to produce outstanding results! Learn more about Tom’s work and practice at www. tompeltz.com. David Rood shares the sad news that Richard Hyland died in November 2023 in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

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Nancy Ellen Battey shared a picture of an October 2023 get-together with Joyce Bates, Peggy (Bolton) Crisman, Alicia Good, Julie Jones, Bonnie (Oulette) Niles, at Alicia’s Vermont house. Despite the rain, the group “hiked, laughed, reminisced—and laughed some more! Three of us are retired (Nancy, Bonnie and Alicia) while the other three are getting ready! We plan to continue our get-togethers every year, as we need the laughter.” Lauren-Glenn Davitian is now working as Public Policy Director of Burlington’s CCTV Center for Media & Democracy to secure long-term funding for community media and to make way for the next promising generation of media activists. Dave Ebenstein shares that Barb Rosenthal Ebenstein ‘81 hosted an August party at Burlington’s St. John’s Club to celebrate Dave’s 70th birthday. In attendance were Mary Crane ‘81, Sue Dixon, Louis duPont ‘83, Maude Stranberg Ebenstein ‘12 , Max Ebenstein ‘13, Ruth Einstein, Michael Grundhauser ‘80, Emily Brewer Haddock ‘12 , Sheila House ‘77, Mary Hughes ‘81, emeritus faculty member Willem Leenstra, Ph.D., Eileen Brophy Siminger G’90, Paul Wieczoreck ‘78, Catherine Cover Wilson, Karen Yacos ‘81 G’92 , and a number of other guests who had the misfortune to not attend UVM in any capacity. Amy N Fanning shares the news that her daughter Lizzy Fanning ‘14, married Eli Hayward on August 26, 2023 in Lake Fairlee, Vt. A spirited group of Catamounts joined in the celebration, including Michael Aubrey ’82 and Suzanne Forelli Aubrey ’82 , Thor Belle ’14, Susan Brengle ‘85, Caldwell Clark ’11, Katie Dunn, Karin Emanuelson ’14, Amy Fanning, Nina Gage ’15, Tristan Hackett ’14 and Helen Webb Hackett ’14, Mara Hearst ’17, Joyce Hulm, Laura Jackson ’14, Ruby Kane ’14, Ben Keyes ’15, Jordan Lovejoy ’14, Samara Manges ’15, Kristian Moore ’14, Susan Nestler ‘68, Beth O’Connor, Nick Pattis ’12 , Ava Raku ’14, Jill Tarnow ‘90, Pax Templeton ’14, Mandy St. Hilaire ’14, Alice Tonry ’14, and current UVM graduate student Lydia Fanning. See the wonderful photo of the group in

the online Class Notes. Tom Gates shares news of a fantastic UVM gathering in November at Princeton University for a tailgate and game, followed by dinner at the Gates in Pennington with Michael Aubrey, Suzy Aubrey, Tom Gates and Tracey, Tom Pynchon ‘81, and Jon Rogers ‘84 and Monica. “Incredible memories of Coolidge ‘78-79 were discussed, again. THAT was really fun,” says Tom. Colonel Timothy Gerard Goddette is living back in Alexandria, Va., and working at the Pentagon. He is looking forward to reconnecting with UVM baseball teammates. His third grandchild was born in November 2023. J. Richard Lee shared the sad news that David John Picher passed away in New York City in December 2023.

Send your news to— John Peter Scambos, M.B.A. pteron@verizon.net

Caroline Arlen wrote to say that she won the 2023 LAURA Short Fiction Award for her story “Posse.” Read about Caroline’s books at www.carolinearlen.com. Mary Ambrose Burke has retired from teaching and now travels, often exchanging pet-sitting for lodging. She received a $250 Love of Learning grant from Phi Beta Kappa to take a creative writing course at the Muse Writing Center in Norfolk, Va. She has also dabbled in the bass drum with Norfolk’s Mosaic Steel Orchestra. Class Secretary Lisa Greenwood Crozier says: “We finally got to celebrate our daughter and son-inlaw’s wedding with their reception (almost two years later) in June. [Husband] Jim and I finally got to take our twice-postponed river cruise on the Seine. We had a wonderful time and spending time, as veterans, at the Normandy American Cemetery, was well, hard to describe. Seeing it in person is vastly different from pictures. I got to take an unplanned but wonderful two-week trip with my mom to Scotland. It was a knitting adventure! We spent four days in the Inverness area with 28 other knitters from all over the U.S. and from Canada. We then took the overnight ferry to Lerwick for Shetland Wool Week, spending a full week there before we all boarded the ferry, again, overnight back to Aberdeen and then our flights home. While in Shetland, we took classes, hiked, explored and greatly contributed to the Shetland economy! Lots of yarn and whisky! Our youngest and I are heading to Norway in the early spring to go help our good friends (a.k.a. our family) on their farm, on an island, in the middle of a fjord for lambing! We are so excited to get back and see them!” Robin Edelstein is still teaching and tutoring math in North Carolina and says she’d be glad to be in touch with classmates, who she thinks about often. Lorraine Otis LoConte writes of a group who gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of graduation in York Beach, Maine as they have done for the past 40 years, including Susan Dudley Cassidy, Fred Calatayud ’82 , Sarah Montgomery Calatayud ’90, Joni Foster-Robison, Patricia Luongo Haskell, Robert Paul McCarthy, Pete Sorensen, M.D., Peggy Kohl Sorensen ’84,

and Chris Williams Stanvick. Hostess (“Cruise Director”) Lorraine notes, “In general, everyone has made it a priority to attend. In years past, with spouses and children, we have been a group of 30. We all squeeze together for a long weekend on one property/under one roof. We all recognize how lucky we are to still have each other. We are truly blessed. We plan to continue as we have the best time!”

Send your news to— Mrs. Lisa Greenwood Crozier lcrozier@triad.rr.com

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After working as a software developer for 30 years, J. Steven Lamperti turned his hand to writing. His young adult fantasy series, Tales of Liamec, is available on Amazon. Cheryl Mayor London offers news of a mini-reunion held in October when Karen Sluzenski ’82 , Tracy Chandler-French ’82 , Mary Hordubay-McKenzie ’82 and Cheryl herself got together to reminisce about their UVM days, saying it was wonderful to reconnect and to visit the campus and downtown Burlington.

Send your news to— Mrs. Abby Goldberg Kelley kelleyabbyvt@gmail.com or Mrs. Shelley Carpenter Spillane scspillane@aol.com

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Christina Resch Adams sent in news of a California trip with Emily Ehrich Laine, Carol Allen, Jody Reed Cole, Susan (Susu) Emerson, Marthe Coker Merrill ’84, and Leslie Rosenberg Wenig. After officially retiring from teaching middle school math, Cathy Belair is now the proud owner of a rental property in the maritime zone of Drake Bay, Costa Rica, which she calls a magical place full of wonder and awe and so many incredible creatures! She invites Catamounts to reach out for more info at CasitaCorcovado.com. Jonathan Harris Henry G’91 and Sara Arnett Henry ‘87 G’91 are enjoying their 25th year living in Hampden, Maine, where Jon works as vice president of enrollment management and marketing at University of Maine at Augusta, and Sara works as director of student accessibility services at University of Maine. Jon, a UVM Top Cat alumnus, has enjoyed singing in the Black Bear Men’s Chorus at UMaine. He was honored recently by receiving the Dempsey Award for his volunteer work supporting fellow prostate cancer survivors. Their two adult sons and partners live in the Bangor/Orono region, so they enjoy lots of family gatherings. Craig John Mabie celebrated 60th birthdays with “too many to name 1985 grads” at the Elixir Spring House in New York’s Hudson River Valley. Many thanks to Josh Powers and Susan Mehlinger Powers for hosting such a special reunion and celebration of long-term friendship! Serene Meshel-Dillman is finishing a documentary series on medical aid in dying entitled Take Me Out Feet First that is scheduled to begin airing on Amazon early 2024, with the experiences of her parents (Robert Meshel

Painting a Brighter Community

Zach Dunn ’23 says his alumni-run business is primed to help curb a troubling trend in his community. Dunn, who recently earned his degree in Business Administration, is the co-founder of Painting With Purpose (PWP), a professional residential and commercial painting service with a dual mission to beautify the greater Burlington area while helping to end homelessness in Vermont. PWP donates a portion of its profits to the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, funds which help the unhoused secure a place to call home by providing money for security deposits, first month’s rent, and other move-in expenses.

“These are people that have a high likelihood of remaining homeless unless a helping hand is extended to them. It's hard to try and see a way out when no one is helping make a way out,” says Dunn. “Every day I put on the painter’s whites, I know that I'm working for something bigger than myself. I have a purpose directing me to do what I do, and there's nothing better than that.”

Dunn was the 2022 grand prize winner of the Grossman School of Business's Annual UVM Business Pitch Competition.

He says his vision is to create a “positive feedback loop” as part of a sustainable business model in which PWP and its community partners not only help those in need find permanent housing but also offer employment and training with PWP to those who are interested. Dunn says the idea for the enterprise came to him in a Grossman School of Business class focused on social entrepreneurship. To date, Dunn says PWP has passed the 100-job milestone, led a clothing drive, and donated over $14,000 of its profits.

“People are starting to demand that companies are more invested in the communities in which they operate, and they are choosing their brands based on their values. I’m committed to this business model and determined to grow my business. When my business grows, I grow, my message grows, and everyone we've been able to help gets an opportunity to grow.”

Zach and his business partner, Jake Falanga ’24, received significant recognition and a financial boost when Painting With Purpose was awarded the $212,500 grand prize in the Grossman School’s inaugural Joy and Jerry Meyers Cup this April.

’60 and Miriam Reiner Meshel ’60) in the pilot episode.

Send your news to— Ms. Barbara A. Roth roth_barb@yahoo.com

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Cassie Bell ’85 was sad to report that Joan Kerry Bader died in San Diego in July 2023. At press time, Kerry’s friends and family were planning a March 2024 Celebration of Life in Bethesda, Md.

Send your news to— Mr. Lawrence Gorkun vtlfg@msn.com

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Patty Hession Watson happily announced her new position of Director of Grants and Foundation Relations at Cape Abilities which has been serving individuals with disabilities on Cape Cod since 1968.

Send your news to— Mrs. Sarah Vaden Reynolds sarahreynolds10708@gmail.com

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Valerie J Bouchard visited the Newport Mansions with Tonya Kimball Hinchliffe ’90, Heidi Moore Magill ’90, Beth Blanchard Landry ’90 and Laura Noyes Smith ’91; the group were in the Allied Health Suites at Living/Learning dorm together in 1986. Heather Russell Burke says she is benefitting from her French and Journalism B.S. as a travel journalist. In 2023, she biked France’s Loire Valley, skied Chile in South America, and visited the Swiss Alps. Her travel companion is husband Greg Burke, son of Janice Fayen Burke

’57 & J. Douglas Burke ’57, and brother of Jon D. Burke ’80 and Stuart Burke ’85. and of whom she says, “Greg is the only one who did not attend UVM—but we still love him!” You can read of Heather and Greg’s adventures at www.theluxuryvacationguide.com. With the class of ‘88’s 35th anniversary at hand, Mitchell Jay Katz is celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife Christine Neville, and his 34th anniversary working with the federal government, including 25 years in his current job as a senior public affairs specialist with the Federal Trade Commission. He and Christine have two children: Emma, 16, who’s a sophomore in high school; Ben, 19, a sax section leader in the Dukes’ 540-person marching band at Madison University. Mitch still keeps in touch with many of his AEPi (Alpha Epsilon Pi) fraternity brothers including Ken Diesenhof ’89, Ian Gross, Matt Kelber ’89, Jamie Lerner ’90, Jay Levine ’89, Scott Lifschin, Matt Mandel ’89, Michael Ziman ’89, and others. He’s also reconnected with classmates Julie Aron Kahn ’90, Jennifer Grundy Rubin, and former Catamount hockey defenseman Paul Seguin, whose son Tyler plays for the NHL Dallas Stars.

Send your news to— Mrs. Cathy Selinka Levison crlevison@comcast.net

Pamela Eldridge Lucci and her son Aaron Lucci ’18 recently returned from an incredible family trip to Botswana and South Africa where they enjoyed an African safari. Amy Raab Macaluso has officially become a Vermonter after all these years. She writes, “My husband, Kevin, and I have moved

THE POWER OF UVM CONNECT

Students journey from curiosity to capability through job shadows, internships, and wisdom from our dynamic alumni network. UVM Connect serves as a bridge to the professional world – explore profiles, understand career trajectories, and connect with Catamounts who can provide career perspective and guidance.

Claire Evans ‘25 (left) utilized UVM Connect as a networking tool to set up job shadowing, leading her to Anna Hilton ‘12 (right), a UVM alum and General Cardiology PA at the UVM Medical Center

MAIL YOUR CLASS NOTES: UVM Alumni Association 61 Summit Street, Burlington, VT 05401

SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTES: alumni.uvm.edu/notes or class.notes@uvm.edu

to Saxtons River, Vt., where he is teaching English and history at Vermont Academy. We are now empty-nesters after raising our two daughters in Annapolis, Md. Our oldest daughter, Sophie, is living and working in Washington D.C., and was recently engaged. Our younger daughter, Eliza, is loving life as a freshman at Connecticut College. I plan to continue my career as a photographer in Vermont and I’m exploring other mediums of art. I’ve been traveling to Burlington when possible to reconnect with Coolidge Hall friends Courtney Smith Griesser, Sarah Cioffi and Ellen Stecklow Marcus. I’ve also reconnected with Mike Pollio and his lovely wife, Tara, who live nearby. It’s great to be back and I welcome the opportunity for travel, photography, and friends!” Sarah Anne Soule, Gina (Ristau) Ohngemach, and Po (Kim) Murray meet once a year for a weekend of hiking and laughter; in 2023, they met in Jackson, Wyo.

Send your news to— Mrs. Maureen Kelly Gonsalves moe.dave@verizon.net

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Maj. Shannon Burgess Blake (ret.) received the 2023 UVM Alumni Achievement Award from UVM Alumni Association for work with WARRIORS SOAR, which serves disabled veterans. Michele Lamm Chapuis is still working in international marketing and currently the International Lead on the Global Beauty Team at SharkNinja. Her “side hustle” is a travel business called Europe Your Own Way, offering travel consulting and leading small group tours in Europe. She’s proud of the fact that she was recently recognized as an Italian citizen (through bloodline) and has published her first book, Quest for Life in Europe (available on Amazon). Jen Dyment Lang-Ree continues to work as a pediatric nurse practitioner in Truckee, Calif., In her free time, she competes in Masters Biathlon. Last year, she was awarded overall Top Shooter at the U.S. Biathlon Nationals in Casper, Wyo. Kendall McCauley Manzo’s youngest son, Peter, was just accepted into UVM’s Class of 2028, where he will be joining his sister Grace, who is in the class of 2025. Kendall says, “Grace loves UVM and is looking forward to spending the spring semester studying abroad in Rome. My husband and I are so excited to have four more years of visits to Burlington!” In 2022, Thomas Albert Maufer along with his wife, Debbie, and their dog Chester, moved from Zurich, Switzerland to Richmond, U.K., assuming an executive director position with Goldman Sachs’ technology division, taking care of the reliability of internal computer systems. Subsequently, he was recruited to a similar posi-

tion with JPM Chase (also in London), and at the time of writing, had a planned start in 2024.

Send your news to— Mrs. Tessa Donohoe Fontaine tessafontaine@gmail.com

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Robin Beers writes, “After 20+ years working in corporate, I launched my human-centered design consultancy, Ubuntu Culture Company. Ubuntu means interconnected humanness, and the company’s website was designed by UVM classmate Michelle Wells!” Ian Christopher Clark is proud that daughter Kristin Clark ’23 graduated from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences last May. Kristin is looking forward to returning to UVM in the fall of 2024 to pursue her doctoral degree. After 55 years, Judy Wiley Crouse G’91 and Roger Crouse G’77 relinquished their season men’s ice hockey tickets. They note lots of hockey memories from 1968-2023. They were guests of Athletic Director Jeff Schulman ‘89 at the UVM-UMass-Amherst game where UVM won in overtime. Exciting!

Send your news to— Mrs. Karen Heller Lightman khlightman@gmail.com

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Victoria Ciminera Burke started a new job in October 2023 as the director of Veterinary Channel/North America for a new veterinary diet called Tiki Cat Veterinary Solutions. She says she turned her Animal Science degree from aspirations towards vet school to working on the business side of animal health for the past 23 years and is glad she did. She and her husband reside in Denver and their 19-year-old son is attending college in Florida. In June 2023, Josh D. Peters was promoted to Community Development Director for Jefferson County, Wash.

Send your news to— Mrs. Lisa Aserkoff Kanter jslbk@mac.com

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J.J. Toothman shares that his company, Lone Rock Point, just finished its biggest year, helping NASA launch a redesigned web site (www.nasa.gov) and new streaming service (NASA+). He adds, “Yes, I named the company after that Lone Rock Point!”

Send your news to— Ms. Gretchen Haffermehl Brainard gretchenbrainard@gmail.com

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Send your news to— Mrs. Cynthia Bohlin Abbott cyndiabbott@hotmail.com

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Lynda K. Baldwin is a MS graduate of UVM’s Field Naturalist Program and in spring 2023 published Drawing Botany Home: A Rooted Life. In fall 202,3 the book won the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival Award for Environmental Writing. She notes, “The book uses many of the tools and content I learned as a graduate student in the field naturalist program:

the way re-establishing our connection with local plants can contribute to global restoration, the importance of multiple ways of knowing (writing and drawing), and the power of metaphor in bridging personal challenges as well as the complex history of settler/Indigenous relations.” After more than 19 years at Washington and Lee University, Tim Diette wrote he would begin service as the chief academic officer at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, becoming dean of the college’s faculty in January 2024. Wade M Johnson G’97 was a guest speaker at the 2023 Vermont Emergency Preparedness Conference, and delivered a presentation titled “Supportive Supervision for Emergency Management.”

Send your news to— Ms. Valeri Susan Pappas vpappas@davisandceriani.com

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Jolene Travis has been appointed as assistant vice president for communications at Pratt Institute. Jolene will continue to serve as Pratt’s primary public relations officer, assisting Pratt’s president, provost, senior staff, and academic leadership in initiatives with the press and the external community, and providing expanded guidance and support for critical and crisis communications.

Send your news to— Ms. Jill Cohen Gent jcgent@roadrunner.com or Mrs. Michelle Richards Peters mpeters@eagleeyes.biz

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Send your news to— Mrs. Elizabeth Carstensen Genung leegenung@me.com

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Send your news to— Mr. Benjamin Eldridge Stockman bestockman@gmail.com

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Send your news to— Mrs. Sarah Pitlak Tiber spitlak@hotmail.com

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Constance (Kiki) Cannon moved from Denver to Ojai, Calif., in summer 2023 to be closer to children and grandchildren; she is working selling residential real estate with LIV Sotheby’s International Realty.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

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Send your news to— Ms. Jennifer Khouri Godin jenniferkhouri@yahoo.com

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Bryan H. Carnahan went to Japan in August 2023 to visit his brother’s family for the first time since 2019. He observed, “A lot has changed during the past four years, especially with the young niece and nephew.” The group opted to spend almost all their time together in Karuizawa, Nagano, at an elevation of 900 meters, to escape the Tokyo

oven. In September, Bryan made an impromptu four-day weekend trip to Colorado to climb some “14-ers” (peaks at least 14,000 feet tall), bringing his total to 54 out of 58—with only Mount Sherman, Mount Bierstadt, Mount Blue Sky, and Pikes Peak remaining. In October, Bryan ran the Age Group World Championship, which took place within the Chicago Marathon. He says, “We had our own heated VIP tent before and after the race! The opportunity to be in the presence of so many other fantastic athletes from around the world was an awesome experience!” Bryan is teaching skiing, once again, on winter weekends at Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire. This time he is PSIA Level 1 certified and hopes to acquire his Children’s Specialist 1 certification this winter. Clayton Trutor, Ph.D. has been awarded the 2023 Malcolm Bell, Jr. and Muriel Barrow Bell Award for the best book on Georgia history for Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta—and How Atlanta Remade Professional Sports (University of Nebraska Press). His latest book, Boston Ball: Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, Gary Williams, and the Forgotten Cradle of Basketball Coaches, was published (University of Nebraska Press) in November 2023.

Send your news to— Mrs. Korinne Moore Berenson korinne.d.moore@gmail.com

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Send your news to— Ms. Kelly Marie Kisiday kelly.kisiday@gmail.com

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Congratulations to the Reverend Darrell L. Goodwin and his husband Kentavis Goodwin, who celebrated their first-year wedding anniversary in the Dominican Republic and are looking forward for many more years to come.

Send your news to— Mrs. Kristen Dobbs Schulman kristin.schulman@gmail.com

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Phillip Mark Peterson is excited to share an achievement, of which he writes: “In a collaborative effort with two UVM engineering graduates, I work as a Public Works Engineer with the City of Burlington and Adam Frazier’11 is a Staff Engineer for UVM. Both of us are UVM Civil Engineering graduates. We collaborated successfully and completed the University Place Street Reconstruction project. This project transformed the street into a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly street, which includes green infrastructure and several other more modern amenities. This undertaking highlights the expertise of our two professional engineering teams, and also showcases the strong bond formed with our alma mater. What makes this accomplishment even more special is that the contractor responsible for bringing our vision to life was also a UVM engineering graduate. Jeff Weston was the lead contractor and is also a UVM Civil Engineering graduate. This full-circle collaboration further underscores the strength of the UVM engineering community, and the level

| CLASS NOTES

of excellence and professionalism instilled in its graduates. Huzzah!”

Send your news to— Mrs. Katherine Kasarjian Murphy kateandbri@gmail.com

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Heather Kathleen Greenberg writes that her husband Andrew Pandolph, a graduate of UVM’s Environmental Sciences program, is now a licensed site professional in Massachusetts. He is currently the president of the company Vineyard Engineering and Environmental Services working to assess hazardous waste sites and formulate clean-up plans for residential and commercial properties. She says, “We are so proud of him!” Joshua Adam Malczyk has launched Ori, a travel culture magazine that supports independent writers and photographers via a grant funded by a percent of subscription costs. Erica Nuzzo Morelli shares that she and Billy Morelli, both currently of Salem, Mass., welcomed their first baby girl, Sofia, in October of 2022!

Send your news to— Mrs. Elizabeth DiPietrantonio ekolodner@gmail.com

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In January 2023, Madison Ginnett started her own boutique communications and events company specialized in hospitality, working with some of the best restaurants, bars, and hotels in the Bay Area, while producing events all over the world. Charles Colin McNaull reports he’s still alive and well on Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes. Kesha Ram Hinsdale of Shelburne is a 2023 recipient of the 20 Under 40 Leadership Award from the Council of State Governments for her strong leadership skills and true commitment to serving Vermont’s citizens. After graduation, Jonathan P. Sneider was the Art Director for the Teddy the Dog brand and illustrated two children’s books for Harper Collins. He now works full-time as a graphic designer, and also owns a clothing label company (Best Name Tape) that was featured on the Emmy award-winning TV show, Chronicle Boston. The episode is now available on YouTube and includes a mention of his time at UVM. Ian Sotzing shares that he and Monica Testa ’10 celebrated their wedding in Northern California in November 2023. They originally met on the UVM club water polo team and reconnected in the Bay Area years later. Go Cats Go!

Send your news to— Ms. Elizabeth S. Bearese ebearese@gmail.com or Ms. Emma Maria Grady gradyemma@gmail.com

Nydia E Guity, L.C.S.W. was accepted into the 2024 Accelerated Trainer Program (ATP) for Internal Family Systems. She is excited to be part of the training staff that reflects the global majority.

Send your news to—

Mr. David Arthur Volain david.volain@gmail.com

10Joshua Michael Clarke and Stephanie Clarke ‘06 joyfully welcomed a new Vermonter—Adelaide Antonina Clarke—into the world in June 2023 at the UVM Medical Center. The couple say she brings with her a multitude of giggles, smiles, and a new playmate for her adoring older brother, Thatcher. Class Secretary Daron Raleigh let us know that Sophie Page Allen married Curtis Sanford Huey in July 2023 in Lyons, Colo. They were surrounded by family and friends from around the world as well as many UVM alumni, including Mary (Bowditch) Allen ‘81, Walter Greene ‘68, Madeline Murphy-Hall, Judith (Coolidge) Jones ‘81, Joan (Huey) Greene ‘66, Joe Peters ‘02 , Kathleen Scacciaferro ‘82 and Katy (Jones) Sieg. The couple is currently living in Denver with lots of weekends at their property just outside of Salida. Hayley Perelman completed her training as a clinical and sport psychologist in 2020, and recently opened her telehealth private practice. She sees clients while her daughter, born in March 2023, attends daycare. Spice World, Inc. announced that they have appointed Lisa Beth Rosenberg as its new Director of Research and Development. In this newly created role, Lisa will lead Spice World’s robust innovation program, designed to deliver on consumers’ desires to elevate the way they eat with innovative, convenient, and fresh flavor. She earned her master’s degree in business administration from Fordham University, her master’s degree in food science from North Carolina State University, and her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and food science from the University of Vermont. Send your news to— Ms. Daron Lynn Raleigh raleighdaron@gmail.com

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Katie Lane was recently appointed the Head Coach of Women’s Rowing at Drexel University. Women’s Rowing at Drexel is an NCAA Division I Sport that competes in the Colonial Athletic Association. Kelly (Macken) Robertson and Graham Robertson ’12 welcomed a baby girl, Bowen Brooke Robertson, in December 2023.

Send your news to— Ms. Troy Elizabeth McNamara troy.mcnamara4@gmail.com

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Dr. J. Benjamin Dangl published A World Where Many Worlds Fit (Fomite Press), a collection of travel writing from his journalism work around the Global South, which activist and scholar Silvia Federici called “a powerful journey through scenes of urban clamor and resistance.” Natalie Claire White and Rose Strousse, both CESS undergraduates, taught English in Israel during the summer of 2023 as part of the TALMA Israel teaching fellowship. Send your news to— Mr. Patrick Wayne Dowd patrickdowd2012@gmail.com

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Katie Kimball successfully earned a master’s of science in Counseling from the University of Southern Maine in the fall of 2022. She’s currently living and working as a clinical mental health counselor in her beloved home state of Maine.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

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Jordan Lovejoy married Daniel Maxton in July 2023. Among the Catamounts in attendance were Lizzy Fanning, Monty Lovejoy ‘80, Sara Lovejoy ‘12 , Spencer Lovejoy ‘12 , Doug Manchester ‘80, Judy Manchester ‘80, Samara Manges ‘15, Maggie Moyers, current student Thomas Moyers, Ava Raku and Alice Tonry Christopher Thomas Veal ’21, M.D. recently received the President’s Award from the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) for his advocacy work in LGBTQ+ Health and Trauma Informed Care. He is the first Resident Physician to receive this award (most recipients are at the Attending Physician level). He was also appointed to serve on the IAFP Board of Directors and wrote as he was preparing to serve on the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Commission for Professional Development starting January 2024.

Send your news to— Mrs. Grace Louise Buckles Eaton glbuckles@gmail.com

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Andrew Michael Bowen married his high school sweetheart Eleanor Ross in October 2023 at the Williamsburg Inn in Virginia. Shannon Esrich Kolmeister married the love of her life, UNH Wildcat Brett Kolmeister, on August 12, 2023, in Massachusetts. Fellow Catamounts helped make the day magical, including Maha Akkeh, Maddy Hejna, Michelle Goldsmith, and Chris Damiani. They all declare it the best day ever!

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

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Lydia Longsworth Horne received her MFA in photography from California Institute of the Arts in 2022. She’s currently a freelance journalist in Los Angeles, writing and editing for publications (including Alta Journal, Marie Claire, and Hyperallergic) as well as producing podcasts (audiochuck). Lydia works out of her studio in downtown L.A., where she also makes quilts using scanned Super 8 frames that she prints on fabric (she gives a shout-out to UVM professor Peter Shellenberger). She’s recently exhibited work at REDCAT, Keystone Art Space, and Helen J Gallery. Benjamin Kennedy G’18 and his wife Becca eloped on Friday, October 13th at The San Diego Humane Society. They have fostered almost 200 animals together, mainly neonatal kittens, and wanted to bring awareness to the lifesaving work of the region’s largest shelter. In addition to one small bouquet, they had a litter of adoptable kittens at their intimate cere -

Obscurity to Exhibition

Collector Helps Bring Asian Art Back to Life at the Fleming Museum

From a protective glass case at UVM’s Fleming Museum, an ancient visage fixes its gaze upon passersby with a playful smile. Dating back to the 11th century, the stone statue depicts a female deity adorned with abundant jewelry, a headdress, and a rambling hairstyle. Though the intricately carved head is all that remains, long ago separated from the body of a figure known as a salabhanjaka, its completeness is what makes it notable.

“The word salabhanjaka is from Sanskrit, and today refers to a female tree sprite, a kind of demigoddess,” says David Nalin, M.D., Dr.Sc. H’17, who donated the artwork to the Fleming Museum. “What attracted me to this piece was its exquisite beauty. It is one of the finest examples of this sculptural style and period known to exist.”

The salabhanjaka was a common decorative element and Indian sculpture, adorning the walls of religious and secular spaces of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain architecture.

Nalin became devoted to South Asian art as a young doctor sent on assignment to Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) in 1967 to do cholera research through the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Starting from a patient overflow tent at a small missionary hospital, Nalin and his colleagues developed scientific trials to prove that Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT)—a simple mixture of sugar, salt, and water, taken by mouth—could effectively rehydrate patients suffering from cholera and other illnesses. This

simple solution, made from widely-available ingredients, was nothing short of a miracle cure in locations around the world where intravenous treatment was unavailable or too expensive. It is estimated that Nalin’s breakthrough research on ORT, which is still widely used today, has saved the lives of 100 million people, most of them small children.

While serving in South Asia, Nalin became captivated with local cultures. He became committed to preserving the visual arts of the region when he realized that ancient sculptures were being scrapped for their metal and destroyed in the ethnic conflicts preceding the Bangladesh Liberation War.

“Having been brought up in New York near the Metropolitan Museum, I had developed a bit of an eye for quality objects. I couldn’t help but notice that there were beautiful things, whose history I didn’t really understand at the time, being destroyed en masse. So I started to acquire them as I could, to save them from virtually assured destruction.”

Over many years, Nalin built a substantial collection that includes works from India, Bangladesh, Tibet, Nepal, and China. He was introduced to the Fleming Museum of Art by his brother and fellow art collector Richard Nalin, a member of the UVM Class of 1963. The brothers have donated thousands of pieces to museums across the U.S., including several hundred to UVM’s Fleming Museum of Art. In recognition of his work as a medical ambassador and pioneer, and his vision of preserving cultural legacies, David Nalin received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from UVM in 2017.

“Dr. Nalin’s support for the Fleming

combines a rare mixture of collecting expertise, relationships across the museum field, and volunteer engagement as a longtime member of our board,” said Fleming Museum Director Sonja Lunde. “I am deeply appreciative of David’s many years of enthusiastic support for our wonderful museum.”

Nalin says he has found the Fleming, with its surprisingly robust Asian art holdings, to be an apt home for the many donated art pieces and objects he has spent his life preserving, where their history can be told and their beauty displayed for generations to appreciate.

“The Fleming has produced many fine, focused exhibitions of great quality,” said Nalin. “It has the flexibility, on a smaller scale than big institutions, to develop innovative exhibition techniques that can have a broad influence. I have been very impressed.”

| CLASS NOTES

mony. Ben graduated from CESS with two education degrees and is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at University of California San Diego, where his work focuses on trans inclusion in curriculum, policy, and practice. He owes his passion for equitable education and his confidence as an educator to CESS. Reilly Simoneau has moved back to her home state of Vermont after living in Boston for six years. She has joined her mother Geri Reilly ‘79, father Michael Simoneau ‘73, and brother Mike Simoneau Jr. ‘17 at Geri Reilly Real Estate. If you, or anyone you know have any real estate needs, she hopes you’ll reach out.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

17

Brittany Fair G’17 published her first book, The Neuroscience of Yoga and Meditation, in July 2023. In the book, Fair presents a review of scientific research on the effects of yoga and meditation on the brain, and discusses shortcomings of current research in the field. Lilly Marie Worthley and Joel Rosenzweig’ 16 share that they joyfully married September 30, 2023 in a seaside ceremony on Peaks Island, Maine. The event was attended my many fellow Catamounts who have been there since the start of their eight-year relationship. Lilly works as a clean energy transition organizer and Joel as a food distribution manager. The couple lives in Swampscott, Mass., with their dog, Bagheera.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

18

Bethany Harris Crawford married Eliot Crawford ’19 in May 2023. Charlotte Emily Goodrich G’21 and Garrett Keraga were married in September 2023 in Waitsfield, Vt. They met at UVM. Joshua Holz writes to share that the 2023 short film he directed, Another Night, garnered several accolades: Official Selection at the Chelsea Film Festival; Official Selection at the Northeast Film Festival; semi-finalist at the Academy Awards qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival. He says, “I was a film and television major at UVM and also directed a MovieMaker Magazine Top 50 Festival, placing short film as my keystone Honors College thesis project while at UVM, At Sea (2018). He welcomes conversation about his path to directing after FTS while at UVM and any other contact with alums. In December 2022, Brandon Borris Majmudar completed a rigorous certification process, through which CFRE International named him a Certified Fundraising Executive. The credential signifies the necessary knowledge, skills, and commitment for effective and ethical fundraising at a leadership level. Deirdre Moffat and Benjamin Moffat tied the knot at Sugarbush Ski Resort in Warren, Vt., in August 2023. They celebrated their marriage with close friends and family, including many UVM alumni!

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

19

Claire Tattersfield has authored Cupig, an illustrated children’s book featuring clever and hilarious take on Cupid. In January 2024, it was #8 on the New York Times list of bestselling children’s books.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

20

Meagan Cummins and Zoe Kalbag moved to California with the perfect dog, Nelly Furtado. They’re settling in well. Both managed to stand up during their first surfing lesson.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

21

Clayton Cafiero thanks UVM’s College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences for a very nice article on his book, Code Better, which is used in computer science courses at UVM.

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22

Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz , G’22 published his second collection of short stories, Al Otro Lado (On the Other Side) in Puerto Rico. Additionally, Dr. Rodríguez-Cruz has been named a 2023 Public Voices Fellow by Yale Climate Connections and Op-Ed Project and started La Fiambrera, a weekly newsletter on Puerto Rican food systems issues. Catherine Gullo writes, “I’m advancing my career at the Vermont Air National Guard! I have been promoted to Senior Airman and am getting ready for our second trip. I joined a little later than most, but I’m getting all I can out of it!” Natalie DiMarzio Nelson is currently pursuing a doctorate in physical therapy at Regis University in Denver.

Send your news to— class.notes@uvm.edu or submit online at go.uvm.edu/note

23

Iñes Luisa de Haro G’23 is honored to announce that she is becoming a part-time lecturer in the spring 2024 semester for UVM’s education department while also continuing to teach at Champlain College. Gretel Ophelia Devendorf writes, “After graduating earlier than intended, I decided to go to Australia. I am currently working a temp role in admin in Melbourne, soon to end. I am going to Queensland next, and then Japan! I hope everyone is doing well, and maybe I can inspire you to try something new. Hey, I am 19 years-old and alone in a different country!” See a photo of her in the Victorian rainforest in the online Class Notes. Krista Fillion has joined Peace Corps North Macedonia. There’s a picture of her in a UVM

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sweatshirt, hiking with a group of fellow volunteers in Gostivar in the online Class Notes. Cora Louise Smith just finished her internship with Senator Bernie Sanders’ office and was looking forward to a January 2024 start to a new internship with the Vermont Natural Resources Council when she sent her note. Class Secretary Han Naung Tun writes, “I am thrilled to announce that I will be applying for a Ph.D. program in Clinical and Translational Science. After earning my Master of Public Health (MPH) from the UVM Larner College of Medicine and my background with MBBS, I have found immense value and fulfillment in my journey towards becoming a physician-scientist in cardiovascular science. My time at UVM was not only academically enriching, but also a truly wonderful experience, thanks to the beautiful environment and supportive community. Looking ahead, I am excited to focus my clinical research on cardiovascular diseases, contributing to advancements in this crucial field. UVM has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping my career path.” See a photo from his trip to Amsterdam in the online Class Notes.

Send your news to— Mr. Han Naung Tun htun@uvm.edu

IN MEMORIAM

Dr. Jane Nathalie Atwood Barlow ’49 passed away in January 2024. After graduating from UVM she went on to earn a Ph.D. at Cornell and became an archaeologist. Her specialty was early Bronze Age Cypriot pottery; as a curious life-long learner she published in her field but also helped edit books on topics from World War II to Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks. Along the way she was a volunteer with UVM alumni reunions and a loyal donor with a particular dedication to UVM Special Collections. She is survived by three children, four grandchildren and her sister Martha A. Pike ’51

Dr. Thomas Achenbach, father of Dr. Gretchen Gamewell Achenbach ’90 and Christopher Hans Achenbach ’94, passed away in October 2023. A researcher and clinician who had profound and wideranging impact on children and families, developed the ASEBA (Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment) tool in 1966 to help detect behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents. Following a long and productive career, Dr. Achenbach was an emeriti faculty member of the psychiatry department and a generous donor who supported many causes at UVM, ranging from chamber music to the UVM Cancer Center. In 2007 he endowed a permanent faculty position to chair the developmental psychopathology department in support of children and families.

Jarlath O’Neill Dunne G’04 passed away suddenly during a day of Nordic skiing with friends in January 2024. He was the director of the Spatial Analysis Lab within the Rubenstein School for Environment and Natural Resources. He received his M.S. from UVM’s Graduate College in 2004 and as a colleague received the 2023 UVM Faculty Career Champion award. He is remembered for an unparalleled willingness to share his knowledge and expertise, his tremendous work in helping communities with flood mapping, his commitment to students and to his lab teammates, for his passion, leadership, and humor.  He was a treasured friend to many, and father to Ailsa, Angus, and Maeve.

Thomas Gage ’54 passed away in December 2023. While a student, Tom was a brother with Sigma Nu,

part of ROTC, and played on UVM’s football team. As an alumnus, he was an enthusiastic member of UVM Athletics’ Victory Club and served as Class Secretary to encourage members of the Class of 1954 to stay in touch with life news and updates. He is survived by a large family that includes children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as an extended community grateful for his lifetime of volunteering and service.

Harry Holland ’57 passed away in December 2023. “Hatch” was an active and enthusiastic supporter of UVM for decades. He served as a member of the Grossman School of Business Board of Advisors and UVM’s Vermont Council, was a wonderful host for UVM regional events, and was a steadfast donor. He is survived by his wife Barbara Johnston ’57, children Mary Anne, Michael Harry Holland ’92, Joseph Johnston Holland ’90, and James Hunter Holland ’95; his son-in-law John (Judy); his brother Clark and many children and grandchildren. Leonard Mercia ’50 passed away in February 2023. Four years after receiving his B.S., he joined UVM Extension as a poultryman and professor, and taught, published and conducted research until his 1983 retirement. His poultry-focused books and other publications have been valued in Vermont, across the country, and around the world. In 2010 Len was honored with the Robert O. Sinclair Award, given annually to a faculty member whose career served the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the UVM Extension Service with distinction. He is survived by his beloved wife Shirley, children Jackie Owen, Kathie and Bill Mercia ’70, and many stepchildren, grandchildren, children and extended friends and family.

Holly Miller H’15 passed away in September 2023. Together with her husband, Robert E. Miller H’15, she offered volunteer work, extraordinary philanthropy, and leadership that transformed UVM and UVM Medical Center’s campuses. She is remembered for constant commitment to opportunities to care for children and for those at the end of their lives. In 2016, the Millers established a chair in palliative medicine at the UVM Larner College of Medicine, a Professorship in Nursing Leadership at the UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences,

provided a lead gift for the UVM Medical Center’s inpatient care building (now known as the Miller Building) and many other transformative gifts at UVM. She is survived by daughter Erika Perin Montgomery ’92, stepdaughter Stephanie Miller-Taylor, and stepson Tim Miller, a large and loving extended family, and many loyal friends.

Dr. Norman Pellet, longtime UVM Plant and Soil Sciences professor, and friend of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, passed away in December 2023. He retired in 1996, after 29 years of service to UVM where he served as a teacher, Extension instructor, and researcher whose work focused on ornamental plant selection and management for Vermont climates. His UVM awards and honors include the Joseph E. Carrigan Award in 1985 for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and the Sinclair Award for professional advancement in his field. In addition to a luminous career, Dr. Pellet is remembered and missed for “the twinkle in his eye, that irresistible trademark Pellettfamily giggle, and his gentle, affectionate teasing.”

Margaret “Maggie” Atkins Reilly Gannaway ‘89, G’97 passed away in August 2023. She received her BS and MSW degrees in social work from UVM’s College of Education and Social Services. With those, she went on to become a leader in the field of children’s mental health who influenced the lives of youths, families and colleagues throughout and beyond Vermont over the course of a 35-year career Through this busy life, she remained involved with UVM as a volunteer to support current students, help plan alumni reunions, and a supporter of CESS programs. Part of a Catamount family, despite her life and career’s tremendous accomplishment and impact, her loved ones noted that her greatest joy was being a mother to Maya Anne Reilly.

Emeritus art history professor Dr. Margaret Roland, who taught from 1966 to 1995, passed away in 2023. In his remarks at UVM Commencement in 2018, Alexander Nemerov ’85, chair of the Art and Art History Department at Stanford University, credited Dr. Roland and other members of UVM’s art history faculty with directly inspiring his career as an art historian and as

a teacher.  Former student Rachel Kane ‘80 wrote in with her memories: “I admired her lively teaching style and her humor, but also the high expectations and demands she made of us. She had a big voice and laugh that could reach the back of any room. She was brilliant, opinionated and very sharp - she never let anything slide.” Dr. Roland was honored with emeritus status in 1995.

I admired her lively teaching style and her humor, but also the high expectations and demands she made of us. She had a big voice and laugh that could reach the back of any room. She was brilliant, opinionated and very sharp— she never let anything slide.

Bobbi Sobel, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, and UVM donor who cared deeply about the education and welfare of all children, youth, and families, passed away in November 2023. She brought joy, compassion, and hope to the world, including to the UVM College of Education and Social Services community. With her husband Alex, she helped establish the Lara Sobel Memorial Scholarship for MSW students in honor of daughter Lara Sobel ’89, G ‘02.

What or where is the connection between art and artificial intelligence? That question was part of the motivation behind Aberrant Creativity: Unusual Partnerships Between Humans and Machines, an international exhibition presented this year at Texas A&M University, which featured “Team Picks” – a work created by UVM’s Art + Artificial Intelligence Research Group’s members Jenn Karson, Cameron Bremner, Ethan Davis, Syd Culbert, Emma Garvey, and Keri Toksu. Founded in 2020 by School of the Arts Lecturer in Art and Art History Karson, who also directs the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences’ “FabLab,” the Art + AI Research Group is engaged in a continuing study by artists of the tools of artificial intelligence.

Learn about how Tom Kiley ’77 established a gift annuity to help secure his future, while leaving a lasting legacy for the Environmental Program at the University of Vermont. Annuity rates haven’t been this high in a generation, and you can benefit.

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