Across the Green was started as a series of periodic letters from Provost Rosowsky to provide updates on current initiatives and information on topics of interest to the broader UVM academic community. Started in 2013, Across the Green was published three times per year during the six years Dr. Rosowsky served as UVM’s Provost and Senior Vice President. The ATG Brief series continues in the spirit of this communication with topics focused on higher education and leadership.
ATG Briefs (2019 – Present)
- Thankful Is As Thankful DoesTo say this has been a difficult year is an understatement. In fact, the events of this past year are beyond any we thought possible, any we imagined. The confluence of events, circumstances, and where we find ourselves as a nation and a planet have led to an unimaginable set of challenges – distinct and … Continue reading Thankful Is As Thankful Does
- Circuit BreakersSo-called “circuit breakers” are being used to stop the spread of the Coronavirus on college and university campuses. Specifically, schools are making the decision to pause in-person instruction to stem the spread of the virus, mirroring the success similar moves have had to spur decreases elsewhere. It is becoming more evident that the return of … Continue reading Circuit Breakers
- Pandemic, Partisanship, and Polarization: The Urgency of Bridging the Gap on Our CampusesAs university presidents, system chancellors, boards, and even governors have weighed in on the pandemic response including campus re-opening plans, strategies for keeping people healthy, and even policies around testing and quarantine, it was inevitable perhaps that criticisms would be raised and attacks on leadership would follow. Less obvious, perhaps, was that those criticisms and … Continue reading Pandemic, Partisanship, and Polarization: The Urgency of Bridging the Gap on Our Campuses
- Communicating Culture in a Distributed WorldCommunication has taken on much broader meaning and greater significance for organizations of late, both inward- and outward-facing. Nowhere is that truer than for colleges and universities, as the higher education sector struggles with long-needed change, financial and organizational constraints, volatile public perceptions about cost and value, and now the impacts of COVID-19. In recent … Continue reading Communicating Culture in a Distributed World
- Building Institutional ResilienceIn 2019, I published a paper entitled “Defining Resilience” that framed the critical questions engineers must ask when considering resilience among the performance requirements for infrastructure systems such as buildings, bridges, highways, ports and harbors, and so forth. This at a time that concepts of resilience were front and center in the minds of engineers, … Continue reading Building Institutional Resilience
- The Great PivotThe sudden shift to remote teaching and learning following the COVID-19 outbreak and global pandemic has been a remarkable experiment for students, faculty, instructional staff, IT staff, and colleges and universities. We are learning on the fly, from one another, and through trial and error, about how to teach online, how to maintain communications with … Continue reading The Great Pivot
- 10 Keys to a Successful Fall 2020 OpeningAs we continue to navigate what may be one of the most challenging and disruptive times in higher education – with hope, with optimism, and with a new-found spirit of unity – we begin to turn our collective attention to what’s next. For university leaders and their teams, this means focusing on the fall 2020 … Continue reading 10 Keys to a Successful Fall 2020 Opening
- Institutional Individualism and System Citizenship: Building ‘Better Together’Those who know me well know of my profound respect for our nation’s public and land grant universities and systems and both the knowledge and the opportunities they create – through mission and mandate – for their communities, the State, the nation, and the world. Never has the role of our great public universities – … Continue reading Institutional Individualism and System Citizenship: Building ‘Better Together’
- Advancing a Culture of Innovation and EntrepreneurshipTwo words that have permeated academic culture, only slightly behind other industry sectors, are innovation and entrepreneurship. Yet experience has shown resistance by faculty frequently results from efforts to create, foster, leverage, or even promote innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities at some universities, particularly those that identify as primarily liberal arts institutions or those that have … Continue reading Advancing a Culture of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- The Disciplinary TrenchReflecting upon many years of discussion about the state of American higher education, we noticed that it is often the very structures and principles that have made our model great that are potentially holding us back. How do we keep alive our traditions and all that they stand for – namely the foundational value of … Continue reading The Disciplinary Trench
- Leader, Listener, Liaison: Change, Trust, and the University PresidencyThe world is changing. Higher education must also change. Such words are now said so often they hardly seem provocative. And, a quick read of the news quickly illustrates the necessity of change (or at least the implications for not doing so). An increasing number of colleges and universities are reorganizing, merging, or closing.
- Deep Learning in the Age of Disruption: Hopeful Times for Higher EducationWe are, without question, operating in one of the most challenging, rapidly changing, and also hopeful times for US higher education. Such a bold statement demands, and deserves, some explanation. The challenges facing US higher education writ large, and public higher education in particular, are well known. We have watched as both costs and expectations … Continue reading Deep Learning in the Age of Disruption: Hopeful Times for Higher Education
- The ‘Teacher-Scholar Model’ and Boyer’s Definitions of ScholarshipIn my writing and speaking about US higher education, I frequently highlight the three pillars of our mission at University of Vermont (UVM) as a land-grant university: teaching, research and scholarship, and service. This includes our pedagogical innovations and commitment to excellence in teaching; our research activity; our investments in support of faculty research and … Continue reading The ‘Teacher-Scholar Model’ and Boyer’s Definitions of Scholarship
- The University: Agent of Change in a Changing AgeI have always regarded America’s top universities as agents of change. Social movements are started on our campuses, come of age on our campuses, and move out into our communities. Political and economic theories emerge from our lecture halls and scientific revolutions are born in our laboratories. Our college and university campuses are places where … Continue reading The University: Agent of Change in a Changing Age
- Budgets and Budget Models: Can there be too much transparency?Increasingly, as universities face fiscal challenges and concerns over long-term financial sustainability, they are looking at their budget models to incent behaviors or capture previously unrealized opportunities and revenue. These models also are being pointed to by critics as mechanisms being used by nefarious senior administrators and boards to dismantle academic programs, disrupt longstanding academic … Continue reading Budgets and Budget Models: Can there be too much transparency?
- The Power of Partnerships and Pairings: Why STEM and Liberal Arts are Better TogetherI feel as though I have “come of age” as an academic leader in this time of growing tension between STEM and the liberal arts. While it has been important to pay attention to and take time to fully understand the genesis of these tensions and the reasons they have increased and caused communities on … Continue reading The Power of Partnerships and Pairings: Why STEM and Liberal Arts are Better Together
- Reflections: Why the week after Commencement is my favorite weekTwo of my favorite events in the university’s academic calendar are Convocation and Commencement. As provost, I played a role in both ceremonies and always looked forward to the festivities surrounding these milestone markers in our students’ academic journeys with us. But when asked about my favorite time of year at the university, I always … Continue reading Reflections: Why the week after Commencement is my favorite week
Across the Green (2013 – 2019)
- January 2019I always enjoy reflecting on possible themes for these campus-wide updates. Writing this memo, coming in the middle of my sixth year as Provost and a year in which we plan for both the conclusion of a highly successful capital campaign and a presidential transition, provided a wonderful opportunity to reflect on progress, provide updates, … Continue reading January 2019
- August 2018The start of the academic year is a time of renewed focus, refreshed energy, and tremendous excitement. There is a buzz in the air. You can feel it walking across campus. You can see it in our students’ eyes. And, of course, there are the tell-tale signs of fall in Vermont: leaves turning colors, cooling … Continue reading August 2018
- April 2018Spring in Vermont is always just a bit slow to arrive, but that affords time to both witness and reflect on the changes in season. It also gives us time to think about where we have been and where we are going. And we are reminded that seasons always give way to new seasons, and … Continue reading April 2018
- January 2018We are, without question, operating in one of the most challenging, rapidly changing, and also hopeful times for US higher education. Such a bold statement demands, and deserves, some explanation. The challenges facing US higher education writ large, and public higher education in particular, should be well known to all of us.
- August 2017The start of a new academic year is filled with excitement – for students, faculty, and staff, but also for the community. As I start my fifth year as provost, I am excited not only to welcome our newest students and commence the new academic year, but for all that the new year means and … Continue reading August 2017
- April 2017Spring is in the air at the University of Vermont, and while we wait patiently for telltale signs and scents of the new season, we can’t help but notice the signs of change all around us. As we prepare to say goodbye to the Class of 2017, we welcome new academic programs, new campus facilities, … Continue reading April 2017
- January 2017As I write this, we sit on the cusp of a new year and new administrations in Montpelier and in Washington. We use times such as these to look back and reflect on goals reached, accomplishments shared, challenges faced, and lessons learned. And we look ahead with excitement, hope, uncertainty, and sometimes anxiety. Such is … Continue reading January 2017
- September 2016Welcome back to campus and to the new academic year! As a native New Englander, I am always excited by the arrival of fall. As much as I love the colors, the crisp nights, fall sports, and the chance to wear flannel and fleece, I most look forward to the apples. To those who are … Continue reading September 2016
- April 2016Ours is a university with momentum. You see evidence of this all around you, you can feel the energy, and I hope you feel connected to the changes taking place. Because you are! The changes are driven by expressed shared goals for the University of Vermont, by collective aspirations and expectations, and by the time … Continue reading April 2016
- January 2016As we start the new calendar year, the University of Vermont finds itself in a period of exciting change. Preserving our academic heritage while creating innovative programs to reach new and more diverse audiences; respecting and maintaining our historic campus buildings while constructing new facilities to meet new pedagogic and research needs; and celebrating our … Continue reading January 2016
- July 2015“Energy and Momentum” …two properties of physics that aptly describe what is happening at UVM. The sources of energy are both internal (the hard work and collective goodwill of UVM’s people) and external (enthusiastic support of our alumni and new resources to the University that will enable us to achieve the vision and goals articulated … Continue reading July 2015
- February 2015In my role as Provost, I am fortunate to have occasion to promote and celebrate the many accomplishments of our faculty, staff, and students. These range from academic and scholarly achievements, to successes and innovations in pedagogy, to impactful community and statewide engagement, to enabling campus-wide improvements.
- September 2014Welcome to the 2014-15 academic year! What an exciting start – especially for our newest students, the UVM Class of 2018. Once again, our campus community pulled out all the stops in welcoming our newest Catamounts, a week that was capped off by the Convocation and Induction Ceremonies. It is so impressive to see students, … Continue reading September 2014
- Academic Excellence Goals Narrative (September 2014)As one of the nation’s premier small research universities – a “public ivy” and one of the oldest and most highly respected academic institutions – the University of Vermont must be steadfast and unwavering in its commitment to academic excellence.
- May 2014What a wonderful academic year we have just concluded, capped off by a spectacular Commencement weekend and the “launch” of the Class of 2014. By all measures, this was one of the most academically talented, broadly educated, and well prepared classes of graduates we have celebrated.
- February 2014The University of Vermont is a remarkable and important university, with a rich and proud history and a national reputation for both the quality of its academic programs and the quality of life afforded its students, faculty, and staff. By many meaningful standards, UVM has transitioned from a small New England liberal arts focused college … Continue reading February 2014
- November 2013As I write this, I am just completing my first 100 days as Provost. I have used these first months to engage with the campus in as many venues as possible, meeting with groups in every College and School, and learning about the University of Vermont, its people and programs. This is indeed a remarkable … Continue reading November 2013