The 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 temperatures, crisp nights, and (my favorite) the apples.
Writing
April 2018
Spring 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 that the only real constant is change.
January 2018
We 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.
The Gifts of Attention and Attentiveness: Reflections on A Deadly Wandering
In my remarks to our new students, at Convocation, I reminded them of the opportunity to not only read this year’s summer book, A Deadly Wandering by Matt Richtel, but also to take time to reflect on its messages and the brilliant ways in which the author combines perspectives and disciplines to narrate and explain, to explore and challenge, to warn and to wonder. It is a book for our time and for our generation of students.
August 2017
The 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 promises. We are bearing witness to a transformational time in our university’s history.
April 2017
Spring 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, and a new university-wide institute.
January 2017
As 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 the nature of time. Such is the
nature of transitions.
On Change: Some Personal Reflections
Change is necessary and inevitable. But it does not need to be resented or resisted. We should resent only circumstances that allow others around us to adapt but prevent us from doing the same. When confronted with our changing world, if we choose not to respond – not to adapt – decisions affecting our future are taken away from us and made by others.
With external forces of change multiplying and becoming stronger, it is that much more important that we do not impose additional constraints (obstacles) upon ourselves. We can choose to adapt or choose to be left behind. Our conviction, stubbornness, or failure to act will not slow the pace of change in our world.
September 2016
Welcome 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 new to our community and come from outside the northeast, you are in for a sensory treat – the sights, smells, and tastes of fall in Vermont.
Climate and Change: Reflections on “The Sixth Extinction”
A good book comforts us. A great book challenges us. This year’s first-year reading selection, “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert, is a great book.
This book opened our eyes, engaged our minds, expanded our thinking, at times shrunk our significance, contextualized our evolution and our existence, and reminded us of both our fragility and our ephemeral nature. It also made us uncomfortable, uneasy, and uncertain at times. I can’t imagine a university’s first-year reading selection, or any book, doing more than that.