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.
Writing
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.
April 2016
Ours 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 and effort of so many across the campus.
The Power of Partnership and Pairings: Why STEM and Liberal Arts are better together
The last decade has seen considerable energy and enthusiasm for mash-ups between the STEM disciplines and the Liberal Arts disciplines, with motivations ranging from practical to political, obvious to opportunistic, and sensible to silly. Many colleges and universities, government agencies, and professional societies have set in motion substantial discourse around this fruitful topic. I have had the privilege and opportunity to weigh-in on the value of new pedagogies and degree programs, and to offer opinions – informed through my experience as a faculty member, department head, dean, and provost – on trends in higher education more broadly. Here, I offer some observations and personal commentary on some of the discussions surrounding STEM and the Liberal Arts.
January 2016
As 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 history of important scholarly contributions while enabling promising new research and discovery in emerging fields that cut across and move beyond traditional disciplines – this all challenges us, but also presents enormous opportunity for our academic community, and the academic ecosystem in
which we work.