The University of Vermont

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The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College

Motto: Studiis et Rebus Honestis (Latin)
Motto in English: For studies and other honest pursuits
Established: 1791
Type: Public university
Endowment: $290,000,000[1]
President: Daniel Mark Fogel
Staff: 1,185
Undergraduates: 9,454[1]
Postgraduates: 1,600 (incl. 410 medical)
Location: Burlington, Vermont, U.S.
Campus: Burlington, 450 acres (1.82 km²)
Colors: Green and Gold          
Nickname: Catamounts
Athletics: NCAA Division I, 9 men's varsity teams, 11 women'sUVM Athletics
Website: www.uvm.edu
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The Williams Science Hall at the University of Vermont, c. 1902. Today Williams Hall houses the departments of Fine Arts and Anthropology.
The Williams Science Hall at the University of Vermont, c. 1902. Today Williams Hall houses the departments of Fine Arts and Anthropology.

The University of Vermont is a national public research university and the state of Vermont's land-grant university. Known to many as "UVM," an abbreviation of its Latin name Universitas Viridis Montis, the university has also been named a Public Ivy. UVM serves students from across the United States and more than 30 other countries.

The university's 451-acre (1.83 km²) campus is located in Burlington, Vermont. Features of the UVM campus include the historic University Green district; the Dudley H. Davis Center, the first student center in the nation to receive U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold certificaton; the Robert Hull Fleming Museum; and the Gutterson/Patrick athletic complex, home to UVM's Division I athletic teams and extensive recreational sports programs. The largest hospital complex in Vermont, Fletcher Allen Health Care, has its primary facility adjacent to the UVM campus and is affiliated with the UVM College of Medicine.

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[edit] History

The University of Vermont was chartered as a private university in 1791, the same year Vermont became the 14th state in the union. In 1865, the university merged with Vermont Agricultural College (chartered November 22, 1864, after the passage of the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act), emerging as the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. Today, the university blends the traditions of both a private and public university. UVM draws 17 percent of its general fund (approximately 10 percent of its current operating budget) from the state and Vermont residents make up 35 percent of enrollment; 65 percent of students come from other states and countries. [2]

Much of the initial funding and planning for the university was undertaken by Ira Allen, who is honored as UVM's founder. Allen donted a 50-acre parcel of land for the University's establishment. Most of this land has been maintained as the university's main green, upon which rests a statue of Allen.[citation needed]

The citizens of Burlington helped fund the university's first edifice, and, when fire destroyed it in 1824, also paid for its replacement. This building came to be known as "Old Mill" for its resemblance to New England mills of the time. The Marquis de Lafayette, a French general who became a commander in the American Revolution, laid the cornerstone of Old Mill, which stands on University Row, along with Ira Allen Chapel, Billings Student Center, Williams Hall, Royall Tyler Theatre and Morrill Hall. A statue of Lafayette rests on the north end of the main green.[citation needed]

The University of Vermont has often led the way in demonstrating commitment to fairness and equality. It was the first American college or university with a charter plainly declaring that the "rules, regulations, and by-laws shall not tend to give preference to any religious sect or denomination whatsoever."[citation needed]

In addition, the university was an early advocate of both women's and African-Americans' participation in higher education. In 1871, UVM defied custom and admitted two women as students. Four years later, it was the first American university to admit women to full membership into Phi Beta Kappa, the country's oldest collegiate academic honor society. Likewise, in 1877, it initiated the first African-American into the society.[citation needed]

There are also regrettable, contrasting events in the university's history. Prior to 1970, UVM's winter carnival celebrations for many decades included a widely attended competition known as "Kakewalk." The event involved males wearing bright suits and painted black faces performing athletic dance routines in imitation of Black minstrel shows. Greater awareness of and sensivity toward Black Americans promoted by the Civil Rights Movement led the University of Vermont to abolish Kakewalk in 1969. The University also was a leading center for eugenics in the early 1900s.

[edit] Academics

Old Mill, the first building of the university
Old Mill, the first building of the university

The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or schools.[3]

Bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs are offered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Social Services, the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the Graduate College, the School of Business Administration, and The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

The university's Division of Continuing Education offers certificate programs, a post-bac pre-medical series, credit courses for both degree and non-degree seeking students, and specialized training programs for businesses. Courses are presented in classroom, online, and/or interactive television formats.[4]

[edit] College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) offers programs in animal science (early admission to Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine is available); biochemistry; biological science; community entrepreneurship; community and international development; dietetics, nutrition and food sciences; ecological agriculture; environmental science; environmental studies; microbiology; molecular genetics; plant biology; public communication; and sustainable landscape horticulture. The college is also home to the Center for Rural Studies.

[edit] College of Arts and Sciences

The largest of UVM's schools and colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences offers 45 areas of study in the humanities, fine arts, mathematics, natural and physical sciences.

[edit] School of Business Administration

UVM's School of Business Administration is accredited by the AACSB International and offers concentrations in accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, human resource management, international management, management and the environment, management information systems, marketing, and production and operations management.

[edit] College of Education and Social Services

UVM's College of Education and Social Services offers teacher education, early childhood development and social work studies.

The College comprises the Department of Integrated Professional Services, Department of Education, Department of Social Work, and the Center for Disability and Community Inclusion. Studies leading to a masters degree or doctorate are offered.

[edit] College of Engineering and Mathematics

College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) offers undergraduate and graduate programs in civil, electrical, environmental, and mechanical, engineering as well as in engineering management, computer science, mathematics, and statistics.

[edit] College of Medicine

In 1804, John Pomeroy began teaching students in his house in Burlington, as the first medical department at a State College or University. In 1822, the College of Medicine was established as the seventh medical college in the United States, founded by Pomeroy and the medical educator Nathan Smith.

UVM enrolls approximately 100 medical students in each class; there are approximately 400 medical students total. Fletcher Allen Health Care is the primary clinical resource. Additional training takes place at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, New York.

The UVM College of Medicine ranked 5th for overall quality in primary care training among the country’s top 125 medical schools according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 graduate school rankings. [1]

[edit] College of Nursing and Health Sciences

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UVM comprises three departments: Nursing, the Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences, and Rehabilitation and Movement. Students in the college major in athletic training, exercise and movement sciences, medical laboratory science, nuclear medicine techonology, nursing, or radiation therapy, or they prepare to enter a doctor of physical therapy program.

[edit] Honors College

The Honors College sponsors opportunities for students to participate in co-curricular programs and extracurricular activities — special symposia, dinners with visiting scholars, trips to museums and theaters in Montreal and Boston.

Faculty is selected from throughout the university to participate in the Honors College as lecturers in a first-year ethics course and advanced seminars, participants in reading groups, speakers at the Plenary Lecture Series, and mentors to honors students conducting research.

Through a required ethics course, small seminars, informal gatherings, and special research projects, students work alongside scholars from a section of the university's academic disciplines in the humanities, the sciences, engineering, nursing, medicine, education, business and more.

[edit] Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources

The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources seeks to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of ecological and social processes and values aimed at maintaining the integrity of natural systems and achieving a sustainable human community in harmony with the natural environment.

In 2007, the university won a $6.7 million grant to research the pollution problems of Lake Champlain.[5]

Davis Center, the new student resource center of the university completed Fall 2007.
Davis Center, the new student resource center of the university completed Fall 2007.

[edit] Financial

The University adopted a $251 million budget for the 2007-08 academic year[6] or $21,643 per enrollee. In 2007, tuition revenue provided 63 percent of the general fund budget; state funds provided 17 percent; endowment, annual giving, income/expense activities and other sources made up 20 percent of the university's annual budget.

Undergraduate tuition for the 2007-08 academic year was set by the university's board of trustees at $10,422 for Vermont residents; $26,306 for out-of-state residents.

[edit] Athletics

UVM offers 20 varsity sports. Women's teams include: basketball, cross-country, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, track & field (indoor and outdoor). Men's teams include: baseball, basketball, cross-country, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, track & field (indoor and outdoor)] and the teams are known as the Catamounts. All teams compete at the NCAA Division I level. Most teams compete in the America East Conference. Men’s and women’s hockey teams compete in the Hockey East Association. The alpine and Nordic ski teams compete in the E.I.S.A. (Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association).

The Gutterson Fieldhouse, built in 1963, houses UVM's hockey rink.
The Gutterson Fieldhouse, built in 1963, houses UVM's hockey rink.

UVM's varsity teams participate in the NCAA's Division I America East Conference and the Hockey East.

UVM’s athletic teams have won three straight America East Academic Cups (2005, 2006, 2007) for the best overall combined GPA among its student-athletes. UVM is the first school in the America East Conference to win three straight years and four times overall.

The UVM ski team has won six national championships and 31 EISA titles.[10]. The team has had 52 individual national champions, over 273 All-Americans, and 66 US Ski Team members.

UVM’s men’s hockey team has produced 12 NHL players in its history. UVM alumni in the NHL include Torrey Mitchell ’07 (San Jose Sharks), Martin St. Louis ’97 (Tampa Bay Lightning), Eric Perrin ’97 (Atlanta Thrashers), Tim Thomas ’97 (Boston Bruins) and Aaron Miller ’93 (Vancouver Canucks). St. Louis, Perrin and former NHL all-star John LeClair ’91 won the Stanley Cup in their careers. St. Louis also won the Hart trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 2004, along with winning the Art Ross trophy (most points), the Lester B. Pearson award (MVP as selected by the NHLPA) and the Bud Light Plus/Minus award.

The men’s and women’s basketball programs have produced over 20 professional players who have continued their careers overseas. Between 2003-2007 the men’s basketball team made five consecutive trips to the America East Championship game and won the title three straight years from 2003-2005. In 2005 the 13th seeded UVM Men's Basketball team defeated 4th seeded Big East Champion Syracuse University 60-57 in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, their first ever win in the Big Dance.

In 2007, the UVM men’s soccer team won the America East Conference title.

Thirty-six former UVM athletes have competed in 16 Olympic Games (13 winter, 3 summer) and combined have won six Olympic medals.

UVM sponsors several club sports teams. The UVM crew team competes in the Head of the Charles Regatta and Dad Vail Regatta. The Cycling Team competes against other collegiate varsity teams. The UVM sailing team was competitively ranked 15th in the nation in 2007.[7][8]

The University of Vermont discontinued participating in football in 1974. In 2007, a club football team began participating in the North-east Independent Football League (NIFL) Semi Pro Football League. In 2008, the club team will play an independent Division III Junior Varsity schedule. Since 2007 home games have been played at Burlington High School[9]

[edit] Arts

UVM's Lane Performing Arts Series and Music Department sponsor instrumental and choral performances featuring national and international performers throughout the year. The Robert Hull Fleming Museum hosts traveling exhibits and displays of the museum's extensive fine art and ethnographic collections. The Royall Tyler Theatre presents mainstage productions of varied themes, often featuring Equity actors along with student talent. The Vermont Mozart Festival concept evolved at UVM. Though it has been incorporated as a separate non-profit organization in 1976, its ties to UVM have remained.

In addition to the Department of Theatre's three mainstage shows each year, a group of student-directed one acts, and The Toys Take Over Christmas, a holiday tradition in Burlington, are also performed. Past mainstage shows have included:

2003 - Remember the Children: Terezin, 2003 - Metamorphoses (play), 2004 - The Art of Dining, 2004 - Antigone (Anouilh play), 2004 - Rumors, 2005 - A Midsummer Night's Dream, 2005 - Beyond Therapy, 2005 - Hair (musical), 2006 - Ring Round the Moon, 2006 - The Underpants, 2006 - Macbeth, 2007 - La Ronde, 2007 - Found a Peanut (play), 2007 - The Miss Firecracker Contest, 2008 - Compleat Female Stage Beauty[10]

[edit] Student life

Student clubs and organizations, totaling more than 100, span student interests and receive sponsorship from the Student Government Association. Clubs with longstanding history and the largest memberships include: Volunteers in Action, the UVM Outing Club, Ski & Snowboard Club.

[edit] The Lawrence Debate Union

The university's debate team,[11] has sent students abroad to promote cultural understanding. In 2007, students traveled to Slovenia, Malaysia, and Thailand.[12]

[edit] Concerts

The University’s Concert Bureau (a.k.a. SA Concerts) is responsible for bringing live musical entertainment to the UVM community. SA Concerts features acts from across the country as well as local bands. The SA funded club comprises an elected bureau of students who learn about the various aspects of the music industry by putting on shows and working with local sound and production professionals. Students are in charge of choosing and booking bands and are responsible for all production aspects on the day of show.

UVM’s Concert Bureau was established in 1971 and has brought in artists such as R.E.M., Phish (whose members attended UVM in the 1980s), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Lou Reed, Primus, String Cheese Incident, James Brown, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers Band, Death Cab for Cutie, Jurassic 5, the Disco Biscuits, The Grateful Dead, Guster, and the The Flaming Lips.

Since 2001, SA Concerts has organized an annual festival known as SpringFest, held in April. SpringFest headliners have included Vida Blue, The Roots, Cake, Keller Williams, Gov't Mule, co-headliners Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Ziggy Marley, and in 2008, Talib Kweli. Other acts to perform at various SpringFests have included The Meditations, Toots & the Maytals, Soulive, Rjd2, and Apollo Sunshine.

The SA Concerts office is located in the Davis Center within the offices of the Student Government Association.---->

[edit] Publications

Official University Web Site for Student Media

[edit] Greek life

Official University Web Site on Greek Life

Fraternities:

Sororities:

[edit] Notable alumni and graduates

[edit] Notable graduates

[edit] Footnotes

Tim Thomas, current goalie for the NHL team, The Boston Bruins.

[edit] External links

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