Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

What an incredible September we had, with weather that is so uniquely Vermont! A vibrant ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë Weekend capped off the month with alumni and families visiting their students’ academic programs and faculty, attending athletic events, and relishing all that Burlington and Vermont have to offer. 

As we continue to experience the changing colors typical of October and changes in leadership, it seems appropriate to reflect on my very first week as interim president. I want to thank the entire community for your most gracious support and best wishes. It is a true privilege and honor to serve our great institution in my new role, and I look forward to furthering the positive trajectory that each of you has helped the university to achieve.

I want to thank Dr. Linda Schadler who is serving as acting provost. Dr. Schadler and I have worked closely together in our former respective roles of Dean of the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences and Provost and Senior Vice President. We are excited by this opportunity to collaborate with each other and all of you to advance   student experience and academic excellence, faculty support, staff engagement, and research initiatives.

We experienced two meaningful campus events in the last 10 days. On September 25, our community participated in the first Our Common Ground Symposium: Israel and Palestine with Dr. Simran Jeet Singh, who described a compassionate approach to engaging with one another when we share different perspectives. It involves practicing curiosity by asking questions to better understand a particular point of view, having the courage to engage in difficult and nuanced conversations rather than defaulting to our natural ‘fight-or-flight’ response and connecting with each other through an intentional process of recognizing the humanity in others, even people we don’t know. The symposium also featured a faculty panel with scholars from Anthropology, Political Science, and Religion, addressing the political and institutional role nation-states play in the current conflict. Both the keynote and faculty panel were followed by breakout sessions in which our community discussed what they heard, learned and questioned. I want to express my gratitude to our students who were the impetus for this symposium by sharing their desire for community education on the critical issues that face our nation and the world today.

On October 1 and 2, we held the 2024 Leahy Public Policy Forum: The U.S. War in Vietnam-Looking back after 50 years with Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter and author, David Maraniss, Senator Patrick Leahy, Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Dzung, and several veterans and community members committed to repairing the relationship and supporting the connection between the U.S. and Vietnam. Their stories are an important reminder of the conflict and humanitarian challenges we have faced in our history as a nation.

It is notable that these two events occurred with the Jewish New Year, that the anniversary of October 7 is upon us, and that the current conflict abroad is escalating. Significant suffering has been experienced by our Jewish community and by our Muslim and Arab community as well as by many people in Israel, Palestine, and other parts of the Middle East. No matter what perspective you hold related to the complexities of the Middle East conflict, I think we can all agree that the loss of any life is tragic and affects us deeply.

While we cannot solve longstanding conflicts half a world away, we can lean into Our Common Ground values, understand the human condition and think of meaningful ways we can support those who are suffering. We can begin by reminding ourselves that there is no place for antisemitism or Islamophobia on our ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë campus. We can then move to action by investigating ways to engage in humanitarian relief where clothing, bedding, medical supplies and temporary shelter are needed. Finally, we can find ways to support one another by joining community members at the Interfaith Center, Mosaic Center for Students of Color, the Office for International Education; community supporters of ÈÕº«ÎÞÂë at the , or ; or find other prayer/meditation spaces such as the Unity Lounge in the Davis Center.

I close with words from our own Senator Leahy drawn from his recent keynote for the 2024 Peace Summit held last week in Burlington on the International Day of Peace:

What could be more relevant and necessary than discussing how to promote peace, in a world where ethnic, religious, and racial intolerance, terrorism, armed conflict, and humanitarian disasters have become everyday occurrences? 

There is much more learning to come as we approach our state and national elections and lean into our understanding of free expression and the responsibility that comes with it through the Presidential Lecture Series. Please participate in these learning opportunities.

I wish each of you a productive and fulfilling academic year and look forward to learning with you. 

With care,

Patty Prelock
Interim President