January 2007 (Vol. 6, No. 4)
This Month's Top Stories . . .
Congressman John Lewis to Deliver 2007 Commencement Address, Honorary Degree Recipients Announced (up^)
John Lewis, a Georgia congressman since 1986 and a longtime passionate advocate for civil rights, will deliver the commencement address and receive an honorary degree from the University of Vermont when graduates gather on the University Green on Sunday, May 20, for UVM's 203rd commencement ceremony. A strong voice for civil rights throughout his life, Lewis at the age of 23 was an architect of and a keynote speaker at the historic March on Washington in 1963. His work as chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during that era, including a 1964 visit to UVM, helped to inspire student activism nationwide. In addition to Lewis, UVM's 2007 honorary degree recipients include Henry Louis Gates, Jr., an internationally renowned scholar of African and African-American history and culture; Jackie M. Gribbons, a UVM administrative leader across four decades who co-founded the university's highly regarded graduate program in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration and held many other leadership roles on campus; Leonard Miller, a Burlington native and class of 1951 UVM alumnus who with his late wife Carolyn made a $5 million gift to the university in support of the Center for Holocaust Studies at the university; Floyd Rourke, a retired executive and longtime resident of the Glens Falls, N.Y. area who has played key leadership roles with many organizations and initiatives that have helped to build a strong network of healthcare and social services in the region, including the Vermont Cancer Center, a joint effort of UVM and Fletcher Allen Health Care; and Thomas Slayton, a UVM alumnus, class of 1963, who will retire this year from Vermont Life Magazine after 21 years as editor-in-chief of the publication and a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years as a Vermont newspaper reporter, arts writer and editor. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=9936.
UVM Exceeds $250 Million Campaign Goal (up^)
With more than five months remaining in the official timeline for its comprehensive fundraising campaign, the University of Vermont has exceeded the $250 million campaign goal. President Daniel Mark Fogel announced that total commitments to the Campaign for the University of Vermont went over the top at $250.6 million as of the end of the day Thursday, January 18, 2007. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=9945.
UVM Grad's Film Earns Oscar Nomination for Best Picture (up^)
As a student in UVM's Film Studies Program, Jon Kilik '78 was determined to become part of the industry he loved. Today, as a producer, he is widely acknowledged as a major influence on the history and culture of American film. The latest affirmation of that fact came with the announcement on January 24 that Kilik's latest film, "Babel," has been nominated for Best Picture by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. More at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=9987.
UVM Grad the First Woman to Lead U.S. Forest Service (up^)
Abigail Kimbell, a 1974 graduate of the University of Vermont, will become the first woman to head the U.S. Forest Service. She will oversee 191 million acres of national forests with a staff of 30,000 employees and a nearly $5 billion budget. Kimbell holds a degree in forest management from the School of Natural Resources (now the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources). More at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=9928.
Scientists Uncover Potential Key to Brain Blood-Flow Disorders (up^)
Scientists at the University of Vermont have clarified the cellular process responsible for signaling regional blood flow changes in the brain, thereby uncovering possible causes for such disorders as stroke, migraine, and Alzheimer's disease. The study was published November 1, 2006 in the prestigious journal Nature Neuroscience. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=9848.
Advanced Computing Center Boosts UVM Research Capacity (up^)
A new hub for computing and learning at the University of Vermont has quietly been coming into being—and up to speed—over the past several years. The Vermont Advanced Computing Center, slated for an official opening the spring of 2007, is already helping dozens of UVM researchers to model complex problems and suggest solutions. "This is a leapfrogging, a jump forward, of research capacity at UVM," says interim director Chris Allen, noting that the VACC, started through a grant from NASA, aims to be helpful to numerous researchers, from climate modelers using satellite images to medical imaging specialists studying the inner workings of the body and from engineers developing new complex polymers to geographers studying urban growth. More at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=9816.
Multicultural Scholarship Honors Dean Donald DeHayes (up^)
An anonymous donor has established an endowed scholarship in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont and named it in honor of the school's dean, Donald H. DeHayes. The Donald H. DeHayes Multicultural Scholarship will provide annual scholarship assistance to one or more full-time undergraduate or graduate students in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. As word of the gift circulated among alumni and friends of the Rubenstein School, a second anonymous donor stepped forward with a $50,000 gift to be added to the fund and a challenge to alumni, parents, and friends to contribute a like amount over the next year. Full story at http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=9939.
Winter Sports Update (up^)
The University of Vermont men's basketball team took a 71-61 victory over Stony Brook in America East action on January 28 to improve to 15-6 overall and 7-1 in league play. The win is the Catamounts' 12th in their last 14 contests and their seventh straight road victory. The 11th-ranked men's hockey Catamounts tied Merrimack 1-1 the previous evening. The tie puts Vermont at 14-8-4 overall and 9-4-4 in Hockey East. UVM is 8-3-3 on the road this season and currently has the nation's second longest unbeaten streak at six games (3-0-3). In skiing, the Catamounts battled to a second place finish at the New Hampshire Carnival at the Jackson Cross Country Center and Attitash. Vermont finished with 701 team points while Dartmouth was first with 784 points. The ski team returns to action for the UVM Winter Carnival Friday and Saturday, February 2-3, in Stowe. The swimming and diving team set four new pool records on its way to a 176-108 victory over Providence College January 27, wrapping up the regular season with an 11-5 overall mark as they prepare for the America East Championships that start on February 8. Ninth-ranked Boston College won a hard-fought 4-1 win over Vermont in women's Hockey East action January 27, bringing the Catamounts record to 3-19-2 overall and 1-11-1 in Hockey East. Also on January 27, The UVM women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing skid by cruising past visiting New Hampshire, 70-44, in an America East Conference game. A crowd of 1,226, the largest of the season, saw Vermont move to 14-6 overall and 4-3 in league play. More at http://www.uvm.edu/~sportspr/.
Campus Kudos (up^)
Robert Costanza, director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, edited a new MIT Press book, Sustainability or Collapse? An Integrated History and Future of People on Earth, with Lisa Graumlich and Will Steffen. The volume contains contributions from Gund fellow Roelof Boumans and graduate student Erica Gaddis.
J. Peter Durda, senior researcher/analyst in pathology, Dr. Mary Cushman, associate professor of medicine, and Russell Tracy, College of Medicine senior associate dean for research and academic affairs and professor of biochemistry and pathology, are coauthors of a December 13, 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association article titled "Association of Polymorphisms in the CRP Gene With Circulating C-Reactive Protein Levels and Cardiovascular Events."
Jane Okech, assistant professor of counselor education and counseling, is lead author of an article co-authored with UVM graduate student Megan Johnson, Randall Astramovich and Wendy Johnson of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Deborah Rubel of Oregon State University, in the December 2006 issue of Counselor Education and Supervision.
Denise Youngblood, professor of history, published Russian War Films: On the Cinema Front, 1914-2005 with the University of Kansas Press.
In Memoriam (up^)
The University of Vermont lost a long-time friend and former trustee and board chair with the passing of Robert L. "Bob" Bickford, Jr., 84, UVM Class of 1943, who died Thursday, January 4, 2007, at the Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, after suffering a stroke in December. A memorial service honoring his life was held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, January 13, at Ira Allen Chapel. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Oletha Thompson Bickford '41. Contributions in his memory may be directed to UVM's Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese Fund, Development and Alumni Relations, 411 Main Street, Burlington, VT 05401.
Dateline UVM Would Like to Hear from You: (up^)
Send comments, questions, and address changes to Dateline UVM Editor, Jay Goyette (jay.goyette@uvm.edu). |
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