January 2011 (Vol. 10, No. 3)

This Month's Top Stories . . .

• Billie Jean King Speaker at 2011 Commencement
• Jane E. Knodell Appointed Provost and Senior Vice President
• A Home for Alumni
• Medical Team Studies New Dengue Vaccine Formulations
• UVM in the News
• Video: A Cut Above
• Debaters Excel at World Universities Championship
• Changing the Conversation
• Catamounts Maintain No. 1 Spot in Power Rankings
• UVM to Host 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships
• In Memoriam: Maynard Glitman
• Campus Kudos

Billie Jean King Speaker at 2011 Commencement (top)
Tennis champion Billie Jean King, a pioneer in women’s sports, will deliver the address to graduates at the University of Vermont’s 2011 Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 22, 2011. One of Life magazine’s 100 most important Americans in the 20th century, King is a legend for stellar tennis and breaking barriers for female athletes, and has worked tirelessly on and off the court for social justice and equity around gender and GLBT issues. Among many honors for her service King was awarded the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In addition to King, the university will confer honorary degrees upon Letitia C. Biddle, Major General Michael D. Dubie, Bruce M. Lisman, Keith M. Miser, Dr. Thomas J. Sullivan, Professor Emerita Marion Brown Thorpe, and Simon Pearce. Full story here.

Jane E. Knodell Appointed Provost and Senior Vice President (top)
Jane E. Knodell, a member of the UVM faculty since 1986 who has served the university in a variety of administrative roles, has been appointed provost and senior vice president. ." Knodel, who had served in that capacity since July of 2009 on an interim basis, was appointed following an internal search process that took place during the fall semester."I couldn't be happier that Dr. Knodell has accepted the position of Provost and Senior Vice President," UVM President Daniel Mark Fogel said. "During her time in the interim role, she has shown the leadership skills, creativity, and high level of energy necessary to succeed in this challenging job, while proving to be an exceptional colleague and team member. I am grateful to have Jane as a partner in addressing the many challenges ahead, and the University is fortunate to have such a talented individual leading our academic enterprise. Full story here.

A Home for Alumni (top)
When Dale and Michelle Rocheleau, a Class of 1980 alumni couple, visited campus on a clear morning last summer, it is was return to the university that was at once about the past and the future. "I haven't been inside this house since I was a student," says Michelle as she tours the mansion at the northwest corner of Summit and Maple Streets. First, the trophy home of a nineteenth-century Burlington banker; then the UVM chapter home of Delta Psi fraternity; and now, the future home-away-from-home for alumni on campus, the house remains stately but also shows its age. As the Rocheleaus reminisce about the house as it was during their student years, it's not too hard to imagine to imagine the grandeur of what once was and could be again. Read the full story here.

Medical Team Studies New Dengue Vaccine Formulations (top)
The mosquitoes are gone and winter is upon us, but dengue vaccine testing is heating up at the University of Vermont. Dengue, commonly considered a disease of tropical and subtropical countries, was confirmed on U.S. soil – in Key West and Miami Beach, Florida – within the last year. According to an October 6, 2010, Journal of the American Medical Association  article about the new trials, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.5 billion people worldwide are at risk of contracting the deadly virus, which is responsible for 22,000 deaths annually, most of which are children. Dengue infections number 50 million to 100 million annually, according to WHO. While there is currently no vaccine to prevent dengue fever, a series of phase 1 clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health recently launched at two Johns Hopkins University sites and the University of Vermont’s Vaccine Testing Center is examining new tetravalent vaccine formulations against dengue infection. Read more here.

UVM in the News (top)
The work of power system expert Paul Hines, whose new research sheds light on the vulnerability of the U.S. power grid, was featured in a recent issue of U.S. News & World Report. National Public Radio's All Things Considered and other national media covered new research by conservation biologist Joe Roman on the key role that whale feces play in ocean ecosystems. And Professor Garrison Nelson’s "career-defining" seven-volume history of the committees of the U.S. Congress was the focus of a story in The Chronicle of Higher Education. These stories head the list of major media outlets covering UVM news and people in recent months. See the full summaries of recent UVM news coverage here.

Video: A Cut Above (top)
The Jericho Research Forest, a 492-acre tract of former farmland UVM acquired in 1941 and used for teaching and research, will have an important new job next November when the renovated George D. Aiken Center, home of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, officially opens its doors. The Aiken project will showcase the color and grain of nine different tree species from the forest throughout the newly renovated building. UVM Today visited the forest to learn more about the principles of sustainable forestry and watch the process in action. Watch the video here.

Debaters Excel at World Universities Championship (top)
Fifty-nine of the 340 debate teams at the World Universities Debating Championship tournament that took place in Botswana, Africa December 27, 2010-January 4, 2011, were from the United States. Only three of the U.S. schools reached the elite elimination rounds at the tournament after nine grueling preliminary debates: the University of Alaska, Yale University, and the University of Vermont (represented by the Lawrence Debate Union). Read more here.

Changing the Conversation (top)
When student Cameron Mack speaks to an audience in his newfound role as one of the nation's most popular student speakers, he often wonders what he would have felt like if he went to see a speaker like himself when he was 14 years old and struggling with mental health issues. The hope that he would have felt less alone is confirmed every time a young person comes up to him after an event and shares his or her own story. "I love hearing people's stories because it helps the person telling it just as much as it does the person hearing it," he says. "Everyone has a story to tell, and it's important that there are safe spaces for people to tell them." Read more here.

Catamounts Maintain No. 1 Spot in Power Rankings (top)
With a convincing win on the EISA Circuit at the Colby Carnival January 21-22, the University of Vermont ski team maintained its No. 1 ranking in the Ski Racing Magazine Power Rankings. The Catamounts topped Dartmouth by 125 points in the second stop of the 2011 season. Vermont racked up 991 points, marking the first time since 1999 the team has scored over 900 points in back-to-back carnivals. UVM won its second straight carnival for the first time since 2006, taking first place in five events and sweeping the alpine races. The EISA Circuit takes a week off before returning to action at the UVM Carnival on February 4-5. The alpine events will be held at Stowe Mountain Resort and the Nordic races at Trapp Family Lodge. The Catamounts host the 2011 NCAA Ski Championships at the same venues on March 9-12. More here.

UVM to Host 2012 IIHF World Women's Championships (top)
The University of Vermont and the city of Burlington have been selected to host the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championships. The event is expected to shine an international spotlight on the university, Burlington and the State of Vermont and also serve as an economic boon for the area, according to Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin. "I'm incredibly proud we are hosting this event," he said. "They've chosen the best small city in the world in the best state in the country. " Burlington was chosen from a pool of finalists that also included Minneapolis, Rochester, and Hartford. Gutterson Fieldhouse will serve as the primary venue and will host all U.S. and Canada games, as well as the playoff and medal rounds. Cairns Arena, also located in Burlington, will serve as the secondary facility for the event. The eight-nation tournament, which will tentatively run from April 7-14, 2012, will include 22 games and feature the top female hockey players in the world. Full story here.

In Memoriam (top)

Maynard Glitman, former diplomat- in-residence and adjunct political science professor, died December 14, 2010, in Shelburne. Glitman started his 38-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1956, serving as deputy assistant secretary in the Departments of State and Defense in Washington, D.C., among other positions. He was deputy chief of mission at the United States Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium, in 1977, and in 1981 he was deputy chief negotiator at the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) arms control negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. During a hiatus in the talks caused by the walkout of the Soviet delegation, he was posted to Vienna, Austria, as the chief United States representative to the Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction Negotiations. President Reagan called him to return to Geneva to lead the U.S. delegation in negotiations with the Soviet Union at the resumption of the INF talks, whose successful conclusion in 1987 helped pave the way to the ending of the Cold War. His last posting as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium concluded a long and successful career in service to his country. He was awarded the Presidential Distinguished Public Service Award in 1989 and Presidential Meritorious Public Service Award in 1987 and 1984. The Department of Defense awarded him the Outstanding Public Service Medal in 1980 and its Meritorious Public Service Medal in 1977.

Campus Kudos (top)

Frank Bryan, professor of political science, was awarded the 2010 National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion Award "for his commitment to preserving the town meeting tradition in Vermont." The NASS Medallion Award allows individual Secretaries of State to recognize outstanding service and dedication to furthering the mission of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) within the states.

Mary Cushman, professor of medicine, was selected to serve as a member of the National Institutes of Health Cardiovascular and Sleep Epidemiology Study Section, Center for Scientific Review.

Bill Eddy, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from UVM in 1993 for his 22 years of service as an adjunct professor in the environmental studies program from 1977 to 1998, was given the prestigious Williams College Bicentennial Medal for his lifetime work as an environmental educator and activist.

David Jones, associate professor in the School of Business Administration, had a paper published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, titled "Does serving the community also serve the company? Using organizational identification and social exchange theories to understand employee responses to a volunteerism programme."

Jeffrey Klein, professor of radiology, has been offered the position of editor of RadioGraphics, a bimonthly journal devoted to continuing medical education in radiology, published by the Radiological Society of North America.

Matthew Lord, assistant professor of molecular physiology and biophysics, published a paper in the journal Current Biology titled "Differential Regulation of Unconventional Fission Years Myosins via the Actin Track."

The board of directors of the Public Library of Science (PLoS) appointed Gary Ward, professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, as board chairman, effective January 1, 2011. Ward, a charter member of the PLoS Biology Editorial Board, has a longstanding association with PLoS and was recognized by the organization for his expertise in and support of Open Access -- a policy of providing free, public online access to scientific research literature.

Cameron Wesson, professor of anthropology, has won Public Anthropology's Eleanor Roosevelt Global Citizenship AwardFewer than 1 percent of the faculty teaching introductory anthropology courses across North America receive this award.

Xindong Wu, professor for the Department of Computer Science in the UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, has been named an IEEE Fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for his contributions to data mining and applications.

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