Tag: University of Vermont

Stellar trumpeter, composer and band leader Michael Philip Mossman will be in residence at the University of Vermont from April 2 through April 4, hosted by the UVM’s Jazz Studies Program. 

Mossman will perform with the UVM Jazz Ensemble, directed by UVM professor Alex Stewart, on Thursday, April 6, at 7:30 in the Southwick Recital Hall. The concert will feature arrangements by Mossman of works by Dizzy Gillespie, Carlos Santana, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker and original compositions in forms that include the jazz tango and Brazilian choro.

The concert is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, April 4, Mossman will guest lecture in a Jazz Composition and Arranging class and conduct a trumpet masterclass in the Recital Hall immediately 3:45-4:45.

Mossman has been one of the most in-demand trumpeters in New York for over 30 years. He has recorded and performed around the world with artists such as Horace Silver, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Charles Mingus Orchestra, the Gil Evans Orchestra, Michel Camilo Big Band, the Chico O’Farrill Orchestra and many others.

A prolific composer and arranger, Mossman has contributed scores to the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic, Joe Henderson’s Grammy winning Big Band album, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, The Charles Mingus Orchestra, Tito Puente, Mario Bauza, Paquito D’Rivera, the UMO Orchestra of Finland, the NDR Big Band of Hamburg, Germany, the WDR of Cologne, the Andalusia Latin Jazz Big Band, and the Danish Radio Big Band, to name just a few. Michael is currently Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in New York City.

Source: UVM News

Mariel Golden’s connection to UVM’s top-flight debate program was sparked even before she stepped onto campus as a student. And now, as a Class of 2015 alumna, that connection remains strong, demonstrated by her return as a judge for the recent 2018 North American Women’s and Gender Minorities Debate Championships.

The summer before Golden’s first semester, her mother came across a story on the university’s website that featured Sam Natale ’10, focused on his participation in the World Debating Championship, held in Botswana. As parents of fledgling college students will do, mom suggested that this UVM debate might be worth a look.

A week later, on campus for orientation, Golden happened to meet Professor Tuna Snider, the late legendary leader of UVM debate. Snider, of course, knew a thing or two about convincing arguments and made the case for joining the university’s Lawrence Debate Union. “He told me I could be the next person traveling the world for debate,” Golden recalls. “I went to my first practice and never turned back. I fell in love with it.”

England, Slovenia, Germany, India, Cameroon, South Africa, to name just a few, UVM Debate, supported by a healthy endowment funding international competition, took Golden around the world. And she excelled — North American finalist, U.S. National semi-finalist, quarter-finalist at Yale and Oxford tournaments.

Looking back, Golden says, “Beyond the travel and competitive success, the most influential aspect was the debate community at UVM and beyond. I gained a family and support network.”

The welcoming community that was, by and large, Golden’s experience is not necessarily the norm in college debate, where “Boys’ Club” behavior, sexual harassment, sexual assault and discrimination too often damage and discourage women’s participation. This unfortunate truth led to the establishment of the North American Women’s and Gender Minorities Debate Championships, fostering broader participation in a safe environment.

Golden was instrumental in bringing the event, which originated in Canada, to the United States for the first time in 2015 when UVM hosted. “The tournament not only showcases female talent, but creates a place where women can come together and talk about the issues that they’re feeling they face in the debate community,” Golden says.

As UVM strives to shift debate culture with the tournament, the legacy of talented women debaters in the Lawrence Debate Union, currently coached by one of them, Helen Morgan Parmett ’00, provides a role model for the teams competing in Burlington.

Beyond her return to UVM for the tournament, debate remains a force and a focus in Mariel Golden’s life. A political science grad working with Teach for America in Baltimore, she also coaches a Palestinian debate team “as a means to spread debate opportunities to those who don’t traditionally have them,” Golden says. “UVM Debate has opened the world to me. I’m a different and better person because of it, and I feel like I need to keep giving back as a thank you.”

Source: UVM News

The University of Vermont will award honorary degrees at the May ceremony to John E. Abele, Frank A. Bolden, J. Brooks Buxton, and Karen Nystrom Meyer. The 2018 commencement speaker, celebrated humanities scholar Alexander Nemerov, received a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa during 2017 commencement ceremonies.

John E. Abele, retired founding chairman of Boston Scientific, has radically changed the culture of medicine, developing some of the first-to-market devices to treat life-damaging conditions of the heart, brain, lungs, and body systems. After co-founding medical devices company Medi-tech in 1969 with its first product—steerable catheters as alternatives to traditional surgery—Mr. Abele started Boston Scientific in 1979 to acquire Medi-tech and significantly expand the vision of bringing non-invasive medical options to market. Today, Boston Scientific offers more than 13,000 products affecting the health and lives of over 26 million people each year worldwide, including such well-known innovations as the angioplasty dilation balloon and stent. Since retiring from Boston Scientific in 2005, Mr. Abele devotes himself to helping build change-the-world businesses and organizations in his second career as a philanthropist, venture capitalist, and professional tinkerer. Current projects include a “sniffer” device to identify infections in plants and humans and a medical device using magnetics to treat depression. Through the Argosy Foundation, Mr. Abele and his family have granted over $100 million to nonprofits to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration, reflecting his lifelong interest in helping groups of people to become “collectively intelligent.” The Argosy Foundation is a lead supporter of FIRST, the nonprofit behind FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST Robotics Competition, and FIRST Lego League—programs that introduce students to science and engineering thinking through collaborative play and problem solving. Mr. Abele encouraged UVM to host the FIRST Tech Challenge in Vermont, in 2013; Vermont now enters several teams from across the state to national Tech Challenges. He is also a founder and primary supporter of the Champlain Mini Maker Faire. Mr. Abele serves as an advisory board member to the UVM College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences. He will be awarded a Doctor of Science, honoris causa.

Frank A. Bolden, University of Vermont Class of 1963 and member of the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame, is an alumnus exemplar of UVM’s student-athlete model. A four-year letterwinner in football, he balanced academic work and devotion to the UVM Catamounts with service as a residence-hall counselor and an ROTC cadet. After graduation, Mr. Bolden served in the United States Army as an Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer. In 1969, he entered Columbia University, graduating with Masters of Business Administration and Juris Doctorate degrees in 1972. Practicing corporate law at Johnson & Johnson, he was promoted to secretary in 1984 and vice-president in 1987, and in 2000 he was named Vice President, Diversity Worldwide. Mr. Bolden brought this corporate leadership and global diversity experience to the University of Vermont Board of Trustees in 1994, where he served on several committees; as chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2000 he was a strong voice for building diversity at UVM. Mr. Bolden also served on the UVM Medical Dean’s Advisory Board, the advisory committee for the UVM School of Business, and the New York Regional Alumni Board. He is currently a member of the UVM Foundation Leadership Council. Mr. Bolden received the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2002. As a supporter of education, the arts, and quality health care, Mr. Bolden has served numerous universities, nonprofits, and state advisory boards in the northeast. He currently chairs the national board of directors for the United Church of Christ, the ecumenical Protestant denomination emphasizing social justice, human rights, and global ministry. Mr. Bolden will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

J. Brooks Buxton, University of Vermont Class of 1956, exemplifies the dedication to learning that the University of Vermont endeavors to instill in all its students. Living and working throughout the Middle East as well as in London, Mr. Buxton developed a deep appreciation for the aesthetics of the region. He retired from Conoco Phillips in 2003 as president of Conoco Arabia Inc., Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and director of Conoco Middle East Ltd., London and Dubai. His collection of Orientalist paintings, Islamic art, and 19^th-century photography of the Middle East and North Africa is perhaps unrivaled by any other private Vermont collection. Since retiring to his native Vermont in 2003, Mr. Buxton has focused on assembling an extensive collection of paintings depicting the agricultural and architectural landscape of Vermont from the 18^th to 20^th century, considered to be the most extensive artistic representation of Vermont’s agricultural and pastoral heritage in existence. Mr. Buxton currently chairs the Board of Advisors at the Fleming Museum of Art. He also serves as a trustee at the Shelburne Museum, the Vermont Historical Society, and other august Vermont nonprofits. He is a retired advisor of the University of Vermont College of Engineering; the Middle East Center for Arabic Studies in Oxford, England; and the H.R.H. Prince Salman Center for Disability Research in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, among others. A founding member of the UVM Foundation Board of Directors, he currently serves as a member of the Foundation Leadership Council. Mr. Buxton will be awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Karen Nystrom Meyer, University of Vermont Class of 1970, has devoted her decades-long career to advancing policy and practice in essential matters of the commons. Ms. Meyer joined Governor Madeleine Kunin’s administration in 1985 as Commissioner of Housing and Community Affairs, where she worked to improve community planning and increase affordable housing for Vermonters. She was instrumental in the founding of the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, which has become a national model. In 1988, Ms. Meyer was appointed Executive Vice President of the Vermont Medical Society, the first woman to be named as chief executive of a state medical society, where she helped found a leading-edge statewide program for health care improvement. In 2001, Ms. Meyer joined the University of Vermont senior leadership team; the following year she was named Vice President for State, Federal, and Community Relations. She served the University of Vermont as a trustee from 1998 to 2001, was a founding member of the UVM Foundation Board of Directors, and currently serves as a member of the Foundation Leadership Council and the National Campaign Executive Council. Ms. Meyer has leveraged her extensive leadership and strategic planning expertise in service to nonprofit and corporate boards throughout the state. Ms. Meyer has won national and world dragon boat championships. She and her team—all cancer survivors—competed in this ancient sport both on Lake Champlain and in races around the world. Ms. Meyer will be awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.

Celebrated humanities scholar Alexander Nemerov, University of Vermont Class of 1985, brings an explorer’s mind and a perceptive voice to his close readings of American visual art and cultural history, opening pathways of personal meaning for his students, colleagues, and readers. Professor Nemerov graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts in art history and English. After earning his doctorate in art history from Yale University in 1992, he began teaching at Stanford University. In 2001 he returned to his graduate school alma mater, where his class “Introduction to Western Art” grew to attract one of the largest enrollments of any undergraduate class at Yale. In 2012, Professor Nemerov accepted the position of Carl and Marilynn Thoma Provostial Professor in the Arts and Humanities at Stanford University. His classes are some of the largest humanities classes at the university. Both graduate and undergraduate students praise him as an enthusiastic teacher whose meditations on visual art develop in them a deeper way of seeing. Over the course of his career, Professor Nemerov has published eight highly regarded books and authored more than thirty articles and essays for peer-reviewed journals. In spring of 2017, he gave the 66th annual Andrew W. Mellon Lectures at the National Gallery of Art, becoming the first speaker in the history of the series to speak on American art. Leading his audiences to a rich understanding of American culture through intuitive analysis and appreciation of aesthetic expressions across a wide range of genres, Professor Nemerov’s work encourages us to look for those connections ourselves. His teaching, writing, and curating reflect a profound belief in the enduring importance of the arts and humanities to a thoughtful, authentic, and deeply moving life. Professor Nemerov was awarded a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa during the University of Vermont’s 2017 commencement ceremonies.

The University Commencement Main Ceremony will take place on the University Green on Sunday, May 20, 2018.

Source: UVM News

Does NASA really need to reinvent the wheel? When it comes to navigating the moon’s surface, yes. It turns out that UVM is assisting the effort with cutting edge research from students who’ve been specially selected as participants in the highly competitive eXploration Systems and Habitation (X-Hab) 2018 Academic Innovation Challenge. UVM is one of just 11 university teams NASA chose to design systems and technologies that enhance the agency’s ability to explore deep space.

Since early September 2017, engineering seniors Liz Barrett, Thomas Durivage, Liam McAuliffe, Adam Potasiewicz, Catherine Simpson and junior Boxiong Yang from the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) have been working to develop a single-wheel test bed that would aid NASA’s Resource Prospector mission, which aims to be the first robotic rover to search for water ice trapped in the lunar soil. The team is designing a rover wheel testing device compatible with NASA’s reduced gravity aircraft that allows wheel testing under simulated lunar gravity.

“This is by far the biggest project I’ve done,” says Potasiewicz of the year-long effort, which is also a senior engineering capstone project. “It’s way different from internships in the past, in a way different environment, and it’s helping me refine what I want to do in the future.”

That different environment includes NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where, in November, the team presented the design concept “Reduced Gravity Airborne Mobility Testbed” that is now being built. The students are being advised by engineering faculty professors Darren Hitt (Mechanical Engineering) and Mandar Dewoolkar (Civil and Environmental Engineering), along with Ryan McDevitt, PhD from Benchmark Space Systems, Inc. in South Burlington (a UVM adjunct who is also serving as an industrial mentor). The students have not only contributed to NASA research, but also reaped tremendous knowledge about practical applications. After the NASA Glenn visit, Durivage and the team received feedback that gave them more perspective. “I had a preconceived idea of what it means to design something, so the NASA visit was invaluable,” says Durivage, adding that the biggest challenge so far has been balancing the X-Hab project with classes. “For all intents and purposes, we are students, and these are real-world problems and criteria for NASA and the world.”

“After our call for proposal, UVM had the most promising idea,” says Paul Banicevic, a systems engineer at NASA Ames who is part of the Resource Prospector Team and the lead NASA mentor for the UVM X-Hab team. “And the process pivoted exactly how I hoped it would, growing from there being kind of new, and not really understanding, to really owning and providing great design. Sure, we had the idea of putting it on a plane, but the UVM students put their own custom stamp on it. The insight and the enthusiasm has carried over to my side, as well.”

The X-Hab project is an outstanding opportunity for these UVM undergraduate students and is just one example of the opportunities generated by the Vermont Space Grant Consortium (VTSGC), founded in 1992 as a statewide initiative and now overseen by Hitt, a professor of mechanical engineering in CEMS. “I’ve made it a priority to expand undergraduate opportunities in aerospace science and engineering,” says Hitt. Design competitions such as the X-Hab, weeklong summer workshops and NASA internships are among the ways that UVM students are finding a foot in the door at leading companies including Boeing, Blue Origin, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) and even SpaceX, which just sent a Tesla into space. “A number of our students have gone into aerospace engineering at high profile companies,” says Hitt. The work also reflects the interdisciplinary collaboration that happens across CEMS and UVM and is critical to the aerospace industry, adds Hitt.

“The teams really have to work and integrate together well, with very strong, meaningful communications with NASA mentors,” he says. “The X-Hab (project) has very exact design specifications, and NASA has made some changes along the way, causing the students to quickly turn around and find a new design—it’s amazing; they are so dedicated and hard-working.”

Such a process has turned frustrations into tremendous rewards, report both the students and their mentors. Learning the agility to respond immediately, graciously and accurately to a new design demand or constraints is an invaluable lifelong skill, as is learning professional coping mechanisms to avoid becoming overwhelmed by expectations.

“It’s a unique opportunity in that it is truly going to pay off in their careers,” says Hitt of the experience enjoyed by the students in the X-Hab 2018 Academic Innovation Challenge.

Source: UVM News

Forget flying to L.A. UVM students who want to immerse themselves in filmmaking and screenwriting and learn from industry leaders need only take a short drive down I-89, where the nonprofit Stowe Story Labs helps emerging talent from around the world get work made and seen.  

Thanks to a new partnership between Stowe Story Labs and the UVM Film and Television Studies Program, a fellowship will be awarded to a UVM Film and Television Studies student with a compelling story idea, talent, skill, and a deep desire to learn to master the craft of screenwriting and filmmaking.  

The fellowship covers fees to attend the four day Stowe Story Lab, held at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, Vermont, September 8-11, 2018, as well as lodging and meals. The Fellow will also receive a free copy of Final Draft 10, the newest version of the industry standard in screenwriting software, among other benefits.

Founded in 2013, Stowe Story Labs is the creation of David Rocchio, a 1982 UVM alumnus who studied political science and history. Outside of class, he was immersed in the arts, hosting a radio show on WRUV, writing for the Cynic, and running the concert bureau. Rocchio took film classes from celebrated Professor Emeritus Frank Manchel and was inspired. “My heart was film,” when he graduated, he says, “but I followed my brain and studied law after college.” Still, in addition to practicing as a lawyer, he continued making films and has screened work at Cannes.

“We are thrilled to initiate this fellowship to a deserving UVM student,” says Rocchio.“Bringing talented Vermont-based undergraduates to our program is critical to our mission, which is to find and nurture emerging talents and, at the same time, expose them to the complex world of the international film industry.” 

Including UVM, there are 13 fellowships to the Fall Lab, as well as many partial scholarships available (no separate fellowship or scholarship application is required). Applications are now being accepted to the sixth-annual lab, and the deadline to apply is May 27 for UVM applicants. The discount (free) code for current students is UVMFELLOW and the discount code (15 percent) for other UVM affiliates is UVM SSL.

The four-day fall story lab is the entry point to the program and provides: 

• four days of small group workshops with celebrated industry mentors
• peer-to-peer group sessions 
• in-conversation interviews and Q&As
• skill and craft workshops
• conversations about production, financing, and distribution systems
• structured networking and social time with peers and mentors

“I’m so happy to announce this new opportunity for our students,” says Deb Ellis, director of UVM’s Film and Television Studies Program. “It offers a tangible challenge, and for the recipient, an amazing way to get real world feedback as they move from the classroom toward their creative dreams.”

About the Film and Television Studies Program:

Film and Television Studies at UVM is solidly based in a liberal arts curriculum that includes an investigation of culture and provides students with a rigorous engagement between cultural and media oriented history, theory and practice. We are dedicated to producing critical media thinkers and creators who are capable of working in and contributing to our increasingly diverse and technologically sophisticated society. 

Source: UVM News

Joan “Rosi” Rosebush, senior lecturer and director of student success in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, is the inaugural winner of the University of Vermont’s new Outstanding Faculty Advising Award.  

The award is a collaborative effort between the Office of the Provost, the Student Government Association, the Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate and the UVM Advising Center.

“Rosi Rosebush is the very epitome of the kind of excellent faculty advising this new award is meant to honor,” said UVM provost David Rosowsky. “We’re thrilled to be able to formally recognize her for the wise counsel, warm support and extraordinary dedication she has given to hundreds of students over many years.”

Award winners receive a taxable $2,500 cash award or $2,500 in professional development funds, an achievement placard of their choice and a listing in a display in the Waterman Building that recognizes their contribution.

Rosebush received multiple nomination from students, faculty, staff and administrators, who praised her for her dedication to students, her holistic approach and her “advising acumen.”

“Rosi’s efficacy as an advisor is rooted in her sincere care for her advisees not just as students, but also as people,” one student nominator wrote. “Rosi has a holistic approach, always striving to understand how a student’s personal life may be impacting their academic and student life.”

“From the very first day of orientation, Rosi has been my go-to person,” wrote another student. “She was always willing to make time for me, whether this was early in the morning or late at night or even on a weekend.”

“…Rosi takes care of the full student,” a nominating parent wrote. “CEMS has demanding programs involving complex math and science. Rosi was always there for my son. Rosi served as his advisor for all four years, making time for him whenever he needed it.”

The Outstanding Faculty Advising Award is awarded to faculty members based on the criteria for excellent undergraduate advising set out in A Vision for Academic Advising at UVM.

Rosebush will be formally acknowledged at the Faculty Awards ceremony on November 8^th.

Source: UVM News

Undaunted by grey skies and cold temperatures, about a dozen hardy UVM students, faculty and staff helped launch Phase I of Greenride Bikeshare, the first public bikeshare program in Chittenden County, on Thursday by mounting spiffy new bikes – parked at a Bikeshare station on College Street outside the Waterman Building –  and riding down the hill to a meet-up at Ben & Jerry’s, where they enjoyed free ice cream and music and listened to speakers that included Burlington major Miro Weinberger.

The Bikeshare program, two years in the making, allows members to pick up a bike from one of 17 stations located in Burlington, South Burlington or Winooski — including five stations on the UVM campus and one at UVM Medical Center — for a quick commute.

In Phase I of the program, 105 bikes are available. The program expects to triple the number of bikes and stations by Phase III in 2021 and extend as far as Shelburne and Essex.

To use the bikes, UVM students, faculty and staff need to join the program and download an app that shows them where bikes are available for pickup and where the nearest station is for a drop-off.

The cost – with a 50 percent discounted for UVM community members – is $25 for a year. There are also options to pay $15 monthly or $2 for one trip.

Information on how the program works and how to register and download the app is available at this website.

More information on the Greenride Bikeshare program is here. The local Bikeshare project team is made up of CATMA, the University of Vermont, Champlain College and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. The program’s title sponsors are Ben & Jerry’s and Seventh Generation. It was designed by the Gotcha Group.

Source: UVM News