This commentary is by Suresh Garimella, president of the University of Vermont.
On behalf of the University of Vermont community, I congratulate Mayor-elect Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and the recently elected members of the Burlington City Council. The Queen City is a special place to live, work, and study, and it is with great optimism that I welcome the incoming mayor and councilors to their new roles as city leaders.
At UVM, we look forward to collaborating, connecting and openly communicating with our newest city partners to ensure UVM’s and Burlington’s success. Building on recent momentum, we anticipate more shared progress and accomplishments in several areas:
Housing solutions — Important and necessary work remains in addressing the housing shortage in Burlington. The university has cooperated closely with the city on a proposed memorandum of understanding, which details one potential pathway to work together in addressing this critical issue.
Regardless of the outcome of our discussions around this memorandum of understanding, we are committed to holding first-year classes steady at about 3,000 students. We’re already in the process of creating housing to serve another 1,200 students from within our existing population, thereby increasing and enhancing residential options for our students while offering new accommodations that are attractive to faculty and staff.
We continue to consider projects within and adjacent to Burlington that will permit the further housing development we believe necessary to meet the expectations of our students and their families.
Mutually beneficial community connections — The university’s students, faculty and staff comprise a large and vital portion of Burlington’s overall economic health as consumers of goods and services and as collaborators in important work throughout the city. In fact, the relationship between UVM and Burlington pays some of its greatest dividends through the pairing of our academic, research and engagement mission with the needs and interests of city government and our neighbors. We are actively pursuing opportunities to connect more students, faculty and staff with our Burlington neighbors in diverse settings.
Our faculty often find partners for research and classroom activities in the community, and we are expanding the ways we bring our academic work into the city via special events and opportunities like our dynamic community engaged learning courses, through which nearly 20% of our students earn credit and real world experience alongside more than 150 local organizations. Likewise, we are welcoming the community to campus with more public-facing educational and cultural events, including the Lane Series, the Presidential Lecture Series and the annual RISE Summit launched in 2023, as the challenges of the pandemic recede.
Our students — UVM’s greatest asset — show pride in their Burlington community by continuing their long tradition of service and engagement through participation in internships and volunteer opportunities in countless local organizations.
In that spirit of connection and cooperation, planning is underway for an upcoming Together Vermont! service day. We look forward to this new annual event and hope it will be the first of many collaborations with the city’s new leadership. The connections our students build in these ways create the foundation for the future of Burlington and Vermont, with more than 1,100 UVM graduates joining Vermont’s permanent workforce each year, helping to maintain the necessary generational balance and renewal our communities need.
Consistent, open communication — The university values open lines of communication with its neighbors and partners, which are especially vital with the mayor’s office and city staff. Mulvaney-Stanak made this point herself on the campaign trail, and I wholeheartedly agree. It is my hope that we can continue to grow existing connections and explore new ways of working together in vital areas beyond housing, such as community health, economic development and workforce expansion. Our neighbors will see people from across UVM engaged in community conversations and local meetings to facilitate information sharing and opportunity building. By working in partnership, we can assist the city in uplifting all its citizens, businesses and organizations, and welcoming visitors to our wonderful hometown.
Burlington’s success is essential to UVM’s success. We are here, together, forever in this beautiful valley. Only through collaboration, connection and open communication can we hope for an even brighter future in the years ahead. We look forward to doing our part in making a bright future the reality.
