Current News

by John McClaughry A year ago Vermont State College Chancellor Jeb Spaulding circulated a white paper on the future of Vermont’s five-college system (not including UVM). A month ago he reinforced the worsening facts spelled out in the white paper in a letter to the Governor and key legislators. On April 20 he went public with the recommendation that the VSC Board consider closing down three of the VSCs colleges: Vermont Tech at Randolph and Northern Vermont University at Johnson and Lyndon.

Not surprisingly, a furious resistance sprang up. The Board accepted the Chancellor’s resignation, and the future of the VSC system vaulted to center stage. What to do?

First, let’s return to the white paper’s analysis. Here (condensed) are six unavoidable facts.

1. Steadily declining numbers of Vermont high school graduates, and overbuilt colleges.

2. Bottom ranked state support (49^th among the 50 states).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports presents the 2020 Vermont Business Wellness Leadership Award to Michael Nobles, President and CEO of Union Mutual Insurance Company. The Business Wellness Leadership award, traditionally presented at the Worksite Wellness Awards ceremony, recognizes one Vermont employer who demonstrates exemplary efforts to promote a healthy work-life balance for their employees. Nobles’ strong leadership and generous service to the community make him a role model in sustaining a culture of well-being.

Vermont Business Magazine The LoveYourBrain Foundation has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the Daniel E Offutt III Charitable Trust, which will help LoveYourBrain provide its evidence-based Yoga program for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and establish a new fund designed to empower the TBI community. Offutt resided in Weston, Connecticut for more than 30 years and passed away in 2016, unmarried with no immediate survivors. Richard Orenstein, Trustee, said of Offutt, “Dan was a thinker ‘out of the box,’ and this sort of innovative approach to supporting TBI would have been right up his alley.”

Vermont Business Magazine But Why, VPR’s podcast for curious kids, will broadcast a live, interactive educational program for elementary school students on Fridays at 1 pm May 8 through June 19. The programs will cover a wide range of topics related to natural science, poetry, space, history and civics. Students are invited to call or write in with their questions during each show, which will be answered by expert guests. The first program on Friday, May 8 will focus on bats with guest Barry Genzlinger of the Vermont Bat Center.

Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott on Monday announced that limited elective medical procedures could resume. These procedures had been put on hold as Vermont’s health care system focused on preparing for, and responding to, COVID-19. The Governor’s decision comes as state modeling continues to show spread of COVID-19 has slowed – thanks to Vermonters’ physical distancing efforts – and the state’s ability to track and trace outbreaks of COVID-19 has become more robust. As of today's report from the Vermont Department of Health, there were five new cases of COVID-19 statewide, for a total of 902. There were no new deaths, which remain at 52. Hospitalizations were again down by four for a total of 15. Scott also said today that he will soon extend the Stay Home" order beyond May 15, but will also relax some of the requirements to benefit social gatherings. He expects those changes to be announced as soon as Wednesday.

​Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Medical Society (VMS) applauds Governor Scott and the Department of Health Commissioner, Dr Mark Levine, for releasing guidance today allowing for certain non-urgent health care services to resume in Vermont and urges Vermont patients to call their health care clinicians to discuss any health care questions or concerns.

Vermont Business Magazine In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic the SBA Vermont District Office is hosting a free daily webinar from 9 to 10 am Monday to Friday to discuss Paycheck Protection Program, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and Advance, and any pertinent updates.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) has received a grant for more than $21 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The grant funds will be distributed among public transit providers statewide in rural and urban areas and aid AOT in deploying transportation resources to Vermonters.

“This grant money arrives in Vermont just in time to provide needed financial relief to our many transit providers around the state,” said AOT Public Transit Manager Ross MacDonald. “This has been an unprecedented and difficult time for public transit. Drivers have shown courage and flexibility in navigating a serious and complex situation to continue providing essential public transportation options to Vermonters.”

Vermont Business Magazine To ensure Northern Vermont University’s strength and vitality as it rides out the demographic and disruptive challenges facing higher education, NVU must right-size—focus on its core mission, find new revenue streams, and form new partnerships so it stands ready to serve Vermont students and future generations. To guide this transformation, NVU is forming the NVU Strong Advisory Committee. The Committee will be charged with identifying financially sustainable models and initiatives that collectively will ensure a strong and thriving future for NVU’s Johnson and Lyndon campuses as well as NVU Online.

Vermont Business Magazine BTV Ignite, a public/private partnership in Burlington, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, and Burlington Telecom, announced an accelerated timeline for community investments, as well as new programs developed in partnership with the University of Vermont and a wide range of community partners focused on supporting businesses, our local workforce, and economic development. These community investment funds, which will total $3 million over 10 years, are a result of the competitive process directed by the mayor and supported by the City Council that culminated in the sale of Burlington Telecom.

Vermont Business Magazine Norwich University has been awarded a $100,000 Humanities Connections Implementation Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to continue work on the Norwich Humanities Initiative, an interdisciplinary curriculum project which was launched in 2018 with the support of a $35,000 NEH Humanities Connections Planning Grant.

Vermont Research News A team of researchers led by UVM's Dr. David Krag have started a comprehensive data base of peer-reviewed published COVID-19 articles. The researchers cull through the vast volume of published articles, selecting original research, categorizing and summarizing the articles to make them more accessible to the public and health stakeholders. Also, Food insecurity survey; Social Distancing Business restrictions effective; Vermont among top 'pro-women' states; Low-income Vermonters at flood risk; Milk prices below costs – 4th year in a row; The role of slavery in early New England; and more...