Vermont Business Magazine Bill Shean ’79 and Laurie Shean ’80 have donated $1 million to UVM Athletics to support the University of Vermont Board of Trustee’s recent decision to move forward with the formal planning of a multi-purpose center on the UVM campus. The Shean’s gift will provide the means for not only producing architectural plans, but will also provide necessary resources for site evaluation and preparation.
Facility plans include creating a new events center that also will serve as the home for UVM’s men’s and women’s basketball teams; renovating the beloved Gutterson Fieldhouse with significant upgrades to one of college hockey’s most iconic arenas; enhancing and combining the athletic complex’s health, wellness and recreation space into an 86,000-square-foot area that is more than five times the current space; and significantly improving and simplifying the complex’s internal layout while boosting amenities for players, fans and all who will use the new and renovated facilities with new space for cultural, social and academic opportunities.
Bill and Laurie Shean, who reside in Winchester, Massachusetts, are longtime supporters of the University of Vermont with a special interest in athletics. Bill, a former member of the UVM tennis team, is the managing director of investments at CYS Investments, an agency mortgage REIT located in Waltham, Massachusetts. Laurie is a nurse practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
“Bill and Laurie Shean are the catalysts for helping us bring to life our comprehensive strategy to complete a transformational renovation of Gutterson Fieldhouse, build a new multi-purpose events center that will be home for basketball student-athletes and greatly expand facilities to support student health and wellness,” said Tom Sullivan, president of the University of Vermont. “With the endorsement of the UVM Board of Trustees, we’re moving forward with the next phase of planning and design, and Bill and Laurie have once again demonstrated what it means to be loyal Catamounts with a clear vision for future athletic and academic success at UVM.”
The Sheans are among UVM’s most loyal fans, often spotted at athletic events in Vermont and when Catamount teams are on the road. Bill was a founding member of the UVM Athletic Department Board of Advisors and has served as its chair for many years. In this role, he has had a major impact on the successful implementation of marketing/branding strategies for the UVM Bookstore and the Catamount Store on Church Street in Burlington. Bill is a former president of the UVM Alumni Association and a current member of the UVM Foundation’s Foundation Leadership Council. Bill is also a founding member of the UVM Foundation Board of Directors.
“I’ve had many conversations with Bill Shean over the years about how deserving our student-athletes are of having first-class facilities that match their exceptional level of play,” noted Jeff Schulman ’89, director of athletics at UVM. “He’s correct, and the support he and Laurie have provided is one more indicator that now is the right time and this is the right project to advance our varsity sports program and the health, wellness and recreation needs of the broader campus community.”
Given their long history with UVM Athletics, the Sheans have significant experience with previous plans to renovate or expand athletic facilities on campus.
“This is the first time, in my heart and in my head, that I believe that we will finally get the multi-purpose center completed and deliver on our promise to give varsity athletes as well as our entire student body the facilities that they so richly deserve,” said Bill Shean. “We have an incredibly active group of students and they deserve a top-notch center to exercise, train, practice and compete.”
Shean attributes his confidence to the “triumvirate” leadership of UVM President Tom Sullivan, UVM Athletics Director Jeff Schulman and UVM Foundation President and CEO Shane Jacobson.
“I credit Tom Sullivan with achieving more than a decades’ worth of successes – student scholarships, faculty support, facilities and academic accomplishments – in his short, five-year tenure,” added Shean. “Jeff, a former hockey player, has the vision and determination to re-hab the Gut and bring all of the elements of the multi-purpose center together. In just one year, Jeff has proven why we are so fortunate to have him in this position at this time. And Shane, with the entire UVM Foundation team, is working with all of my fellow fans and Catamount supporters to make sure that this project is successful.”
“We cannot thank Laurie and Bill enough for this early support of the project,” said Shane Jacobson, president and CEO of the UVM Foundation. “Their gift is required to propel us forward and, with the architectural and University plans soon in place, will create an environment to encourage others to invest in a project that is so very important to winning championships for UVM and the state of Vermont. Now is the time!”
About The University of Vermont Foundation
The University of Vermont Foundation is a nonprofit corporation established to secure and manage private support for the benefit of the University of Vermont. The Foundation, with the University of Vermont, is currently engaged in a comprehensive campaign with four strategic priorities: financial access and scholarships for students, faculty research and support, student-centered programs, and long-term investments in the physical campus. Move Mountains: The Campaign for The University of Vermont seeks to raise $500 million in private support and assert UVM's position as one of the nation's best public research universities. For further information about giving to UVM, contact the University of Vermont Foundation, 411 Grasse Mount, Burlington VT 05401; 802-656-2010, www.uvmfoundation.org, email [email protected].
Source: University of Vermont Foundation 8.3.2017