UVM Summer 2024 interns Terra Schommer and Carolyn Kelly work with members of the Glover Equity Committee to create an immersive sensory trail in Glover Park. Photo credit: UVM
Investment will expand Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships' student internships and data services that benefit communities across the Green Mountain State
by James Rea, UVM Leahy Institute The Ford Foundation has awarded a $250,000 grant to the University of Vermont’s (UVM) Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships to expand its statewide summer internship program and amplify the Institute’s efforts to provide clear, accessible data to feed economic and community development work throughout the Green Mountain State.
“The Ford Foundation’s generous support helps UVM continue to fulfill its land grant mission, strengthening our commitment to contribute to the economic resilience and well-being of rural communities in Vermont and beyond,” said Patricia Prelock, Interim President of the University of Vermont. “The Leahy Institute’s Summer Internship Program and its Data Services Collaboration are perfect examples of how UVM partnerships can create opportunities for students and make an impact in our state.”
The grant exemplifies the Ford Foundation’s core pursuits of investing in individuals, building institutions, and supporting new ideas.
“Rural communities are the backbone of American society, if they are not prosperous we cannot achieve a country without inequality,” said Ford Foundation president Darren Walker. “With this investment in the Leahy Institute, we hope to empower Vermont’s rural communities with the tools they need for sustainable growth, while also providing UVM students with service-learning experiences that help cultivate the next generation of leaders.”
The Ford Foundation grant will allow the Leahy Institute to add a second cohort to its Statewide Summer Internship Project. The program sends UVM students to rural Vermont communities for eight weeks of employment, community engagement and learning.
In its first two years, the project supported high quality internship opportunities for 12 UVM students in central Vermont and in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. In Summer 2025, one cohort will return to the Northeast Kingdom, and the second will work in Vermont’s White River Valley.
“These summer internships boost the capacity of small-town organizations and businesses to complete projects and to scale up,” said Tricia Coates, Director of the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships. “And for students, the internships offer a chance to see firsthand the many opportunities that are available in our rural Vermont communities,”
The Ford Foundation grant will also amplify the Leahy Institute’s efforts to provide organizations throughout the state with clear, accessible data to help them operate more effectively.
The Data Services Collaboration leverages the expertise of UVM partners such as the Center for Rural Studies and the Complex Systems Institute to help address a wide range of rural issues, including community wellbeing, housing development, zoning, wastewater infrastructure, and environmental conservation.
“Our towns and agencies are in constant need of current and quality data for grant applications, disaster recovery, and a whole host of planning activities,” said Leahy Institute partner Chris Campany, Executive Director of the Windham Regional Commission. “UVM’s willingness to bring its expertise together with community partners to provide this service fills a critical gap for Vermont.”
For more information about these and other programs of the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships, please visit: https://www.uvm.edu/ruralpartnerships
About UVM: For People and Planet
Founded in 1791, UVM is the leading public research university where discovery, creativity, community, and action coalesce to secure a thriving future for people and planet. Vermont’s state flagship and land-grant university attracts $260 million annually in groundbreaking research and enrolls approximately 14,000 students from 50 states and 75 countries. At UVM, students, faculty, and staff work together in pursuit of a healthier, greener future. Learn more at uvm.edu.
About the Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For more than 85 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.https://www.fordfoundation.org/
About UVM’s Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships
The Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships builds collaborations between the University of Vermont and community partners for the benefit of our rural places. It brings financial and technical assistance, access to UVM research, faculty expertise, student projects and internships, and established UVM startup and engagement programs. Through partnerships, it collaborates on impactful solutions that drive positive change for Vermont and beyond.
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