UVM President Dr. Marlene Tromp. (credit: University of Vermont)
by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Dr. Marlene Tromp officially began her tenure today as the 28th president of the University of Vermont, marking a new chapter in the university’s leadership.
Middlebury College also has a new president starting today, as Ian Baucom takes over from Laurie Patton.
In a video message shared with the UVM community, Tromp expressed her excitement at joining UVM and pursuing the vital work of improving life for individuals and communities across Vermont and beyond.
“I’m so happy and excited to be joining UVM as your president,” said President Tromp in her video message. “I’m so grateful for the welcome I’ve had from this community and so inspired by the work the university is doing.”
Tromp joins UVM after six years as president of Boise State University. UVM’s Board of Trustees announced her selection as the university’s next president on March 20, 2025, following an extensive global search that examined over 100 candidates and included robust input from the university community.
“I’ve experienced the power of education to transform lives. My passion and commitment are to ensure that we can change people’s lives, so they can change the world,” said Tromp, who brings three decades of experience in teaching, research, and higher education administration to UVM.
Middlebury College President Ian Baucom. Photo by Jeneene Chatowsky | The Middlebury Campus
Ian Baucom, 57, the former provost of the University of Virginia (UVA), also begins his tenure as the 18th President of Middlebury College today. The college announced his selection for the presidency on January 22, after a unanimous recommendation by the Presidential Search Committee was affirmed by the Board of Trustees.
Baucom was provost at UVA since 2022, prior to which he worked for eight years as Dean of its College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. During his tenure at the state’s flagship university, the incoming president has worked as the Robert C. Taylor Professor of English; he previously taught at Yale University and served as chair of the English Department at Duke University.
“I love the mission of Middlebury, I love residential liberal arts education,” Baucom said in an interview with The Campus last winter. “I'm looking forward to learning how to ski, but really the student experience and getting to know the faculty and being in this place is what’s drawn me to Middlebury.”
Baucom — who grew up in South Africa — expressed his excitement at the idea of joining a small liberal arts community at Middlebury after spending his undergraduate years in a similar environment at Wake Forest University. He lived in a first-year dormitory on UVA’s campus with his family for three years, followed by five years living with students on the famous UVA lawn, so he is no stranger to tight-knit residential life.
“A lot of it is learning from the richness of that, the relationships that we were able to build with students. I love the idea of having a class of 600 students, ideally all of whose names I would like to get to know,” Baucom said.
He now assumes responsibility for an institution that has grown in scope and resources during the past decade. However, Middlebury continues to face serious challenges that he will be tasked with leading the college through — over-enrollment, employee compensation and understaffing, A.I. and the Honor Code, threats to higher education, and town-gown relations are just a few he may confront.
“Part of what drew me to Middlebury was how deeply, as I understand it, that the college is committed to the town of Middlebury,” he explained, when asked about his desire to work with the town of Middlebury. Baucom added how he recently toured the new childcare center in town as well as the site for the future affordable housing center. “That is going to be an important part of trying to build and strengthen that relationship.”
Meanwhile at Boise State University, Tromp successfully guided the institution through the pandemic and led efforts that significantly increased student enrollments and affordability. Under her leadership, BSU achieved record graduation rates and levels of philanthropic funding, while also expanding its research funding. She also led the formation of strategic industry partnerships, and programs to deepen BSU’s engagement with its surrounding community.
Tromp also faced social challenges involving social unrest and DEI policies that she inherited, but which persisted through her presidency.
A humanities scholar with a concentration in Victorian literature and culture and its relationship to current society, Tromp has published widely, including nine books and dozens of peer-reviewed papers. Prior to BSU, she was campus provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of California at Santa Cruz; vice provost and dean of the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University; and chair of the faculty as well as director of women’s studies at Denison University.
Tromp has won numerous awards for her teaching, scholarship, and community service. She served on the NCAA Division I Board of Directors and consults on higher education with the Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco.
Raised in Wyoming, Tromp earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Creighton University as a first-generation college student, a Master of Arts in English from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida.
Tromp visited UVM for on-campus interviews in March 2025, meeting with a wide array of members of the campus community and taking part in a community forum to answer questions. She also visited with leaders in state government.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Marlene Tromp as the 28th president of the University of Vermont,” said Cynthia Barnhart, Board of Trustees chair and co-chair of the Presidential Search Advisory Committee. “The leader of UVM is also a vital leader for the community and state, and Dr. Tromp brings with her the experience and ability for great success that will benefit all three. She has demonstrated excellence as a leader and a scholar who can foster deep and meaningful connections across the university and beyond.”
Tromp succeeds Suresh Garimella, who led UVM as the institution’s 27th president from 2019 until October 2024, when he became president of the University of Arizona. Former provost Patricia Prelock served as interim president following Garimella’s departure. She is now the provost at the University of Arizona.
Tromp closed her video message to the community by expressing, “Together, we are going to do some amazing things for our students, our state, and the world.”
About UVM: For People and Planet
Founded in 1791, UVM is the leading public university where discovery, creativity, community, and action coalesce to secure a thriving future for people and planet. Recognized among the nation’s top R1 research institutions, Vermont’s land-grant university attracts $260 million annually for 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.
To support vital journalism, access our archives and get unique features like our award-winning profiles, Book of Lists & Business-to-Business Directory, subscribe HERE!
