Denise Youngblood, professor and chair of history, has been named Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, effective July 1. “I am very excited about Dr. Youngblood assuming this very important position in the Provost’s Office specifically focusing on the faculty,” said Provost John Bramley in announcing the appointment. “I look forward to working with her.” Bramley also noted, “We were extremely fortunate to have an excellent pool of internal candidates to interview.” Youngblood will assist the Provost in faculty and academic procedures that include the organization and preliminary review of promotion, tenure and sabbatical actions; faculty recruitment and academic unit staffing plans; administrative evaluation and training; coordination of campus planning and strategic budgeting procedures; and oversight of the University’s on-line course catalog. “The faculty is the backbone of this institution, and recruitment and retention of an excellent and diverse faculty are essential to UVM’s future success,” said Youngblood, who joined UVM in 1988 and teaches a wide variety of courses in Russian and European history. “I am excited by the challenges and responsibilities of this position and look forward to working with colleagues throughout the University community to realize opportunities for faculty development now before us.” Youngblood is a cultural historian specializing in Russian and Soviet silent cinema, Soviet cultural politics and Soviet and post-Soviet historical film. A recipient of one of UVM’s highest honors, the Kroepsch-Maurice Award for Excellence in Teaching, she was named a University Scholar in 2002. Her scholarship has been published extensively and supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies and the International Research & Exchanges Board, among other sources. Currently she is writing a book on Russian war films. In addition to her university activities, Youngblood chairs the Committee on the Status of Women of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies and is an elected member of the professional division of the American Historical Association. -Press Release