Several members of UVM’s board of trustees voiced their concern regarding the University’s proposed changes to Commencement Weekend during a presentation at an Oct. 25 meeting.
The proposed plan would move individual college ceremonies to Champlain Valley Exposition and do away with the main ceremony and commencement speaker, according to an Oct. 14 Cynic article.
“UVM is about a sense of place and I think that’s what sort of troubles me about not having a full ceremony with everybody together in that place,” said Shep Smith, a member of the board of trustees. “I understand the practical reasons but I worry that it does not put our best foot forward for a moment in time where we’re really creating an impression.”
Kelly O’Malley, senior coordinator of presidential events and protocol, said the changes to Commencement Weekend aim to mitigate the risk of severe weather and health and safety concerns. Champlain Valley Expo also offers better options for accessibility and venue size, she said.
“I must stress that this process is ongoing,” O’Malley said. “However, we must recognize that families need to plan or adjust plans already made, so we’re moving as quickly as possible for final review within the next two weeks.”
While many board members agreed with the issues O’Malley outlined, some said they still valued the tradition and importance of keeping UVM Commencement on the University Green.
Katelynn Giroux, a medical student and student trustee, said she felt similarly about the proposal.
“It’s difficult to let go of the place where these students can celebrate with all of their classmates,” Giroux said. “We’re siloing graduation and that’s a little hard for me to process. Not having something on our green, on our campus […] seems like a hard thing to do.”
O’Malley said she had taken these concerns into consideration, but the University’s infrastructure would not be able to accommodate the crowd size should the ceremony need to move indoors due to bad weather.
“Patrick Gym and Gutterson are absolutely not possible in 2025,” O’Malley said. “It’s insane the amount of work that goes into creating an event in a space that has absolutely no infrastructure to have a large event, and even the possibility that the event may not even happen.”
Ron Lumbra, chair of the board, said while he enjoyed the current ceremony schedule, he understood the reasons behind the move to Champlain Valley Expo.
“The last commencement was the most spectacular day of the last academic year that I could imagine,” Lumbra said. “But sometimes you have to look ahead and consider the possibilities, and I’m glad [O’Malley has] done that.”
Susan Brengle, a member of the board of trustees, said she was concerned with how the 2025 graduating class would feel about the change.
“I would be concerned about the class of 2025,” Brengle said. “It may really feel to that class as though they haven’t been engaged yet and that these changes are out of nowhere.”
O’Malley said she has been working on creating a survey for students with senior standing to give their input.
“Since I presented to the SGA, we’ve received some very strong feedback from students and their families,” she said. “We are taking this feedback seriously and are working on next appropriate steps to more fully understand the collective feeling of students on campus.”
