Vermont State Colleges

12/07/2023

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁?!
Check out this exciting commentary by Sarah Billings-Berg, Vermont State University Dean of Nursing and Health Sciences! https://vermontstate.edu/news/commentary-more-nursing-seats-are-coming-to-vermont-state-university/

11/30/2023

The Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges today announced that Dr. Elizabeth Mauch will become the next Chancellor of the system effective January 1, 2024.

"I am excited and honored to lead the next phase of the Vermont State Colleges System’s transformation. This is a critical time to shape the future of public higher and continuing education in Vermont, as higher education rapidly evolves and changes across the country. I look forward to collaborating with state and community leaders, our institutions and their teams, and our faculty, staff, and students to build a thriving Vermont State Colleges system that continues to transform lives and communities across the state." - Dr. Elizabeth Mauch

Elizabeth Mauch, who currently oversees a private Lutheran college in Lindsborg, Kansas, will step into the chancellor role Jan. 1, 2024.

11/28/2023

"We live in a market economy driven by what consumers, employers and businesses require. Aggregate needs of employers drive what majors students pursue that in turn informs what majors are taught. That’s true throughout the United States. Students are pursuing careers that will meet their needs going forward.

Regardless of the broad perspective that visual and theater arts offer, if students don’t pursue them, it’s no longer affordable for VTSU to offer them."

-Representative Jim Masland, member of the VSCS Board of Trustees

As a baby boomer who benefited greatly from a liberal arts education, I have been following the developments on the Vermont State University campuses. Protests from students and faculty have decried program cuts and faculty buyouts. They lament the effect on students, faculty and staff.  To be clea...

11/22/2023

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Vermont State College System, I want to express my gratitude for the contributions of the many people who have worked so hard and whose support and encouragement has led us to this incredible moment. It’s time to support our leaders, faculty, staff, and students as the vision and promise of Vermont State University becomes reality. After all, we’re better together, and by working together, we can strengthen and build on that promise for the future." -Lynn Dickinson, VSCS Board of Trustees Chair

The optimization plans at Vermont State University (VTSU) chart a path toward financial sustainability by 2027, something that has eluded its legacy institutions for far too long.

11/08/2023

10/18/2023

"Benchmark Space Systems, a Burlington company that makes satellite propulsion equipment, had a rocket engine with a problem last winter. The coffee cup-size engine, which helps maneuver small satellites as they orbit in space, had been flagged in Benchmark's testing, and the company's engineers wanted to know what was wrong.

The company usually sent parts to out-of-state laboratories, but in this case, Peder Nilsson, Benchmark's newly hired supply chain VP, called the Advanced Manufacturing Center at Vermont State University-Randolph.

The rocket engine was scanned the next day, giving engineers in Burlington the images they needed to diagnose the problem. Nilsson was impressed. While scanning, printing and machining services do exist in New England, getting results usually takes at least two weeks. That kind of delay can push Benchmark off the schedule of the rocket launches — such as Elon Musk's SpaceX — that the satellites use to hitch rides into space."

Benchmark Space Systems, a Burlington company that makes satellite propulsion equipment, had a rocket engine with a problem last winter. The coffee cup-size engine, which...

09/19/2023

Vermont State University (VTSU) welcomed more than 1,400 new undergraduate students to campus for the Fall 2023 semester and is pleased to report it has met its enrollment projections for its first post-unification academic year!

In total, VTSU enrolls more than 5,200 students and learners of all ages, including more than 4,000 undergraduates and more than 500 graduate students and more than 700 in apprenticeship programs.
https://vermontstate.edu/news/vermont-state-university-meets-targeted-enrollment-projections-for-new-and-returning-students-as-it-welcomes-the-class-of-2027/

09/19/2023

The Board of Trustees of the Vermont State Colleges System announced today that Chancellor Sophie Zdatny will be stepping down from her position at the end of the year.

Chancellor Zdatny has been with the system for nine years, initially as Associate General Counsel for three years, then General Counsel for three years before she was named Chancellor in April 2020. She will continue serving through the end of December 2023 and the board anticipates announcing a hiring process for the next leader in the coming weeks.

“Chancellor Zdatny has been an extraordinary leader for our system and its institutions through an incredibly challenging time. For more than three years she has worked tirelessly to stabilize the system. She led the first phase of the system’s transformation with purpose and clarity while being a steady guide through the challenges of the pandemic. It is bittersweet to accept her resignation, but I speak for all trustees in wishing her well." - Board Chair Lynn Dickinson.

Full statement:

05/08/2023

"This is a special time of year in higher education. As we prepare to celebrate our students at our commencements this May, we are also welcoming prospective students for what will be the inaugural first-year class of Vermont State University. In the coming weeks, we’ll honor the academic and individual achievements of the class of 2023, and watch as they set off to fill critical occupations in the fields of health care, journalism, manufacturing, education and more. Small towns are counting on these gifted Vermonters to open new businesses, join existing ones, run for town offices, coach youth sports teams and teach music lessons — to carry on the work that makes Vermont a truly special place to make a life."

Read more in Interim President Mike Smith's recent commentary:

As I was leaving the Johnson campus this past week, just a few days into my role as interim president of Vermont State University, I passed a prospective student visiting

05/02/2023

We also hosted U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders at CCV-Winooski last week. Thank you, Senator, for visiting Community College of Vermont (CCV) and Vermont State University to connect with our students!

04/29/2023

We were excited to host U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders at the Johnson campus of Vermont State University yesterday. Themes of the Town Hall discussion included student debt, mental health, and climate change.