The UVM Board of Trustees has voted to establish a School of the Arts within the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). 

The new school will strengthen existing academic programs and offer a comprehensive center of gravity for arts and performance expected to enhance recruitment of students interested in music, theater, dance, studio art, and art history, school officials said.

The board approved additional changes in CAS that will relocate the geology program to a new Department of Geography and Geosciences. The new department reflects current scholarly approaches in these disciplines that combine the physical sciences and human behavioral elements in the study of Earth.

The board also:

• Approved the creation of a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience in CAS.
• Approved the creation of a Micro-Certificate of Graduate Study in Sustainable Family Enterprise in the Graduate College, in conjunction with the Grossman School of Business.
• Following a lengthy faculty review process that resulted in uncontested proposals, the board approved the termination of the major in Greek, the minor in Greek Language and Literature, the major in Latin, and the minor in Latin Language and Literature.
• Reaffirmed the university’s equal opportunity policies.
• Received an update on the university’s sexual misconduct and response action plan, which is covered extensively on a dedicated website.

The board also took the following governance actions:

• Susan Brengle ‘85—a vice president and managing director for institutional business at Eaton Vance Management, a Boston-based investment management firm—was elected by the self-perpetuating UVM Board for a six-year term beginning on March 1. Brengle will succeed trustee Briar Alpert.
• Kristina Pisanelli ‘97—vice president of global government affairs for the Americas region for Medtronic, a Minneapolis-based medical device company—was elected by the self-perpetuating UVM Board for a six-year term beginning on March 1. Pisanelli will succeed trustee David Aronoff.
• Trustee Cindy Barnhart was re-elected as board vice chair for one year.
• Trustee Johannah Donovan was elected to succeed Jonathan Bartholomew as secretary of the board for one year.

Prior to the board’s meetings this weekend, the Associate Directors for the Appointment of Student Trustees recently appointed first-year medical student, Kenny Nguyen, to serve on the board for a two-year term beginning March 1. Nguyen will succeed Berke Tinaz.

The annual election of a board chair will occur at a special board meeting in March.