.jpg)
This past academic year, we at the UVM Foundation asked the Catamount community to give generously in support of every corner of the University of Vermont.
You answered.
Because of the generosity of donors, we had the second-best fundraising year in the history of the University of Vermont, securing $96.39 million in commitments. We are incredibly grateful to the more than 20,000 donors who contributed to nearly 900 different areas on campus between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026. The impact of this generosity will be felt today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.
Our community didn’t only donate generously.
You also volunteered to help students and fellow alumni. You told us your stories. You attended events around the country. You are what makes our university strong.
The stories below showcase just a few of the ways your generosity strengthened UVM during the 2025-26 academic year.
Thank you again — we are grateful for your kindness and generosity.
Transformative Gifts
Some acts of generosity have the power to change the trajectory of a university. This past year, donors made commitments that will expand access to education, strengthen health care, advance groundbreaking research, enhance the student experience, and create opportunities that will endure for generations.
While no single list can capture every transformative gift made during the year, the stories below highlight several commitments that will leave a lasting impact on UVM and the people it serves.
Generous Gift Establishes the Susan Lewis Levy Whole Health Cancer Program
Richard (Dick) Levy established the Susan Lewis Levy Whole Health Cancer Program, a pioneering new program rooted in compassion, healing, and hope, designed to transform the patient and caregiver experience at the UVM Cancer Center.
Historic Gift Will Expand Scholarships to Address Nursing Shortage in Vermont and the Nation
George Bemis ’60, MD has made a landmark estate commitment — the largest gift in the history of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences — to significantly expand access to nursing education through scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students.
Hoffman Family Center for Student Success Opens at University of Vermont
Students at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business will benefit from expanded professional and career development opportunities thanks to a $1 million gift from the Hoffman Family. The investment will enhance the school’s Center for Student Success.
UVM Opens Pizzagalli Support Building, Transforming Archie Post Athletic Complex
The University of Vermont has completed construction on a critical component of the Archie Post Athletic Complex, made possible by a $2 million lead gift from longtime UVM supporters Remo and Donna Pizzagalli. The $5 million project marks a significant milestone for UVM Athletics that will improve the experience for student-athletes, fans, and community users of the Archie Post Complex.
Argosy Foundation Gift Advances Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention Research
The Argosy Foundation has made a $2 million gift to support research at the Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health (VCCBH) at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine. The gift honors the memory of former Vermont resident Mary Abele and will advance a major research initiative aimed at improving the prevention of stroke and heart attack in people living with atrial fibrillation (AFib).
Meet Some Incredible Donors
Behind every gift is a story. UVM supporters come from different backgrounds, professions, and generations, yet they share a common belief in the power of higher education to improve lives.
Their generosity created scholarships, supported research, strengthened academic programs, and expanded opportunities for future Catamounts. The stories below offer a glimpse into the people whose experiences inspired them to make UVM a philanthropic priority.
Opening Doors Back Home
In 2025, Carrie ’88, G’97 and Chris Teffner made a $1 million gift to establish the Teffner Family Scholarship, based on their strong belief that students shouldn't have to choose between opportunity and affordability. The scholarship will support students from Vermont with financial need who are pursuing a degree at the Grossman School of Business.
Medical Alumni Siblings Honor Parents with Gift
Richard Feins, M.D.’73, Anita Feins, M.D.’76, and Robert Feins, M.D.’78, cared for countless patients throughout their 30-year medical careers, ever cognizant that their parents’ support and encouragement had opened the door to their rewarding professional lives in service to others. Drs. Feins established the Ann and Melvin Feins Medical Education Scholarship to help gifted medical students with financial need gain access to the education their parents had made possible for them.
Rick Howard '68: Sixty years later, a scholarship still shapes a life
“Without the Wilbur Fund, I would have been unable to attend UVM, and probably no college at all,” Rick Howard '68 said recently by email. “As it was, my UVM education started me on the road that led to a PhD in chemistry, and massively changed my life.”
UVM Alumna’s Gift Opens Pathways to Nursing
Alison Gates Brown ’78, MPH, BSN and her husband, Ken Kolodner, ScD, made a gift to expand the scholarship they had established in 2024 to support students in the Direct Entry to Master of Science in Nursing Program at UVM’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences. This scholarship removes potential barriers to entry by addressing some of the challenges students face when pursuing a graduate degree.
Philanthropy in Action
A gift's impact is often only beginning when the gift is made. The real power of giving is how that gift is used to help people on campus. Below are several examples of how gifts were put to good use to help students and faculty in the past year.
UVM Grossman School of Business Debuts Vermont's First Business Co-op Program
Six University of Vermont Grossman School of Business students are stepping into full-time, paid Co-op roles at leading employers this January — marking the launch of Vermont’s first undergraduate business Co-op program.
UVM Invests Keith Klepeis as Inaugural Nelson-Mahan Green and Gold Professor
Keith Klepeis, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Geography and Geosciences, has been invested as the inaugural Nelson-Mahan Green and Gold Professor in Earth Sciences at the University of Vermont (UVM). UVM leadership and special guests, including founding donors Jeff Nelson ’83, M.S. ’92, and Paul Mahan, gathered on campus in the John Dewey Lounge in the Old Mill Building for the formal ceremony on October 7, 2025.
First-Gen Week 2025 Celebrates Resilience, Community, and a New Gift to Support Students
The Royer Fund for First-Generation Students, established through a generous gift from UVM alumna Christy Royer Violin ’99, will provide critical support for research, internships, graduate school preparation, and emergency needs.
UVM Is Supporting Statewide Literacy Transformation — and Philanthropy Is Accelerating It
When the University of Vermont’s College of Education and Social Services set out to strengthen literacy preparation for current and future teachers, the work had broad agreement about its importance. But it needed funding. A gift from the Sidney E. Frank Foundation provided it. And that made it possible to move faster, convene more partners from schools and state government, and dig deeper into the practices that help all children learn to read.
Alumni Stories
The UVM alumni community is more than 135,000 strong, and its members are making an impact in countless ways. From entrepreneurs and health care professionals to artists, educators, scientists, and community leaders, Catamounts are using their talents and experiences to improve the world around them. The stories below celebrate a diverse group of alumni whose journeys reflect the character, resilience, and spirit of the University of Vermont community.
Kerr Smith '94
After his groundbreaking role as Jack McPhee on the 90s cult-classic television show, Dawson’s Creek, Kerr Smith '94 became a licensed pilot, a brewmaster, and is on the brink of releasing his first book — a blend of memoir and tell-all on the famed show.
Erica Bruno Martin '09
Erica’s story almost didn’t become a UVM one at all. When she was looking at college as a teenager in 2005, UVM wasn’t really a contender. But her mom Denise had heard enough to suspect that her musical, creative, driven daughter would find a happy home as a Catamount – and convinced her to apply.
Lydia Kern ’15
When Lydia Kern '15 arrived at UVM, she was intent on social work. The joy of gathering resources and relationships into strong community felt natural. The semester before graduation, she experienced a profound loss. It redirected her path and reoriented her life towards art, a passion she had by then developed for years.
Michele Steckler '84
Michele Steckler ’84’s resume reads like an encyclopedia entry on the pantheon of 20th-century greats — to include Knee Plays, a collaboration between Robert Wilson and David Byrne, multiple tours across the world with the Philip Glass Ensemble — and she would ultimately land in the rehearsal halls of The Lion King, as Julie Taymor's production right-hand.
Together, these stories reflect the remarkable generosity, achievement, and spirit of the UVM community. Thank you to every donor, volunteer, advocate, and alumnus whose support continues to strengthen the University of Vermont. We look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead.
A Year of Impact: The UVM Community's Generosity in 2025-26
Kevin Morgenstein Fuerst
August 24, 2026