Name	University of Vermont
Image name	UVMsigillum.jpg
Motto	Studiis et Rebus Honestis (Latin)
Latin name	Universitas Viridis MontisUniversity of the Green Mountain
Mottoeng	For studies and other honest pursuits
Established	1791
Type	Public university
President	John Bramley (Interim President)
City	Burlington
State	Vermont
Country	United States
Undergrad	9,454
Postgrad	1,600 (incl. 410 medical)
Medical	415
Staff	1,185
2007tuition	$10,422 (Vermont)$26,306 (out-of-state)
Rm & board	$8,048
Endowment	$272 million
Campus	Burlington,450 acres (1.82 km²)
Colors	Green and Gold
Nickname	Catamounts
Athletics	NCAA Division I,9 men's varsity teams,11 women's UVM Athletics
Website	uvm.edu
Logo	}}

The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, more commonly known as the University of Vermont, is a public research university and, after 1862, the state of Vermont's land-grant university. The University is commonly known as "UVM," an abbreviation of its Latin name, Universitas Viridis Montis (University of the Green Mountains). UVM is one of the original eight Public Ivies.

Founded in 1791, UVM is among the oldest colleges in the United States and was the fifth college established in New England.

The university's campus is located in Burlington. Features of the UVM campus include the historic University Green, the Dudley H. Davis Center - the first student center in the nation to receive U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold certification - the Fleming Museum of Art, and the Gutterson/Patrick athletic complex, home to UVM's Division I athletic teams. The largest hospital complex in Vermont, Fletcher Allen Health Care, has its primary facility adjacent to the UVM campus and is affiliated with the UVM College of Medicine.

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History

The University of Vermont was founded as a private university, in 1791, the same year Vermont became the 14th state in the union. In 1865, the university merged with Vermont Agricultural College (chartered November 22, 1864, after the passage of the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act), emerging as the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College. Today, the university blends the traditions of both a private and public university. UVM draws 7 percent of its general fund (approximately 10 percent of its current operating budget) from the state and Vermont residents make up 35 percent of enrollment; 65 percent of students come from other states and countries.

Much of the initial funding and planning for the university was undertaken by Ira Allen, who is honored as UVM's founder. Allen donated a parcel of land for the University's establishment. Most of this land has been maintained as the university's main green, upon which stands a statue of Allen.

The citizens of Burlington helped fund the university's first edifice, and, when fire destroyed it in 1824, also paid for its replacement. This building came to be known as "Old Mill" for its resemblance to New England mills of the time. The Marquis de Lafayette, a French general who became a commander in the American Revolution, toured all 24 US states in 1824/5 and while in Vermont laid the cornerstone of Old Mill, which stands on University Row, along with Ira Allen Chapel, Billings Center, Williams Hall, Royall Tyler Theatre and Morrill Hall. A statue of Lafayette stands at the north end of the main green.

The University of Vermont has often led the way in demonstrating commitment to fairness and equality. It was the first American college or university with a charter plainly declaring that the "rules, regulations, and by-laws shall not tend to give preference to any religious sect or denomination whatsoever."

In addition, the university was an early advocate of both women's and African-Americans' participation in higher education. In 1871, UVM defied custom and admitted two women as students. Four years later, it was the first American university to admit women to full membership into Phi Beta Kappa, the country's oldest collegiate academic honor society. Likewise, in 1877, it initiated the first African-American into the society.

Justin Smith Morrill, a Representative (1855–1867) and Senator (1867–1898) from Vermont, author of the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act that created federal funding for establishing the US Land-Grant colleges and universities, served as a trustee of the university from 1865-1898.

Prior to 1970, UVM's winter carnival celebrations for many decades included a widely attended competition known as ''Kakewalk'' ("Walkin' fo' de cake"). The event involved males wearing bright suits and blackface performing athletic dance routines in imitation of Black minstrel shows. Greater awareness of and sensivity toward Black Americans promoted by the Civil Rights Movement led the University of Vermont to abolish Kakewalk in 1969.

Academics

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The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or schools.

Bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs are offered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Social Services, the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the Graduate College, the School of Business Administration, and The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.

The university's Division of Continuing Education offers certificate programs, a post-bac pre-medical series, credit courses for both degree and non-degree seeking students, and specialized training programs for businesses. Courses are presented in classroom, online, and/or interactive television formats.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) offers programs in animal science (early admission to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University is available); biochemistry; biological science; community entrepreneurship; community and international development; dietetics, nutrition and food sciences; ecological agriculture; environmental science; environmental studies; microbiology; molecular genetics; plant biology; public communication; and sustainable landscape horticulture. The college is also home to the Center for Rural Studies.

As a land grant college, UVM receives an annual grant under the Cooperative extension service to provide agricultural research services to the state of Vermont.

College of Arts and Sciences

UVM's schools and colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences offers 45 areas of study in the humanities, fine arts, social sciences, mathematics, natural and physcal sciences. Undergraduate majors include Anthropology, Art History, Asian Studies, Biochemistry, Biology, Canadian Studies, Chemistry, Chinese, Classical Civilization, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, English, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, European Studies, Film and Television Studies, French, Geography, Geology, German, Global Studies, Greek, History, Italian Studies, Japanese, Latin, Latin American Studies, Materials Science, Mathematics and Statistics, Music, Neuroscience, Philosophy, Physics, Plant Biology, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, Russian, Russian/East European Studies, Sociology, Spanish, Studio Art, Theatre, Women's and Gender Studies, and Zoology.

School of Business Administration

UVM's School of Business Administration is accredited by the AACSB International and offers concentrations in accounting, entrepreneurship, finance, human resource management, international management, management and the environment, management information systems, marketing, and production and operations management.

The School of Business Administration also offers graduate programs, including a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy.

College of Education and Social Services

UVM's College of Education and Social Services offers teacher education, early childhood development and social work studies.

The College comprises the Department of Integrated Professional Services, Department of Education, Department of Social Work, and the Center on Disability and Community Inclusion. Studies leading to a masters degree or doctorate are offered.

College of Engineering and Mathematics

In the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS), the phrase "in service to humanity" has become the organizing principle for all programs of study: engineering, computer science and mathematics. Indeed, a sense of social relevance and social responsibility is pervasive throughout the College. The College is composed of vibrant departments and programs, all working together in an interdisciplinary manner.

CEMS is home to one school, the School of Engineering, two academic departments, the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and two research centers — the Complex Systems Center and the Vermont Advanced Computing Center.

The College has about 750 undergraduate students, 150 graduate students and 85 faculty members.

College of Medicine

In 1804, John Pomeroy began teaching students in his house in Burlington, as the first medical department at a State College or University. In 1822, the College of Medicine was established as the seventh medical college in the United States, founded by Pomeroy and the medical educator Nathan Smith.

UVM enrolls approximately 100 medical students in each class; there are approximately 400 medical students total. Fletcher Allen Health Care is the primary clinical site of clinical education. Additional training takes place at the affiliated Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine.

The UVM College of Medicine currently ranks 4th for overall quality in primary care training among the country’s top 125 medical schools according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 graduate school rankings.

Charles A. Dana Medical Library

The largest medical library in Vermont, the Charles A. Dana Library is the Vermont Resource Library of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and serves the information needs of the Academic Health Center at the University of Vermont. The Academic Health Center is composed of the faculty, staff and students at UVM's College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, as well as the physicians and other health care providers at Fletcher Allen Health Care. The Library also meets the health sciences information needs of the University of Vermont’s undergraduate and graduate programs and is open to the citizens of the state of Vermont with health sciences information questions.

College of Nursing and Health Sciences

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences at UVM comprises four departments: Nursing, the Medical Laboratory and Radiation Sciences, Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Rehabilitation and Movement. Students in the college major in Athletic Training, exercise and movement sciences, medical laboratory science, nuclear medicine techonology, nursing, or radiation therapy, or they prepare to enter a doctorate of physical therapy program.

Honors College

The Honors College sponsors opportunities for students to participate in co-curricular programs and extracurricular activities — special symposia, dinners with visiting scholars, trips to museums and theaters in Montreal and Boston.

Faculty is selected from throughout the university to participate in the Honors College as lecturers in a first-year ethics course and advanced seminars, participants in reading groups, speakers at the Plenary Lecture Series, and mentors to honors students conducting research.

Through a required ethics course, small seminars, informal gatherings, and special research projects, students work alongside scholars from a section of the university's academic disciplines in the humanities, the sciences, engineering, nursing, medicine, education, business and more.

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources

The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources seeks to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of ecological and social processes and values aimed at maintaining the integrity of natural systems and achieving a sustainable human community in harmony with the natural environment.

In 2007, the university won a $6.7 million grant to research the pollution problems of Lake Champlain.

Financial

Undergraduate tuition for the 2010-11 academic year was set by the university's board of trustees at $26,274 for Vermont residents; $45,188 for out-of-state residents, including room and board (average: $9,675). The University of Vermont has the highest in-state tuition of all State Universities.

The university's total operating budget was $571 million in fiscal year 2008-09. In June 2009 UVM's endowment was $269 million.

Athletics

The athletic teams at UVM are known as the Vermont Catamounts. The university offers 20 varsity sports. Women's teams include basketball, cross-country, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, swimming and diving, and track and field (indoor and outdoor). Men's teams include basketball, cross-country, ice hockey, lacrosse, skiing, soccer, and track and field (indoor and outdoor), and the teams are known as the Catamounts. All teams compete at the NCAA Division I level. Most teams compete in the America East Conference. Men's and women's hockey teams compete in the Hockey East Association. The alpine and Nordic ski teams compete in the E.I.S.A. (Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association).

UVM’s athletic teams have won five straight America East Academic Cups (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) for the best overall combined GPA among its student-athletes. UVM is the first school in the America East Conference to win three straight years and four times overall.

The UVM ski team has won six national championships and 31 EISA titles.[10]. The team has had 52 individual national champions, over 273 All-Americans, and 66 US Ski Team members.

UVM’s men's hockey team has produced 14 NHL players in its history. UVM alumni currently in the NHL include Viktor Stålberg '09 (Chicago Blackhawks), Torrey Mitchell '07 (San Jose Sharks), Patrick Sharp '02 (Chicago Blackhawks), Martin St. Louis '97 (Tampa Bay Lightning), Éric Perrin '97 (Atlanta Thrashers), Brayden Irwin '10 (Toronto Maple Leafs), and Tim Thomas '97 (Boston Bruins). St. Louis, Perrin, Sharp, Thomas and former NHL All-Star John LeClair '91 won the Stanley Cup in their careers. In 2004, St. Louis was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's MVP, the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer, the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's most outstanding player in the regular season as judged by the members of the NHL Players Association, and the Bud Light Plus/Minus award. Thomas was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender in 2009 and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. UVM is the only NCAA program in history to count alumni who have won both the Hart Trophy and the Vezina Trophy, as well as the only NCAA program to generate an Art Ross winner.

Highlights of the past two varsity athletic seasons include the men's hockey teams trip to the Frozen Four in 2009 and Women's and Men's basketball teams league wins and advance to the 2010 NCAA tournament.

The men's and women's basketball programs have produced over 20 professional players who have continued their careers overseas. Between 2003-2007 the men's basketball team made five consecutive trips to the America East Championship game and won the title three straight years from 2003-2005. In 2005 the 13th seeded UVM men's basketball team defeated 4th seeded Big East champion Syracuse University 60-57 in the opening round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, their first ever win in the tournament. In 2007 UVM Men's beat then 13th ranked Boston College in regular season play. In 2010 the men's and women's team both won the America East Championship both earning a spot in the NCAA Basketball Tournament The men's lost to #1 Syracuse but the women's upset #7 Wisconsin and moved on to the second round losing to #2 Notre Dame

In 2007, the UVM men's soccer team won the America East Conference title.

Thirty-six former UVM athletes have competed in 16 Olympic Games (13 winter, 3 summer) and combined have won six Olympic medals.

UVM sponsors several club sports teams. UVM crew competes in the Head of the Charles Regatta and Dad Vail Regatta. The Cycling Team competes against other collegiate varsity teams. The UVM Sailing Team was competitively ranked 8th in the nation as of November 15, 2009.

The University of Vermont discontinued participating in football in 1974. In 2007, a club football team began participating in the Northeast Independent Football League (NIFL) Semi Pro Football League. In 2008, the club team will play an independent Division III Junior Varsity schedule. Since 2007 home games have been played at Burlington High School

There have been 32 Catamount baseball players that continued their playing careers with MLB programs including Kirk McCaskill who won 110 games during his Major League career. Prior to the cuts of 2009, Vermont baseball was the winningest program at Vermont with a .532 winning percentage (1485-1306).

In the winter of 2009, college president Dan Fogel announced that after the 2009 season, the UVM baseball and softball teams would be cut in order to bridge a severe budget gap the college was facing. Proposed budgets for 2009-2010 show much of the money from the cut programs has been re-allocated to Women's hockey, men's lacrosse, and women's lacrosse programs.

Arts

UVM's Lane Performing Arts Series and Music Department sponsor instrumental and choral performances featuring national and international performers throughout the year. The Royall Tyler Theatre presents theater productions on its mainstage, often featuring Equity actors along with student talent. In addition to the Department of Theatre's three mainstage shows each year, a group of student-directed one acts, and ''The Toys Take Over Christmas,'' a holiday tradition in Burlington, are also performed. Past mainstage shows have included have been ''Godspell'' (2009); ''Compleat Female Stage Beauty'' (2008); ''The Miss Firecracker Contest'', ''Found a Peanut'', and ''La Ronde'' (2007); ''Ring Round the Moon'', ''The Underpants'', and ''Macbeth'' (2006); ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', ''Beyond Therapy'', and ''Hair'' (2005); ''The Art of Dining'', Anouilh's ''Antigone'', and ''Rumors'' (2004); and ''Remember the Children: Terezin'' and ''Metamorphoses'' (2003).

The Robert Hull Fleming Museum is the university's museum. Its permanent collection includes a variety of works of art as well as anthropological and ethnographic artifacts. The Museum also features various visiting exhibits and special events.

The Vermont Mozart Festival developed at UVM and its first festivals were held at UVM. The festival was incorporated as an independent non-profit organization in 1976 but retains ties to UVM.

Student life

Student clubs and organizations, totaling more than 100, span student interests and receive sponsorship from the Student Government Association. Clubs with longstanding history and the largest memberships include: Volunteers in Action, the UVM Outing Club, Ski & Snowboard Club. Hillel also has a strong presence on the UVM campus.

UVM has a long history of student activism. There are many student organizations with focuses in social and environmental justice, attempting to make change both at UVM, as well as around the world.

Student-Run Organizations

UVM V-Day Campaign

Black Student Union

Bike Users Group (BUG)

Club Hockey

UVM Cheerleading Team

UVM Cycling Team UVM Sailing Team Alpha Phi Omega Co-ed National Service Fraternity

UVM Concerts Bureau (formally known as S.A. Concerts)

Free 2 Be (UVM's LGBT student group)

Student Labor Action Project

Translating Identity Conference

Slow Foods

Slade Garden Club

UVM Computer Science Student Association

UVM Fly Fishing Club

Alianza Latina

UVM Law Club

UVM Investment Club

UVM Outing Club

UVM Horticulture Club

UVM Hillel

Asian American Student Union

UVM Ski & Snowboard Club UVM Women's Club Ice Hockey Team

UVM Shooting Sports Club

UVM Club Swimming

UVM Club Football (Started in 2007)

UVM Rescue

UVM Climbing Club

Students for True Animal Rights

UVMtv Station (Channels 2,12)

Vermont Gymnastics Club

UVM Taekwondo Club

Vermont Student Environmental Program (VSTEP)

Vermont Students for Israel

Vermont Students For Compton

Catamount Dance Crew

Celtic Cats (Irish dancing club)

UVM SASS (Salsa And Swing Society)

UVM Running Club

Urban Flava Step Team

UVM Juggling Club

UVM Quidditch

UVM Rugby

UVM Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

WRUV FM Burlington 90.1

UVM Triathlon Club

UVM Racquetball Club

UVM Women's Volleyball Club

UVM Men's Volleyball Club

UVM Club Baseball

UVM Men's Ultimate Frisbee

Salle Catamount (Fencing Club)

Orchesis Dance Company

Sustainability

UVM's sustainability initiatives are developed and implemented through the Office of Sustainability. UVM is currently developing a proposal for the Lewis Foundation to transform the University into a “a driving force that leads society by design to a sustainable and desirable future.”

The University of Vermont has an active environmental council, and the sustainability staff include a full-time environmental coordinator and a green building coordinator. In 2006, two students led a drive to change university policy so that all copier paper would be 100% recycled and chlorine–free. Recently, UVM started operating 2 new buses on compressed natural gas. Because of these innovative initiatives and others, the Sustainable Endowments Institute gave the University of Vermont an “A-” on its College Sustainability Report Card 2008.

The Lawrence Debate Union

The university's debate team, which competes in both the American Policy Debate and British Parliamentary debate formats, is one of the oldest organizations on campus, and receives funding from a private grant. The Lawrence Debate Union has sent students abroad to promote cultural understanding. In 2007, students traveled to Slovenia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The school has also sent students to the World Universities Debate Championship in Ireland, Turkey, and Botswana, breaking into elimination rounds in 2011. Domestically, the LDU has also won the title for Northeast Universities Debating Sweepstakes champion for the past four years, and is currently ranked in the top 100 schools for British Parliamentary debate in the world. It encourages participation for all UVM students, and sponsors public debates at UVM and for the Burlington community.

Concerts

The UVM Concerts Bureau (formally known as S.A. Concerts) is responsible for bringing live musical entertainment to the UVM community. SA Concerts features acts from across the country as well as local bands. The SGA funded club comprises an elected bureau of students who learn about the various aspects of the music industry by putting on shows and working with local sound and production professionals. Students are in charge of choosing and booking bands and are responsible for all production aspects on the day of show.

UVM Concert Bureau was established in 1971 and has brought in artists such as R.E.M., Phish (whose members attended UVM in the 1980s), Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sting, Lou Reed, Primus, The String Cheese Incident, James Brown, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers Band, Death Cab for Cutie, Jurassic 5, the Disco Biscuits, The Grateful Dead, Guster, and the The Flaming Lips.

Since 2001, UVM Concerts Bureau, has organized an annual festival known as SpringFest, held in April. SpringFest headliners have included Vida Blue, The Roots, Cake, Keller Williams, Gov't Mule, co-headliners Robert Randolph & the Family Band and Ziggy Marley, and in 2008, Talib Kweli. Other acts to perform at various SpringFests have included The Meditations, Toots & the Maytals, Soulive, Rjd2, Apollo Sunshine, Ratatat in 2009, MSTRKRFT in 2010, and The Roots and Thievery Coroporation (DJ Set) in 2011.

Publications

''The Vermont Cynic'', a weekly student newspaper

''The Water Tower'', an alternative weekly student newspaper

''The View'', UVM's University Communications Department

''Vermont Quarterly'' a quarterly publication of the UVM Office of Alumni

Proverbium: Yearbook of International Proverb Scholarship

Greek life

The University of Vermont Greek Community is one of the oldest in the nation with the first fraternal organization starting in 1836. The 5 pillar values of the University of Vermont Greek community are citizenship, leadership, lifelong learning, friendship, and cornerstone value is social justice. The University of Vermont values its Greek Community for their strong commitment to collaboration and relationship building. Over 8% of students at UVM join a Greek Life organizations. Fraternity and sorority members are very involved on campus in roles including Student Government (SGA), Orientation Leaders, Advocat and Residence Assistants

Fraternities

Alpha Delta Phi Society (Co-Ed)

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Alpha Epsilon Pi

Pi Kappa Alpha

Sigma Phi Society

Alpha Gamma Rho

Phi Gamma Delta

Kappa Sigma

Phi Delta Theta

Delta Tau Delta

Phi Mu Delta

Sororities

Alpha Delta Pi

Alpha Chi Omega

Pi Beta Phi

Delta Delta Delta

Kappa Alpha Theta

Omicron Lambda Pi

Lambda Theta Alpha

Notable alumni and graduates

Ben Affleck, actor, writer, and film director; dropped out after one semester.

Jack Arute, ABC and ESPN sideline reporter.

Consuelo Northrup Bailey, first woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; first woman to serve as speaker of the Vermont House; and the first woman in the nation to be elected Lieutenant Governor (1955–1959). Vice-chair of the Republican National Committee from 1952 to 1956.

Donald H. Balch, U.S. Air Force general

Dierks Bentley, country music artist.

Frank M. Bryan, Professor of Political Science

Pedro Albizu Campos (1912–1913), Puerto Rican political leader, orator, lawyer and humanist; was either President or Honorary President of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death in 1965.

Ray Collins, Class of 1908, Boston Red Sox pitcher (1909–15) and later coached for UVM.

Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States 1923-1929.

John Dewey, Class of 1879, Pragmatist philosopher and educator.

Julius Yemans Dewey, Physician, Founder of the National Life Insurance Company. Father of the only Admiral of the Navy in US history, George Dewey.

Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie; Vermont's 85th Lieutenant Governor, 2002-2010.

David Franzoni, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter.

Brian Halligan, CEO and co-founder of HubSpot and author

H. H. Holmes, American serial killer, dropped out after one year

Abdul W. Haqiqi, Afghan American economist.

Billy Kidd, alpine ski racer, 1964 Olympic silver medalist, raced for UVM before joining the U.S. Ski Team.

Madeleine Kunin, former Governor of Vermont; former US Ambassador to Switzerland; former Deputy Secretary of Education, US Dept. of Education

John LeClair, member of the 1992-93 Stanley Cup winning Montreal Canadiens. Has three 50 goals seasons in the NHL. Former member of the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Rollie Massimino, Class of 1956. Led the Villanova University Men's Basketball team to the 1985 National Championship.

Kirk McCaskill, Major League pitcher for the California Angels and Chicago White Sox, and only Major League baseball player from UVM in the last half-century.

Henry Farnham Perkins (1877–1956) was an American zoologist and eugenicist.

Éric Perrin, an NHL forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won the Stanley Cup in 2004.

Susan Powers, American folk artist.

E. Annie Proulx, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ''The Shipping News'' and ''Brokeback Mountain''.

Henry Jarvis Raymond, Co-Founder of the New York Times and Harper's New Monthly Magazine

Ryen Russillo, ESPN radio

Patrick Sharp, hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks

Kerr Smith, actor best known for playing Jack McPhee on the television drama ''Dawson's Creek''

Martin St. Louis, three-time NCAA All-American winger. Four-time NHL All-Star and NHL Hart Trophy winner.

Gail Sheehy, author

Tim Thomas, goaltender and two-time Vezina Trophy winner for the Boston Bruins.

William Almon Wheeler, Vice-President of the United States attended for two years

Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate for leading international action to ban landmines

Trey Anastasio, Guitarist for Phish; did not graduate.

Jessica Seinfeld, author and cook

James O'Halloran, Canadian politician

Torrey Mitchell, NHL center for the San Jose Sharks.

References

External links

Official Website

Official Athletics website

University of Vermont Category:Land-grant universities and colleges Category:Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities Category:Educational institutions established in the 1790s Category:New England Association of Schools and Colleges Category:Education in Chittenden County, Vermont Category:Visitor attractions in Chittenden County, Vermont Category:Buildings and structures in Burlington, Vermont

de:University of Vermont es:Universidad de Vermont fa:دانشگاه ورمانت fr:Université du Vermont it:Università del Vermont la:Universitas Viridimontana nl:University of Vermont ja:バーモント大学 no:University of Vermont pl:University of Vermont ru:Вермонтский университет simple:University of Vermont sv:University of Vermont vi:Đại học Vermont

Vermont () (local proununciation similar to [vər'm̃aʔ]) is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England state not bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermont's western border, which it shares with the state of New York. The Green Mountains are within the state. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north.

Originally inhabited by two major Native American tribes (the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and the Iroquois), much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France in the early colonial period. France ceded the territory to the Kingdom of Great Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years' War (also called the French and Indian War). For many years, the nearby colonies, especially New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area (then called the New Hampshire Grants). Settlers who held land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded in 1777, during the Revolutionary War, it lasted for fourteen years. Vermont is one of seventeen U.S. states (along with Texas, Hawaii, the brief California Republic, and each of the original Thirteen Colonies) that each once had a sovereign government. In 1791, Vermont joined the United States as the fourteenth state, the first outside the original Thirteen Colonies. It abolished slavery while independent and upon joining the Union became the first state to have done so.

Vermont is the leading producer of maple syrup in the United States. The state capital is Montpelier, which with 7,705 people is the least-populated state capital in the country. Its most populous city is Burlington, which has a metro population of 211,261 residents.

Geography

Vermont is located in the New England region in the eastern United States and comprises , making it the 45th-largest state. Land comprises and water comprises , making it the 43rd-largest in land area and the 47th in water area. In total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti. Vermont is the smallest landlocked U.S. state.

The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern (New Hampshire) border of the state (the river is part of New Hampshire). Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is long. Its greatest width, from east to west, is at the Canadian border; the narrowest width is at the Massachusetts line. The state's geographic center is Washington, three miles (5 km) east of Roxbury. There are fifteen US federal border crossings between Vermont and Canada.

The origin of the name "Vermont" is uncertain, but likely comes from the French ''les Verts Monts'', meaning "the Green Mountains". Thomas Young introduced it in 1777. Some authorities say that the mountains were called green because they were more forested than the higher White Mountains of New Hampshire and Adirondacks of New York; others say that the predominance of mica-quartz-chlorite schist, a green-hued metamorphosed shale, is the reason. The Green Mountain range forms a north–south spine running most of the length of the state, slightly west of its center. In the southwest portion of the state are the Taconic Mountains; the Granitic Mountains are in the northeast. In the northwest, near Lake Champlain, is the fertile Champlain Valley. In the south of the valley is Lake Bomoseen.

Several mountains have timberlines with delicate year-round alpine ecosystems, including Mount Mansfield, the highest mountain in the state; Killington Peak, the second-highest; Camel's Hump, the state's third-highest; and Mount Abraham, the fifth-highest peak. About 77 percent of the state is covered by forest; the rest is covered in meadow, uplands, lakes, ponds, and swampy wetlands.

Areas in Vermont administered by the National Park Service include the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (in Woodstock) and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Cities

Cities (2010 census population): {{Bar graph | title = Largest cities, 2010 Census | data_max = 45,000 | bar_width = 30 | width_units = em | table_style = font-size: 95% | label_type = City | data_type = Population | label1 = Burlington | data1 = 42,417 | label2 = South Burlington | data2 = 17,904 | label3 = Rutland | data3 = 16,495 | label4 = Barre | data4 = 9,052 | label5 = Montpelier | data5 = 7,855 | label6 = Winooski | data6 = 7,267 | label7 = St. Albans | data7 = 6,918 }}

Largest towns

Although these towns are large enough to be considered cities, they are not incorporated as such.

Largest towns (2010 census population): {{Bar graph | title = Largest towns, 2010 Census | data_max = 45,000 | bar_width = 30 | width_units = em | table_style = font-size: 95% | label_type = City | data_type = Population | label1 = Essex | data1 = 19,587 | label2 = Colchester | data2 = 17,067 | label3 = Bennington | data3 = 15,764 | label4 = Brattleboro | data4 = 12,046 | label5 = Milton | data5 = 10,352 | label6 = Hartford | data6 = 9,952 | label7 = Springfield | data7 = 9,373 | label8 = Williston | data8 = 8,698 | label9 = Middlebury | data9 = 8,496 | label10 = Barre | data10 = 7,924 | label11 = St. Johnsbury | data11 = 7,603 | label12 = Shelburne | data12 = 7,144

}}

Climate

Vermont has a humid continental climate, with warm, humid summers and cold winters that are colder at higher elevations. It has a Köppen climate classification of Dfb, similar to Minsk, Stockholm, and Fargo.

Vermont is known for its mud season in spring, followed by a generally mild early summer, hot Augusts, a colorful autumn, and its particularly cold winters; the rural northeastern section (dubbed the "Northeast Kingdom") often averages 10 °F (5.56 °C) colder than the southern areas of the state during winter. The annual snowfall averages between to depending on elevation. The annual mean temperature for the state is . It is the seventh coldest state in the country.

In the autumn, Vermont's hills display red, orange, and gold foliage displayed on the sugar maple as cold weather approaches. This display of color is not due so much to the presence of a particular variant of the sugar maple; rather, it is caused by a number of soil and climate conditions unique to the area.

The highest recorded temperature was , at Vernon, on July 4, 1911; the lowest recorded temperature was , at Bloomfield, on December 30, 1933; this is the lowest temperature recorded in New England (Big Black River, Maine, also recorded a verified in 2009). The agricultural growing season ranges from 120 to 180 days.

The USDA Plant hardiness zones for the state range between zone 3b (no colder than ) in the Northeast Kingdom and northern part of the state, to zone 5b (no colder than ) in the southern part of the state.

The state receives between 2,000 and 2,400 hours of sunshine annually.

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Geology

There are five distinct physiographic regions of Vermont. Categorized by geological and physical attributes, they are the Northeastern Highlands, the Green Mountains, the Taconic Mountains, the Champlain Lowlands, and the Vermont Piedmont.

About 500 million years ago Vermont was part of Laurentia and located in the tropics.

The central and southern Green Mountain range include the oldest rocks in Vermont, formed about one billion years ago during the first mountain building period (or orogeny). Subsequently, about years ago, the second mountain building period created Green Mountain peaks that were tall, three to four times their current height and comparable to the Himalayas. The geological pressures that created those peaks remain evident as the Champlain Thrust, running north–south to the west of the mountains (now the eastern shore of Lake Champlain). It is an example of geological fault thrusting where bedrock is pushed over the newer rock formation.

As a result of tectonic formation, Vermont east of the Green Mountains tends to be formed from rocks produced in the Silurian and Devonian periods. Western Vermont mainly from the older Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian material.

Several large deposits within the state contain granite. The Rock of Ages Quarry in Barre is one of the leading exporters of granite in the country. The work of the trained sculptors of this corporation can be seen only down the road at the Hope Cemetery, where gravestones and mausoleums can be seen.

Some buildings in Germany, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi are constructed almost primarily of Vermont granite. There are eight different colors of granite including: Barre Gray, Bethel White, Galactic Blue, Salisbury Pink, American Black, Gardenia White, Laurentian Pink, and Stanstead grey.

The remains of the Chazy Formation can be observed in Isle La Motte. It was one of the first tropical reefs. It is the site of the limestone Fisk Quarry, which contains a collection of ancient marine fossils such as stromatoporoids. These fossils date back to years ago. It is believed that at one point, Vermont was connected to Africa (Pangaea) and the fossils found and the rock formations found on the coasts in both Africa and America are further evidence of the Pangaea theory.

In the past four centuries, Vermont has experienced a few earthquakes rarely centered under Vermont, the highest being a Richter magnitude scale 6.0 in 1952.

Natural history

Vermont is in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome. Much of the state, in particular the Green Mountains, is covered by the conifers and northern hardwoods of the New England-Acadian forests. The western border with New York and the area around Lake Champlain lies within the Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests. The southwest corner of the state and parts of the Connecticut River are covered by Northeastern coastal forests of mixed oak.

The state contains 41 species of reptiles and amphibians, 89 species of fish, of which 12 are non-native; 193 species of breeding birds, 58 species of mammals, more than 15,000 insect species, and 2,000 higher plant species, plus fungi, algae, and 75 different types of natural communities.

Vermont contains one species of venomous snake, the Eastern timber rattlesnake, which is confined to a few acres in western Rutland County.

By the mid-19th century, wild turkeys were exterminated in the state through overhunting and destruction of habitat. Sixteen were re-introduced in 1969 and had grown to an estimated flock of 45,000 in 2009.

Since 1970, reduction of farmland has resulted in reduced environment, and reduced numbers for various shrubland birds including the American woodcock, brown thrasher, Eastern towhee, willow flycatcher, golden-winged warbler, blue-winged warbler, field sparrow, and Baltimore oriole.

Invasive wild honeysuckle has been deemed a threat to the state's forests, native species of plants, and wildlife.

DDT destroyed the eggshells of ospreys which resulted in their disappearance from the state. This species began reviving in 1998. As of 2010, they were no longer endangered in the state.

White-nose syndrome killed an estimated two-thirds of all cave-wintering bats in the state from 2008 to 2010.

Many of Vermont's rivers, including the Winooski River, have been subjected to man-made barriers to prevent flooding.

History

Pre-Columbian

Between 8500 to 7000 BC, at the time of the Champlain Sea, Native Americans inhabited and hunted in Vermont. During the Archaic period, from the 8th millennium BC to 1000 BC, Native Americans migrated year-round. During the Woodland period, from 1000 BC to AD 1600, villages and trade networks were established, and ceramic and bow and arrow technology was developed. In pre-Columbian Vermont. In the western part of the state there lived a small population of Algonquian-speaking tribes, including the Mohican and Abenaki peoples. Sometime between 1500 and 1600, the Iroquois drove many of the smaller native tribes out of Vermont, later using the area as a hunting ground and warring with the remaining Abenaki. The population in 1500 was estimated to be around 10,000 people.

Colonial

The first European to see Vermont is thought to have been Jacques Cartier in 1535. On July 30, 1609 French explorer Samuel de Champlain claimed Vermont as part of New France, and erected Fort Lamotte in 1666 which was the first European settlement in Vermont.

In 1638, a "violent" earthquake was felt throughout New England, centered in the St. Lawrence Valley. This was the first seismic event noted in Vermont.

In 1690, a group of Dutch-British settlers from Albany established a settlement and trading post at Chimney Point west of present-day Addison.

The first permanent British settlement was established in 1724, with the construction of Fort Dummer protecting the nearby settlements of Dummerston and Brattleboro.

From 1731 to 1734, the French constructed Fort St. Frédéric which gave the French control of the New France/Vermont frontier region in the Lake Champlain Valley. With the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754, the French began construction of Fort Carillon at present-day Ticonderoga, New York in 1755. The British failed to take Fort St. Frédéric or Fort Carillon between 1755 and 1758. In 1759, a combined force of 12,000 British regular and provincial troops under Sir Jeffery Amherst captured Carillon, after which the French abandoned Fort St. Frédéric. Amherst then constructed Fort Crown Point next to the remains of the Fort St. Frédéric, securing British control over the area.

Following France's loss in the French and Indian War, the 1763 Treaty of Paris gave control of the land to the British. Colonial settlement was limited by the crown to lands east of the Appalachians, and Vermont was divided nearly in half in a jagged line running from Fort William Henry in Lake George diagonally north-eastward to Lake Memphremagog. The end of the war brought new settlers to Vermont. Ultimately, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York all claimed this frontier area.

On March 20, 1764, King George III established the boundary between New Hampshire and New York along the west bank of the Connecticut River, north of Massachusetts, and south of 45 degrees north latitude. When New York refused to recognize land titles known as the New Hampshire Grants (towns created by land grants sold by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth), dissatisfied colonists organized in opposition, which led to the creation of independent Vermont on January 15, 1777. In 1770, Ethan Allen, his brothers Ira and Levi, and Seth Warner recruited an informal militia, known as the Green Mountain Boys, to protect the interests of the original New Hampshire settlers against the new migrants from New York.

Independence and statehood

On January 15, 1777, representatives of the New Hampshire Grants declared the independence of Vermont. For the first six months of its existence, it was called The Republic of New Connecticut.

On June 2, 1777, a second convention of 72 delegates met to adopt the name "Vermont." This was on the advice of a friendly Pennsylvanian who wrote to them on how to achieve admission into the newly independent United States as the 14th state. On July 4, the Constitution of Vermont was drafted at the Windsor Tavern; it was adopted by the delegates on July 8. This was among the first written constitutions in North America and was indisputably the first to abolish the institution of slavery, provide for universal adult male suffrage, and require support of public schools. It was in effect from 1777 to 1791. Slavery was banned again by state law on November 25, 1858.

Revolutionary War

The Battle of Bennington, fought on August 16, 1777, was a seminal event in the history of the state of Vermont.

A combined American force, under General Stark's command, attacked the British column at Hoosick, New York, just across the border from Bennington and killed or captured virtually the entire British detachment. General Burgoyne never recovered from this loss and eventually surrendered the remainder of his 6,000-man force at Saratoga, New York, on October 17.

The Battles of Bennington and Saratoga are recognized as the turning point in the Revolutionary War because they were the first major defeat of a British army. The anniversary of the battle is still celebrated in Vermont as a legal holiday.

The Battle of Hubbardton (July 7, 1777) was the only battle in present day Vermont and though the Continental forces were technically defeated, the British forces were damaged to the point that they did not pursue the Americans (retreating from Fort Ticonderoga) any further.

Statehood and the antebellum era

Vermont continued to govern itself as a sovereign entity based in the eastern town of Windsor for fourteen years. The independent state of Vermont issued its own coinage from 1785 to 1788 and operated a statewide postal service. Thomas Chittenden was the Governor in 1778–1789 and in 1790–1791. The state was obliged to solve conflicting property ownership disputes with New Yorkers. In 1791, Vermont joined the Federal union as the fourteenth state, and the first to enter the Union after the original thirteen colonies.

Vermont had a unicameral legislature until 1836.

The mid-1850s onwards saw a transition from Vermonters mostly favoring slavery's containment, to a far more serious opposition to the institution, producing the Radical Republican and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens. While the Whig Party shriveled, and the Republican Party emerged, Vermont strongly trended in support of its candidates. In 1860 it voted for President Abraham Lincoln, giving him the largest margin of victory of any state.

The Civil War

During the American Civil War, Vermont sent more than 34,000 men into United States service. Almost 5,200 Vermonters, 15 percent, were killed or mortally wounded in action or died of disease, a higher percentage than any other state.

The northernmost land action of the war, the St. Albans Raid, took place in Vermont.

Postbellum era and beyond

The first election in which women were allowed to vote was on December 18, 1880, when women were granted limited suffrage and were first allowed to vote in town elections, and then in state legislative races.

Large-scale flooding occurred in early November 1927. During this incident, 84 people died including the state's lieutenant-governor. Another flood occurred in 1973, causing the death of two people and millions of dollars in property damage.

In 1964, the US Supreme Court decision in Reynolds v. Sims that forced "one-man, one-vote" redistricting on all states required large changes in Vermont, giving cities an equitable share of votes in both houses for the entire country. Until that time, counties had often been represented by area in state senates and were often unsympathetic to possible solutions to urban problems that would increase taxes.

Demographics

Population

The center of population of Vermont is located in Washington County, in the town of Warren.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2005, Vermont has an estimated population of 623,050, which is an increase of 1,817, or 0.3 percent, from the prior year and an increase of 14,223, or 2.3 percent, since 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 7,148 people (33,606 births minus 26,458 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 7,889 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 4,359 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 3,530 people. As of 2009, 47.8% of Vermont's population was born outside the state, with first and second-generation Vermonters representing a majority of the population.

Vermont is the least populous state in New England. In 2006 it had the second lowest birthrate in the nation, 42/1000 women. The median age of the work force was 42.3, the highest in the nation.

In 2009, 12.6 percent of people over 15 were divorced. This was the fifth highest percentage in the nation.

Race and gender

thumb|right|300px|Vermont Population Density Map Vermont's population is:

50.8% female

49.2% male

Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Vermont ranks:

2nd highest proportion of non-Hispanic Whites (94.3%)

2nd oldest median age

41st highest proportion of Asians (1.3%)

49th highest proportion of Hispanics (1.5%)

48th highest proportion of Blacks (1.0%)

29th highest proportion of Native Americans (0.4%)

39th highest proportion of people of mixed race (1.7%)

28th highest proportion of males (49.2%)

24th highest proportion of females (50.8%)

The above percentages are from the 2010 Census.

Ethnicity and language

The largest ancestry groups are:

23.9% French or French Canadian 18.6% English 17.9% Irish 10.3% German 7.5% Italian 7.0% American 5.0% Scottish 3.9% Polish 2.7% Scotch Irish 1.9% Swedish 1.6% Dutch 1.4% Russian 1.4% Welsh

Residents of British ancestry (especially English) live throughout most of Vermont. The northern part of the state maintains a significant percentage of people of French-Canadian ancestry. Some vestiges of a Vermont accent are heard but the population has become more homogenized around American standard English in recent years.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 2.54 percent of the population aged five and older speak French at home, while 1 percent speak Spanish.

Religion

{| style="float:right;" class="wikitable" |+Religious identification |- !Religion !1990 !2001 !2008 |- |Christian |84% |style="background:PeachPuff;"|67% |style="background:PeachPuff;"|55% |- |    Roman Catholic |37% |style="background:PaleGreen;"|38% |style="background:PeachPuff;"|26% |- |    Protestant |47% |style="background:PeachPuff;"|29% |29% |- |        Congregational/United        Church of Christ | |6% | |- |       Methodist | |6% | |- |        Episcopal | |4% | |- |        Other Christian | |4% | |- |        Baptist | |3% | |- |        Other Protestant | |2% | |- |        Assemblies of God | |1% | |- |        Evangelical | |1% | |- |        Seventh-day Adventist | |1% | |- |        Non-Denominational | |1% | |- |Other religions |3% |style="background:PeachPuff;"|2% |style="background:PaleGreen;"|4% |- |No religion |13% |style="background:PaleGreen;"|22% |style="background:PaleGreen;"|34% |- |Declined to answer |1% |8% |6% |} In 2008 over half of Vermont residents identified themselves as Christians. The largest single religious body in the state is the Roman Catholic Church. According to the ARDA in 2000, the Catholic Church had 147,918 members.

Almost one-third of Vermonters were self-identified Protestants. The Congregational United Church of Christ is the largest Protestant denomination (21,597) and Vermont has the largest percentage of this denomination of any state. The number of congregations of the United Church of Christ (149) was larger than the number of Catholic congregations (133).

The second largest Protestant denomination is the United Methodist Church with 19,000 members; followed by Episcopalians, "other" Christians, and Baptists.

Twenty-four percent of Vermonters attended church regularly. This low is matched nationally only by New Hampshire.

In 2008, 34 percent of Vermonters claimed no religion; this is the highest percentage in the nation. A survey suggested that people in Vermont and New Hampshire which were polled jointly, were less likely to attend weekly services and are less likely to believe in God (54 percent) than people in the rest of the nation (71 percent). The two states were at the lowest levels among states in religious commitment. About 23 percent of the respondents attended religious service at least once a week (39 percent nationally). Thirty-six percent said religion is very important to them (56 percent nationally).

Joseph Smith, Jr. and Brigham Young—the first two leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—were both born in Vermont. A memorial to Joseph Smith, at his birthplace in Sharon, is maintained by the LDS church and draws about 70,000 visitors annually. As of 2010 the church reports 4,386 members in twelve congregations throughout the state.

Vermont may have the highest concentration of western-convert Buddhists in the country. Several Buddhist retreat centers are located in the state.

2,000 people of Islamic faith are estimated to live in the state.

Economy

In 2007, Vermont was ranked by ''Forbes'' magazine as 32nd among states in which to do business. It was 30th the previous year. In 2008, an economist said that the state had "a really stagnant economy, which is what we are forecasting for Vermont for the next 30 years." In May 2010, Vermont's 6.2 percent unemployment rate was the fourth lowest in the nation. This rate reflects the second sharpest decline among the 50 states since the prior May.

According to the 2005 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Vermont's gross state product (GSP) was . This places the state 50th among the 50 states. It stood 38th in per capita GSP.

Components of GSP were:

Government – $3,083 million (13.4%)

Real Estate, Rental and Leasing – (11.6%) Durable goods manufacturing – (9.6%) Health Care and Social Assistance – (9.4%)

Retail trade – $1,934 million (8.4%)

Finance and Insurance – $1,369 million (5.9%)

Construction – $1,258 million (5.5%)

Professional and technical services – (5.5%)

Wholesale trade – $1,175 million (5.1%)

Accommodations and Food Services – (4.5%)

Information – $958 million (4.2%)

Non-durable goods manufacturing – (3.1%)

Other Services – $563 million (2.4%)

Utilities – $553 million (2.4%)

Educational Services – $478 million (2.1%)

Transportation and Warehousing – (2.1%) Administrative and Waste Services – (1.9%) Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting – (1.6%) Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation – (.8%)

Mining – $100 million (.4%)

Management of Companies – $35 million (.2%)

Canada was Vermont's largest foreign trade partner in 2007. The state's second largest foreign trade partner was Taiwan. The state had worth of commerce with Québec.

One measure of economic activity is retail sales. The state had in 2007. In 2008, 8,631 new businesses were registered in Vermont, a decline of 500 from 2007.

Personal income

The median household income from 2002 to 2004 was $45,692. This was 15th nationally. The median wage in the state in 2008 was $15.31 hourly or $31,845 annually. About 80 percent of the 68,000 Vermonters who qualify for food stamps, actually received them in 2007. 40 percent of seniors 75 years or older live on annual incomes of $21,660 or less.

Agriculture

Agriculture contributes , about 12 percent, directly and indirectly to the state's economy. However, another study claims that agriculture contributes 2.2 percent of the state's domestic product. In 2000, about 3 percent of the state's working population engaged in agriculture.

Over the past two centuries, logging has fallen off as over-cutting and the exploitation of other forests made Vermont's forest less attractive. The decline of farms has resulted in a regrowth of Vermont's forests due to ecological succession. Today, most of Vermont's forests are secondary. The state and non-profit organizations are actively encouraging regrowth and careful forest management. Over 78 percent of the land area of the state is forested. Over 85 percent of that area is non-industrial, private forestland owned by individuals or families.

Dairy farming is the primary source of agricultural income. In the last half of the 20th century, developers had plans to build condos and houses on what was relatively inexpensive, open land. Vermont's government responded with a series of laws controlling development and with some pioneering initiatives to prevent the loss of Vermont's dairy industry. Still, the number of Vermont dairy farms has declined more than 85 percent from the 11,206 dairy farms operating in 1947. In 2003 there were fewer than 1,500 dairy farms in the state; in 2006 there were 1,138; and in 2007 there were 1,087. The number of dairy farms has been diminishing by 10 percent annually.

The number of cattle in Vermont had declined by 40 percent; however, milk production has doubled in the same period due to tripling the production per cow. While milk production rose, Vermont's market share declined. Within a group of states supplying the Boston and New York City markets, Vermont was third in market share, with 10.6 percent; New York has 44.9 percent and Pennsylvania has 32.9 percent. In 2007, dairy farmers received a record $23.60 for of milk. This dropped in 2008 to $17. The average dairy farm produced pounds of milk annually in 2008.

The dairy barn remains an iconic image of Vermont, but the 87 percent decrease in active dairy farms between 1947 and 2003 preservation of the dairy barns has increasingly become dependent upon a commitment to maintaining a legacy rather than basic need in the agricultural economy. The Vermont Barn Census, organized by a collaboration of educational and nonprofit state and local historic preservation programs, has developed educational and administrative systems for recording the number, condition, and features of barns throughout Vermont.

In 2009, there were 543 organic farms. Twenty percent of the dairy farms were organic and 23 percent (128) vegetable farms were organic. Organic farming increased in 2006–07, but leveled off in 2008–09. Nor are any expected for 2010.

A significant amount of milk is shipped into the Boston market. Therefore the Commonwealth of Massachusetts certifies that Vermont farms meet Massachusetts sanitary standards. Without this certification, a farmer may not sell milk for distribution into the bulk market.

An important and growing part of Vermont's economy is the manufacture and sale of artisan foods, fancy foods, and novelty items trading in part upon the Vermont "brand" which the state manages and defends. Examples of these specialty exports include Cabot Cheese, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Fine Paints of Europe, Vermont Butter and Cheese Company, several micro breweries, ginseng growers, Burton Snowboards, Lake Champlain Chocolates, King Arthur Flour, and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.

There were about 2,000 maple products producers in 2010. In 2001, Vermont produced 275,000 US gallons (1,040,000 L) of maple syrup, about one-quarter of U.S. production. For 2005 that number was accounting for 37 percent of national production. This rose to in 2009.

Wine industry in Vermont started in 1985. There are 14 wineries today.

Farms in the state were estimated to have hired 2,000 illegal immigrants as of 2005. Local authorities have ignored the problem, sympathizing with the employers about being able to efficiently run a farm.

Manufacturing

Vermont's largest for-profit employer, IBM, in Essex Junction, provides 25 percent of all manufacturing jobs in Vermont, employing 6,800 workers in 2007. It is responsible for of the state's annual economy.

A 2010 University of Connecticut study reported that Vermont, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire tied as the most costly states in the U.S. for manufacturers.

Health

An increasingly aging population is expected to improve this industry's position in the state economy. In 2008, Fletcher Allen Health Care was the second largest employer of people in the state.

Housing

In 2007 Vermont was the 17th highest state in the nation for mortgage affordability. However, in 41 other states, inhabitants contributed within plus or minus 4 percent of Vermont's 18.4 percent of household income to a mortgage.

Housing prices did not rise much during the early 2000s. As a result, the collapse in real estate values was not that precipitous either. While foreclosure rose significantly in 2007, the state stood 50th (last, and best) in ratio of foreclosure filings to households. While housing sales dropped annually from 2004 to 2008, prices continued to rise.

In 2007, Vermont was best in the country for construction of new energy efficient homes as evaluated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Energy Star program. However, about 60 percent of Vermont homes were heated with oil in 2008. In August 2008, the cost in Vermont of various heating sources per BTU ranged from $14.39 for cord wood to $43.50 for kerosene.

While the number of houses sold in the state has dropped from 8,318 in 2004 to 8,120 in 2005, 6,919 in 2006, and 5,820 in 2007, the average price has continued to rise to $202,500 in 2008 ($200,000 in 2007).

In 2009, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $920 per month. Rental vacancy was 5.4 percent, the lowest in the nation. 2,800 people were counted as homeless in January 2010, 22 percent more than in 2008.

Labor

As of 2006, there were 305,000 workers in Vermont. 11 percent of these are unionized. Out of a workforce of 299,200 workers, 52,000 were government jobs, federal, state and local.

A modern high unemployment rate of 9 percent was reached in June 1976. A modern low of 2.4 percent was measured in February 2000. As of September 2010, the unemployment rate was 5.8 percent.

Employment grew 7.5 percent from 2000 to 2006. From 1980 to 2000, employment grew by 3.4 percent; nationally it was up 4.6 percent. Real wages were $33,385 in 2006 constant dollars and remained there in 2010; the nation, $36,871.

Insurance

Captive insurance plays an increasingly large role in Vermont's economy. With this form of alternative insurance, large corporations or industry associations form standalone insurance companies to insure their own risks, thereby substantially reducing their insurance premiums and gaining a significant measure of control over types of risks to be covered. There are also significant tax advantages to be gained from the formation and operation of captive insurance companies. According to the Insurance Information Institute, Vermont in 2009 was the world's third-largest domicile for captive insurance companies, following Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. In 2009, there were 560 such companies. In 2010, the state had 900 such companies.

Tourism

Tourism is an important industry to the state. In winter, skiers and snowboarders visit the state's ski resorts, including Burke Mountain Ski Area, Bolton Valley, Stowe, Smugglers' Notch, Killington Ski Resort, Mad River Glen, Sugarbush, Stratton, Jay Peak, Okemo, Suicide Six, Mount Snow and Bromley. Summer visitors tour resort towns like Stowe, Manchester, Quechee, Wilmington and Woodstock. Resorts, hotels, restaurants, and shops, designed to attract tourists, employ people year-round. Summer camps contribute to Vermont's tourist economy.

Visitors participate in trout fishing, lake fishing, and ice fishing. Some hike the Long Trail.

In winter, nordic and backcountry skiers visit to travel the length of the state on the Catamount Trail. Several horse shows are annual events. Vermont's state parks, historic sites, museums, golf courses, and new boutique hotels with spas were designed to attract tourists.

According to the 2000 Census, almost 15 percent of all housing units in Vermont were vacant and classified "for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use". This was the second highest percentage nationwide, after Maine. In some Vermont cities, vacation homes owned by wealthy residents of New England and New York City constitute the bulk of all housing stock. According to one estimate, as of 2009, 84 percent of all houses in Ludlow, Vermont, were owned by out-of-state residents. Other notable vacation-home resorts include Manchester and Stowe.

In 2005, visitors made an estimated trips to the state, spending .

In 2000–01, there were 4,579,719 skier and snowboarder visits to the state. There were 4,125,082 visits in 2009–2010, a rise from recent years.

In 2008, there were 35,000 members of 138 snowmobiling clubs in Vermont. The combined association of clubs maintains 6,000 miles of trail often over private lands. The industry is said to generate "hundreds of millions of dollars worth of business."

Hunting is controlled for black bear, wild turkeys, deer, and moose. There are 5,500 bears in the state. The goal is to keep the numbers between 4,500 and 6,000. In 2010, there were about141,000 deer in the state, which is in range of government goals. However, these are distributed unevenly and when in excess of 10-15 per square mile, negatively impact timber growth.

Quarrying

The towns of Rutland and Barre are the traditional centers of marble and granite quarrying and carving in the U.S. For many years Vermont was also the headquarters of the smallest union in the U.S., the Stonecutters Association, of about 500 members. The first marble quarry in America was on Mount Aeolus overlooking East Dorset. Up the western side of the state runs the "Marble Valley" joining up with the "Slate Valley" that runs from just inside New York across from Chimney Point until it meets the "Granite Valley" that runs west past Barre, where is located the Rock of Ages quarry, the largest granite quarry in America.

Vermont is the largest producer of slate in the country.

Production of dimension stone is the greatest producer of revenues by quarrying.

Non-profits and volunteerism

There were 2,682 non-profit organizations in Vermont in 2008, with in revenue. The state ranked ninth in the country for volunteerism for the period 2005–08. 35.6% of the population volunteered during this period. The national average was 26.4%.

Transportation

Vermont's main mode of travel is by automobile. 5.7 percent of Vermont households did not own a car in 2008. On average, 20–25 people die each year from drunk driving incidents; as well as 70–80 people in fatal car crashes in the state.

In 2010 Vermont owned of highway. This was the third smallest quantity among the 50 states. 2.5 percent of the highways were listed as "congested," the 5th lowest in the country. The highway fatality rate was 1 per , tenth lowest in the nation. The highways cost $28,669 per , the 17th highest in the states. 34.4 percent of its bridges were rated deficient or obsolete, the 8th worst in the nation.

Individual communities and counties have public transit, but their breadth of coverage is frequently limited. Greyhound Lines services a number of small towns. Two Amtrak trains serve Vermont, the Vermonter and the Ethan Allen Express. In 2011, Amtrak evaluated the track used by the Ethan Allen Express between Rutland and Whitehall, as the worst in the nation.

Trucks weighing more than can use Vermont's secondary roads. The interstates are limited to that maximum weight. A temporary federal law allowed heavier loads on Vermont interstates for one year in 2010.

In 2011, the American Society for Public Administration rated Vermont among the top ten best states for overall litter/debris removals from public spaces/properties (roadways, streams, trails).

Major routes

The state has of highways under its control.

For a more detailed explanation see a List of Routes in Vermont.

North–south routes

20px Interstate 89 – Runs northwestward from White River Junction to serve both Montpelier and Burlington en route to the Canadian border.

20px Interstate 91 – Runs northward from the Massachusetts border to the Canadian border, connecting Brattleboro, White River Junction, St. Johnsbury, and Newport.

20px Interstate 93 – Has its northern terminus at I-91 in St. Johnsbury and connects the northern part of the state with New Hampshire and points south.

20px U.S. Route 5 – Travels south to north along the eastern border of the state, parallel to I-91 for its entire length in the state.

20px U.S. Route 7 – Runs south to north along the western border of the state connecting Burlington, Middlebury, Rutland, and Bennington. U.S. 7 parallels I-89 from Burlington northward to the Canadian border.

20px Vermont Route 100 – Runs south to north almost directly through the center of the state, providing a route along the full length of the Green Mountains.

East–west routes

20px U.S. Route 2 – Crosses northern Vermont from west to east and connects the population centers of Burlington, Montpelier, and St. Johnsbury.

20px U.S. Route 4 – Crosses south-central Vermont from west to east. It connects with the New York border, in the town of Fair Haven, with the city of Rutland and continues running through Killington and White River Junction.

20px U.S. Route 302 – Travels eastward from Montpelier and Barre, into New Hampshire and Maine.

20px Vermont Route 9 – A route across the southern part of the state that connects Bennington to Brattleboro.

20px Vermont Route 105 – Crosses the northernmost parts of Vermont (sometimes within a few miles of the Canadian border) and connects the cities of St. Albans and Newport.

A 2005–06 study ranked Vermont 37th out of the states for "cost-effective road maintenance", a decline of thirteen places since 2004–05.

Federal data indicates that 16 percent of Vermont's 2,691 bridges had been rated structurally deficient by the state in 2006. In 2007 Vermont had the sixth worst percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the country.

Rail

The state is served by Amtrak's ''Vermonter'' and ''Ethan Allen Express'', the New England Central Railroad, the Vermont Railway, and the Green Mountain Railroad.

The ''Ethan Allen Express'' serves Rutland and Castleton, while the ''Vermonter'' serves Saint Albans, Essex Junction, Waterbury, Montpelier, Randolph, White River Junction, Windsor, Bellows Falls and Brattleboro.

Local community public and private transportation

Greyhound Lines stops at Bellows Falls, Brattleboro, Burlington, Montpelier, and White River Junction. Other transportation includes:

Addison County Transit Resources (ACTR) services Addison County, including the college town of Middlebury, Bristol, and Vergennes.

Bennington County is serviced by American Red Cross Green Mountain Express (GME) out of Bennington and Yankee Trails (TC) out of Rensselaer, New York.

Brattleboro in Windham County is served by the BeeLine (Brattleboro Town Bus). Windham is served, out of West Dover, by the MOOver (Deerfield Valley Transit Association or DVTA).

Burlington has Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) and CATS (University of Vermont Campus Area Transportation System).

Colchester in Chittenden County is serviced by the SSTA (Special Services Transportation Agency).

Rutland County has the Bus (Marble Valley Regional Transit District, MVRTD) out of Rutland.

Windsor County:

*Ludlow (in Windsor County) is served by the LMTS (Ludlow Municipal Transit System).

*Windsor is also served by Advanced Transit (AT) out of Wilder.

*The Connecticut River Transit (CRT) out of Springfield, Vermont, serves parts of Windham County.

In parts of Windsor County, including Norwich and Hartford, as well as in White River Junction and in parts of New Hampshire there is a free public transportation service called the Advanced Transit. It has routes and many different lines all throughout the Upper Valley region.

Stowe in Lamoille County is serviced by STS (Stowe Trolley System, Village Mountain Shuttle, Morrisville Shuttle).

Stagecoach Transportation Services (STS) out of Randolph in Orange County also serves parts of Windsor County.

In Washington County, the Green Mountain Transit Authority (GMTA) runs out of the capital city, Montpelier.

The Network (Northwest Vermont Public Transit Network, NVPT) running out of Saint Albans services Franklin and Grand Isle counties.

Rural Community Transportation (RCT) runs out of Saint Johnsbury and services Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille and Orleans Counties. There is a shuttle bus linking the various local networks. There is ferry service to New York State from Burlington, Charlotte, Grand Isle, and Shoreham. All but the Shoreham ferry are operated by the LCTC (Lake Champlain Transportation Company). Additionally, during the period of replacement of the Champlain Bridge at Chimney Point, VT, the LCTC operates a free, 24 hour ferry from just south of the now-demolished bridge to Crown Point, NY at the expense of the states of New York and Vermont at a cost to the states of about $10 per car.

Airports

Vermont is served by two commercial airports: Burlington International Airport is the largest in the state, with regular flights to Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Rutland Southern Vermont Regional Airport has regular flights to Boston via Cape Air.

Media

Newspapers of record

Vermont statute requires the Vermont secretary of state to designate newspapers that provide general coverage across the state as the "Newspapers of Record." On June 30, 2010, the secretary of state designated the following newspapers for publishing administrative rule notices during the period of July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011:

Addison Independent

Bennington Banner

Brattleboro Reformer

Burlington Free Press

Caledonian Record

The Chronicle

Islander

Rutland Herald

Newport Daily Express

News & Citizen / Transcript

St. Albans Messenger

Times Argus

Valley News

Vermont Lawyer

White River Valley Herald (a.k.a. Herald of Randolph)

Broadcast media

Vermont hosts 93 radio broadcast stations. The top categories are Talk/Information (11), Country (9), and Classic Rock (9). The top two owners of radio broadcast stations were Vermont Public Radio (11 broadcast frequencies + 13 low-power, local translators) and Nassau Broadcasting III, LLC (6 broadcast frequencies + 6 translators based in Lebanon, NH). Other companies had five or fewer stations. The state has fifteen on-line radio stations.

Vermont hosts 10 high-power television broadcast stations, three of which are satellites of a primary station. Represented are the following networks and number of high-power transmitters, ABC (1), CBS (1), Fox (1), NBC (2), PBS (4), and RTV (1). In addition, it has 17 low-power television broadcast stations, which in several cases are satellites of the high-power stations.

Utilities

Electricity

2008 peak demand in the state was 1,100 megawatts (MW).

In May 2009, Vermont created the first state-wide renewable energy feed-in law. In 2010, there were about 150 methane digesters in the nation, Vermont led the nation with six online.

While Vermont paid the lowest rates in New England for power in 2007, it is still ranked among the highest eleven states in the nation; that is, about 16 percent higher than the national average.

In 2009, the state had the highest energy rates for energy (including heating) in the US and the worst affordability gap nationwide.

In 2009, the state received 1/3 or 400 MW of its power from Hydro-Québec and 1/3 from Vermont Yankee. In total, the state got half its power from Canada and other states. It received 75 percent of the power it generated in the state from Vermont Yankee.

The state's two largest electric utilities, Green Mountain Power Corporation and Central Vermont Public Service Corporation, together serve 80 percent of Vermont households.

Vermont experts estimate that the state has the capacity to ultimately generate from 134 to 175 megawatts of electricity from hydro power.

In 2006, the total summer generating capacity of Vermont was 1,117 megawatts. In 2005, the inhabitants of the state used an average of 5,883 kilowatt hours of electricity per capita. Another source says that each household consumed 7,100 kilowatt-hours annually in 2008.

Vermont has the highest rate of nuclear-generated power in the nation, 73.7 percent. As one result, Vermont is one of only two states with no coal-fired power plant.

All Vermont utilities get their power from lines run by ISO New England. Each utility pays a share of transmitting power over these lines. Vermont's share is about 4.5 percent.

The state has 78 hydro power dams. They generate 143 megawatts, about 12 percent of the state's total requirement.

Communication

Broadband coverage as of 2006

*Total Coverage = 87%

*Cable TV = 68%

*DSL = 69%

*Wireless Internet Service Provider = 24%

(Above percentages are of population, not of land area.)

Generally, cell phone coverage in the state outside of the major metropolitan areas is weak due to interference from mountains. Attempts to serve a small rural population living in a large area renders investment in improvements uneconomical. Unicel, which focused on rural areas and covered much of the state, is now owned by AT&T.;

In May 2007, Vermont passed measures intended to make broadband (3 Mbit minimum) together with cellular coverage universally available to all citizens with the intention of having the first e-state in the Union by 2010. In 2010, 130,000 still had "poor" service. The state accepted a $116 million grant from the federal government. Representative Welsh said that this would enable the state to advance from among the least connected, to one of the most connected states in the country.

In 2008 Comcast started to extend additional cable TV access throughout the state. In 2007,two-thirds of all Vermonters had access to cable. At the end of this 2008 initiative, 90 percent of Vermonters will have access.

Law and government

Vermont is federally represented in the United States Congress by two senators and one representative.

The state is governed by a constitution which divides governmental duties into legislative, executive and judicial branches: the Vermont General Assembly, the Governor of Vermont and the Vermont Supreme Court. The governorship and the General Assembly serve two-year terms including the governor and 30 senators. There are no term limits for any office. The state capital is in Montpelier.

There are three types of incorporated municipalities in Vermont: towns, cities, and villages. Like most of New England, there is slight provision for autonomous county government. Counties and county seats are merely convenient repositories for various government services such as county and state courts, with several elected officers such as a State's Attorney and Sheriff. All county services are directly funded by the state of Vermont. The next effective governmental level below state government are municipalities. Most of these are towns.

Finances

Vermont is the only state in the union not to have a balanced budget requirement and yet Vermont has had a balanced budget every year since 1991. In 2007, Moody's Investors Service gave its top rating of Aaa to the state.

The state uses enterprise funds for operations that are similar to private business enterprises. The Vermont Lottery Commission, the Liquor Control Fund, and the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, are the largest of the State's enterprise funds.

Taxes

In 2007, Vermont stood 14th highest out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for state and local taxation, with a per capita load of $3,681. The national average was $3,447. However, CNNMoney ranked Vermont highest in the nation based on the percentage of per capita income. The rankings showed Vermont had a per capita tax load of $5,387, 14.1 percent of the per capita income of $38,306.

Vermont collects personal income tax in a progressive structure of five different income brackets with marginal tax rates ranging from 3.6 percent to 9.5 percent.

In 2008, the top 1 percent of the residents provided 30 percent of the income tax revenue. 2,000 people had sufficient income to be taxed at the highest marginal rate of 9.5 percent.

Vermont's general sales tax rate is 6 percent, which is imposed on sales of tangible personal property, amusement charges, fabrication charges, some public utility charges and some service contracts (some towns and cities impose an additional 1 percent Local Option Tax). There are 46 exemptions from the tax which include medical items, food, manufacturing machinery, equipment and fuel, residential fuel and electricity, clothing, and shoes. A use tax is imposed on the buyer at the same rate as the sales tax. The buyer pays the use tax when the seller fails to collect the sales tax or the items are purchased from a source where no tax is collected. The use tax applies to items taxable under the sales tax.

Vermont does not collect inheritance taxes; however, its estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws and therefore the state still imposes its own estate tax.

Property taxes

Property taxes are imposed for the support of education and municipal services. Vermont does not assess tax on personal property.

Property taxes are levied by municipalities based on fair market appraisal of real property. Rates vary from .97 percent on homesteaded property in Ferdinand, Essex County, to 2.72 percent on nonresidents' property in Barre City. Statewide, towns average 1.77 percent to 1.82 percent tax rate.

In 2007, Vermont counties were among the highest in the country for property taxes. Chittenden ($3,809 median), Windham ($3,412), Addison ($3,352), and Windsor ($3,327) ranked in the top 100, out of 1,817 counties in the nation with populations greater than 20,000. Twelve of the state's 14 counties stood in the top 20 percent.

To equitably support education, some towns are required by Act 60 to send some of their collected taxes to be redistributed to school districts lacking adequate support.

Median annual property taxes as a percentage of median homeowners income, 5.4%, was rated as the third highest in the nation in 2011.

Politics

Vermonters have been known for their political independence. Vermont is one of four states (aside from the original Thirteen Colonies) that were once independent nations (the others being Texas, California, and Hawaii). It has sometimes voted contrarian in national elections. Notably, Vermont is the only state to have voted for a presidential candidate from the Anti-Masonic Party, and Vermont was one of only two states to vote against Franklin D. Roosevelt in all four of his presidential campaigns (the other was Maine).

Vermont's history of independent political thought has led to movements for the establishment of the Second Vermont Republic and other plans advocating secession.

National politics

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Historically, Vermont was considered one of the most reliably Republican states in the country in terms of national elections. Prior to the 1990s, Vermont had voted Democratic only once, in Lyndon Johnson's landslide victory of 1964 against Barry Goldwater. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, Republican presidential candidates frequently won the state with over 70 percent of the vote. Republicans also dominated local Vermont politics from the party's founding in 1854 until the mid-1970s. Prior to the 1960s, rural interests dominated the legislature. As a result, cities, particularly the older sections of Burlington and Winooski, were neglected and fell into decay. People began to move out to newer suburbs.

In the meantime, many people had moved in from out of state. Much of this immigration included the arrival of more liberal political influences of the urban areas of New York and New England in Vermont. In addition, a series of one man, one vote decisions made by the United States Supreme Court in the 1960s required states to redraw their legislative districts to more fairly reflect population. As a result, urban areas in Vermont began to regain some political power.

In 1992, it supported a Democrat for president, the first time the state had done so since 1964, and has voted Democratic in every presidential election since. Vermont gave John Kerry his fourth-largest margin of victory in 2004. He won the state's popular vote by 20 percentage points over incumbent George W. Bush, taking almost 59 percent of the vote. Essex County in the state's northeastern section was the only county to vote for Bush. Vermont is the only state that did not receive a visit from George W. Bush when he was President of the United States. In the 2000 Presidential Elections, Bush was the first Republican in American history to win the White House without carrying Vermont. Vermont gave Barack Obama his third largest winning margin (37 percentage points) winning there 68–31 percent. On the other hand, Republican Governor Douglas won all counties but Windham in the 2006 election.

Today, Vermont is one of only two states represented by a member of the United States Congress who does not currently associate with a political party: Senator Bernie Sanders describes his political views as democratic socialist, but is officially registered as an independent and caucuses with the Democrats in the selection of the Senate leadership.

State politics

After the legislature was redistricted under one-person, one-vote in the 1960s, it passed legislation to accommodate the new arrivals to the state. This legislation was the Land Use and Development Law (Act 250) in 1970. The law, which was the first of its kind in the nation, created nine District Environmental Commissions consisting of private citizens, appointed by the Governor, who must approve land development and subdivision plans that would have a significant impact on the state's environment and many small communities. As a result of Act 250, Vermont was the last state to get a Wal-Mart (there are now four in the state, as of December 2009, but only the Williston store was new construction). Because of the success of Act 250, subsequent attempts to dilute its power, and other development pressures, Vermont has been designated one of America's most "endangered historic places" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A recent controversy was over the adoption of civil unions, an institution which grants same-sex couples nearly all the rights and privileges of marriage at the state, but not federal, level. In ''Baker v. Vermont'' (1999), the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that, under the Constitution of Vermont, the state must either allow same-sex marriage or provide a separate but equal status for them. The state legislature chose the second option by creating the institution of civil union; the bill was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Howard Dean. In April 2009 the state legislature overrode governor Jim Douglas's veto to allow same-sex marriage, becoming the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage through legislation. In September 2009, Vermont became one of six states in which same-sex couples could marry.

In 2007, the state's House of Representatives rejected a measure which would have legalized assisted suicide for the terminally ill, by a vote of 82–63.

Minor parties and Independents flourish. Rules which eliminate smaller parties from the ballot in most states do not exist in Vermont. As a result, voters often have extensive choices for general elections. This has resulted in Independent Socialist Bernie Sanders being elected mayor of Burlington, Congressman, and Senator.

A political issue has been Act 60, which balances taxation for education funding. This has resulted in the town of Killington trying to secede from Vermont and join New Hampshire due to what the locals say is an unfair tax burden.

The Vermont constitution and the courts supports the right of a person to walk (fish and hunt) on any unposted, unfenced land. That is, trespass must be proven by the owner; it is not automatically assumed.

The state is an alcoholic beverage control state. In 2007, through the Vermont Department of Liquor Control, it took in over from the sale and distribution of liquor.

Public health

In 2010 Vermont was the sixth highest ranked state for Well-Being in a study by Gallup and Healthways. In 2010, the state stood third in physical well-being of children.

In 2010, Vermont was ranked the highest in the country for health outcomes.

In 2008 Vermont was ranked number one in the nation as the healthiest place to live for the seventh time in eight years. Criteria included low teenage birth rate, strong health coverage, the lowest AIDS rate in the country, and 18 other factors. The state scored well in cessation of smoking, obesity, fewer occupational fatalities, prevalence of health insurance, and low infant mortality. A problem area was a high prevalence of binge drinking. While ranking sixth from best for adults in obesity in 2009, the state still had 22.1 percent obese with a rate of 26.7 percent for children 10–17. The ranking for children was ninth best in the nation. In 1993, the obesity rate for adults was 12 percent. Vermonters spend annually in medical costs related to obesity. The combined figures for overweight and obese adults rose from 40.7% in 1990 to 58.4% in 2010. This is better than most other states.

In 2011, Vermont led the nation in the rate of young people who had consumed alcohol in the past month; one-third of people aged 11 through 20. One-fifth of that group had binged during that time. The state was second for the use of marijuana by young people; 30% of adults 18 to 25 in the past month.

In 2009, Vermont was ranked second in the nation for safety. Crime statistics on violence were used for the criteria. Vermont has some of the least restrictive gun control laws in the country. A permit or license is not required for the purchase or concealed carry of a firearm (including handguns) by any law-abiding person.

In 2007, Vermont was ranked among the best five states in the country for preventing "premature death" in people under 75 years of age. The rate of survival was twice that of the five lowest performing states.

In 2007, Vermont was ranked the third safest state for highway fatalities. In 2007, a third of fatal crashes involved a drunken driver. In 2008, Vermont was the fifth best state for fewest uninsured motorists – 6 percent.

Parts of the state have been declared federal disaster areas on 28 occasions from 1963 to 2008.

In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency cited Chittenden and Bennington as counties with 70 parts per billion of smog which is undesirable.

In northern Vermont particularly, moose are not uncommon, including in urban areas. They constitute a traffic threat since they are unaware of vehicles. There are several deaths each year from automobiles striking moose.

In 2008, about 100,000 Vermonters got their health care through the federal government, Medicare, Tri-Care and the Veteran's Administration. An additional 10,000 work for employers who provide insurance under federal law under ERISA. About 20 percent of Vermonters receive health care outside of Vermont. Twenty percent of the care provided within the state is to non-Vermonters. In 2008, the state had an estimated 7.6% with no medical insurance, down from 9.8% in 2005. In 2008, the Vermont Health Access Program for low-income, uninsured adults cost from $7 to $49 per month. A "Catamount Health" premium assistance program was available for Vermonters who do not qualify for other programs. Total monthly premiums ranged from $60 to $393 for an individual. There was a $250 deductible. Insured paid $10 toward each generic prescription. 16.9% of residents 18 to 35 were uninsured, the highest group.

Health care spending increased from in 2000 to in 2009. In 2009, adult day care services cost more in Vermont than any other state – $150 daily.

The state started air drops of rabies bait for raccoons in 1997. Known rabies cases in raccoons peaked in 2007 at 165. The program is in cooperation with neighboring states and Canada.

Education

Vermont was named the nation's smartest state in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, there was a gap between state testing standards and national which is biased in favor of the state standards by 30 percent, on average. This puts Vermont 11th best in the nation. Most states have a higher bias. However, when allowance for race is considered, a 2007 US Government list of test scores shows Vermont white fourth graders performed 25th in the nation for reading (229), 26th for math (247). White eight graders scored 18th for math (292) and 12th for reading (273). The first three scores were not considered statistically different from average. White eighth graders scored significantly above average in reading. Statistics for black students were not reliable because of their small representation in the testing.

The average effective spending per pupil in Vermont was $11,548 in 2008.

Education Week ranked the state second in high school graduation rates for 2007.

Higher education

Experimentation at the University of Vermont by George Perkins Marsh, and later the influence of Vermont-born philosopher and educator John Dewey brought about the concepts of electives and learning by doing.

Vermont has five colleges within the Vermont State Colleges system, University of Vermont (UVM), and fourteen other private, degree-granting colleges, including Bennington College, Burlington College, Champlain College, Goddard College, Marlboro College, Middlebury College, Saint Michael's College, the Vermont Law School, and Norwich University.

Sports

Notable in the field are Olympic gold medalists Hannah Teter, Ross Powers and Hannah Kearney.

The largest professional franchise is the Vermont Lake Monsters, a single-A minor league baseball affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, based in Burlington. They were named the Vermont Expos prior to 2006. Up until the 2011 season, they were the affiliate of the Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos).

The Vermont Frost Heaves, the 2007 and 2008 American Basketball Association national champions, were a franchise of the Premier Basketball League, and were based in Barre and Burlington from the fall of 2006 through the winter of 2011.

A semi-professional football team, the Vermont Ice Storm, is based in South Hero. It plays its home games at the Colchester High School stadium. It is a member of the Empire Football League.

Vermont natives in the snowboarding profession include: Kevin Pearce, Ross Powers, Hannah Teter, and Kelly Clark. Others learned snowboarding in the state such as: Louie Vito, and Ellery Hollingsworth.

The Vermont Voltage is a USL Premier Development League soccer club that plays in St. Albans.

Annually since 2002, high school statewide all stars compete against New Hampshire in ten sports during "Twin State" playoffs.

Cultural pursuits

[[File:Vermontasaurus-2010-07-07.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Vermontasaurus sculpture in Post Mills, Vermont. Photograph taken 7 July 2010]] Vermont festivals include the Vermont Maple Festival, Festival on the Green, The Vermont Dairy Festival in Enosburg Falls, the Apple Festival (held each Columbus Day Weekend), the Marlboro Music Festival, the Vermont Mozart Festival, and the Vermont Brewers Festival. The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is supported by the state and performs throughout the area. The Poetry Society of Vermont publishes a literary magazine called ''The Green Mountain Troubadore'' which encourages submissions from members of various ages. Every year they hold various contests – one being for high school age young people. The Brattleboro-based Vermont Theatre Company presents an annual summer Shakespeare festival. Brattleboro also hosts the summertime Strolling of the Heifers parade which celebrates Vermont's unique dairy culture. The annual Green Mountain Film Festival is held in Montpelier.

In the Northeast Kingdom, the Bread and Puppet Theatre holds weekly shows in Glover in a natural outdoor amphitheater.

Vermont's most recent best known musical talent was the group Phish, whose members met while attending school in Vermont and spent much of their early years playing at venues across the state.

The Vermont-based House of LeMay performs several shows a year, hosts the annual "Winter is a Drag Ball," and performs for fundraisers.

Examples of folk art found in Vermont include the Vermontasaurus in Post Mills, a community in Thetford.

The rate of volunteerism in Vermont was eighth in the nation with 37 percent in 2007. The state stood first in New England.

State symbols

State symbols include:

State song – "These Green Mountains",

Unofficial popular state song – Moonlight in Vermont

State Beverage – milk

State Pie – apple pie

State Fruit – apple

State Flower – red clover

State Mammal – Morgan horse

State rock – granite, marble, and slate

State Tree – sugar maple

State butterfly – Monarch Butterfly

State fish cold water – Brook Trout

State fish warm water – Walleye Pike

State Fossil – White Whale (Beluga Whale)

Notable Vermonters

Vermont is the birthplace of former presidents Calvin Coolidge and Chester A. Arthur.

Notable fictional Vermonters

Vermont was the original home of the fictional villain Simon Legree in the novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''.

Vermont was also the home of Dick Loudon, Bob Newhart's character on the 1980s sitcom ''Newhart''. All action supposedly took place in Vermont.

Vermont was the home of Pollyanna and her Aunt Polly in the novel ''Pollyanna''. In the first seasons of M*A*S*H Alan Alda's character "Hawkeye Pierce" was from Vermont

In the Marvel Comics shared universe, Vermont is home of the superhero team the Garrison.

See also

List of National Register of Historic Places in Vermont

List of people from Vermont

References

Bibliography

External links

General

Government

Vermont government official website

Energy Data and Statistics for Vermont

Vermont Agriculture

Vermont League of Cities and Towns

Vermont State Facts

Roads compared to other states

Geology

Rodinia to Pangea: The Lithotectonic Record of the Appalachian Region

Laurentia-Gondwana connections before Pangea

Maps and Demographics

Earthquake facts, Vermont

USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Vermont

"Vermont QuickFacts" U.S. Census Bureau.

Tourism & recreation

Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing

Business

Vermont Chamber of Commerce

VermontBusiness.com

Culture & history

Vermont Native American Museum & Cultural Center

Central Vermont: Explore History in the Heart of the Green Mountains, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary

Vermont Arts Council

Vermont Historical Society.

Center for Digital Initiatives, University of Vermont Libraries

Vermont stone quarry information on Stone Quarries and Beyond

Photographs of the Pirie Granite Quarry in Williamstown, VT, from the 1930s through the 1950s, by Fred J. Pirie, owner (AKA Pirie's Select Barre Granite Quarries, J. K. Pirie Quarry, J. K. Pirie Estate Quarry, & the Wells Lamson Co. Quarry.) The office was located in Barre, VT. Photos used with the permission of Paul Wood of the Vermont Granite Museum.

Online Media

Radio Free Vermont

Vermont Webcam list

==Related information==

Category:States of the United States Category:New England Category:Northeastern United States Category:States and territories established in 1791

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Fletcher Allen (July 25, 1905 – August 5, 1995) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. His composition ''Viper's Dream'' has become a jazz staple.

Compositions

''Blue Drag'' (1935)

''Viper's Dream'' - recorded by Freddy Taylor (1935), Hot Club de France quintet (1937) and Sebastian Giniaux in 2008.

''Swingin' in Paris'' (1938)

References

Category:American jazz saxophonists Category:American jazz clarinetists Category:American jazz composers Category:1905 births Category:1995 deaths

fr:Fletcher Allen nl:Fletcher Allen

show name	The Voice
genre	Talent show
format	Interactive reality
creator	John de Mol Roel van Velzen
presenter	Carson Daly (Host) Alison Haislip (Social Media Correspondent)
judges	Christina AguileraCee Lo GreenAdam LevineBlake Shelton
country	United States
language	English
num seasons	1
num episodes	12
executive producer	John De MolMark Burnett
location	Warner Brothers Lot 16 in Los Angeles, United States
runtime	1 Hour (Battle Rounds)2 Hours (Blind Auditions, Live Shows)
company	Mark Burnett ProductionsWarner Horizon Television
distributor	Endemol-Talpa
channel	NBC
first aired
last aired	present
status	Returning series
related	The Voice of Holland
website	http://www.NBCTheVoice.com/
website title	Official website
production website	}}

''The Voice'' is an American reality talent show that premiered on April 26, 2011 on the NBC television network. Based on the reality singing competition ''The Voice of Holland'', the series was created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. It is part of an international series. ''The Voice'' immediately proved to be a hit for NBC and in mid-May 2011, it was confirmed that the network had renewed the show for a second season.

Overview

The series is part of the ''The Voice'' franchise and is based on a similar competition format in The Netherlands entitled ''The Voice of Holland'' won by Ben Saunders. The first American series was hosted by Carson Daly, with Alison Haislip serving as the backstage and social networking correspondent. The winner received $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Republic.

Coaches and Finalists

Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Maroon 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton are the judges and vocal coaches.

– Winning Coach/Contestant. Winners are in bold, eliminated contestants in small font.

Seasons	Judges/Coaches
! scope="row"

Format

The series consists of three phases: a blind audition, a battle phase, and live performance shows. Four judges/coaches, all noteworthy recording artists, choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process. Each judge has the length of the auditioner's performance (about one minute) to decide if he or she wants that singer on his or her team; if two or more judges want the same singer (as happens frequently), the singer has the final choice of coach.

Each team of singers is mentored and developed by its respective coach. In the second stage, called the battle phase, coaches have two of their team members battle against each other directly by singing the same song together, with the coach choosing which team member to advance from each of four individual "battles" into the first live round. Within that first live round, the surviving four acts from each team again compete head-to-head, with public votes determining one of two acts from each team that will advance to the final eight, while the coach chooses which of the remaining three acts comprises the other performer remaining on the team.

In the final phase, the remaining contestants (Final 8) compete against each other in live broadcasts. The television audience and the coaches have equal say 50/50 in deciding who moves on to the final 4 phase. With one team member remaining for each coach, the (final 4) contestants compete against each other in the finale with the outcome decided solely by public vote.

Development, production and marketing

In mid-December 2010, NBC announced its intention to bring an adaptation of ''The Voice of Holland'' to the United States. The series was originally named ''The Voice of America'', but when audition locations were announced a few days later, the title had already been shortened to ''The Voice''. In late February 2011, NBC began announcements of the coaches/judges for the series. First to sign on were Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine (frontman for Maroon 5). Christina Aguilera came on board in early March 2011. Blake Shelton was added as the final judge a few days later. Carson Daly is the show's host. Alison Haislip was announced as the show's "backstage online and social media correspondent".

NBC heavily promoted the program's launch during many of its programs, including: ''The Celebrity Apprentice'', ''The Biggest Loser'', and ''30 Rock''.

Summary

Cee Lo Green's Team Christina Aguilera's Team Adam Levine's Team Blake Shelton's Team

! Season	! Air Dates	! Winner	! Runner-Up	! 3rd place	! 4th place	! Winning coach	! Coaches	! Hosts
	April 26, 2011 - June 29, 2011
	2012	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Seasons

Season 1: 2011

Season 1 premiered on NBC on April 26, 2011 and the final results show was on June 29, 2011. The winner of the series was Javier Colon from coach Adam Levine's team.

! Classification	! Performers	! Song	! Result
1	Javier Colon	"Stitch by Stitch"	Winner
2		"Inventing Shadows"	Runner-up

Beverly McClellan's "Lovesick" ranked third and Vicci Martinez fourth with "Afraid To Sleep."

Season 2: 2012

The Voice will return to NBC for a second season in 2012 including a special edition immediately after the Super Bowl on February 5, 2012. All four coaches are returning for season 2.

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Type	! Nominated work	! Award	! Result
	Billboard.com's Mid-Year Music Awards		Best Music Reality Show
	Choice TV: Reality Competition Show
Choice TV: Breakout Show
Adam Levine
ALMA Awards	Favorite TV Reality, Variety, or Comedy Personality or Act

International syndication

! Country / Region	! Channel	! Airing
		April 29, 2011
South Asia: Southeast Asia: East Asia:	AXN Asia
		August 9, 2011
				July 16, 2011
	SABC 3	October 5, 2011
	Channel 2 (Israel)	Before the end of 2011
		Before the end of 2011

References

External links

Official website on NBC.com

Category:The Voice (TV series) Category:2010s American television series Category:2011 American television series debuts Category:American music television series Category:English-language television series Category:Music competitions Category:NBC network shows Category:Singing competitions Category:Super Bowl lead-out programs Category:Talent shows Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television

fr:The Voice (émission de télévision) he:The Voice nl:The Voice (Verenigde Staten) pt:The Voice (reality show) tr:The Voice (Amerika) vi:The Voice (chương trình truyền hình Mỹ) zh:音樂達人PK讚

Ray "The Don" Vega (born August 16, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York) is a producer of Adult Entertainment in the US. Known for colorful advertisements depicting a fictional mob family of which Mr. Vega was Godfather reminiscent of the hit HBO show The Sopranos, Mr. Vega became an overnight success in the Adult Industry.

Biography

Ray was the oldest of several children born to an underprivileged family. He remained relatively unknown until around 2004 the creation of an Adult search engine "Ask jade", warranted the creation of Jade Entertainment Group,Inc., a privately held company which would later become a publicly traded company under the name 110 Media Group on the Nasdaq OTC Market with the stock symbol : ONTN, launching his adult entertainment career. It was only after the creation of a marketing and production company known as MobBucks that Mr. Vega became a major name in the porn industry. After a bit of a break from the adult scene, Mr. Vega returned a year later as a consultant for Adult entertainment content producer AMAcontent.

Re-emerging as an ordained minister and member of the Universal Life Church in Modesto, California, the now Reverend Ray Vega is a professional business consultant to the adult industry. Ray Vega or Reverend Ray as he now calls himself, regularly makes colorful posts to the popular adult industry message board, "GFY".

Associations

Mr. Vega mostly known as the original founder and "Godfather" of marketing and production company MobBucks has been the CEO of Jade Entertainment Group, 110 Media Group, Web1000, and Redfire Video.

References

^adultwhoswho Profile For "Ray Vega"

^klixxx Magazine Article Dated August 11, 2005

^kbtalks Article Dated Wednesday August 10th 2005, 3:10 pm

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:People from Brooklyn Category:American pornographers