BURLINGTON — The University of Vermont Board of Trustees has unanimously decided to hire Suresh Garimella to be the university’s next president.
The board voted on Friday morning to authorize its chairman, David Daigle, to negotiate a letter of appointment and agreement with Garimella. Daigle said he expected the contract to be finalized in no more than a couple of weeks.
Garimella was the only finalist for the position who visited campus and interacted publicly with the campus community. He is the executive vice president for research and partnerships at Purdue University in Indiana.
Garimella visited campus on Thursday and met with a variety of groups. During his visit, he touted the fact that Purdue had seen four consecutive years of record research funding under his watch, and described himself as a collaborative leader, but one willing to be decisive.
During an open forum, Garimella faced some pointed questions from students and faculty about his past acceptance of funds for research related to fracking and his use of corporate partnerships while at Purdue.
Daigle said he was feeling great about Garimella’s visit and feels that he is well-prepared to tackle the issues facing the university.
“I think he will be a great president to work on some of those issues, and I hope our community would rally around him and collectively try to work on some of these problems,” he said.
A group of faculty and students protested cuts and increased class sizes in some introductory courses in the College of Arts and Sciences on Thursday.
Faculty also raised concerns about the presidential search process. In the past, the university brought multiple finalists to campus and considered campus input before making a decision.
Daigle said Garimella is very student-centric and is a very personable leader who can work with a wide range of people.
“We see him as a very capable and effective problem solver,” Daigle said. “He comes across to us as someone who is very skilled at working problems and getting solutions, and that is what we need.”