Day: March 2, 2020

Save Our Children from Sitting Disease

By Al Scotton
Today’s children are more sedentary – and more overweight – than ever. Nearly all (98.5 percent) youth between the ages of 12 to 15 reported watching TV on a daily basis in 2012. Meanwhile, 73 percent of 12 to 15 year olds had more than two hours of combined TV and computer use daily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the time spent in front of a computer and TV contributes to total sedentary time, school-age children can spend six or more hours sedentary in the classroom, forced into desks that may wreak havoc on their bodies.
The Healthy People 2020 initiative called for a reduction in the proportion of children and adolescents who are obese. In the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents. In 2012, over one-third of children and adolescents were considered overweight or obese, according to the CDC.

Combatting “Sitting Disease” in Schools

Promoting low-level activity and reducing sedentary time throughout the school day may be the key to improving the health of our children.
Recent studies have found that the more hours that people spend sitting, the more likely they are to develop diabetes, heart disease and other conditions, and potentially to die prematurely — even if they exercise regularly.
The American College of Sports Medicine and researchers at the University of South Carolina have recently published research suggesting that the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle cannot fully be redeemed by meeting the recommended amount of weekly exercise.
In fact, eight hours of sitting per day – between school and sedentary after-school time – could even be as bad as smoking.
A meta-analysis of ten studies on sedentary habits suggests “a 112% greater relative risk associated with a large duration of sedentary behavior for type 2 diabetes…[and] significantly greater odds for metabolic syndrome.” The analysis suggests that low-intensity physical activity can significantly reduce the risks of disease associated with sedentary lifestyles.
Another study suggests that breaks in sedentary time may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. Integrating healthy activity into children’s daily routine can develop healthy habits that last a lifetime – and may even help children struggling with ADHD.
While traditional physical education (PE) programs have been shown to increase physical activity and various markers of health in children, these programs utilize only a small portion of the entire school day.

Bringing Activity Into the Classroom

In order to investigate the health effects of low-level physical activity during instructional time, Monica Wendel, director of the Center for Community Health Development at Texas A&M, studied the use of standing desks in four first-grade classrooms in Texas.
Wendel told the Chicago Tribune that standing “actually improved attention, on-task behavior, alertness and classroom engagement.” And good news for the childhood obesity epidemic: the most overweight children in the study “burned 32 percent more calories while standing.”
Some classrooms are being equipped with standing desks, while others are being equipped with desks attached to stationary bicycles to allow for more movement. Use of stationary bicycle desks is in various classroom settings is a current topic of research at Clemson University, where “active workstations” have recently filled the university’s library.
Most classroom learning can be done while standing, pedaling, or stretching. Forcing children into desks for long periods of time may have long-lasting negative consequences for their health that can last well into adulthood.
Is there an opportunity for Vermont to help students be more active? UVM Assistant Professor Bernice Garnett of the College of Education and Social Services thinks so.
“Vermont schools are in a unique position to integrate physical activity into settings beyond traditional physical education classes as the updated educational quality standards (EQS) for Vermont schools now encourage schools to offer at least 30 minutes of physical activity outside of PE time,” Garnett says.
Garnett points out that while evidence-based models of integrating physical activity into classroom settings exist for elementary and middle grades, there is “a dearth of evidence-based practices for high schools, which will be a challenge but also an opportunity for Vermont high school leadership.”
Let us accept the challenge to promote more classroom movement and reduce health risks for our children. We should give our children the tools they need to live active, healthy lives, by supporting funding for research and initiatives that explore the use of standing desks and pedal desks in classroom settings.

Research and Education Drive Vermont’s Farm & Food Econom

By Matt Sayre
The purpose of education is to promote social progress. Research universities, such as the University of Vermont, were founded on the belief that teaching and research must be inseparable. Research at UVM helps create new knowledge with the potential to inform action, determine what progress really looks like, and identify the best approaches to make progress.
Educational programs, including UVM’s Farmer Training Program, Food Hub Management Program, Breakthrough Leaders Program for Sustainable Food Systems, and the UVM Food Systems Summit, translate and promote this research into best practices and applied solutions.
It’s clear that this research and education about the food system is having an impact, especially in Vermont as explained in the 2014 Farm to Plate Annual Report, which was released last month. Research and education at UVM shines a light on the good work being done in Vermont and helps others learn from the efforts of Vermonters.
The 2014 Farm to Plate Annual Report reveals how Vermont’s farmers and food enterprises are increasing food production and how programs such as farm to school, farm to college and farm to hospital, as well as the charitable food system are all working to increase the amount of fresh, local food that is available to Vermonters at all income levels.

Some highlights from Vermont’s food economy:

Vermont’s farm and food economy is growing.
  • From 2007 to 2012 food system economic output expanded 24 percent, from $6.9 billion to $8.6 billion.
Food manufacturing is growing at a faster rate than overall manufacturing in Vermont, as well as food manufacturing in the other New England states.
  • There are 748 food manufacturing firms in the state, a 37 percent increase over 2009 (539 firms).
  • The number of food manufacturing jobs increased by 1,596 between 2009 and 2013. Vermont’s 34.5 percent increase grew at a faster rate than other New England states (MA-21 percent, NH-4.2 percent, CT-3.6 percent, RI-1.5 percent, ME-8.5 percent).
Crop and livestock sales are on the rise.
  • The value of agricultural sales increased to $776 million in 2012, up from $746 million in 2007, a 4 percent increase. The number of farms with $10,000 or more in sales in 2012 was 3,018, a 5 percent increase from 2007 (2,883).
Job creation is strong.
  • 4,189 new jobs (7.2 percent increase) were created in the food system from 2009 to 2013.
  • For every 1 food system job created there are 1.28 additional jobs created in Vermont.
Vermont’s entrepreneurs are creating new businesses, thus employment.
  • 665 new farms and food businesses (5.9 percent increase) were launched in the food system from 2009 to 2013.
  • Over 60,000 Vermonters are employed as farmers, waiters, cheese makers, brewers, bakers, butchers, grocery stockers, restaurateurs, manufacturers, marketers, distributors, and many other food related jobs. About 12,000 businesses are part of Vermont’s food system.
More businesses are sourcing local food.
  • Sodexo spent $3.2 million on local food in 2014 served to Vermont college and university students at 16 campuses as well as at four additional locations.
  • The UVM Medical Center purchased $1.6 million in local food in 2014, including $343,000 directly from farmers (up 35 percent over 2013). They also purchased an additional $260,000 worth of food from regional food purveyors (up 18 percent over 2013).
  • City Market, one of Vermont’s 17 consumer food cooperatives, reported $11 million in locally sourced food sales, or 31 percent of their total gross sales in 2014.
  • The Vermont Food Venture Center in Hardwick processed 40,000 lbs. of locally grown produce for schools, colleges and hospitals in Vermont.
Innovation and collaboration across Vermont’s food access community are helping food insecure Vermonters.
  • The Vermont Foodbank, state agencies, and many community food security organizations are bringing fresh local food to food insecure Vermonters and providing job training to underemployed and unemployed people.
  • In 2014, the Vermont Foodbank distributed nearly 9 million pounds of food – over 1.3 million of those pounds were produce. This is the first time the Foodbank has distributed more than 1 million pounds of produce and is a 45 percent increase over the previous year. Of that, nearly 320,000 pounds were donated or gleaned from Vermont farms (a 9 percent increase over the previous year).
  • The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, the non-profit coordinator of Vermont’s Farm to Plate Network, is responsible for reporting Farm to Plate Strategic Plan progress annually to the Vermont Legislature. Data sources and analysis relevant to each of the 25 goals of the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan can be accessed directly at the Farm to Plate website: www.VTFarmtoPlate.com/Getting-to-2020.

2015 UVM Summer Autism Institute to Address Inclusion, Transition, and Treatment Posted by Guest Blogger

By Patricia Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Dean of the UVM College of Nursing and Health Sciences
The number of U.S. children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges – has increased to one in 68, a 30 percent increase since the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated two years ago that one in 88 children suffered from the disorder.
This newest estimate is based on the CDC’s evaluation of health and educational records of all 8-year-old children in 11 states: Alabama, Wisconsin, Colorado, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Arizona, Maryland, North Carolina, Utah, and New Jersey. The information was reported in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Children with the most extreme form of autism are withdrawn, speak little, avoid eye contact, and engage in repetitive actions. Milder forms, such as Asperger’s syndrome, are now considered to fall along the autism spectrum.
Certainly our increased sophistication in diagnosis, as well as the evolving criteria over the past 20 years, has increased our awareness of those individuals who are affected by this disorder. What is concerning is that there are disparities in diagnoses in particular populations.
But the changing diagnostic criteria and sophistication in diagnosis cannot fully explain the expanding numbers of children affected. New and ongoing research needs to consider the likely elements that could impact the occurrence of the disorder, including the interactions among genetics and the environment, as well as what we are learning about the role of epigenetics.
It is more important than ever that we are effective in our diagnosis, and ensure children receive the intervention that will support their future success. Ultimately, we must attend to the social interaction and social communication and behavior needs of individuals with ASD, and provide those services most likely to support their independence and long-term success.
The Summer Autism Institute provides an incredible opportunity for continuing education and networking among families and providers. It also provides participants with the most up-to-date research and cutting-edge interventions that they can go out and try with the children and families they support.

UVM’s 2015 Summer Autism Institute

This year’s Summer Autism Institute will address aspects of inclusion and transition, research, and effective treatment of ASD. The event will be held June 24-26 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in South Burlington.

UVM Alumna Finds Professional Success in Promoting Worksite Wellness

Connie Gavin completed The University of Vermont’s Leadership and Management Professional Certificate Program in 2015. A skillful professional with diverse experience in education and non-profit program management, Gavin earned her undergraduate degree from UVM in 2004 and her Master of Arts at Teachers College, Columbia University.
As she began working in the non-profit world, Gavin further identified her professional goals and decided to hone her leadership and management skills. We talked to Gavin, now an Account Manager for the Invest Employee Assistance Program in Burlington, about professional development and worksite wellness.

Why did you choose UVM’s Leadership and Management Program?

I’m kind of a geek. I love learning and I have always invested in myself through education. As a young female professional, I’d been seeking formal training in leadership and management, but didn’t want a full-time program. I wanted something I could attend one day and implement the very next day at work. As a UVM Alum, I worked with a fantastic counselor at UVM’s Career Center, who helped me identify and balance my professional and personal goals.
Then I spoke with my employer about taking on leadership roles. After looking at five programs, I found that UVM’s program best matched my needs. I liked the networking opportunities and the range in topics. Plus, they use guest presenters, who are experts in their field. I also liked the price.
As an Account Manager at Invest Employee Assistance Program, you have to work with different levels of leadership and coordinate many projects. Can you talk about what your job entails?
Connie-Gavin

Connie Gavin
My main role is to promote safe, healthy workplaces. I love it because I meet interesting people, I’m faced with unique challenges, and I have autonomy–perfectly balanced with a smart, creative, supportive team.
I work closely with the Vermont Education Health Initiative to promote workplace wellness and work-life balance for public school employees statewide. I partner with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns to promote and support their WorkStrong initiatives.
I collaborate with organizational leaders to integrate EAP into workplace culture and structures so that employees use the EAP proactively. I conduct presentations for employee groups to explain how their EAP can help with workplace conflict, relationship challenges, college planning, career and retirement planning, identifying resources for elderly parents, and more. The program is comprehensive and customizable; we work hard to understand each worksite’s culture and find ways to tap into their existing routines and structures.

How has UVM’s Leadership and Management program helped you professionally?

In every seminar, I was able to apply new learning to my home life and relationships, just as I was able to apply it to work. In the Negotiation and Influence seminar, I learned to:
¨ Evaluate personal tendencies in the face of conflict and manage strengths and weaknesses to become a more effective negotiator.
¨ Discover how to win, not by defeating the other side, but by winning them over.
¨ Be better prepared to acquire support from others as you lead future negotiations.
¨ Examine ways to structure the bargaining process to accommodate joint problem- solving, brainstorming, and fact-finding.
¨ Evaluate a best alternative to a negotiated agreement, create a zone of possible agreement, and implement the mutual gains approach to negotiation.
¨ Be able to think more clearly, make smarter moves, and set the stage for more productive negotiations.
My main takeaway from this seminar was to be “heavy on problems, soft on people.”
During the Leading and Motivating Your People and the Strategic Leader seminars, one main takeaway was: Wear different leadership hats at different times— use different techniques—for different people.
During Strategic Marketing, I honed my marketing skills and determined areas for growth. I also learned to market myself and my own skills. Plus, I met my objective of taking on leadership opportunities at work.

Can you tell us about the Invest EAP?

Invest EAP is a statewide network, a public/private non-profit collaborative, and one of the few in the country. We’ve offered comprehensive EAP services since 1986. Our staff and counselors live in Vermont, so we’re in tune with local culture and events.
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Located in Burlington, Invest EAP serves municipalities, schools, hospitals, and small businesses.
While most EAP work is a two-tiered individual and workplace focus, the importance of our local presence was heightened during Hurricane Irene, when Vermonters were displaced, businesses were shutting down, and people were afraid. Our counselors were able to dispatch to various locations and support those affected and the professional responders.
We serve public schools, Vermont’s municipalities, state government, private businesses, and hospitals. We offer counseling services within 20 minutes of any of our members’ home or work. Plus, our website provides videos, local and national resources, and opportunities for members to request that an EAP counselor contact them.

In our society, people work a lot, don’t take much vacation, and sit all day at their desks. What are companies doing to better promote employee health and worksite wellness?

I once heard an interview about flexible workplaces, and the individual named it spot on, “Where and when do you think of your most creative and brilliant ideas? Is it in the eighth hour of sitting at your desk or cubicle? No! It is while you’re out on a walk or in the shower at home.” This truly highlights the importance of allowing for flexibility and creativity in the workplace if you want the most out of your employees.
Below are resources I would recommend to workplaces seeking to enhance work-life balance:

Was there a turning point when companies figured out that employee wellness was key for morale, health and, productivity?

EAPs have a long history, stemming from alcohol and substance abuse issues in the workplace. Then came federal legislation, which increased acceptance of EAPs. During the 1980s, EAPs became popular in the US, as legislation passed regarding labor relations and drug-free workplaces. Managers needed guidance to address personnel issues, and EAPs expanded.
By the 1990s, EAPs became a standard of employee benefits. EAP services expanded to address work-life balance, elder care, workplace violence, and supporting company-wide changes like mergers and downsizing. Also at this time, mental health entered the health and wellness arena, and EAPs provided the onramp to various clinical resources.

What are some of the biggest challenges to employees when faced with staying healthy?

Behavior change is often a big challenge for most people. Work-life balance, having a support network to make positive changes at home and at work, and having an employer that actively promotes and supports employee wellness and a flexible workplace all make a big difference.
People spend a large percentage of their lives at work. If the only access to nourishment is a vending machine full of soda and candy, and if the employer doesn’t support taking a lunch break (not to mention a brain break, opportunity to take a walk and eat something), it makes it difficult to live a healthy, well-balanced life. EAP work is short-term, but identifying resources and developing a plan helps employees move toward living healthier, more balanced lives

The Library Media Specialist is Reinventing School Libraries for Today’s Learner

By Judy Kaplan
Forget the shhhhh!
Have you been in a school library lately? If not, it’s time for a visit to your local school to see a learning space that is the hub of social and intellectual activity. Think Starbucks with resources and technology, and an atmosphere that encourages inquiry, exploration of ideas, and self-expression. Not only is it a physical space with resources in many formats, but it’s also a 24/7 virtual space with access to databases, reading recommendations, and project and homework help for all learners-students, educators, and parents. Small groups and large groups of students vie for space to collaborate and create amazing products to share their learning.
And, you will see a library media specialist (LMS) who is orchestrating multiple activities at once-answering questions, providing instruction, collaborating with colleagues, chatting about books with readers, and troubleshooting a laptop malfunction. Welcome to a 21st Century school library where the mission is to transform learning and to encourage learners to “Think, Create, Share, and Grow.”
Here’s a quick video of some school libraries in Vermont if you can’t get to one personally.

What skills and dispositions are needed to be a library media specialist?

The roles and responsibilities of the LMS are varied and require special training, in addition to being an educator.
Teacher/Instructional Partner: Design, teach, and assess learning opportunities, promote reading in multiple literacies, collaborate with teachers, motivate readers, model integration of technology.
Information Specialist: Develop and maintain a collection of resources that support curriculum, learners’ interests, teaching strategies, multiple formats for diverse learners. Evaluate, and promote ethical use of resources and emerging technologies, and provide equitable access to all materials for teaching and learning.
Leader: Serve on school and district committees plan and provide professional development, research relevant and current practices, advocate for school library program in the community.
Program Administrator: Create a flexible teaching and learning environment that is inviting, safe, and conducive to student success, manage resources and budgets, hiring and training of staff gather data to improve instruction and demonstrate how the school library program supports student learning.

How can I become a library media specialist?

For the past 35 years, The University of Vermont has provided a sequence of courses for School Library Media Studies so that licensed educators in Vermont can be endorsed as library media specialists (5440-61).
library-media-specialist

Been to a school library lately? Much has changed.
During the last 15 years, the courses have been available in a hybrid format, so that participants from across the state will have to opportunity to complete the coursework without having to be on campus.
The courses are offered online with opportunities for face to face meetings on campus and at Vermont Interactive Technology (VIT) sites in local areas of the state, so that travel time is kept to a minimum.
With about 20 participants in each cohort, the courses are scheduled in two year cycles, one per semester. The courses address the American Association of School Librarians Standards for Initial Certification for School Librarians (2010), and Standards for Vermont Educators.
Job opportunities are open across the state for preK-12, pre K-6 or 8, middle schools, and high schools, and many of the current practicing library media specialists have gone through the UVM sequence. Vermont Education Quality Standards (State Board Rule 2000) outline requirements for every school to employ a certified library media specialist to direct a school library program of resources and instruction.
Upon completion of the six foundational courses and a practicum, an applicant can apply for certification through transcript review. An applicant can also contact the Licensing Office at the Vermont Agency of Education to inquire about the possibility of Peer Review as another path to certification, especially if the person is not a certified educator.

Epidemiologist and Alumna Chelsea Dubie Tracks Vermont Public Health Issues

Infectious disease epidemiologist and Shelburne Rescue EMT Chelsea Dubie completed UVM’s Graduate Certificate in Public Health in 2014. Dubie, who earned her undergraduate degree and a Master of Education at UVM, talks about Vermont public health issues, including monitoring measles, tuberculosis, the flu, and other outbreaks.

You work at the State Health Department as an infectious disease epidemiologist. Can you explain how you track and detect infectious diseases? How does surveillance work?

vermont-public-health

Chelsea Dubie
I track and detect infectious diseases through surveillance systems at the Department of Health or through reporting from providers or the general public. We also get electronic lab reports, or providers call us to report patients with suspect infectious diseases.
I check the surveillance program called EARS (Early Aberration Reporting System) daily. Emergency departments statewide submit data, which runs through a series of computer programs to pull specific data on syndromes we’re looking at. When there’s anything of statistical significance (such as a jump in the number of cases from one day to the next), the EARS program flags it. I look at the details of the Emergency Department visits and determine whether something needs further investigation. If so, I contact designated people at the facility for more information.

What infectious diseases are you currently monitoring in Vermont?

Most of my time is spent monitoring flu activity, doing syndromic surveillance, and participating in emergency preparedness-related epidemiological activities. I also back up my supervisor with foodborne outbreaks. I’m particularly interested in emerging infectious diseases like MERS-CoV, Ebola, and novel influenza strains, along with diseases like tuberculosis.

What’s your take on the current measles outbreak in California?

Regardless of your stance on vaccine exemptions, the California measles outbreak is sparking discussion. I’m hopeful that with all the media coverage, more people will talk with their health care providers or health departments to get more information.

Are you working on the TB case in Charlotte? Anything you can share with us about the risk of TB spreading in Vermont?

Yes. I’m working on the TB exposure response in Charlotte. In our Infectious Disease Epidemiology unit at VDH, each of my coworkers has individual expertise and infectious diseases of interest (one coworker works with facilities on infection control measures; two specialize in arboviruses and tick-borne diseases; etc.). When a situation like the TB exposure in Charlotte arises, our daily tasks shift to focus on the outbreak or exposure response, regardless of what we were working on.

What’s the most challenging aspect of being an epidemiologist?

The most challenging aspect for me was remembering all the biostatistics and math-related skills I learned in school!
Harvard published a post a couple of years ago on “Why Epidemiologists Should Get Involved with Policy.” A number of public health policies have been influenced by epidemiologic findings, including cigarette advertising bans, food labeling requirements, and air pollution standards. In light of recent outbreaks, do you have any thoughts on why epidemiologists need a major seat at the table when it comes to health policy?
When I started as an epidemiologist, I was told that a large part of my job was to collect data, analyze it, process it, and present it in a format that would be meaningful for stakeholders—health care providers, schools, policy makers, coworkers. I learned that I needed to think creatively and critically to portray data in a way that makes sense. Epidemiologists investigate patterns and causes of disease and how it affects different populations. These findings are then presented in a way that informs health policy makers to make decisions based on science and research. It’s important for epidemiologists to be involved in health policy decisions, as they are knowledgeable about how diseases affect various populations.
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Chelsea is also an EMT for Shelburne Rescue.

Your undergraduate degree was in exercise and movement science, and you eventually moved to public health. What made you decide to work as an epidemiologist?

I loved the public health courses I took as an undergraduate. After graduating in 2010, I worked for the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program (VCHIP) in the UVM College of Medicine’s Pediatrics Department as a project coordinator for pediatric public health research projects. I enrolled in a master’s program, where I incorporated many of the public health courses into my job, including epidemiology and biostatistics. I wasn’t initially pursuing a career in epidemiology, but the job fits perfectly with my interests and academic background. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything other than epidemiology.
When people think of infectious disease events, they often think of Ebola, HIV/AIDS, or SARS. Do you also monitor more everyday—but serious—outbreaks, like the flu?
We monitor infectious diseases across the gamut: enteric diseases, arboviralillnesses, flu, Ebola, measles, hepatitis…the list goes on. We have a list of reportable diseases on the Department of Health website, most of which are monitored daily.

What do you enjoy most about epidemiology?

I enjoy problem-solving, working with different people, using data to provide public health guidance, and going “out in the field” during investigations or outbreaks. Also, it just takes one call from a provider to change the work I’ll do for the next week. I like the unpredictability of it. I think the coolest thing about epidemiology is waking up without knowing what the workday is going to bring, but knowing I’m making a difference.

The University of Everywhere: Lowering the Cost of Higher Education

By Cynthia Belliveau, Ph.D.
Dean of UVM Continuing and Distance Education
I listened to an interesting piece about higher education on NPR’s Fresh Air this week about a new book by Kevin Carey titled, The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere.
The challenges of higher education come down to affordability and access, and Carey points out that these problems might be overcome in the future with online higher education.
Carey envisions a future in which “the idea of ‘admission’ to college will become an anachronism, because the University of Everywhere will be open to everyone” and “educational resources that have been scarce and expensive for centuries will be abundant and free.”
He also talks about the advantage of online education programs such as edX, which gave him the opportunity take a class at MIT.
Carney puts it this way: “We are now headed into a time of abundance when it comes to educational resources. All the books in the world are now available on your iPad or your phone or your computer, or will be soon. The same is true for all of the lectures of all of the smartest people in the world, and the course notes and the problem sets. … Once they’re built, the cost of providing them to the 10,000th student or the millionth student is almost nothing. One aspect of the University of Everywhere is it isn’t going to cost nearly as much as $60,000 a year, which is what a private college would charge you today.”
Carey is correct about the unsustainable cost of higher education – both financial and societal. However, I think we’re already making significant strides here at UVM.
At UVM Continuing and Distance Education, our mission is to provide flexible, relevant educational options at all stages of life because we believe the opportunity to learn should never stop. That includes finding ways to increase access to education and a commitment to provide hundreds of affordable online choices to students in Vermont and around the world

UVM Expert on Biofuel Energy Applies Research and Industry Advances Through Course, Textbook

In a world facing volatile gas prices and increasingly scarce resources, researchers are scrambling to find new sources of energy. Biofuels, derived from food crops, wood, grass, algae, and other biological matter and agricultural byproducts, offer promising alternatives to fossil fuels.
“It’s absolutely essential to keep advancing biofuels because biofuels can play a wider role in reduction of fossil fuels and help reduce all the issues that have come up because of fossil fuels, including fluctuating oil prices, peak oil scenario, and the reality that fossil fuels may not be here forever, as well as the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuels,” says Anju Dahiya, Ph.D., biofuels instructor and director of the University of Vermont’s Bioenergy Program and co-founder and president of GSR Solutions, a Burlington company focused on renewable energy solutions. She also is the editor of the recently published, comprehensive textbook, Bioenergy: Biomass to Biofuels.
Estimates vary on when the world’s oil reserves will run out. Public and political attention to the issue waxes and wanes, often due to fluctuating gas prices or the emerging new technologies, such as fracking, that boost oil reserves. That leads some doubters to question the reality of peak oil.
Yet even the oil and gas industry recognizes oil as a finite resource. BP (British Petroleum) reports the world has enough oil to last a little over 50 years. That’s not a lot of time, especially when widespread use of more sustainable fuels, such as biofuels, could be years away.

UVM Course on Bioenergy Melds Academia, Industry

Scientists, however, remain committed to renewable bioenergy solutions. And Dahiya, with one foot in academia and another in industry, is constantly looking for ways to connect the two worlds, ensuring bioenergy research can be more quickly applied for practical use.
To do that, she began teaching a course on “Biomass to Biofuels” at UVM in 2009, drawing college students, farmers, entrepreneurs, bank loan officers, engineers, teachers, and others who wanted to know more about developing renewable energy from biological matter.
“How I designed this course is to bring together the biofuels-focused businesses in Vermont and farms in Vermont and to motivate students to build their own businesses or however they would like to contribute to bioenergy areas,” Dahiya says.
She is working with UVM Continuing and Distance Education to add an online version of the course, potentially reaching even more people outside Vermont. She plans to maintain the same curriculum and offer “virtual” field trips, lectures from experts and researchers, and demonstrations of biofuels equipment. But she hopes to revamp the service-learning component, allowing students to complete hands-on projects in their hometowns.
Through such projects, students apply what they are learning to real life. One student, for example, developed a proposal for a wood pellet cooperative so low-income people could access and use this renewable source of heating fuel. Other students partnered with Avatar Energy of South Burlington on a scalable anaerobic digester to turn food waste into fuel, among other projects.

A Textbook Solution

But until recently, something was missing from the course: a textbook. There was no single work that provided an overview of the current research and discussions regarding biofuels.
bookcover
“Students were asking: Is there a book for your course?” Dahiya recalls. “Each topic in the course involved multiple books, and I figured out there was a need for this kind of book, and that is how the book was born.”
Over two years, she created and edited the 670-page “Bioenergy: Biomass to Biofuels,” published by Elsevier Inc. It brings together education and research from the leading bioenergy experts from universities and extension services, government laboratories, and nonprofit groups across the country.
Bioenergy advocates had eagerly awaited the text, according to Joanne Ivancic, J.D., executive director of the nonprofit group Advanced Biofuels USA.
“It fills a need not only for current students, but should also serve as a basic resource for anyone interested in an organized introduction to the language, feedstocks, technologies, and products in the bio-based renewable energy world, including transportation fuels,” Ivancic writes in the book’s foreword. “We need a text that discusses the challenges of transitioning away from fossil fuel, not as barriers to change, but as issues worthy of serious study, research, and reflection. … This is that text.”
“Bioenergy: Biomass to Biofuels” includes:
  • A general overview of bioenergy
  • Detailed explanations, examples, and in-depth technical information of all possible bioenergy resources, including solid (wood and grasses); liquid (biodiesel including oil seeds, ethanol, and algae oil); and biogas (such as that from manure and farm waste)
  • Cost-effective ways to convert and produce biofuels
  • The economic, sustainable, environmental, and policy aspects of bioenergy
  • Service-learning case studies and quizzes

Capturing Fuel from Green, Slimy Algae

Dahiya first developed an interest in biofuels during discussions she had with other research scientists and students at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory’s Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies at the University of Maryland, from 2001 to 2002.
As a Ph.D. student focused on environmental pollution in the 1990s, “what caught my attention was nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in natural water bodies.” Nitrogen and phosphorous promote macrophytes, such as water hyacinths, and microphytes, the green, slimy algae that run rampant in freshwater ponds and lakes.
In Maryland and then in Vermont, she wondered: How could scientists and industries better capture that green slime and turn it into fuel?
Using algae, she concluded, would avoid the “food versus fuel” debate that arises when crops such as corn are diverted from the world’s food supply into fuel production.
“I thought the best possible and feasible solution would be any fuel that we could capture from waste. It solves two problems at the same time: treating waste and then generating fuel from it,” Dahiya says. “One of the best solutions I had when it came to biofuels was advanced biofuels from non-food algae and capturing wastewater nitrogen and phosphorus found in pollution runoff, and that got me interested in biofuels and bioprocessing at the front end or back end of life cycles.”

Why Advanced Biofuels Make Sense

Research into renewable energy sources, including algae, is not new. The University of California, Berkley, was using algae for wastewater treatment in the 1950s, Dahiya says. The U.S. Department of Energy already has poured $25 million over two decades into a project to identify algae strains and to produce oil from it.
“The algae biofuel focus started in the 1970s during the oil crisis,” she explains. Algae is attractive as a fuel source, according Dahiya, because “it’s a non-food, it uses wastewater as a source of nutrients, and the oil yield per acre per year is the best of all the biofuels. Corn produces 18 gallons of oil per acre per year. Sunflowers produce 102 gallons, and jatropha, 202 gallons, of oil per acre per year. Algae can produce 10,000 gallons.”
Also, while sunflowers and jatropha would divert acres for fuel instead of food, algae “is more advanced in that there is a synergy with waste treatment,” she says. “Waste is not going away. Human society is generating huge amounts of waste. Algal oil gives us the chance to utilize all these resources.”
Still, she cautions, “there is not one silver bullet, one single biofuel, that can solve all the issues around bioenergy. It’s a synergy of all these biofuel options that could take us away from our dependence on fossil fuels. Wherever there are energy needs, bioenergy can be used.”
A successful bioenergy system, she says, would mean “we are producing surplus biofuels compared to the amount of energy that goes into producing that fuel.”

Vermont Company Explores Ways to Capture, Use Advanced Biofuel Energy

Through her work with GSR Solutions, Dahiya is identifying those energy needs and solutions. Currently, she is looking for cost-effective, environmentally sound ways to turn algal oil from waste – whether it’s manure from Vermont dairy farms or byproducts from local beer breweries – into biofuels to heat homes or power vehicles, jets and equipment.
Her research has been supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and NASA, as well as the National Science Foundation, Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, and EPSCoR. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, programs, and workshops, and her work has received extensive media coverage.
“Dahiya’s enterprise is the first to produce oil by using farm waste as food for the oil-producing algae,” Vermont Public Radio noted. “This is an important first step,” Todd Campbell, energy advisor to the U.S. secretary of agriculture, told VPR. “And what we’re interested in at USDA, is proving out the concept, taking small steps forward to optimizing systems.”
Dahiya is a grant recipient and research collaborator with the Vermont Bioenergy Initiative, which connects diversified agriculture and local renewable energy production for on-farm and community use by supporting research, technical assistance, and infrastructure development in emerging areas of bioenergy including algae production for biofuels and wastewater management.
With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy secured by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Bioenergy Initiative has supported a number of Dahiya’s algae to biofuel research projects. Her advanced biofuel research and development is determining the most viable and cost-effective methods for accessing algae’s commercial potential to produce clean renewable energy while treating wastewater and supplying nutrient-rich feeds and food.
Overcoming Challenges for Bioenergy
What is the future of bioenergy?
“As we move forward, we have to tackle issues such as ethanol,” Dahiya says. “How do we efficiently break down non-food organic material without putting too much energy into it to produce fuel? Those types of advances would take care of the ethanol issue, so fuel is not coming from food but from food waste and even organic solid waste.”
In addition, she says, co-locating facilities such as biodiesel and ethanol production and “exploring complementary processes, so that multiple products are produced from the same processes, making them cost-effective, would move us forward very quickly.”
Even more important, Dahiya says, would be “all the different energy solutions – solar, wind and bioenergy – working together in a complementary way. Right now, they are working in separate areas. I visualize synergistic energy solutions that use all these different pieces.

The Nile Project: Major International Sustainability and Music Project Comes to UVM

By Natalie Neuert
A ground-breaking, innovative, and exciting program called the Nile Project will come to Burlington for a concert at the Flynn Center, followed by three days of workshops, classroom visits, and community outreach centered on UVM’s campus. The event is co-presented by UVM’s own Lane Series and the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts.

What is The Nile Project?

What happens when you bring artists from the 11 Nile nations on stage together to explore the synergies, history, diverse instruments, languages, and cultures of their region? And what happens when those musicians join forces with ecologists, sustainability experts, global leaders, and university students from around the world to create change through music, education, dialogue, leadership, and innovation?
the-nile-projectAccording to Egyptian/American Ethnomusicologist and program co-founder Minas Girgis, “For many projects, music is the end result. But for us, it is just the beginning. The integration of music with youth leadership and innovation, we hope, will create a driving force that will change the way Nile citizens relate to each other and their shared ecosystem.”
Originally conceived as a collaborative music project along the lines of Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project (which explored the multiplicity of musical cultures along that major trading route), the Nile Project has become a major global education and development initiative. Girgis and his friend, Ethiopian-American singer Meklit Hadero, had the idea. “Why don’t we create a project that brings musicians from across the river together,” Hadero tells National Public Radio, recounting the moment. “Wouldn’t that be amazing?” They realized music could be a door-opener for a much larger project aimed at sustaining a finite resource and fostering a new regional identity.

Opening Doors Internationally

The project quickly attracted funding, including a grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts, which grew into an extensive tour that includes UVM. Many tour locations are colleges and universities (Middlebury, Dartmouth, Williams, U Mass Amherst, Boston University) because a major focus of the project is empowering students to create change: university students around the world are encouraged to participate in the Nile Project through workshops, seminars, concerts, and even a Nile Prize and Fellowship to be awarded to students who craft innovative solutions to the challenges that define the Nile Basin.
Although Burlington is not a river community, issues of water sustainability and global citizenship have great resonance among UVM students in environmental studies, engineering, global studies, and more, who will be involved in the workshops and class visits. With its emphasis on sustainability and environmental stewardship, UVM is in a strong position to host this innovative, student-centered project.
The residency begins with a concert at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, March 28th at 8 pm. Anyone with a UVM ID can attend for just $10, and these discounted tickets will be available at the Flynn box office on the night of the show. The Nile Project concerts are thrilling musical events celebrating the dynamic music of East Africa and showcasing many different yet interrelated musical cultures.
the-nile-projectThe New York Times called a recent concert at the world music festival GlobalFest “a committed, euphoric, international coalition” and went on to say, “The musicians had worked out the nuances of modes and rhythms to join one another’s songs, no longer separated by geography or politics. Some of the music showed roots in Arabic culture, some in East African polyrhythms; the words were in various languages, the voices gentle or declamatory or cutting.” The musicians will also participate in a weekend community drum circle at the Flynn (free and open to all; for info call 802-656-4455) and perform a student matinee for more than 1,400 area school children.
After these community events, Nile Project members will spend two days on UVM’s campus with students and faculty in a series of classroom visits. At the Rubenstein School of the Environment, they will take part in a panel discussion in a class on International Environmental Studies.
Nile Project concert in Al Azhar Park, Cairo, Egypt, 31 January, 2013.Musicians from the project will visit two classes in the Department of Religion to discuss how music transcends cultural and physical boundaries.
They will also participate in a mini-concert, followed by a community dinner with the UVM Global Village at Living and Learning, hosted by the Residential Community Africa House. In addition, they’ll work with students in Global Studies and Cultural Anthropology, and their tour manager will participate in a Music class in Arts Management to discuss the challenges and rewards of putting together such a massive tour.
“The Nile Project engages students by performing many of the complex connections that sustain the Nile River basin region. Abstract and seemingly distant course concepts, such as scale and trans-boundary river basin ecologies, come to life through the mixing of sounds and stories that previously existed in largely separated spaces,” says UVM Environmental Studies Professor Ingrid Nelson. “The Nile Project inspires students to consider how to listen and learn with individuals and communities across many boundaries to address urgent environmental and political issues.”

Daline Derival Reflects Upon Her Public Health Career

By Mariette Landry
Daline Derival, M.P.H., completed UVM’s Post-Baccalaureate Premedical program in 2014. She is Program Evaluator and Public Health Core Faculty member for the VT-LEND program, whichprovides graduate-level interdisciplinary training, services, and care to improve the health of infants, children, and adolescents with disabilities.
We asked her to talk to us about her background, experience, and investment in public health.

Can you tell us about your inspiration to pursue public health career?

I was born in Haiti during the Jean-Claude Duvalier (“Baby Doc”) regime, moved to the U.S. at age six, and grew up in Queens, New York. When I saw a PBS program on Doctors Without Borders (MSF), I decided that was the kind of work I wanted to do. After graduating from Queens College, City University of New York, I moved to Atlanta to attend Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where I earned my Master’s degree in Public Health in 2005.
I then worked for a public health consulting firm as a Statistical Program and Research Analyst for a CDC contract, before being promoted to Associate Project Manager. A 10-day service trip to Rwanda in 2006 reignited my passion for global health, and when I got back, I applied to the Peace Corps, where I served in Madagascar as a Health Extension Worker for 18 months, until civil unrest led to evacuation. I loved the work and wasn’t ready to return to the states, so I requested a transfer for the remaining nine months of my service. I was transferred to Mali, West Africa, and served there for 18 months.
After returning from the Peace Corps, I worked on the Polio Eradication Initiative and Global Health System Strengthening as a CDC contractor.

You worked as an epidemiologist in the Atlanta area. What brought you to Vermont, and what are you currently studying?

I moved to Vermont in 2014 to complete my prerequisites for nursing through UVM’s Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical program before applying to the Direct Entry Program in Nursing (DEPN). I completed my prerequisites in December, and I’m now taking a graduate seminar, Interdisciplinary Seminar in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, through the Vermont Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, where I am a hybrid fellow and faculty member.
I’d applied for a position with the VT-LEND program over the summer and was presented with the opportunity to work as Program Evaluator/Public Health faculty, while also taking the two seminars offered by the program. This has been an amazing experience for me!
My job involves conducting project evaluation to assure quality control and continued growth and development, in keeping with current best practices. I’m also responsible for public health consultation regarding training, service, technical assistance, and research issues with VT-LEND collaborating programs of the University, and MCH programs at the local, state, regional, and national levels.

What new knowledge or expertise has the VT-LEND program given you?

Prior to joining VT-LEND, I had no experience or knowledge of neurodevelopmental disabilities. Through LEND, I’m not only learning about the neurodevelopmental disabilities and how they affect people throughout their lifespan, but also about healthcare leadership principles, cultural and linguistic competence, and family-centered care. I’ve learned that disability is when the environment doesn’t support a person’s abilities, so our goals as health practitioners should focus on facilitating maximal function for people with disabilities. I’m also experiencing what being a culturally and linguistically competent health professional looks like.

What training does VT-LEND provide?

VT-LEND trains professionals working in medicine, education, speech-language pathology, social work, psychology, and public health (to name a few), on supporting people living with disabilities, as well as their families. This isn’t just based on didactic learning; rather, fellows and trainees have a chance to go out into the community through internships and family visits to practice what is learned in class. We also do interdisciplinary consultations, where any person or organization in the community can present a particularly perplexing problem to LEND faculty and get recommendations based on our diverse perspectives.

Can you tell us about your recent trip to Uganda and how you heard about this opportunity?

During my first months in UVM’s Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical program, Continuing and Distance Education Assistant Dean Beth Taylor-Nolan mentioned to me that a faculty member at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences had a background and interests similar to mine. I contacted Dr. Sarah Abrams and scheduled an appointment. During our meeting, I learned that Dr. Abrams is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) like me, and she’s interested in global health. Dr. Abrams asked me if I was interested in being a teaching assistant for the Community/Public Health Nursing course (PRNU 241), which takes place during the winter session in Uganda. Of course I was interested!
In January, I spent three weeks in the Kamuli District of Uganda, working with 10 senior-level undergraduate nursing students conducting community projects to promote public health and working in the district hospital. The community outreach—where nurses vaccinated children and women of childbearing age, while I assisted in handing out de-worming pills and vitamin A—reminded me of my days as a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar. But I also learned a great deal. It was a great experience all around.

Any last thoughts on your experience?

I came to Vermont for the school, but the experience I’ve had over the past few months has been more enriching than I could have imagined

Mental Health Matters Conference Speaker Emphasizes Power of Connection

By Jon Reidel
Despite a proliferation in health-related services for an increasing number of students experiencing anxiety, depression, stress and other mental health issues, it can be small acts of kindness and inclusion that make the biggest difference in a student’s overall college experience and general wellbeing.
That was the primary message delivered by Greg Eells, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at Cornell University, during his morning keynote address on March 12 before a packed Grand Maple Ballroom in UVM’s Dudley H. Davis Center at the “Mental Health Matters: Creating a Culture of Care in Higher Education” conference.
“Any interaction that includes a social connection can make a huge difference,” said Eells following his presentation. “If there’s one thing from this hour talk I hope people leave with it’s don’t underestimate the power of anyone in a faculty or staff role to take just a little extra time to do the little extra things like asking a student how they are doing. Even just a smile and taking the time to listen can make students feel more connected and accepted. Everyone here in this room has a role in connecting students to campus.”

Helping Students with Mental Health Matters

Eells, chair of the Mental Health Section of the American College Health Association (ACHA) and past president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD), presented a more comprehensive framework around helping students adjust to and succeed in college. He focused on the importance of cultivating resiliency in students by attaching key words to the phrase “resiliency S.A.V.E.S.” They included the cultivation of stronger social connections; a positive attitude; pursuing important values; accepting and dealing with emotions; and silliness (the ability to laugh and not take yourself too seriously).
“Our goal is to move the curve, and we can do that if we work together,” said Eells. “Hopefully this conference and talking about how we care and how we want to change the culture can create caring communities across all of our campuses.”
Other presentation topics throughout the day-long conference included innovative outreach programs, substance abuse, recovery, suicide prevention, cultural and linguistic competencies, psychiatric disabilities, autism spectrum, accommodations, LGBTQ identities, mind-body wellness, and strategies for managing distressed and disruptive students in the classroom.
The event included a keynote presentation by Henry Gates, father of Will Gates, a UVM student who died from a heroin overdose in 2009, titled “Helping students define the balance between personal freedom and personal responsibility — one father’s story. The film The Opiate Effect, a story about the effect the experience had on Gates and his family, was also shown.
The conference was sponsored by the University of Vermont, the Center for Health and Learning, the Vermont Department of Mental Health, the Vermont Department of Health and the U.S. Attorney’s Office

An In-Depth Look at UVM’s Leadership and Management Program

Radu Bostan completed UVM’s Leadership and Management Certificate Program in 2013. An experienced technology consultant with more than a decade of experience in retail and sales, Bostan earned his undergraduate degree and Master of Business Administration in the Republic of Moldova before coming to the United States 10 years ago.
UVM Outreach talked to Bostan about the challenges and rewards of training for a leadership position.
Why did you enroll in the UVM Leadership and Management Program?
leadership-and-management
I reached a moment when I wanted to challenge myself and my comfort zone at work and pursue a managerial path in my career. The Leadership and Management program offered me the knowledge and tools to improve my skills and get on the right path. My goal during the next five years is to take more responsibility and prepare myself for an executive position.
You mentioned that the Leadership and Management program helped give you the push to take on more leadership roles. How do you personally work on improving and educating yourself to be the best leader you can be?
I’m constantly taking the available courses offered for professional development by the company I work for (this helps you get you to know the ins and outs of the corporate culture), and also I take online courses on management, negotiations, and interpersonal skills.
Tell us about the work you’re doing at the Vermont Employment Agency.
The Vermont Employment Agency is a local, growing business that helps employees match their talent to the right job, while helping businesses saving time and money finding the right solutions for their needs. I’ve been advising the Agency in setting up a new location in St. Albans that will cover the Northern Vermont and Plattsburgh, N.Y., area, in addition to the existing branch in South Burlington.
What are some of the challenges and rewards of project management?
With regard to leadership and management, I’d say that being a leader is itself a challenge. While one needs to address external challenges by solving problems and dealing with crises, a project manager needs to keep up team spirit, overcome his or her internal limitations, such as fear, insecurity, and impatience. In the end, I believe it’s a constant process of improving and educating yourself so that you can better serve your team and help the organization reach its goals, which to me is the biggest reward.
How has the UVM Leadership and Management Certificate Program helped you professionally?
While I’m still working my way toward the career goals I’ve set for myself, the program has provided me a good initial push. I have confidently undertaken more leadership roles at my previous job, and I feel more prepared in my current position, which requires leadership skills.
What do you think it takes to succeed at project management? What are some of the pitfalls of project management if you don’t have proper training?
Being a leader, confidence is the key, but one should always be self-critical and aware of the circumstances. As a leader, I have found that being proactive, creative, objective, and collaborative very helpful in my role. In the relationship with the team that I manage, I always listen actively and seek feedback so that I can make an informed decision and feel confident about it.
Some might think they have leadership skills in their blood, but training is key. It will structure your knowledge and direct your strategies when dealing with different and difficult situations. Learning from others’ experience is a shortcut to your own success