Brattleboro Center Commencements Are Learner-Designed, Learner-Centered

BRATTLEBORO – Union & University’s (UI&U) Brattleboro Center will host a commencement weekend December 11 and 12 for new graduates of the Bachelor of Arts Weekend residency program. On Saturday, the BA graduates will give presentations, open to the public, based on their BA studies. The weekend events will culminate at 11:45, Sunday, December 12, in the Community Room at the Vermont Academic Center when the graduates, their families and UI&U Brattleboro faculty and staff gather for the commencement.


“One of the most unique aspects of the Brattleboro B.A. commencements is that they are learner-centered and learner-created,” said Diane Robinson, director of admissions for the UI&U’s Brattleboro Academic Center. From the design and printing of the environmentally-friendly program (spearheaded by new BA graduate Alan Benoit of Manchester, VT) to choosing the speakers for Sunday’s commencement, the new graduating class organized the entire commencement ceremony.

Saturday presentations will take place from 1:15-4:35 p.m. and be held at the Vermont Academic Center. A copy of the schedule with the presentations is available at the Brattleboro Academic Center. The BA curriculum emphasizes practical, real-world application and community engagement and the culminating presentations are open to the public. BA graduate Jennifer Tucker will explore poverty and how it affects the education of children in her talk “Poverty and Education.” Learner Misty Kennedy will discuss the history, stages, and interpretations of children’s drawings in her talk “Drawings of Children,” and Alan Benoit will explain the concept of “green washing” in his talk “What Shade of Green.”

Union Institute & University’s Brattleboro Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and Master of Arts with concentrations in psychology and counseling programs are located in the Vermont Agricultural and Education Center on Old Guilford Road at 3 University Way. The Doctorate in Psychology (Psy.D.) program is based out of the Marlboro Graduate Center downtown. For more information about the Brattleboro degree programs and the B.A.commencement weekend please contact the Brattleboro Academic Center at 257-9411. For information about Union Institute & University visit www.myunion.edu or email: Brattleborocenter@myunion.edu.