UI&U Welcomes Graduates for National Commencement Weekend Oct. 15-16

Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr., executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, to deliver commencement address


WALNUT HILLS – Union Institute & University (UI&U) is proud to welcome its newest graduates from Cincinnati and across the country on October 15 and 16 for the university’s National Commencement Weekend. The graduates have earned doctoral, masters, and undergraduate degrees from the private, non-profit university that, since 1964, has provided higher education opportunities for adults.

The events begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday, October 15, with the President’s Reception, held at the UI&U Cincinnati Academic Center in Walnut Hills. The reception is an opportunity for new graduates and their families to celebrate their accomplishments with UI&U President Dr. Roger H. Sublett, trustees, faculty, alumni, and fellow graduates. The weekend culminates with the UI&U National Commencement, Saturday, October 16, at 11 am in the Hall of Mirrors at the Hilton Netherland Plaza in downtown Cincinnati.

Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr. executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities will deliver the commencement keynote address. “Our university is committed to graduating learners who go on to become leaders in their communities,” said President Sublett. “Dr. Wilson is an inspiring speaker and scholar and we are very honored that he will help inspire our graduates as they make a difference in their work and their communities around the nation.

Wilson was recently appointed by President Barack Obama to be executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In this role, Wilson works as liaison between the executive branch of the government and HBCUs. Said President Obama, in a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Education, “We're delighted to have someone with the breadth and quality of experience that Dr. Wilson brings to address the challenges our HBCUs face. His expertise and insight will be invaluable to the Department."

UI&U’s President’s Reception will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Friday, October 15, at the Cincinnati Academic Center, 440 East McMillan Street, Walnut Hills. The UI&U National Commencement is at 11 a.m. Saturday, October 16, in the Hall of Mirrors, at the Hilton Netherland Plaza, 35 West Fifth Street, downtown.

UI&U is headquartered in Cincinnati and has centers in Brattleboro and Montpelier, VT., Sacramento and Los Angeles, CA, and Miami, FL. For more information on the national commencement events, please contact Nicole Hamilton, public relations manager, at 513-487-1194 or at Nicole.hamilton@myunion.edu.

UI&U Elects Two New Board of Trustee Members

Matthew Quinn

Dr. Matthew J. Quinn and Susan Porter Robinson are leaders in higher education

CINCINNATI – Union Institute & University (UI&U), a private, non-profit university headquartered in Cincinnati is proud to announce that Dr. Matthew J. Quinn and Susan Porter Robison, both leaders in higher education, have been elected to the Union Institute & University Board of Trustees.

“We are honored that Matthew Quinn and Susan Porter Robinson have chosen to join our board,” said Dr. Roger H. Sublett, president of Union Institute & University. “Their leadership will prove invaluable as we move the university into the future and continue to find the best ways to provide innovative and practical degree completion options for the adult learner who wants to make a difference in their lives and in their communities.”

Susan Porter Robinson

Matthew J. Quinn is the founding executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, established in August 2000. He became emeritus executive director in September 2009. The Foundation’s mission is to advance the education of high-achieving students who have financial need. With an initial endowment of over $600 million, the foundation, since its inception, has provided more than $70 million in scholarship support to several thousand students through its three scholarship programs and also awarded approximately $30 million in major grants to organizations which enhance the foundation’s work.

Prior to working for the foundation, Quinn served as president of Carroll College in Helena, MT, for 11 years. He also served as vice president for academic affairs at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia; as dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY; as a director for New Jersey State Universities Offices; and as director of public relations and publications for College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Quinn received a B.A. in classics from Fordham University, a Ph.L in philosophy, with honors, from Woodstock College, an M.A. in English from Fordham University, a Ph.D. in management of higher education, with highest distinction, from Boston College, and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Quinn is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.

He has served on many boards, including the American Association of University Administrators, as an advisor for the Kellogg National Leadership Program as part of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and on The Council on Women in Higher Education, an ACE commission.

Quinn currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation, as well as on the Board of Directors of the Council of Independent Colleges and on the Advisory Board of the Loudoun Education Foundation.

Susan Porter Robinson held various positions at the American Council on Education from 1984 until 2009, culminating in her role as vice president for lifelong learning from 1997 until 2009. In this role, Porter Robinson supervised and oversaw the Center’s corporate and military programs, its $5 million budget, and 35 staff members. She also served as a liaison between the association community and presidents of colleges and universities, all U.S. armed services and the Department of Defense, reporters and media, business executives, labor leaders, distance learning executives, national policymakers, and international leaders in higher education and lifelong learning.

Before becoming vice president of lifelong learning, Porter Robinson served as acting director of ACE CREDIT program, director of outreach and communications for ACE’s Center for Adult Learning and Education Credentials, and editor of GED Items and of the GED Writing and Literature and the Arts tests. She has also served as an instructor of English and composition at various universities in the United States, and as an instructor of English as a Foreign Language at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain.

A national and international speaker for more than 25 years, Robinson has a B.A. in secondary education and English from Marywood University in Scranton, PA, an M.A. in English from Duke University, and a certificate in Contemplative Leadership of Prayer Groups and Retreats from the Shalem Institute on Spiritual Formation in Washington, D.C. She received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Excelsior College in 2005 for a lifetime of advancing adult learning in higher education. Her writings in adult learning and psychology have been widely published.

Robinson’s service on boards includes the editorial and research boards and an external advisor of the University of Hong Kong’s School of Professional and Continuing Education, the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (a lifetime appointment by the Office of the Secretary of Defense), the USDA Board, as appointed by former Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, the Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges, and the Coalition of Lifelong Learning Organizations.

For more information contact Nicole Hamilton, UI&U public relations manager, at 513-487-1194 or at Nicole.hamilton@myunion.edu.

Union Institute & University Celebrates Constitution Day

Since 1964, Union Institute & University has dedicated its mission, vision, and academic curricula to instilling within our learners the importance of social responsibility. We take great pride in the fact that our graduates commit their lives to serve and better their communities. In celebration of Constitution Day, we ask that each of us pause and reflect upon our role within society, our rights and responsibilities, and the way in which those rights are provided and protected.

Civics education is a life-long journey. Take a moment to peruse the UI&U Constitution Day website and learn more about the founding framework of the United States of America.

UI&U Constitution Day Celebration

• View the original U.S. Constitution and read the transcript

• Take a virtual tour of the National Constitution Center

• Discover little-known facts about the founding fathers

• Take the Constitution Day quiz, created by the Bill of Rights Institute

Brattleboro Center Hosts Area's First Higher Education Fair Sept. 30

Fair will feature representatives from several Brattleboro-area colleges and universities


BRATTLEBORO – Union Institute & University, a private, non-profit university with two locations in Vermont, will host the first Brattleboro Area Higher Education Fair, Thursday, September 30, from 5-7 p.m. at VABEC on Old Guilford Road in Brattleboro. The event is co-sponsored by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce as part of their September Swing into Fall series and will feature representatives from a number of Brattleboro-area colleges and universities including:

Community College of Vermont
Union Institute & University
Marlboro College
SIT Graduate Institute
Greenfield Community College
Keene State College
Landmark College

Michele Delhaye from VSAC will also be present to answer questions about financing education.

The education fair is ideal for students and parents, as well as faculty and staff from local schools and agencies who want to learn more about high quality degree and continuing education programs located in Brattleboro and neighboring areas. Representatives will be on hand to answer questions about a number of important topics including: graduate education; low-residency and online degree programs; study abroad; and choosing between a two-year specialized or community college.

Informational break-out sessions will be offered for those who want to learn more about a particular college or university, admissions requirements, application processes, and majors, concentrations or specific degree offerings.

The free event will feature door prizes and light refreshments. For more information contact the Brattleboro Center at brattleborocenter@myunion.edu, or at 802-257-9411.

UI&U Grad Lisa Lorimer to Present Talk in Brattleboro September 12

Lorimer will discuss her new book about the challenges and rewards of running a business


BRATTLEBORO, VT – Union Institute & University, a private, non-profit university with locations in both Brattleboro and Montpelier, will host a talk with UI&U alumna Lisa Lorimer, founder and former CEO of the Vermont Bread Company, at 1 p.m. Sunday, September 12, at its Brattleboro Academic Center. The talk is free and open to the public.

Lorimer will be discussing leadership and her new book co-authored with Birkenstock founder Margot Fraser entitled: Dealing with the Tough Stuff: Practical Wisdom for Running a Values-Driven Business. The book features true stories about the real pitfalls of running a business and outlines struggles faced by business leaders.

“Anyone who runs their own business will tell you: it isn't easy. There's always more work than time to do it, and for every time things seem under control, unforeseen complications await. The good news is, it is possible,” says Lorimer, who graduated from UI&U in 1993.

A Vermont native, Lorimer is often credited with helping fuel the boom in organic food sales over the past two decades. She sold her controlling interest in 2004 but continues as a significant investor and board member of the company she helped found in 1978 in a country barn in Brattleboro. With nearly $20 million in sales per year, the Vermont Bread Company was the largest producer of all-natural, premium, and certified organic breads and muffins in the Northeast United States. Under her leadership, it was the largest woman-owned manufacturing firm in Vermont and has been featured in magazines such as Inc., Baking Management, and Family Circle.

Lorimer was already a successful entrepreneur when she began her degree program at UI&U, and she is passionate about the education she received. “My experience (as a U&IU learner) was transformational,” said Lorimer. “My advisors helped me find my voice as a writer.”

In addition to her B.A. from Union Institute and University, Lorimer completed the three-year Owner President Management Program at Harvard Business School. She is also an alumna of the Vermont Leadership Institute’s inaugural class of 1996, and now serves as a faculty member.

Lorimer serves on the Board of Directors of the Vermont Community Foundation and the Snelling Center for Government at the University of Vermont. A fundraising volunteer for the Women’s Crisis Center, she is also a member of the Education Committee for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. She served as a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business, where she served on the Research Advisory Committee for the Peace & Justice Center’s Vermont Job Gap Study Basic Needs and Livable Wage report in 1998.

The talk will begin at 1 p.m. and will take place Sunday, September 12, at the UI&U Brattleboro Academic Center, 3 University Way on Old Guilford Road at VABEC. The event will also feature door prizes and a chance to win an Amazon Kindle. For more information and to RSVP contact the Brattleboro Center: brattleborocenter@myunion.edu or 802-257-9411.