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<img src="http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/images/features/boardpins_300x212.jpg" height="212" width="300" />The ¶¶Òõ̽̽ Board of Trustees took action on two high-profile items in its meeting May 21 and 22, electing to increase tuition four percent for the 2010/2011 academic year and giving the go-ahead to the Transdisciplinary Research Initiative, a far reaching program gaining attention in the national press that will focus a portion of future investment in three areas of interdisciplinary strength at the university.

<img src="http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/images/features/commencement2010_430x300.jpg" height="300" width="430" />At a sun-splashed commencement ceremony on the University Green before a crowd of more than 10,000, United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki told the largest and most diverse graduating class in the history of ¶¶Òõ̽̽ that what the world needs most is for them to make caring for others a personal devotion on a level that goes well beyond the traditional definition of volunteerism.

<img src="http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/images/features/ashley_300x212.jpg" height="212" width="300" />For ¶¶Òõ̽̽ social work students, the moment they know they've made the right career choice doesn't usually happen in the classroom. It often happens with a client during their field education placement with a local nonprofit or public agency. For senior Ashley Elder, one of those moments occurred this winter while working with a young woman at the Burlington Community Justice Center.

<p>The 2010 edition of ¶¶Òõ̽̽'s Student Research Conference occupied most of the fourth floor of the Davis Center from 8 a.m. setup until well past 4 p.m. on April 22 and attracted a crowd of observers. See and hear a handful of students explain their work in this audio slideshow.</p>