Each year the University of Vermont recognizes outstanding individuals with honorary degrees at the main commencement ceremony. Criteria for selection is sustained & dedicated commitment to public life & service, significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge, OR significant contribution to the University’s ability to achieve its mission. The Rubenstein School was honored this morning to have President Sullivan recognize one of our very own for meeting ALL of these criteria many times over.
Crea Lintilhac, graduate class of 1978, founding member of our School’s Board of Advisers, tireless environmental advocate, and a trusted mentor and dear friend … thank you for all that you do for our School, University, State, and future generations that benefit from your hard work, dogged determination, and unparalleled generosity.
There was one particular quote from a letter supporting her nomination that comes closest to summarizing Crea’s decades of work on behalf of Vermont citizens. Stuart Comstock, President of The Vermont Community Foundation, said: “there is something of a soup-to-nuts approach to Crea’s philanthropy — identify the problem, research its root causes, and support the advocacy needed to bring about lasting change. This type of philanthropy is worth doing. It is worth emulating. And it is worth recognizing.”
It is difficult to imagine the State of Vermont or the University of Vermont without Crea’s impact through both her personal effort on boards, committees, and the halls of the State House, and the extraordinary generosity through grants and gifts of the Lintilhac Foundation. Please join me in thanking and congratulating Crea Lintilhac for this well deserved honor.
Jon D. Erickson
Interim Dean
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Jon D. Erickson 