Vision. Innovation. Passion.

You Make It Happen

The Welcome and Admissions Center at Roger H. Perry Hall is partially funded through generous donations by trustees, emeriti trustees, and close friends of Champlain who are early leaders in the College's $25 million comprehensive Campaign, Vision Innovation Passion. You make it happen. Perry Hall is the beginning of many initiatives designed to help our students learn in an environment that positions them for global citizenry and a lifetime of success.

The Focus Is Our Students

With the help of many additional donors, the College envisions funding enhanced academic initiatives, more financial aid and scholarship awards, and additional campus plan priorities to help today's most promising students compete in tomorrow's careers. New resources will enable faculty to better reach, teach, and inspire students; additional financial aid will help make the College affordable and attractive to a large population of students. In keeping with our master plan, the renovations of campus facilities and new buildings will blend harmoniously within Burlington's historic Hill section community.

Learning never ends; nor does change. By encouraging our faculty and students to constantly push at the edges of what is probable, we hope they will discover and understand what is possible. This will happen not just here in Vermont, where our roots and commitment remain strong and deeply embedded, but in new and exciting locations around the world. As the world becomes increasingly connected, our students must be equipped with the skills and courage to lead.

In the words of a longtime faculty member, "We didn't invent innovation; we are simply, and endlessly, perfecting it." The next round of innovation begins now, here in Perry Hall. Please join me as we take Champlain College boldly toward new horizons.

- President David F. Finney

Learn more about the Vision Innovation Passion Campaign online or call (802) 860-2752.

Roger H. Perry Hall Will Serve Students Well

By Sarah Soule '82

Champlain College has played a vital role in my life, both personally and professionally, for 30 years. In 1980, I walked into Bader Hall and was interviewed as a prospective student for the College's Marketing major. Upon completion of my degree, Verne McDonald, then the director of admissions at the College, offered me a position as an admission counselor at the College. Thus in 1982, my career in admissions and college counseling began.

I served the College as a senior member of the admission staff for 20 years prior to moving on to the Vermont Commons School, an independent college preparatory day school in South Burlington, in 2003, where I now oversee both the admission and college counseling departments. Vermont Commons was founded by former Champlain president Robert Skiff.

Over the past 28 years, I have witnessed Champlain College's emergence as one of the leading educational institutions in the northeast. Champlain has remained true to its mission, which is to educate students for successful professional work in rewarding career fields.

I'm just one of thousands of people who have been fortunate enough to have graduated from Champlain and found my way in a career that has provided tremendous personal and professional satisfaction. My current role involves helping students find the most appropriate match in relation to college placement. Each year, I counsel several of my Vermont Commons seniors to consider Champlain because of the exceptional majors, dynamic faculty, and incomparable facilities.

The brand-new Roger H. Perry Hall, which now houses admissions, financial aid, the registrar, and advising, is a key facility for Champlain and one that will continue to open doors for students who attend the College.
My former boss, and mentor, Verne McDonald, always told me "make sure each student feels as though they are the only person that matters." Verne would have been pleased to see Champlain thriving and he would have welcomed Perry Hall, the technology, and the way in which it is designed to serve students.

Sarah Soule '82 is the director of admissions and college counseling at the Vermont Commons School in South Burlington, Vermont She resides in Charlotte.