There are 125 open positions at the University of Vermont. And for the next two months, the majority of those jobs very likely won’t be filled. That’s after the university announced a 60-day hiring pause starting this week, citing uncertainty of multiple sources of federal funding and the potential for a partial federal government shutdown next week.

“We think it’s better to not be hiring people if we don’t know if we can continue to afford to pay them,” Richard Cate, vice president for finance at UVM, said in an interview.

The hiring pause applies to all open faculty, staff and postdoc positions, not to temporary or student positions. Cate said the university will honor offers already extended and they’ll make some exceptions to the hiring pause — like to replace faculty members who are retiring at the end of the year.

Multiple universities across the country have enacted hiring freezes in recent weeks. That’s as the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to cut funding for research, including executive orders blocking funding for research related to race and gender and reducing grant funding from the National Institutes of Health — a policy that has been temporarily halted in federal court.

“Whether it’s NIH, or NSF (National Science Foundation) or the Department of Agriculture, they’re all about the degree to which the federal government will support the cost of the research,” Cate said. “All of the proposals that have been out there would reduce what they’re currently paying.”

The university received over $266 million in research funding last year, including $49 million from the NIH.

Last month, Kirk Dombrowski, vice president for research at UVM, told Vermont Public that research activities related to government contracts would continue as normal for the time being.

“As it is right now, we don’t have any reason to stop doing what we’ve always done,” he said.

Separately, the university was already planning for a roughly 2% reduction in spending to cover the rising costs of employee health insurance.

For now, Cate said the pause in hiring is a way to buy time to better understand what changes might happen and when.

“Hopefully we know more in 60 days,” he said.

“If there is still a lot of unanswered questions at that point, we might well extend.”

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SUTTON — Vermont Gov. Phil Scott tapped a maple tree at Pure Gold Sugaring in Sutton on March 3 to mark the start of the state’s maple season, according to a community announcement.

Scott was joined by the Solinsky family and Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts to celebrate the state’s maple industry, which plays a significant role in Vermont’s economy and culture.

“This important event recognizes Vermont’s maple industry and the hard-working families that produce the best maple in the world,” Scott said. “The Solinsky family, and so many families like theirs, work to make sure our state is producing the highest quality maple syrup. Their hard work and dedication year-round is why we continue to lead the nation in maple production and excellence.”

History of Pure Gold Sugaring

The Solinsky family began their maple operation in the 1940s, using wooden buckets and horse-drawn sleighs to collect sap. Today, the operation has expanded to include over 7,000 pipelined maples with modern amenities, allowing them to collect more sap while preserving the integrity of the trees.

“Sugaring season is about connecting with our friends, family and community through the wonders of Mother Nature, with our maple syrup as a sweet bonus,” Kurt Solinsky of Pure Gold Sugaring said. “We are fortunate to have had past generations instill the importance of forest management and care to help us be able to expand to the size we are today, while still producing the highest quality maple syrup that we can. We hope to continue that tradition for my sons and our family’s future generations and prove what my dad always said after each boil, that ‘this is the best syrup ever!’”

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets supports the state’s maple industry through marketing programs, labeling and product quality inspections, and funding for the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association Sugarhouse Certification Program. In 2024, the agency awarded Maple Agriculture Development Grants totaling $540,000 to 11 Vermont maple producers. These grants aim to improve infrastructure, enhance food safety, increase operational efficiency and adapt to climate changes.

“For generations, the Solinsky family has helped Vermont become the leading maple syrup producer in the nation, with the help of families like theirs across the state,” Tebbetts said. “The impact this industry has on Vermont’s economy and brand is significant and special. We are here to recognize families like the Solinskys who help Vermont maintain the high quantity and quality of maple production year-to-year. We celebrate the sweetness of Vermont’s maple producers and products!”

Upcoming maple events

Vermont sugar makers are now working to produce pure Vermont maple syrup for the season. The annual Vermont Maple Open House Weekend, scheduled for March 22-23, will offer Vermonters and visitors the opportunity to visit sugarhouses around the state. More information can be found at vermontmaple.org/mohw.

Two additional events in April will celebrate the state’s maple industry. The Vermont Maple Festival, taking place April 25-27, will feature various events and food opportunities. The Kingdom Maple Festival, scheduled for April 19 in St. Johnsbury, will showcase Northeast Kingdom maple history and producers, along with treats and activities for the whole family.

This story was created by reporter Beth McDermott, bmcdermott1@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more.

Four federal facilities in Vermont could be on the chopping block as the Trump administration seeks to sell off what it has deemed “non-core” government properties in an effort to cut costs.  

The U.S. General Services Administration on Tuesday published a list of 320 federal facilities considered “not core to government operations” that the agency said it would look to shutter or sell, including the Winston Prouty Federal Building in Essex Junction, the U.S. Post Office and Customs building in St. Albans and the Social Security Administration offices on School St. in Montpelier. 

A “shed” in Derby Line that was listed as used by the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service was also included in the inventory. 

By Wednesday afternoon, the list had been removed entirely from the agency’s website and replaced with a web page that said the list was now “coming soon.” The quick change raised further questions about whether the Trump administration would follow through on its plan to “dispose of” all the properties listed, as described on the web page.

“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale,” Paul Hughes, a spokesperson for the General Services Administration, said in a written statement to VTDigger.

During the disposal process, the General Services Administration, which manages real estate belonging to the federal government, can transfer or sell a property to any number of entities, including private companies and organs of state or local government.

Assuming the agency does move forward with its plans, it’s unclear what would happen to operations at the Vermont properties, some of which provide essential services to Vermonters and residents of neighboring states. 

Formerly a post office facility, the St. Albans property now houses the state’s only U.S. passport center, as well as offices for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the State Department, according to city manager Dominic Cloud. 

“The building has been a prominent fixture of downtown for a generation,” he said. “People from all over the Northeast come to get their passports here.”

Cloud emphasized that he hoped the decision to sell the facility wouldn’t necessarily spell the end of the passport center, as the offices could be moved elsewhere. But he also questioned the building’s designation as a “non-core” facility.

“Over the 15 years that I’ve been here the building has been nearly constantly invested in and improved,” Cloud said. “It’s not a white elephant by any measure.” 

“We’re monitoring the situation to see where it goes from here,” he said. 

In Montpelier, Mayor Jack McCullough said that although he was aware that the city’s Social Security office had appeared on the General Services Administration list, the city had received “no communication” from the federal government about possible plans for the building.

The General Services Administration is currently in the process of trying to sell off the Federal Building in Montpelier, which housed the city’s post office and other federal offices until it sustained significant flooding damage in July 2023 and shuttered its doors.

But McCullough said that, as far as he knew, the Social Security offices were still operating and serving Vermonters.

“It’s a real concern to me because I think people in the community have been relying on that office as a way of communicating with the Social Security Administration,” McCullough said. 

Assuming the building does get sold off, McCullough said, he hoped that the Social Security Administration would find another way to provide services to community members and that the facility would eventually fill a different need for Montpelier.

“One can imagine productive uses for the building,” McCullough said. “But I don’t really know what’s happening with it at this point.”

According to Hughes, the General Services Administration expects to republish the list “in the near future” and had received “an overwhelming amount of interest” in various properties on the list — though he did not specify whether any of the Vermont properties had garnered interest.

“To be clear, just because an asset is on the list doesn’t mean it’s immediately for sale. However, we will consider compelling offers (in accordance with applicable laws and regulations) and do what’s best for the needs of the federal government and taxpayer,” Hughes said.