RANDOLPH, Vt. — Vermont Tech is pleased to announce Roger Allbee as commencement speaker at the college’s commencement ceremony, taking place on May 17, 2014. Mr. Allbee, former Vermont Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets, will also be awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Science, honoris causa. The ceremony will take place in the Shapiro Field House on the Norwich University campus in Northfield, VT.
“Roger Allbee is an inspiration to the college community,” said Dan Smith, interim president at Vermont Tech. “Mr. Allbee’s long-term commitment to the role of agriculture and the working landscape has helped to guide our work at Vermont Tech. He is a friend to Vermonters and a strong advocate for Vermont farmers. We are extremely pleased to have him deliver the 2014 commencement speech and join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our new graduates and their families.”
Mr. Allbee attended the University of Vermont after high school to obtain his bachelors of science in Agriculture Economics. He then joined the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to obtain his masters degree in Agriculture Economics. After graduation, Mr. Allbee began his extensive work in the agriculture industry in the state of Vermont.
In his dedicated career of public service in Vermont, Mr. Allbee has served as the Secretary of Agriculture, Food, and Markets and has been an ambassador for Vermont agricultural products around the world, including Europe and Asia. Currently he is working on VIEWBOOST, a rural tourism application for mobile devices. VIEWBOOST connects tourists to places, events and businesses in real time and is using Vermont as a model.
Over the past several years, Mr. Allbee has served as a valuable advisor to Vermont Tech, providing his expert insight on the changing landscape in the agriculture, food systems, and working landscape environment in Vermont and around the world. Mr. Allbee was also an important voice in the development of Vermont Tech’s GroundWork Series, a set of conferences on agriculture, innovation and education that launched the Institute for Applied Agriculture and Food Systems. He also currently serves as chairperson of the Advisory Board for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont.
For more information about Vermont Tech, please visit www.vtc.edu.
###
About Vermont Tech – Vermont Tech is the only public institution of higher learning in Vermont whose mission is applied education. One of the five Vermont State Colleges, Vermont Tech serves students from throughout Vermont, New England, and beyond at its two residential campuses in Williston and Randolph Center, regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington, and at five nursing campuses located throughout the state. Vermont Tech takes an optimistic, rooted and personal approach to education to support students in gaining the confidence and practical skills necessary to not only see their potential, but to experience it. Our academic programs encompass a wide range of engineering technology, agricultural, health, and business fields that are vital to producing the knowledgeable workers needed most by employers in the state and in the region. www.vtc.edu.