Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

An Education

For nine months of the year, the University of Vermont campus is overrun with students, making its striking, historic setting something of an afterthought. Now that most college kids have cleared out for the summer, curious community members can soak up factoids about the fifth-oldest university in New England. UVM professor emeritus William Averyt illuminates its notable nooks and crannies on a 90-minute stroll, held every week through early October. His detailed narration gives equal attention to the architecture of buildings on the National Register of Historic Places and to tales of people who helped shape the campus. Highlights include the Richardsonian-Romanesque style of the Billings Student Center, and the grave of American philosopher and 1879 alum John Dewey. School may be out, but history class is definitely in session.