Scholarship will honor beloved dean and support Castleton campus students
Castleton, VT — Vermont State University (VTSU) will honor the late Dean Honorée Fleming by supporting students who exhibit her academic spirit, strong work ethic and dedication to science. The Dean Honorée Fleming Memorial Financial Aid Fund, established at the direction of VTSU president David Bergh in consultation with Fleming’s husband, Ron Powers, will benefit students enrolled at the Castleton campus, with a preference for those who embody the values and qualities of Dean Honorée Fleming—for example, female students majoring in the sciences.
Fleming was killed in a still-unsolved shooting on a trail near the campus on October 5, 2023, stunningthe Castleton community. She had taught at Middlebury College before joining VTSU as Dean. She retired in 2012.
“Honorée was brilliant in science and the loving center of our household,” is how Powers describes his late wife. “We held hands for forty-seven years.”
The Fund will be administered by VTSU’s Office of Institutional Advancement. Ernie Fernández, Director of Institutional Advancement, said the Fund is set up to receive donations from colleagues, community members and others interested in honoring Fleming and supporting VTSU Castleton students. Contributions can be made at VermontState.edu/Fleming or mailed to the VTSU Advancement, Woodruff Hall, 62 Alumni Dr., Castleton, VT 05735.
“Honorée was a beloved leader, an exceptional scientist, and an inspiration to our entire community,” Bergh said. “Fittingly, the Dean Honorée Fleming Memorial Financial Aid Fund honors her extraordinary legacy by supporting students who share her passion for knowledge and her commitment to serving humanity through the sciences. It is a comfort to know that, in this way, Dean Fleming’s legacy within our Castleton community will endure, empowering current and future students to continue her work and carry forward her memory with purpose and dedication,” he added.
Powers, a Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning journalist and writer, is already a donor to the Fund created in his late wife’s honor, as is Castleton resident Mark Brown, who organized a collection to help establish the Fund earlier this year.
