New UVM administrator once falsely played the criminal race card

By Ted Cohen

The top academic officer just hired by the University of Vermont once falsely blamed black murders on whites during her previous employment.

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Elizabeth Dumont, named Monday as UVM's provost, comes from the University of California, where she's been provost and vice chancellor.

Dumont, who is white, six years ago signed on to a UCal administrative statement blasting three recent black homicides on what the signatories characterized as "systemic racism."

"We feel both outrage and grief over the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia," said the statement signed by 31 UCal officials.

"These are unconscionable acts of violence," the sponsors said. "Their deaths, and subsequent nationwide protests, once again present our country — and each one of us — with the imperative to confront the enduring legacy of slavery, segregation, racism and oppression in America."

The problem with Dumont's and her colleagues' claim is it flies directly in the face of national statistics on black victims of violent crime.

The vast majority of violent crime occurs intra-racially (within the same race) due to residential proximity, neighborhood segregation and concentrated poverty, according to data from federal crime reports and public health studies, cited by The Urban Institute..

Historical and national FBI homicide data show that roughly 85 to 90 percent of black homicides are committed by black offenders - not by whites, the institute said.

So much for the "systemic racism" errantly blamed by UVM's new provost for black homicides.

UVM President Marlene Tromp, in announcing Dumont's hire, praised the new provost who falsely blamed black murder in an alleged crime wave by whites for her "deep commitment to transparency and encouraging diverse perspectives through open and constructive discourse."

Trump claimed the new top academic officer has "values and priorities" that "align strongly" with Vermont's state university.

Dumont succeeds Linda Schadler, who has served two years as provost.

Schadler is retiring, according to a statement from UVM.