University of Vermont administration affair?

"Romance at the University of Arizona"

By the water tower on April 23, 2025

by fishbowl
This story begins in the year 2019, when Suresh Garimella was appointed the 27th president of UVM and Patricia Prelock was appointed provost of our slayful university.

For five years these two worked side by side, hand in hand. Forging a partnership rooted in big responsibilities and being gay for each other.

A quote from our former president remarks, “She and I started together… and I couldn’t be doing my job without her.”

Close your eyes and imagine these two cracking jokes over their morning coffee or spending late nights in the office doing it. It being their jobs of course.

But if you close your eyes hard enough, you can see them being gay for each other.

It’s not just me saying this.

One of our own, Mr. Ron Lumbra of our Board of Trustees, told Vermont Business Magazine in 2023 that “Garimella and Prelock have compatible attributes” and compared their work relationship as “a nice yin-and-yang kind of balance–just outstanding for the university.”

In that same article, Garimella claimed that he and our girl Patty had shared “among the most successful years” in UVM history.

Also, it is worth noting how they became “joined at the hip” during COVID.

Therefore, it makes sense that their love story cannot end here. And so, I am glad to theorize that it doesn’t.

Our story moves forward to August 9, 2024, when the UVM community receives a critical email.

Our leader, the precious President Suresh Garimella, will be leaving us as he has been named the next president of the University of Arizona.

As Suresh took his leave to the deserted land of Arizona, we at UVM entered the era of hot girl interim presidency with her majesty Patty Prelock.

But life, as we know it, has steered us towards a new presidential era. Marlene Tromp and bestie boo Patty have found another path for themselves.

That’s right, folks, the day is April 8, 2025, and another email reached our inboxes from the Board of Trustees.

Cynthia Barnhart writes to offer a “warm congratulations to Patricia Prelock on her selection as provost at the University of Arizona, and our sincere thanks for her 30 years of distinguished service to the University of Vermont.”

Now, what the hell is a provost, and what the hell is going on in Arizona??

For the former, I can tell y’all that, “In a university setting, a provost is the chief academic officer, often serving as the deputy to the president and overseeing all academic matters” (Google’s AI Overview).

Are you telling me Patty is leaving Vermont to work with Suresh again?

It’s giving following your boss who is also your one true love across the country, so you can still work together.

Maybe that’s just the energy I’m picking up, but seriously, it’s the energy that this sly, UVM-made couple is putting down.

This, dear readers, is a U of A romance, one worth moving your life all the way across the country for. She’s following her heart. What’s more noble than that?

So come May 19, Patty will join former UVM president Suresh Garimella and his staff in Arizona. They will be together again, side by side, hand in hand.

And all things will be ok in the world as she works under him once more, and things will be right in the world once she climbs on top.

I can picture them stealing kisses from one another under the guise of Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat.

That’s right, the University of Arizona has two married mascots. They got married on November 21, 1986 because they are in love.

Just as Suresh and Patty are in love.

On April 11, 2025 Patty herself sent us an email about her acceptance of her new position at the U of A and her pride towards our university, home sweet Vermont.

She wrote, “I will forever treasure my time here and all that we accomplished together. UVM will always have a special place in my heart.”

Don’t you see? Even though it took her following Suresh across the country for us slow pokes to realize they were gay for each other (!!!), it was here at our University of Vermont where it all began.

They met here, in our Dunnel and on our University Green.

They shared their first smiles here, and maybe even their first, “I want to suck your toes.”

Despite the many problems at our university, we got the love, and now we got Suresh and Patty as living, thriving, dripping wet proof.