Memorial Tribute

To honor the individuals who graciously make anatomical gifts to the University of Vermont, Larner faculty, staff and students work together on a memorial tribute. This Tribute allows us to acknowledge those donors who have contributed to our courses over the past academic year and to pay our final respects to these individuals, whose studies are concluding. Family members and significant others of these – “Our Greatest Teachers” – are notified 2-3 months before the event.

Through the gratitude and donations of past students, a memorial bench was erected on the UVM Anatomical Gift Program burial lot in Greenmount Cemetery on May 8, 1996. Engraved on the bench is: "The UVM College of Medicine Medical Students dedicate this bench to those people who so generously donated their bodies to science. They were some of our best teachers".

The 2009 and 2010 first-year anatomy students, with the help of Student Council, raised funds to plant a memorial tree to honor our donors. In the spring of 2011, a weeping cherry tree was planted at UVM outside the Medical Education Pavilion, a place where medical students commonly gather to study, relax and meet with others. A plaque in front of the tree reads: "In gratitude to our greatest teachers". This sentiment is shared by generations of medical students who have been so generously provided the opportunity to learn from our donors.