In Memoriam: Thomas Salmon

Thomas P. Salmon, the former Vermont governor who also served as president of the University of Vermont and on Middlebury’s Board of Trustees, died on January 14, 2025, at Pine Heights Rehabilitation Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was 92.

In 1972, during a time when the Republican Party dominated Vermont politics, Salmon ran for governor against a strong Republican candidate and pulled off what has been called “the biggest political upset in Vermont history,” winning the race with 56 percent of the vote. He went on to serve two terms before being defeated in a 1976 bid for the U.S. Senate. During his time as governor, he implemented reforms including a groundbreaking property tax relief program, and he worked to protect Vermont’s land and environment from rapid development and out-of-state speculation. During his campaign for governor, one of his rallying phrases was “Vermont is not for sale.”

Salmon was born on August 19, 1932, and was raised in Stow, Massachusetts, where he attended Hudson High School. He earned his undergraduate degree and a law degree from Boston College, then obtained a master’s from New York University Law School. In 1958, he moved to Vermont, where he spent the rest of his life. He established a law practice in Bellows Falls in 1959 and began his political career when he was elected to the Rockingham Town Council. He also served as a municipal court judge in Bellows Falls and spent several years in the Vermont House of Representatives, including serving as House Minority Leader.

After leaving the governorship, Salmon became a leader in Vermont’s business community, serving as the longtime chair of the Green Mountain Power Company and becoming the founding president of the Vermont Business Roundtable. In 1991, during a time of institutional crisis, he stepped in as the interim president at the University of Vermont, and in 1993 the university board formally appointed him president. After stepping down from the presidency, he joined Middlebury’s Board of Trustees in 1997 as a term trustee, holding the position until 2002. In the Minute honoring him as he completed his five years, it was said, “He brought the perspectives of a public servant, business leader, and university president” to his contributions to the board.

Predeceased by Madeleine Kelley, mother of his children, he is survived by his second wife, Susan Bisson-Salmon; his children, Anne, Caroline, Marguerite, and Thomas; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.