Born in Cleveland, Ohio, THOMAS P. SALMON graduated from Boston College in 1954 and received a J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1957 and an LL.M. from New York University School of Law in 1958. He went on to serve on the Rockingham, Vermont Town Counsel from 1959 to 1972 and as a Municipal Court Judge in Bellows Falls from 1963 to 1965. He was a member of the State House of Representatives from 1965 to 1970, serving as Minority Leader for two years. As governor, he chaired the New England Governors' Conference for two years and was a member of the National Governors Association's Executive Committee. In 1976, he made an unsuccessful bid for a U.S. Senate seat, but went on to become president of the University of Vermont.