By adding the Monterey Institute of International Studies as an affiliate, Middlebury once again makes a giant leap in educational innovation.
By President Ronald D. Liebowitz
On December 2, the College signed an agreement with the Monterey Institute of International Studies that made the Institute an affiliate of the College. The affiliation will help the College in a number of important ways. These include:
* providing an important presence on the West Coast/Pacific Rim, which will strengthen considerably Middlebury's admissions and career networks;
* enabling stronger Middlebury ties with Asia through Monterey's established relationships in China, Japan, and Korea;
* increasing academic and professional opportunities for our students;
* expanding internship and research opportunities for our students at Monterey's two research centers; and
* invigorating the College and curriculum through the exchange of faculty from
Middlebury and Monterey for a winter term, semester, or full year.
The affiliation, in short, will allow the College to leverage its existing strengths and become a much more visible leader in international education. For 50 years, Monterey has offered professional degrees in international studies based on linguistic competence and cross-cultural understanding. About a third of its students come from outside the United States, mainly from Asia, and many of them share a strong record of volunteerism and a deep commitment to engaging world problems and issues.
The importance of international education in this 21st century is clear: globalization and the increasing mobility among formerly disparate peoples, cultures, and ideologies require that our country's emerging leaders be educated with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world beyond our borders. The international component of the College is perhaps the one area where Middlebury enjoys enormous comparative and competitive advantages over all other liberal arts colleges and many leading universities.
Monterey's four graduate schools complement the College's intensive Language Schools and two of our most popular undergraduate majors (international politics and economics, and international studies). For example, the School of Translation and Interpretation, which is viewed as the preeminent program of its kind in North America, along with the School of Languages and Educational Linguistics, offer master's degrees in programs that are not offered on Middlebury's campus. In addition, the School of International Policy Studies (IPS) and the Fisher School of International Business (FSIB) represent natural pathways for students who have studied languages intensively and seek careers outside of teaching. IPS graduates work in governmental and nongovernmental jobs, as well as in the international private sector. FSIB specializes in international business and prepares students for careers in both the United States and abroad.
Though the most immediate benefits to the College will come from programmatic links among the four graduate schools and our Language Schools (along with the partner universities associated with our seven Schools Abroad), there are likely to be innovative collaborative opportunities for our faculty and undergraduate students. Specific ideas will eventually come from the faculty and our established educational policy committees, but already students and faculty have begun to brainstorm ideas on how the Institute's current offerings and resources can complement our undergraduate program.
However, the decision to enter into an affiliation agreement with Monterey did not come without considerable debate; in fact, at the outset of discussions, many in the on-campus community were opposed to the partnership. The faculty raised several points of concern, including that the administration would lose its focus on the College's most pressing needs; that our identity as a liberal arts college would be compromised; and that by adding to an established area of institutional strength—international education—we would overshadow the overall excellence of our academic program.
These concerns were all addressed to my satisfaction by June, when the Board of Trustees approved my recommendation to proceed with the affiliation. Among the steps we've taken in response to these points of concern:
By appointing a president—Dr. Clara Yu—to head the Institute, rather than a dean (who would report to the Middlebury president), my focus and energies, along with that of the senior administration, will not be distracted by the partnership.
By affiliating, we will not inherit any financial liabilities (though we will exercise great influence over the Institute). Neither Middlebury's operating budget nor its endowment will support the Institute. In fact, to date, with no active solicitation underway, alumni and friends who see the potential benefits to the College have pledged $12.1 million to the Monterey initiative, with $8.1 million now in hand.
By recognizing that we need not sacrifice our identity as a comprehensive liberal arts college to become a leader in such a vital curricular area as international studies, we can use the affiliation to enhance our academic programs. Perhaps unknown to many, Middlebury already awards approximately 275 master's degrees each year through our Language Schools, Schools Abroad, and the Bread Loaf School of English.
It is instructive to remind alumni and friends of the College that the Language Schools began and operated for more than 60 years solely for graduate students. In the 1970s the Language Schools began to offer intensive instruction for nongraduate degree students, and now more than 100 Middlebury undergraduate students attend the Language Schools each summer. Similarly, our Schools Abroad started as programs for graduate students and only began accepting undergraduate students in the late 1960s, when the junior year abroad became a popular part of undergraduate study. It is natural, then, to expect that the Institute will evolve to serve Middlebury undergraduates in creative and practical ways.
The change this affiliation represents for a small liberal arts college is hardly new to Middlebury. In fact, innovation and change have played important roles in the College's 205-year history. Several times the College has stepped outside its mission to introduce something new to improve the College's financial or competitive position. Here are some of the earlier innovations undertaken by College leaders, each of which had a profound impact on the College:
* 1880s: Coeducation was introduced.
* 1915: Intensive summer Language Schools began with the opening of the German School; eight more followed over the next 90 years.
* 1920s: The Bread Loaf School of English began. It is now the largest graduate program in English literature in the country.
* 1920s: The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the first of its kind, began. Today, it is recognized as the premier conference of its type.
* 1945: The first Middlebury School Abroad was established for M.A. students; six more were to follow over the next 60 years.
* 1965: The first environmental studies major in the country was established at Middlebury. It served as a precursor to a curriculum known today for its interdisciplinary strength.
* Late 1960s: The Middlebury Schools Abroad opened to Middlebury undergraduate students as study abroad during the junior year became popular. Today, Middlebury has 7 Schools Abroad in 10 countries, through agreements with 21 partner universities, and recruits students from other colleges and universities, mostly the Ivy League institutions.
• 1970s: The summer Language Schools introduced nongraduate degree programs. Today, Middlebury, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, and Berkeley are the primary feeder schools for these programs.
In each of these cases, the College acted strategically in pursuing program growth to strengthen its financial footing and academic stature. None of the innovations was a guaranteed success; yet, each has played a major role in the College's present-day strength, and each has enhanced the College's reputation and financial position since its introduction. The Monterey affiliation will represent yet another example of innovation—this time by giving Middlebury access to graduate programs in international studies that will complement our existing graduate programs in the Language Schools and at our Schools Abroad—and will provide new opportunities for our undergraduate students.
Through this particular agreement, Middlebury will enhance its standing in an area for which it is nationally known and, at the same time, complement its curricular offerings significantly without the additional fixed costs of building new physical infrastructure.
Over time, this affiliation will strengthen Middlebury and offer it a range of options and flexibility that will be crucial to the long-term well-being of the institution. I am excited about the prospects this agreement holds, and I invite ideas you may have regarding this particular affiliation or any others that can advance the College's mission to provide the best educational experience for our students.