A message from the president on
the "100 Projects for Peace" initiative
September 25, 2006
Dear Students,
I write to invite you to participate in "100 Projects for Peace," an initiative funded by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, a philanthropist who is interested in finding new ways to advance world peace.
Undergraduate students at 76 campuses across the United States, including those of you who will graduate this academic year, are eligible to design and submit proposals that address the goal of improving the prospects for peace in the 21st century. The top 100 submissions from the 76 campuses, including at least two from Middlebury, will receive funding of $10,000 from Mrs. Davis with which to initiate projects anywhere in the world during the summer of 2007.
Mrs. Davis, currently 99 years old, has chosen to celebrate her upcoming centennial birthday by committing $1 million to fund "100 Projects for Peace." She said, "I want to use my 100th birthday to help young people launch some immediate initiatives that could bring new thinking to the prospects for peace in the world."
I want to stress that this an initiative for all students, and not those solely interested in politics, the social sciences, or international studies. None of you should feel there are disciplinary boundaries that prevent you from finding ways to tie your skills and talents into a good proposal related to world peace. In fact, I encourage those of you who never thought about the prospects for world peace to pursue this initiative. The creativity that Middlebury seeks to identify and support in implementing this program should be reflected in the way you link your individual strengths to the challenges of world peace.
For example, I can envision a biology major who has never taken a political science course, but who is interested in cell biology, using his or her interest and knowledge to link issues of germ warfare and weapons of mass destruction to a proposal on world peace. Similarly, the English, Religion, or Classics major, who might never have been interested in Iraq, Iran, Israel, Afghanistan, or Pakistan, might rely on his or her training in the close reading of texts to propose ways of finding common ground among peoples who today seem to share little in common other than mistrust and hatred, though they often share sacred texts.
The details on what you need to submit, and how and where to submit it, are found in the Question & Answer section. A successful proposal for Middlebury students will require you to consider and articulate the following in your proposals:
What differentiates you from others who may be applying for this grant in terms of your skills and talents?
How will you translate those skills and talents into a project related to world peace? And
How will you draw on the expertise of faculty, staff, and your fellow students here at Middlebury, as well as on networks of relevant people off-campus, including alumni, to develop a project that is both practical and can be implemented within the budget of $10,000?
Because the values that this project represent touches on what I believe are among the most important ones a liberal arts education can impart to its students — clear analytical thinking, excellent communications, self-confidence, creativity and initiative — I will fund a third excellent proposal from presidential discretionary funds to complement the two winners that Mrs. Davis will support.
I look forward to working with the selection committee to choose the three best proposals from Middlebury, and seeing how well many of you can link your skills and talents to the pursuit of world peace.
Ronald D. Liebowitz