From its proud history spanning more than two centuries, Middlebury College has emerged as one of a handful of the most highly regarded liberal arts colleges. Middlebury is unique among these schools in being a classic liberal arts college that also offers graduate and specialized programs operating around the world. The College is building on these strengths in a time of global change and intense competition in higher education by redefining the boundaries of the institution for the new century.
Middlebury College is committed to educating students in the tradition of the liberal arts. This tradition embodies a method of discourse as well as a group of disciplines; in our scientifically and mathematically oriented majors, just as in the humanities, the social sciences, the arts, and the languages, we emphasize reflection, discussion, and intensive interactions between students and faculty members. Our vibrant residential community, remarkable facilities, and the diversity of our co-curricular activities and support services all exist primarily to serve these educational purposes.
As a residential college, Middlebury recognizes that education takes place both within and beyond the classroom. Since our founding in 1800, the College has sought to create and sustain an environment on campus that is conducive to learning and that fosters engaged discourse. Middlebury is centrally committed to the value of a diverse and respectful community. Our natural setting in Vermont's Champlain Valley, with the Green Mountains to the east and the Adirondacks to the west, is also crucial to our identity, providing refreshment and inspiration as well as a natural laboratory for research. The beauty of our well-maintained campus provides a sense of permanence, stability, tradition, and stewardship. Middlebury has established itself as a leader in campus environmental initiatives, with an accompanying educational focus on environmental issues around the globe.
Middlebury's borders extend far beyond Addison County. Middlebury's Language Schools, Schools Abroad, Bread Loaf School of English, Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and the Monterey Institute for International Studies provide top-quality specialized education, including graduate education, in selected areas of critical importance to a rapidly changing world community. These areas include an unusually wide array of languages, literatures, and culture—including our programs in English and writing at Bread Loaf. The first of Middlebury's internationally acclaimed language programs originated at the graduate level more than ninety years ago, and the Bread Loaf programs were inaugurated in 1920.
Both in our central mission as a liberal arts college and in the various forms of specialized study and outreach with which we extend it, Middlebury seeks to promote the values of learning, reflection, leadership, community, civic involvement, local responsibility, and international awareness.
We expect our graduates to be thoughtful and ethical leaders able to meet the challenges of informed citizenship both in their communities and as world citizens. They should be independent thinkers, committed to service, with the courage to follow their convictions and to accept responsibility for their actions. They should be skilled in the use of language, and in the analysis of evidence, in whatever context it may present itself. They should be physically active, mentally disciplined, and motivated to continue learning. Most important, they should be both grounded in an understanding of the Western intellectual tradition that has shaped this College and educated so as to comprehend and appreciate cultures, ideas, societies, traditions, and values that may be less immediately familiar to them.
The following mission statement for Middlebury College was adopted by the Board of trustees in spring 2006:
At Middlebury College we challenge students to participate fully in a vibrant and diverse academic community. The College's Vermont location offers an inspirational setting for learning and reflection, reinforcing our commitment to integrating environmental stewardship into both our curriculum and our practices on campus. Yet the College also reaches far beyond the Green Mountains, offering a rich array of undergraduate and graduate programs that connect our community to other places, countries, and cultures. We strive to engage students' capacity for rigorous analysis and independent thought within a wide range of disciplines and endeavors, and to cultivate the intellectual, creative, physical, ethical, and social qualities essential for leadership in a rapidly changing global community. Through the pursuit of knowledge unconstrained by national or disciplinary boundaries, students who come to Middlebury learn to engage the world.