MiddNews
Middlebury Magazine received the Gold Medal for Best College Magazine of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). The publication has won second place silver medals in six out of the last seven years, but this is the first year it has garnered top honors. With more than 36,000 readers, the magazine competed against 50 other entries with circulations of 30,000-75,000. The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine was also awarded a gold medal.
According to Middlebury Magazine editor Rachel Morton, who recently left the College for an editing job at The Burlington Free Press newspaper, the spring 2001 and winter 2002 editions of the magazine were submitted for the competition. The magazine is online at http://www.middlebury.edu/administration/middmag.
Middlebury's new library project will help stimulate the Vermont economy. The College hopes to work with the Island Pond Woodworkers' Alliance, a group trying to revive the Ethan Allen furniture plant that closed down last August in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. If the plant opens in the fall, it could produce 490 panels for shelving units, 336 study carrels, and 20,000 feet of hardwood for millwork and trim in the new library, which is scheduled for completion in 2004.
The alliance is affiliated with the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Cornerstone Project (www.vsjf.org/projects/initiatives/cornerstone.html).
Vermont's Senator Patrick Leahy, whose office is a partner in the initiative, hopes that the College's example will encourage other institutions in Vermont to support the alliance and help to restore a vital industry in the Northeast Kingdom.
"Middlebury is a leader in using Vermont workers and wood products, and we expect to continue to do so in the future," said Jennifer Bleich, assistant project manager for the College's facilities planning office.
The College also plans to contract with Vermont manufacturers for 27,000 square feet of marble to be used in the library project.
During the College's annual Silberman Symposium held earlier this month, former United States Ambassador Dennis Ross, who served in key negotiating roles in the Middle East under presidents Clinton and Bush, expressed only guarded hope for peace in the volatile region.
Ross outlined several scenarios and pointed to reasons why past efforts have failed to lead to peace between the warring parties. According to Ross, the Oslo Accords failed in part because there were insufficient provisions to make the parties accountable for infractions of the terms of the agreement. He called for an agreement that would recognize Palestinian statehood, provide for ongoing negotiations for territorial boundaries, and hold both parties accountable for meeting their obligations under the agreement. Ross also said that the United States must continue to remain involved in the process.
Ross's lecture was followed by a panel discussion moderated by Frank Sesno, former CNN Washington bureau chief and Middlebury trustee. Joining the discussion were Ross, Assistant Professor of Religion Walid Saleh, Visiting Associate Professor of Political Science Greg Gause, and Robert Schine, who is dean of the faculty and the Curt C. and Else Silberman Professor of Religion. For more on the symposium, see the Press Release.
A number of Middlebury students have distinguished themselves academically, and in their efforts to advance career interests.
Senior Anne DeWitt received an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for graduate study in humanistic studies. DeWitt, a chemistry major with a minor in English, was one of 85 students from all over the nation to receive Mellon fellowships. She will use the fellowship to pursue her doctorate in English at Yale. The fellowship covers DeWitt's first year tuition and fees at Yale, and provides a stipend of $17,500.
Kaitlin Gregg, a junior environmental studies and American literature major, was awarded a Morris K. Udall Scholarship. One of 75 students nationwide to receive Udall Scholarships, Gregg will attend a retreat in August in Arizona, meeting people in the field of environmental policy. Gregg will receive a $5,000 grant, which she will apply to her Middlebury comprehensive fee.
Three Middlebury students won Fulbright scholarships, and three other candidates are alternates: Simon Fisherow, a senior international studies major, will study in Japan. His project is titled "Examining the Electorate: Youth Attitudes Towards Japanese Politics."
Christopher Kautz, a senior geology major, will study in New Zealand. Kautz's project is titled "An Investigation of Clay Mineral Genesis in Response to Changing Climatic Conditions."
Lillian Sofi Hall, a member of the class of 2001 and an English major, will study in Brazil. The title of her project is "The Geography of a Poetry: Elizabeth Bishop and Brazil."
The alternates are Agata Andrevski, a senior international politics and economics major, David Caragliano, a senior Chinese and political science major, and Haley Cooper, a senior biology major.
For the fifth year in a row, three Middlebury College students were awarded Thomas J. Watson Fellowships: Julie Hand, a member of the class of 2002 who graduated in March of this year; senior Dane Springmeyer; and senior Kelly Jewell. Each student will receive $22,000 to travel outside the United States and explore a topic of his or her own design.
Sophomores Devin Zatorski, Jona Repishti, and Matthew Riemer were each awarded $2,000 Felton Family Scholarships by the College's career services office to pursue unpaid summer internships.
Riemer will work as an intern for former President Bill Clinton's personal assistant in New York, Repishti will return to his native Albania to work for the Balkans YouthLink Leadership Institute, and Zatorski will work in Washington, D.C., as a summer intern with ABC News.
More than 22 Middlebury juniors who received Ronald H. Brown '62 Scholarships will serve as interns in seven states and eight different countries, working in such fields as business, communications, government, and health care.
At commencement, the Middlebury graduating class will present its senior class gift to the College. This year, the funds from the gift have been designated for use in improving accessibility and services for disabled students on campus. Class members hope that the fund will improve conditions for current and future disabled students, and improve the chances that students with disabilities will choose to attend the College. At present, the class has collected more than $13,000 in support of the gift project.
Each year, one member of the staff and one faculty member receive appreciation awards from the student body. This year, Mary Dragon, bag lunch/wrap associate in dining services, received the Rodney and Beverly DeGray Staff Appreciation Award, and James Ralph, associate professor of history, received the Faculty Appreciation Award.