MiddNews
Middlebury College has received a pledge from an anonymous donor agreeing to give $10 million if other donors commit by this June to give an additional $30 million by 2005. The donor's pledge is designated entirely for the annual fund, the new library, the commons project, and endowment for core programs such as financial aid. The challenge will match only gifts and pledges to these central needs of the College.
A succession of prominent individuals highlighted the roster of speakers on the Middlebury campus this fall. Activist and author Elie Wiesel delivered the Fulton Lecture on Sept. 10. Wiesel, who attracted an overflow crowd in Mead Chapel, was followed by former United Nations arms inspector Scott Ritter, who spoke on Sept. 23. Felix Rohatyn '49, former ambassador to France, spoke on Oct. 11 prior to attending the formal dedication of the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs the following day. White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer '82 spoke in Mead Chapel to another overflow crowd that included both supporters and peace demonstrators on Oct. 13. The event attracted national press attention. Fleischer also received an alumni achievement award from the College's alumni association. Most recently, Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney read from his works in Mead Chapel on Oct. 28.
New offerings in the area of Middle Eastern studies will be added to the curriculum beginning in the fall of 2003. These will include courses in Arabic and in the politics of the Middle East that will expand upon the existing courses on Islam and on the geopolitics of the Middle East. Students electing Arabic will take the beginning level course during the academic year, and can continue their studies during the summer language schools in order to meet requirements for overseas study.
In its third year, the office of service learning and student employment reports that 23 faculty members are teaching or have taught courses with service learning components, in which students engage in volunteer activities as a part of their coursework. There are service learning courses offered in each of the five academic divisions, as well as in some interdisciplinary programs. In a survey of last year's graduating seniors, 20 percent indicated that they had taken a service learning course. For additional information, see /offices/slse/Service-Learning/.
Mike Leonard of the NBC "Today" show visited Middlebury recently to produce a segment about students Katy '03 and Lizzie '05 Hoeschler of Hayward, Wis. The Hoeschler sisters are world-class competitors in the sport of log rolling. Leonard spent a day and a half on campus shooting footage and conducting interviews. The segment aired on Oct. 28, and featured scenic shots of the Middlebury campus, interviews with students, coaches, and others, and footage of the two women and their friends as they practiced log rolling in the College's natatorium. Background music for the piece was performed by a student string quartet led by faculty member Su Lian Tan. A parent's video of the segment appears at http://152.3.72.20/MiddLog/Smallstream.mov
Three Middlebury faculty members have been awarded Fulbright Scholar grants to conduct research abroad for the 2002-2003 academic year. Ian Barrow (history), Andrea Olsen (theatre and dance), and Tatiana Smorodinska (Russian) are three of approximately 800 U.S. Fulbright scholars this year. Barrow is working at the University of Delhi in Delhi, India. Olsen will begin her work in February at Whitireia Performing Arts in Porirua, New Zealand. Smorodinska is at International University in Moscow, Russia.
Middlebury College has won the 2002 Green Chicken Competition, recapturing the trophy from Williams, which won last year's contest. Dating back to 1978, the competition involves teams of students from both colleges who each year take a rigorous math exam. The top four scores from each college are totaled to determine the winner.
This year's competition was held at Williams on Oct. 17. Middlebury's top four scores totaled 160 points compared to 117 points by the Williams team. According to Middlebury math professor Pete Schumer, it is practically impossible for any student or professor to achieve a perfect score. Middlebury's top four competitors were Huan Ding '03 (50 points), Tim Bahls '06 (48 points), Victor Dan '03 (35 points), and Maksims Ovsjanikovs '05 (27 points).
The Green Chicken Competition began when math professor Bob Martin and his grad school friend, Peter Andrews, began teaching at Middlebury and Williams respectively in 1978. To help their students prepare for the national Putnam math exam, Martin and Andrews held a practice exam on the day of the Middlebury vs. Williams football game. From this beginning, the test became an annual contest.
The winning team receives a pea green ceramic chafing dish in the shape of a chicken, a wedding gift to Martin's sister. Though battered from being broken and glued back together, the green chicken is a revered icon and a source of intense pride for the school that captures it. Check http://community.middlebury.edu/~rmartin/ for more.
This year's Middlebury seniors will face a particularly difficult job market, according to Don Kjelleren of the Middlebury Career Services Office (CSO). More than 300 seniors were presented with this harsh reality at a recent meeting sponsored by the CSO. The students were directed to various resources such as the CSO Web page (/cso/); Middnet, which puts students in touch with alumni who have volunteered to help guide the career interests of Middlebury students; programs that help students develop networking skills; and resume writing workshops.
New CSO services for seniors this year include programs about jobs in the nonprofit sector and in socially responsible careers, and trips to Vermont businesses to meet with alumni working in various fields. The "Career Directions" program involves academic departments, which host gatherings of students, faculty, and career services staff who discuss career opportunities related to particular academic majors.
The winner of a student raffle held this month to benefit The United Way of Addison County was permitted to set off a blast of dynamite to clear rock from the Atwater Commons dining hall construction site. The idea for the raffle came from Ted Lester '05 and Kevin Sullivan '04, co-chairs of the Atwater Commons Council. So on Oct.31, raffle winner Erin Doherty '05 pushed the plunger and sent up an eruption of earth and rock.
Gordon C. Perine '49, who served the College in a number of capacities for 42 years, died at his home in Middlebury on Oct. 21 following a lengthy illness. He was 80 years old. Known to most as "Gordie," he was a dedicated community volunteer for which he was recognized, along with his wife Alice, with a Middlebury College Bicentennial Citizens' Medal in 2000.
He was a decorated veteran of World War II, who was called back into service during the Korean War. In 1951, he became an admissions officer at the College, and subsequently worked for the College in fundraising, placement, and alumni affairs. In a message to the College community, President John McCardell said, "Gordie cared…about doing all he could for his College, its students, and its alumni. This meant long hours in the office, long days on the road, attendance at meetings and receptions, always with a smile, a word of encouragement, and the conviction that no one could be happier doing what he was doing for a College he truly, deeply loved." A memorial service was held in Mead Chapel on Oct. 26.