College rankings continue to pop up. After a spate of rankings in late summer and early fall, two more surfaced in the past month. The October Atlantic Monthly launched its first annual college survey issue, in which it ranked the top 50 among all four-year institutions in order of their selectivity. A number of articles about admissions topics and processes comprised the rest of the college guide portion of the issue. Atlantic Monthly's number one ranked institution is M.I.T., with Princeton, Cal Tech, Yale, and Harvard filling out the top five positions in the survey. Middlebury ranks 25th. Other sample listings include Dartmouth at 15, Amherst at 12, Williams at 19, Cornell at 21, Bowdoin at 32, and Colgate at 50. See the entire report at http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/11/admissions.htm.
The Wall Street Journal ran a story in its Sept. 26, edition about the top 50 undergraduate feeder schools for elite business, medical, and law schools. Middlebury ranked 23rd. Harvard led the list, followed in order by Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and Williams. The Journal's ranking was based on the number of students a college sends to a grad school divided by the college's graduating class size that year. A notation states that Middlebury had 10 students enrolled in the Harvard MBA program during the year in which the count was made, and two at Dartmouth.
During a one-day residency on campus on Oct. 12, sponsored by the College's Rohatyn Center for International Affairs, Felix Rohatyn '49 met with a gathering of students, faculty, and other guests for a luncheon discussion about international affairs. The discussion focused on the relationship between the United States and Europe and included consideration of the future of the European Union.
Rohatyn led the Municipal Finance Corporation in New York during the city's fiscal crisis in the 1970s. Founder and president of Rohatyn Associates LLC, he was a partner in the investment bank Lazard Freres & Company, and served as the U.S. Ambassador to France during the Clinton administration.
In his remarks, Rohatyn discussed the stresses that have developed between the U.S. and France since the war in Iraq. Speaking about the war on terrorism, he noted that, unlike the U.S. focus under George Bush, the French are more concerned with individual acts by terrorists than with the general threat of terrorism to national security. The Bush decision to wage a unilateral, pre-emptive war in Iraq is the kind of action that European nations have traditionally tried to prevent through participation in international organizations like NATO and the United Nations, according to Rohatyn.
Regarding the status of the European Union, Rohatyn said that, rather than a single, overarching structure for all members, a more likely scenario might be a "two-speed" or a "three-speed" Europe. Original EU members, he said, may form closer relationships among themselves, while others may constitute a large free trade area. Rohatyn also stressed the importance of bringing Turkey, an Islamic country, into the European Union.
In response to a student's question about the relevance of Europe to modern U.S. interests abroad, Rohatyn noted the extensive economic relationships that exist between the U.S. and Europe, and stated that Europe is a key economic partner of the U.S.
As the new Middlebury College library nears completion on the site of the old science center, landscaping work is beginning to transform the front quad into a more accommodating setting. New pedestrian pathways will be created, leading to a library entrance plaza. Looking west from the library will open new views towards Old Stone Row and Mead Chapel beyond. An area called The Garden of the Seasons will be created adjacent to the library, featuring plantings, seating space, and flowing water that will become ice formations in the winter.
A number of trees that are currently located in the area between Old Stone Row and the site of the new library will either be removed or relocated in order to reconfigure the front quad area so that it complements the new building. The landscaping plan calls for about 40 new trees to be planted in the vicinity of the library, resulting in a net increase in the number of trees in the area. Learn more at /offices/facility/newsletter.htm.
More national media exposure is on tap for Middlebury resident Butch Varno. Varno was the subject of a Sports Illustrated column by Rick Reilly that appeared last March. Titled "Picking Up Butch," the column described the 54-year-old cerebral palsy patient's longstanding relationship with generations of Middlebury College athletes, who regularly bring him to campus for sports contests. Production crews from ESPN have recently visited the campus to film Varno at a Panthers football game, and to interview students and alumni who have known him over the years. The piece is expected to run on ESPN sometime in mid-November.
Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated ran another item about Middlebury. In Peter King's "Monday Morning Quarterback" column for Sept. 29 on SI.com, King describes a recent visit to the campus. Commenting on his fall weekend visit, King wrote, "Middlebury College. Wow. On the eighth day, God created this place. I've never seen a college—and I have visited them all, I think, over the last five years as two kids prepped for college—so well-prepared to address every need a kid could have at school. On a partly sunny, wind-whipped morning and afternoon, with the leaves just starting to change, I can't remember a prettier day ever on a college campus." Thank you, Mr. King. Your check is in the mail. See the entire column at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2003/writers/peter_king/09/29/mmqb/index.html.
Prior to the official fall meeting of the Middlebury board of trustees, board members met for a retreat at the College's Bread Loaf campus. They spent time orienting new trustees about how the board works, and heard presentations by William Strauss, a leading authority on American generations. Strauss has written several books that are widely used by businesses, colleges, government agencies, and political leaders. He is the author of "Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation," which is an analysis of the current generation of Americans born since 1982. Strauss noted that Millennials display characteristics reminiscent of what he calls the GI generation—those who came of age during World War II. He notes that the values of Boomers and Gen Xers are of relatively little interest or importance to the Millennials.
In the absence of the need to vote on major decisions, the remainder of the meeting was devoted to reports and discussions of issues and topics related to the operation of the College.
The College's Jewish Center celebrated its 10th anniversary on Oct. 8. Members of the College's Jewish community along with trustees and other guests gathered in Freemen International Center to mark the occasion and rededicate the center. A number of the individuals involved in establishing the center spoke—sometimes emotionally—about its origins and history. The center was established in 1993 when Janine Zacharia '95, now the Washington, D.C., correspondent for the Jerusalem Post newspaper, presented the idea to the administration and saw the project through to completion. Next year will be the 50th year since Hillel was established at Middlebury.